Two days ago, back in Korea.
At the Eungwang High freshmen building.
Bzzz bzzz….!
Hani opened her eyes wide at the vibration she felt on her wrist.
Hani’s hearing was impaired, so the device she uses is a band-type attached to her wrist.
The device’s alarm was in the form of a vibration.
After Hani confirmed that it was indeed time for her to get up, she sighed and crept out of bed.
‘…It’s that dream again.’
After entering Eungwang High, to be precise, after meeting Ham Geunhyung, Jo Euishin, Hwang Jiho, and Kwon Yuri…
Hani has been suffering from an unidentified dream.
In her dream, a blindfolded person was watching her.
‘I know it even if they’re blindfolded. I know they’re looking at me.’
That unknown blindfolded person was saying something to Hani.
However, the person’s lips were shaking which made it difficult for Hani to understand what the person was saying.
‘It’s no use thinking about something like that when I know I’ll never figure it out, right?’
Hani took a deep breath and shook off those thoughts as she stretched her body.
Today is the day when the kids from their class decided to do volunteer work at Eungwang Light Nursery.
They can’t afford to look unenergetic today.
Something coincidentally came up in their conversation yesterday.
She was eating with Kwon Lena at the dorm restaurant when the topic came up.
“I want to resolve everything that might interfere with my summer lessons!”
During the final examinations, Kwon Lena suffered hell as she took violin lessons and the exams at the same time.
Kwon Lena thought hard about the school curriculum schedule.
She floated the image with her hologram that was full of violin stickers here and there.
Hani recalled the advice given to them before they entered Eungwang High and helped Kwon Lena structure her schedule.
Upon seeing a certain item on her curriculum table, Kwon Lena’s hand suddenly stopped.
‘Recommended time for volunteer work.’
Although the word used was “recommended”, every high school student in Korea is compelled to fill a certain amount of volunteer work.
“The recommended hours is 20… That’s a lot. Even if we do 5 hours every day, we’d still need to dedicate 4 days to complete it. We should do this in advance too! Hani, where do you do yours?”
“I do it in the nursery where I came from.”
It’s very likely that Hani already filled up all the recommended volunteer hours this year because she always helped at the nursery whenever she had extra time.
Even so, she still continues to help out with the nursery during the vacation.
The number of volunteers at the nursery decreased recently because of intimidation by certain representatives from the nearby apartments.
Because of that, Hani has increased her working hours at the nursery.
“Ah right, you volunteer at the nursery every weekend… Can I come with you?”
Hani hesitated for a moment.
It was good to have another volunteer on deck at the nursery, but she was worried about the people threatening the nursery.
‘…I don’t want to get my classmates involved in this mess.’
Thinking that Kwon Lena might be harmed in volunteering at the nursery, Hani decided to tell her the truth.
Hani openly conveyed what was happening at the Eungwang Light Nursery School.
“They’re too much. So, because of them, not even a single volunteer goes to the nursery?”
“…Yeah.”
“I see. Then that’s just more reason for us to go!”
Despite knowing the situation, Kown Lena seemed more decided to go.
“It’s going to be alright! We’re players too, aren’t we? The purpose of the Players’ Association is to protect us players. If anything happens to us, we can just contact them!”
“But if something happens before we can even report it…”
“Then we can call the other kids from our class. We all need to complete our volunteer hours anyway!”
Kwon Lena’s behavior was influenced by the ever so devoted and enthusiastic Kim Yuri.
Kwon Lena immediately checked the schedule of the other students from Class Zero.
Jo Euishin and Hwang Jiho were headed for their trip to China.
Kim Yuri was still admitted to the hospital.
Song Daesok was busy working at the Association and he hasn’t even seen Min Geurin lately.
Maeng Hyodon was training with the old man and hasn’t been in contact since then
“Hmm, looks like the other kids are busy with their own stuffs too!”
“…Shouldn’t we report it to the association if we continuously can’t reach Maeng Hyodon?”
“That old man is a teacher too. Hyodon will be alright. I think Yoonseob is also with them. Ah right, Geurin’s coming too.”
