VSP 112

Cha Dogyeong, who worked so hard to protect this damn world, Cha Dogyeong, who was always prickly towards him, Cha Dogyeong, who was needlessly affectionate after they got a little closer, Cha Dogyeong, who put a ring on his finger while he was sleeping.

When are you coming?

“Seo Sejun!”

The moment he thought he heard Lee Dohun’s voice, almost like a scream, the slow-moving time returned to normal speed.

The sharp roots that had been flying slowly suddenly got closer, and when Sejun instinctively closed his eyes, someone hugged his body from behind.

The body cam that was attached to Sejun fell off from the impact and rolled on the floor.

A thick scent of blood wafted through the air. Even at that moment, when his nose was nearly numb from the blood he’d vomited, the scent of blood remained particularly vivid. He didn’t even have the presence of mind to recognize whose blood it was.

-Kkiaaaak!

The tree screamed again, accompanied by a cracking sound. Crack, crack. The tree didn’t seem to have any bones, but judging by the way it crumpled in mid-air like a sheet of paper, he knew who it was.

Ah, it’s Cha Dogyeong.

Sejun realized belatedly who was hugging him and felt the tension melt away from his body.

Cha Dogyeong has always been a reassuring person, enough to put people at ease just by his presence, but at this moment, it wasn’t because he was a great hunter, but simply because he was Cha Dogyeong that Sejun felt reassured.

Sejun threw a tantrum without realizing it.

“Why are you so late, you little shit…….”

It was almost the same line Lee Yongseok had said when he’d found Sejun, though the tone couldn’t have been more different.

Sejun, who scolded the person who was hugging him for no reason when they hadn’t even made a plan to meet, lost consciousness in the arms of the person who gave him comfort.

He had reached his limit in every sense.

•••

A man was standing there.

Although he was said to be a man, only the overall silhouette was expressed as male, and there was no description of what he looked like, what he was wearing, his race, or his characteristics. It felt more like a copy of a human form than a human.

In reality, he wasn’t human. He was a self attached to the system. His creator simply assigned him the gender of male, giving him no other settings. This insignificant being, once nothing, developed a self by Sejun’s side, and now possessed an appearance befitting his personality.

He didn’t have a name either, but since his master simply called him ‘System,’ he came to think of that as his own name too.

Tak, tak, tak.

The Rubik’s Cube in his hand turned several times. It was something Sejun had once gotten obsessed with before losing interest, asking offhandedly, “You wanna try?” Since then, the system had created one in his own space and often fiddled with it for fun.

He no longer found it entertaining, after solving it hundreds of times, it had become a habit more than anything. It reminded him of Sejun, after all, and that was reason enough.

But all things came to an end eventually. By the time he had solved the cube perfectly for the 200th time that day, he finally spoke.

“How is the matter you said you would look into last time?”

There should have been no one to answer in the empty space, but from one corner, a woman’s voice replied.

[Wait.]

The voice’s owner was unknown, but the system seemed used to it. He heard the same answer as always.

“How long must I wait? It feels like I’ve been waiting for ages. Things are already starting to go wrong.”

[Ugh, I said wait. It’s not like I want to not know, okay?]

“If you don’t know, who would? You’re the creator.”

[Ugh, you and that ego of yours…]

The woman grumbled under her breath, then sighed.

[Just because I’m the creator doesn’t mean I know everything, you know? If I were really God, I would’ve turned this whole world into a BL paradise already. Everybody Gay World. Seriously, they’re all too handsome for their own good.]

Her voice started out annoyed but grew lively by the end. For her, seeing the characters she had imagined come alive in full reality must have been an incredible experience, it was understandable, in a way.

“Hmm…”

“Everybody Gay World?” From the system’s perspective, that was… questionable. Or maybe not? He tilted his head.

“Isn’t it already halfway there?”

It wasn’t entirely wrong. The men around Sejun had been harboring feelings for him for quite some time. The only one completely oblivious to it all was Sejun himself.

“Was that intentional?”

[Intentional? No. Everything after the ending is the characters’ free will.]

