Player of the Ruined World Episode 009
Late at night, we returned to the hideout and ate ramen that Kim Hee-joo had cooked.
“Do-yoon, you should eat too.”
“Thank you. And you can speak comfortably to me.”
“Ah… should I?”
Kim Hee-joo gave a bitter smile and served some ramen into my bowl.
As we ate in silence, she placed some kimchi on top of my ramen and spoke.
“Thank you for saving my family today.”
“……”
“From now on, please take care of Sang-il, and the others too. If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell me anytime. I’ll try my best to find the ingredients and make it.”
Feeling a bit burdened, I simply nodded while eating.
More importantly… Sang-il?
Are they the same age?
After swallowing the ramen I was chewing, I looked at Kim Hee-joo and Park Sang-il and asked,
“Are you two the same age?”
“Us? Yeah, we were a campus couple in college.”
The two had been in the same department, dated for a long time, and eventually got married.
And then came their blessing—
Park Kyung-seo.
Kyung-seo sat beside Park Sang-il, blowing on her ramen to cool it.
Watching her fondly, Sang-il gently patted her head.
That scene… somehow looked sad to me.
Not because I pitied Kyung-seo, but because it overlapped with my own childhood.
I, too, wanted to sit around a table with my parents and eat together.
I wanted to be praised by my father, to chat warmly as a family.
The kids I envied the most were the ones who complained about side dishes to their moms during school sports days.
I used to think—if my mom ever came back to me someday, I wouldn’t complain about food.
I kept that thought until I graduated middle school.
For me… it was a dream that could never come true in this life.
“Do-yoon.”
“Yes?”
“You’re not eating more? Give me your bowl.”
Park Sang-il took my bowl and added more ramen with a ladle.
“Eat up. You need to eat to have strength.”
“……”
“How is it? Tastes good, right? Hee-joo may not be great at everything, but she’s really good at making ramen.”
At that, Kim Hee-joo’s eyebrow twitched, and she smiled with a faint killing intent.
“Not great at everything…?”
“Ah—”
“Everything tastes good, doesn’t it?”
“Y-yeah, of course. Everything’s delicious. Everything Hee-joo makes is great.”
“Right?”
“O-of course. Absolutely.”
Sang-il buried his face in his bowl and hurriedly slurped his ramen.
Park Sang-ha, who had been watching quietly, burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Sister-in-law, it’s really delicious. It feels like all my fatigue is washing away.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
The youngest, Park Sang-hoon, also glanced at his brothers and kept giving thumbs up.
Watching them, I felt a strange bitterness in my chest.
It felt like I couldn’t fully belong in this warm atmosphere.
Like… it didn’t suit me.
Like I was just looking at a gentle painting from afar.
As I tried to silently eat my ramen, a small, delicate hand holding a spoon and fork slowly reached over my bowl.
Someone placed kimchi on top of my ramen.
When I looked up, Kyung-seo was staring at me with bright, sparkling eyes.
“…Is this for me?”
She nodded silently.
Was she copying what her mom did?
Smiling faintly, I ate the kimchi and ramen in one bite. Kyung-seo giggled and hugged her mother.
Kim Hee-joo, surprised by her actions, smiled warmly and asked,
“Did Kyung-seo put kimchi on Do-yoon uncle’s ramen?”
“Yeah!”
“Aww, good job. You should ask if it tastes good.”
Kyung-seo twisted her body shyly and asked me,
“Do-yoon uncle! Is it tasty?”
“It’s really good. Maybe because you gave it to me?”
“Then I’ll give you more!”
She happily added more kimchi to my bowl.
When I ate it again with appreciation, she burst into laughter, delighted.
Kim Hee-joo hugged her and said,
“She’s usually shy and doesn’t do things like this. I guess she likes you.”
“……”
Not knowing what to say, I scratched my sideburns awkwardly. Watching the scene, Park Sang-il smiled warmly.
“Looks like Kyung-seo approves of you as her uncle.”
“Huh?”
“She doesn’t even talk to people she’s uncomfortable with. Calling you ‘uncle’ means she likes you.”
“Haha…”
Well… should I feel happy about being accepted by her?
I wasn’t used to situations like this, so instead of saying anything, I just moved my lips silently.
Then Park Sang-ha smiled and said,
“Take good care of us from now on, Do-yoon.”
“Ah, yes… me too.”
They all looked at me and smiled warmly.
For some reason, my chest tightened, and I buried my face in my bowl, hurriedly eating the ramen.
It was a feeling I had never experienced before…
Awkward, yet warm.
A sense of belonging.
Ding—!
The next morning, the clear sound ringing in my ears snapped me awake.
As I groggily sat up, a system message appeared before my eyes.
[The time limit for the emergency episode ‘Qualification for Survival’ has ended.]
[You receive 1,000 points as a clear reward!]
[Searching for the survivor who killed the most zombies.]
Ding—!
[Congratulations! ‘Baek Do-yoon,’ who killed 1,519 zombies in 72 hours, receives an additional 1,000 bonus points!]
Ding—!
[The first main episode, Safe House Entry (#1-0), will now begin.]
[#1-0 Safe House Entry]
[There are a total of 4 safe houses for survivors in Seongdong District.]
