Chapter 14 – Offline Meeting

Ｒｅａｄ​ ​ｏｎ​ ​ＫａｔＲ​ｅａｄｉｎｇ​Ｃａｆ​ｅ

“Arang, I’ll make you pretty.”

“…Okay.”

Older Sister Anna is getting me dressed.

Today’s the day for my offline meetup with Pink Berry.

I reached MAX level and thoughtlessly suggested it, and although Pink Berry was briefly flustered, she agreed, so here we are.

In reality, I’m slowly getting better, but I’ve only evolved from a doll to a doll that can speak a little. I still can’t really say what I want to say very well.

Wait a minute, now that I think about it, even if I meet Pink Berry like this, I won’t be able to talk. I guess I’ll have to connect to the Deathbed Machine to actually meet her.

It wouldn’t be fun to meet someone I play games with and not be able to talk about games.

Wow… Now that I think about it, I’ve been to a lot of offline meetups, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard of one being held in a hospital.

And the person who organized it is actually in the virtual world.

This offline meetup isn’t really an offline meetup at all. Pink Berry’s going to be dumbfounded when she sees me.

“All done! Pretty Arang!”

At Older Sister Anna’s words, I looked down at myself.

I was wearing a pure white short-sleeved T-shirt and what looked like dolphin shorts.

I know they’re pretty clothes, but they don’t look pretty because I don’t have arms and legs.

The arm parts are loose, and the cut-off legs are dangling from the pants, so it really looks like I don’t have them.

‘This is totally… Hmm… No, let’s not think about it.’

With Older Sister Anna’s help, I lay down on the bed, put on the Deathbed Machine, and turned on the hospital room screen.

I looked at the large hospital room, the numerous medical machines, and myself lying on the bed, hooked up to the Deathbed Machine.

Thanks to Older Sister Anna, I at least looked like a living person. Until just now, I was wearing a patient gown, so I just looked like a corpse.

Okay. Now all I need is for Pink Berry to come.

How long has it been since I’ve had an offline meetup? And it’s with Pink Berry, who I’m enjoying the virtual world game LEORE with the most right now!

I’m already looking forward to it.

==

As soon as I entered Asan Medical Center Seoul, I was slightly intimidated by its size.

Numerous people were passing by, busily going about their day. I headed straight for the information desk.

“Excuse me…”

“Please take a number and wait your turn.”

The information clerk glanced at me, sighed, and said.

“That’s not why I’m here.”

“Please take a number and—”

The information clerk said, clearly annoyed.

“I came to see Arang!”

I urgently said Arang’s name, as she had told me in an email how to find her.

“Oh, are you talking about Arangnim?”

“Ah, yes, yes!”

“J, just a moment!!!”

Suddenly, the information clerk’s annoyed expression vanished. She hurriedly got up from her seat and ran off somewhere.

‘What, what is it?’

Now that I think about it, I remembered that there are only 5 MDB Connectors that Arang is using in the entire world.

I wonder why there are so few.

‘Come to think of it, the costume Arang is wearing… It’s given for free when you reach 10 million mileage points, and 10 million mileage points is… 100 million… Gasp…’

While I was lost in thought, the information clerk returned, panting, and spoke to me.

“Haa… Haa… If you follow the doctor here, you’ll get there.”

“Hello. I’m Doctor Kim Hyesun, Arang’s attending physician.”

“Ah, hello.”

‘P, pretty…’

“Please follow me.”

The doctor who introduced herself as Arang’s attending physician looked like a celebrity.

As I walked along with the doctor, she asked if I was Arang’s friend.

“Ah, yes. I’m Arang’s friend.”

“Really? I’m so glad Arang has made a friend.”

“Is Arang hospitalized here right now?”

“Yes… It’s been 3 years since I became Arang’s attending physician.”

“3, 3 years…?”

“Yes. It’s been 3 years since Arang came here because of her illness.”

“Illness…”

I was expecting it.

Since Arang is using the MDB, I didn’t think she was just using it for fun.

But hearing it directly from Arang’s attending physician felt different.

After walking for a while, we arrived in front of a small building.

“This is where Arang lives.”

“Is this also a hospital building? In such a small place…?”

“Ah, this building is only for Arang, so it’s a building where only Arang is hospitalized.”

“…Pardon?”

I thought it was small for a building with patients, but if I thought about it as a building where only Arang was, it was a huge building.

‘No, in the first place, for a hospital to dedicate this kind of building to just one patient… What is Arang’s identity?’

As soon as we stood in front of the building door, the doctor stopped.

“From here on, you must follow my instructions carefully.”

From the entrance, I could see various machines.

First, I disinfected my hands, and as I passed through the door, something went “whoosh!” and a smoke-like substance came out.

“Don’t worry. It’s just for disinfection.”

After passing through this and that, we entered the building.

“I’ll tell you the precautions for meeting Arang. First, please don’t talk about Arang’s body.”

