Cocoa, the key ingredient of chocolate, is far more valuable than wheat or rice. Naturally, chocolate is expensive. Cakes are also costly, but chocolate is too expensive to be mixed into cakes and sold.

Seo Jung-woo made his order without hesitation.

“Chocolate cake!”

Lee Joo-yeon, the owner and sole employee of this small café, responded.

“Huh? Oh, yes. One slice of chocolate cake.”

Seo Jung-woo quickly checked the price list.

“Not a slice. A whole cake!”

“Ah. Will you be taking it to go?”

“I'll eat it here.”

“Excuse me? Oh. Alright.”

Lee Joo-yeon assumed more people were coming and asked,

“What would you like to drink?”

His eyes caught the transparent grinder filled with coffee beans.

“Real coffee made from actual beans?”

In this world, raw coffee beans are relatively cheap. The reason is that the labor in the producing regions is exploited at absurdly low wages. If coffee were produced in Korea or the middle of the United States, its price would be impossible due to labor costs.

In the other world, growing coffee requires risking one’s life. Monsters can appear anywhere.

Coffee is traditionally grown in high-altitude mountainous regions, and when monsters show up in such remote areas, farmers' lives are in danger. Even in some African countries where coffee trees grow near homes or on nearby hills, the situation is no different. Their military cannot protect the people. To survive, they must cluster in narrow areas and establish defensive lines. But the number of coffee trees that can be planted in such small spaces is very limited.

Thus, the common method of acquiring coffee beans in the other world is to form a team, enter an abandoned 20th-century coffee plantation, and harvest naturally grown coffee from the neglected trees.

Because harvesting is so costly and yields are low, coffee is naturally expensive. In the other world, real coffee is an incredibly high-end luxury. The last time Seo Jung-woo had real coffee was two months ago when he was treated to a meal by people he had rescued near a monster gate.

Most people in the other world drink a beverage they call coffee, which is actually synthetic caffeine mixed with artificial coffee flavoring. Its taste is inferior to real coffee. While cafes exist there, tea sells better than synthetic coffee.

“Real coffee!”

“Yes. What kind of coffee…?”

“A real Americano!”

“Would you like it mild or strong…?”

“Of course, strong! Oh? Whoa! You even sell espresso?”

Synthetic coffee made with artificial flavoring is usually diluted with water. Drinking it undiluted reveals an unpleasant taste, so it must always be mixed with water. Because of this, synthetic coffee cannot be used to make espresso.

Drinking real coffee as espresso, which yields only a small amount, is an extreme luxury.

Seo Jung-woo had only seen people drinking espresso on TV dramas.

“One espresso too!”

“Oh. Alright.”

Lee Joo-yeon tilted her head as she looked at Seo Jung-woo.

‘He’s acting strange today.’

Seo Jung-woo was a regular at this small café. They always exchanged smiles when he ordered. Thanks to the occasional glimpse of his ID in his wallet, she knew he was a police officer. Because of that, they casually joked around without caution.

But today, he was different. He wasn't looking at Lee Joo-yeon at all—his focus was solely on the coffee and cake.

‘There’s no way he’s going to eat a whole cake by himself, right?’

Seo Jung-woo scooped up a large bite of cake with his fork and put it in his mouth. The rich bitterness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the cake burst across his palate.

“Wow!”

He couldn't help but exclaim.

“It’s so good it makes me want to cry.”

It was truly delicious.

“This is real sugar, not saccharin.”

Sweetness isn’t rare in the other world. Saccharin, which is 300 times sweeter than sugar, exists. However, saccharin’s sweetness isn’t as delicious as sugar’s.

He took a sip of his coffee. The deep, rich taste filled his mouth.

‘Real coffee. It’s strong!’

It was even more delicious than the coffee he had two months ago.

‘And it’s only 3,000 won for such great coffee?’

“I seriously want to settle down in this world.”

His heart felt that way, but reality wouldn’t allow it.

