Chapter 144: Going at one’s own pace

“That was a good meal. I’m alive.”

If there were ever a time to use the word “blessed,” it would be now, describing her.

‘Who would have thought she could clear the meal Yuri prepared this quickly? Sure, Yuri’s cooking was delicious, but the speed at which she ate was no ordinary thing.’

“You must have been starving for a long time.”

Anyone watching would think she hadn’t eaten in three days.

“Ah, yeah, pretty much. When I came back, my status, house, money—everything got reset. So for the past few days, I’ve basically been a beggar.”

Ajin looked flustered, but the woman just laughed casually as she answered.

The warrior who introduced herself as Lee Jihae… seemed to have nothing to do with any curses.

The details would have to wait until her sister returned, but for now, after washing up, eating, and taking a breather, she looked far more relaxed than Yuri had when she arrived.

‘See? She’s already bursting with energy just from eating.’

***

“Oh, by the way, do you smoke? I don’t have any cigarettes right now.”

Everyone blinked at the unexpected question.

Oh, come to think of it, we’re all non-smokers.

“I don’t have any, but I’ll try to get some later.”

“Ah, thank you! Man, I’ve been craving Marlboros like crazy in this world. Haha. The place I was in was so far removed from modern society… If you can get some, I won’t refuse.”

The pitiful, whimpering look she had at the door earlier was completely gone.

Instead, her bright and lively demeanor left everyone momentarily speechless.

“Oh, when is Friede-nim coming?”

“My sister? I contacted her, so she should be here soon. She won’t be late—she’s got plenty of free time.”

“Hee… I was really curious about what kind of amazing person could pull off that kind of trick with a smartphone. I can’t wait to meet her.”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement, making her seem almost radiant.

She clearly had gone through a tough time, yet she was so full of energy.

It’s… kind of impressive.

***

“Why, are you jealous?”

“Eeek!?”

A voice suddenly whispered right next to her ear, sending a gust of breath against her skin. Dayoung let out a shriek.

All eyes turned in the same direction.

There, with her arms crossed and golden hair flowing, Sehee stood with a smile.

“I’m back.”

‘When did she even get here?’

“I’m Ji Sehee.”

Jihae blinked and took a closer look at the woman in front of her.

‘Ah. So this is Friede.’

‘No wonder people on the street earlier were so worked up about her.’

She had never seen such a naturally convincing beauty before.

Even among the so-called stunning people of this world, none could compare to the woman standing before her.

And on top of that…

“Oh, I’m Lee Jihae. I came running after I got your message, and… yeah, you’re pretty amazing.”

With her perceptive gaze, Jihae could see the overwhelming light radiating from Sehee.

It was as if the sun itself was shining right in front of her.

Even though they were both warriors, Jihae couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe at the sheer magnitude of her power.

No wonder she could send such an absurd message through a smartphone.

Well, with that level of ability, doing something bizarre like that must be easy.

“Let’s see… Your name is Lee Jihae. Age: 22.”

Sehee calmly read from a set of profile documents.

She had returned while the newly arrived warrior, Jihae, was washing up, eating, and taking a break.

Oh, she’s the same age as my sister.

‘I thought she was older because of the formal clothes, but I guess I was just assuming things.’

Realizing how much she had judged at first glance, Dayoung quietly reflected on her own bias.

“If you don’t mind me asking… do you have any family?”

“I only had my mother… but she passed away from an illness before I was summoned to this world. So, it’s just me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant to ask…”

“It’s fine.”

She waved it off without any sign of discomfort.

***

“Majored in law at S University… but expelled.”

‘Oh. That’s… kind of a big deal.’

Dayoung fell silent for a moment, sensing that Yuri and Ajin had also gone quiet, shifting their gazes awkwardly.

“What’s S University?”

“The top university in Korea.”

“Whoa. That’s impressive.”

‘Wait. Did her tone just sound a little off?’

Dayoung frowned slightly at the strange feeling but decided to focus on the conversation at hand.

“Hmm, my memory’s a bit fuzzy, but… judging by your age, you haven’t been in this world for very long, right? One or two years? Wouldn’t it be difficult to re-enroll after being missing for so long?”

“Ah, well, it’s kind of complicated.”

Scratching the back of her head, Jihae gave a wry smile.

“I’m from the class of ’28.”

“…What?”

“Huh?”

“Excuse me?”

“Class of 2028? But it’s the year 2035.”

“Wait, don’t tell me you were some kind of child prodigy—”

“No, nothing like that. I’ve only been in this world for a little over a year, but when I came back, eight years had passed. The Demon King placed a curse on me—something about the curse of the yin-yang and time or whatever. The name is cringey, but I have to admit, the effects are real. I didn’t expect to return to a world where VR technology was actually a thing.”

“Wow. That’s brutal.”

Dayoung was left speechless, just listening to Jihae’s story.

Ajin and Yuri, too, seemed stunned into silence.

Losing eight years… Her status, wealth, and academic records all wiped out.

“I see.”

Sehee seemed strangely composed.

Thankfully, Jihae herself didn’t seem too affected by it.

Dayoung let out a small sigh of relief, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but internally shake her head at how ridiculously twisted Jihae’s life had become.

She had been at a prestigious university but got expelled because of her life as a warrior.

