• They're Not Fooling Anyone

Seo-Yeon made her way through the rows of seats until she finally took a seat next to Ji-Hoon. Her face was flushed with happiness as she whispered to him, "Oppa, I did it, just like you told me to, and it actually worked!"

Hearing Seo-Yeon say those words, Ji-Hoon was filled with questions, "What is she talking about? I told her to do something back in college? What was it?" Suddenly the memory hit him and he remembered.

Ji-Hoon's eyebrows raised up with curiosity. "You did?" he replied, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "Well, good for you. So, how did it go?" His gaze shifted toward her, his attention momentarily captured by their conversation, he was so happy to see a dear friend again.

Suddenly, before the conversation could progress futher, Ji-Hoon heard the system's voice boom in his ears.

[Welcome back, Player ET-75578; Ji-Hoon.]

[Due to Player ET-75578; Ji-Hoon being the last surviving player of the previous game they have recived a gift.]

[Notice! The gift can only be opned after the re-evaluation begins.]

[The re-evaluation will begin in 30:00 minutes.]

Ji-Hoon turned his head toward the front of the classroom, his eyes widening in disbelief. There, right in front of him, hovered a blue system window.

He gritted his teeth slightly as he mused, "I should've caught on when it mentioned a 're-evaluation.' Now, with only thirty minutes left before the apocalypse hits, I'm stuck without any chance to grab resources from beyond campus grounds. Looks like I could be heading for a repeat of last time."

Seo-Yeon, sitting beside him, caught the strange look on his face, and concern flickered in her pink eyes. She leaned in closer to him, her voice gentle as she asked, "Oppa, what's wrong? Is there something up?"

Ji-Hoon glanced at her, then he let out a sigh. He proceeded to lean in close to her and whispered in her ear, "Look Seo-Yeon, what I'm about to say might sound bizarre, but I need you to trust me, okay?"

Seo-Yeon nodded as she said, "I always trust you, oppa."

"Okay, in a few minutes, the world as we know it is going to change forever, so brace yourself. It would be best if we start heading over to the cafeteria."

Seo-Yeon smiled as she said, "Okay," a hint of excitement in her voice. In that moment, as they rose from their seats, preparing to take their leave, the unexpected happened. The lecturer abruptly stopped the class, her announcement taking both Ji-Hoon and Seo-Yeon by surprise. "That will be all for today," she said before turning and swiftly exiting the classroom.

Ji-Hoon's thoughts raced in confusion. "What!?" he muttered to himself, his brows furrowed in bewilderment. "This isn't how things played out before. The class is still supposed to be on, or is my timing off?" He glanced at his phone to confirm the time, but it indicated that there were still twenty minutes left before the class was supposed to end.

All of a sudden, he saw a lot of commotion happening around him. Other students were quickly grabbing their things and heading towards the door. They were talking urgently, like they had something important to do. The classroom, which was quiet before, was now hectic with everyone leaving.

As things got more chaotic and confusing, Ji-Hoon felt even more surprised. "What the actual fuck is going on?!" He exclaimed inwardly. Everything he thought he knew was suddenly thrown out the window, and now he was observing a completely unpredictable scene.

Feeling an urgency that he couldn't quite explain, Ji-Hoon suddenly reached out and grabbed Seo-Yeon's hands, his fingers closing around hers. Her blush in response to his touch was a fleeting moment of warmth in the uncertainty that surrounded them. "Come on, Seo-Yeon," he urged, his voice a mixture of concern and resolve. "We have to hurry. Something doesn't feel right."

Following the stream of students who were rushing out of the classroom, Ji-Hoon's eyes fell upon a sight that didn't make any sense. Through the massive glass window that was on one wall of the fifth-floor college hallway, he saw a scene that left him utterly confused.

"I thought I regressed," He mutterd, his voice filled with suspense. "But.. if I did then... this... this dosen't make any sense." The words lingered heavily in the air, bringing with them the burden of uncertainty.