#327
327. Epilogue0. Pick Me Up! (End)
An unnamed cafe in an alley.
It was a small shop selling coffee and bread that didn't have a signboard properly.
At the counter, a young hostess was washing coffee cups. Classical music flowed from the speakers, and high school girls chatted quietly to the melody of the music.
"So, you know…"
"Oh, really?"
Bright smiles bloomed on the faces of the still young girls.
There are not many regular customers in this place. Not only is it small, but most of the petit bourgeois prefer famous chain stores. If you say people who come every day, there are at most one or two people. Of course, she was among the regulars.
"sister."
"huh?"
"Are you listening to me?"
Silently, she looked ahead.
Outside the table sat a young man who hadn't taken off his boy's shirt.
It was Jinho, her cousin. After graduating from high school, he entered a prestigious university with excellent grades.
"What did you mean?"
"I'm crazy. I had another idea."
Jinho sighed and opened his mouth.
"My aunt told me to go on a blind date, blind date."
"blind date?"
"Why did you turn down the last guy who asked if he was a plastic surgeon or something? Because he didn't like his face?"
"It's not like that…"
"Last time, even the judge refused. Office workers at large companies, lawyers, athletes. They just rejected me one after another. Only wrinkles appeared on my aunt's face."
"…"
"Sister, don't you want to get married?"
she didn't say anything
"I have no idea yet, if you don't like it, say no."
"It's not that I'm not thinking."
"Do you have any opponents on your mind?"
"Not really."
"I have an idea, but if I don't have a person in my heart, do I need a prince from a conglomerate family?"
"Not even that."
Jinho narrowed his eyebrows.
A low voice followed.
"Are you still clinging to that game?"
"…."
"I went bankrupt a year ago? In a year, 100 new games come out?"
Even if there are 100 or 1000 new games, there is no such game.
she muttered in her heart.
"This is crazy."
"sorry."
"Do whatever you want. I can't force you to do something you don't like."
"Sorry."
"I'm going to work part-time."
Jinho left the cafe.
It was because he was busy doing part-time tutoring.
She was left alone again.
'It's a good time.'
She looked at the high school girls who were talking lively.
There were times when he was like that too. It seemed that the whole world was their own stage. Although that fantasy collapsed as soon as she became an adult and realized the reality.
'A childlike fantasy.'
she thought to herself.
How can I explain what she went through in the game a year ago?
A year had passed since the game 'Pick Me Up' had already been forgotten. Four seasons have changed, she has been promoted at the company, and her mother's gray hair has grown more.
"…."
An Israt.
The man was a character in the game.
If she hadn't made a mistake, the man would have been caught up in the synthesis and died in vain. However, due to her mistake, the man did not die and continued the fight in his own way.
When things weren't going well, she would think about the games she played.
Some say it's a ruined game, others say it's a trash game, but it was an experience that was more valuable to her than any other trip.
They seemed alive.
He fought against enemies to survive, grieved over the death of his comrades, and tried to move forward even in the midst of trials.
But it was a story no one believed. It was. Who will believe that the characters in the game are alive and moving? I'd be glad if I wasn't treated like a crazy person.
She opened the album on her smartphone.
Photos of Han's activities were neatly arranged.
As long as he was hanging from a huge stone statue with his sword stuck in it. As long as you get out of the exploding passage. As long as you mourn the death of a colleague. As long as you train hard. A note from her was attached to each picture.
'Am I a fool?'
Even after a year has passed, I have not forgotten.
I will probably never forget it until the day I die.
'It's just a game.'
The graphics aren't even flashy.
The combat isn't particularly fun.
The reality induction was bad, and I couldn't even play the game properly due to frequent bounces in the second half of the service. My account was suspended for using a macro that I didn't even do.
Still can't forget
For a year, she tried all the games called mobile games.
But I couldn't really feel the feeling I got when I did pick me up.
A sense of direct communication with a person from another world.
She touched the envelope in her bosom.
The unique texture of paper that can be felt at your fingertips.
Inside the envelope was the property name contract that a lawyer had handed over a year ago.
I haven't taken it out yet.
It has to be returned to its owner someday.
'Today is also the end.'
She looked outside the store.
The empty alley was already overflowing with people.
It was already time for the office workers to go home. There were not many customers in the cafe, but the chatter of passers-by filled the interior of the cafe.
Awesome!
In the midst of it, a strange noise entered her ears.
"What is that crazy bastard!"
"Aaaagh!"
"Fuck you, where's the idiot pulling a car down the back alley!"
rattle. rattle. thud.
