Shin quietly took out his phone from his bag and started playing with it.
On his phone screen, it looked like he was reading manga, and the words slipped out of his mouth...
"Absolute trash!! Shit author—why is she still rejecting him after 380 chapters?! There's no fucking way. He'd be much better off with the second female lead—she's already opened her heart to him!"
Mia, who was sitting next to Shin, also saw the chapter he was reading.
"Right? He should just go for the other woman who's already opened up to him..."
"Ugh, maybe I should troll him on his social media."
Shin suddenly realized Mia was beside him and quickly locked his phone.
"You two—get out of class right now!!" Rin shouted from the front.
"Damn, why is Rin in such a bad mood today? Who pissed her off? Did she fight with her boyfriend?"
Mia smirked and chimed in, "I doubt it. No guy would be stupid enough not to notice he's stressing her out..."
Shin, still clueless, wondered who that guy could be.
"Oh, I see. No wonder... C'mon, follow me. I know a good spot to sleep."
Mia followed Shin out of the classroom, holding onto his wrist until they reached their destination—the rooftop.
"Just stay here. It's shady, and the teachers never come up here... except for our homeroom teacher."
Mia lay down, resting her head on Shin's body. She felt comfortable against him, but her true nature was starting to slip out, and she was struggling to hold it back a little.
"Are you okay, Mia? You seem kinda restless?"
Mia shook her head.
"I'm fine... don't worry about me."
Shin didn't think much of it, so he just closed his eyes and slept.
"Shin... Shin... Shin..."
Shin heard a girl's voice calling him. He opened his eyes to find Rin standing beside him, pressing a finger to her lips—a sign to stay quiet.
She pointed at Mia, who was sound asleep on Shin's lap, signaling not to disturb her.
"Why are you here, teacher?"
She shook her head. "For now, just call me Rin—as your friend. I just wanna talk to you."
Shin carefully lifted Mia's head slightly, adjusted his position to lean against the wall, and then gently placed her back on his thigh.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
Rin sat down beside Shin and leaned back.
"I just wanted to say... I'm sorry for ignoring you all this time. Even though from the very beginning until now, you've always helped me."
Shin hadn't expected Rin to apologize—to him, it wasn't even a mistake since he helped her willingly.
"It's okay... Besides, I've got new friends now, like Mia and my two apprentices. I'm happy where I am."
"You haven't changed at all, Shin. Still the same as before—that kindness in your heart... My stupid self forgot about it." She hesitated. "If I asked you to rejoin the guild... would you come back?"
Shin shook his head.
"That guild's too good for me. You can handle it fine without me. You've always done everything alone anyway, so Maxx is a much better fit as your support."
Rin listened to Shin's explanation—his words made it clear he had no intention of returning to the guild.
"Hah... Losing someone actually useful really hurts, Shin..."
Shin knew Rin was worried about him. If anything happened, she wouldn't be able to help him anymore. So, as a friend, he became her *reason.
"Don't worry, Rin... Sooner or later, you'll end up hating me too. So for now, just forget about me. Let's limit our relationship to teacher and student, alright... Teacher?"
His answer actually made Rin feel... relieved.
"But you know I could never truly hate you. So, ready to be my student?"
Rin stood up, brushing off the back of her skirt.
"I'll go ahead, Shin. Don't be late for class."
She opened the door and left. Shin could only smile faintly.
"I don't think so... You will hate me—because you'll have to."
That day might be the last time they'd ever meet like this. Something much bigger was coming...
Shin glanced at Mia and realized she'd been awake for a while—her body had been fidgeting slightly, but the timing hadn't been right.
"I know you're awake, Mia. No need to pretend anymore."
"Heeeee... Sorry."
Shin ruffled her hair. "S'okay." And with that, they left the rooftop and returned to class.
-----
By afternoon, classes had ended. On his way home, Shin's phone buzzed with a notification—from the game WOQ (Wisdom of Qurt).
[EVENT]
"Last Day of Your Fun Life"
Task: Do or Die
Objective: Log in tomorrow (Saturday).
Reward: 1 Million Coins ( $250,000 USD)
Penalty for Failure/Incompletion:
[PERMANENT ACCOUNT DELETION]
GOOD LUCK!
The global gaming community erupted over the news. Comments flooded in—some players were furious, others ecstatic.
Shin skimmed through the reactions:
"Whoah!! Best game EVER!!"
"Fuckkk I was supposed to work tomorrow, but who cares? Who's gonna pass up this kinda money?!"
Some called it a scam. Others dismissed it as a prank. Even WOQ's customer service was completely unreachable.
After arriving home, Shin sat in the living room and turned on the TV. The news was playing on every channel—WOQ had gone all out, buying massive billboards in every city and flooding advertisements everywhere in a single day.
Shin turned off the TV and headed upstairs to his room, collapsing onto his bed. The front door opened—his mom was home earlier than usual.
None of this seemed to surprise Shin.
Knock... knock.
"Come in, Mom..."
His mom opened the door, holding a plastic bag of food. She held it up slightly.
"Wanna eat together...?"
Shin gave a small thumbs-up. He got up and set up a small table while his mom laid out the food. They sat together in silence.
"It's tomorrow, right? What you told me before...?"
Shin only nodded.
His mom opened the food containers, but suddenly, tears streamed down her face—something only the two of them understood was coming.
Wordlessly, she picked up her chopsticks and fed Shin a bite. He accepted it quietly, chewing without protest.
Time slipped by too fast. Before they knew it, the food was gone. Shin spread his arms wide, and his mom rushed into his embrace.
"Son... be strong. I know you can do this. You're a genius, after all."
Shin rested his head against hers, holding her tightly. The night weighed heavily on them—both afraid to sleep, yet exhaustion eventually pulled them under in each other's arms.
Beep!! Beep!!
The alarm blared. Midnight. Saturday.
Shin and his mom jolted awake, their eyes snapping toward the VR capsule—its lid sliding open on its own. The event had begun.
"Mom... my time's up."
His mother loosened her grip. Shin slowly stood and walked to the capsule, stepping inside. His mom watched from above, her hands clutching the edge of the pod.
Tears fell. One. Two. Landing on Shin's face.
He wiped them away with his thumb.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll come back... I promise."
She nodded, swallowing a sob as she closed the capsule's lid. Shin smiled faintly—
"Bye, Mom..."