I stared at the prompt on my phone screen, my hesitation lasting only a moment. There was no going back. Rejecting this mission would mean throwing away my only chance. With a steady thumb, I tapped the screen right over the words [Open to view details?].
My phone screen dimmed, and the now-familiar mission interface popped up, displaying information that made my blood run cold.
[MAIN MISSION #1: The Flower That Never Bloomed]
Description: In a busy corner of the city, a bud is set to be forcefully picked before dawn. Her fate is written in blood, but a player has the chance to tear up that page.
Protection Target: Kim Ah-reum (22), Part-time Worker.
Location: "Daily Mart" Convenience Store, Mapo District.
Main Objective:
Prevent the death of Kim Ah-reum.
Side Objectives:
Identify and neutralize the killer.
Gain the Trust of Kim Ah-reum (Trust Level: 0/100).
Time Limit: 71 Hours 59 Minutes
Mission Reward:
2,000 Points
[Random Item Box (E-Grade)]
Failure Penalty:
Target Death.
1,000 Point Penalty.
I read every line twice, three times, letting the information sink in. My first mission wasn't about stealing data or beating up thugs. I had to stop a murder. This app wasn't kidding around.
My heart pounded, not with the fear I felt on the rooftop, but with a mix of adrenaline and immense pressure. My long-dull brain now worked quickly, breaking down the problem like a quest in a game.
First Problem: The Killer. The app gave me zero hints about the perpetrator. No name, no facial illustration. I had to find a needle in the gigantic haystack called Seoul.
Second Problem: The Target. Kim Ah-reum. I had to gain her trust. I saw my reflection in the dark phone screen. A guy with a listless appearance and an 'E' rank Charisma.
If I walked up to her and said, "Hey, someone's going to kill you," the best-case scenario was she'd pepper-spray me and call the cops. The worst-case scenario was she'd think I was a crazy stalker, and the actual killer would speed up their plan.
Third Problem: Myself. My stats were trash. If I went toe-to-toe with a killer, I'd be dead in seconds. Death might not be permanent for me, but I didn't want to relive the sensation of shattered bones and crushed organs. Plus, if I died, I'd respawn here, losing precious time. I only had one asset: my 'D' rank Intelligence. I had to use my brain.
I couldn't just sit here. The first step was reconnaissance. I needed to see the target, understand the environment, and look for any anomaly, no matter how small.
I got up and walked quickly to my wardrobe.
SHHHHK!
The contents were pathetic: just a few worn hoodies, faded shirts, and two pairs of jeans. I chose the cleanest, least shabby outfit, trying to look as normal as possible. I ran my fingers through my hair and splashed cold water on my face, trying to wash away the last remnants of the desperate Han Ji-woo look.
Feeling slightly more presentable, I grabbed my keys and my nearly empty wallet.
CLICK!
I paused for a moment at the door, looking at my reflection in the mirror one last time. The same man, but with different eyes. The emptiness was gone. Now, there was the sharpness of a player who had just entered the arena.
CKLEK...
I opened the door, stepped out into the dimly lit hallway, and descended the stairs toward the bustling Seoul night streets. My apartment door closed behind me.
SLAM!
The trip to the Mapo District felt like emerging from a cave I had inhabited for years. I rode the subway, surrounded by a sea of unfamiliar faces. Tired office workers heading home late, students laughing while staring at their phones, couples leaning against each other.
They were all living their lives, completely unaware that among them was a man who had just returned from death and was now on a mission to prevent it from happening to someone else.
Clatter... Clatter...
The sound of the train wheels on the tracks became the music of my contemplation. I felt alienated, separated from all of them by a secret impossible to share.
Arriving in Mapo, the hustle and bustle of the nightlife immediately greeted me. The streets were filled with neon lights, music leaked from bar doors, and the delicious aroma of street food stalls.
In the middle of all this lively chaos, the Daily Mart my destination looked like a calm, brightly lit aquarium. A sterile box of light in the busy night.
I stopped across the street for a moment, observing. The automatic glass door opened and closed as a few customers went in and out. It looked normal. It looked safe. It was hard to imagine a place like this being the location of a murder.
'The killer is hiding in plain sight,' the snippet from the mission description rang in my head. That meant the perpetrator might be one of those regular customers.
I took a breath, straightened my usually slumped posture, and crossed the street. As I stepped through the glass door, a small bell chimed.
Ting-ling!
Behind the counter, a young girl briefly looked up from her phone, gave me a slight, indifferent nod, before refocusing on her screen. She had to be Kim Ah-reum.
Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she wore the store's blue uniform vest. Her face was plain without makeup, with a slightly bored expression typical of someone who had seen strangers come and go hundreds of times that night.
I tried to look natural, walking down the narrow aisles, pretending to look for something. My eyes, however, worked quickly, scanning everything. There were two CCTV cameras in the ceiling corners. One main entrance, and one staff door behind the counter. At that moment, there were only two other customers: a middle-aged man choosing canned beer and a young woman busy comparing two types of instant ramen.
