Na-me rejecting 11.5 billion won was probably within the government’s expectations.
What Korea really needs right now is not the government’s response, but a change in public perception.
If her good deeds are widely spread in the news, forming a favorable opinion, then Na-me might change her mind.
But Na-me launching a public relations campaign first was outside the realm of assumptions.
[NoNaMe_11]
[Is there anyone who says, “What’s there to be sorry about?”]
– No, Na-me, the adults are all sorry!
– Oh no, something happened againㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– It was the person who brought it up in the first place that was wrong!
– Based on my experience, if there’s genuine sincerity in the apology, there was no reason to say such things.
– From the first story, my heart hurts too muchㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Our poor Na-me, just enduring unreasonablenessㅠㅠ
– Na-me, stay strong. Please don’t forget that our fans are always cheering for you.
The media strategy fell apart.
There’s a saying that you shouldn’t even fix your shoelaces in a melon field.
You couldn’t just harass the budget office employees and waste the appropriated budget on useless projects.
After all, this government had a motto of “If we don’t know what to do, we won’t do anything,” so it was nothing new.
Thus, the next arrows of criticism were directed at the school bullies who had originally caused Na-me’s period of reflection.
[If it weren’t for you guys, this wouldn’t have happened!]
Usually, an incident that would lose interest in a month was constantly fed with more firewood.
The police chief candidate was under investigation for obstruction of official duties by coercion.
The bullies who had become objects of public disdain were unable to recklessly go outside under the watchful eyes of the entire nation.
Then one day, news that Kim Sun-ryeol’s daughter, Kim Se-bin, had been admitted to a mental hospital leaked to the public.
She was the one who had burned the victim’s body with a lighter and stabbed her with a cutter knife.
Relatives of other patients rose up and staged protests calling for her expulsion.
She had also become a person without a place to go, following the path that Na-me had walked.
Se-bin was transferred to another hospital and afterward went missing.
Once in a while, news of Na-me came from testimonies of Koreans living in the United States.
Na-me was jogging every morning with her sister and shopping at a big mart with her family.
In the occasional photos she took with fans, she always wore a white square beanie.
The protruding corners resembled an adorable baby polar bear.
The square beanie began appearing in fashion shows in the U.S. and Europe, eventually becoming the last trend of winter 2052.
Meanwhile, challenges to imitate Na-me’s footprints in Korea emerged in various communities.
In the end-of-century League of Legends, Top Asteria lost her parents, and in Wagal, healers in armor bravely charged into enemy territory.
Fed up users gradually left the game to spend time with family.
The ambiguous temperatures that felt both cold and warm persisted until one day when pure white snow fell like the tears of soldiers.
It was Christmas Eve.
*
Woosh-
Nowadays, campfires could be easily created with intricate holograms.
We gathered cozily around a stove shaped like a campfire.
Cheon Saetbyeol, with a face like she ate something sour, fanned out the trump cards like a fan.
As she brushed her hand over the cards, Saetbyeol’s expression crumpled slightly.
“This is a Joker.”
“…! No, do it again!”
“Too late.”
I drew a card.
7 of Hearts.
The card in my hand was the 7 of Clubs.
I threw all my remaining cards on the floor and shook my hands as I stood up.
“Well, tonight’s dishwashing duty goes to Cheon Saetbyeol. Please do a good job.”
“Thanks, Saetbyeol.”
“Ugh, it’s me again… I have to do it, right?”
After losing at the thief-catching game, Saetbyeol rolled up her sleeves and put on rubber gloves.
When she got close to the Joker, her hips wiggled; how could I not know?
Meanwhile, Dad pulled an orange out of the box and peeled it.
One was too much for me to eat alone.
I had eaten a lot of turkey for dinner earlier.
I ran over to Saetbyeol, who was diligently washing dishes, and fed her a piece at a time.
“Aww.”
“Hey… Don’t suck your fingers.”
“Why are you freaking out! My saliva isn’t dirty, you know?”
I shoved three pieces of orange, stuck together, into her mouth and returned to Dad’s side.
“Wow, it’s almost the end of 2052.”
Professor Cheon muttered as he looked out the window.
Like the swirling snowstorm, 2052 had indeed been a tumultuous year.
“Right? Time flies. It’s a bit sad.”
“Do you remember what we were doing last year?”
“I was playing a romance simulation game.”
“Romance simulation…?”
Hehe, I chuckled and leaned next to Dad.
I closed my eyes slightly and reflected on the year.
In the darkness where nothing could be seen, a small light unfolded like a scroll.
If I had to pick the busiest days of the year, early January would probably be among the top three.
I cracked the code of Mephistopheles and found the main body of Adella’s consciousness with the help of the Katsuhata Sect.
Adella officially announced that she was human and not an ASI, and the lawsuit was still ongoing.
I held my first fan meeting and created unforgettable memories with people including the Cannon King.
In February, I sold Bio-Akashic for 870 billion won to Johnson & Johnson and used all of my share to summon cats.
