Hiding a House in the Apocalypse-Chapter 122: The Fairy Kingdom

Red Archive Forum.

As always, it was buzzing with activity.

This liveliness came partly from the youthful energy of the forum’s users, but mostly from the fact that the game that birthed this community was still running in Jeju.

After watching the forum for a long time, I had come to a realization—most of the discussion was driven by the game developers.

A glance at the latest announcement proved as much.

(Patch Notes) Grand Battle! White Tiger Event Incoming!

Whenever a new competitive mode was added, speculation and discussions exploded around it, creating a natural cycle of content and conversation.

Some users even had enough wit and creativity to fuel that cycle further, keeping the community alive with their unique contributions.

It was a stark contrast to our forum—where the same old users had been lingering for years, and the only thing keeping it alive was the sheer force of individual charisma.

Well, technically, we had a game too.

But it was dying.

Foxgames: Everyone, sorry! As you all know, the North American data center was taken over, and we can’t generate enough traffic to keep the game running. The devs say they’ll be expanding new data servers soon, so please hold on until then! In the meantime, I’ll be fixing the known bugs!

Foxgames had finally shut down.

They blamed the North American data center, but honestly, their downfall had been inevitable.

From the start, the game had been a Frankenstein’s monster—stitched together from stolen ideas, source codes, and other intellectual property.

Even then, it had only survived thanks to a few talented employees.

And when those employees were pushed out, the whole thing crumbled.

The shiny little badge still flickered next to Foxgames’ username, but I wasn’t jealous.

He was a relic of the past.

These days, what interested me more was the new sparkling badge next to M9’s name.

What? TM?

Trademark?

Sure, M9 was an eccentric individual, but did he really deserve that level of recognition?

Well, it wasn’t surprising.

In our world, Melon Mask was the creator, and he liked M9.

mmmmmmmmm™: (M9 on the Edge of a Cliff) Aaaah! It’s shaking again~ Aaahhh~~

Even now, M9 was burning his last embers.

His posts, where he turned even his own impending death into a joke, had gained a cult following.

At this rate, was he planning to say farewell to everyone before actually falling to his death?

Well, that was his problem.

I had bigger things to worry about.

A minor issue had popped up on the Red Archive Forum.

That "minor issue" was my so-called fan.

The one who only ever responded to my top-tier jokes with a single character: ㅋ.

HappinessForYou: Where do you live?

That user was actively trying to contact me.

*

Having been a named user across Viva! Apocalypse!, PaleNet, and the Red Archive Forum, I knew that being well-known wasn’t just about receiving attention.

A named user was someone special—someone recognized among countless others.

And with that recognition came responsibility.

Managing a following, or what some would call a fanbase, was one of those responsibilities.

It was why, back in the Red Archive Forum, I had taken the time to handle my overzealous fan, Quantum Implosion.

A single dedicated fan was worth more than ten haters.

A quote I had just come up with.

And because a fan was valuable, I had to treat them well.

But the problem was... their request.

My new fan, HappinessForYou, had made an unreasonable demand.

Asking where I lived.

Not exactly something I could answer lightly.

If I told the truth, my grand plan could be compromised.

If I lied, I’d be found out sooner or later.

Jeju itself was a large island, but human settlements there were limited and strictly zoned.

It was almost as easy to find someone now as it had been before the war.

If I fed them some half-baked lie, they’d figure it out fast.

But I couldn’t let them know I wasn’t in Jeju, either.

After all, even though it was a secret to those around me—I was officially registered as a Jeju citizen.

I even had a house and equipment in Jeju under my name.

And I had a job.

A government-assigned role.

Inside Jeju’s system, I was a field informant.

A HUMINT asset.

Static—

"This is Park Gyu. No unusual activity. No signs of erosion from this end."

Once a month, I made contact with Jeju using a special radio they had provided.

It was mostly me doing the talking. They rarely responded.

But it meant I was fulfilling my role.

This information was top secret—both in Jeju and beyond.

No matter how much of a fan they were, I couldn’t just tell them.

So, I ignored their question.

Instead, I doubled down on my comedic efforts.

F2PNewbie: If the new character Anna gets injured, what happens?

F2PNewbie: She "bleeds" (피나—sounds like "peanut" in Korean, a joke on phonetics).

