episode_0057

“Fuck, if only I had a car…”

Ji-hoon, who had come up with difficulty through the extremely narrow exit, wiped the sweat running down his forehead.

“What subway fare is 10,000 won? You crazy thieves.”

I would have liked to come to Hongdae in a flashy sports car, but that wasn’t possible.

The moment he brought it up, Sonagi said it was crazy, Lee Ji-ah said it was absolutely impossible, and even Hong Gil-dong, who was passing by, shook his head as if it was impossible.

The reason was obvious. If he showed up in a famous car like BMW, without even going as far as a sports car, it would be too easy to be chased.

What if some future corporation had installed a tracking device on their car? Like in many movies, there was a high possibility that they would come down to the basement without knowing they were being tracked and a terrible situation would occur.

‘I’m sure the rain will help.’

Hong Seo-yeon, who was lying in the room, was taken out by Sonagi. Of course, Sonagi just left her lying down in a nearby hotel.

Hong Seo-yeon, who woke up in the hotel with the same ‘fake memory’, will come to Hongdae on her own and go on a date with Ji-hoon. It was a simple plan, but it was dangerous.

‘I even hinted at it…’

There was also the possibility that Hong Seo-yeon, who liked to climb on top of men, was simply being capricious. There was also the possibility that she went home on her own to make Ji-hoon impatient.

To prevent that from happening, I left a strong hint that said, ‘I want to take the day off from work today and go on a date in Hongdae without being caught by the employees of Mirae Company as much as possible.’

Although he had learned through experimenting on his ‘pet girls’ that this was not a problem, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

‘Should I stop now…’

Ji-hoon clicked his tongue for no reason, feeling even more anxious because of the loud singing coming from far away. He could see quite a lot of people walking around, worthy of the name ‘Hongdae,’ but he didn’t have time to pay attention to them.

Ji-hoon had told Hong Seo-yeon to meet him at the subway entrance, but she was nowhere to be seen.

‘You can find it if you scan it…’

Are there only one or two people passing by? Ji-hoon wanted to call Hong Seo-yeon’s cell phone, but he couldn’t. If he made a call, he would naturally be connected to the network, and the people of the future company couldn’t help but know.

─Bang bang!

“Miss, what should I do…”

In the worst case scenario, I could have made him fall asleep on his own after a certain amount of time… but the question was where the future company’s president would sleep. I could track him because I had a bracelet that Sonagi had filled, but Sonagi had not yet transmitted the bracelet’s data.

─Bang bang! Bam! Bang!

‘What the hell kind of crazy bastard is that…’

Is the road blocked? Ji-hoon looked at the road in disbelief. There was a bright red sports car parked there. The car had a sleek design that was so sleek that it felt obscene. It looked like it would start moving with a loud exhaust sound if you just roughly stepped on the accelerator.

“Mr. Jihoon~”

“Ah..”

Surprisingly, the one who came out driving that red sports car was Hong Seo-yeon. She was wearing a gold necklace and was waving her hand while looking at Ji-hoon.

Just like Ji-hoon was wearing a black suit, she was also wearing clothes that fit the word OL well, and the car she was riding in was so big and fancy that everyone passing by stopped in their tracks.

‘Isn’t this fucking getting caught?’

Ji-hoon felt uneasy for a moment, but when Hong Seo-yeon smiled and put on black sunglasses and stroked her neck, her hair naturally turned golden and her face turned into someone else’s. As soon as Ji-hoon saw that, he quickly approached the sports car.

“Mr. Jihoon, take a look.”

Hong Seo-yeon smiled and got into the passenger seat, then patted the driver’s seat with her hand. Ji-hoon suddenly found himself driving a sports car that looked like it was worth several billion won, but he couldn’t refuse something like that since he was born a man.

A sports car that has the power to make a man’s heart beat faster. Who wouldn’t drive one? Ji-hoon grabbed the steering wheel of the sports car as Hong Seo-yeon pointed out and shook his head from side to side.

