'Haa... I don't seem to be dreaming. But then, how did I end up here?' Haneul sat on a bench outside a 24 hour convenience store that he barely managed to find in this rural town he found himself in and stared at the sky, as if to seek answers from the stars like the wise men of old used to do.
It was unfortunate that he didn't know a thing about constellations though.
The only good thing in his situation is that, miraculously, he still had his wallet with him, most likely because he forgot to take it out of his pocket like he usually did.
'Good job, me.'
Though, his phone, which he placed under his pillow, was nowhere to be seen.
He took a quick sip of the soju in his hand as if to portray his frustration.
Being a shut in writer for seven years, he wasn't really all that good in socializing. Even when he tried to muster up the courage to ask the cashier lady when he was buying the soju, the single scrutinizing look the woman gave was enough to leave him deflated.
In the end, he just passed her his I.D. and the money, then quickly ran out.
"Maybe I should just go to a police station." Haneul muttered, his eyes glimmering with hope as if he just found the answer but, a problem came up. "...Where's the police station?"
"..." With eyebrows scrunched together, he stared at the sky once again, wanting to cry and scream but at the same time, was to shy to disturb anyone who might be nearby.
It also didn't help that the town was so remote that it barely had any properly paved roads, much less, road signs.
'Ah... There's not much choice, is there?'
He had to walk blindly around town.
...
[The first batch is about to depart in around half an hour. There's not much left to do here. In any case, not many mortals are still wandering outside at this time, right? So we can go back now.]
[Go back by yourself, slacker. I will continue with what the king has ordered me to do until the last millisecond. Because, unlike you hypocritical fools of the Alliance, we of the Red Banner have actual beneficial goals.]
[You impertinent basta-]
[Please don't fight here. It's still working hours.]
[Heh. Not for long.]
In a hidden dimension pocket along a dark road, a cat and a crow were arguing with each other while a grasshopper was trying to appease both sides.
Meanwhile, Seo Haneul slowly trudged along his way, trying to avoid the many potholes on the road which were filled with muddy water from the recent rain with the little light that the flickering street lights had to offer.
Speaking of rain...
Zzzt! Bang!
A sudden lightning struck down a tree just barely a hundred meters away from him, causing it to fall and cut the wires powering the street lights and, as if it were a signal, rain began to pour down in heavy torrents.
"...Great. Just wonderful." Now fully soaked till his underwear and covered in absolute darkness, Haneul was feeling as if the entire world was going against him today.
But, atleast before the sudden lightning he already knew that there was a small shed just in front of him.
'I'll wait for the rain to pass there.'
...
[You should feel honored for making me use my limited stock of holy lightning on you!]
[I should say that to you as well, making me waste my year's supply of misfortune rain!]
In the hidden dimension pocket, a drenched cat and a bird with feathers occasionally buzzing with electric currents grinned at each other with veiled killing intent.
Suddenly, the grasshopper coughed, attracting their attention.
[Um, not to bother you or anything but... we have a guest.]
The cat and the crow suddenly froze and, as if rehearsed countless times, they both looked to the side at the same time and, right there, just two meters away from them, sat a drenched and shivering boy.
[...How?]
[Amazing! I couldn't even feel his presence! This seedling... I must win him over at all cost!]
In this situation, the cat and the crow had visibly varied reactions. While the cat was suspicious and felt aversion to the boy who managed to escape its detection, the crow, meanwhile, felt ecstatic, its eyes gleaming as if it had found a precious treasure.
The grasshopper, watching from the side, just shook its head mysteriously.
...
"It doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon." Haneul muttered wistfully as he stared at the heavy rain outside of the shed. "I wanna go home..."
Ever since he finished his mandatory service in the military, this was the longest time he had been outside.
"Drenched, cold, and hungry." He pressed his forehead against his curled up knees. "It sounds like a terrible survival show that I would end up watching during the weekends when there's nothing else to watch. Though, it's seems like I'm one of the participants now."
Listlessly, he laid flat on his back. "Who knows, maybe I'll end up on tv next week..."
[Do you wish to experience a Second Life?]
A haunting voice whispered amid the sound of the rain pouring against the roof of the shed.
"And now I'm hallucinating." Haneul smiled at himself depreciatingly.
[I can offer you glory... prestige... status! All you need to do is sign a contract with the Alliance.]
Somehow, before he knew it, an orange cat had already been sitting on his chest. But, despite the cat being cute, Haneul was born with an allergy to fur so, his initial reaction was to freeze up and mentally panic, completely missing what the cat had said.
[I can offer you power, riches, and enough battles to quench your inner bloodthirst! All you need to do is support the Red Banner wholeheartedly.]
With the sudden emergence of the crow, the rain pouring outside grew stronger out of nowhere, drowning out the crow's voice.
Truthfully, the crow actually increased the output of misfortune rain to create a lasting impact of its presence but, that additional effort it put in was the very effort which pitted it.
[...]
The grasshopper, already long realizing that no words would get to the boy at this point because of the two idiots, just stayed quiet.
In the end, it just sighed and took out a colorless ticket from within its carapace, sticking it on the boy's drenched shirt.
'A cat, a crow, and a grasshopper taking shelter together with me from this rain...' Haneul tried to smile but the corner of his mouth just ended up twitching slightly. "How strange."
Somehow, it reminded him of the way his most recent novel began.
Then, all of a sudden, his surroundings began to violently shake. He looked around but saw everything aside from the area around him was still.
So, what was the cause of this?
From the corner of his eyes, a ticket stuck on his shirt caught his attention.
...It can't be, right..?
He apprehensively looked below him, just to see the ground suddenly open up, swallowing him whole.
A cat, a crow, and a grasshopper appearing together...
[D*mn! Just when this novel made it into my list of favorites! D*mn you, author! I curse you to become a character in your own novel!]
When the surroundings began to blur out, Haneul looked up and laughed at himself in a mocking manner.
'I feel it. The seven years of piled up resentment from hundreds of readers... I can feel it now.'