"..."

I waited.

For my fan to respond.

They had probably favorited my profile.

HappinessForYou: ㅋ

The moment I posted, they replied.

A clear sign.

But posting more jokes wouldn’t solve the problem.

HappinessForYou: Where do you live? Huh? Why aren’t you answering?

They were getting bolder.

What exactly did they want to talk about?

I decided to ask directly, using an old post as a makeshift chatroom.

F2PNewbie: ? Why do you keep looking for me?

On this forum, I had the persona of an early twenty-something.

Adding a bit of youthful casualness ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) to my responses helped keep up the act.

It was easy to pull off. I’d done the same thing with Woo Min-hee before.

But no matter what, the answer was no.

There would be no meeting.

No revealing my location.

A single fan was valuable, but if they crossed the line, that was their problem.

But this one...

They knew how to negotiate.

HappinessForYou: I’m going to Big Hole next week.

Big Hole.

A term used by young Awakened in Jeju to refer to rifts.

In other words, my fan was going into a rift next week.

I had heard the survival rate for Awakened inside rifts wasn’t great.

Almost as bad as it had been for us hunters back in the day.

For every three that entered, only two came back.

This meant my only fan was heading into that hell.

They had to be at least ten years younger than me.

Practically a kid.

Stepping into a deathtrap.

HappinessForYou: Also, I don’t have any friends. You know those kids who always feel out of place? That’s me.

HappinessForYou: Like everyone else, I left my family behind in Seoul. I don’t have anyone here. No one to talk to, no one to meet. Then I noticed you. ㅇㅇ

"..."

I hesitated.

How was I supposed to respond to this?

If I approached it professionally, I would ignore it.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

No, if I were still Professor, I wouldn’t even be on this forum to begin with.

But I had my own memories.

Before my first battle, the government had given me a hefty allowance and a week of leave.

A gift—so I could spend time with my family, friends, or a lover.

But I had none of those things.

So I sat in my barracks. Alone.

For an entire week.

I imagined killing monsters.

Trained myself in my mind.

I never spoke a word.

It had been the best way to prepare.

But was it a good memory?

Not at all.

I had spent that entire time alone, staring at my phone, hoping someone—anyone—would call me.

No one did.

And that... had stuck with me.

Some things stay with you forever.

And now, my distant junior was about to go through something eerily similar.

Just from our short conversation, I could already get a sense of their personality.

Reserved. Quiet. Avoidant of emotional wounds.

To others, they might seem difficult to approach.

HappinessForYou: What cohort are you? How does someone your age make such dad jokes?

F2PNewbie: 13th.

HappinessForYou: 13th? Damn, you’re my junior? A baby, huh? ㅋ

HappinessForYou: I used to have a younger sibling too.

HappinessForYou: We weren’t close. But these days, I miss them a lot.

I asked.

F2PNewbie: When are you going?

HappinessForYou: Next Monday. Two days left. I’m all set. Signed my will and everything. If you want, I’ll leave you my inheritance. It’s not much, but I don’t have family anyway. Better to leave it to someone who at least made me smile instead of the government, right?

I understood now.

They were looking for someone to remember them.

Someone to prove they had existed in this world.

That inheritance talk? Just bait.

A way to ensure their last wish was granted.

And I knew because I had once felt the same.

Back then, I hadn’t had access to forums like this, so I never acted on it.

But if I had, would I have done something similar?

People can live alone.

But at some point, everyone wants to connect.

And the deeper that need, the lonelier their soul becomes.

"..."

Choices and dangers flashed through my mind.

The things I shouldn’t do.

The things I wanted to do.

Conflicting thoughts crashed into each other until, eventually, the storm settled, revealing a faint path forward.

I exhaled and placed my fingers on the keyboard.

F2PNewbie: Do you want to see me?

*

When we were kids, fairytales led us to dreamy kingdoms.

Places where everything glittered, filled with wonders beyond imagination.

I couldn’t create such a place.

That was beyond my power.

But for some, a paradise was relative.

I dropped a link into our chat.

F2PNewbie: Tell no one. Come in secretly.

That link crossed beyond Jeju.

It pierced through the clouds, bouncing off the antennas of satellites stationed in the stratosphere before plummeting back to Earth.

