episode_0001

Finally.

The long-awaited moment has arrived.

All preparations are complete, and it’s time for the most significant turning point in my tiresome life.

From the moment I grasp the door handle and open it, to the instant I throw what I hold to them after the main gate opens and deliver my final words, I will be liberated.

From this damn corner of a house, no less.

With a sense of liberation, excitement, and indescribable anticipation, I swing open the door.

The door creaks open. It’s been only a week since I set foot here.

Of course, there’s no special sentiment about it.

My second older sister, arms crossed, greets me first with a stern, almost angry expression.

She’s the one who always picks fights, never pleased with anything. Now, as a respectable college student enjoying her freedom, she’s the one scolding me as soon as I become an adult.

Being the second implies there’s a first. Apart from our parents, she’s the eldest to come at me one after the other in this household.

“Why do you have to be so difficult? Were you that averse to teaching your younger sibling? I’m busy inheriting the family business, and the fact that I have to step in like this is a loss for our entire family, don’t you know?”

The first sister, on the path to inherit our parents’ business, always puts family matters first, thinking I, seemingly relaxed within the household, am causing trouble.

And then, the tutoring story comes from the younger sibling.

“Geez, this is all because of you! The exams are just days away, what are we going to do?!”

The blond troublemaker who used to go around with dyed hair suddenly pops up.

Four years younger than me, she talks informally and nags. Even though I never expected formality, her unique cheekiness often puts me in a tight spot.

Even when I actually tutor her, she complains about why I can’t explain things properly and runs off to tell Mom or the first and second sisters.

Yet, she has no intention of studying properly herself.

‘There should have been one more person.’

If they knew I had returned, another woman would have appeared in a hurry. It seems like she’s not outside right now.

‘It doesn’t matter if she’s not here.’

It doesn’t really matter if one person is missing. They’ll manage to communicate among themselves just fine.

I took out a thick envelope from my pocket and threw it.

“Kim Minhyuk. You’re ignoring our language—”

“Mom?”

“You, this…”

Thud.

Something inside made a heavy, bulky envelope hit the floor with a dull sound.

“Kim Minhyuk. What are you doing? After being gone for a week without a word, the first thing you do when you come home is throw a tantrum?”

The eldest was the first to glare and scold.

“If that had hit me, what would you have done! I’m going to tell Mom everything!”

The third warned that if it had hit her, she would retaliate by throwing something close to herself.

“This brat…! Are you deliberately doing this because Mom told me not to hit you?”

The second, well, seemed like she wanted to raise her hand without saying anything. Just looking at her expression, it’s clear she’s very angry.

Whether to respond or not, I turned away abruptly, answering the three women’s questions roughly.

“I’m done here, so I’m leaving. Deal with the rest yourselves, whether you throw it away or not.”

“What?! Hey! Kim Minhyuk!”

“Big sister, why is he acting like that? Did he eat something bad for real?”

“Huh. First, I need to get rid of this rock. It’s quite heavy. Ugh. I’ll throw it away and be back.”

“Sorry. After hearing why he did this, I’ll give him a good scolding.”

The second went to clean up the trash that had been brought into the house, and the eldest started following me again.

“Kim Minhyuk! Where are you going right now? Come back quickly. Mother will be back soon.”

“Why should I?”

“You caused so much worry, and now you’re going to leave again after throwing garbage around the house without a word? Are you kidding me right now?”

Garbage, huh. Well, I guess it could be seen that way.

In such a wealthy household, that might indeed look like garbage.

If that’s the case, it would have been better to stick to the main point from the beginning.

“No need to follow me like this. I won’t be coming back this time.”

“What?”

” What are you even saying right now?”

“What else? It’s about leaving home.”

“Sigh.”

Wearing slippers, the youngest sibling, who had hurriedly followed, heard that and clamped their mouth shut.

“Ha, you’re really out of your mind. You might not know where you’re going, but are you really going outside without permission from the family?”

“I won’t say anything more. I feel bad for wasting the taxi I called earlier.”

“You’re complaining about the taxi fare and still planning to leave home? Ridiculous. At best, you won’t get far and will come back. You haven’t experienced society, how long can you endure without money? When you return, be prepared.”

As if there was any chance of that. Despite the eldest’s mocking, I continued toward the taxi.

“Ready to go?”

“Yes. The destination is—”

Oh my. The taxi fare is a waste. In the meantime, it went up by a few hundred won.

As I got into the taxi, I opened the window one last time and left a remark.

“I’ve already paid the fare. It’s your fault for not checking.”

Vroom—

As the taxi started and the eldest continued to smirk, I could finally turn completely away from them.

Yes. Today, I’m leaving this house. Even returning after a week of being outside was just to deliver this one line.

It’s a wealthy household anyway, so money will overflow, but still. Just in case some loose end catches up, right?

It’s not allowance money; I earned it through part-time work. I can guarantee it’s worth more than the fare.

‘Permission from the family.’

Suddenly, the eldest’s words came to mind.

It’s not lingering attachment. It was just a surge of anger.