“…Yes.”

“Second, Arang has a disease, but it’s not contagious, so you don’t have to worry. Finally, when you interact with Arang, I hope you treat her like a normal child, not like a sick person.”

“Yes. I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”

After listening to the doctor’s words, I entered the room where Arang was.

The first thing I saw was various medical devices. After passing through those devices and walking forward, there was a large glass wall in front of me.

Beyond that glass was Arang, who I had wanted to meet.

“Huu…”

At the sight of Arang, I covered my mouth with both hands.

I had somewhat expected Arang’s appearance based on the doctor’s words and information about the MDB…

But Arang’s actual condition was far more serious than I’d imagined, and it made my body tremble.

Arang was lying on a king-size bed.

Arang’s appearance was shocking.

Arang, who had no arms or legs. That alone was shocking, but the appearance of the MDB was also shocking.

The size of the MDB Connector, which was integrated with the bed, was completely different from the original choker-type connector. The MDB was as large as the bed itself.

Various machines extended from the MDB and were attached to Arang’s body.

There were machines on her eyes and neck, and several lines ran into her upper body inside her clothes. They were probably sensors.

Medical machines that I had only seen in movies and dramas were checking Arang’s condition in real time.

“What is this…”

“Are you Pink Berrynim?”

“W, who are you?”

When I turned my head at the sound of a woman’s voice from the side, a woman who was even more beautiful than the doctor called out my nickname.

“Hello. I’m Lee Anna, Arang’s older sister. Thank you so much for coming all the way here for Arang today.”

“Hello… I’m Lee Hayan, who uses the nickname Pink Berry.”

“Welcome, Hayan-ssi. Arang has been waiting for Hayan-ssi so much.”

“Is that so…? I hope I’m not being a nuisance…”

“No. Arang has been talking about Hayan-ssi non-stop. Please, come in.”

“Ah, yes, ma’am!”

As soon as I opened the door and entered, Arang’s voice echoed through the machine.

[Oooo! Pink Berry, welcome! No, since it’s reality, should I call you Older Sister…?]

On the large screen that was visible as soon as I entered the room, Arang, who I always saw in LEORE, was smiling and waving her hand.

Arang, who was living in the connector’s personal space, looked exactly like she did in LEORE – cute and mischievous.

As I looked at Arang on the screen, I glanced down, and the real Arang, who was one with a large machine, came into view.

Is this how Arang always lives…?

Arang’s original appearance on the bed and her active and bright appearance in LEORE were so completely opposite.

‘Oops. I’ve been thinking too much…!’

[Pink Berry Older Sister?]

‘Ugh…!’

The fact that she called me Older Sister and the way Arang tilted her head slightly as she spoke was so cute that it was fatal.

“A, Arang, hello.”

[Was it uncomfortable coming here? Is there anything you want to eat? Let’s have lunch right away.]

“Huh? Lunch? That’s… Arang, uh…”

I decided to have lunch with Arang. But Arang suddenly asked me if there was anything I wanted to eat. Was it okay to say this?

No matter how I looked at it, Arang’s condition didn’t seem like she could eat anything.

[Me? Why? Ah! I’m going to eat too, don’t worry!]

“R, really…? Then how about we eat what Arang wants to eat?”

[Eh, it’s okay. Pink Berry Older Sister had a hard time coming all the way here, so let’s eat what Pink Berry Older Sister wants to eat.]

“T, then…”

‘W, what should I choose…!?’

First, I quickly thought of delivery foods in my head.

Looking at Arang’s current appearance, I can’t have food that will be a burden on her stomach. So fried foods are naturally excluded.

Snacks?

That’s not good either. Snacks also have a lot of seasonings in them.

‘Ugh…! W, what should I…!’

Then a savior appeared.

“How about Bossam?”

[Bossam is good too! Pink Berry Older Sister, are you okay with it? Do you like Bossam?]

“B, Bossam is good!”

“Then I’ll order Bossam.”

“Y, yes ma’am!”

[Pink Berry Older Sister, what’s your name? I can’t keep calling you Pink Berry.]

“I’m Lee Hayan. I’m 25 years old.”

[Oh, Hayan Older Sister then.]

I was nervous and worried about how to talk to Arang, but Arang was energetic as if nothing had happened, just like when we met in LEORE.

But I know.

She can’t survive if she doesn’t do this…

Arang, who is still 15 years old.

At an age when she should be going to school, running around with her friends, and going out to play, she is trapped in a hospital where she can’t go outside and lives without arms and legs.

Is that the end? No. Her body is in such a terrible state that she uses the MDB, and she is in the virtual world instead of being in reality like that.

Even if someone has a healthy mind, it’s hard to overcome this without getting hurt. But a 15-year-old is going through these things…

Arang is holding on.

She’s trying to be as bright as possible, because she can’t survive if she doesn’t…

And what made me sure of that was what Arang did as soon as she came out of the virtual world.