As soon as Lee Seon-hwa entered Seo Jung-woo and Seo Sora’s house, she flopped onto the sofa.

"I really thought I was done for this time."

Seo Jung-woo placed a glass cup in front of her and poured her some cola from the fridge.

He trusted Lee Seon-hwa, but he still couldn’t tell her about the existence of parallel dimensions. She had many acquaintances in the entertainment industry and, like his parents, enjoyed drinking. If she got drunk and started talking too much, she might slip up.

'It’s not something I absolutely have to tell her.'

He couldn't share the secret yet, but he could let her enjoy the same things.

Lee Seon-hwa asked,

"What’s this?"

"Try it."

"It’s carbonated?"

She took a sip of the cola. Her eyes widened.

"This is—!"

"You said you wanted to drink cola."

"It’s delicious! Really delicious!"

She started drinking it slowly, savoring each sip.

"There’s plenty, so just drink it normally."

Before he even finished speaking, she gulped down the cola in big swigs.

"Ahhh!"

She slammed the empty glass onto the table and shouted,

"One more!"

Seo Jung-woo refilled her glass.

As she reached for it, she suddenly turned to look at him.

"Oppa. But where did you get this? Cola doesn’t exist in this world anymore."

"Picked it up on the way."

"That’s nonsense…"

Her expression stiffened.

She recalled a story she had heard from another actor. That actor had told her that the mansions of the wealthy still had things that were impossible to obtain now.

"Oppa, did you raid some chaebol’s secret storage just because I said I wanted to drink cola before I died? Are you crazy? If you get caught, you’ll be killed!"

"As if I’d do that."

"Phew. Right? You wouldn’t go that far, right? No matter how much I said it was my dying wish."

"That wasn’t your dying wish. There were other ways to break that curse besides the necklace."

If he negotiated with the government and agreed to reenlist for about a year, he could have borrowed a sacred relic. That was his last resort if all other plans failed.

"This cola was obtained safely, so just enjoy it."

Seo Sora placed a plate of cookies beside her.

"Unnie, try this too. It's really good."

Lee Seon-hwa picked up a cookie. It was a crispy pie with strawberry jam spread on top.

It was delicious. Both the cookie and the jam were real.

She was curious.

Beef could still be bought if you had enough money. These cookies were expensive, but handmade versions were available for purchase.

But cola was a drink that had completely disappeared. And even the cookies were fresh and crispy, neither stale nor rock-hard.

'The cookies taste exactly like the ones I used to eat. It’s as if they were just opened.'

She spent the entire day in that house, indulging in delicious food.

Seo Jung-woo and Seo Sora, feeling sympathy for someone who had survived near death, kept offering her meat, cookies, cola, and more.

Seo Jung-woo asked,

"Are you okay with leaving your house empty for days?"

"What does it matter? I don’t have any schedules anymore."

Seo Jung-woo was suddenly reminded of the top star Lee Seon-hwa from the other world. In her house, there were stacks of movie and drama scripts from directors hoping she would take a role.

'I wonder if any of those scripts are low-budget enough to be filmed here and still become a hit.'

Since he had only seen the covers, he didn’t know.

That evening, Lee Seon-hwa had another craving.

"Ah, after eating so much delicious food, I really want some real pizza."

Seo Jung-woo took a frozen pizza from the freezer, heated it in the microwave, and placed it in front of her.

"Here you go, freshly served. It’s frozen, but at least it’s real pizza. Dig in."

She stared at the warmed-up pizza and asked,

"Oppa."

"What?"

"I feel like I shouldn’t talk about what I ate here today when I go outside. Am I right?"

"That’s why I like how quick-witted you are. There's no benefit in spreading rumors about what’s in the basement food storage here, right?"

Her hesitation was brief.

'He’ll tell me where he got it eventually.'

Until then, she decided not to ask unnecessary questions.

"Today, I ate rice made from synthetic grains and stew made with monster meat. That’s it."

"And you drank alcohol made from synthetic ethyl alcohol in a chemical plant. Not today, but before."

"Ah, right. I’ve only ever had that kind of alcohol. I’ve never even seen real soju. So."

She grinned.

"I guess I’ll have to visit more often to eat this stuff."

"Huh?"

