"You heard me."
"I said, pull down your pants and show us how you make honey."
Han couldn't do anything but stare at the boy in front of him. He had already known that something like this was coming.
And what had he done to deserve this?
Something as idiotic as his father's profession.
"Come on, that's absurd. I get that you want to embarrass me, but-"
With a sharp T'RRRACK!, a slap muffled the rest of his sentence. He'd been slapped across the face, and he still hadn't processed it yet.
He thought this sort of thing only happened in the movies. But he supposed that his current situation was movie-like.
You see, Han had grown up a sort of genius. Good at sports, and a menace in exams.
If anyone asked, he'd say he had no idea how he was doing it. But behind the scenes, he practised till his mind broke, and even then, he practised some more.
Growing up in rural Korea, he didn't have a choice.
The only way out was by being special. And so, he tortured himself until he could secure a future for his family. A future he thought he would find at this 'prestigious' school.
But he was wrong.
"Not so arrogant now, are you?" the boy in front of him laughed.
Other school kids hanging around the football field began to take notice, and soon a crowd surrounded him.
Whispers filled the air, questioning looks, and even some laughter.
"Welcome everyone. Han here was just about to show us how to make honey," the boy in front of him announced. He had a mad grin on his face and made grand gestures as he spoke.
"You'd know, right? Isn't that what your father does at our bee farm? "
The whispers became louder. Some students even began shouting for Han to say something.
Usually, his father's job wouldn't be a problem at all. After all, bee-keeper or not, his father had managed to get himself a real job after years of poverty. But at a school like this, where even being the son of an engineer was seen as sub-class, he was less than human.
Regardless, he had to find a way out of this. He could try to leave, but he doubted Jun, the boy in front of him would just allow that.
'Maybe they'll talk him out of this,' Han thought to himself as some of the other students scolded Jun. However, he didn't have much faith in that.
The only reason they were still fighting for him was because they didn't believe Jun, not because what he was doing was wrong.
How stupid this life was.
Han had fought tooth and nail to claw his way up, but those with true power were born into it.
And they came out pampered and spoiled.
"Han..." a soft voice called from behind him.
He turned, finding a blonde-haired girl trying to squueze through the crowd. He could barely hear her over all the shouting.
But before she could make her way to him, another girl grabbed her, giving Jun a disgusted glance before pulling her away.
'So even my friends, huh?'
"Enough!" Jun shouted. "This bastard has been acting all high and mighty since he got here," he announced. "He made it seem like he was better than us. For what? Because he could kick a ball a little better? Because he knew how to study a little longer?" he asked, voice filled with venom.
"But now we find out that he shouldn't even be here."
Some of the students began agreeing with him. But when Han turned to see who those were, they went silent and still.
"See, even now, you fear him. Why? He's beneath-"
"I'll leave," Han interrupted.
He didn't have to sentence himself to this farce. There were other ways for him to secure the future of his family. Besides, he had only come to this school in hopes of making connections. Being a politician was high on his list of professions; they held real power, corrupted or not.
But there were other ways. He could become an engineer, maybe build something worthwhile.
"Leave?"
Jun began laughing. "I'm not letting you go anywhe-"
Just then, a loud creaking rumble bellowed from the ground.
Dead silence followed.
'Earthquake?'
『Your region has been selected to represent Sector-E221.』
『Please standby...』
The ground began to shake violently, and small portals like rotted infections spread over the field's grass.
'What's going on here?'
Though it seemed Han was the only idiot asking questions.
The crowd turned into a horde in an instant.
Screaming, crying, shouting, it was like war had broken out.
Children running in every which direction, with no regard for anyone else.
Utter chaos.
A girl tripped over herself and was trampled in mere moments. Bones snapped, and poking underneath her skin. Blood stained the grass crimson.
All that, just for a hole to appear beneath her, and suck her to oblivion.
And it wasn't just her, it seemed to be happening all over the school, children being devoured, dead or alive.
Han stood alone at the centre, realising it to be the safest place right now, against the direction of mayhem. Jun was nowhere to be seen.
'Whatever's going on can't be natural,' he surmised. 'Do I even remember waking up today?'
'...Yes... I think so.'
'So then this might actually be real.'
'But what was that voice? No, I should be focusing on survival.'
He felt unnaturally calm, but perhaps that was just a trauma response. Regardless, he planned to survive whatever this was.
'I need to find a way to concrete ground. Maybe the holes don't form ther-'
Before he could finish the thought, a bubbling portal tore open beneath him. Releasing an airjet that smelled of ancient rot.
Han stumbled back, barely avoiding it. However, his body felt weak... in mere second,s he couldn't even feel his legs.
'Poiso-'
Another hole tore beneath him, sucking him whole.
The world went dark, and his lungs were filled with sour rot.
『Transporting player 225 to starting location...』
'Fuck.'