Located in The Chamsin Hotel, Seoul
"Here you are, sir. Have a nice stay," the receptionist said with a too-perfect smile, handing me the keycard.
I gave a weary smile in return—pure reflex. I already knew what I was looking at wasn't real. I couldn't even see their face. Just a hazy blur, like someone had rubbed Vaseline across reality. Another NPC. Another placeholder created by the system to simulate comfort.
First class plane. Five-star hotel. Warm welcome.
It was all just sugar coating.
A reward.
A setup.
The illusion of ease before the nightmare begins.
I took the keycard and turned away, gripping the handle of my suitcase a little tighter.
'Better start preparing and get this over with... so I can go back home,' I thought.
My parents.
I winced a little.
They already knew what I do.
Time runs slower over there. That's the only mercy this system ever gave me.
If I finish quickly—if—I might still make it back before the vacation ends.
If not... well, Mom's going to be pissed. And Dad... will probably pretend not to be.
I sighed, rubbing my forehead. The headache was coming in fast, like a pressure building behind my eyes. The kind that says, "get ready, something's coming."
Ding.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, revealing a dimly lit hallway lined with pristine white walls and soft gold trim. No music. No sounds.
Dead quiet.
Room 601 was at the end of the hall.
I dragged my suitcase along the thick carpet, its wheels making the only sound in the corridor. The hallway was too clean, too symmetrical. Not a single scuff on the walls. No dust. Not even a stray hair.
Fake. All of it.
I stopped in front of the door, keycard in hand. The digital lock blinked red, waiting.
I hesitated—not out of fear, but habit.
There's always something behind these doors.
A clue. A trap. A test.
Sometimes all three.
I swiped the card.
Green light.
Click.
The door creaked open slowly. The room inside looked... nice.
Big bed, smooth lighting, massive window with a view of Seoul's skyline.
But the view was wrong. Slightly frozen. Like a screensaver on loop.
Of course.
I stepped inside and locked the door behind me. I tossed my bag on the bed and headed to the desk.
There was always something hidden here—a message, a guide, maybe even a weapon.
The system liked to test me before giving me full access to the world.
I opened the drawer.
Inside, there was only one item:
A sleek, black envelope.
My eye twitched.
A habit at this point.
Right there on the envelope, burned into the wax seal in shimmering crimson and violet, was a crest I knew all too well:
A grinning mask, cracked down the middle, balanced between a scale of chaos—one side held a feather, the other a dagger. Behind it: a spiral of stars unraveling like thread.
That Thing official seal. L̷͔̗̥̲͊̅̈́̅a̶͓̜͔̼̍̓͋͌c̵̟͙͉͐r̷̛͖̞̼͗y̴̪̯̯̎m̷͓̟̿̈́͂ ̸̱̫͉̅̅̑̚A̵̤̅͝ḛ̷̞̜̩͐̔̽t̵̢̅h̸̰̩̲͛e̴͎̎͘r̶͉̰̫̎̕i̶̛͔̳̪͑̍s̸̥̘̒ T̵͚̳̤̈́͂͆ḣ̴͍̳̑e̸̼̽ ̴̟̪̳͐̏͛ȗ̸͎̦̹͐͝n̷̪̟̿̎̈́k̸̝̔̇͝ṅ̷̯̹̬̇͠o̶̡̠̾w̷̛̖̒͜͝ń̴̘̦͘ ̶͎̎̿̒ḛ̷̡̟̈́͐͝n̸̲͌t̶̳̑i̶̹̪͌͋̈́t̸̺̮̻̎̏ẙ̴͚̽̎ ̴͔̺̦̏͐͠ò̷̪̈́f̶͎̳͉̀͠ ̴͎̔̿͜͝ṫ̴͍̲̱͂͝ḣ̴̹̈́̔ě̸͇̝̾͂ ̵̰̎͑v̸̜̥͚̎͋̚o̴͔̦̎́̚i̶̤̱̇̇̍d̴͖̱̺́
I muttered under my breath.
"Of course it's you..."
I picked up the envelope carefully, half-expecting it to bite me. As soon as I broke the seal—
Ding.
A screen popped up in front of me. Glitchy, luminous, laced with faint whispers in the background—like laughter being filtered through static.