'Anyone could be him,' I thought. 'That man could be hiding a knife under his jacket. That woman could be carrying poison in her bag.'
Paranoia began to creep in. I felt like I was walking through a minefield. I grabbed a can of cold coffee from the fridge... an alibi so I had a reason to be here. I walked to the register. Kim Ah-reum put her phone down and gave me an empty stare.
"That's it?" she asked, her voice flat.
"Yep," I replied. I tried to smile warmly, a gesture that felt stiff and unnatural on my face. "Busy night, huh?"
Beep!
She scanned my coffee can without changing her expression. "Just average," she answered curtly. She named the price, and I paid with the last few coins in my wallet.
There was no further conversation. No spark of trust. I was just another weird customer in the middle of the night. As I took my coffee can and plastic bag, a small transparent notification popped up in the corner of my view.
[Kim Ah-reum's Trust Level remains unchanged: 0/100]
Total failure. That 'E' rank Charisma was really a joke.
I nodded awkwardly at her and walked out.
Ting-ling!
Back on the busy street, I felt a little frustrated. Gaining her trust was going to be much harder than I imagined. For now, I had to change tactics. Not interaction, but observation.
I found a dimly lit bus stop across the street, which gave me a perfect view of the Daily Mart entrance. I sat on the cold bench, opened my coffee can, and started waiting. Waiting for customers to come and go. Waiting for anything unusual. Waiting for the killer's shadow to appear under the bright lights of a convenience store.
The clock on my phone kept ticking. My time was running out.
An hour passed, then two. The paper coffee cup in my hand had long been empty and cold. The flow of customers at Daily Mart, which had been busy, slowly dwindled as the night wore on.
A noisy group of college students, a drunk office worker buying instant ramen, a couple buying ice cream—they all came and went. I watched them all, analyzing every movement, every look, searching for something odd. But they all looked normal. Too normal.
'This isn't going to work,' I thought desperately. 'I can't suspect everyone. I need a clue, no matter how small.'
The main street in front of me started to empty out. The city's bustle slowly faded, replaced by the silence of the night, only occasionally broken by isolated noises.
Whoosh...
One last bus for the night drove past reluctantly, nearly empty.
Inside the store, Kim Ah-reum looked increasingly tired. She leaned on the counter more often, resting her chin on her hand, staring blankly at the row of energy drinks across the way. She looked alone and vulnerable inside that box of light. A heavy sense of responsibility pressed down on my shoulders. My failure meant her death.
That's when I saw him.
A man walked from the darker side street, not the main road. He wore a black hoodie with the hood pulled over most of his face, plus a black mask covering the rest. Clothes like that were common enough, but there was something about his slow, deliberate walk, as if he was absorbing all the surrounding light, that made the hairs on my neck stand up.
He walked into the store.
Ting-ling!
My heart started beating faster. I straightened up, all my senses now focused on him. He didn't immediately grab a basket or head for a specific shelf. Instead, he walked slowly down the aisles, his hands tucked into his hoodie pockets. He wasn't looking at the products on the shelves. His eyes, from my vantage point, seemed to keep glancing toward the counter. Toward Kim Ah-reum.
Kim Ah-reum, who was busy tidying the cigarette packs, didn't seem to notice him. The man stopped in the snack aisle, turning his back to the CCTV camera, but still within my line of sight. He stood there for almost five full minutes, doing nothing but standing.
'This is it,' I thought. 'It has to be him.'
Finally, the man moved. He walked to the counter, not carrying a single item to buy. Kim Ah-reum looked up, slightly surprised.
"Can I help you?" she asked, her professional tone sounding a little strained.
The man didn't answer right away. He just stared at Ah-reum. Then, in a low voice muffled by his mask, he asked.
"Do you... always work the night shift alone?"
The question made the atmosphere freeze. That wasn't a normal customer question. Kim Ah-reum looked wary. She instinctively took a step back.
"Depends on the schedule," she answered briefly and coldly, her hand already close to the emergency button under the counter.
The man stared at her for a few more seconds, then as if snapping out of it, he pointed to the gum near the register.
"I'll take this one."
The transaction took place in a chilling silence.
Beep!
The man paid with exact change, took his gum, and turned away. Before exiting, he paused at the doorway, turning his head to look back at the store interior one last time, before finally disappearing into the dark alley he came from.
My brain was racing. This was my first clue, the only anomaly in tonight's sea of normality. I couldn't let him go. This was a risk. Leaving the target unsupervised was a terrible idea. But following this man might be the only way to get answers.
I had to make a decision. Fast.
I got up from the bus stop bench, my heart pounding hard in my chest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
I crossed the quiet street, my eyes fixed on the dark alley where the man had vanished. Without further hesitation, I started jogging, keeping my footsteps quiet.
Tap... tap... tap...
I entered the narrow, damp-smelling alley, leaving the bright light of the Daily Mart behind me. I was now in enemy territory. Alone, weak, and unarmed.