“Mommy, that man’s face is scary.”
The person whom the child inside the convenience store had called scary was a man standing in front of the counter.
He certainly was strange.
“······”
He had his face wrapped up tight in a black cap and mask. However, the uncovered parts stood out. His jaw, the area near his neck, and around both ears. The skin was severely red, with deep, bumpy scars.
His ears, too, which appeared somewhat deformed, were no different.
The man looked at the child.
—Swish.
His gaze was chilling. The man’s overall atmosphere itself was gloomy. If seen late at night, anyone would jump in fright. Thanks to that, the child’s mother flinched and tugged his hand.
“Sst—come here.”
The two hurriedly exited the convenience store.
The man standing still stared at the door through which the child had left. Was it because of the gloominess? It felt like he might do something, but his inner thoughts were quite the opposite.
‘Ah—ah, did I stare too much? I should’ve waved or something.’
The man, who had stopped moving, slowly lifted his foot. One step toward the counter. To pay. What he had placed down was instant noodles, kimchi, and so on. He spoke.
“Please ring me up.”
His tone was low and dark. The cashier seemed intimidated, glancing at the man unnecessarily as he proceeded with the purchase.
—Beep, beep.
The bleak man put the paid items in a bag and left the convenience store. Soon, he checked the watch on his wrist. It was a smartwatch he had recently bought secondhand, one he had always wanted.
—[Monday, June 1, 2020]
—[8:16 PM]
The man, who had been letting out a low, deep sigh, roughly wiped the sweat flowing down his forehead. The cap and mask made the heat even worse.
“Hoo—summer can go to hell.”
He could tolerate the heat and humidity, but having less to cover up with was inconvenient. In winter, he could bundle up with cold-weather gear. His face, that is.
The man scratched his jaw and ears, exposed outside the mask.
‘Tch, itchy.’
It was also a problem that his entire face itched or stung when summer came. Soon after, he entered an alley and opened the front door of a dark semi-basement studio apartment. A place similar to the man’s gloominess. That was his home. Located near Giheung Station in Yongin. The interior was cramped and dim, but surprisingly well-organized, with a pleasant scent to boot.
Arriving home, the man removed his cap and mask and headed straight for the bathroom.
—Splash.
A splash of cold water immediately.
There was nothing better when his face stung or itched, and the man lifted his face as water dripped off. His reflection in the mirror. The man with a heavy, expressionless face had turned into one with devastated eyes.
“······”
Reflected in the mirror, over 80% of the man’s face was scarred. Red and blotchy, or bumpy and uneven, or rough and pitted. His lips and ears were strangely deformed, and he had no eyebrows. He was also severely lacking hair.
“Hideous. Can’t my hair just stop falling out already?”
His name was Gang Rojun. Currently 24 years old.
Rojun’s face had ended up this way due to a fire. Approximately three years ago, a fire started by a portable heater in the next-door unit had consumed everything in an instant. Gang Rojun’s parents, and his life. He had survived miraculously, but his parents had died.
“Even if I’m a monster, I want at least my hair to be lush.”
Because of his hideous, monstrous face, Gang Rojun was hardly living a life at all. Two years as a monster, and still there was no hope, only resentment. Naturally, his relationships with people were cut off, leaving him no choice but to become taciturn and gloomy. The longer he spent alone, the more the dreariness piled on naturally.
“That’s enough. I’ll just eat my ramyeon and go to sleep.”
Rojun, who had carefully dried his face, put water on for ramyeon. For quite some time now, he had gone to an employment agency near his house every early morning. After recovering, he had tried to find work here and there, but it was impossible. When people saw his hideous face, they all refused, and some even cursed at him to get lost.
In an instant, the world became hell for Gang Rojun, and his life’s difficulty shot up tremendously.
In the end, he was currently sustaining himself on insurance money and manual labor. Still, Rojun managed to work somehow. Soon, Gang Rojun placed the roughly cooked ramyeon on a small folding table. Mealtime took ten minutes flat. Thirty minutes later, after washing up and lying down, Rojun tossed and turned.
His face was itchy, preventing him from falling asleep.
Letting out a small sigh, he rolled over and turned on the TV. What came on was an idol on a music show. A boy group. For a moment, Rojun watched them in silence.
“······”
They shone brilliantly. With a gloomy tone filled with sincerity, he murmured.
“I’m jealous.”
A few hours later, early dawn.
Was it around five? Gang Rojun covered his face with a cap and mask before heading out. His gloominess multiplied several times over again. He went straight to the employment agency near his house and was the first to arrive. Familiar with the routine, the owner with the intimidating impression spoke in a blunt tone.
“We might not have work today.”
“It’s fine.”
“Then wait.”
