A Lie Has Become Reality

2 – Preparation

Hot Potatoes.

It is a nickname similar to my real name that is called more often than my real name Kim Seong-woo.

The world of the Internet was like a playground to me.

A place where my delusions became reality, albeit briefly.

Maybe it’s the refuge I’ve been looking for whenever life feels lethargic and exhausting.

The economic power to buy anything you want, the outstanding appearance, and the mental strength to overcome the unfortunate past with many stories.

I wore a mask and was intoxicated with the illusion I created.

Being acknowledged by someone and having a completely unbiased conversation is quite an addictive experience for a hikikomori like me.

Sometimes I get confused too.

Which one is the real me?

“It’s a meaningless worry now.”

I glanced at the phone in my hand again.

The old phone machines that are difficult to touch have disappeared and have been replaced with the latest smartphones that have never been bought.

With all the contents in it intact.

All my delusions have become reality.

However, lack of information is too lacking.

Once I picked up my new cell phone, I dialed the number after a short thought.

I need to meet the only person I can call my friend and get more information.

After a short connection sound, the call was connected and the guy’s voice was heard.

“Oh, you called first. What happened?”

This guy is always like this.

He is a good guy who is always bright and gives me strength.

Isn’t he the only one I can call a friend?

“Hey, do you have time?”

“Of course. Can I go to your house?”

I let out a big smile at the reaction of the guy who pretended to pretend.

“Okay, call me when you come.”

The following is the information I found after hanging up the phone and rummaging through my smartphone.

All the loan details I had originally disappeared.

That’s all. My account, which had never exceeded 1 million won, was born anew.

Over 100 billion is sleeping quietly in accounts that have never been opened.

‘After my parents passed away in a car accident, the inheritance amount alone was 660 billion won.’

‘After deducting this and that, the calculated tax amount was 294.2 Billion won.’

‘The amount inherited was approximately 320 billion, and it was raised by investing in various things with that money, so it was about 3 times more here.’

‘Can’t believe it? Authentication goes Are you okay?’

Ah… I forgot.

I spent several days designing scenarios and using photoshop to create photos to be used for authentication.

Actually, my parents died in a car accident, so it wasn’t difficult to verify this part.

Then, he used the borrowed money to sprinkle chicken to win public opinion.

‘My parents died in an accident like that and I couldn’t live a normal life without medication.’

‘That’s why you’re here like a ghost’

I didn’t add any lies in this part because I didn’t have the courage to imitate an insider.

I can’t predict what direction all these changes will go.

But honestly, no matter which direction it goes, it won’t be better than before.

But am I deserving of all this?

Even though I got everything, my personality of digging into the tunnel is still the same.

It seems that his personality has not been modified.

Just as I was gathering my thoughts, the phone rang.

“Hey! Come out quickly. You have to come out and take the key to enter.”

“Ah… Is that so? hahahaha, I’m out of my mind. I’m leaving soon.”

I am still confused as to why the house is so spacious and where the entrance is.

After leaving the front door and passing through the hallway decorated like a hotel, I saw an elevator.

Seeing that there are only up to the 15th floor, it seems that it is a structure where you have to change again on the 15th floor.

The reason for separating the spaces this far is probably for security reasons.

Following the guiding staff on the 15th floor, I finally saw a lounge elevator that only residents can use.

It wasn’t long before I was fascinated by the entrance to the antique-designed apartment on the first floor.

I saw a guy waving his hand eagerly beyond the entrance.

“Hey! What’s taking so long?”

“Sorry, I had a hard time finding the card key.”

“What’s really going on? Did you finish calling first?”

“Let’s go inside.”

The guy tilted his head and asked if it was so strange that he called first.

I’m sorry, but there’s another important thing right now.

This guy…

“Have you ever had plastic surgery?”

“Plastic surgery? All of a sudden? Are you asking me to do plastic surgery?”

“Is this your original face?”

“···I’m in a bad mood, is this normal?”

