By Zephyria WELCOME TO LA VIDA 🙂
~Day 18425~
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[Day 1842]
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The day after visiting Taeul District, Joo-oh rested well.
Joo-oh was grabbed by the arm before falling asleep and dragged to the study where he lay down, and when he opened his eyes again, it was morning.
While humming any OST from “La Vida Blue” while looking at the plain ceiling, he heard a knock.
As expected, the door burst open, rendering the knock meaningless, but he didn’t mind because the face he saw upside down while lying on the mattress was pleasingly welcome.
Jin Mu-hae from an angle he had never seen while playing the game. Everything was just so fun that Joo-oh grinned.
“Come out and eat.”
“Meat?”
“What meat from morning?”
He complained a bit about the meal before even sitting at the table, but cereal wasn’t bad either.
The foods from ‘Gamna,’ a famous food brand in Goryeo City in the story, all had colorful and uniquely shaped appearances.
The cereal bowl in front of Joo-oh now was also filled with colorful fruit rings.
It wasn’t something Jin Mu-hae had been eating all along, but Western-style food that he had bought new just for Joo-oh.
“Since you chose it, take care of it all.”
He definitely mentioned the product name he saw in the game in passing…
“Hmm.”
The advertisement on the front, claiming to be packed with fourteen nutrients, looked quite vintage and cheerful.
Joo-oh tapped the energetic duck character with his fingertip before tilting the milk carton, which had been left at room temperature, over the bowl.
“It’s not bad for fake milk.”
Joo-oh muttered, licking the milk that had splashed on the back of his hand.
“Fake milk, what rude manners.”
Jin Mu-hae replied dryly. His tone wasn’t pleasant, but he at least engaged in conversation.
Until a few days ago, he would have just raised an eyebrow and ignored him if he thought it was nonsense. It was quite a remarkable development.
It must have been helpful for the story progression. Joo-oh thought to himself, scooping up a spoonful of cereal.
He wanted to observe Jin Mu-hae more, but his stomach was empty and his judgment was starting to decline.
Crunch, a strange taste spread through his biting teeth.
“Uhm, um. It doesn’t taste like fruit.”
Of course, they wouldn’t have put real fruit in it. It was sweet and edible, so who cared.
Joo-oh quickly emptied the bowl and tilted the cereal bag over the bowl again.
The fruit rings poured out, piling up like a mountain.
Joo-oh devoured the hollow star-shaped cereal, barely soaked in milk, without another word.
“I was curious. About the taste.”
“……”
“Do you want to try it too, Jin Mu-hae?”
“You eat it. I have my own.”
Mu-hae gestured to the cereal that looked like torn box scraps.
The yellowish and unsightly appearance looked more like feed than a meal.
“It looks bad.”
“You’ll die early if you only eat delicious things.”
He seemed to have heard a similar story when Gan asked him to buy a hot dog at the rest stop.
Was it because he had a physical job, or because he had received some education for someone living in this kind of place?
Jin Mu-hae was quite picky about what he ate, considering his considerable size. That restraint made him look even more attractive.
‘The protagonist has to be cool.’
Joo-oh nodded and poured another bowl full of cereal into the empty bowl.
Mu-hae made a slightly disgusted face in front of him.
After finishing the meal, they watched TV. To be exact, only Joo-oh watched TV, and Jin Mu-hae sat at the cleanly cleared table, absorbed in something.
It was obvious what he was thinking about. His stomach was full and his mind was at peace, so Joo-oh was no longer upset about what happened the day before. His head was working properly.
‘The quest has moved on to the next one.’
While he was away from Taeul District, Mu-hae seemed to have met the person Teacher Jung had mentioned.
Shin Dae-soo. The first accomplice Jin Mu-hae met besides Director Gil and Teacher Jung.
According to the story, he would have left branches for him to meet other people, and soon a quest related to communication equipment would follow.
Because the information Shin Dae-soo gave Jin Mu-hae was a number that only worked on specific equipment.
—Taste the popping star soda that makes you excited♪ The joyful thrill is the sparkling bell soda♪
For Joo-oh, it was all progress he already knew. It was strangely wonderful how happy he was every time he experienced it directly.
However, one thing that bothered him was that Jin Mu-hae kept trying to leave Joo-oh behind.
He didn’t know how much longer the grace he had earned by feeding the Thorn wolf would last. He could stubbornly insist on following him for now, but as the quest became more difficult and the story matured, he felt like he would be separated from him.
