By Zephyria 
Beep—
Trring. Pip!
WELCOME TO LA VIDA 🙂
~Year 16, Day 162~
[Quest]
- Main Quest
Tutorial (Completed)
CHAPTER 1 (Completed)
CHAPTER 2 (Completed)
CHAPTER 3 (Completed)
CHAPTER 4
☞ The Way Back
- Repayment √
- Meeting Olga Again √
- Handkerchiefs of -1 and -4 √
- The Owner of the Clue √
☞ Whereabouts of the Item
- Prisoner 28067 √
- Experiment Na 1.07 Gap √
- Find the Requested Item √
- Cheong’s Backer √
☞ Someone is Watching
- A Defense Force Member’s Dilemma √
- Searching for Suspects √
- The Mystery of the Frame √
- Where the Sun Sets √
☞ Reunion (In Progress)
- What the Shape Says √
- The Fruit that Swallowed Fire √
- The Administrator of Goryeo City √
- A New Proposal √
Vririk—!
Progress for [CHAPTER 4] is 100% complete.
All Clear Bonus! The Hidden Ending is now proceeding.
A game he had played countless times, even after mastering the stories of every single route.
Now, a strange and happy ending—one he had never once encountered in that world—lay before his eyes.
Joo-oh blankly looked around the space he stood in. A vast, grand library. Lattice windows where the pale blue light of City Hall seeped through.
Antique decorations, and in the center, Jin Mu-hae…
Unlike Joo-oh, who had come dressed in slouchy casual clothes, he was wearing a neat dress shirt. Because of that, he blended into this place so perfectly that even a veteran gamer like Joo-oh found it surreal.
Half-filled with ecstasy, Joo-oh gazed at him endlessly. Jin Mu-hae’s voice. Jin Mu-hae’s expression. The slight twitch of the end of Jin Mu-hae’s eyebrow, and Jin Mu-hae’s scent…
“This is boring.”
“I’m not joking. Like you said, I’m looking for the right talent.”
It’s amazing. Truly, truly amazing. They say that if you raise the exposure level significantly from Chapter 1 and then choose specific options in each subsequent chapter, you can see West Wind’s appearance directly before the ending.
But that was merely a scene for the sake of the Starpath’s material. Seo Ju-gyeong does not join the future that Jin Mu-hae draws.
After that, the protagonist is given only two choices: to eliminate Crystal Blue, or not to.
An ending where one postpones that into the distant future and joins hands with West Wind to aim for a prepared future was truly…
‘…Wow.’
He had never seen this, neither before nor after becoming an Aberrant. It hadn’t even appeared when he had perfectly cleared the Aberrant subjugation battle—the highest difficulty in “La Vida Blue”—with a naked Jin Mu-hae.
He was glad. Not just glad, but happy.
Beyond mere happiness, the bridge of his nose felt tingly and his stomach felt like it was churning.
Barely suppressing a whimper that almost escaped, Joo-oh pressed his reddened cheeks firmly and then slowly let go.
The long and incredible time he had endured to reach this moment flashed through his mind one by one.
Ding—!
Would you like to continue the ending?
[YES] [NO]
At that moment, a translucent system window floated in his vision.
It was a remarkably abrupt choice window. Would he be crazy enough to give up this lovely moment?
No, before that, he couldn’t understand the intent of the question. If he chose not to proceed, would the ending just stop?
How? Would time freeze? Would West Wind evaporate somewhere?
Either way, it was an undesirable situation. Listening intently to the conversation that was gradually heading toward a conclusion, Joo-oh reached for the ‘YES’ button without a shred of hesitation or will to ponder.
Zzzzt—.
Playing the unlocked side story.
“Uh.”
His vision blurred. The strength left his legs. Just as a sense of lethargy—something he had never experienced in the world of “La Vida Blue”—overwhelmed him…
‘Joo-oh?’
‘Why is he suddenly…!’
‘Is he sick? Can you hear me? Hey!’
‘Joo-oh!’
.
.
.
♪♩♬♪—.
Around five years after entering the bunker, the child became an adult.
Since it was a special day, he broke open the rations he had been saving. He crushed hard biscuits and mixed them with defatted milk and water to mold a round dough.
He also split an energy bar and placed it on top. Chocolate that had long passed its expiration date crumbled white instead of melting from body heat.
The food he popped into his mouth felt less like a cake and more like a lump of clay smelling of raw flour. If it had been a few years ago, it would have been a monstrosity he would have shuddered at and spat out the moment it touched his tongue.
It was okay. Because soon, there would be a way to eat a proper cake that couldn’t even be compared to this.
—I feel a bit more energized.
A strawberry shortcake that could only be obtained during the day at a cafe in the Restricted Area. Jin Mu-hae, who had interacted with the 12-Deal achievement food, recited his set line.