[INCOMING SYSTEM MESSAGE - AUTHOR: L.A.]
[Dear Tom,]
Hello, dear~ Comfortable in your new home? I do hope so! I made sure it was the finest for my beloved saint. Only the best for you~
Anyway! You must want some answers, hm? Of course you do, you're always so curious when you're not panicking~
All I can say is: you need to go out and look around first. Walk, breathe, observe. Enjoy~ maybe even stock up~]
My eye twitched again.
There. That was a clue.
"Stock up," huh? That usually means I'm going to need it.
I kept reading, faster now.
[There's a card in your inventory—a Diamond-Class System Card . Unlimited funds, darling. Spend like royalty while you still can~ I've linked it to the city's commerce net, so no one will question your money. Buy what you like. Or what you'll need.]
[I'll be seeing you in... seven hours~]
I frowned.
Seven hours?
That was way shorter than I thought I had.
I thought I had at least a day—two if I was lucky.
I clenched my jaw and scrolled further, eyes scanning for more clues.
[Be sure to take the train, got it~? Trust me. Very important. Things will start there.]
[And soon... very soon... you'll get a message on your phone . J is sending you something—a file. It'll explain what comes next. You'll want to read it fast. Time ticks differently here.]
[The sky will crack, and when it does—don't look directly at it. You remember what happened last time, don't you? ]
[Anyway~ Bye for now, my dear saint. Until our next little dance~
—With all the chaos in my heart,
Your L.A ]
The message blinked out, replaced with a faint system chime.
I didn't move. Just stared at the air where the screen had been.
My stomach tightened.
The sky will crack. Don't look at it.
That was not a metaphor.
Seven hours until something starts. A train. A file. Stocking up.
And unlimited money, which, in this world, meant nothing good.
I opened the system menu with a swipe.
Sure enough, in my inventory:
Diamond-Class Card – [∞ Credits]
I sighed and muttered to myself.
"Yeah. Definitely apocalypse prep mode."
I went to get my coat.
This city might look pristine—but it wouldn't stay that way for long.
After some time wandering the eerily perfect streets of Seoul, I did exactly what the message told me to do:
Stock up.
Which translated in my head to:
Buy. Absolutely. Everything.
Store #1: A Convenience Store
I walked in, picked up one bag of chips... then paused.
"I want everything in this store."
The cashier blinked. "I—I'm sorry, what?"
"You heard me." I slapped the Diamond Card on the counter like I was slaying a dragon. "Everything."
"Sir... that includes the freezer."
"Bag it."
Ten minutes later, I left the store with an army of floating inventory cubes and one traumatized cashier mumbling "He really bought the building..."
Store #3: A Boutique Clothing Shop
"I want every size of that jacket. And the pants. And the boots. Actually, you know what—just box the mannequins too."
The staff thought I was joking.
They laughed.
Then the card cleared with a system chime that made their souls evacuate.
The manager collapsed behind the counter whispering, "We're gonna have to restock for a year."
Store #5: Electronics Megashop
"Give me one of every phone, every laptop, and that weird-looking fridge that talks."
"You mean the smart fridge?"
"Whatever. It's mine now."
The assistant manager called corporate.
Corporate didn't believe them.
The card cleared anyway.
Store #7: A Toy Store
I bought out everything from teddy bears to collectible figurines, even the entire seasonal display.
"I'm twenty-three," I told the stunned teenage cashier. "But I might need a plush dragon for emotional support."
He just nodded and started crying.
By the end of the spree...
My system inventory tab looked like a warehouse from an RPG merged with a Costco.
[Inventory: 1,347 ITEMS | 98% ORGANIZED | 1 (Possessed Teddy Bear???) UNIDENTIFIED]
I looked at my notes again:
Clothes ✔
Food ✔
Electronics ✔
Entire toy aisle ✔
Random blender shaped like a duck ✔
Regret ✘ (not yet)
I glanced around.
Every store I left behind looked like it had been hit by a well-dressed, polite looter with infinite cash. Employees stared through glass doors like they'd just survived a natural disaster.
I gave a small wave.
"Thanks! Love your reality!"
The door behind me auto-locked. I think they blacklisted me.
