PP Chapter 1

It was by chance that he saw the statue sent by a student his parents sponsored as a gesture of gratitude.

However, it was inevitable that his world would be forcibly expanded by that very sculpture.

Dohwa, unable to tear his eyes from the piece, floundered in a realization that was almost violent.

A form so delicate yet bold, as if the geniuses of the past had been reincarnated.

That statue held power.

The kind of power that could push Dohwa’s small, fragile world in an entirely new direction.

‘I want to go into this field, too. I want to go there and talk with geniuses like that. Even if I can’t become one of them, I want to understand them perfectly.’

Driven by a sudden ambition, Dohwa stared blankly at the sculpture in silence before muttering to himself.

“Mom, I want to learn art.”

At the out-of-the-blue remark, Dohwa’s mother, Hyejin, who had been looking at the statue with proud eyes, wore a flustered expression.

As a parent, she couldn’t help but be taken aback that the child who had promised to inherit the family business now suddenly wanted to learn art.

Hyejin couldn’t understand why her son, who was usually quiet and obedient, was suddenly acting this way. She dismissed it lightly, thinking, ‘He’s probably just saying it on a whim.’

“Son, art all of a sudden? You should be focusing on your entrance exams right now. Let’s learn art later after you go to college, okay? Once you’re in university, you can do whatever you want. Even if your father opposes it, I’ll make sure you can do it.”

“No. I don’t mean as a hobby. I want to go to art school.”

Each word was spoken with such clarity, as if there was no room for reconsideration.

Stunned into silence for a long moment, Hyejin eventually reached back to clutch the nape of her neck instead of answering.

That was the day Dohwa first rebelled against his parents.

“To be honest, I’ve spent my whole life quietly doing exactly what I was told. I don’t understand why I have to go through all this chaos just to choose my own career path.”

Dohwa spoke as he organized his pencil case. His friend, Sohyun, who knew that Dohwa hadn’t marked a single answer on his OMR sheet, replied with a fed-up expression.

“It’s because you’ve followed everything they said until now that they can’t accept it. And hey, realistically, who suddenly says they’re going to art school in the second semester of their senior year? You’re already finished with your college prep. If I were your parents, I’d be clutching my neck and fainting, too.”

He added as an afterthought that it was a miracle they hadn’t actually collapsed.

However, Dohwa still couldn’t understand his parents’ opposition. He had only aimed for Business Administration in the first place because there was nothing else he wanted to do. It wasn’t as if there was a mandatory reason for him to go.

If the reason was ‘to carry on the family business,’ Dohwa’s older brother was already working at their father’s company.

“I have a brother, you know.”

“You and your brother are different.”

“I don’t know. I’m going to act out.”

“How much can a punk who’s only ever studied his whole life act out? Go ahead and try.”

Paying no mind to Sohyun’s teasing words, Dohwa began planning his rebellion.

Perhaps Sohyun’s words weren’t wrong, because after a lifetime of only studying, he had no idea how to even start going off the rails.

He tried to recall what the so-called delinquents did, but all that came to mind were things like alcohol and cigarettes.

And Dohwa had not the slightest interest in either. Once he excluded those two, nothing else really came to mind.

After pondering for a long time, Dohwa asked Sohyun, who was at least more open-minded than him.

“What do I have to do to act out?”

And at that question, Sohyun sighed deeply.

“The fact that you’re even asking shows you’ve already failed.”

Still, it was a question from his one and only childhood friend, so Sohyun answered quite seriously.

“Alcohol and cigarettes are too much. Dyeing your hair and getting your ears pierced are against school rules, so think twice about that. The only thing you can do right now is skip your tutoring and come home late.”

Dohwa, who had listened intently to the long explanation, nodded in understanding.

The only things he could put into practice immediately were skipping his lessons and staying out late.

“But if they find out you didn’t mark your OMR sheet, the house is going to be turned upside down anyway, so do you really have to go that far… Hey! Hey Dohwa! Hey! Let me finish talking! Hey!”

Having reached a conclusion, Dohwa immediately changed into his outdoor shoes and turned on his phone to call his tutor.

-Hello. Dohwa? What’s going on?

“Teacher, I’m going to skip tutoring today.”

-What? What do you mean?

“I’ll explain it to my parents. I’ll make sure you don’t get into any trouble. So please allow it.”

The tutor hesitated on the other end of the line. It seemed he was aware of the recent friction between Dohwa and his parents.

Eventually, the tutor gave in with a resigned voice, telling him to do as he pleased.

-You were doing so well, why are you acting out now, Dohwa…

The sigh he heard before hanging up made Dohwa suddenly wonder.

From his perspective, this path he was walking, though his loved ones might not want it for him, was a future determined by his own complete will.

So it felt like the right thing to do, and it was almost unfair that everyone was telling him he was wrong.

​“If you find something you want to do later, it’s okay if you don’t take over the family business, Dohwa. You just do what you want to do.”

Recalling his older brother, who had held him and kindly told him this when he said he had no dream, Dohwa bit his lip hard.

He had done nothing wrong. He only said he would act out, but he was on the right path, and he would continue on it.

With unwavering eyes, Dohwa looked ahead and went to a PC bang for the first time in his life.

Not knowing what to do there, he wasted nearly 20 minutes with the desktop screen open before he could decide on a game.

“Betting Bad…”

It was the MMORPG that Sohyun was crazy about, having practically staked half his life on it. He even went as far as saying his life wasn’t in reality, but in Betting Bad.

If he went around saying that, it must be fun, Dohwa thought as he started downloading the game.

Before long, the main screen appeared. Dohwa watched the Betting Bad logo with nervous eyes and proceeded through the registration step by step.

​After logging in with his usual ID and password, several options popped up. The first was the customization screen.

After much deliberation, Dohwa chose a female Elf character. He gave her pink hair and black eyes—just like his own—and named her after himself.

Once finished, he thought she looked quite a bit like him, but since there was no rule against that, he continued with the game. He chose a nickname, a starting city, and a class.

And very unfortunately, that was as far as Dohwa could easily get.

He got lost twenty times just trying to walk to the destination on the map as the game instructed.

As if that wasn’t enough, he now fell into some random place and died.

Getting lost twenty times could be excused by thinking the map was strange. But slipping from a high place and dying instantly? He couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Is this even possible?’

After a moment of silence, Dohwa glared at the monitor with irritated eyes.

As if by staring at it like that, his character, who was clearly dead to anyone, would jump up and find the way on her own.

“Are you kidding me? It’s not enough that the map is made like crap, but you die instantly if you fall?”

This was a game that really made one lose all motivation to play.

Dohwa, his eyes suddenly tired, stared into space for a moment before turning his gaze back to the monitor.

It was when he was debating whether to quit this game and go home, or to continue wandering aimlessly.

From somewhere, a cheerful ding- sound effect rang out.

Unsure where the sound came from, Dohwa searched for a while before discovering the chat window tucked away in the corner.

A mark that hadn’t been there just a moment ago had appeared in one spot of the chat window.