‘When I return, it’ll probably be to my starting point…’

Teleportation itself is not a dangerous skill. If an object already occupies the intended destination, one of two things happens. If it's something light like air, the air is displaced. If it’s a solid object, the person is shifted to a nearby safe location.

Scientists believe that an awakened individual's subconscious instinctively designates a safe coordinate, leading to this phenomenon.

Seo Jung-woo judged that his parallel dimension movement skill was also a type of teleportation. Based on dimensional theories he had seen on TV, he assumed the two worlds were linked by fixed coordinates.

However, he wasn’t 100% sure that he could return after traveling back to the other world.

When he first came to this world, he had no time to set coordinates—he activated the skill as an experiment and was instantly transported here.

But the monster world connected to gates and the other world were not the same.

‘If I return and use the skill again, it would be great if I end up back here. But if it connects to a new world each time, I might never return.’

Even so, he couldn’t just stay here. His family was in the other world. The people he knew were there.

‘Thinking won’t give me an answer. I’ll have to try it myself.’

Seo Jung-woo cut another piece of cake.

‘Might as well eat my fill while I can.’

He finished the entire cake by himself and drank three cups of coffee. He even loaded his espresso with a generous amount of sugar.

The Seo Jung-woo of this world never passed by.

Instead, someone else appeared.

Seo Sora.

She spotted Seo Jung-woo sitting alone in the café and walked inside.

“So many coffee cups. Who were you with?”

“No one. Just me.”

“You don’t want to sleep tonight? And this cake—did you eat the whole thing by yourself?”

“It was delicious.”

She scrutinized him with the same expression she used when tracking monsters in the other world.

“Oppa, you’re acting really weird today. Was work stressful on your first day? Is that why you’re stress-eating? You’re not the type to eat your feelings. What’s going on?”

There was no way to explain.

“Just because.”

“Enough. Let’s go home.”

Seo Jung-woo changed his plan.

‘Investigating the house might be a good idea too.’

As he stood up, he reached for the cake tray.

“If I want to take this with me…”

“Are you crazy? How are you going to take it after butchering the cake like that? People will think you’re weird.”

It was a shame, but looking strange would be troublesome.

“Just kidding.”

Seo Sora spoke as she entered the house.

“Mom and Dad seem to be adjusting well to their assignment in Europe. Ah, I wish I could go too.”

Seo Jung-woo hadn’t seen his mother in the other world for quite some time. She had awakened a monster analysis skill and worked for the government’s monster response unit. That unit was based in Daejeon, where his father also worked for the government.

So lately, they had only been able to talk on the phone occasionally.

But in this world, his parents were in Europe.

‘The situation with my parents is similar in both worlds.’

Seo Sora tossed her bag aside and flopped onto the sofa. Lying down, she pressed the TV remote with her right hand while opening a half-eaten snack bag with her left.

“How was your first day at work?”

At that moment, Seo Jung-woo realized something.

‘Ah. This is just her nature.’

The Seo Sora in the other world was a sniper. On the battlefield, she was sharp and never let her guard down.

But the moment she returned home, she would immediately relax. That tendency was the same in both versions of her.

‘She probably loves snacks just as much, too.’

In the other world, aside from when she was very young, Seo Sora had rarely eaten proper snacks.

She asked again.

“I asked how work was. Was it super exhausting?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Seo Jung-woo answered.

“No. Nothing much happened.”

“Be careful. Don’t go chasing criminals recklessly. You’ll get hurt.”

“Are you my mom?”

“And don’t just eat cake for dinner. Wait, why would you eat cake for dinner? Are you insane? If you were going to eat something instead of a proper meal, at least have a fruit cake! Why chocolate? Why?!”

Seo Sora’s nagging stopped because of a breaking news report on TV.

A serial killer, known for a 24-hour killing spree, had been caught.

She sat up in surprise, focusing on the news.

“Oh wow. That scumbag finally got caught! Oppa, if you ever run into someone like that, don’t get close. Leave it to the other detectives.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“No, better yet, just shoot them on sight.”

