NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15
Chapter 15: KimPokDaughter’s Adventure
—–CROW—–
This is a monologue.
My past is dull and colorless, not a story worth sharing.
So, I buried it deep inside and tried to forget,
But today, I suddenly felt the need to unearth it.
I have no one to listen, so I talk to myself.
But if, by chance, someone is listening to this monologue…
Please stay and have a seat.
Today, for the first time in my dreary life, a bright red candle has been lit.
So, this is no longer a sad story.
It’s a monologue overflowing with joy, a jumbled stream of consciousness as I dance clumsily in my mind.
So, I hope you’ll listen.
My name is Park Da-Hye.
My first memory is of a white hospital ceiling.
I remember it being very noisy. I’d been in a coma for a month, so it must have been quite a shock when I woke up.
I remember nurses rushing around and doctors crowding around me.
It was a car accident. A month later, I learned that my mother, who was in the car with me, had passed away.
But I wasn’t particularly sad.
I couldn’t remember her face.
The reason why my first memory is of a hospital ceiling at age six is because I have no memories before that.
While I was in the hospital, my dad and aunt visited me every day.
My aunt cried every day, and my dad’s face was always red, his words stumbling.
And by the time I was discharged a year later, my dad stopped coming to the hospital.
He probably abandoned me. I don’t know the details.
So, I went to live with my aunt.
My aunt is a good person.
She hugged me every day, and at night, she’d place her hand on my stomach and read me fairy tales.
Her hand was very warm.
But I wasn’t a good daughter.
My aunt constantly took me to see doctors.
“There are no signs of developmental disabilities. In fact, her concentration is better than that of her peers, her cognitive abilities are perfect, and she responds well.”
“But… doctor, she doesn’t ask for anything. She’s too obedient, sometimes to a frightening degree… she doesn’t even whine. Is this normal?”
The doctor swiveled in his chair to face me and asked,
“Da-Hye, do you know your aunt’s name?”
“Joo Seon-Ah.”
“Then, Da-Hye, do you know what a wolf is?”
“Yes. It’s an animal.”
“Can you imitate one?”
“Awooo~!”
“Good job. So, Da-Hye, what do you want to do when you go home with your aunt?”
“…”
“Nothing you want to do? Like watch cartoons with your aunt, or eat something delicious?”
“…”
“Da-Hye, do you want some candy?”
“…Yes.”
The doctor’s expression darkened. I didn’t know where I went wrong.
Was it because I hesitated before answering about the candy?
Or should I have answered something to the previous questions?
But I couldn’t help it.
I didn’t want anything.
“Do you have any toys that Da-Hye likes? A favorite stuffed animal, perhaps?”
“No. I’ve never seen her play with toys.”
“A favorite food…?”
My aunt shook her head, on the verge of tears.
Right. I didn’t have any favorite things.
That was the problem.
Since even the doctor couldn’t solve it, it must be an incurable disease.
I spent a lot of time just sitting around, with nothing I wanted to do or eat.
As another year passed, my aunt gradually stopped talking to me,
And I ended up in an orphanage.
“Da-Hye, I’m… so sorry. But… I really… I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry.”
My aunt didn’t need to apologize.
That moment was the only time I was helpful to her.
The orphanage was a better fit for me.
I ate when the food was served, I cleaned when it was time to clean, I slept, I woke up.
Gradually, I learned how to talk to people.
And how to smile. Everyone said I was a good kid.
And I went to school.
I attended school regularly, but I have no memories of it.
It was like I was on a different server from everyone else at that school.
[She lives in an orphanage.]
[Really? So, she’s an orphan? She seems… gloomy. Has anyone ever heard her talk?]
[Maybe she can’t talk?]
[Nah~ no way. You should go ask her. Ask her if she really doesn’t have a mom and dad.]
[You idiot, that’s so mean. *snicker*.]
I knew everyone was whispering about me, but I wasn’t offended.
I just didn’t know what to do.
Should I get angry at them, or should I laugh along and try to become friends?
I didn’t know.
I had no favorite things, so I didn’t know how to like people either.
I just wasn’t interested in them.
