"Uh, Instructor Sung Suah... It's fine, don't worry about it."
"Haah... I'm sorry..."
Sung Suah crouched on the grass, sighing deeply as if she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.
This game also had NPCs. Sung Suah had assumed the child standing in front of her was an NPC. She never imagined that Suho had turned into a child.
But as she hung her head, pouting, she glanced at Suho and thought.
'He's so cute...'
Sung Suah, who had always loved children, couldn't take her eyes off Suho, whose appearance had changed. The child version of Suho patted her shoulder with his small hand, comforting her.
"Instructor Sung Suah, don't worry too much. I'm actually enjoying this."
"...Huh?"
Sung Suah, not understanding what he meant, looked up at the young Suho.
"Like yesterday, where else would we get to experience something like this?"
Suho said this and sat down next to Sung Suah.
"Yesterday was embarrassing, but I had fun. Today was a bit surprising too, but this situation is interesting."
"Ah..."
"I was worried that I might have bothered you by calling you out and made you feel bad."
"No, not at all! Thinking about it... these kinds of things aren't common, right?"
Sung Suah smiled as she looked down at Suho.
'Ah... I want to pat his head...'
Sung Suah suppressed the urge welling up inside her.
Unaware of her thoughts, the small Sung Suho stood up confidently and said.
"Since we've started the game, shall we proceed?"
***
I headed to the village with Sung Suah to begin the opening sequence.
But now that my body was smaller, I started to feel inconvenienced.
Having to match Sung Suah's pace, I felt like I was stumbling along.
'Wow, being small is more inconvenient than I thought.'
[Wouldn't it be better to change the settings now?]
'...Let's try it like this for now.'
When I first entered the VR device and messed around with the settings, I accidentally entered the wrong age, ending up as an elementary school student.
But I was satisfied with this body.
'Wow... Sung Suah's chest was amazing.'
[....]
Just being able to rub my face against Sung Suah's chest was more than enough.
However, compared to the capsule, the headgear definitely lacked the full sensory experience.
But it was still far from being something to complain about.
The smell of grass wafting into my nose, the damp breeze brushing against my arms.
The vast plain surrounded by lush green mountains.
Just entering this world made me feel like the device was worth its price.
'Wow, for 500 million... this is worth it.'
I was impressed even before the game's opening sequence began.
As I looked around in awe, I felt someone's gaze.
Sung Suah was glancing at me.
When our eyes met, she quickly looked away.
'...?'
I didn't know why, but it didn't feel like she was dissatisfied or complaining.
We soon arrived at the village entrance, and the opening sequence began.
An anthropomorphic raccoon NPC welcomed us and started rambling on.
The raccoon NPC wasn't in an animal form but appeared as a cute SD-style character.
In short, it welcomed us as new residents, gave us a house, and told us to slowly enjoy life while paying off a loan.
'Good grief, the game starts with debt?'
[You don't need to immerse yourself too much. The interest rate is ridiculously low, and there are almost no penalties for late payments.]
'But it's still debt...'
[....]
Actually, many of the NTL games I play have similar elements.
There's always some reason for the debt, and the story progresses as you pay it off.
And in those games, paying off the debt isn't the main focus.
The debt is just a framework to move the story forward.
This game is probably the same.
A slow-life game that makes you spend years paying off debt would fail.
Sung Suah, who had listened to the raccoon NPC, smiled brightly and took the lead.
"Shall we head to the house?"
"Yes."
The house we arrived at was...
"...It's a bit small."
"That's how it starts. You can gradually expand the house."
It wasn't shabby, but it definitely felt small.
Sung Suah entered the house first, and as I was about to follow...
Thud!
Just as I tried to open the door, a blue wall appeared, and I bumped into it, falling backward.
"Ouch!"
"Huh? Are you okay!?"
Sung Suah rushed out of the house and helped me up.
As I lay in her arms, rubbing my nose, I thought.
'Hahak, hahak. I want to grab it! I want to squeeze it!'
[....]
Sung Suah's chest was right in front of my eyes.
Knowing that grabbing it would be a bad move, I rubbed my nose with both hands instead of her chest.
If this had happened in real life, it would have hurt, but since it was a game, I only felt a slight sensation.
But as I rubbed my nose, Sung Suah gently stroked my forehead.
Her casual touch on my forehead was a bit startling.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry. I forgot to set the house permissions since I'm the host."
"Ah... It's fine."
"Huhu..."
"...?"
Sung Suah smiled at my response.
"It's funny how you look like a child but speak so maturely."
"Haha..."
Sung Suah looked like a caring kindergarten teacher taking care of a child.
She helped me up and brushed off my bottom.
'...I'm being treated like a kid.'
[But since she doesn't see you as a man, it's easier to close the distance.]
'True... It's like catching a mouse while walking backward.'
The reason I chose this game was because I saw the playtime on the VR device she gave me.
