Chapter 2
“Wait.”
Danbi quickly pulled the handle inward. With a *click*, the door locked again.
The current time was 11:20 PM.
Unless you were incredibly close, it wasn’t exactly a time for someone to drop by without notice. Besides, the only people she was close to were Som and Hyun, and even then, only those two.
Som had left the house a little while ago, and Hyun was...
“I agreed to it, too. To taking your name off the project.”
What could that guy possibly have to say to her now? It was obvious he’d only spout words that would tear her heart apart with those indifferent eyes of his.
Besides.
*Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!*
In the eight years they had been together, she had never heard Hyun knock like that.
Danbi racked her brain, then pressed the button for the door viewer mounted above the shoe rack. Something placed in front of the door caught her eye.
It was a familiar delivery box, the kind you could see anywhere.
“...A box?”
It was strange, no matter how she looked at it.
Who leaves a delivery these days and knocks, too? Was someone hiding in the blind spot?
Danbi paced in front of the entryway with her arms crossed, then came to a sudden halt.
“Ugh, forget it. Overthinking like this isn’t my style!”
Leaving the endless chain of thoughts behind, she opened the door in one go.
Fortunately, there was no one there, just a single delivery box sitting all alone.
Danbi quickly grabbed the box and closed the door. It was a box that fit perfectly in her arms—neither too big nor too small.
Did he knock in the middle of the night just to make sure she took this? What on earth could it be?
“Don’t tell me there’s a bomb in here...!”
She had that thought for a moment, then let out a dry laugh.
She must have been playing too many games lately; her brain was clearly malfunctioning.
Danbi carefully tore off the tape. Inside, an object wrapped in soft Styrofoam appeared.
“What is this?”
As if possessed, she slowly placed it over her head.
Her vision became transparent like a pair of goggles, and since it covered her ears and head, it felt just like a helmet.
And the moment she pressed the button protruding from the side.
“...!”
Her vision went black.
No, to be precise, the location had changed.
Danbi slowly looked around. She had been in her living room just a moment ago, but now she was in the middle of a room so dark it felt heavy.
Wait, was this even a room?
She couldn’t tell where the floor ended or where the walls began. It felt as if she were floating in the middle of deep space.
Danbi retraced the events one by one.
All she had done was put that strange helmet on and press the button. But the moment she did, it was as if she had been sucked somewhere...
“Ah, come to think of it!”
“I’ll send you my new game when it comes out, so play that and relieve some stress.”
Could this be that game console? Then, was she inside the game right now?
Only then did Som’s voice, mentioning she was developing an incredible game, brush past her ears.
She had thought it must be a great game, considering Som, who usually left work on time, was volunteering for overtime every single day.
“If this is that game, it’s truly amazing!”
Danbi suppressed her heart, which was pounding like a drum. An excitement incomparable to anything she had felt before washed over her entire body.
“Now, what do I do?”
She took a somewhat combative stance, ready to take down a monster right away, but the surroundings remained exactly the same.
Was there no manual for beginners or something?
That was when it happened.
*Bzzzt—*
With a distinct notification sound, a blue window, like a transparent glass screen, unfolded before her eyes. Only four characters were written on it.
「Game Over」
“Game Over? I haven’t even done anything yet!”
As if it understood her, the text changed along with a notification sound.
「Would you like to restart the game from the beginning?」
Below it were YES and NO.
There were only two choices.
“Hmm, this feels a bit off.”
Danbi hesitated for a moment, then shouted loudly enough to echo everywhere.
“YES!”
At the same time, the floor she was standing on squirmed bizarrely. It felt as if she had stepped into a surging black wave.
The moment she fell backward, her body floated into the air. Then, the black background around her began to be ripped away like square graphics.
That wasn’t all.
“Th-this, why is it doing this!”
Starting from the tips of her toes, she began to be ripped away in the same manner. No, she began to disappear.
“No, that...!”
The moment she tried to scream, even her mouth vanished. Soon, bright light burst forth all at once into the space where the black background had disappeared.
Danbi squeezed her eyes shut.
*Flash!*
Before the light could even fade, noisy chatter filled her ears.
Danbi slowly opened her eyes. Looking around, she found herself in a room she had never seen before.
But the room was very small. It was a space blocked off on all sides, just enough for her to sit. The room even swayed slightly from side to side.
“Wh-where on earth is this...”
The room that had been vast enough to have no end a moment ago was now so narrow she couldn’t even stretch her arms.
Why was it so extreme?
Just then, the swaying stopped, and a small door to the side swung wide open. Someone’s face popped in.
“My Lady! We’ve almost arri...”
“Aaaah!”
“Aa, aaaah!”
