#141
The keyword “lock screen” that came up immediately, as if trying to find out if I had noticed something and was trying to delete the game out of suspicion, put me on high alert.
It was clear that Nine thought if I had found clues that today’s situation was strange, I would have been suspicious from the moment the phone disappeared. Of course, I actually did start to suspect from that point.
If it weren’t for the ring, I would have been uneasy throughout and then felt relieved after hearing Nine’s words. In that sense, Nine not properly investigating the ring was a big help.
“I see. If you couldn’t film, there’s nothing we can do.”
After speaking as naturally as possible, I felt I needed to turn off the phone somehow. I realized I was halfway out of my mind.
“Ugh…”
I groaned softly, putting my hand to my head. Nine spun around, seemingly startled, and asked:
: What’s wrong? Does your head hurt?
“I’m just… tired.”
When I spoke with a sigh, Nine told me to rest quickly, as if concerned. I had made it up to avoid conversation with Nine, but I actually felt my head hurting more as I spoke.
In the end, Nine disappeared with a pop, telling me to rest comfortably.
‘Whew, I never thought talking with Nine would feel like dancing on thin ice.’
As I sighed in relief and tried to lie back on the backrest, Nine suddenly appeared and said:
: Oh, but don’t try to delete me again while decorating your home screen!
‘Ah, you scared me!’
I barely managed to hold back a scream. Judging by its sudden appearance, it seemed Nine was still suspicious of my attempt to delete the game.
In some ways, it was very concerning how it kept boldly appearing as if to test me. It never used to pop up like this unless it was really important.
Instead of answering, I nodded repeatedly. Only then did Nine disappear.
‘This won’t do. I can’t live with my heart in my throat like this.’
If it couldn’t be resolved within the phone, there was only one solution left. Abandoning the phone.
‘Living without a phone won’t be that inconvenient.’
Maybe I’ve watched too many movies or read too many novels, but I’ve seen people being tracked through their phones more than once or twice. So I thought it would be best to flee without a phone at all.
I never thought I’d be thinking of running away from the house I bought with all my assets, but the shock wasn’t as big as I expected. I could come back after thinking deeply alone… and even if not, it didn’t feel like real money anymore.
‘If I leave… how will those two feel?’
Is it right to leave over something like this? Am I being too sensitive? Maybe I’ve become too prickly because I’m originally a depression patient…
‘If I go, where should I go?’
Since falling into this world, I hadn’t gone far except for dungeon raids. Naturally, I hadn’t properly seen what was around, and I was worried if areas other than Seoul would be properly implemented.
As it was my first time fleeing in the night, I had no idea what to take with me. The only thing that came to mind was the common mistakes that are easy to catch, which I’d often seen in media.
Honestly, my initial goal was to return after thinking enough alone and looking into my heart, but I didn’t know when that would be. But if those two tracked me down and came to catch me, I thought I’d really be angry.
‘I need to be careful of CCTV.’
It was important to dress inconspicuously while not revealing my identity. First of all, most people in this world would recognize my face, so I had to somehow prevent them from noticing. I wasn’t sure if it would work well, given how flashy this body is…
‘If I wear sunglasses, I’ll look like a model, and even with a hood, cap, or mask, I’ll look like a celebrity sneaking out.’
Being excessively handsome was quite inconvenient too. Even wearing ordinary glasses would look like I’m trying to be stylish, so I was worried if it would work to hide my identity.
Anyway, I had no choice but to try to cover my body shape and face to look as plain and inconspicuous as possible.
Moreover, I couldn’t carry around a large carrier or bag in this situation. To avoid being caught by the security guards when leaving this house, I had no choice but to discard all clothes and daily necessities.
I decided to withdraw cash nearby and suspend all bank transactions for the time being. The thought of running away with bundles of cash in an intimidating amount made my heart race, but there was no other way. I just had to be careful not to get pickpocketed or leave my bag somewhere.
‘As for the location…’
I wanted to look at a map on my phone, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it for fear that Nine might see the search history of other regions.
‘Where do I buy a map?’
Do they sell them at stationery stores? Or bookstores?
Or should I just move freely, wherever my feet take me, instead of looking for a region on a map?