‘What kind of absurd situation was this?’

When warriors return to Earth, they always start off either as missing persons or presumed dead.

After all, they’ve been missing for over a year, with no body to be found.

So, when they return, they have to re-register their identity.

Normally, this isn’t too difficult.

Dayoung and Ajin had both been warriors and returned after just over a year.

The same went for Yuri.

Yuri, for unavoidable reasons, still had to wait another year, but even then, it would only be a total of two years.

That was still a manageable period to bounce back from, and it wasn’t like they had been sitting around doing nothing during that time.

‘But eight years?’ That changed everything.

She would have to rebuild her entire life from scratch—whether it was her career, education, or any research she had been working on.

‘If she had stayed just a few more years, she would have been on the verge of graduating from a top university, but instead, she got expelled because she became a warrior.’

‘If only she had at least graduated before getting summoned…’

‘At least with the Demon King’s curse, there was a clear enemy to blame. But this? This could easily spiral into a deep resentment toward the entire world.’

‘Wait… hold on. If she restores her identity, won’t her official age be 30?’

Dayoung had just been silently thanking the Demon King of the world she had been in for not pulling the same stunt, but she quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts.

No, now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

She glanced at Sehee, who seemed completely unconcerned.

Her confidence came from the fact that she already had enough wealth to handle any problems that might arise.

***

“Hobbies… band activities? You can write and compose songs?”

“I started as a hobby in middle school. That was when I really got into music. But I wouldn’t say I’m particularly talented… I kinda suck. Haha!”

“And yet, you still got into S University? That’s impressive.”

At Sehee’s praise, Dayoung, Ajin, and Yuri all nodded in agreement.

‘Was she the most intelligent one in the warrior party?’

None of them were bad at studying, but S University was on another level.

And now, here she was, standing confidently in front of them—a former student of that very school.

On top of that, ‘she had even been in a band during middle school?’

Somehow, it stung a little.

No, focus.

No need for useless thoughts.

‘Actually… this might be a good thing?’

Regardless of her skill in playing instruments or singing, the fact that she could write and compose music was valuable.

‘Maybe they could ask her to create background music for Sehee’s broadcasts? If it were exclusive to Friede’s channel, it would be pretty unique.’

“Accepted!”

“Huh? Just like that?”

Ajin asked in disbelief, but Sehee responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah. There’s no problem with it. More importantly, what about you, Jihae? Do you want to stay here until you get settled?”

“Sure! I’ll put down my roots here.”

“That was way too fast!”

And with that, Room 503 finally found an occupant.

For now, they were all gathered in Room 501, where Yuri was staying, since 503 needed some organizing and a quick inspection.

The table in front of them was now filled with drinks, snacks, and a variety of dishes.

‘If they were welcoming a new housemate, what better way to bond than over drinks?’

After all, they were going to be living together.

“Then I guess I should go first?”

At my words, Jihae’s eyes sparkled with interest as she eagerly nodded.

It seemed like she hadn’t expected to find herself in a gathering of warriors and was genuinely excited about the novelty of it.

Then, raising her hand, Jihae made a suggestion.

“Since we’re all warriors, let’s take this chance to introduce what kind of warriors we were!”

“Hmm, that sounds good.”

Yuri nodded in agreement.

Well, with this many warriors in one place, it wasn’t a bad idea to get organized.

All eyes naturally turned to me.

I guess I was supposed to start.

Just before taking a sip of my drink, I calmly began my introduction.

“My name is Ji Sehee. I’m 22 years old. My background is that of a warrior in a dark fantasy world.”

“Ohh, dark fantasy. Ooooh.”

The reactions felt a little exaggerated, but whatever.

It was understandable.

I savored the crisp, dry taste of the sparkling wine before nodding toward Dayoung.

“I’m Park Dayoung. I’m 21 years old, and I was a magical girl from an organization.”

“Ooooh, a magical girl at that age? So… you can transform?”

“Ugh! I-I don’t know anything about that!”

‘At that age, huh…?’

Well, from what I had seen, her appearance in that form was admittedly pretty cute.

While Dayoung fumbled to recover from Jihae’s comment, Ajin hesitated before speaking up with a slight pout.

“Ryu Ajin. I’m 20. A student at a psychic academy. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, an academy student. Did you have to wear a uniform?”

“Yeah… I brought it with me, actually.”

‘Wait, she had something like that?’

“I’m Lee Yuri. I’m 17, and I was a warrior in a fantasy world.”

“Aww, you’re the youngest! And you’re great at cooking, too. Your future husband is gonna be lucky.”

“……”

“Yeah! I’m Pepe. As for me, I’m a patrio—mmpf!”

With the round of introductions finished, all eyes turned to Jihae.

She had been munching on snacks with a fascinated expression as she listened, but now she cleared her throat and confidently introduced herself.

“I’m Lee Jihae. I’m 22, same age as Sehee! I was a warrior in a world of yokai and martial artists.”

“…?”

“Oh, by the way, I’m just gonna go ahead and speak casually, okay? Let’s all be comfortable with each other.”

With a playful V-sign and a grin, Jihae completely shattered any remaining formalities.

“Looking forward to getting along with you all!”

This girl… was a natural at breaking down barriers.