"Jung. Haneul."
The voice echoed like a final boss intro.
Haneul didn't look up. His fingers flew across his keyboard, eyes locked on the screen. His character was on fire — both figuratively and literally — as he crushed enemies in a dazzling combo streak.
He was seconds away from another perfect S-rank.
Until—
Click.
The screen went black.
Silence.
Haneul blinked once, then slowly turned around to see the culprit: his father, holding the power cord like a sword of justice. His mother stood behind, arms folded, face unreadable.
"This ends now," his father said coldly."You've locked yourself in this room for two years. No school, no job, no social life. You're wasting your talent."
"Wasting?" Haneul scoffed. "I'm ranked #1 in five global games. I have sponsors. Fans. I'm not wasting anything."
His mother stepped forward. "You're brilliant, Haneul. But brilliance without direction is just noise. If you don't find a job by the end of the month…"
She paused — then delivered the real threat.
"We're deleting all your saved data."
The room spun. Haneul's jaw dropped. "You wouldn't."
His father's eyes didn't flinch. "Try us."
And just like that, Haneul's carefully crafted digital empire — years of achievements, rare items, perfect rankings — was now on the line.
Two days later, still jobless, Haneul sat slumped on a couch in an unfamiliar office. Neon posters of idols covered the walls. Music thumped faintly in the background.
Across from him, a woman with sharp eyeliner and a scarlet blazer smiled like she already knew something he didn't.
"You're pretty," she said, sizing him up. "And desperate. Perfect combo.""Welcome to Aurora Entertainment. We're going to make you a star."