Since it was a virtual Seoul with regions and buildings different from reality, I had no idea about other areas. Above all, since I was born in Seoul and had only been to the Gyeonggi area at most, I felt a vague fear.
‘There’s no one to help me… Huh?’
Suddenly, an unexpected person crossed my mind. Ray and his group.
‘They were trying to take me to America anyway.’
It might have been Nine’s ploy, but they were people who were going back to America anyway. And since they came on a private jet, I thought if I could sneak in and hide to leave the country, then hide in America, Nine and those two wouldn’t be able to find me.
There was certainly no mention in the news of them leaving Korea… If I use them, couldn’t I leave without anyone knowing?
‘Let’s leave it to fate.’
I fell asleep on my side after making various escape plans in my head.
***
There was a time limit to my plan. I had to make contact before Ray and his group completely returned to America. From what I saw in the news, they were meeting Korean awakened ones and spending their vacation at a hotel.
The fortunate thing was that the hotel where they were spending their vacation was very famous. Above all, it was located not too far from the Awakened Management Center. It didn’t seem difficult to remember the room I was taken to if I went to that hotel.
I came to the Awakened Management Center under the pretext that the medicine didn’t seem to agree with me. Hyun Dowoon had gone to the center director’s office to handle the center director’s work, and I had just sent Shin Haejun to write a report on the previous dungeon, saying I would be in the medical center.
‘Let’s pretend to go to the bathroom.’
I naturally got up and asked a medical center staff about the bathroom, and a center security guard looked my way. After I became famous, security was minimized to keep the number of people who knew about my depression small. Because it was the VIP course, there were very few people coming and going. This was the chance to slip out.
When I actually entered the bathroom, the security guard soon turned his attention away. He wasn’t there just to guard me.
‘Anyway… those two will find me.’
To deceive even Nine, I left my phone in the bathroom’s belongings compartment. Of course, I had changed the sound to vibrate mode in the morning, so even if Nine changed it to sound mode and set off an alarm, I planned to pretend not to notice.
The only reason I didn’t drop it in the toilet was a bit of lingering affection.
After turning on the water to pretend to wash my hands, I quickly took off my outer clothes. I had deliberately worn loose wide jeans over thin pants. I also wore two layers of T-shirts. Even those two didn’t know what clothes I was wearing underneath. Since I had deliberately brought a small bag inside a large one, I could disguise myself perfectly.
After rolling up my outer clothes and throwing them in the trash, I quickly left the bathroom with the water still running. It was very bad to waste water, but it was necessary to prevent Nine’s alarm from leaking out.
At the bathroom entrance, I staggered noticeably towards the emergency stairs next to it. Since I was pretending to be unwell due to the medicine not agreeing with me, I planned to make it look like I was moving in that direction in a dazed state.
‘Made it!’
As I entered the stairs, I saw that the CCTV disappeared. Since CCTV was only at the entrance, if I moved quickly to the first floor and naturally joined the outside, they wouldn’t be able to track me immediately.
I put on the cap and mask that I had brought in the small bag at this point. It was to create confusion when they tried to track me through CCTV.
As I expected, when I came down to the first floor, no one looked at me suspiciously as I came out of the secluded emergency stairs.
The clothes I was wearing inside were extremely ordinary sweatpants, which made the cap and mask look natural. I didn’t wear sunglasses for fear of standing out strangely, but instead wore glasses to change my impression as much as possible. Thanks to the deep cap, no one recognized me as I passed by quickly.
‘I need to walk as naturally as possible.’
Remembering that there was an ATM near the back door, I moved quickly towards the ATM, blending in with the crowd.
‘If those two are monitoring me…’
This would be the turning point, as they would probably receive a report of a large sum of money being withdrawn from my account and start tracking me immediately.
I hope they didn’t go that far, and I don’t want to think they’re monitoring me like that… But I tend to assume the worst by nature.
“…Huh?”
The moment I inserted the card to withdraw money at the ATM, I saw that the withdrawal limit was only 700,000 won. There were clearly hundreds of millions in the account, so why 700,000 won?
“My money!”
I felt extremely wronged for a moment.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
