[The End to the Beginning   一   Status:   Completed]

So this is it? 

The last two years I have spent on this god forsaken game.

Was this really the end?

[ THANK YOU PLAYER33 FOR BEING THE FIRST TO COMPLETE GHOST RAIDING WORLD ]

I had hoped this game had lasted longer, but some things never stay for long.

[The Developer would like to thank you for playing this game till the end of its time] 

“Hello, my name is Junhyuk Baek. I would like to sincerely give my thanks to you, The Player that has completed this game.

I have spent many years developing and fixing this game so people are able to enjoy it to its fullest. This little secret message is made only for you, The Player, my little achiever. But, it would have been better if you had a different username other than Player33 don’t you think? And anyways, I’ve seen you work hard to finish this game for the past years. So, I wanted to give you something a little in return.”

Looking at the long message The Developer had made for me, all I could think of the gift I really wanted, was a continuation of the game.

Ghost Raiding World was my freedom since then.

I was bullied back in school.

Not for my looks, nor for my grades or my personality.

I could even say I’m a pretty charming guy.

But rather, it was because of my parents.

My parents had passed away due to an illness that was caused genetically. But, someone had spread rumors that I also carried the same disease, and that it could spread through contact.

And that was the reason the other kids excluded me from anything. I had no friends, no close people I could talk to.

I hated life.

*Hit一

“Dude! I already called for you multiple times, are you deaf?”

This was my colleague Choi Han

And the classmate who spread those exact same rumors about me.

“What’s wrong?”

“The marketing team guys over there wouldn’t stop nagging at us, barking their heads off like feral dogs! Can’t you do something with the files our team sent to them?”

“What’s wrong with the files? Wasn't Yoon Jae in charge of them?”

“He’s not answering his calls right now. And I can’t do it since I’ve already got a lot on my hands right now. So I was wondering…. if you could do it?”

This is bastard that ruined my life.

But, he is also my closest friend right now, the only one that I can confide in.

|  Timestamp:   2 Years ago   

“Hey everyone, look over here! We have a new recruit onboard the passenger plane~”

“Haha! What passenger plane? It would be better if you called it a suicide plane, I wish i could killmyself everytime I thought of going to work.”

“Hello everyone, my name is Kang Baek-Hyeon. I am very pleased to meet you all. I hope I will be a great addition to this team.”

*Whispers 

“Hey.. isn’t he kind of good looking?”

“You’re honestly right, I can’t remember the last time we had a cute guy join the analytics team.”

“Well we have two now! Both him and ##### are pretty good looking”

During this time, I felt so welcomed at my first job.

Everyone was so friendly to me, it was such a great but unfamiliar environment, compared to when I was at school.

Finally sitting down in my own chair, my own desk, and finally, my own new little family.

“Mr. Kang, What’s your phone number? I’ll add you to the team groupchat.”

“It’s 0XXXXXXXX”

“Alright, I’m adding you right now.”

*Ding一

[ Kang Baek-Hyeon was added to the groupchat. ]

-Kim Hayoung: hey :)

-Haejoom Kim: Yoo

-Park Eunsung: Nice to meet you! 

-Choi Han: hi

?

A chill had rushed through my spine.

This guy had the same name as the asshole who ruined my school life.

No way it’s the same person.

(Clicks on profile)

Choi Han.

It is the same person.

*Ding一

-Choi Han: long time no see Baek-Hyeon.

-Choi han: (´• ω •`) ♡

This fucker had to be taunting me.

-Baek-Hyeon: hello everyone.

-Choi Han: boo 

-Choi Han: so dry!

-Choi Han: (´• ω •`) ♡

-Kim Hayoung: Mr. Han is such an asshole lol

[Are you sure to block this person?]

(Yes)

Now that the problems out of the way, I have better things to do that to focus on hi一

“Why’d you block me?”

A familiar face peeking over my desk.

The lousy voice I’ve had to endure in high school.

“Soooooo, what’s up?”

“I don’t need to concern myself with you.”

“That’s so mean man!”

“...”

“...”

“Look, I know what happened in high school was really terrible. I was an irresponsible kid back then, I understand how hard school was for you.”

“...”

“I know that you won’t be able to ever forgive me for what I did, and I won’t argue. But, I do want you to know that I’ve changed and you don’t always need me to think like I’m an asshole anymore.

The past me has long been gone, I really have fixed my ways and I want you to know that.”

“...”

“Can I treat you to a cup of coffee?”

“Leave me alone.”

“Ooookayy… I’ll be back!”

“Don’t.”

“Oh, and please unblock me.. I promise I’m not gonna bother you, it’s just unprofessional to unblock me since we are at work and I wouldn’t be able to send you work stuff if you’ve got me blocked no?”

