LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 79 - Divorce (5)
Chapter 79: Divorce (5)
Player of the Love Zone, Shin Eun-jo.
Shin Eun-jo’s grandmother was a famous “mansin” (shaman) in Korea.
Even politicians with immense power and world-renowned celebrities, when seeking her grandmother’s help, would act politely even towards her, the granddaughter.
Shin Eun-jo didn’t dislike seeing people bow before her.
At the age of ten, when she began to suffer from an illness of unknown cause, she firmly believed she would become the next great “mansin” and desired it.
But on the very day before receiving her spiritual calling,
**’It wasn’t a divine illness…**’
The illness that had plagued her suddenly vanished without a trace, even before she received the divine spirit.
Since her grandmother had gathered all the shaman daughters for Shin Eun-jo’s spiritual calling, she thought she was in for a great scolding.
But her grandmother didn’t reprimand her.
**”… So, it has come to this after all.”**
It was as if her grandmother had known all along that it wasn’t a divine illness.
Feeling more guilt towards her grandmother, Shin Eun-jo didn’t ask further about what she meant.
After suffering for a year, the illness disappeared overnight.
What was even stranger than that was that from that day forward, her grandmother started teaching Shin Eun-jo the things she would need to live as a “mudang” (shaman).
Shin Eun-jo didn’t understand why, but out of respect for her grandmother, she diligently learned everything.
Her grandmother taught her many things, and passed down much knowledge to her.
The knowledge she gained would later prove very useful when Shin Eun-jo pretended to be a fake shaman.
By the time Shin Eun-jo turned twenty, after living an ordinary school life, she no longer believed in shamanism.
She thought her divine illness was just a rare childhood disease of unknown cause, and that her grandmother had known this all along. She considered the spiritual calling to be nothing more than a grand scam.
**‘So, the grandmother who was respected and revered as a great mansin was probably just a person with excellent insight.’**
Thinking this way made her feel at ease.
While she was attending school in Seoul, her “mansin” grandmother was attacked and killed by a man who claimed not to believe in superstition.
**‘If she were a real mansin, there’s no way she wouldn’t have known about her own death.’**
If she had known, even if it was an unavoidable death, she would’ve said something to me, wouldn’t she?
**”… So, it has come to this after all.”**
Whenever that phrase from her grandmother came to mind, which she had uttered when Shin Eun-jo’s illness disappeared, the pain became unbearable.
It seemed like her grandmother had accepted her own death the same way.
After agonizing for days on end, Shin Eun-jo made a decision.
She decided not to let the bastard who killed her grandmother get away with it. Her grandmother had left more words behind to help others than for her granddaughter, but Shin Eun-jo couldn’t let that slide.
But by then, the bastard was already in prison, and since the sentence wasn’t light, even if he were released on good behavior, it was uncertain when that would happen.
Thus, Shin Eun-jo began pretending to be a fake shaman, using everything her grandmother had passed down to her.
If she couldn’t handle it herself, she would use others, power, and connections to make sure that man lived in torment for the rest of his life.
**‘I made that decision, but…’**
Pretending to be a shaman wasn’t easy.
The things her grandmother had made look effortless were incredibly difficult for her to imitate.
Though she was well-versed in face reading and geomancy, which she had learned from her grandmother, seeing through people was extremely challenging.
It was almost enough to make her wonder if her grandmother had really been possessed by a divine spirit.
**”If only I had received the divine calling back then…”**
Sitting in the empty shrine, with not a single customer, Shin Eun-jo muttered to herself in despair.
If it had truly been a divine illness, maybe I could have known my grandmother would die before it happened.
Caught up in the hopelessness of the shrine she had impulsively set up, her unfulfilled revenge, and the despair that she would never measure up to her grandmother, a single tear unknowingly fell from her eye.
That was when the man arrived.
Jet-black hair, so dark it caught her eye. His hair was so unusually black that it would make anyone stare, even among Koreans.
The man opened his well-formed lips.
**”Why are you crying?”**
When he asked her that, Shin Eun-jo, without even realizing it, began to pour out everything.
Her plans for revenge, her grandmother’s death, how she had once wanted to become a shaman, and how she had failed to receive the divine calling.
The man, with a face she couldn’t read, listened to her story all the way through.
The one thing she distinctly remembered was that he hadn’t looked the least bit bored.
After she had poured everything out, Shin Eun-jo wiped her tear-streaked face and spoke.
**”I-I don’t serve any spirit. So, you should just leave. I’m sorry for trying to deceive you.”**
**”You don’t have to worry about that. The reason you haven’t been permitted to serve another spirit is because of my father.”**
**”What…?”**
As Shin Eun-jo looked confused at the sudden mention of his father, the man smiled charmingly and added,
**”My father is quite fond of you. One day, you too will be called by him in heaven.”**
**”Ah… that father…”**
**‘Is it okay for a Christian to come see a fortune teller?’**
Though the man was strange, his words had been comforting.
**”More than that, I actually came to ask you something.”**
**”Even though I’m a fake, you still want to ask me?”**
**”Unfortunately, there’s no one else but you who can give me an answer.”**
The man then took out something from his suit bag.
**”A… game cartridge?”**
**”I created a game according to my father’s wishes. I was wondering if it would appeal to young people.”**
**”Ah…”**
Thinking he must have developed a Christian-themed game, Shin Eun-jo absentmindedly took the cartridge and read the title.