The sound of something violently colliding.
The mouths of the high school girls who were chatting stopped.
"What are you talking about?"
"Look what happened."
It was at that moment that a high school girl wearing glasses stood up from her seat.
"Quaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Quaang!
A black sports car smashed through the windows of the cafe and crashed into it.
Fragments of broken tables and chairs flew around. The fine coffee cups on display in the cupboard were shattered. The open-type sports car, which was moving forward while smashing what was in front of it, stopped moving only when it came to the middle of the cafe.
She quietly got up from her seat.
The sports car stopped right in front of her.
The exterior of the black sports car was full of scratches.
The man in the driver's seat lowered his sunglasses slightly under his nose.
"I wondered if he was at home or at work, so he was fooling around in a place like this."
"Who… who?"
"Ride first."
The door opened up and the man put her in the passenger seat.
"Huh, is it a movie shoot?"
"I thought he looked like an actor…"
"Criminal?"
High school girls huddled in a corner and giggled.
Only the owner was looking at the ruined store with empty eyes.
"I'm sorry about this. It's been a while since I've been driving. Use this card to make up for it."
The man laid a golden card on the table.
What a profit! A sports car carrying two passengers began to spin sideways.
The Spocar, which was making a small S-shaped turn, was soon launched into the alley with a roar.
The back alleys were empty as if they had already evacuated.
[Loki.]
A woman's voice came from the navigator on the right side of the instrument panel.
[This is a vehicle-free zone. Are you saying you didn't know?]
"They all look the same, so how do you know? They got out of the way when I went ahead."
[It's not about getting out of the way, it's about running away.]
"That's it, Yurnet."
The man grinned and stepped on the accelerator.
Boooooong! The fast-accelerating sports car moved toward the boulevard.
"It's the first time we've met like this."
The man said as he turned the steering wheel.
"Why aren't you answering the phone? Why aren't you at work? Wasn't it time to work?"
She took out her smartphone.
When I looked at the incoming call list, I saw an unfamiliar phone number.
"That… leave early…"
"It doesn't look like it hurts. At least, it was annoying so it jumped out. If you don't want to get fired, do it in moderation."
A strong wind hit her face.
There was no sense of reality. Suddenly, a man with a car kidnaps her and runs towards an unfamiliar place.
"Or quit. You can sit around like a pig. If you spend the money I sent you."
Squeak!
A sports car veered to the right at a crossroads.
The traffic light was red.
[I found a group of patrol cars approaching from a distance of 100 meters.]
"Why are they chasing you?"
[Isn't it because Loki crashed into the police station as soon as he arrived?]
"Did I do that?"
Then the man spoke in annoyance.
"I was going to go to a place where there are no people anyway."
"Now, wait a minute."
Beep!
The siren of a police car.
Finally she came to her senses.
The sports car she and the assailant rode in was driving in reverse on a four-lane road.
"Who are you!"
"Han Israt."
The man opened his mouth.
"Han… Israt…?"
No way.
She opened her mouth.
He resembled the hero she knew.
Black hair and confident eyes. to a unique facial expression.
However, Han Israt was a character in the game.
'You can't really…'
said the man as he shifted gears.
"Originally, I didn't intend to come, but I changed my mind when I saw what you were doing.
What a profit!
A sports car, halfway out of the roadway, brushed past the trees.
Shards of broken wood spilled onto the seat.
[If you keep going like this, you will catch up.]
"Is the drive over now?"
[You can escape if you use your strength.]
"I have no intention of using my power carelessly."
The sports car swerved midway and backed into a narrow alleyway.
The car came to a complete stop before hitting the dead end of the alley.
"Anyway."
The man laughed and said.
"If we're going to talk, we'll need to get somewhere safe."
"…"
"You decide. It doesn't matter if a madman jumps out saying he's kidnapped me."
The man got up from the driver's seat and exited the car.
She sat in the passenger seat.
All sorts of thoughts and imaginations swirled around her head.
"One Israt."
She looked up at the man,
exactly as she had imagined him to be,
except
that
he was wearing the finest suit instead of leather armor
.
" It 's
been
a while
,
Amkena
.
"
She was sure.
"…"
She moved from the passenger seat to the driver's seat.
The man who was watching this sat in the passenger seat.
[I apologize, Master Amkena.]
Fluent Korean came out from the navigator.
[This time The meeting won't interfere with your daily life.]
She
put
her hand on the steering wheel
. [Thank you for loving '
Pick Me Up
!
']