"Sigh..."
I let out a deep breath.
I was an ordinary student. A man of average grades, average height, and finally, average looks—the very definition of an average South Korean male.
But my home was different.
It was because my household environment wasn't very good. It couldn't be helped. Where there are children born into good homes, there are inevitably those born into bad ones.
Not everyone could live well in a capitalist society.
Didn't someone say that? Everyone dreams of becoming kings of industry and coming to Silicon Valley, but they all forget that someone has to clean the bathrooms.
Anyway, that was how it was.
"I don't want to go to high school..."
I said with a pallid expression.
Middle school ended at 4 PM, but high school was different. Night self-study sessions until 10 PM were waiting for me. Even if I finished as quickly as possible, it was still 9 or 10 PM.
Moreover, what was even more shocking was that because of zero period, I had to be at school by 8 AM. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I had almost no free time on weekdays. For a third-year middle schooler like me, it was far too cruel.
"I'm home..."
I arrived home.
But there was no one inside. A cramped home of barely 13 pyeong—not even 20.
It wasn't exactly a large house for my parents and me to live in. Though it might have been a bit spacious for parents with a young child.
Mom and Dad were out working. On the table was a meal Mom had prepared for dinner. I ate alone. This situation was all too familiar.
Because I'd been home alone since elementary school.
Rumble—! Rumble—!
Rain was falling outside.
A tranquil darkness lay where nothing could be seen. The moonlight was hidden by the clouds.
I stared blankly outside. On a day like today, the answer was to stay cooped up at home.
But I had no choice but to go outside.
"Ah, dammit!"
It was because I'd left my phone in my school desk. I didn't use my phone much, but that didn't mean I could just leave it at school.
Fortunately, school was nearby, so it wouldn't take too long.
I changed into thick clothes and went outside. An umbrella was essential. Going out without one in this downpour would be suicide.
It was as if the heavens had unleashed a flood. The rain was so heavy I couldn't see an inch in front of my nose.
"Wow... it's really pouring, huh?"
But there was no other way. Should I say school at night is terrifying? I hesitated in front of the school. Scenes from every horror movie I'd ever watched were replaying in my head.
There were things that happened in schools with no one around. Ghosts! Or murderers!
I loitered in front of the school gate before going in. I just needed to grab my phone, after all.
Fortunately, the third-year classrooms were on the first floor, so it didn't take long to retrieve it. I didn't even run into the security guard. I gripped the phone tightly in my hand. To think I'd suffer so much because of this phone!
That's when I was trying to leave the school.
Flash!
But I saw a flashing light ahead. At first, I thought lightning had struck. Because otherwise, there was no way light would appear out of thin air.
But it wasn't.
What kind of light was it?
Driven by unnecessary curiosity, I approached the light. You could say it was like a will-o'-the-wisp, and you wouldn't be wrong.
And so, I grabbed the light floating in the air.
The scenery before my eyes changed.
"Uwaaaah!"
Feeling as if I were flying through the air, I flailed about.
I was actually flying!
The world rushed up at a terrifying speed, and I lost consciousness.
------------------------------------------------
Beep— Beep—
"Ughhh..."
Opening my eyes to the sound of irregular mechanical beeping.
"Huh?"
My head felt like it was splitting open. Clutching my head, I couldn't help but roll around for a while. After some time, the pain subsided. Only then did my surroundings come into view. The scenery through the window was...
"Uh...?"
If my eyes weren't deceiving me, then this was space.
The Earth was visible right in front of me. I couldn't help but scream. No! Was this some kind of alien spaceship? Or a hidden camera prank? But it was far too realistic for that.
I wasn't a celebrity or anyone important; there was no reason to go through such an elaborate hidden camera prank on me.
"Is anyone there?"
I wandered around the spaceship, calling out.
But only unpleasant mechanical sounds greeted me; there was no sign of aliens. To begin with, there were no traces of aliens ever having lived on this ship. Should I call it an empty spaceship?
Shhhhing—!
The door opened automatically. I wandered here and there. But the ship's owner was nowhere to be seen. Could I have been trapped here? I had a chilling thought.
A human dies after three days without water. Which meant I had only three days left to live. Thinking so, my heart sank.
I rushed about frantically. I had to search the entire ship and find a way back to Earth.
I wandered around for what felt like hours. I managed to reach a place with something like a capsule. Something was written on the base of the capsule in an unknown language. I tilted my head.
There was a button at the base of the capsule. I pressed it firmly. I'd been pressing everything I could find anyway. You never know if something might work. I was out of time anyway. I couldn't see any water or food anywhere. In a few days... no, even just two days, I'd be a walking corpse.
Fwoooosh!
When I pressed the button, the capsule shook with a loud rumble.
I looked inside the capsule in surprise.
Bubble bubble!
Foam was bubbling up inside. And before long, the foam had taken the shape of a person.
"Uwah!"
A person crawled out of the capsule. But I couldn't help but be shocked at the sight. A fully grown woman, wearing nothing at all, had crawled out of the capsule!
It was my first time seeing a naked woman.
I'd seen them in adult videos and comic books, but this was my first time seeing one in real life. I didn't know where to put my eyes. The woman who emerged from the capsule had an incredible figure. And her face was beautiful, too.
However, the woman showed no sign of embarrassment at all. Expressionless, you could say. I spoke to her. She was the only person here besides me.
"Excuse me...?"
The woman looked at me and soon spoke.
"Greetings, Captain."
"Huh?"
I tilted my head at the woman calling me Captain. Captain? Did that mean I was the owner of this spaceship?
"I'm the captain?"
"Yes. You are the captain of the Genesis."
"Hurk...!"
Without understanding a thing, I had become the owner of this spaceship.
-------------------------------------------
I took off my outer garment and gave it to the woman. Continuing to talk while she was naked was a bit much.
"So. This spaceship is a medical ship?"
"Yes, Captain. It is a medical ship completed and launched in the year 9999."
"Wait... then where did everyone go? A medical ship wouldn't come alone."
The woman tilted her head at my words.
"I apologize, Captain. I cannot answer the question you have asked."
"Huh?"
"There is insufficient data."
In the end, I couldn't hear from the woman about the ship's actual owner. But fortunately, she seemed to know a lot about the spaceship.
"This is the bridge."
"Wow..."
Should I call it glass? The scenery visible through the transparent window was majesty itself. The Earth was shining brightly, and in the distance, the Sun could be seen.
If a flat-Earther saw this, wouldn't they foam at the mouth? Because the Earth was clearly a sphere.
"Can we move the ship right now?"
"Current fuel levels are insufficient. A large amount of fuel is required to move the spaceship. At present, the Genesis only has enough energy to maintain its current state."
"Really? Then can't they see us from Earth?"
"This vessel is currently operating in stealth mode."
Fortunately, the spaceship wasn't visible from Earth or anything like that. From what the woman said, while there wasn't enough fuel to set sail, maintaining the ship's current state wasn't difficult.
"Ugh..."
But still, a spaceship like this! Wasn't this the kind you only saw in movies? I really pinched my cheek to see if this was a dream. But since it hurt, it wasn't a dream.
I looked at the woman and spoke.
"I want to go back down to Earth... how do I get down?"
"That is simple. You need only use the warp portal through which the Captain arrived."
The woman led me before the portal. It was the same light I'd seen at first. However, I felt a bit reluctant to go down right away. So I looked around the spaceship more.
Now that I knew I could go home, should I say the fear from earlier had vanished?