After about thirty minutes, the employment agency began to bustle. Most of them were foreigners. There were only two Koreans, including Gang Rojun. With many competitors, there were quite a few days when Rojun came up empty, but fortunately, today—
“Hey, you. Let’s go.”
Whether because of his youth or his face, the intimidating owner looked out for Rojun first. Gang Rojun got into the van waiting outside. The several workers already inside flinched when they saw Rojun, pointedly avoiding his gaze or pretending to look out the window. Regardless, the van departed.
The work varied each time, and today he was assigned to an apartment construction site.
A satisfied Gang Rojun.
‘The pay is good and the food is decent. Not a bad start to the day.’
Including safety training and other orientations, the first task Rojun started was moving materials. He stacked heavy sacks on the designated floor. Thanks to the sweat trickling down, his face stung and itched, but while working, Gang Rojun was free of any thoughts. He was also fairly skilled. Skilled enough for his fellow workers to compliment him.
“That gloomy guy works surprisingly well?”
Then lunchtime.
He was hungry, but it was a slightly uncomfortable time. Because Rojun had to take off his mask. As expected, the people around him looked at him strangely. He was used to such gazes, but the occasional whispers that reached his ears pierced Rojun’s chest.
“Dear me—what a ruined life for that kid.”
Gang Rojun, who had become extremely depressed, raised his head. The whispering people hurriedly ducked their faces. It was thanks to the wave of gloominess radiating from him.
‘I’ll just eat quickly and get out.’
After finishing his meal, Gang Rojun went up to the apartment rooftop. As if accustomed to it, he laid out a thick sheet of styrofoam taller than a person on the floor and lay on it. It was filthily hot, but the sky was clear. Rojun, now free to remove his cap and mask, took a long breath in and out.
Then, suddenly.
—Swish.
The risen Gang Rojun approached the rooftop railing. The ant-like people visible below. Staring intently below, he murmured quietly.
“If I fall, could I be reborn?”
In that instant, his smartwatch on his wrist stung. Startled, he took off the smartwatch.
“What the.”
There was no problem. Tilting his head, he looked down at the dizzying height again and let out a short laugh. Soon, lying back down on the styrofoam, Rojun closed his eyes and spoke.
“As if I’d be reborn. I’d just be splattered and that’d be the end.”
Afterward.
Gang Rojun, having finished work, arrived at his semi-basement home. Though his whole body ached, he was in a good mood. He had managed to work somehow, and received a decent wage. After washing up roughly, the moment he sat on the floor, he turned on the TV. Then, looking at the phone in his hand, he muttered lowly.
“I’m getting Chinese takeout today for the first time in a while.”
Here.
“Huh?”
Gang Rojun discovered something strange. There was an app on his phone that he had never seen before.
“What is this.”
The letters “AI” were prominent. The app’s name was this:
—[‘AI Simulation’]
Slightly furrowing his brow, Rojun was deeply puzzled.
‘‘AI Simulation’?? I’ve never installed anything like this.’
He touched the ‘AI Simulation’ app. The launched app. For a moment, a loading circle spun around before white letters appeared on a black screen.
—[A character is automatically generated through user analysis.]
—[User: Gang Rojun / Age: 24 / Height: 182.8]
Gang Rojun’s eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t entered anything, yet the correct information had appeared on its own. Not only his name but also his age and height were accurate.
“Damn—what is this, a game?”
Instead of answering, the app output another message.
—[Select a profession to simulate.]
Furrowing his brow deeply, Gang Rojun answered.
“Profession?? What profession.”
On the phone screen, numerous professions were immediately listed. Doctors, lawyers, and other professional occupations, as well as self-employed individuals, writers, and so on—so diverse that it was difficult to check them one by one. While roughly scrolling, Rojun’s thumb came to a halt at one profession.
—[Idol]
Recalling the shining boy group he had seen last night. He was jealous, and without much thought, he selected ‘Idol’. Soon, the screen changed.
—[You have selected the profession ‘Idol’.]
—[Proceed with character appearance customization.]
Now it said to customize his appearance. Letting out a gloomy sigh, Gang Rojun’s eyes suddenly grew large. The reason was simple.
“······My face??”
Because his hideous face had appeared on the screen exactly as it was. Red and blotchy, bumpy scars, and even his slightly deformed ears and lips—all identical. The surprised Rojun recalled an RPG game he had played before. The part where you create your appearance, including your face, at the beginning of character creation.
It was similar to that.
It felt like that, but in 3D, with Gang Rojun’s face?
“Wow—this quality is insane.”
How was this possible? He hadn’t even uploaded a photo, yet it could be reproduced exactly like this? The surprised Rojun moved the displayed image of his face. It moved smoothly left and right, clearly showing even the back of his head where he lacked hair. It had receded even more in that short time.