“...”

“I Prooooomisee!”

“Fine.”

[Are you sure to unblock this person?]

(Yes)

“Yay! Thanks man.”

My luck had really run out fast. I thought I had hit the jackpot with a great team. But I guess every team has its disadvantages.”

*Ding一

-Choi Han: (￣▽￣*)ゞ

Broke his promise fast huh.

“Yawn” 

I spent the next hour saving all of my colleagues' numbers and cozying up to the desk that I will stay with till I retire, or when I get fired. 

I hope that will never happen.

[You have 1 new message]

> Stinky Landlord: When are you gonna pay the rent? You’re already 2 months behind! One more month and I will throw your belongings out.

Again, I hope I never get fired, or else I would be homeless in a heart beat.

Today has been rough, I might be behind on rent but I can definitely treat myself to an iced coffee right?

[BANK ACCOUNT BALANCE: 20.402 WON]

Fuck….

How am I supposed to pay rent with 20 thousand won? Should I pick up some errands for spare cash on the weekend…?

“HEY!”

*Craashh一

“Ouuuch.. Why is the floor so slippery.. Where's the wet floor sign?

Well at least I didn’t drop the coffee! Here, have one hahahaha .”

“No thank you.”

Iced coffee..?

“No seriously, I only got this for you. Seriously, that was the only reason I went all the way down to the first floor, a knight’s objective!”

“Why did you go down? Wasn’t there like a coffee machine on this floor? I saw one when I first got here.”

“That one’s actually broken, and I don't really feel like going to the other team's floors just for coffee, so I headed down to the first floor.”

“But, it’s been an hour since you last talked to me. Aren’t we only on the 10th floor? Did you go through a jungle to get down or something haha”

“You wouldn’t believe what happened to me down there! There was a whole line and they kept talking in front of the coffee machine. And!! When I wanted to go back up there was another huge line waiting to get on the elev

“Looks like I’m not the only one with bad luck today.” Scoffs.

Deserved.

“So that’s why most of the ice cubes have melted already?”

“Oh my god.. I forgot about the coffee!”

“Haha… it’s okay, thanks for the coffee. I appreciate it.”

Appreciate it?

Don’t make me laugh.

I don’t think a coffee that's worth 300 won could amount to the suffering and humiliation I faced back then.

No matter how poor I am, I could never bring myself to forgive this man, no matter how changed he is or how poor I am.

Anything given by him has already been tainted by his disgusting hands.

“Soo.. planning to get me coffee everyday?”

But, free is free.

I have to sacrifice a bit of my dignity for my survival.

“Haha! Only if you agree to open up to me~”

“That’s a hard request I don’t feel like agreeing to.”

“Fine…. But there IS something you can do for me.”

“What is it?”

“There’s this game called hahahaha that I play. If I invite another person to play it then I will get rewards.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah! I really need the rewards to clear the game. And, I’m sure you’ll like it too, it’s really fun!”

“Okay, what do I have to do?”

And so I spent the last of my work hours downloading this game and learning how to play it from him.

The game is called GHOST RAIDING WORLD.

It’s about killing monsters and completing missions.

Not a very unique name nor was the game itself different from the rest, but I have to admit it was fun.

As in, the game was fun, but playing with him by my side was surprisingly.. also quite nice.

“Oh you finally completed the tutorial!”

“What are you gonna set it as?”

“You’ll see.”

[PROFILE LOADING]

“Wow.. that’s an amazing name…. Baek-Hyeon.”

"Wow.. that’s an amazing name…. Baek-Hyeon.”

I didn’t answer him, mostly because I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say, while the screen in front of me showed my name clearly as if it was trying to prove that it truly belonged to me.

A single-player survival game, with no party system, no teammates, and no chat function, meaning there was no one to rely on and no one to blame except myself.

Just me.

At first, I only downloaded it because Choi Han kept insisting over and over again, telling me to just try it once and promising that I would like it, even though I didn’t really trust his words.

I didn’t expect much when I finally opened the game for the first time.

After work, I returned to my small room, ate cupp noodles while sitting on the floor, and stared at my phone for a while longer than necessary before finally tapping the app icon.

[ MAIN OBJECTIVE ]

《 SURVIVE 》

There was no long explanation or kind tutorial waiting for me, only a single objective displayed on the screen as if nothing else mattered.

Survive.

I died in less than ten minutes.

[ YOU HAVE DIED ]

[ RETRY? ]

(Yes)

I died again.

And again.

The monsters were fast, the traps were placed in ways that felt unfair, and the map showed no mercy just because I was inexperienced or tired.

But every time I died, I noticed something new, even if it was something small.

This game didn’t feel like reality.