I stared at the guy’s face with a clear expression of absurdity.

Clean skin without a single blemish, a slim face with no visible flab, and clear eyes.

The overall asymmetrical face shape, flab, pimples, and wrinkles that were attached to it disappeared like magic.

And besides that, that face is definitely oddly familiar…

“…My God”

I wiped my face.

I forgot. That face is the same face I made with Photoshop a long time ago.

I remember using the picture we took together as a profile.

The face of the guy who didn’t look much different from me even if I said it nicely was recreated by my hand.

“…You really should thank me.”

“Where are you really sick?”

As we walked and chatted as usual, we arrived in front of the house before we knew it.

When I opened the door, a space I was still unfamiliar with spread out before my eyes.

Unlike me, who is still awkward in this space, he went inside without any discomfort.

“Are you still active in that community?”

“Yes. I’m going to meet someone this Saturday.”

“…Are you okay now? I’m a little worried.”

“Oh, it’s okay. How long can we live like this?”

The guy who looks at me as if he has mixed emotions.

I understand.

You must have been worried about my social phobia, which was pathologically avoiding meeting people.

In the meantime, even in the community, I fell in love with all sorts of hair, using antiphobia as a shield.

“Looks like you really made up your mind. You should have been such an idiot all this while.”

“Do you want to search?”

Chiik.

I poured Coke Zero from the refrigerator and gave it to him.

“Why are you laying ground rice for so long to run an errand again?”

The guy gulped down the cola with a puzzled expression.

“I have a favor to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“I banged my head against the wall yesterday and I think my memory has been confused since then.”

“What?”

No, actually, when I woke up, my delusion became reality.

But I can’t say I don’t know how far it has become a reality.

Even if it makes little sense, there is no excuse that comes to mind right away.

Is there anything special? No choice but to cry.

“Uh. So I’m going to clear up my memory and ask you a lot of things.”

“So… You mean banging your head against the wall and messing up your memory?”

“Yes, not enough to go to the hospital.”

My conscience is pricked by the face of a guy who seems to be more worried than doubtful, but what can I do?

If it was natural, it would be natural.

I don’t have the confidence to logically convince myself of this absurd situation.

*****

I asked him about this and that for a long time on the pretext of memory loss.

A rough summary is as follows.

First of all, it seems that the setting errors or gaps that arise as my delusion becomes reality were adapted according to probability.

When I consulted with him for self-deprecation about his appearance. When consulting on financial matters.

All the stories in my heart that I would never have told if it was me in delusion were dramatized plausibly.

The problem is that you can never predict how it will be adapted.

In other words, now that delusion has become reality, I cannot completely trust my memory.

The fortunate thing is that there are fewer things to pay attention to because the human relationship has been destroyed.

Secondly, only delusions that have been recorded in any form have been turned into reality.

The delusions I had only imagined in my head did not turn into reality.

None of the lies that were only spoken were reflected in reality.

It wasn’t until after such a long conversation that he left saying he had to go.

For the rest of the lack of information, you can collect the posts and comments I’ve written in the community.

I lay down on the sofa and read the crazy amount of posts and comments on my cell phone.

To think I had to dig up all of my dark histories on my own. It’s like I’m digging my own grave.

Every time I read a Korean character, I shuddered with shame and a sense of shame.

The quantity is also not something that can be seen roughly. But i am someone

Isn’t it the specter in the abyss who dedicated his life to the community?

“Let’s try it.”

I sat down, turned on my laptop, and got ready to take notes.

Two days to actually meet Seoha.

Sufficient time to perfectly portray myself in delusion.

I don’t intend to waste the opportunity given to me to be reborn.

I don’t know why a guy like me was given this opportunity.

Although I have already thrown away 25 years of my life.

A sense of satisfaction fills my entire body as if I could do anything now.

What kind of expression am I making now that the future that I have been drawing only in my imagination is closer than ever.

Anyway.

Wouldn’t that be the happiest expression in my life?