Chapter 24

21. Faith

Faith is not the exclusive domain of the divine.

There are various kinds of faith.

For instance, the faith in love between lovers, the faith in one's luck that a successful businessman usually has, or the faith a sports coach has in persistently using a struggling player, and so on.

I once witnessed a similar kind of faith in a real estate cafe I briefly joined when I was looking at properties.

If I recall correctly, it was a post written by someone who seemed to have a house as their entire fortune:

"Real estate will always go up~ Even if war breaks out, even if missiles fall, even if the country collapses, it will still go up~"

It felt something like that.

While I mostly agree, it doesn't seem likely that real estate will continue to rise even in extreme situations like war.

There are people with similar beliefs in our community as well.

mmmmmmmmm: (Breaking News) U.S. declares normalization of the country!

mmmmmmmmm: (Tabloid) Optimization of the Icheon-Yeju food belt

mmmmmmmmm: A cargo ship has arrived in Busan!

This friend, m9, who spouts crazy talk almost every day, wasn't always a fanatic about the future.

He was a regular user with normal thinking and standard values, based on the board standards.

m9 began to change after winning a lottery for a modern apartment called "The Hope."

Until then, m9 was just one of the ordinary users, but suddenly he turned against the lifestyle he had chosen.

However, the users of our Viva! Apocalypse! Korean board are not easy to deal with.

Spending all day on the board due to having nothing else to do, they know how to handle strange people.

Our chosen method is non-response.

By collectively ignoring the person, we impose a social sanction without the need for direct confrontation or debate.

Considering that the main purpose of this board is communication, collective ignoring is a severe punishment, almost equivalent to a death sentence.

But this is not someone else's story.

I am also a bit in danger...

SKELTON: What will be for breakfast?

Even after removing the signature that was like a badge of pride and carefully selecting a post that could attract comments, no one commented.

The reason was the human hunters.

The spam posts they had previously made, "I love Skeleton!" had sent my reputation plummeting.

A user who was friendly towards me informed me of this via a message.

Message from Kyle_Dos: Are you really friends with Defender? Do you know what kind of image he has here?

I know.

Although everyone dislikes him, his posts are different from others and provide a lot of content, so he is a necessary evil that is left alone.

Now that this strange guy is pestering me, it's not surprising that my image is going downhill.

In fact, I am already treated as a legitimate member of the "Defender Friendship Family" on the board.

But it's not impossible to turn things around.

My role model is the previously mentioned m9.

After being socially ostracized, m9 suddenly rose to prominence, breaking his long silence.

His momentum was so strong that users who had blocked him unblocked him and searched for his posts.

The turning point was a recent post by m9.

mmmmmmmmm: "The Hope" On-site

The post contained three low-quality videos with no explanation.

In the first video, m9, holding a selfie stick, showed his journey from a shelter to Seoul, with many edits.

m9's face on the screen looked older than mine, and for some reason, he had two dogs in the shelter.

Welsh Corgis? French Bulldogs? Probably something like that.

"Here is the road connecting my hideout to Seoul. As you can see, it's very safe! There are always soldiers guarding it. Raiders? There were none. But what's the point of good security? Your body rots inside the shelter, right?"

Unlike my area, which is now bustling with pioneers, m9's shelter was surrounded by soldiers and armored vehicles marching in an orderly manner.

For some reason, the army was heading towards Seoul rather than the front lines, and m9 seemed to find this favorable.

"Now, I will reveal my new apartment! Haters! Open your eyes! You won't be able to have a house like this even if you die and come back to life!"

m9 vented a long, pent-up frustration towards the camera, as if he had endured a lot.

But this guy.

"Especially you, Skeleton! You little brat. What? It can't be built? What? A friend's official statement? Ha! How can a person be so ridiculous? Just curse me. Don't touch people's hopes in a sneaky way!"

Why does he only go off on me?

Anyway, through the videos, we learned about the current situation of "The Hope."

Given the era, the government quickly built a model building rather than the entire complex, and planned to test the living environment and use the data to develop the rest of the complex.

m9 is one of the test residents in the model building.

But something feels off.

Even for one apartment, it takes time to build, doesn't it?

Just leveling the land would take at least a year.

How did they shorten the construction period?

The answer was in m9's video.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

"Wow..."

It couldn't be helped because:

The apartment, it's tilted.

As if to show off that Korea has its own version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it leans at a severe angle that would make anyone feel scared.

But m9 doesn't seem to notice.

"Let me show you my sweet home. No more moldy shelter!"

The interior was decently decorated.

Built-in shelves, wardrobes, a bathroom with a bathtub, a boiler, a toilet that flushes well, a sink, a refrigerator, and a washing machine—essentials for a home.

But they were just for show. The apartment's interior, as seen on the screen, was riddled with defects.

The wallpaper, apparently stuck with glue, was peeling off, there were cracks in the bathroom walls, the built-in refrigerator wouldn't turn on, and no water came from the taps.

Most impressively, when m9 dropped a pen, it rolled down the living room floor.

The community's reaction was a series of question marks.

Anonymous848: ?

Kyle_Dos: ?

Anonymous458: ?

DragonC: ?

unicorn18: ?

Defender: ?

Survival_KING: ?

SKELTON: Oh!

Anonymous118: ?

...

...

It was a shoddy construction.

Like lottery winners who realize the reality and vent their frustration, m9 had posted hastily.

A journalist based in Seoul brought accurate information.

gijayangban: (From PaleNet) The Hope model units were not selected by lottery but by application. About 2,000 people went, but they turned back after seeing the tilted apartment. The actual safety inspection showed it could collapse at any time, but it was rated as habitable by higher-ups. Currently, Seoul citizens are betting on when The Hope will collapse.