Sung Suah had handed me the VR headgear without resetting it.
Since her phone wasn't connected, I couldn't access her account, but I could still see her profile.
Looking through the list, I chose the game with the longest playtime.
Sung Suah set all the permissions for me and took me into the house.
The 10-pyeong (about 33 square meters) house was empty.
Looking at the empty space, Sung Suah laughed awkwardly.
"As expected, there's nothing here."
"Let's start with what the raccoon said earlier."
The game's tutorial was about making furniture for the house.
Using the basic tools provided, we had to chop wood and break stones to gather materials, then use the workbench to DIY.
I started by chopping some wood nearby.
I swung an axe as big as me horizontally to chop the tree.
The axe wasn't heavy, but the three-dimensional sensation made it feel like I was struggling.
Even though I was just tapping lightly, after a few hits, the tree turned into firewood, leaving only the stump.
"Wow... Just tapping it makes it fall."
"Haah... Really..."
"...Huh? Is there a problem?"
"No, not at all! Let's chop a few more trees."
Sung Suah made an awkward expression and headed to another tree.
She carefully picked up the axe and lightly tapped the tree, turning it into firewood.
After gathering materials, we learned how to make furniture at the workbench in front of the house.
As long as you had the materials, it would automatically craft the furniture, so it wasn't too difficult.
And with that, we placed the bed, table, and chairs inside the house.
After setting up the furniture...
"Huh!? It's suddenly night?"
I looked up at the sky in surprise.
The sun, which had been shining brightly, had disappeared, and the moon had risen, turning it into night.
Sung Suah kindly explained.
"This game reflects real-world time and seasons. If it rains or snows in real life, the environment here changes accordingly."
"Wow..."
Earlier, the game had forced it to be daytime for the tutorial, but now it had synced with real time for the actual gameplay.
Additionally, sleeping in the game would count as sleeping in real life.
Back when this game was popular, people would sleep in their in-game houses instead of real life.
"Wow, people living in the city would definitely enjoy this for a change of pace."
The scenery here felt more like a vast natural plain than a rural village.
Living here seemed like it could bring mental peace.
"That's right. I used to sleep like that too, and it felt refreshing."
"...This is really something. This thing..."
As I marveled at the crescent moon, Sung Suah smiled and sai.
"The next step is to sleep in your own house and wake up."
"Ah... Then I'll log out and..."
"Hey, no need for that."
"Huh? What?"
Sung Suah suddenly pulled me and laid me down on the bed.
Given the difference in size, I couldn't resist and was dragged along.
I panicked and said to Sung Suah.
"Uh, Instructor Sung Suah?"
"You can actually sleep here, but if you just lie down for a bit and press the sleep option, it'll count as having slept."
"But there's only one bed..."
The game started as a single-person household.
Naturally, the bed we made during the tutorial was also a single. Even if we made two, there was no place to put them...
Sung Suah lightly laid me down on the bed and lay down next to me, smiling.
"We just need to lie down for a bit. You can turn around and lie down during that time."
"Ah... Then I'll..."
Feeling awkward, I turned around and lay down.
Perhaps because of my smaller appearance, Sung Suah's guard had completely dropped.
As I lay there, I heard Sung Suah touching something behind me.
'...Now that I'm lying down, I feel sleepy. Maybe because I've been running around all day.'
[Today's training was tough, so let's call it a day...]
Listening to the communication, I suddenly felt my eyes closing.
***
[Suho.]
'Huh? What?'
I woke up to Armonia's voice, and my eyes were met with a blinding flash of sunlight.
Not only was my vision obscured, but something was also binding my body, making it hard to move.
Even in my groggy state, I remembered one thing.
'Ah, I must have fallen asleep while just closing my eyes...'
[It's almost time to go to work.]
'...What? So I've been sleeping since then? I'm screwed!'
Startled, I finally came to my senses and realized the current situation.
The one binding me was Sung Suah.
She seemed to be asleep too.
The sensation of her chest against my cheek didn't help calm my panic.
...Well, it helped a little.
Unable to comprehend the situation, I quickly looked around and asked Armonia.
'...What's going on?'
[I'll explain the exact situation later. For now, I think you should log out and get ready for work.]
'First... let's sneak out. If I get caught, who knows what she'll think...'
It seemed like Sung Suah had also accidentally fallen asleep.
Even though this situation was due to unavoidable circumstances, if she woke up first, my image would be ruined.
Even though Sung Suah was the one hugging me, I was the one who had to worry about my image.
As I tried to sneak out, Armonia communicated with me.
[Suho.]
'Huh? Wait... let me get out without getting caught...'
[There's no need for that.]
'...Why?'
Armonia spoke in a monotone voice.
[Sung Suah is currently pretending to be asleep.]
***
Hey readers!
Want to read ahead? đź“– Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.
🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