Episode 1
Prologue
[Mr. Joohyun, this month’s rent still hasn’t been paid.]
Another text demanding rent.
Joohyun set his phone down indifferently.
The window frame by the entrance was split open, and mold was spreading across the bathroom tiles.
Monthly rent: 420,000 won.
Deposit: 10 million won.
Forget about a full lease—he didn’t even have enough left in his account to move somewhere else.
Today, like always, he left work at 11 p.m.
His team leader had thrown documents in his face.
“If this is how you’re going to work, why don’t you just quit?”
So this was thirty.
Was this really the life he’d wanted?
Dragging his feet down the street, a bus stop display caught his eyes.
[Abandon reality, and choose adventure!]
[Virtual Reality MMORPG – A game like a fantasy, Illusion!]
[Hundreds of skills! Thousands of weapons!
Colossal bosses!
Fierce wars!]
The screen blazed with color.
Massive monsters stomped the earth.
Warriors swung their swords and roared.
Magic rained down. Guilds clashed.
Most people, watching that spectacle, would feel their blood race.
But what caught Joohyun’s eyes—
was in the back, amidst the ruins of the battlefield.
NPCs rebuilding the walls, securing beams, repairing rooftops.
The thunder of battle faded.
Instead, the steady pounding of hammers rang louder in his ears.
…That used to be my work.
Back then, with his father, when he was young—he too had built things like that.
He had no interest in war.
No interest in monsters.
No interest in legendary weapons.
He only wanted… a home to call his own.
Joohyun smiled faintly.
“Even if I can’t go on adventures… I can at least build a house.”
And so he resolved.
If reality wouldn’t give it to him—
“Then I’ll just make it myself.”
Make it with his own hands.
And then…
“One more time…”
His eyes locked on the carpenter NPC in the background.
Nothing else mattered.
In his cold, lifeless gaze, a spark of desire flickered.
“Maybe… I really can.”