“I was going to—”

“Huh?”

“—but he got caught already.”

Seo Sora looked up the news on her smartphone.

“Wow! They caught the killer at our local police station!”

Seo Jung-woo glanced at her phone.

‘What?’

Only a few hours had passed since he came to this world. He had noticed many people looking at their phones today, but he hadn’t paid attention to what they were looking at.

“What are you checking?”

Seo Sora turned her phone toward him.

“Look! If it’s our neighborhood’s police station… that’s your station, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Wait, what the hell? The other detectives caught the killer, but you’re home?”

“They already caught him.”

“You should have at least helped out! That way, you could have gotten some credit when they handed out rewards!”

For Seo Jung-woo, that wasn’t the important part. The smartphone had caught him completely off guard.

‘Does this mean phones can access the internet here?’

Phones in the other world didn’t have that feature. Many people used rectangular devices that looked like smartphones, but they were just large-screen basic phones.

‘Tactical wireless PDAs have internet access, but…’

Those PDAs were much larger than smartphones and expensive enough that ordinary people like Seo Sora wouldn’t use them.

He looked around the house. Overall, it wasn’t much different from the one in the other world, but the TV here was bigger and thinner.

‘The technology in both worlds must have developed in different directions over the past 18 years.’

In the other world, developing military weapons to fight monsters was the top priority. The technological focus was different from this world.

But the smartphone genuinely amazed him.

‘A device that small and thin, with such a clear display?’

At a glance, the screen looked like a high-resolution sticker pasted on glass. Phones in the other world didn’t have screens this sharp.

Seo Sora kept scrolling through news articles.

“The victim was rescued safely. Wow! The police actually did their job today!”

She found an article that mentioned the victim’s name. The name came up during an interview with someone from the victim’s neighborhood.

“Huh? The victim’s name is Nana? No way, it’s not our Nana, right?”

Seo Jung-woo froze.

“Our? What do you mean?”

Seo Sora immediately opened her call log and tried to dial Yoon Nana.

“Ugh. Her phone is off.”

Seo Jung-woo suddenly realized—this house was in the same neighborhood as Yoon Nana.

Hoping he was wrong, he asked,

“Wait, is Yoon Nana in the same high school and class as you?”

“No. We didn’t go to the same school.”

He sighed in relief.

‘Thank god. It must just be a common name…’

Seo Sora gave him a sharp look.

“Oppa. Wait. Yoon Nana? Her last name is Yoon? How do you know that?”

Seo Jung-woo casually made up an excuse.

“I’m a detective at that police station. Of course I know.”

Seo Sora fidgeted nervously.

“I really hope it’s not our Nana.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t go to the same school?”

“We were trainees together. We got close because we lived in the same neighborhood. Plus, we were the only four who stuck it out for years without giving up.”

Feeling tense, Seo Jung-woo asked cautiously.

“Have I ever met your friend Yoon Nana before?”

“If I showed her to you, you’d definitely ask me to introduce you. So why would I?”

“Oh. Good job.”

“Oppa, you’re acting super weird today. What’s with your reaction? If you saw Nana’s face, you’d probably plan your whole future together on the spot.”

“Me?”

“Don’t even try to deny it.”

Seo Sora tilted her head, then opened her messenger app to send Nana a text.

“She’s not reading it.”

Getting anxious, she turned to Seo Jung-woo.

“Oppa. Can you check if this Nana is our Nana?”

He already knew. Yoon Nana was in the hospital and couldn’t answer her phone.

“Nope. I can’t.”

“Ugh, seriously!”

“I can’t share case details with civilians.”

“I’m not a civilian! I’m your sister!”

“I strictly follow the rules.”

Worried that he might slip up and expose himself, Seo Jung-woo stood up. He grabbed the doorknob of the room he used when he was a kid.

Seo Sora immediately yelled,

“Why are you going into my room?!”

He realized something.

‘Ah. She took my old room.’

“I thought something was on the doorknob.”

He opened a different door instead.

‘This one’s definitely my room.’