"Should I just come every day?"

"No, that’s—"

"Can I just use that room?"

"You think that’s gonna work?"

The next day, Seo Jung-woo took Lee Seon-hwa to the bus stop.

In this world, buses are the backbone of public transportation. Trains had stopped running because maintaining the tracks was no longer feasible. The steel tracks had long been dismantled and turned into guns and bullets.

Lee Seon-hwa touched her face with both hands.

“I ate so much yesterday and today. Did I gain weight?”

“You don’t gain weight easily.”

“Right? I still look pretty, don’t I?”

“Now that I look again, you seem a bit chubbier.”

“You’re dead!”

A voice called out to them.

“Oh! Noona!”

Seo Jung-woo turned his head. High school student Jeong Hyun-su was running toward them.

Seo Jung-woo raised his hand.

“Hey, high schooler. You okay—”

Jeong Hyun-su reached out both hands toward Lee Seon-hwa.

“Seon-hwa noona! You’re leaving already?”

“I overcame the curse, so I have to go. And put your hands down.”

“Can’t you at least shake my hand before you go?”

“I’m not leaving forever. I’ll come often. Why are you here? Going somewhere?”

“No. I came looking for you, noona. Your phone’s still off. Are you okay now?”

“Of course. I’m super healthy. I just rested for a day and now I’m heading home.”

“Oh, I see. You rested for a day…”

Jeong Hyun-su’s eyes wavered.

“Huh? Where?”

Lee Seon-hwa glanced playfully at Seo Jung-woo.

Jeong Hyun-sujumped.

“No way!”

Seo Jung-woo intervened.

“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not that. I live with my younger sister. She and Seon-hwa slept together. They’re really close.”

“That’s a relief! There’s no way you would dare—”

“Dare? Hey, high schooler. Your gun changed? Since when do high schoolers carry light machine guns?”

“I borrowed my dad’s gun. There might still be monsters out there. I only have a pistol because I’m still in high school.”

Lee Seon-hwa asked.

“You have a license? You need a permit for a machine gun.”

“I got my license earlier.”

“They give heavy firearm licenses to high schoolers?”

“I have a firearm recoil control skill, so I qualified. Oh, right.”

Jeong Hyun-suturned to Seo Jung-woo.

“Hyung, I heard that sick people don’t get drafted. They say they’re just a burden in combat.”

“You’re healthy.”

“But I almost died from a curse. Curses are super dangerous, and there’s so much we don’t know about them. What if I have hidden aftereffects? What if I suddenly have a seizure in battle?”

“You have an awakened combat skill, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“If you can breathe, you’re going active duty.”

“So I just have to serve normally?”

“Plus, after this incident, you’ve gained experience overcoming a curse and probably increased your mental resistance. That means as soon as you finish boot camp, the awakened special forces will snatch you up. Make sure you go. The military.”

Jeong Hyun-sulooked devastated.

The bus arrived. Lee Seon-hwa got on.

But then, Seo Jung-woo got on as well.

She looked at him in surprise.

“You’re coming too?”

“You’ve been through a lot, so I’ll see you home.”

“Really? Wow! Then will you come inside?”

“No. I’ll turn back at your front door.”

On the way, Lee Seon-hwa spoke.

“I went through so much, but since I’m not an awakened, my mental resistance didn’t increase, right? What a shame.”

“You don’t need high mental resistance.”

“Why? Because you’ll protect me?”

Seo Jung-woo leaned in and whispered.

“As long as you wear that necklace, no evil sorcery can touch you.”

With a legendary-grade relic around her neck, there was no way a mere curse or illusion could affect Lee Seon-hwa.

She touched the necklace.

“This must be something really amazing.”

“Whatever you’re imagining, it’s even better. So don’t go bragging about it.”

“I’ll just say my boyfriend gave it to me.”

“Don’t even joke about that.”

Seo Jung-woo escorted Lee Seon-hwa home and then returned. Afterward, he stopped by the aptitude gate defense line and met Park Cheol-woo.

Once he had taken care of everything, he returned to where his house used to be and activated his parallel dimension teleportation skill.

The barren wasteland before him transformed into his room.

Seo Jung-woo stepped outside. People were going about their day as usual.