“Hunter Cha Dogyeong too?”

[Well… he’s one of mine, but I’m not God.]

“So you don’t know?”

[Not exactly. I don’t know how much of his feelings are genuine and how much came from the mission. Maybe he was affected, maybe not at all.]

In the end, her long explanation meant that even the author didn’t know the answer.

What was certain, though, was that everyone around Sejun, except Cha Dogyeong, wasn’t acting according to the author’s intent anymore.

“So you’re saying Sejun-nim is just attractive, and everyone fell for him?”

[They all hated him because of the original plot. Once that restriction was lifted… well, they’re free now. What can I say, our Sejjunie is a real charmer.]

“That’s true, but you’ve been too cruel to Sejun-nim.”

The author, who had been humming happily, went completely silent at that remark.

[You’re still something I created, you know. You’re being awfully insolent to your creator.]

“You’re the one who’s being unfair.”

For a while, the only sound in the space was the soft clicking of the cube turning in the system’s hands.

After a long silence, the woman sighed and finally spoke.

[…Sejun is amazing.]

“What do you mean?”

[Even a mere self born within the system fell for him.]

“…”

Click. The system’s hands stopped mid-turn. But the author kept talking, completely unconcerned by his reaction.

[I’m not criticizing you. Thinking about it now, maybe I really did go too far with him.]

“…A little?”

[…Maybe a lot? Well, that’s just how creation works~! I didn’t expect it to get that bad, you know?]

Anyway, just wait a bit.

Her grumbling voice faded into the distance. She seemed busy on her end as well.

Silence returned to the empty space. The system began idly turning the cube again, then looked elsewhere when Sejun showed no signs of waking.

As long as Sejun didn’t turn the system off, he could observe the world connected to him.

News, YouTube, online forums… He didn’t often mention it to Sejun, but whenever he had time, he’d skim through those spaces. Today, after the incident, every site was in chaos like a bomb had exploded.

People who couldn’t rewatch the live broadcast were shouting about the event everywhere they could.

–What the hell did I just see?

–That was insane holy crap

–Wait, that was really Seo Sejun???

–wtf

–Seo Sejun the Great

–Anyone who used to call him “Sejun the germ,” show yourselves

└? No one called him that except you

–I’m serious, is Seo Sejun maybe EX-rank??

└lol that’s bullshit hahahaha… or is it?

└actually people are saying the same thing today

–Come on, stop overhyping him lolol

└He deserved the hype this time;;;

└Deserved? Cha Dogyeong would die laughing if he heard that lol

–I don’t know about Seo Sejun, but Hoya’s definitely EX-rank

└Yeah, that sounds right, Hoya’s EX-rank

–I love national pride as much as anyone, but this is too much lol Do you want these comments screenshotted and mocked overseas again?

└This one’s fine, Seo Sejun was incredible

└They’d hit like on it too

└They already are, people are talking about scouting him

└Scouting? lmao it was just one time

└Yeah, but that one time was insane, admit it

└If I were Seo Sejun I’d just take the offer and go abroad, he’s been treated like trash here anyway

└Why past tense lol people are still bashing him today, even after that

└He finally does his job once and now he’s leaving the country?

└Ungrateful bastard

└You’re all hating without even knowing if it’s official news yet

└Some of you can’t stand seeing his name without foaming at the mouth lol

–Bro, I’m sorry…

└I’m sorry for calling Seo Sejun useless…

└Boo, bad people, go die

└That username looks like the same guy who always trashed him too

–Where did all the people go who were spamming “Seo Sejun should just die” earlier? lol

└They disappeared the moment Hoya awakened lol

└Wiped out

—Wait am I the only one confused? Seo Sejun cleared an S-rank dungeon alone? And Hoya awakened??

└Yeah

└So he could’ve done it all along but didn’t??

└No one knows except Seo Sejun himself

└Honestly, even he might not know

└Seriously, I can’t wrap my head around this

The reactions were all disbelief. It was understandable.

Tap tap, the speed of the cube rolling in the system’s hands has increased a bit.