The separation didn’t happen in some dramatic way, and there was no warning or countdown that gave us time to prepare, because one moment we were moving down the hallway together, keeping pace like we had been doing for a while now, and the next, the floor beneath my feet cracked open with a loud sound that made my ears ring.
I didn’t even have time to shout.
The ground dropped.
My body followed.
I hit the floor hard, the air knocked out of my lungs as pain shot up my back and into my head, and for a few seconds, all I could do was lie there and cough, my vision spinning as dust filled the air and the sound of something heavy crashing shut echoed above me.
I looked up.
The ceiling was gone.
No.
It wasn’t gone.
It had closed.
“Baek-Hyeon!”
Choi Han’s voice came from above, distant but clear, and I forced myself to sit up despite the pain, staring at the solid concrete now blocking the hole I had fallen through.
“I’m here,” I shouted back, my throat burning.
There was a pause.
Then another.
“I can’t get through,” he said, his voice tight now, like he’d already tried something and it hadn’t worked.
Of course.
Of course this was how it happened.
Ding 一
[ PARTY HAS BEEN DISBANDED DUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE ]
[ TEMPORARY SOLO PLAY ACTIVATED ]
The words floated in front of my face, calm and uncaring, and I laughed weakly despite myself.
“So this is how it is,” I muttered.
Figures.
“Stay where you are,” Choi Han called out. “I’ll find another way.”
I stared at the wall.
I didn’t answer right away.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I finally said.
There was another pause.
“…I won’t,” he replied.
I didn’t know if that was a promise or a lie.
The system didn’t wait.
Another message appeared.
[ MAIN SCENARIO CONTINUES ]
No instructions.
No help.
Just a reminder that the game was still moving, whether I was ready or not.
I stood up slowly, every part of my body aching as I checked myself for injuries, and once I confirmed nothing was broken, I took a deep breath and started moving forward, because standing still in a place like this was just another way to die.
The hallway I’d fallen into looked different.
Older.
Darker.
Like this part of the building hadn’t been used in years.
That was when I heard voices.
Familiar ones.
Too familiar.
“Is that… Kang Baek-Hyeon?”
I froze.
Slowly, I turned toward the sound.
Three people stood near the end of the hallway, all wearing the same stunned expressions, all staring at me like they’d just seen a ghost.
People I hadn’t seen in years.
People I hadn’t wanted to see ever again.
“Oh my god,” one of them laughed nervously. “It really is you.”
I didn’t laugh.
My chest felt tight.
“So you’re in this too,” another said, looking me up and down. “Figures.”
Nothing had changed.
Not their tone.
Not the way they looked at me.
“Where’s your group?” one of them asked, glancing behind me.
I didn’t answer.
I didn’t owe them one.
Before they could say anything else, the system interrupted.
Ding 一
[ PLAYER INTERACTION DETECTED ]
[ OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: COMPETE ]
The word made my stomach drop.
Compete.
Against them.
At the same time, somewhere far away, another message appeared.
I didn’t see it.
But I felt it.
[ PLAYER CHOI HAN — REWARD REDUCED ]
[ REASON: DEVIATION FROM OPTIMAL ROUTE ]
I didn’t know about the penalty.
All I knew was that I was alone, surrounded by people who remembered me as someone weak, someone easy to step on, and the game had decided that now was a good time to see what I would do about it.
“So?” one of them said, smirking. “You gonna hide behind someone again?”
I looked at them.
Then at the hallway ahead.
Then back at them.
“No,” I said.
Simple.
Honest.
I moved.
Not toward them.
Past them.
Because revenge wasn’t always loud, and survival didn’t always mean fighting, and right now, the best thing I could do was prove one thing.
That I could keep going.
Even alone.
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