"Aaaaaaah!"
Hyeonjae woke up screaming.
'Waking up? Only those who haven't died can wake up. Does that mean I'm not dead?'
His heart raced with excitement, and he could feel its rapid beats without even touching his chest. With each breath, he felt his lungs expand, and there was no pain anywhere in his body. Hyeonjae felt relieved; his body was intact. Simultaneously, he was surprised by the unfamiliar surroundings.
He found himself in a filthy back alley, a place he had never seen before. If he had woken up from a dream, he would have been in his bed at home. The buildings around him were of a style he had never seen, making him wonder if he had been transported to a European street.
"Is this some kind of English village or something?"
Hyeonjae hoped it was an English village, or something similar, because then he might find a way back to Korea. But as he stepped out of the alley onto the street, he had to abandon that hope. Everyone around him was a foreigner with colorful hair, making it clear he wasn't in Korea.
"Is this a hidden camera prank?"
He knew that such a large-scale prank wouldn't be directed at him, a non-celebrity. Yet, Yoo Hyeonjae desperately wished it was a prank by his annoying coworkers, because the alternative was far worse.
"What are you doing?"
A guard in leather armor, armed with a longsword, pointed his weapon at Hyeonjae and asked a question in a language he didn't understand.
"What, what, what?"
It was only natural to be startled. Even facing a kitchen knife, one might struggle to keep their composure. But now, confronted with a longsword clearly meant for killing, Hyeonjae was terrified. He had lived a life where such situations were common. Most people in his country would have reacted the same way.
"Your attire is unfamiliar, and your face is unknown. You're very suspicious."
"I'm just an ordinary person."
Hyeonjae instinctively knew he shouldn't ask questions about where he was or why he could understand their language. He felt that doing so would only make him seem more suspicious, especially since he was already considered a suspicious person.
"Your ID."
The guard demanded his ID, and Hyeonjae had no choice but to show his resident registration card, the only form of identification he had.
"What's this? It's made of a strange material, and there's writing I can't understand."
As expected, the guard's suspicion intensified. He signaled to his colleagues, and the number of guards increased from one to three, all of them pointing their swords at Hyeonjae.
"Can you please lower your swords? I'm unarmed."
"Your entire body looks like a weapon. What do you mean, unarmed?"
The guards were highly suspicious of Hyeonjae. Despite being men, none of them stood taller than 170 centimeters, while Hyeonjae towered over them. The height difference was significant, and not just among the guards; on the entire street, there were few people over 170 centimeters, and Hyeonjae was the only one over 180.
"If he's a high-level character, he could tear us apart with his bare hands. Stay alert."
The guard warned his colleagues while keeping a close eye on Hyeonjae. With three people watching him, Hyeonjae couldn't relax.
"Where are you from?"
"Seoul."
"Seoul? Do you know it?"
"No, I've never heard of it."
"What's Seoul? Are there any famous cities nearby?"
Hyeonjae couldn't understand why they didn't know Seoul, the most famous city in Korea. If they didn't know Seoul, they didn't know Korea. He tried to make sense of the situation, but his mind was in turmoil.
It seemed like he had been transported to a completely different world, one that wasn't even on Earth.
However, he couldn't remain silent. If he didn't answer, the three longswords might strike him at once, and being unarmed, he would be skewered without a chance to defend himself.
"Level? You mean the level that gets stronger as it increases?"
"What a stupid question. You're very suspicious."
The guard seemed to only know the word 'suspicious,' repeating it like a parrot. Hyeonjae tried to understand this bizarre world.
"How do you know about levels?"
"This guy isn't just suspicious; he's dangerous. Call for reinforcements."
"Why do you think so?"
The guard, now considering Hyeonjae dangerous, called for more guards, and soon Hyeonjae found himself surrounded by ten guards, all pointing their swords at him. The commotion attracted a crowd of over thirty people, all staring at Hyeonjae.
With Hyeonjae standing at over 190 centimeters and the average height of the crowd around 160 centimeters, the scene resembled a group of small people gawking at a giant.
"Could he be a heretic?"
"No, I don't think he can hide his ears in that short hair."
"Then he must be plotting something."
"Stay alert."
Surrounded by ten longswords, Hyeonjae couldn't move. If he did, he knew the swords would pierce him.
"I don't understand what you're saying. What's this level thing? How do you see it?"
Hyeonjae made the worst possible choice, though he didn't realize it at the time.
"You really don't know what a level is?"
"No!"
"Say 'status window.'"
"Status window?"
Hyeonjae spoke the words, but nothing happened.
"What do you see?"
The guard seemed certain that something should be visible.
"I don't see anything."
Hyeonjae considered acting, but he decided against it. He didn't know where he was or what kind of world this was. With ten longswords pointed at him, he felt pressured to tell the truth, even though it was another terrible choice.