As Danbi shrieked, the other person screamed along with her. A brief silence followed.
“Wh-who are you?”
“Why are you suddenly screaming like that, My Lady? Is something wrong...”
“Som?”
“Yes?”
Danbi opened her eyes wide and brought her face close to hers.
Round eyes, a blunt nose. Even the freckles on both cheeks that she complained about having to cover with concealer every morning.
It was undoubtedly Som.
“Is that really you, Som? Why are you here? Didn’t you go home?”
“Yes? Home? What do you mean...?”
“But, you.”
The girl who usually wore heavy makeup was completely bare-faced, and for some reason, she was wearing dirty, rag-like clothes.
Most of all, her way of speaking was the strangest part.
“Are you filming a drama by yourself?”
“A drama?”
Danbi looked down at her hands, which were gripping the window frame. She had felt that the sensation against her body was unfamiliar for a while now, and her sleeves were different from usual.
A pale purple *jeogori* and a deep navy skirt. Even the silk texture that softly wrapped around her entire body.
“My Lady, are you perhaps feeling motion sickness? You must be ill... My Lady!”
Danbi left Som, who was grabbing her arm, and pushed the door open to step outside. When she turned around, she saw the small room she had been in just moments ago.
It was a palanquin, carried on the shoulders of four men.
“Hey, these twin rings are cheap! Cheap!”
“Come and take a look!”
It wasn’t concrete, but antique roof tiles; not an asphalt road, but a dirt path. Everyone around her was wearing traditional clothing.
“Don’t tell me...”
Just then, a blue window appeared in the air.
「This is the virtual nation, ‘Dohwaguk’.
You are a citizen of Dohwaguk.
Complete the mission and save Dohwaguk.」
“Don’t tell me this is all a game?”
Danbi hugged Som in one go.
“To think a game could be this vivid. As expected of you, Som, you’re a genius!”
“Yes? Ah, My Lady. What do you mean...!”
Leaving the flustered girl behind, she excitedly ran into the marketplace. Som followed behind her with a shocked expression.
“My Lady, where are you going! My Lady!”
Danbi wandered frantically between the neat clothes and ornaments.
Just as she was walking, lost in the scenery she could never see in reality, her eyes stopped on one spot of their own accord.
“Wow, look at this color. How did they implement a shade like this?”
The colorful skirt hem fell cleanly from the ceiling to the floor. Danbi reached out without realizing it.
*Thwack!*
A backscratcher struck the back of her hand.
“Young lady, you shouldn’t touch that carelessly. It’s incredibly expensive.”
When she turned her head, she saw a man with a menacing face. A caption appeared beneath him: ‘Fabric Merchant Bang Pil-du’.
“Mister, what do you think you’re doing? How dare you touch our Lady’s delicate hands!”
As soon as Som ran over, she grabbed Danbi’s hand and glared fiercely at the fabric merchant.
“Som.”
“My Lady! Are you alright?”
“Pinch my cheek for me.”
“Yes?”
“Hurry!”
Som reluctantly pinched Danbi’s cheek lightly. Her lips curled up naturally at the stinging pain that spread across her face.
It was exactly like reality.
“I could believe this is real, even if someone told me it was.”
“Yes?”
“Som, do you have any game money?”
“Game money? What do you mean...”
“Ah, money! I mean money!”
“Money? I do have some, but.”
The moment Som pulled out her pouch, Danbi snatched it and handed it to the fabric merchant. A heavy bundle of coins clinked in his palm.
“My Lady, why are you giving him all of that! That’s all the money we have...!”
“What does it matter? It’s a game. I can just earn more. I’m good at games!”
“Games?”
The fabric merchant, who had received the pouch, was suddenly bowing and scraping, his tone changing instantly. It seemed that even here, money talked.
“I shall serve you with the utmost care.”
Danbi smiled and followed him inside the shop. Then, Som grabbed her arm belatedly.
“My Lady, we don’t have time for this right now!”
“Wait, just a moment is fine.”
“His Majesty the King is waiting for you!”
Som covered her mouth as if she had made a slip of the tongue. At the same time, gazes converged on them, and all the merchants retreated into their shops.
“His Majesty the King? What do you mean by that?”
As Danbi tilted her head, Som whispered quietly.
“You were on your way to the palace just now. Have you forgotten?”
“...To the palace? Wait. Then that ‘His Majesty the King’ means the King? I’m meeting the King? Why?”
“Why, you ask? You’re here to receive your rank as a royal concubine.”
Danbi’s eyes widened as if they would burst.
“What?!”
At that moment, with a *bzzzt* sound, a blue window appeared before her eyes.
「A sub-quest has arrived.
―Enter the Palace」
0 Comments