By the way, Ji-hoon had a long-distance driver’s license, but it was no problem.

[Connected to ]

In the cyberpunk world, driving was easier with a little help from the program than with a human. Even if Ji-hoon made a mistake, it would stop automatically and guide him on the road just like in a game. He had nothing to worry about.

“Well, it’s definitely worth watching when you’re sitting like this, Jihoon. To be honest, I was a little surprised when you said you’d meet me at the subway entrance.”

“I thought you had no money… but looking at the clothes you’re wearing, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.”

“If a Netrunner drives around in a car, it’s like bragging to be killed.”

“Oh my gosh, really? The netrunners I know ride around so well. They ride even more expensive ones than this.”

“Seoyeon, you know those ‘net runners’, right?”

When Ji-hoon spoke with a wink, Hong Seo-yeon covered her mouth and laughed.

“Well, those idiots go around bragging about being netners. It’s more fun when you don’t know their true identity like Ji-hoon… .”

Hong Seo-yeon twirled her hair with a snort before caressing Ji-hoon’s thigh.

“Let’s go see a movie. Do you know where to go?”

There was no need to answer her question with difficulty. Ji-hoon immediately grabbed the steering wheel with his hands and moved his feet to play a magnificent exhaust sound.

* * * *

“Mr. Jihoon, unlike your personality, you drive a bit recklessly?”

Hong Seo-yeon giggled and got on the elevator. Ji-hoon followed her after brushing his messy hair back once, and coughed for no reason.

It was impossible for him, who had a driver’s license, to drive a sports car so well. It was quite a difficult situation, but surprisingly, Hong Seo-yeon was happy to find a flaw in Ji-hoon, who seemed surprisingly perfect, and she just teased him by pinching his waist for no reason.

‘Damn… I’ll have to get a better program next time…’

The driving assist definitely helped, but it was frustrating because it prevented me from going faster than the legal speed limit. It was a very strange experience to drive a sports car in Seoul at a speed of about 60 kilometers per hour…

“I think there’s something wrong with the program.”

“Oh my, really? Show me your skills later.”

Hong Seo-yeon said with a smile and naturally touched her necklace. The face that had been Hong Seo-yeon’s just a moment ago changed into that of an unknown beauty, and the color of her hair also changed to gold.

It was really strange that the race itself changed…

“Welcome, sir.”

Ji-hoon could tell why she was hiding her true self so thoroughly the moment the elevator doors opened.

‘Is this a fucking movie theater owned by some future company? No… But is this really a movie theater?’

In front of the elevator door, a woman dressed neatly in a suit and with her hair neatly arranged stood smiling. There were more than one or two of these women. They even wore gold name tags with their names engraved on their chests.

Unlike the movie theaters Ji-hoon knew, there were no giant TVs endlessly showing trailers with loud noises and flashy explosions, and there were no concession stands that endlessly gave off a savory smell.

Well, what should I say?

‘This is… something incredibly luxurious…’

It was hard to think of anything else to say. In particular, the feeling of the black leather sofas placed in the large lounge was very strange. Ji-hoon, who had planned to watch a light movie, felt a strange sense of dissonance and moved his feet.

“What kind of movies does Jihoon like? Actually, it’s hard to find people who watch movies these days.”

“I…”

That’s a really difficult question. Ji-hoon did watch movies, but he wasn’t the type to watch anything in particular. He was the type to only watch the so-called ’10 million movies’ that were popular in the world, and he didn’t watch anything in a focused manner.

“Ha.. haha, I like movies with heroes.”

“Are you a hero?”

Ji-hoon’s heart sank for a moment. He thought, “Should I erase my memories and tell Hong Seo-yeon all the movies she likes?” Maybe it would have been better to say something safe like “Hollywood movies”…

“We have the same hobby. I also like those hero movies. You can see the great imagination of people in the past…”

“Ah… Phew.”