Min Geurin recently succeeded in talking to the other members of the art department without her AR glasses.
She seemed more confident in dealing with people.
‘Would it really be ok for the other kids to come?’
Despite Hani’s concerns, the plan to do volunteer work at the nursery has been set.
Hani, Kwon Lena, Saeum of April, and Min Geurin.
Hani rechecked the scheduled meeting time with her three classmates before leaving her dorm room.
‘I hope the volunteer work goes well…’
In front of the Eungwang Light Nursery where they agreed to meet…
It is 30 minutes before the promised time, but Saeum of April was already there.
“Hello!”
“Hey. You’re here early.”
“Yep! I was really bored at home. I wanted to get out of the house away from my uncle and aunt.”
Uncle and aunt?
Hani wasn’t sure what Saeum meant, but she nodded anyway because she thought it was rude to ask about his family history.
“I see. Thanks for coming.”
“I had to fill up my volunteer hours for school anyway! It’s so nice to be able to do it with my classmates. Ah, I briefly watched ‘MITRON’ on my way here. Have you tried their new ice dish?”
“Nope. Let’s go eat there after this.”
“Yeah! Let’s go with Lena and Geurin too!”
Time went by quickly as the two talked about desserts.
Ten minutes after the promised time…
The two were reviewing their beginner chess lessons.
“Looks like Lena and Geurin are late. They would’ve contacted us if they’d be late though…”
It was odd that those two out of all people were late, and it was strange that they didn’t send a single text.
They tried messaging them on their device, but the two didn’t answer nor read their messages.
They contacted the school to see if their club activities were prolonged, but the school club informed them that their activities ended early.
In the end, Hani and Saeum had to look for the two.
“The way here is a bit complicated. They might just be a bit lost. Let’s go find them.”
“Alright! Ah right, to be honest, I used my flight skill to come here too.”
Eungwang Light Nursery was located in a residential area far from the city area of Eungwang High.
The road itself was complicated and there were several confusing alleys.
Saeum used his flight skill while Hani used her device to search for Lena and Geurin.
Soon, Saeum of April descended with a pale face and shouted.
“Ah! Over there….! Lena and Geurin!”
“What’s wrong?”
“They’re surrounded by some weird people!”
Saeum began to run with a flustered face.
Just behind him was Hani who also ran as hard as she could.
Soon, they found Min Geurin and Kwon Lena.
Surrounding the two were ten or so adult men.
They didn’t look as tough as Ham Geunhyung, but they all had rough faces.
Hani knew exactly who they were.
‘They’re the people camping around the nursery!’
They were the people from the service company who scared away the volunteers at the nursery.
These people – gangsters – were in close contact with the high-ranking people of the community.
It was no use calling the police now.
The tactics that these people use to threaten the nursery were ambiguous, in short, difficult to punish under the current laws of Korea.
Even if they commit acts that would be punishable, it won’t be easy to prosecute them because they’re careful to erase all shreds of evidence against them.
“Please don’t come closer!”
Kwon Lena was holding Min Geurin tight in one arm, while her other hand was holding a whip made of energy wave.
Although they were all players, they were first-year high school students with little practical experience.
Min Geurin panicked when the strangers showed hostility, while Kwon Lena thankfully was able to stay calm. However, it’s difficult to protect Min Geurin and deal with more than 10 adult men at the same time.
On top of that, the two of them are only barely over 150 cm in height.
They were both small so the men from the service company towered over them.
“Stay away from those two!”
“Saeum…!”
Saeum of April flew toward the two using his flight skill.
He arrived with a light-colored wind blowing around him.
“Tsk looks like your player friends are here.”
“I think he has some natural powers. And I don’t think that bobbed-haired woman there is normal.”
The men chuckled to themselves.
‘So there’s a player among them…!’
Hani realized that fact when she heard the men’s remarks.
Some other men were saying something else.
Saeum of April, Kwon Lena, and Min Geurin couldn’t hear because they were further back, and Hani couldn’t read their lips because they were whispering to each other.
And then, something happened.
The man made a surprise attack, but Hani responded reflexively.