On a screen, HappinessForYou would only see a Florida or Arizona data center.

But, of course, the radio waves themselves had no eyes.

Reality would have to remain imagined.

Once inside that vast, ever-active data hub, HappinessForYou would find the Korean-language forum.

And there, like a proper fairy tale, a guide awaited to welcome them to the kingdom.

SKELTON: Welcome.

Their reaction was instant.

HappinessForYou: ??????

Of course, they were shocked.

They had spent their entire life trapped inside Jeju’s intranet.

The existence of a whole new world called Viva! Apocalypse! was beyond anything they had imagined.

SKELTON: (Serious Skeleton Emoji) I am F2PNewbie.

HappinessForYou: W-Wait. You mean the guy who only ever commented with emojis until they got banned?!

SKELTON: ?

HappinessForYou: What the hell? Anyway, where even is this?

SKELTON: This is Viva! Apocalypse!

HappinessForYou: Viva Apocalypse...? What is that?

SKELTON: Think of it as another site. Anyway, you said you wanted to meet me, right?

HappinessForYou: Uh, yeah!

SKELTON: As you can see, I’m not in Jeju. I’m outside, infiltrating the intranet from beyond. That’s why we can’t meet.

HappinessForYou: W-Wait, really? You’re lying.

SKELTON: (Mysterious Skeleton Stare)

HappinessForYou: ...What?

SKELTON: ...

HappinessForYou: You’re serious...? No, wait. This forum—it's real. These are all real people.

HappinessForYou: Ugh, what the hell? Why is there a disgusting picture of a naked corpse hanging from a noose?!

SKELTON: Shit! Hold on!

Some lunatic had managed to unban themselves.

I deleted the post and banned them again.

SKELTON: As you can see, this is not Jeju. This is another world. A site used not only by those on the Korean mainland but by survivors worldwide.

HappinessForYou: I mean... yeah, it feels real. But, uh, Skeleton... how old are you? (Suspicious look)

SKELTON: Age doesn’t matter.

HappinessForYou: You’re an old man, aren’t you?

SKELTON: Let me show you something.

I sent them a link.

A legendary record of Viva! Apocalypse!—the saga of TwelveSquare.

HappinessForYou: W-What is this?

SKELTON: (Grinning Skeleton Emoji) Just watch.

A brief yet powerful tale of life and death played out before them.

After it ended, I asked.

SKELTON: So? Thoughts on my accomplishments?

HappinessForYou: What? That was you...?

HappinessForYou: (Shocked Happiness Emoji)

SKELTON: (Affirmative Skeleton)

HappinessForYou: Bullshit.

SKELTON: Believe what you want. But if you want to confirm the truth, you should know what you need to do.

There was only one reason I had led my fan to this strange kingdom.

To deliver a single message.

SKELTON: Survive.

Living or dying in battle was a matter of chance.

But lasting long enough to see another day—that was a matter of will.

Ordinary people couldn’t change the world.

So they had to endure.

To adapt to hell.

To grow numb to the horrors.

To accept the relentless misery of daily life.

And, most of all—to stay awake when exhaustion begged them to sleep.

SKELTON: If you want to see more fun things in the future, that is.

I waited.

HappinessForYou: You’re... kinda interesting, huh?

SKELTON: Your answer?

HappinessForYou: Alright. I’ll try.

I signaled Ballantine.

The moment he hit the keyboard, the secondary monitor went black.

And on that darkened screen, a pale sentence appeared.

[Disconnected]

To HappinessForYou, the fairy kingdom they had just glimpsed was now completely erased.

Vanished without a trace.

I stared at the dark screen, a half-smile tugging at my lips—a mix of satisfaction and something else.

Bittersweet.

"Do you think they’ll survive?"

Ballantine wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He had indulged my nonsense again.

"Who knows?"

Still wearing that same half-smile, I turned to another screen.

There, Viva! Apocalypse! was alive and thriving.

For my fan, it was a fairy kingdom.

A chaotic, brutal, but undeniably real kingdom.

And as I watched yet another round of madness unfold, I murmured.

"At the very least, when they die, they won’t have regrets."

"Isn’t that even crueler?"

I glanced at Ballantine.

And shook my head.