"Pfffff... Just my freakin' luck."
Kim Hyunwoo slammed his head into the pillow with the kind of force usually reserved for failed exam papers and emotional breakdowns. He wasn't trying to be dramatic. (Well, maybe a little.) But in his defense, the universe had been suspiciously consistent about punching him in the metaphorical gut.
Face-down on his bed, arms and legs sprawled like a chalk outline, Hyunwoo groaned into the fabric. His voice was muffled, resentful, and deeply tired. Talking to himself had become a daily ritual lately. Therapy was expensive; complaining into a pillow was free and slightly more therapeutic.
Today had been meant to be the start of a new chapter. The glorious day Kim Hyunwoo, Seoul's undisputed academic genius, would secure his rightful place at the Royal University of Seoul. He had the grades. He had the talent. He had the drive.
He did not, however, have the submission confirmation.
Why? Because he had overslept.
One missed alarm. One late wake-up. One completely forgotten "Submit" button.
And just like that, the dream was over. Royal University? Gone.
Instead, he received a cheerful acceptance letter from Seoul South Communal University. A place so aggressively average it made beige wallpaper look exciting. He had applied there as a joke. Life, apparently, had a wonderful sense of humor.
Hyunwoo turned over and glared at the cracked ceiling above him. It had a water stain shaped like a sad potato.
"I must've run over a unicorn in a past life," he muttered. "Or ghosted a vengeful mermaid."
The acceptance letter lay smugly on his desk. Its pixelated logo looked like it had been designed in MS Paint. The font was Comic Sans.
"Maybe I'm cursed," he added. "Like full-on fantasy-level cursed. The kind with old men in cloaks shouting about destiny and doom."
The room responded with silence.
Then, out of nowhere, a sound echoed through the air:
Click.
VMMMMMMMMMMM.
Hyunwoo blinked. He sat up.
In the corner of his room, where his laundry pile had previously waged war against decency, something glowed. Something… magical.
A door.
A glowing, floating, completely out-of-place door had appeared. Runes shimmered around it in the air. Blue light pulsed softly, humming with quiet energy.
Above it, golden words materialized:
DESTINY AWAITS. ENTER AND CHOOSE YOUR TRUE PATH.
He stared.
Then rubbed his eyes.
Then stared again.
"Right. Floating magic door. Because why not."
Hyunwoo stood up, brushing chip crumbs off his hoodie. His hair looked like it had fought a pillow and lost. His hoodie was stained with ramen broth.
He walked slowly toward the door.
"With my luck, this thing leads to a world where I'm the official slime cleaner or something," he muttered.
He hesitated at the handle. It pulsed faintly under his fingers.
"Screw it. Worst case, I die. Best case, I get isekai'd into a fantasy buffet."
He pulled the door open. A bright light flooded the room.
And just like that, Kim Hyunwoo stepped through.
Not because he was brave. Not because he was ready.
But because reality sucked.
And maybe, just maybe, being cursed in another world would suck a little less.