Episode 3

 

While trying to deduce the relationships between people who didn’t seem to matter, Dong-sik caught their attention excessively, causing him to get involved unnecessarily.

 

“What are you watching, you bastard?”

 

One of Park Haeun’s friends came over to Dong-sik, picking a fight. He looked like he had stepped out of some outdated gangster movie or Japanese manga; his face contorted in a way that seemed comical, yet his intimidating appearance made him quite scary.

 

It was the first time Dong-sik realized that people actually spoke like this in real life. Overwhelmed by confusion and fear, he couldn’t say anything.

 

“He’s Hyuncheol ahjussi’s son. Lay off, idiot. He’s clearly scared shitless.”

 

Park Haeun intervened with an indifferent voice at that moment. Though the statement was not incorrect, being pointed out that he was scared made Dong-sik feel extremely embarrassed. As Dong-sik tried to change the subject, bowing his head, the conversation naturally moved on.

 

“So, is Park Ha’s leg going to be reattached?”

 

“Are you fucking serious? Of course, you can’t walk if your leg is broken.”

 

“Have you tried playing the game I recommended?”

 

“Master Sniper? I cleared it, but the in-game purchases were so annoying.”

 

“You crazy bastard, you cleared it already? How much did you spend again?”

 

“I didn’t spend much!”

 

“Then again, would money be a problem for him?”

 

“That’s true. Hey, Park Ha, if you’ve got nothing to do, try installing this.”

 

“What is it?”

 

As the conversation dragged on, fewer people paid attention to Dong-sik. Finally feeling completely ignored, Dong-sik quietly stood up from his chair. He gestured a farewell to his father, who seemed to understand his feelings and nodded in return.

 

Just as he was about to leave quietly…

 

“Goodbye, Dong-sik? See you again?”

 

Park Haeun, who seemed to have sensed Dong-sik’s movements as if by magic, smiled and waved goodbye. Dong-sik turned his head, feeling embarrassed. He didn’t want to respond with meaningless words. It was a face he never wanted to see again.

 

Nodding hesitantly, Dong-sik pretended to be in a hurry and walked towards the door. Maybe he should have asked Park Haeun how old he was. He looked quite young…

 

But he didn’t want to turn back just to ask his age. Dong-sik, kicking his perfectly fine shoes, swiftly left the hospital room.

 

Park Haeun’s only flaw was that he was somewhat unlucky. If he had been a little luckier, he might not have ended up with a name like his, and he wouldn’t have had to be hospitalized and stay in the hospital during this good time.

 

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience earlier because of my son.”

 

Han Hyeoncheol, lying on the bed next to him, politely offered an apology. 

 

Park Haeun, lost in thought while holding his phone, turned his head. It wasn’t surprising that Han Hyeoncheol’s dim-witted son Dong-sik mistook him for a girl just by hearing his name.

 

Of course, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to be mistaken for a girl just because it was a common occurrence, but Park Haeun disliked being teased or misunderstood because of his name more than anything. Normally, he would have grabbed someone by the collar without hesitation.

 

However, Park Haeun felt quite fond of Han Hyeoncheol, his fellow patient in the hospital. Originally, Haeun had no intention of using a two-person room when admitted. Even if the hospital had said there were no remaining single rooms, he wouldn’t have agreed to share a room with another patient. 

 

Even her father was worried that his son might get involved in fights in the hospital room, but fortunately, Han Hyeoncheol, who had been hospitalized in advance, was a polite and humorous person who didn’t touch upon Haeun’s prickly temperament. He could forgive his son’s mistakes.

 

“Ah, well, it doesn’t matter. It happens quite often.”

 

Park Haeun replied with an unusually lenient tone. Hyeoncheol, relieved, seemed curious about something else.

 

“With a name like yours, it must have been quite uncomfortable. Is your family Christian ^[1] Haeun (하은) means God’s Grace. ?”

 

At his words, Haeun’s expression, which had been indifferent, suddenly twisted. Hyeoncheol panicked and told him that he didn’t have to answer, but he wasn’t mad at him. It was just his habit to get angry and dismissive whenever that topic came up.

 

He made an effort to calm his mind. His flaw was that he was somewhat unlucky, but it wasn’t easy to say he was extremely unlucky. If he had been very unlucky, he wouldn’t have survived the crisis of almost dying at birth, and he could have faced even bigger changes than breaking his leg in a car accident. So Park Haeun barely managed to speak with a calm voice.

 

“I’m not originally from a Christian family. It actually has a story.”

 

Looking at Hyeoncheol’s curious expression, Haeun shrugged his shoulders.

 

“I was born with a weak body. But back then, my parents paid a lot of money to a local pastor to pray for me, and miraculously, I regained my health. So they said it was all thanks to God and the pastor, and that’s why they gave me a name like this. I think he was a fucking con artist.”