**”Middle-aged Romance Simulation…?”**
**”How does it sound? Is the title tempting?”**
**”….”**
**‘So he wasn’t a Christian, but part of some cult?’**
Though the title was bizarre, Shin Eun-jo, who had already found some comfort in the man, promised to play the game and share her thoughts.
**”I’m not a real shaman, but… I am a young person, so I think I can tell you if it’ll work with young people.”**
**”That would be a great help. In return, I’ll grant you one wish.”**
### “My wish…?”
**‘Is he going to ask me to pay a consultation fee?’**
Shin Eun-jo nodded, not intending to take any payment from the man anyway.
**”Ah, my wish is…”**
**”No need to say it.”**
**”What?”**
**”It has already been granted.”**
**”…”**
**‘He really must be bringing this up to ask for a fee…’**
Given that this man had come to a fake shaman asking her to review a game he made, it was clear he wasn’t in great financial shape.
**”You don’t have to pay a fee.”**
When Shin Eun-jo said that, the man chuckled softly.
**”You don’t believe me. But soon, you will.”**
He added in a gentle voice,
**”A miracle from God.”**
**‘Definitely a cultist…’**
With that, the man left the shrine.
After playing the **Middle-Aged Romance Simulation** game all night and barely finishing one ending, Shin Eun-jo wrote down her thoughts and sent them to the email address on the business card the man had left behind.
—
**[To: [email protected]**
Hello, sir. I’m the shrine owner you visited today for a fortune reading… (omitted) I think no matter how much it’s a game about romancing middle-aged men, Hayden seems too old, and it’s a bit disappointing that the playable perspective is limited to being a soldier. By the way, is the commander’s face modeled after you? You’re handsome, but players might feel a bit uncomfortable with it… And…]**
—
No reply came to her candid email.
Even after waiting all day, there was no response, not even a read receipt. She began to wonder if there was a typo in the email address or if the man had just blurted out random words, flustered by her being a fake shaman.
—
The next day, Shin Eun-jo received news from the detective handling her grandmother’s case: the assailant who killed her grandmother had been found dead in prison under horrific circumstances.
**”The guard said it looked like he had been mauled to death by some beast. A beast with an endless number of teeth, no less.”**
She couldn’t understand why, but at that moment, she remembered the man’s voice saying she would soon believe in God’s miracle.
Fear gripped her, and before she knew it, she had erased all traces of the game and the email she had sent.
The game cartridge, which she assumed was the one the man had given her, was burnt to ashes in the sink.
—
From that day forward, she began to read people’s thoughts clearly.
Shin Eun-jo decided that this was the “granted wish” the man had mentioned.
After all, the business card had disappeared somewhere, and she couldn’t recall the email address, no matter how hard she tried.
For a while, she forgot about the man.
That is, until she learned about the game **Apocalypse: Safe Zone**, which bore an uncanny resemblance to **Middle-Aged Romance Simulation**.
**”Huh? This…”**
In this new game, Hayden was portrayed as a young man around thirty, and aside from Luna Moon, the player’s point of view, a female NPC named Daphne had been added.
But Hayden’s face still resembled that of the man.
**”…So, he did read my email.”**
She had almost completely forgotten about **Middle-Aged Romance Simulation** since it had never been released.
But seeing evidence in this new game that proved her encounter with the man wasn’t just a dream or a delusion filled her with a strange mix of fear and curiosity. She wanted to see this game through to the end.
Thus, Shin Eun-jo started playing **Safe Zone** and soon learned about **Dopamine Addict**.
At first, she thought Dopamine Addict was the man.
There was something about the atmosphere in the Cola Zone that felt strangely similar to him.
**‘He probably customized his character to resemble Commander Hayden. After all, he’s the founder of the Bastard Romance Strategy.’**
But then, something strange happened.
Veteran players who went to the convenience store location Dopamine Addict posted began disappearing.
Having already experienced the mysterious death of her revenge target, Shin Eun-jo instinctively knew these disappearances were not ordinary.
**‘I need to go too.’**
Since her revenge had ended so meaninglessly, she had been living without any real goal or purpose.
That’s why, when she heard about the disappearances, she felt more driven by the desire to see it with her own eyes than fear.
She didn’t know what was waiting for her at that convenience store, but Shin Eun-jo decided to go.
On her first visit, she left without buying anything.
There, clear symbols pointed to the nine **Safe Zones**.
Perhaps, this was her chance.
Her last opportunity to escape the false life of a fake shaman.
Immediately, Shin Eun-jo gathered other players and had them select the same zone symbol as hers.
She became immersed in the game.
And now, here she was, witnessing the unbelievable scene created by Dopamine Addict.
**”This… can’t be real…”**
The swirling clouds that dissolved at Dopamine Addict’s gesture were an incomprehensible sight, beyond what a normal human mind could handle.
Just watching it seemed to drain her mental energy.
The overwhelming fear felt like it was pressing down on her tongue, as if it would burn.
But the most terrifying thing was that Dopamine Addict, the one wielding this power, didn’t seem to realize just how absurd it all was—or maybe, he didn’t care to understand.
Dopamine Addict, no.
The boy who seemed like chaos incarnate, spoke to her in a soft voice.
**”God’s miracle. Do you believe now?”**
Just like that man had said to her that day.