Living in a Studio Apartment with the Saintess

Chapter 0
The Saintess Who Meets the Weary Me
『 Translator – Divinity 』

For some reason, I was always tired.

Friends who talked about dreams, future aspirations, and role models always felt distant.

I had nothing I desperately wanted, nor anything I hated to death.

A human like plain water, without any color, smell, or taste.

That must be me.

My grandfather gave me the name ‘Kim Yongsa’ (Kim Warrior), but my name only became a ridiculous joke.

Because I had no Demon King to fight, no comrades to share my will with, no world to save, no ideals to achieve.

Unlike my name, I had an ordinary school life, an ordinary military life, and became an ordinary office worker.

I think my work is not so bad. But the life of going to work at eight every morning and leaving work at seven in the evening, the meaninglessness of its repetition, gradually dulled me.

I’m already a person with no sense of presence. If I wear down day by day like this, won’t I disappear at some point with a whoosh?

I even had such absurd thoughts.

I shook my head to get rid of useless thoughts and raised my head.

Lost in various fantasies, I had already arrived home before I knew it.

A small four-story building with ivy covering the outer walls.

My house is at the end of the hallway on the third floor. There is no elevator, so I climbed the stairs one by one.

I haven’t exercised separately since I was discharged from the military, so I was out of breath just climbing the stairs.

Panting, I went up to the third floor, caught my breath for a moment, and headed to the end of the hallway.

Room 305.

I pressed the button-type door lock to open the door.

“I’m home…”

Even if I said it out loud, there was no one to greet me.

There was no reason to search each room for a non-existent roommate.

It’s a 4-pyeong studio apartment where you can see the entire room without even turning your head when you open the door.

When you open the front door and enter, there is a bathroom immediately to the left, and an ultra-small studio with an induction cooktop and washing machine installed on the right.

I heard it was originally a goshiwon building that was remodeled into a studio apartment.

I heard about illegal buildings and such after signing a two-year lease… but there was nothing particularly inconvenient because of that.

But if it’s for other reasons, there aren’t enough fingers to count the inconveniences.

The refrigerator hummed all day long, and small bugs came up between the gaps in the warped linoleum floor.

The room was humid even in winter, so I had to run a dehumidifier.

The smell of cigarettes, the source of which I couldn’t figure out, made my head pound.

The woman next door, for whatever reason she was so sad, cried out loud every dawn.

Still, it’s a room where you can live if you live.

A dull person like me is suited for a room like this.

The rent was cheap, too.

I took off my suit, threw it in the closet, and washed my hands.

The room was small, so I had to jump over the folded mattress, but I was used to it now.

“For dinner… should I just have ramen?”

I took out the cup ramen stacked under the shelf, opened the lid, and poured in the seasoning.

The electric kettle quickly boiled and spewed hot steam.

Should I microwave the chicken breast I put in the freezer? I decided to give up because it was too much trouble.

I poured hot water into the ramen container and put wooden chopsticks on the lid.

I rummaged through online communities while waiting for 3 minutes and put the slightly soggy ramen in my mouth.

Rather than a meal, it’s nutritional supplementation… no, it’s cup ramen, so is it a bit strange to call it nutritional supplementation?

I put the cup ramen container in a plastic bag and cleaned it up, brushed my teeth right away, and after brushing my teeth, I unfolded the mattress and lay down.

I move the cell phone I’m holding like a habit and wander around online communities.

The world inside is a paradise.

The story of a celebrity dating and breaking up with someone.

The story of a lawyer, or a politician, making billions of won in real estate.

The story of some coin’s value increasing 24 times in a day after being listed.

When I look at the internet, it feels like I’m the only one living separately from this world.

Everyone seems to be working hard, enjoying themselves hard, living hard.

It feels like I’m the only one falling behind, watching the shadows of people who are far ahead.

“Sigh…”

I fiddled with my phone with a vague sense of anxiety and fell asleep as if I had fainted.

As if it were natural, I didn’t have any dreams.

***

The next day was the same.

I woke up only after nine of the ten alarms I had set went off, put on my wrinkled suit, and got on the subway, which was like a can of sardines.

Even while rubbing shoulders with tens, hundreds of people, my eyes never met theirs.

Holding onto my cell phone as if it were a lifeboat, I endured with all my might until the station I had to get off at.

Finally I arrived at work.

I only nodded to my colleague next to me and didn’t take my eyes off the monitor once until lunchtime.

When my eyes get blurry, I put coffee and chocolate in my mouth and endured again.

“Yongsa, shall we go to lunch?”

“Yes.”

“How about kimchi jjigae?”

“Sounds good.”

A talkative but not picky boss.

I scooped kimchi jjigae into my mouth while listening to him chatter.

The short lunch break ended, and I returned to the company to wrestle with the numbers on the monitor.

Time flowed significantly slower than in the morning.

I rubbed my eyes and filled Excel and tables with numbers.

Still, it’s a good point of this company that there isn’t much overtime or after-work gatherings.

“Yongsa, let’s get off work.”

“Yes.”

“Good work today.”

“Thank you. See you tomorrow.”

On the way home.

I got on the subway, closed my eyes, and got off at my station.

Should I buy something at the mart?

I felt tired even going back to the mart, so I just headed straight home.

I climbed the stairs,

The room at the end of the hallway.

Room 305.

As I opened the door and entered, I saw a shape in the dark room.

I reflexively pressed the light switch.

Click.

Simultaneously with the sound, the shape in the darkness was revealed.

Like illuminating the not-so-bright light bulb with its own radiance… a woman?

Neatly combed silver hair.

Sparkling eyes and a benevolent smile on her lips.

A striking figure that couldn’t be hidden by a modest nun’s habit.

A woman more attractive than any idol or actress I’ve ever seen was sitting demurely in this small studio apartment.

“Who… wait, uh…?”

Longing came before surprise.

Incomprehensible emotions welled up.

And memories followed suit.

—Hero, please save our world.

Was I summoned to another world?

That world was under attack by the Demon King.

I was asked by the church to fight the Demon King.

With the Saintess, and other companions.

The Demon King was a formidable opponent, but we were able to barely defeat him by combining everyone’s strength.

It was at that moment.

The Demon King took out his hidden power and bound me.

—Hero! You have broken my ambition, so I will take away your hope!

— No! Hero!

I collapsed, losing all my abilities.

The curse the Demon King left as he died could not be undone even by the Saintess.

—It’s a terrible curse. There’s no other way but to send the Hero back to the world he originally belonged to. In that world, the Demon King’s curse will not be able to exert its power.

—But, Archbishop! If that happens, the Hero will…

—Lose all his memories here. However, that’s the only way the Hero can live.

—Hero…

—Losing memories is a sad thing. But if you’re alive, you can build memories again.

The Saintess and my companions eventually agreed to return me to the world I originally belonged to.

That’s how I returned to this world, losing all my memories.

I grabbed my forehead at the memories that rushed in like waves.

“So… Saintess…? You’re… the Saintess, right?”

“Yes, Hero.”

She stood up with a gentle smile.

“Welcome, Hero. Or should I say, I’m back?”

The Saintess said so and hugged me.