"He's definitely a heretic!"
"Then why wasn't he affected by the curse?"
"Maybe he's a bear-man who cut off his ears."
"That explains his size!"
"A bear-man without a necklace? How did he get here?"
Hyeonjae couldn't understand most of what they were saying, but he knew that heretic and curse weren't good things. Should he run? Fighting back wasn't an option; he couldn't take on armed men with his bare hands, no matter the size difference.
But could he even run? Where would he go, and how far? Yet, staying put didn't seem like a good idea either. Hyeonjae decided to run.
"Excuse me, let me through."
At that moment, a girl pushed through the crowd. Her pink hair stood out among the colorful crowd, and her eyes matched her hair in their mysterious beauty. She had a unique, almost childlike beauty, with a small frame that made her blend into the crowd if she didn't push through. Her hair was short, but it didn't detract from her charm.
"It's Miss Mia!"
"Miss Mia is here!"
"Great! We're saved!"
Hyeonjae was puzzled by the guards' reactions. It was as if they believed an incredibly powerful person had come to protect them.
However, the girl was small and delicate. Her height was such that she could easily be lost in the crowd, standing at around 150 centimeters, which would be considered elementary school-aged in Korea. Next to Hyeonjae, her head barely reached his chest.
"What's your name?"
Hyeonjae realized a beat too late that the girl was addressing him. It was natural for her to speak informally to someone so much older, like an uncle.
"Yoo Hyeonjae."
But Hyeonjae felt compelled to use formal language, as if he had fallen down a rabbit hole into a strange world. Strange buildings, strange people, and a strange girl. He felt like he was under some kind of spell.
"Where are you from?"
"Seoul, in the country of Korea."
"The country of Korea? What are you talking about?"
The girl narrowed her eyes, confused by his words.
"There's only one country where humans live, the Whirens Empire. Are you saying you're from outside the Empire?"
Hyeonjae had to admit that this wasn't Earth. It felt too real to be a dream—the air, the sounds, and the girl before him were all too vivid. And there was no empire on Earth, at least not in the 21st century.
"No, I think I came from another world, not outside the Empire."
"Another world?"
"Yes, another world."
"Are you joking?"
Hyeonjae found the situation absurd, but he also understood the girl's confusion.
"No, I really came from another world, but I can't explain it."
He knew that if someone appeared in the middle of Seoul claiming to be from another world, they would be considered crazy. But Hyeonjae lacked the skill to come up with a convincing story, so he had no choice but to tell the truth.
"Why did you come?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know why you came?"
"I almost got hit by a car, then a plane fell on me... Now that I think about it, it's infuriating."
Why didn't the car hit me? Why did the plane crash?
"What's a plane? You avoided a carriage, and then a plane fell on you? I don't understand any of this. What does another world have to do with a carriage?"
I don't know either, damn it! Hyeonjae wanted to shout, but he held back. He needed to appear harmless. If he lost his temper, he might find himself facing eleven swords, including the one held by the girl.
"Anyway, I have no ill intentions. I'm not dangerous, and I won't attack anyone. So, can you please put away those sharp blades?"
The guards looked to the girl for guidance. She spoke.
"Everyone, put your swords away. I'll take him for questioning."
"If Miss Mia says so."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Follow me."
The girl began to walk away, and the crowd parted like the Red Sea, making way for her. The onlookers and guards dispersed, and Hyeonjae had no choice but to follow her.
As he walked behind her, many people greeted the girl.
"Miss Mia! Hello!"
"Hello."
A city girl's greeting.
"Miss Mia, who's the giant?"
"I'll tell you later, I'm busy now."
"Aww."
A city kid's greeting.
"Miss Mia, I have some ripe apples. Please take them."
"Thank you."
A fruit seller's greeting, and...
"Miss Mia, the bread is freshly baked."
"Miss Mia."
A baker, a butcher, and others began offering her things, and soon her arms were full of gifts from the crowd, like fans presenting offerings to a celebrity.
'If I run now, they might not catch me.'
Hyeonjae considered running but decided against it. The way the people treated her suggested that Miss Mia was well-liked and kind. Perhaps it was just because she was cute, but he needed information, and she seemed harmless.
'Being surrounded by guards again is worse than taking my chances with her.'
He needed information, no matter what he planned to do. And this girl seemed harmless.
'My heart is fluttering a little, isn't it?'
His life had been hellish. The kitchen work was hard, and the people around him were disgusting. He constantly thought about quitting.
'Maybe something exciting will happen in this other world.'
A world with levels. Perhaps it was like a game, and games were meant to be fun. Hyeonjae hoped this world would be enjoyable, but that hope would soon be shattered.
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