The child—no, the young man—only then swallowed the remaining food with a satisfied face.
“La Vida Blue” was the only trace of humanity he could encounter in the isolated bunker; it was his daily routine, and his hope.
The credit for enduring this long stretch of time lay not in the preserved foods that slaughtered his sense of taste, but in Jin Mu-hae and that world.
.
.
.
The already precarious food supplies were running low.
The young man reduced his already meager food intake to the absolute limit.
He had stopped exercising long ago. Now, he barely had the strength to move.
It was okay. Fortunately, “La Vida Blue” could be operated sufficiently with just a few fingers.
—Not bad.
Jin Mu-hae, having eaten a dish of beans and roasted bird meat, muttered.
The speaker—which had broken once, been shaken, hit, disassembled, reassembled, and had five deep bows offered to it—fortunately provided a decent enough sound.
A human city rebuilt after the crisis of extinction. The panorama of Goryeo City boasted its splendid appearance along with the background music.
The young man was so captivated by the sight that he occasionally lost track of time.
—The sky is filthy today.
I want to see Jin Mu-hae.
—When does it start?
I want to walk along Starlight Road.
—I smell blood.
I want to see the city glowing with Blue Energy.
I want to touch, feel, and be with everyone.
The young man no longer dreamed of people returning.
He had long since abandoned the imagination of someone knocking on the bunker door, or the expectation that a clear signal might suddenly be caught on the radio and lead to finding survivors.
At this point, the delusion of becoming a part of “La Vida Blue” felt more realistic. If Jin Mu-hae were here, would this broken world have been revived enough for people to live in?
.
.
.
The young man’s memory began to fragment.
He couldn’t be sure if his mental state was sound, but this was simply due to his physical condition rather than madness.
He had to be awake to remember anything. It was overwhelming just to maintain his withered body with the spoiled carbohydrate powder he scraped together once every three days.
Blink. Every time he regained consciousness, he looked at the monitor.
Now, electricity was so scarce that he had to turn off the power before falling asleep.
When he woke up from a blackout, several hours would have passed. Still, he liked that the first thing he faced upon opening his eyes was the monitor.
Because Jin Mu-hae stood there, unchanging. For a fleeting moment, he felt neither hunger nor loneliness.
According to the date recorded on the computer, the young man was now 22 years old.
Though he still didn’t know the situation outside, he vaguely realized it.
No one would ever come looking for this place. The world would never return to the way it was before.
Perhaps he was the sole survivor of a voidly vast world.
Despite having become numb to everything, the last suspicion was so terrifyingly frightening that the young man rubbed a long-broken leather belt against the tip of his nose.
Because Jin Mu-hae wore a leather jacket. Perhaps he smelled like this.
When he closed his eyes and focused on his sense of smell, the fear gradually faded.
How did the world end up like this?
How did so many people vanish all at once, like some absurd B-movie plot?
One day, while questioning himself endlessly, a strange notification sound reached the young man’s ears.
♪—.
Event!
A translucent system window appeared before his eyes, just like in a game.
You have become the last survivor of Earth 04408.
You receive the benefit of migration to an Earth of your choice.
He couldn’t distinguish where the dream ended and where reality began.
What was certain was that in that moment, the only thing filling his mind was “La Vida Blue.”
There must be a happier and more peaceful world. A world from the fairy tales he read as a child, or a healing game he had encountered once.
But what the young man wanted was the world of “La Vida Blue.” A place where humanity had overcome the crisis, where there was a Return flight, and where Jin Mu-hae lived and breathed.
‘Can you hear me?’
Loading…
‘Looks like he’s waking up.’
‘I asked if you can hear me, you brat.’
“Joo-oh!”
Flash. At the sound of his name being called, Joo-oh snapped his eyes open.
Under the bright light, he saw Jin Mu-hae’s face.
With eyes tangled in worry and fear, he gripped Joo-oh’s shoulder. Even through the clothes, his body heat felt pleasant, and Joo-oh started laughing before he even knew what was happening.
“Hehe.”
“Haa… what’s so funny that you’re grinning, waking up after two days.”
Despite the sharp reprimand, the touch on his face was tender.
Sniff, smelling him, Joo-oh rubbed his cheek against him. There was no scent of leather, but there was a cool, firm, and beloved fragrance.
“Why did you collapse? Is something wrong?”
“No. I just had a dream. A dream about Jin Mu-hae.”
LA VIDA BLUE
COMPLETE
~Year 16, Day 162~
- Quest
- Log
- Added Mode
Ding!
[Quest]
- Main Quest
Tutorial (Completed)
CHAPTER 1 (Completed)
CHAPTER 2 (Completed)
CHAPTER 3 (Completed)
CHAPTER 4 (Completed)
{All Clear}
Hidden Ending Route Unlocked