Reality punished me even when I didn’t do anything wrong, while this game only punished me when I made a mistake.

If I died, it was because I messed up.

If I survived, it was because I earned it.

I liked that kind of fairness more than I wanted to admit.

Slowly, I started remembering everything.

The way monsters moved before attacking, the locations of hidden paths, and which areas I absolutely needed to avoid in the early stages if I didn’t want to die immediately.

The deaths became fewer over time each scenario.

[ DEATH COUNT: 42 → 41 → 39 ]

At work, I spoke even less than before, doing my tasks quietly and avoiding unnecessary conversations, while at home, I logged into the game as soon as I could.

The game became a quiet presence that stayed with me without demanding anything else.

No voices.

No judging looks.

Just the sound of my own footsteps echoing through dark areas, always followed by the feeling that something might be watching me.

[ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED ]

《 FIRST NIGHT SURVIVED 》

I stared at the screen longer than I probably should have, feeling strangely happy over something so small, even though I knew it shouldn’t matter this much.

But it did.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks slowly became two whole years, with the game continuing to update as if it was growing alongside me.

New monsters appeared, maps became harder, and the system showed less mercy than before, but no matter how difficult it became, I adjusted myself every single time.

[ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED ]

《 NO SAVE CLEAR 》

[ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED ]

《 PERFECT ROUTE DISCOVERY 》

[ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED ]

《 GHOST RAIDING WORLD — TOP 0.01% 》

I didn’t tell anyone about it.

There was no one I wanted to tell.

And finally.

[ FINAL CONTENT UNLOCKED ]

《 CORE RAID 》

Only one clear was allowed, and once it was completed, the game would end permanently for everyone.

I didn’t hesitate when I entered.

If this world was going to end, then I wanted to be the one who reached the very end of it.

[ THANK YOU PLAYER33 FOR BEING THE FIRST TO COMPLETE GHOST RAIDING WORLD ]

The developer’s message kept playing on repeat, thanking me for staying until the very end and offering me a gift in return.

I already knew what I wanted.

A continuation.

Because I didn’t realize—

that this game wasn’t really ending, but instead quietly preparing to move somewhere else, far away from a screen.

The screen stayed on for much longer than I expected, with no logout button or return menu in sight, only the developer’s message repeating itself over and over again as if it was afraid I would forget it the moment I closed my eyes.

I sat there without moving, my phone growing warm in my hands, while my thoughts felt strangely empty, like everything I had poured into this game over the last two years had suddenly been drained out of me.

Two years.

When I thought about it properly, it was a scary amount of time to give to something that no longer existed.

I let out a quiet laugh, because if anyone saw me right now, sitting alone in a dark room and smiling at a finished game, they would probably think there was something wrong with me.

Eventually, I forced myself to close the app, and the moment I did, the room felt smaller and quieter than before, like something important had been taken away without asking for permission.

I checked the time and realized it was already past three in the morning, which meant I had barely a few hours left before I had to wake up and pretend to be a functioning adult again.

The next day felt painfully slow, with the crowded subway pressing people together and the noise making my head ache, and I found myself missing how the game never touched me unless it was trying to kill me.

“Baek-Hyeon.”

I looked up when I heard my name, only to see Choi Han standing there with two iced coffees in his hands, smiling like nothing in the world had ever gone wrong between us.

He handed one to me, and without thinking, I accepted it, realizing only afterward that this had already become a habit I never agreed to.

“You look exhausted,” he said, laughing lightly, as if staying up all night to finish a game was a normal thing to do. “Did you play until morning again?”

“…Yeah,” I answered, because lying felt pointless.

“You cleared it, didn’t you?” 

“…Yeah,”

“That’s insane,” he said, clearly impressed. “First in the world.”

I wanted to show off, but really there was only a hollow feeling that came up in my heart.

“What are you going to play now?” 

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, because for the first time in a long while, I didn’t have an answer.

That night, out of pure habit and maybe a bit of hope I refused to admit, I reached for my phone again, only to find that the game’s icon had completely disappeared, as if Ghost Raiding World had never existed in the first place.

I stared at the screen for a long time, wondering if I had imagined everything.

Then..

*Ding一

A notification appeared out of nowhere.

[ UNKNOWN APP INSTALLED ]

My heart skipped a beat as I tapped on it.

[ GHOST RAIDING WORLD ]

[ STATUS: PREPARATION ]

[ PLEASE WAIT ]

And in that moment, before anything truly began, I had a very bad feeling that this world wasn’t done with me yet.

I didn’t sleep that night, not because I was fully awake, but because every time I closed my eyes, the image of that familiar game logo kept appearing behind my eyelids, bright and clear as if it had been burned into my mind after two full years of staring at it every single night.