 

Hyeoncheol was hesitant about how to respond to Haeun’s rough tone. Since his reaction wasn’t particularly important, Haeun simply ended the conversation by shrugging his shoulders. While Hyeoncheol’s ability to make people comfortable was his strength, it was still a bit tiresome to always go along with his intrusive behavior.

 

Haeun, turning his gaze to his phone, opened the app store. He was about to install a game recommended by a friend who had just left.

 

The game was called < Eurasha ^[2] It’s the sound of gathering strength to overcome a difficult opponent, situation, or object. It can also be used as a cheer in baseball games, for example. Idol> and it didn’t seem particularly interesting. Haeun wasn’t interested in idols in the first place, and objectively, the title sounded a bit lacking.

 

According to his friend, <Eurasha Idol> was a dating simulation game. Although Haeun was curious about what kind of game a dating simulation was, his friend mumbled his words and did not give a clear answer. Haeun knew his friend must have known that he disliked romantic simulation games.

 

The reason he disliked them was simple. It was because using his brain to win favor of the target characters with eyes big as fists and  weird ways of speaking was pathetic. It was obvious what kind of people played such games.

 

So he wouldn’t have normally installed such a game, but he did so because he believed in his friend’s judgment. Besides, he has been very bored lately.

 

It took quite a long time to install because it took up a large amount of space. It felt exceptionally pleasant when the screen finally appeared.

 

 

『 Welcome to the world of ‘Eurasha Idol.’ (๑›‿‹๑) 』⤶

 

 

The cute and lively screen greeted Haeun. It already didn’t fit his taste but he decided to proceed a little further.

 

 

『 Please tell us your name, player! ٩(๑>∀<๑)۶ 』⤶

 

 

Since Haeun almost always used his real name when playing games, he entered the three letters ‘Park Haeun’ this time as well.

 

 

『 What name would you like to use as your stage name? (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و 』⤶

 

 

Was he supposed to choose a stage name for an idol game? Haeun paused for a moment while trying to input his name without the last name. He thought it would be better to use a nickname rather than his ambiguous real name. Since he didn’t like being called by his name, his friends mostly called her by her nickname.

 

 

『Shall we begin with the name ‘Park Haeun’ and the stage name ‘Park Ha’? ✧ ☆ ٩(`･ω･´)و 』⤶

 

 

[   Yes   ┃ No ]

 

 

Haeun, feeling indifferent, pressed ‘Yes’ and started playing.

 

As soon as the story began, he skipped all the buttons. As a result, he started without knowing anything, but since he believed games were meant to be learned while playing ^[3] I’m envious of people like you, buddy. I can’t play action games without tutorials. It’s just too hard. T-T , it didn’t matter.

 

After pressing skip as much as possible, the main character had already moved to his room in the dormitory. It was only then that Haeun checked what the main character, that is, his character, looked like.

 

Hair the color of mint chocolate ice cream, eyes the size of big bells, and physique not-so-big caught his attention.

 

Haeun found it unusual that the main character in the romantic simulation game was depicted with such painstaking detail. Moreover, he was not even a target character yet his face was too feminine. How would he date like this? 

 

With a dissatisfied expression, Haeun tapped his phone screen as if it were an app where a cat character would meow when touched.

 

However, the character ‘Park Ha’ on the screen remained silent, neither making any sounds nor shedding any tears. Instead, the screen transitioned to the next scene, displaying various buttons like ‘Practice,’ ‘Start Routine,’ ‘Quest,’ ‘Check Favorability,’ and so on. Among them, the practice option could only be done once a day in the game’s time, but he skipped it as well.

 

Haeun wasn’t an enthusiastic player who paid much attention to favorability or quests, and the same went for practice. With a sullen face, he pressed the ‘Start Routine’ button.

 

As the scene transitioned, another character appeared. It was a male character with bright red hair and eyes that were sharp like a cat. At first glance, he seemed much taller than Haeun’s character. With a trembling face, Haeun repeatedly tapped the screen. Then the character with red hair approached with a wrinkled face.

 

[Seongjae]

 

“Are you out of your mind? We’re about to make a comeback, and you’re skipping practice? Are you planning to fail now?”

 

 

‣ “N-No, it’s not like that.”

‣ “S-Sorry… My body isn’t feeling well…”

‣ “M-mind your own business!”

 

 

Haeun didn’t expect to be scolded so abruptly for skipping practice. He muttered in confusion as he glanced at the list of options that appeared as if urging him to choose.

 

“Did someone rip up this bastard’s tongue? Why the hell is he stuttering so much?”

• 1. Haeun (하은) means God’s Grace.
• 2. It’s the sound of gathering strength to overcome a difficult opponent, situation, or object. It can also be used as a cheer in baseball games, for example.
• 3. I’m envious of people like you, buddy. I can’t play action games without tutorials. It’s just too hard. T-T