Yujin turned around, her eyes narrowing as she locked onto Miss Yin. She had the perfect response lined up for a 45-year-old woman who'd just brought up pregnancy, but before she could unleash it, Mr. Park winced, clearly uncomfortable with the growing tension. He gave Yujin an apologetic glance, though his embarrassment made him hesitate to speak. With a soft, almost defeated "Sorry," he muttered under his breath .
Mina turned to Yujin. "No. We are not committing murder today."
Yujin's teeth were still clenched. "Fine," she hissed.
Once inside the apartment, the weight of the day finally hit her. She was exhausted—physically, emotionally, everything in between. The place was still a mess, her room unkempt, but Mina, wisely, didn't dare mention it after witnessing the showdown with Miss Yin.
Instead, Mina gave her a small wink and said, "I'll be back. Gotta grab some cash. Try not to burn the building down while I'm gone." With that, she slipped out, closing the door behind her.
The moment Mina left, Yujin's shoulders dropped, her expression crumbling. She nearly cried right then and there. The pressure had been building for days—weeks—and today had simply tipped the scale.
She was tired of always feeling behind, of watching her peers move forward while she scrambled just to keep up. No map, no direction. And life… life didn't care that she was an orphan. Life didn't care about anyone.
Her gaze drifted to the ceiling, the once-white paint now dull and cracked with age. The room looked just as tired as she felt. She had once promised herself she wouldn't cry again after leaving her grandmother's house and coming to the city. She wanted to be strong, to move forward. But the silence had a way of bringing everything back.
She missed her parents. Especially her mom. Even though they'd divorced before the accident that took them both, even with all the flaws and shouting matches, it was still her family. Messy, imperfect, but hers. And in a city as loud and heartless as this one, just having someone—anyone—to call family would've made all the difference.
From a young age, Yujin had learned to find peace in her parents' chaos. Now, all she had left was the echo of it.
A familiar pink holographic system screen materialized before her eyes:
[6 hours, 22 minutes, 14 seconds remaining]
Yujin groaned, dragging a hand down her face.
"Of course," she muttered. "Because the universe clearly thinks I'm not suffering enough already."
The glowing countdown blinked innocently, like it hadn't just added another weight to her chest. This damn system—whatever it even was—seemed hellbent on making sure she never caught a break.
But the numbers kept ticking down, uncaring.
[6:22:03… 6:22:02…]
Yujin groaned. This system was determined to ruin her life.
The First Escape Attempt
If she only had 6 hours to meet someone destined to become a billionaire, the simplest solution seemed obvious: do nothing. Stay in, lock the doors, and ignore the maddening demands of an overbearing digital presence.
So that's exactly what she did. Yujin closed her laptop, ignored Mina's texts that buzzed momentarily, and pulled the curtains shut. For five blissful minutes, the world outside faded away, and she exhaled in peace.
Then—Ding!
the system interrupted.
[Mission adjustment: System detects avoidance behavior.
New mission: Within 6 hours, you must physically leave your apartment and step into a high-end location.
Failure to comply will result in penalty.]
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Yujin grabbed her pillow and let out a primal scream into it. This system was literally forcing her outside, dragging her into a world she desperately wanted to escape. And as she stared at the ticking timer, she couldn't help but wonder if the universe was playing a cruel joke on her.
This wasn't a mission anymore. It was harassment.
The system was practically kicking her out of her safe space and shoving her into the lion's den. High-end location? In this economy?
She sat up, hair a mess, heart pounding, eyes wild with disbelief.
"Is this how Cinderella felt?" she muttered.
But the clock was already ticking.
[5:52:47... 5:52:46...]
It didn't matter how much she hated this.
Her heart pounded, and despite her better judgment, she knew she had no choice. The countdown has begun, and the only escape was to face the chaos head-on—even if it meant stepping into a world of high-end pretensions and expensive facades.