Chapter 3: You Took the Bait (Part 1)

The house I returned to after what felt like three years was the same as always.

Needless to say, the faces and voices of my missed parents were the same, and even the friends I was close to before I

was possessed by the game character were the same.

Yes.

They were the same.

Rather, I was the one who had changed, and I was the one who had changed. The world hadn’t changed.

I had changed.

It was me who, unknowingly, kept a slight distance from my family and friends, feeling awkward despite liking their

every action. It’s only natural to feel even more awkward around people when even the way to school, which I used to

take every day, feels awkward.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been to school.’

I was heavily influenced by that world, so conversations and everything else were unfamiliar. To the point where it

took time to adjust.

Humans are truly wicked.

I missed them, but when I saw them, I felt awkward, and I wanted to avoid them, but I didn’t want to avoid them. It

was a strange contradiction.

But it couldn’t be helped, because even though they might not have seen me for a day, three years had passed since I

last saw my friends.

So it was inevitable that I felt out of place in the group.

It was a bit like.

To use a fantasy analogy, it felt like a human transferring to an academy where only demons attended. It felt even

more so because of the sense of distance I felt. In that situation, a friend suddenly spoke to me.

“Are you sick?”

“…No, I’m not sick. Why?”

“You look pale, aren’t you feeling well?”

He hit the nail on the head. I said, pretending to be calm.

“Not really?”

“See, even your Dwarven (the mythical race ) feels distant. Are you mad at us for something? Wait, is it because we went to the PC bang

without you yesterday?”

If the kind of emoticons you see in anime, like Kugung, with a screaming face, could be seen, it felt like it should be

used right now. I blinked a few times with a bewildered expression.

“Raon isn’t a narrow-minded person, and he wouldn’t be petty about something like that just because a day passed…

Ack!?”

“Shut up for a second. I didn’t ask you. Raon, is that really it?”

When I didn’t answer, he scratched his head with an awkward expression.

“Is that really it? Ah, really, I’m sorry. I’m sorry about that.”

One of my friends put his arm around my shoulder, smiling slyly. Startled, I stared at my friend and then looked away.

…What was his name?

I thought hard. I genuinely couldn’t remember. Due to my memories being jumbled up over the past three years, I

eventually remembered his name, but the uncomfortable silence that occurred during that time was unavoidable.

I could see my friend gulping.

Right. Park Siwoo. His name was Park Siwoo.

He was the type with maxed-out social skills, I think. Park Siwoo continued to speak, as if trying to change the stiff

atmosphere.

“You don’t like FPS games or Over watch, you know. That’s why we didn’t take you.”

“…I get it, f**k. More importantly, what are you doing, it’s creepy. Get off. I said I’m not mad.”

Seeing me answer a beat late, my friend clicked his tongue and exaggeratedly said.

“You’re mad, you’re mad. Our Raon is mad? This hyung (older brother) will specially treat you to a movie and food since I got my part-time job pay, so cheer up.”

“Then we can go eat beef. For the record, I also like all-you-can-eat beef.”

“Who are you? Have we met before? I said I’d treat Raon, I never said I’d treat a complete stranger.”

At the words of my friend, who spoke in a voice that sounded almost cold, another friend got angry.

“Why are you discriminating against me, that’s so mean. Don’t you feel sorry for me? Since you’re treating him, treat me too.”

“Ah, get lost. What do you mean, pitiful? You’re rich, why are you begging me to buy you food? Buy it yourself.”

“Buy it for me.”

“Sigh, f**k. If you want to eat, you pay, you bastard.”

“Buy it for me. If you don’t, I’ll lie down here like Danbi (Timely rain) and whine and follow you around until you say

you’ll buy it for me.”

I’m a guy of my word, you know? Seeing the confident friend, the other friend looked at him with a fed-up

expression.

“…What kind of bullsh**… Never mind. It’s just a waste of breath to talk to you. Sigh, you have to buy next time, you

bastard. If you run away, you’re dead.”

Of course, I know. A smile naturally formed on my lips as I watched my friend say he would buy a buffet later and get happy.

This kind of peace is really refreshing.

In that world, even rest was truly precious. It made me realize how different a peaceful world and a world on the

brink of an apocalypse are.

“Guys! Kim Hajoon is buying beef today, anyone want to go!”

“…What? Hey, shut up?!”

“Oh, what. Hajoon is buying beef? Then I’ll go.”

“Beef? Then I’ll have the tenderloin.”

It was break time, so I started to genuinely smile when I saw the scene of not only the kids in the class but also the kids in the hallway raising their hands.

So I naturally joined the kids.

“You definitely got the aggro. Are you going to go back on your word as a man?”

“…I’d rather be a woman. But hey, Ryu Raon, you should be on my side!”

“Good job, good job. Ryu Raon. You’re finally being like Ryu Raon.”

Laughter erupted at the gradually fading expression of my friend as the kids started clapping, starting with one

friend’s applause.

His expression was so real that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Pfft, as I let out a small laugh, my friend’s

expression became unusual.