When morning finally came, I dragged myself out of bed and went to work like usual, standing in the crowded subway with my head lowered and my phone loosely held in my hand, half-expecting the app to disappear again so I could laugh it off and tell myself that everything had only been a strange dream caused by exhaustion and stress.

But it was still there.

[ GHOST RAIDING WORLD ]

[ STATUS: READY ]

The words sat quietly on my screen, unchanged and undeniable, and my fingers tightened around my phone as an uncomfortable pressure settled in my chest, because no matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t something that should exist anymore.

The game was supposed to be over.

At the office, the day began like any other, with people greeting each other loudly, chairs scraping against the floor, and the familiar sound of keyboards filling the room, yet the longer I sat at my desk, the more uneasy I became, as if something invisible was standing just behind me, waiting for the right moment to make itself known.

I tried to focus on my work, forcing my eyes to stay on the screen, but my attention kept drifting back to my phone, which felt heavier than usual even though it hadn’t vibrated yet.

Then it did.

Once.

Then again.

Then over and over again, until the sound of notifications blended into a sharp ringing in my ears.

*Ding一

*Ding一

*Ding一

Before I could even unlock the screen, the lights above us flickered violently, causing confused murmurs to spread throughout the office, while someone laughed awkwardly and joked that the building’s electricity must be acting up again.

That joke ended quickly.

The windows darkened all at once, not because of clouds or rain, but because something massive blocked out the sky, casting an unnatural shadow over the entire floor.

Craaaash 一

The glass shattered inward with a deafening sound, exploding across the office as shards scattered everywhere, and I instinctively raised my arms to shield my face while my heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

Screams erupted from every direction.

People ran without thinking, knocking over chairs and desks in their panic, while others froze in place as if their bodies refused to respond to what their eyes were seeing.

Through the broken window frame, something dragged itself inside.

Its limbs bent in ways they shouldn’t, its movements jerky and wrong, and when it opened its mouth, it stretched far wider than any human’s ever could, releasing a low, distorted sound that made my stomach twist.

I knew it.

Not because the system explained it to me.

But because I had seen it before, dozens of times, in dark areas and early-game zones where most players died without understanding why.

Ding 一

[ MAIN SCENARIO START ]

[ SCENARIO 1: SURVIVE ]

[ LOCATION: SEOUL — ALL AREAS ]

[ FAILURE CONDITION: DEATH ]

The message didn’t appear on my phone.

It floated in the air, large and impossible to ignore, and in that moment, it felt like the world itself had been overwritten by something else.

This wasn’t a screen.

This wasn’t virtual.

Someone screamed my name.

“BAEK-HYEON—!”

I turned my head and saw Choi Han standing near his desk, his face completely drained of color as he stared at the monster with wide, shaking eyes, his usual playful expression nowhere to be found.

For a brief moment, he looked exactly like how I remembered him from the past.

Scared.

Small.

Human.

Then—

Ding 一

[ PLAYER IDENTIFIED ]

[ NAME: CHOI HAN ]

[ ROLE: MAIN PLAYER ]

[ INITIAL SKILL GRANTED ]

Choi Han staggered backward as if someone had shoved him, one hand clutching his head while he gasped in pain, his knees nearly giving out as glowing text appeared right in front of him, bright enough for everyone nearby to see.

“What… what is this…?” he muttered, his voice shaking as his eyes darted around, trying to understand what was happening.

I stood there, frozen.

Nothing appeared for me.

No message.

No role.

No skill.

The air in front of me stayed empty, painfully so.

The screams grew louder as the monster moved again, knocking over a desk with terrifying ease, and in that moment, something cold settled deep inside my chest.

This world had chosen someone.

It had chosen a protagonist.

And it wasn’t me.

I took a step back without realizing it, my heart pounding as fear finally caught up to me, because no matter how many times I had cleared this game before, this wasn’t something I could retry, and I wasn’t protected by anything special.

I was just another person standing in a room that had become a battlefield.

“CHOI HAN!”

Someone shouted his name, and he flinched, looking even more confused as his gaze flickered between the monster and the glowing message only he seemed to receive.

I watched him, my thoughts racing.

If this followed the same rules as the game, then early mistakes were fatal.

Hesitation killed more people than monsters ever did.

I moved before thinking, grabbing the edge of a nearby desk and pulling it toward me, the sharp sound snapping a few people out of their panic as I shouted for them to move back, even though my voice came out rough and uneven.

“Don’t stand there!” I yelled. “Get away from the windows!”

They didn’t listen.

Most people never did.

The monster lunged.

Someone screamed.

And as chaos fully consumed the office, I realized something that made my chest tighten painfully.

I had wished for a continuation.

And the world had granted it.

Just not in the way I expected.