Fortunately, Hong Seo-yeon began to speak with a very happy expression, and went inside the red leather door with Ji-hoon.

‘What? It’s an IMAX theater. But why is there only one seat?’

The moment he saw the large screens on the left and right in front of him, Ji-hoon was able to feel a little relieved at the fact that it was at least something he could imagine. On the contrary, in front of the large, long screen, there was a single black seat.

The seat, which seemed perfect for two people, looked like a huge sofa-bed made of black leather. With a simple touch of a button, the backrest could be reclined all the way back, and the armrests on both sides could be raised for a cozy moment between lovers.

Ji-hoon didn’t think much of it and just sat down quietly. Fortunately, Hong Seo-yeon also took off her clothes and hung them on the hanger next to her seat before sitting down quietly.

“Customer, do you have any food you would like to order?”

“Jihoon, is there anything you want to eat?”

Hong Seo-yeon smiled and showed Ji-hoon the menu she had received from the employee. Ji-hoon found it strange that she wasn’t using the HUD.

‘This is what a movie theater is… something the rich are imitating from 50 years ago…’

Ji-hoon finally realized.

In this world, there is a technology called BD (Brain Data), so there is no need to watch the movie. If you want to be the main character of a sweet romance, you can buy a BD that contains such information.

Action movies? Zombies? Horror? Thrillers? Anything goes. Even adult videos are made into BDs to stimulate the human senses, so who on earth would want to enjoy the ‘highbrow hobby’ of watching movies that were popular 50 years ago?

‘100,000 won for one popcorn… This is crazy, cola and such are the same, but what is this butter-grilled squid that costs 120,000 won…’

He knew that the prices of things in this world were out of the ordinary, but Ji-hoon felt dizzy. He couldn’t make a choice because no matter what he ordered, it seemed like it would cost more than dinner.

“Ji-hoon, do you not like eating something while watching a movie?”

“No, I actually like it. Um… There are so many things I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“Then let’s order everything. I’ll pay. What do you want to drink? Just cola?”

Hong Seo-yeon smiled and started ordering popcorn, squid, nachos, and other snacks that could be eaten in a movie theater.

“Okay, sir.”

The employee smiled and went out, and Hong Seo-yeon put her hands together and stretched, raising them high. Her voluptuous body was clearly visible, and Ji-hoon swallowed once.

He wasn’t so careless that he forced himself to have sex in a movie theater.

“But Seoyeon, you surprisingly like movies. Since you are the president of a future company, I thought you would naturally watch the popular BDs these days.”

“You can’t enjoy that together, right? You can talk about doing something different after using the same BD, but it’s different from watching a movie together.”

“But who would have thought that the chairman of Megacorp would enjoy a hobby that was popular 50 years ago?”

At Ji-hoon’s words, Hong Seo-yeon chuckled and leaned her body comfortably against the back of the chair.

“There’s a certain boring taste that you can only feel in movies. Don’t you like that kind of stuff, Ji-hoon? You said you like hero movies. I really enjoy those.”

Hong Seo-yeon, who was speaking with a strange smile, held Ji-hoon’s hand tightly as she watched the fire slowly dying out.

“Do you know that this huge movie theater was a place where 50 years ago… no, 100 years ago, people would sit in groups of 100 or 200?”

“Of course.”

“That’s why when I watch the movie, I feel like I rule the world. I think that people like me are 100 times… 200 times richer than people 100 years ago. I think that I have that much power.”

Hong Seo-yeon whispered very sweetly and grabbed Ji-hoon’s hand. Ji-hoon couldn’t help but worry at the strange sense of superiority he felt in her eyes.

‘Is this… a hero movie I know?’

Even if you can see Hong Seo-yeon’s heart, you can’t know unless she thinks. Hoping that the words ‘hero movie’ were the movie he had in mind, Ji-hoon looked at the screen that was gradually getting brighter.