[Han○ Apartments and Dae○ Apartments near Haengdang Station.]
[SSang○ Apartments and OO Apartments near Ttukseom Station.]
[Please enter your desired safe house within the time limit.]
[Time limit: 12 hours]
[Clear reward: 500 points]
[Failure: -]
Too much information flooded in right after waking up.
As I blinked and got out of bed—
Knock knock.
“Do-yoon, are you awake?”
“Ah, yes, hyung.”
“Did you see the message too?”
When I opened the door and stepped into the living room, Park Sang-il was scratching his messy hair while staring at the system message.
“Just like you said, the safe house episode started.”
He alternated between looking at the message and my face, clearly amazed.
Then he stared at me and suddenly burst out laughing.
“Hey, looks like you ate too much ramen.”
“What?”
“Your face is super swollen.”
Was it the fatigue combined with ramen?
Looking at the mirror, my eyes were so swollen they were almost covered.
I awkwardly scratched my eyebrow, and soon Park Sang-ha and Park Sang-hoon came out of the next room.
“What’s this? The time limit is 12 hours? And Han○ and Dae○ Apartments… they’re really close from here.”
Sang-ha analyzed the system message.
He was right. Those apartments were large complexes right in front of Haengdang Station.
Only about 400 meters away.
And we had already cleared the path yesterday.
Without hesitation, I spoke.
“We need to go first.”
“What happens if we go early?”
“There’ll be a first-clear reward.”
Since the starting episode had one, the first main episode should too.
The time limit was 12 hours.
The second episode wasn’t immediately dangerous, so securing the first-clear reward was important.
But something bothered me—
The “#1-0” in the system message.
In No Way Home, episodes weren’t numbered like this.
Could something be different?
‘Maybe the information has been subdivided.’
There was no point overthinking it.
I had to see it with my own eyes.
As we quickly prepared to leave, everyone shook off their drowsiness.
“Hee-joo, wake Kyung-seo!”
Sang-il told them to hurry.
Without questioning, Kim Hee-joo quickly got ready.
Everyone moved efficiently.
The more I watched, the more I liked this group.
I grabbed my baseball bat and loosened my body with a few deep breaths.
“Let’s move.”
Before leaving, I should spend my points.
“15 into stamina, 5 into strength.”
[2,000 points consumed.]
[Stamina +15, Strength +5]
[Current stats: Stamina 45, Strength 25, Agility 20, Skin 5]
[Remaining points: 19]
[Coins: 2]
Coins?
So the emergency episode gives coins too.
You need 5 coins to access the coin shop… at this rate, I’ll get there soon.
“We’re ready.”
After confirming everyone had gathered, I spoke.
“We cleared the zombies yesterday, so it should be safe—but stay alert.”
“Okay.”
“Sang-il hyung takes the lead. I’ll follow behind him. Sang-ha hyung and Sang-hoon, protect Kyung-seo and Hee-joo at the back.”
“Got it.”
After a deep breath, I opened the door.
Whoooosh—
Heavy rain was still pouring relentlessly.
This rain… would continue until the second episode ended.
It was less than a 10-minute walk to Haengdang Station.
One thing bothered me—
‘The elementary school survivors.’
There were many survivors at a school near Sangwangsimni Station.
If they came out…
‘They’ll head to Dae○ Apartments.’
They wouldn’t cross the main road just to come to Han○ Apartments.
From what I heard, they weren’t people you’d want to get close to.
So our destination was obvious.
“Hyung, you know where to go, right?”
“Of course. Just follow me.”
Sang-il carefully led us through the rain and thick fog.
After about 7 minutes, the silhouette of a massive apartment complex appeared.
Over 2,000 households.
Haengdang Han○ Apartments.
Just looking at the large shopping complex at the entrance, I could imagine how many zombies were inside.
Probably hundreds.
We had cleared up to the station yesterday, but not inside.
“There it is.”
I nodded.
“Everyone, line up in a row.”
“A row? How?”
“Side by side.”
We had to enter at the same time to all receive the first-clear reward.
We weren’t in a party yet.
So we lined up horizontally and entered together on the count of three.
Zzzz—
[You have entered the first episode safe house.]
[500 points awarded.]
[You are the first to enter! Bonus 500 points awarded.]
Ding—!
[A player has entered the safe house.]
[The episode has been updated to Safe House Establishment.]
Ding—!
[#1-1 Safe House Establishment]
[The safe house is not safe.]
[Eliminate all zombies inside.]
[Remaining zombies: 1,000/1,000]
[Time limit: 24 hours]
[Reward: 1,000 points]
[Failure: Safe house destroyed]
[Your safe house: Haengdang Han○ Apartments, Seongdong District, Seoul.]
System messages kept appearing.
So that strange “#1-0”…
It was a chained quest.
In the game, it was just one episode—but in reality, it was more detailed.
But more importantly—
1,000 zombies in 24 hours?
That’s insane.
We killed 1,500 in three days, and now 1,000 in just one?
Sang-il’s family also looked stunned.
Running his wet hair back, Sang-il asked,
“1,000 in 24 hours… is it possible?”
“It has to be.”
“There’s no other choice.”