‘Did you ever treat me as family?’

Just because I’m not a biological child, they rejected and tormented me like that. Hearing the word “family” now, I couldn’t help but feel indignant.

And what’s this about permission?

If they truly considered me family, they wouldn’t seek permission, they would have discussed it.

In the end, you are the worst.

From elementary school to middle school, to high school, the textbooks all respond to the word “family” in this way. They define family as an inevitable connection. Like the saying that blood is thicker than water, they describe it as the closest and most deeply connected relationship.

There was more. People who could help when it was most difficult. Those who never ceased to share happiness within their families until their last breath. It wasn’t simply defined like that, and it needed to be extended into long paragraphs rather than just a few sentences.

As I thought about this while stepping outside, a bitter laugh escaped me.

“Ridiculous.”

All those idealistic phrases and pretty words don’t resonate with me.

I still remember vividly. When I stepped into that house, the gazes that poured down on me were cold, piercing, and chilling.

Since those disdainful and hateful gazes struck me, I have never felt comfortable even for a moment.

Even in a place like ‘home’, which should have been the coziest and warmest.

But even that came to an end today. During my school days, I had no power, so I had to continue relying on this house, but now, having finished the college entrance exam, I am not powerless anymore.

By diligently studying in my spare time and secretly starting part-time work, I managed to save enough money to afford a deposit for a small one-room apartment.

I gained the strength to live my own life.

Yes. An escape, so to speak.

I escaped from the tiresome corners of the house.

“Of course, I’ll have to work even harder to cover the rent, tuition, and living expenses… But that’s nothing.”

Just not seeing those women makes me content. No, it’s a happiness beyond that.

Lost in these thoughts, the taxi had already arrived at its destination.

Shedding all miscellaneous thoughts, I went to work as I had been doing all along.

***

The part-time job hours passed in a blur. Whether it felt long or short, I didn’t seem to know how time was passing.

When I came to my senses, it was time to leave work.

“Minhyuk, are you working too hard? Oh well. How can you not be aware that it’s your quitting time?”

I heard a sigh from a middle-aged woman. She was the boss.

“Is it already that time?”

“Finish up quickly and come out. You work so hard that I feel like I should give you something.”

I scratched my head in a nonchalant manner and entered the staff room, finishing up some tidying before emerging. In the meantime, the boss was busy preparing pungent and sweet-smelling dishes in the kitchen. As I came out, the last remaining customer handed me a drink, or more precisely, a fatigue recovery drink.

“Please have it. Did you stay late because of me in the midst of your busy schedule? Haha.”

“It’s not really that late. It’s not because of the customer…”

“Even so, you’ve been extremely busy, so you should have it while working.”

I tried to refuse, but the boss, who had just finished up in the kitchen, insisted, “Just take it!” with a firm yet gentle tone, leaving me no choice but to accept.

“Thank you for your hard work~.”

The last customer who handed me the fatigue recovery drink left with a bright smile. The boss also handed me a bag and closed the shop door, finally bringing an end to today’s work.

“Time really flies, doesn’t it?”

Even though I was just a part-timer, it felt like time had flown by unusually fast. There were days when time seemed to drag on endlessly. Now, having finished the cleanup, I could see that the sun had completely set.

“Why are you talking about time? Aren’t we the same age?”

“Well, I guess we are, so am I younger than you then?”

“When I checked our IDs, my birthday was earlier, right? So, anyway, I’m your older sister, right?”

“That’s a load of nonsense.”

Jieun, another part-timer, approached, chattering away. She was actually the owner’s relative, or something like that. I didn’t know the details.

Anyway, she was a kind friend who helped me find this part-time job and taught me many things.

“Hmph. Looks like our aunt is praising you again for working so diligently. Well, Minhyuk, you’re diligent, after all.”

“…Isn’t that just average?”

“Ugh. When you say it like that, it seems like I’m working dryly.”

“Even if it’s true, what’s the problem? If we add up all the breaks, it’s probably worth an hour or two.”

“Hey! You need short breaks while working part-time. And it’s relative. Because you work so intensely, it looks like I’m slacking off!”

Jieun complained for a while, recounting the time when I had just started the part-time job.

I’ve never really thought about it that way before. But listening to what she’s saying, it seems like that might be the case. I haven’t had much of a break.

“Hmm… You’re quite remarkable, really.”

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Unimpressed by his indifferent response, Ji-eun made a disgruntled expression and changed the subject.

“Ahem. Anyway, Min-hyuk, have you tried it? I sent you a message about it.”

“Is that what you wanted to ask me about?”

“Well, I was curious how you were handling it. My approach isn’t making much progress… Anyway! It was intriguing, wasn’t it? You did mention needing money.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Right? Haha.”

If it hadn’t been intriguing, it would have been a lie. The offer of a prize of 50 million won to the first person to clear the game was even more enticing.

With that amount, one could easily move out and live separately, and it would significantly delay worries about university tuition or monthly rent.

However, there was a reason behind offering such a prize.

“I just can’t seem to clear it at all.”