This was either the best preparation ever...
...or I was going to look really stupid fighting for my life with six smartphones and a Hello Kitty rice cooker.
Either way, I was stocked.
And I only had 5 hours left.
Time to ride the train.
Whatever that meant.
I arrived at the subway station, the familiar hum of electricity in the air, sterile tiles under my shoes, and faint echoes of announcements bouncing off the walls.
I glanced at my watch.
1 hour and 17 minutes left before my "Train" arrived—quotes very much intentional.
I scanned the platform, and my eyes landed on a bench. Sitting at the far end was a man—slender, average height, black hair falling just slightly into his eyes. He wore a black coat too formal for the weather, had tired eyes that seemed like they'd memorized the weight of the world, and held his phone like it was the last thread tying him to reality.
He was completely still, save for his thumb scrolling.
Unbothered. Unshaken. Unmoving.
He didn't look up even once.
Laser focused.
Thumb scrolling rapidly, brow occasionally twitching. If someone had put a bomb next to him, he'd probably glance up and mutter, "Just five more chapters."
I quietly sat on the same bench, leaving a polite one-seat gap, of course. No need to provoke the introvert gods.
But there was something... unsettlingly familiar about him. Not in a I know you way, but in an I've read about people like you way. Like he belonged in a story.
I pulled out my own phone, remembering the message the entity—L.A.—mentioned. A new attachment had appeared in my inbox.
I tapped it open.
A file.
A webnovel?
[Title: Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint]
I stared at the first line:
[Chapter 1 – Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse]
"...A novel? What kind of cryptic, roundabout clue bull—"
I caught myself. No point yelling in a subway.
Was this a joke? A novel? Really? Of all things to send me before a system-induced apocalypse, I get a damn webnovel?
I almost closed it. Almost.
But something about that first sentence...
In the beginning, there was a story that no one knew.
...yeah, it hooked me.
I rolled my eyes, muttered "this better be a clue," and started reading. Fast. My eyes scanned each word like my life depended on it.
Because, in my experience?
It probably did.
The story pulled me in instantly.
Ordinary office worker.
A novel only one person ever read.
The apocalypse.
"Scenarios."
Constellations.
A reader becomes the only one who knows what's going on...
...Why does this feel uncomfortably familiar...?
Then something tugged at my attention. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the man next to me had stopped scrolling. His screen was dark now. He was just sitting still.
And though he didn't move, I got the oddest sense he was now very aware of me.
I glanced at him.
He didn't look at me.
But his presence was like a loaded gun left on a table—silent, but loud enough to rattle your thoughts.
I swallowed hard and looked back at the novel.
Page 12,389.
Still more to go.
To be continue
.
.
.
.
[The constellation "Laughter is Chaos" sweatdrops at the unbelievable amount.]
['When I said stock up... I didn't mean buy the entire store, dear.']
Tom:
So? I heard no difference.
['There's a very big difference between "grab supplies" and "turn Seoul into your personal warehouse."']
Tom:
Semantics.
['You bought six blenders. What do you even need six blenders for?!']
Tom:
One for smoothies, one for soup, one for backup, one for aesthetic, and two for emotional support.
['That's not how blenders work!']
Tom:
Tell that to my feelings. Also, I named one of them Kevin.
['...Kevin?']
Tom:
Kevin the Blender. We've been through a lot together in the past twenty minutes.
['Tom, you bought thirty pairs of shoes. In children's sizes.']
Tom:
Well, you never know when I'll need to disguise myself as a kindergarten teacher in the apocalypse. I like to be prepared.
['You bought an entire vending machine. The machine, Tom. Not the snacks. The machine.']
Tom:
And it brings me joy. Don't judge me.
['You're single-handedly tanking the Seoul economy. People are starting to notice, darling.']
Tom:
That's their problem. I'm on a divine scavenger hunt from a creepy system entity with commitment issues. Let me have this.
['...Fine. But if the next scenario involves a retail demon, you brought this on yourself.']
Tom:
Great. Maybe he'll take a card. Diamond, unlimited funds, comes with trauma.
['You're unbelievable.']
Tom:
You enabled this. Actions have consequences, L.A.
['...I'm both proud and horrified.']
Tom:
Welcome to my world.