PaleNet, which the journalist frequently uses, is a community that uses wired and wireless internet networks, unlike our Viva! Apocalypse! It is very unstable and the server often crashes, but it has a vast number of users, making the information more reliable and extensive.

The last photo of Chairman Jeungpho was also obtained from PaleNet.

While there are many rumors, the journalist has the ability to distinguish between fake and real information and has become a reputable user in a short time.

The community users all nodded at the journalist's words, but one person strongly denied it.

mmmmmmmmm: I enjoyed the story~ It seems you live in the outskirts, which is embarrassing to call Seoul. Don't pretend and go on your way~

Despite the harsh sarcasm, m9 became a popular user.

People were curious.

When will m9's apartment collapse?

When will m9 disappear from the board?

After that day, m9's posts received an average of over 10 comments each.

The content was similar.

Anonymous118: Brother, are you okay?

unicorn18: Did your house shake today?

Anonymous458: Rumble!

Anonymous848: It's going to fall~

...

...

Although it wasn't a result of his own doing, seeing m9, who was once a must-block user, receive many comments, I felt a strong stimulus.

I realized that if a user is entertaining enough, even if they are blocked a lot, other users will unblock them.

I have a good topic.

It's the fake house construction I've been planning.

The plan was simple.

I just needed to place the old container house on the site of the collapsed shelter and make some adjustments.

After taking out the forklift and moving the container to make it a livable place, I posted on the board.

SKELTON: "The Fake" On-site

The title wasn't intuitive, so the views were low. I changed the title and reposted.

SKELTON: "Skeleton Second Condominium" On-site

The title wasn't the problem.

Many users read my post and simply disappeared.

Later, Defender, who I assume is a younger sibling, explained the exact reason.

Defender: What a shabby house. Why are you living in such a place when you have a shelter? Are you that desperate?

The quality of the house itself was the issue.

I only made minor adjustments to the fake house, but other users couldn't know that.

Who would like to see someone building a shabby house?

It was a mistake not to meet the users' expectations.

By the way, why is this guy so clingy?

Message from Defender: (Defender is shy) Should we team up???

Anyway, m9 continued to rise in popularity.

Especially on the day he left the shelter and moved into The Hope under military escort, he received an impressive 122 comments.

It was so significant that users from foreign boards came to ask what was happening.

Like all things, the gossip about m9 quickly faded.

A bigger issue overshadowed the small incident of m9.

The clue was already in the video m9 had taken.

The army marching into Seoul.

They were the army guarding the front lines.

The army guarding the eastern front had collectively disobeyed orders and turned their units to "march" into Seoul.

Their justification was based on facts.

"Dear citizens. The South Korean government is lying to you. The president and government officials have already moved all equipment, high-level personnel, especially hunters, to Jeju Island, abandoning us."

The army entering Seoul was not alone.

Another army entered from the west.

Their justification also had merit.

"The duty of the South Korean army is to protect the land and people. Politics, as the tainted history of the South Korean constitution shows, is an area that should not be touched or interfered with by the military. I, Im Myung-soo, will protect Seoul from all threats to uphold the South Korean constitution, the National Assembly, and the people of South Korea."

The two armies faced off in Seoul.

The capital, already divided into north and south, was now divided into east and west.

Soldiers in the same uniform faced off at the crossroads, built barriers, and prepared for battle.

The army supported by the National Assembly and the army supported by the military units entered negotiations over their demands, but the likelihood of a successful resolution was not high.

The journalist, who had experienced various events in Seoul, expressed a sense of despair for the first time.

gijayangban: Choosing Seoul might have been a mistake.

At that point, I tried to contact Kim Daram.

Kim Daram did not respond to my message.

Was he on a transport vehicle crossing my territory?

Or did he have other matters that prevented him from responding?

As Kim Daram's response was delayed, I silently read through the board.

A noticeable writer caught my eye.

mmmmmmmmm: The arrival of the army is a good thing.

It was m9.

I searched for his posts after a long time.

mmmmmmmmm: (In Seoul Desk) The reason why a civil war hasn't broken out.txt

mmmmmmmmm: "The Hope" won't be touched. Why? Because it's where the generals live!

mmmmmmmmm: (Negotiations nearing resolution) General's apartment! The Hope!

mmmmmmmmm: When the negotiations end, our neighborhood will boom~

Even as everyone anticipated a catastrophic outcome, he was singing a hymn of faith.

I knew m9 had blocked me, but I sent a message out of concern.

SKELTON: Do you know you're in danger?

I didn't expect a reply.

But a reply came.

And it came immediately!

Message from mmmmmmmmm: I know. But what do you want me to do?

Twist.

m9 hadn't blocked me.

Moreover, he knew his choice was wrong.

That's why:

m9 sent a message as if he had been waiting for me for a long time.

Message from mmmmmmmmm: Yeah. Skeleton. Defender's friend. You don't kill people, right?

SKELTON: Don't treat me like that person.

Message from mmmmmmmmm: You keep showing interest in me, Skeleton. Hey. Can I come to your shelter? Yeah? I have two dogs. Can I come with them? You can eat me if you want.

SKELTON: Block

*

One day, 2 years and 1 month after the war began.

I still haven't heard from Kim Daram.

A civil war broke out in Seoul.

Two armies, wearing the same uniform and speaking the same language, pointed guns at each other and unleashed a storm of rage.

The civil war, which lasted a week, engulfed most of Seoul in flames and created millions of refugees.

A photo taken in that hell was posted on the board.

The photo captured an apartment standing alone against a backdrop of a sky that looked like it was on fire and actual burning ruins.

It's an apartment I know.

The Hope.

A symbol of hope.

And a man's faith.

The modern apartment, with only one unit occupied, still stands tilted in a corner of Seoul, functioning as a landmark of hope.