“Ugh, you too?”

“You too… How much overestimation is involved here?”

Even within games, there are genres that are exceptionally difficult. For example, fighting games, rhythm games, bullet hell games, and other hard games that pursue extreme play.

But the game Ji-eun introduced was not like that.

It was a game called Almantool, created with cutting-edge tools, where techniques and skill were useless, and even tricks didn’t work in any way.

“It didn’t seem like a simple visual novel game. I thought the choices were fixed, but just changing the time of going to bed and waking up changed things. Each of these subtle changes had an impact.”

“Wow… Doesn’t that make the range of choices too broad?”

“It does. But the range wasn’t always narrow. The game did give hints little by little.”

“Hmm. You seem so sure, have you found something?”

“Well… I have.”

“I knew it! I thought you’d find something.”

She urged me to speak, asking how far I’d gotten.

Let’s recall the game GomGom played… A disappointed laugh escapes me. “It’s so obvious.” It wasn’t made to be cleared in the first place. “Don’t waste your time and just give up. It was simply made to boost people’s anxiety—cough, cough!” The occasional cough felt particularly rough today. It even brought up phlegm from my throat.

After a few rough coughs and spitting out the viscous saliva on the ground, the coughing ceased. Concerned, the author handed me a handkerchief. I shook my head in refusal. “Are you really okay? It’s not too late to go to the emergency room.” “…It’s not that serious. I’m just a little tired today, that’s all.” “Still…” “I’ll go inside and rest first. I have no appetite, so you eat this.”

“Huh? Ah, Minhyuk!” Despite the feeble voice calling out from behind, I didn’t notice at all. Along with the occasional harsh cough, the story of the game naturally came to an end.

Returning home, I briefly succumbed to an unusual tranquility. Although I washed myself with cold water instead of warm, and lay down on a hard mattress instead of a soft bed, the serene silence was incredibly satisfying. My own sanctuary. A space for undisturbed relaxation.

The fact that I had my own home was so heartwarming. But the silence didn’t last long. Ring ring—ring ring—Seeing an unknown number on my vibrating phone, I absentmindedly answered the call. “Oh, I’ve got it…! Minhyuk, is that you? Wait, hold on, let me talk to noona. Yeah?”

Click. “Noona, what’s up?” As soon as I heard the voice, I knew who it was. It was my younger brother. Even though I had blocked him, my phone was filled with various messages, missed calls, and texts from an unknown person. The blocked number remained unchanged. It seemed like my brother was persistently trying to reach out, despite being blocked. Now, these people, whose names were not even saved anymore, but whose numbers I still distinctly remembered, I don’t understand why they are looking for me.

‘After all, they aren’t even close family.’

…Perhaps that’s why that game started to be remembered so vividly. When I got a little hint about the protagonist’s background, I felt a strange sensation.

“Tomorrow… Wasn’t there anything scheduled?”

Tap-

I took out the fatigue recovery drink I received from the guest. With this, I could probably play for a few more hours.

Unconsciously, I turned my attention away from the buzzing phone and switched on the computer, once again playing that game.

[ Start new game ]

[ Continue ] ←

[ Quit ]

A simple window popped up, and I clicked “Continue.”

The episode I had abandoned yesterday appeared. Looking at the choices, unlike the vague feeling of guessing the correct answer before, I felt extremely frustrated.

“Why does it have to be like this? I don’t understand.”

If it were me, I would have left it alone, whether to say it or not.

“…Sigh. There’s no choice but to wake up. I can’t die, so what else can I do.”

As I chose an option, it was confirmed as the correct answer, and I didn’t die.

The game displayed “Episode cleared,” seemingly ready to move on to the next part.

But right at that moment,

The monitor screen began to blur slightly.

“I definitely took the fatigue recovery drink. Why am I so sleepy…?”

Was I just too tired today? Sleep poured over me like madness.

***

Knock knock.

Hmm…?

I hear a knocking sound.

It must be from another house. Our house wouldn’t have that kind of knock. Besides, there’s no one who would come looking for me openly.

So, I didn’t bother to respond, thinking it must be from another house.

Knock knock.

But the knocking sound came again. This time, it must be someone calling for me.

“Goodness… What is it? It’s not time to pay the rent…”

Filled with irritation, I scratched my tousled head and got up.

And then, I understood why the knocking sound was different.

“Huh?”

I was astonished. Not in my small room, but in a spacious one.

Not the feel of a hard mat, but the soft touch of a bed.

Despite everything, it was an entirely different, alien setting.

“What’s going on here? Am I dreaming or something?”

With my mouth hanging open like a fool, I blinked and rubbed my eyes. When I realized that my vision wasn’t playing tricks on me, a woman’s voice came from outside.

“Lord Karsein, it will be troublesome if you’re any later.”

As soon as I heard those words, a shiver ran down my spine.

“What? Karsein?”

That was the name of the game character I used to play. That Karsein, who died countless times, was… me?

The mirror in front of me faintly reflected an pixelated image of Karsein, almost like an icon, but it was my own face.