Then a message appeared again.
—[After confirming your desired appearance customization, press the confirm button.]
Several buttons appeared on the right side of the phone screen. Face shape, skin tone, eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows, and so on. Meaning he could change them as he pleased. Gradually growing interested, Gang Rojun reached out first to:
“First, let’s get rid of all the scars.”
The burn marks on his face. He changed the blotchy skin tone and smoothed out the bumpy scars. In no time, a clean Gang Rojun was rendered. It was just an app on his phone, but his mood rapidly improved.
“Okay. What’s next—what should I think about. Lush hair.”
But he still wasn’t satisfied. Next, Rojun made his lacking hair lush and touched up his eyebrows too. The face shape and eyes, nose, and mouth. Commonly called the T-zone became even more defined and striking. He even referenced the handsome men on the TV that was on.
After about an hour or so?
“Done.”
A result was produced. The face displayed on the phone screen was Gang Rojun, yet not Gang Rojun. Clean skin, lush hair, clear pupils, sharp eyes and nose, lips that weren’t deformed but just the right size. And of course, eyebrows that hadn’t existed were now drawn on. Long and thick on the sides.
The birth of an absurdly transcendent handsome face.
At this level, he was a monster of a different meaning—one that would disrupt the ecosystem of handsome men. Satisfied, another monster, Gang Rojun, laughed gloomily. Hehehe. The last thing to decide was his voice. There were various voice tones, but for some reason, he thought it was best to keep his voice.
“The voice is fine. Finalize it like this.”
He pressed the confirm button. At the same time, the smartwatch on his wrist stung again. What now? It had done this at lunch earlier too. Wondering what it was, Rojun took off the watch. The interesting thing was that the moment he removed the smartwatch, a message appeared on the ‘AI Simulation’ app.
—[Connection poor.]
Tilting his head, Rojun put the smartwatch back on. This time, a different message appeared.
—[Connection stable.]
Wondering if it was a coincidence, Gang Rojun repeated the same action, and the ‘AI Simulation’ app displayed the same messages.
“It needs the watch to be on, this thing.”
At any rate, the phone screen showed the word ‘Loading’ again as the circle spun. It was brief. The ‘AI Simulation’ app spat out a result.
—[Analysis complete. Application will take an estimated 8 hours and 11 minutes.]
8 hours and 11 minutes? He had no idea what would be applied, but 8 hours and 11 minutes just to create a character? His interest rapidly waning, Gang Rojun closed the ‘AI Simulation’ app and tossed his phone aside.
“Who would play a game where character creation alone takes 8 hours?”
Lying flat on the floor, he stared at the ceiling. His mind was now filled with the heavenly-tier face he had customized—one that would make even top handsome men concede several moves.
“Honestly, that was fun for a moment.”
The next morning.
Gang Rojun, who had been lying on the floor, suddenly snapped his eyes open.
“······Did I just sleep like that?”
He couldn’t even clearly remember how he had fallen asleep last night. There was grogginess too, but he had passed out as if under anesthesia. Soon, Rojun looked at the smartwatch on his wrist. It was already past eight in the morning.
“I’m screwed.”
He had really overslept for the first time in a while. He would have to give up on work today. Clicking his tongue briefly, Gang Rojun resigned himself to taking the day off. After stretching with a long yawn, he got up. Rojun, who had been cracking his neck this way and that, entered the bathroom. To wash up.
Turning on the water nonchalantly and looking in the mirror, Gang Rojun froze.
“······Huh?”
For a moment, as if broken, he stared at his face in the mirror. For about ten seconds. Finally, Rojun raised his right hand.
“Who······ is this.”
He pulled both cheeks, pressed his nose, touched his eyebrows, and tugged his ears. Wondering if it was a dream, he even slapped his cheek, but the face in the mirror remained the same. Here, Gang Rojun’s eyes gradually widened to extremes.
He had every reason to.
Reflected in the mirror was the face Gang Rojun had customized with his own hands yesterday.
“This face—the one I made yesterday.”
An absurdly transcendent handsome face was reflected in the mirror.
“Wh-what the hell is this!”
Rojun’s brain short-circuited beyond shock. After staring at the heavenly-tier handsome face in the mirror for a moment.
—Bang!
He dashed out of the bathroom urgently. He found his phone. Quickly grabbing his phone, he turned on the ‘AI Simulation’ app that had installed itself of its own accord yesterday. Soon, his eyes grew several times larger.
On the main screen of the opened ‘AI Simulation’ app.
“···What, what the hell is this? Me??”
Another Gang Rojun was standing there.