Chapter 3: Echoes of a Broken Home
1.
“Block them! Block them, damn it—!”
A man in tattered clothes shouted orders.
Countless soldiers and heroes surged forward with siege weapons.
“How the hell do we block that, you bastard!”
A friend shooting arrows nearby spat out a curse.
A red arrow flew and landed in the midst of the soldiers.
Boom—!
A fierce explosion sent flames roaring in all directions.
Dozens of soldiers died, but even more enemies were cresting the hill.
The tide of battle had not just turned—it had collapsed.
『A surrender vote has been initiated.』
A surrender prompt appeared before their eyes, as if someone had decided there was no hope left.
“Dude, this is hopeless. Let’s vote to surrender.”
“Ugh, look at our team luck. Disgusting, just disgusting. How do they match us with these guys in the final promotion match? Is this matchmaking rigged or what?”
“Stop whining and vote to surrender. I’m getting hungry, let’s get out of here. I already ordered food.”
“You’re paying?”
“Well, you paid last time, so it’s my turn.”
His friend said this while subtly avoiding eye contact. Suspicious, but he nodded anyway.
“Alright.”
『5 votes for, 0 against, 0 abstentions.』
As soon as the surrender vote went up, his teammates eagerly voted in favor. They all knew defeat was inevitable.
『Vote results: Majority agrees. The game will now end.』
The fortress they were in exploded, and the game ended. Above the burning rubble, large letters appeared.
『Defeat.』
“Good game.”
He clicked his tongue at the voice in his ear and exited the game.
『Connection terminated.』
His consciousness briefly flickered, and a translucent glass panel came into view.
He groped the wall, found the button, and pressed it.
Hiss—
With the sound of escaping air, the lid slowly opened. He sat up groggily, still dazed.
“Ugh…”
Maybe it was because he’d been gaming for over three hours, but his head felt dizzy.
Virtual reality games were great, but they drained too much energy.
“Man, what a shame. If the top lane had held just a bit longer, we could’ve had a chance.”
The capsule next to him opened, and his friend stepped out.
“What can you do? Shitty team luck, that’s how it goes.”
As they talked, a strong aroma hit him. He turned to see kimchi fried rice and a Zero Cola on the table, with ramen beside it.
“Dude, what’s this?”
He pointed at the kimchi fried rice, frowning.
His friend plopped into a chair and started slurping the ramen.
Slurp—
“Hey, where’s my ramen?”
He sat in the chair next to him and asked. His friend swallowed and replied.
“It’s right there. Kimchi fried rice. Eat it.”
“Come on, don’t mess with me. You know the girl here’s pretty but can’t cook for sht.”
“That’s why she’s not my bride-to-be. My ideal type’s a girl who can make great japchae.”
“Stop screwing around. What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Look, the food’s already here, and I paid for it. That’s that. What are you gonna do about it? Huh? Besides shoving that kimchi fried rice in your mouth, what else can you do?”
“Are you actually insane?”
He glared, but his friend responded nonchalantly.
“Who knows? Maybe she had an awakening and her cooking’s gotten better.”
“You messing with me right now?”
“You just figured that out?”
He was about to say something but sighed deeply instead.
Getting mad wouldn’t change anything.
He was hungry anyway, so he picked up a spoon.
‘It does look a bit different from last time.’
Bright red rice grains topped with a plump yolk and seaweed flakes. Visually, it was impressive.
‘No, don’t fall for the looks.’
Last time, he’d been fooled by her face and ordered food, only to leave it all behind.
What a waste of money.
“Hmph.”
He poked the egg with his spoon.
The plump yolk burst softly, flowing out in golden streams.
Gulp—
Its beautiful appearance made him swallow hard as he mixed the rice.
Unable to hold back, he scooped a big spoonful and shoved it into his mouth.
Crunch—
The tangy bite of kimchi.
The oil from the Spam had seeped into the rice, blending umami and saltiness perfectly.
A subtle smoky flavor lingered between the fluffy grains.
“Holy sht…”
The more he chewed, the tastier it got.
“Why’s it so bad?”