“Where does a high school student get the money to buy beef for everyone? It’s embarrassing to be betrayed like

this… Uh? You bastard.”

“Wait a minute. I surrender, I surrender.”

As he playfully pretended to choke me by wrapping his arm around my neck, I tapped his hand with a smile, and in

that moment, a different scene appeared before my eyes.

A nostalgic landscape and voice. It was the appearance of someone I thought I would never see again.

My eyes trembled slightly.

Ah?! Damian. You bastard, you drank the wine I was going to eat after the battle again, all by yourself!

What wine? I was busy fighting that apostle today, where would I find the time to drink something like that?

…You didn’t drink it? Then who did?

Oh, I’m sorry. Leo. Leticia and I drank it.

For someone who can’t drink, Leo, you bought some pretty good stuff. Damian, there’s some left, let’s drink it together.

Do you have no shame?! That’s an expensive wine I received as a gift from the king of a neighboring country… Hey,

hey Leticia, don’t drink it all.

It was a feast of memories I would never see again. I deliberately closed my eyes tightly to block out the sight, afraid

of getting nostalgic, and my friend was flustered, but I didn’t care about that right now.

‘Get a grip.’

I know I won’t be able to go back. I know that holding on will only make me miss it more.

“Raon?”

“I’m fine. I guess I really wasn’t feeling well today, like you said.”

“Is it ‘that time’ of the month?”

“You really need to shut your mouth.”

That was the end of the conversation.

So, Damian went to school, took classes, and had fun until school ended, then parted ways with his friends and headed home.

Normally, it would be a lonely hotel with no one to welcome him, but now he has his mom. And his dad. When he

opened the front door and went inside, his mom greeted him with a smile.

“You’re back?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Wash up and get ready to eat. Dad came home early too, so we’ll eat together for the first time in a while.”

This is what small happiness is. Happiness I couldn’t feel in that life without a family. I was grateful once again that

time in reality hadn’t passed.

Surprisingly, the time that flowed in the game world did not affect reality.

Fortunately.

When I found out that three years had passed in reality, less than half a day had passed, I felt a little empty, but on

the other hand, I was really relieved.

If three years had passed in reality as well, I might have had bad thoughts because I couldn’t stand the gap. It could

have been a situation where the safety of my physical body in reality could not be guaranteed. Above all, I didn’t want

to be lying in a hospital in a vegetative state.

When I was in the game world, I just vaguely thought it would be nice to just go back. I sat at the table and ate the

dinner my mom had prepared, then said with a serious expression.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“Yesterday, I joined a hero’s party and saved the world.”

“Stop talking nonsense and eat your food. Take this opportunity to cut down on games. You’re a senior in high

school, you need to prepare for the college entrance exam.”

My mom’s answer was as expected.

Then what about Dad?

“You had a fun dream. Did you defeat the Demon King?”

“…I didn’t completely defeat him, I just drove him away.”

“That’s detailed. Maybe it’s a dream interpretation. Maybe something to look forward to will happen to our son soon.”

Dad, who smiled kindly, had a warm smile on his face. Dad was still Dad. Only Dad would take the childish words of

his high school senior son half-jokingly, half-seriously.

I smiled.

“That’s why I like Dad.”

“Don’t flatter me. Did you get some allowance?”

I shook my head at Dad’s question and started eating again silently.

In the middle, I smiled inwardly as I heard Mom say not to give me allowance because I had just received it recently.

Damian Radius, who was called the Heavenly Demon because he was said to have dyed the sky red with blood, no

longer exists.

……I, Ryu Raon, have returned safe and sound.

To the world where I should have been.

Time passed quickly.

In the endless prison of flowing time, there were times when I was soaked in nostalgia and missed Leticia and the

hero’s party, but now it was just so-so.

Sometimes their images appeared in my dreams, but as time passed, I was able to accept it calmly.

Regarding it not as reality but as a game, not as a game but as a fleeting dream, I graduated from high school and

was living as a freshman college student, diligently working part-time jobs.

Of course, there was a time last year when I was briefly shaken, but I shook it off.

A friend told me that the sequel to the game I used to enjoy was released and that the reviews were good this time, so

I should definitely try it, but I stubbornly refused.

I didn’t want to play it again and get possessed, so I haven’t even touched it.

So I decided to endure it until I graduated from college, and I didn’t even buy a computer, but… I eventually gave in

to my friend’s temptation and bought it.

“Honestly, I can’t resist a sequel.”

I admitted it.

How could I not buy this?

The previous work was an apocalypse, but the sequel is a dating sim.

Leticia’s younger sister is the female protagonist and attends the academy.

And Leticia becomes a teacher and teaches students.

It all didn’t make sense.

One of the reasons was that I was curious about how Leticia’s little sister, who was small, grew up, but more than

anything, I was so curious about the matured, adult beauty of Leticia.

“I can’t resist, I can’t resist. Hey, surely I won’t get possessed again this time.”

Foolishly, without knowing that he had set a flag himself, I pressed play on the game, and I would come to regret this

day repeatedly.