“It’s always peaceful here.”

Jeong Hyun-su passed by in front of him. He had the same face as before but was dressed differently. Instead of carrying a light machine gun, he now had a backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Hey, high schooler!”

Jeong Hyun-su turned around, startled, and greeted him.

“Ah! Detective Seo hyung!”

“That’s a strange way to address me.”

“I saw the news about your achievements!”

“Achievements?”

“You saved Lee Seon-hwa! Hyung, you’re amazing.”

“Anything else?”

“That’s the greatest achievement, isn’t it?”

“Are you a fan of Lee Seon-hwa by any chance?”

“Of course!”

“You’re really a fan of Lee Seon-hwa no matter where you are.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, he became curious about Jeong Hyun-su’s age.

“Are you a senior in high school?”

It was possible he wasn’t. If they were siblings, they could resemble each other even if they were born in the 21st century.

“Wow. You can tell that just by looking?”

“Why is a senior always slacking off?”

“I’m actually good at studying.”

“If you lie, I’ll throw you in a holding cell.”

Jeong Hyun-su immediately changed his words.

“I’m not going to college. I’m going to be a pro gamer. I even got an offer as a trainee.”

Seo Jung-woo looked up at the sky.

“Why is my life surrounded by trainees?”

“Huh?”

“It just happens. Ah. You have an older sister, right?”

Jeong Hyun-su’s eyes widened.

“You know my sister too?”

“I don’t. I just heard that you have one.”

“My sister is pretty. But her personality is a bit nasty. Don’t be interested. You’ll just get hurt.”

“The pretty girl I know also has a bit of a rough personality. And I’m not interested in your sister.”

“Ah! Buy me jjajangmyeon! You said you’d buy me jjajangmyeon next time we met!”

The Jeong Hyun-sufrom that world had suffered a lot during the time he was cursed. Just before that, he had also helped take down a sorcerous monster.

But over there, he still hadn’t been treated to anything delicious.

“Let’s go. Eat a large portion. Want some tangsuyuk too?”

“Really?”

“I made some money this time. But is there any place still open at this hour?”

“There’s a place that stays open late over there!”

The thief, So Sang-hyeon, had stolen the relics of a high monk from the Goryeo period. He had attempted to sell them to Kim Jung-deuk, a cultural artifact smuggler, but was nearly killed in the process.

However, they were later found unconscious in a warehouse. Even though gunshots had been fired, the incident continued to dominate the news the next day.

On the day of the incident, journalist Lee Yoon-cheol publicly revealed a bribery ledger on national TV news. Although all the names were mosaicked out, the fact that it was broadcast on national news was significant. It meant that no amount of power could suppress this case now.

Moreover, six gunshots had been fired. Recently, due to Seo Jung-woo, several firearm-related incidents had occurred, slightly dulling the impact, but still, a gun incident in the heart of Seoul couldn’t simply be ignored.

However, no media outlet could rely solely on the video footage that Lee Yoon-cheol had released. Journalists on the ground conducted their own investigations into the ledger. As a result, new reports kept emerging.

Online community forums were also ablaze with discussions.

– They say Kim Jung-deuk has bribed more than just one or two people. He used the money he earned from selling our cultural artifacts abroad to grease the palms of influential figures.

– Really?

– Of course. The ledger found at the scene details both the sale of cultural artifacts and the bribery transactions.

– But that ledger could be fake. Anyone can write random names and amounts of money, right?

– The police will determine the truth.

– Regardless of anything else, it’s certain that So Sang-hyeon and Kim Jung-deuk are cultural artifact thieves. The police discovered Kim Jung-deuk’s warehouse, and they found several stolen artifacts there.

– I heard that a masked man appeared, knocked them all out, and left the ledger behind. Isn’t he the same masked man from the bank robbery case?

– At this point, isn’t he a phantom thief?

– Maybe he’s a righteous outlaw.

– Whether he’s a phantom thief or a righteous outlaw, he’s still a thief. Why is everyone only calling him a thief? He did something good.

– Read the article carefully. The masked man also took fifty million won in cash and the Goryeo-era monk’s relics from the scene.

– Ugh! Fifty million won? He really is a phantom thief.

– So, is he Phantom Thief Iron Mask?