Perhaps this indifference of mine was what hurt my aunt.
I wasn’t being bullied at school; I was making other kids uncomfortable.
Time passed, and the kids at the orphanage grew up.
Some older kids ran away to join runaway families, and some kids glued themselves to their desks.
Since we had to leave the orphanage when we became adults, everyone was preparing in their own way.
Whether their efforts were messy or neat, everyone was moving forward.
Except for me.
I spent more and more time alone.
Then one day, I had a dream.
A memory of going to an amusement park with my mom and dad.
My dad rode the carousel with me, and my mom ran alongside us, waving.
When I woke up, my face was covered in tears.
That day, when I recovered my first memory, I had a premonition about my future.
My happiest moment was already long gone, so from now on, I would only become more and more unhappy.
No matter what I did, I could never be happier than that day.
I would just stagnate and rot in this place, with nothing I wanted to do.
I knew that from a young age,
That’s why I’m like this.
Then I saw an advertisement.
[Your own unique journey, where no one has ever walked before.]
[Billion Saga.]
The phrase “where no one has ever walked before” captivated me.
Everyone else knew the path and walked it, but I was stuck, not knowing where to go.
If everyone was taking a different path, wouldn’t there be someone similar to me there?
Then I could watch them and learn what to do next.
I logged in using the account my older brother from the orphanage had created with my resident registration number.
It was a hideous ID, KimPokDaughter, but what did it matter?
I’d never played with a toy for more than an hour.
I’d probably get bored of this game in an hour too.
They said it was a unique journey, where no one has ever walked before.
The game I started…
Was a crappy game.
[The Soul Binder’s Labyrinth.]
I didn’t know it then, but that tutorial was the worst of the worst.
A 0.0047% chance of getting it.
A stupid tutorial where you just had to navigate an endless maze of shrubs.
Since it was a game where everything was randomized, there were parts with broken balance, and I got stuck with one.
Normally, you’d cancel and create a new character, but I, cluelessly, entered the labyrinth and got bored after ten minutes.
I was about to quit the game.
Then I saw a chat message in the labyrinth.
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: Is anyone there? Help!!! Is there anyone here!!!!]
There was another unlucky person.
He spotted me and said,
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: Whoa! Thank goodness! Do you remember the way here? I’m lost, and I don’t even know where I am ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
I don’t know why,
But I was overcome with a strange feeling.
I was a kid full of problems, unable to do anything.
I was someone who would get interested in something, hoping someone would help me, but eventually get bored and leave.
I think it was because it was the first time someone had cried and asked me for help.
Right, this is a game.
They don’t know anything about me except for my avatar.
So, this person is pleading with me.
If he knew what kind of person I was, he’d probably disappear too.
So, it didn’t matter what I did now.
I told a lie.
I came here to copy someone else’s life,
But the thought that I could actually be helpful must have gotten to my head.
[Me: I know the way.]
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: Whoa!! Really?]
The labyrinth was bigger than I thought.
I tried to memorize the path, but new paths kept appearing.
I encountered hundreds of dead ends and had to retrace my steps dozens of times at the same intersections to find the right way.
Tutorial clear time: 9 hours and 30 minutes.
[Congratulations! You have cleared the tutorial!]
[You are the first on the server to clear the
[You have achieved a hidden achievement!]
[Acquiring legendary tutorial achievement reward.]
[You have acquired the item
When I exited the labyrinth, it was already daylight in reality.
While navigating the maze, all my attention was focused on my back.
While I retraced my steps, paused at intersections to think, while an incredible amount of time passed…
He followed me until the very end.
Haha. What is this?
But he must have seen through my lie.
This is a world where my inadequacies are invisible, so I tried my best, but it seems I failed again.
He’ll probably get fed up and leave me.
Just like everyone else.
Like my aunt and dad.
But,
I didn’t know then.
That he was an even stranger person than me.
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: Wow, PokDaughter, you actually cleared it?? I believed in you, but this is insane. You’re amazing! That was so much fun!!!]
I still remember this moment.
Perfectly.
I vividly remember the moment my monochrome world was painted in 8-bit color.
* * *
—–CROW—–
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