—Gamna Popping Star♪ Gamna Sparkling Bell♪
“Aren’t you watching TV?”
“Huh?”
“Turn it off if you’re not watching. It’s noisy.”
“I’m going to watch it.”
Joo-oh focused his dazed eyes and fixed his gaze on the TV where the advertisement was playing.
He hadn’t even seen all 18 CFs in “La Vida Blue” yet, so he couldn’t turn off the TV. Even if he wasn’t concentrating, he couldn’t do that.
Mu-hae gathered his displeased gaze and got up from the table. He must have finished his worries, as he returned with the duffel bag he had placed next to the shoe rack.
Square boxes began to come out one by one from the inside. They were the equipment Jin Mu-hae used.
There were quite a few besides the ones attached to his jacket. They were worn out here and there, as if they had been used for a long time, but they were all well-maintained and clean.
“Are you going to wipe them again?”
“I’m checking them.”
“Why? Is there something you’ll be using them for soon?”
“You’re not watching TV, are you?”
How petty. While muttering, Joo-oh couldn’t take his eyes off Mu-hae.
There were no special combat items visible in the quest list, but he had a strong feeling that he would be leaving the house again.
Was he staring too intently? Mu-hae frowned as if annoyed, checking the number of consumables.
Haa. He pressed his temples with his fingertips and sighed deeply.
“You.”
“Yeah.”
“Can you be alone for a few days?”
Seeing his unstable gaze flitting across Joo-oh’s face, it seemed like he had asked knowing it wouldn’t work from the start.
“Yeah. I didn’t expect it anyway.”
“I won’t get in your way.”
“Do you think I’m crazy enough to believe that?”
“Then, I’ll help you.”
“I don’t need it.”
He shook his head and picked up the pad. From the way he was tapping something, it seemed like he had a request.
There was no way Jin Mu-hae would receive an ordinary request at this point. Joo-oh made a puzzled expression, then slid down to the floor of the sofa and approached Jin Mu-hae on his knees.
“Where are you looking?”
He quickly covered the pad, but there was no way Joo-oh hadn’t seen the fleeting screen.
It was a job passed on from a City-affiliated Company. A schedule to leave Goryeo City in two days.
‘Has the story… changed?’
With the thought that it couldn’t be, Joo-oh turned on the system window, and a familiar phrase flickered before his eyes.
WELCOME TO LA VIDA 🙂
~Day 5612~
“Ah.”
Only then did he realize what the problem was.
The flow of time. The world Joo-oh had entered now had a significantly different pace of progress than the game.
The service of showing a video cutscene, flickering the screen off and on, and then turning the date back a week was no longer available.
‘I didn’t know it at the time of playing.’
During those days that passed by so quickly, there was almost no mention of what Jin Mu-hae was doing, what preparations he was making, or how he was living his daily life.
The player could only roughly guess that he was spending his days as usual, based on Jin Mu-hae’s monologue when leaving the front door or the cans of drinks on the table.
Come to think of it, there was also a quest related to a City-affiliated Company later on.
He had previously speculated that Jin Mu-hae continued to receive jobs from that side, but he never expected it to come in this way…!
Hwaa, Joo-oh’s face brightened. The positive time of blankness that he was experiencing for the first time pounded his heart.
He felt so, so good that his mind was becoming clearer. It had been so long since he had delved into and reasoned about “La Vida Blue” like this.
Joo-oh moved his knees more often, showing a wide smile, and approached Mu-hae.
“Jin Mu-hae.”
“……”
“Jin Mu-hae. Jin Mu-hae.”
“Stop calling me and why don’t you go to the hospital. I’ll tell them to get you delicious food three times a day.”
The quests Joo-oh had interfered with so far were all light missions to introduce combat methods.
In comparison, the Company’s requests were more dangerous and arduous, full-fledged horror action play.
It was perhaps a natural reaction for Mu-hae to insist on the same opinion every time. Joo-oh met his unwavering gaze as if understanding his anxiety.
“You know. If I don’t get in Jin Mu-hae’s way this time. And if I help Jin Mu-hae.”
“Then, what.”
“Don’t leave me behind anymore. Okay? Jin Mu-hae. If I’m useful.”
Joo-oh’s head was spinning. He didn’t feel foggy or hazy, and his chest kept swelling.
What Jin Mu-hae needed right now was a helper character who could be helpful without being annoying.
Until he had built up enough of his favor, Joo-oh decided to stick to that position.