Chapter 1

It was a completely useless life.

That’s what I thought.

I thought I was ordinary. But that was my mistaken belief. My poor academic performance and inability to adapt well to social life. As these various problems piled up, even my parents were looking at me with serious eyes.

And honestly, I thought it was strange too.

I’ve been scammed because I listened too well to others, and my friends often called me naive. Or they said I seemed a bit lacking…

A close friend didn’t hesitate to call me an idiot.

So, I went to take an intelligence test with my parents.

The result came back low.

I was in the bottom 30% in intelligence. Everything I had done up until now made sense. I didn’t think I was normal either. I knew I was a bit lacking, but it was now official that I was dumber than others.

Still, my daily life didn’t change.

I barely finished my military service. But college was out of the question. With an average grade of 7-8, there was no way I could get into a decent university. Even if I did, the tuition would just be a waste.

So, I lived by doing part-time jobs.

Fortunately, even with low intelligence, I managed to adapt by working hard. I could handle even the difficult café orders smoothly. Of course, I made mistakes occasionally, but compared to when I first started, I was like a saint. Even the seniors beside me said they didn’t expect me to do so well.

“Hehe…”

There was only one joy in my part-time life.

Reading web novels.

The novel I was reading now was a completed one. I wasn’t really drawn to ongoing serials. You never knew when they might stop, and the author might mess up the ending. So, I developed a habit of only reading novels that were somewhat verified.

And I only read novels with happy endings. Life was already tough, so reading sad or ambiguous endings wasn’t my style. I read novels to feel happy, so there was no need to feel depressed in the novels too.

The novel I was reading now also had a happy ending.

The story was simple.

The protagonist, who became an orphan due to a gate invasion, awakened as a hunter and smashed everything. There were strong enemies, but the protagonist’s power was so overwhelming that there wasn’t much tension. That’s why I really liked the reviews of this novel.

A super strong protagonist smashing everything was my taste. Tension might be important in novels, but for me, it was a luxury. And if the story got even slightly complicated, it became hard to read.

Too many settings, intricate foreshadowing, and complex character relationships…

They were just too much for me.

So, I was reading the first chapter of the novel with high expectations. The rescue team finds the protagonist in the ruins. They send the protagonist to an orphanage. On paper, the parents were declared missing.

‘Pretty standard.’

A start without parents. A very standard start. And the protagonist, who grew up in the orphanage, was bullied by the girls. It was because the protagonist’s looks were so pretty that they monopolized the boys’ attention.

Then one day, the protagonist awakened as a hunter and entered the academy where hunters are trained. It seemed like a typical academy development. And the orphanage where the protagonist was bullied was completely destroyed. It was a very protagonist-like move. It felt so satisfying.

“Mmm, nice…”

I was so absorbed in my phone screen.

So much so that I didn’t even see the truck coming at me while I was standing at the traffic light…

I didn’t know why it had to be today.

And just like that, my life came to an end.

Before dying, I didn’t think much. Where would I go after death? Would my consciousness just disappear like a computer turning off?

I would soon find the answer.

—————————————————————————-

“Huh…?”

I was sure the truck had hit me…

But when I opened my eyes, a new scenery greeted me. My vision was lower. And these weren’t my hands. My hands weren’t this small. My hands were big even for a guy. But the hands I saw now were tiny and soft.

Thud-thud-thud-

A helicopter was hovering, and the surroundings were pure ruins. I never knew buildings could collapse like this. It looked like they had been hit by a missile, with concrete debris everywhere.

“Cough, cough.”

Dust was flying around because of the collapsed buildings. I couldn’t gather my thoughts. I shook my head. Finally coming to my senses, I looked around.

The surroundings were completely devastated. Blood and corpses were everywhere. My face turned pale. It was the first time I had seen dead people in my life. Living in modern society, where would I have seen corpses?

“Waaah!”

Then, I heard a baby’s cry.

Unconsciously, I turned my head and looked at the baby. I walked over to the baby without thinking. The baby was neatly wrapped in a cloth. It looked like someone had deliberately placed it there. I picked up the baby.

“Uh…”

My dazed mind suddenly cleared. From around the corner of the building, people in red clothes came rushing over.

“Survivors found here! One child and one baby!”

The person in red looked at me and spoke. They must be part of the rescue team.

At that moment, something clicked in my head like puzzle pieces fitting together.

This is exactly like the novel I just read…?

————————————————————————

Rescue team member Kim Min-cheol looked at the trembling child and asked.

“What’s your name?”

“Ha… Ha-yul. Kim Ha-yul.”

“Really? Then what’s your sibling’s name?”

“Ah… I haven’t decided yet.”

“What do you mean?”

Kim Min-cheol made a baffled expression. The child, who didn’t even look like a middle schooler, was holding a newborn baby.

No matter how he thought about it, they must be children who had lost their parents. Or perhaps they lost their parents due to the gate rampage that happened today. Otherwise, there was no way they would be in these ruins.

Kim Min-cheol rubbed his forehead. His senior had left this heartbreaking task to him and ran off somewhere. It was always the same old routine, but this time was different. He had to ask children who had lost their parents. Or maybe they hadn’t lost them, but they might have passed away.

Still, he had to ask.

“What are your parents’ names?”

“Th-that…”

Ha-yul’s eyes were trembling.

“Never mind, take a rest. I’ll get you some water.”

Kim Min-cheol realized that the child needed stability. At such a young age, witnessing such a horrific scene, there was no way the child was in their right mind. Kim Min-cheol got up to get some water. He thought he’d ask again after some time. Maybe drinking some cold water would help the child regain some composure.

“Huh?”

But by the time he came back with the water, the child had disappeared.

————————————————————————–

“Pant… pant…”

I was running full speed on the sidewalk. If I stayed still, the protagonist would definitely end up in the orphanage. Then I’d be separated from the protagonist. So, I ran on the sidewalk until I could only walk.

Wait, is running away the right thing to do? I slowly stopped walking.

Shouldn’t the protagonist go to the orphanage? There’s no way I, with nothing, could raise the protagonist. And isn’t this already diverging from the original story? And wouldn’t this body have its own parents?

“Kyaa!”

The protagonist was looking at me with a bright smile, as if something made them really happy.

Seeing that bright expression, I regained my resolve. If the protagonist went to the orphanage, they’d be bullied by the other kids for years, and I couldn’t stand that. The protagonist had to always be happy.

Ring-ring!

Then, the phone in my pocket rang.

I took out the phone. The message was simple. It said that the death insurance money for my parents had been paid.

I had become an orphan too.