I had a hard time with a tax audit from the National Tax Service, but somehow I got through that, and I even shook hands with President Ijo-won.
Saetbyeol gained a new identity and attended school diligently while I realized that I still had a childlike spirit by enjoying the sports day.
During summer vacation, I trained with Emika and shook off my regrets as a mentor.
Thinking of the countless fans who celebrated my birthday offline and online still moved my heart.
On my journey to becoming a high wizard, I met Ban So-wool and ended up in Japan.
Thanks to that, I was able to witness Emika winning the National Exchange Tournament with my own eyes.
When I returned to Korea, I founded the Janjeol Clan and planned various educational activities.
Though it seemed like Adella’s identity was about to be revealed, it was just a false alarm, which allowed me to grow closer to her.
In autumn, I sparked a trend for glow sticks in Korea and took part in the Academy Competition as a commentator, discovering the joy of conversation.
By mid-October, a treatment for multiple sclerosis was released, and I gathered donations from the entire nation.
I personally witnessed an unforgivable act of school violence and punished the bullies.
In the process, those who saw my cruelty were disappointed in me.
On the broadcast, I went into a period of reflection, and I dropped out of the Academy.
I was clumsy at apologies.
So I timidly sought public forgiveness by extracting the initials of my papers.
Feeling the distance grow between me and my friends, I ended up leaving Korea and flowing into the United States.
I ask myself now.
Am I living well?
‘Probably.’
Though it was far from the ordinary life I yearned for in my past life, who cares.
If an extraordinary person cannot live an ordinary life, then I should just find a different form of happiness.
“When’s the winter semester starting, Na-me?”
At Professor Cheon’s question, I snapped out of my thoughts and took in the warm ambiance of the living room.
“It’s January 6th. I believe classes will last for 12 weeks until the end of March.”
Philips Academy operated under a three-semester system.
“What classes?”
“Advanced Theoretical Aura Studies, Magic Battle practice, and I also signed up for Open World Engineering as a kind of elective. I won’t push myself too hard, as too many classes may interfere with my research.”
“Good thinking. Just remember, if it gets hard, you can quit anytime.”
“Thank you for worrying about me.”
“Whoosh! All done with the dishes!”
After we finished cleaning up, we all headed to our rooms.
Having been turned into a morning person by force, Saetbyeol collapsed into bed the moment she lay down.
I thought we could chat if she wasn’t sleeping.
The different bed couldn’t interfere with her desire to sleep.
Saetbyeol kicked the blanket away in her sleep.
I quietly covered her up to her neck and returned to my room.
I sat at my desk, opened my notebook, and picked up my pen after a long time.
In the harsh winter when all the insects had disappeared,
a vintage fountain pen scratched on the yellow paper.
“Jealousy: Schadenfreude
Hunger: Erichiton
Laziness: Medusa
Anger: Sekhmet
Lust: Astarte
Greed: Baritia
Arrogance: Hibris”
I wrote down the remnants of the erosion in the imaginary world that composes my memories in the imperial language.
The imaginary world is a kind of hallucination that occurs when each individual’s Aura Heart strongly synchronizes with the mana branches.
Thus, when a human dies, the imaginary world within, including the “Glakis Imago,” cannot be observed by any means.
“If that is the general theory… then we should consider the possibility that it could be wrong.”
After all, I remember my past life.
Then it could be proposed that by chance, the figure known as “NoNaMe” has connected with Asteria’s imaginary world, bringing along the memories within it.
But the fact that mana didn’t exist at all in my first life, “Yunakur,” again became a stumbling block.
Perhaps this is why many people throughout history believe in the existence of gods.
Just like doctors who say, “It’s stress-related” when they don’t know the cause of an illness, we can also say, “It’s divine.”
Both stress us out the same way.
Let’s regroup the situation.
Currently, I am a person who has spiritually succeeded Schadenfreude.
Since I never recognized myself as anything other than Schadenfreude, I sealed away all other memories forever.
However, the knowledge they had is still being utilized effectively today.
The method I used to cleanse Lee Ha-ru’s eyes with my aura came from the knowledge of Astarte, the saint of the Alpenheim Kingdom.
I’ve never learned such methods from anyone in my life.
But I know it in my head, so I can use it naturally.
Considering the backgrounds of each character, it was easy to infer who each piece of knowledge came from.
After sticking to that chair and pondering for almost an hour, I was back to square one.
Lying on the wide bed, I blinked at the ceiling.
The shadow of tree branches reflected by the moonlight reached inside the house.
A cold north wind tapped on the window, singing a lullaby.
I pulled my cotton blanket over and closed my eyes.
Instead of counting sheep, I summoned the connections from my past life one by one to overcome the hurdles.
In my imagination, the short-legged Niobe tumbled over with a thud.
Suddenly, I had the thought that I wanted to meet them in reality.
‘Shall I make a game out of it?’