Hani avoided the man’s attack and quickly punched the man’s hand that was holding a stick.
Click.
Shiiiiing!
They heard an intentional camera shutter sound and another camera that seemed to be filming a video.
Someone was filming this situation with a recording device.
In terms of timing, only the moment when Hani was attacked was captured.
“T-that bobbed-haired girl is from the nursery school. Don’t you know the punishments for a player that attacks a normal person?!”
The four students were still freshmen, but their faces dropped when they heard what the man said.
If a player attacks a civilian, he or she will be severely punished under the current law as well as the association’s regulations.
Players were subjected to fraud and intimidation by this rule, so players always carried around recording devices with them.
However, none of the four of them were using their recording devices, and there was no CCTV anywhere in this alley.
‘I should’ve turned on my recording device as soon as we arrived…!’
No one, including Hani, even thought about doing that because they were all pressured by the situation.
The four were greatly frustrated and mad that they’d fallen for such an obvious and ridiculous trick.
Compared to the four who had little exposure to the society, the employees of the service company were very good at doing mean things.
“What do you mean?! You guys attacked first…!”
“We have a lot of witnesses here! And we have solid evidence!”
The man cut off what Kwon Lena was saying.
The video released by the man who looked like the leader of the group showed only the scene of Hani throwing a fist at another man.
Color from Hani’s face completely disappeared.
In a player-to-civilian fight, the public opinion and law usually ruled in favor of the civilian.
“You there, bobbed-hair girl… Your name is Hani, right? From the nursery school? I need you to follow me.”
“What are you going to do to Hani?! Hani, don’t go!”
“It’s been more than 30 minutes since I called the police, why aren’t they coming…?!”
Saeum and Lena’s voices sounded anxious.
Hani couldn’t decide what to do.
“What kind of pricks are you guys?”
On the wall surrounding the small open space…
A girl with a baseball bat studded with nails appeared.
The girl’s face couldn’t be seen as she wore a hoodie and a mask.
The girl spoke in a mechanical tone that did not match her body size.
It could be that she wore a voice modulator under her clothes.
“Ha, you scumbags are here again. I’ve already taught you a lesson, have you lost your minds again this time?”
The men of the service company who saw the passionate girl all sighed.
“It’s this crazy woman again.”
“….Withdraw!”
The men began to freak out and run away.
The men referred to this girl as the “crazy woman”.
On the other hand, the girl was muttering things like ‘I ought to smash these men’s noses’ and ‘I ought to remove their fingernails one by one’.
The men were clearly greater in number and could overpower the girl if they tried, but they didn’t want to risk it.
In the complicated alleyway, everyone began to split and run, and the girl began to track down the group’s leader.
“Where do you think you’re going, you bastards?! I’m going to beat your brains out of you today!”
The men and the girl disappeared in an instant.
A sound of something bursting was heard from a distance, but the four weren’t able to hear it as they were all almost out of their minds.
They survived the crisis, but everyone’s faces were still pale.
It was because they knew that the video of Hani was still in those men’s hands.
* * *
[Saeum of April] Lena and Geurin were asking for directions to the nursery when people suddenly surrounded and threatened them!
[Saeum of April] Hani and I found them late, and then Hani was suddenly attacked…
[Saeum of April] They filmed Hani like she was attacking someone, but Hani was just defending herself! Hani didn’t do anything wrong!
Saeum still sounded shocked from it all, but he did his best to explain everything.
He was rambling unlike usual, but I focused on interpreting the message of my playable character.
‘The police didn’t come even if they reported it, they were in an underdeveloped residential environment with no CCTVs, the childcare center and Hani were being targeted by a service company, and some gangster-like men…’
I had a rough idea of what was going on.
I was worried about the crazy girl who suddenly appeared and kicked out the gangsters, but I decided to push that thought for later.
I immediately left my room and went into Jiho’s.
Before I could even knock, Jiho sensed that I was outside and he told me to come in.
I went in right away without hesitation.
“Hey.”
“What’s going on? Have you arranged your thoughts already?”
I guess he noticed that I went to my room to think about some things.
I went straight to the point.
“I’m heading back to Korea.”