His friend asked, but he ignored him and kept eating. Once he started, he couldn’t stop.
“Dude, what’s wrong?”
His friend was taken aback by his reaction, but he didn’t care. His mind was solely on eating this.
“Phew…”
In no time, he devoured the kimchi fried rice and chugged the Cola.
Gulp, gulp—
The crisp carbonation in the ice-filled cup washed away the lingering spice and oiliness.
“Ahhh…”
He shuddered, his face scrunched up. True happiness wasn’t elsewhere.
Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes slowly, wanting to savor the taste a bit longer.
“Was it that bad?”
His friend asked apologetically, probably thinking he ate it so fast because it was awful.
“Uh… yeah.”
He hesitated, then nodded.
This was his revenge for his friend ordering without asking.
He’d keep this gem to himself for now.
“Man, sorry. I didn’t know it’d be that bad. I’ll order ramen next time, promise.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll just order myself next time.”
“Alright, fair enough.”
“Yo, you done eating? Let’s queue up for the next match.”
He tapped his friend’s back, who was still eating ramen, and stood up.
“Right now? You’re not tired?”
“Not really? Weirdly, I’m not tired at all today.”
He’d felt drained coming out of the capsule, but now he was bursting with energy.
‘No way.’
He glanced at the empty plate, then chuckled and shook his head.
‘As if.’
To think eating some tasty kimchi fried rice could suddenly recharge him.
That made no sense. It’s not like it was some kind of buff.
“Hurry up.”
“Hold on, I’m not done with my ramen.”
“Ugh, come on.”
He sighed heavily and sat back down. Leaning against the chair, he stared blankly at the empty plate.
‘Man, I want more…’
2.
“Alright, Hayul, I’m counting on you tomorrow too!”
The boss saw me off all the way to the first floor.
I bowed to him and started walking.
‘It took way longer than I expected.’
I looked up at the pitch-black night sky.
My shift was supposed to end at 6 p.m., but the flood of kimchi fried rice orders led the boss to beg me to stay, so I ended up working until closing.
In the past, I would’ve brushed it off. Maybe my time with the hero’s party changed me, but I couldn’t refuse his earnest plea.
‘Serian would’ve definitely helped.’
Her way of thinking had somehow rubbed off on me. I truly admired and followed her, after all.
And honestly, it didn’t feel bad. No, it felt good. Knowing someone enjoyed my food was rewarding in itself.
‘But that’s where the good part ends.’
Every time I served, people asked for my number like it was nothing.
Some blatantly stared at my chest or hips, or “accidentally” tried to touch me.
I twisted their wrists on the spot.
The students were especially insufferable, showing off and talking nonsense about japchae or whatever.
‘Is this how kids are these days because they weren’t disciplined?’
In the other world, this never happened. Anyone who harassed the hero’s party? Their head would roll.
Modern society was great in many ways, but this part was inconvenient.
No life-or-death stakes meant people could be rude.
‘At least I confirmed my abilities are still intact.’
The boss promised a higher wage, but I’d probably quit soon.
This job wasn’t my choice to begin with.
I pulled out my phone and opened the map app, typing in a very familiar address.
Even after over a year, it was still vivid in my memory. The house where we lived together.
‘Let’s go…’
It was late, but Korea was pretty safe, wasn’t it? Even if it wasn’t, I was confident I could handle anything.
‘Let’s do this.’
I headed to the bus stop. When the familiar route arrived, I boarded and got off at my usual stop.
As I left the main road, the crowd thinned out.
I passed nearly empty streets and climbed a steep incline.
There were no proper roads—just narrow, steep alleys and cramped stairs.
Shanties and roughly built cement walls stood haphazardly.
‘How did we even live here?’
At the entrance to the alley leading to our old house, I stopped and turned around.
The Seoul skyline stretched out below. Tall apartments and twinkling lights in the distance.
‘My sister must’ve walked this alone for a year.’
When I was around, I always met her at the stop.
The path was rough, and some areas were pitch-black without streetlights.
Biting my lip, I turned back and headed to the house. When I arrived, I froze.
“What the hell…”
The place where my sister and I had lived was gone, reduced to rubble.