Reality Quest: Questism

Funnily enough, this main character, self insert, whatever you want to call him. He isn't based on me at all. He's actually based on one of my friends, he read this and thinks I'm an idiot now. Make me feel better guys. Stones make me happy.

Stone me

I yawned, barely keeping my head up as I trudged through the school gates. My uniform was slightly wrinkled, my bag felt heavier than usual, and my eyes burned from the two goddamn hours of sleep I had managed to get.

Why?

Because instead of resting like a normal human being, I had to spend the entire night doing homework.

I let out a groan, stretching my arms over my head as I walked.

I had completely forgotten about the pile of assignments I had neglected over the weekend. Between the 'fighting 100 people', the Bully Council meeting, fighting Sehun, and becoming Boramae's new representative, my schoolwork had been the last thing on my mind.

That mistake had come back to bite me hard.

I barely managed to get through it all. Even then, I was pretty sure I had bullshitted at least half of it.

I sighed, adjusting my bag strap as I entered the building. At least I turned it in.

It was already Monday, which meant I had to pretend to be a normal student again. Well, as normal as a guy who beat the shit out of a wannabe gang leader could be. 

I basically collapsed onto my chair after dumping my bag over the side of my desk. It was easy to forget that I had another reason besides schoolwork to come into school. 

Jihan.

Having Siyeon and Sehun was all and well… but I needed a friend. Living life solely to fulfill one purpose had never been the best option. A life well lived is a life with options explored and I intended to make Dowan's social life the very best I could.

I also just wanted to be happy.

It didn't matter that I was still getting used to speaking Korean despite having memories of speaking it for 18 years… even though that wasn't even me… 

Yeah, my entire situation was odd. But that didn't stop me. That would never stop me, because I'm Ha Dowa-

"Hey Dowan. Play this for me, you better not lose my items."

I looked up to see a guy in a grey hoodie staring down at me. What? He just asked me to…

Oh. Oh yeah. Dowan. Substitute gamer.

Somehow with the chaos over the weekend I'd forgotten completely about normal life. I was too tired for this. 

"Man, just fuck off."

He blinked. His grip on his phone tightened, like he wasn't sure he heard me right. "What?"

I sighed, rubbing my face. "Are you deaf? I said-" I raised my head, looking him dead in the eye, voice flat and tired. "Fuck. Off."

The classroom went dead silent.

The other students, who had been minding their business just a second ago, were suddenly way too interested in this conversation. Even the ones who normally ignored this kind of thing had their heads turned.

Grey Hoodie was frozen for a second. Then his expression twisted. "You talk big shit for a game shuttle Dowan."

I scoffed. "And you talk big for a loser who can't play his own game… I don't even know your fucking name."

His face twitched. "Minjae," he spat.

I tilted my head, feigning surprise. "Huh. Good to know. Too bad I still don't give a shit."

A few muffled snickers rippled through the classroom. Minjae's jaw clenched. He slammed his phone onto my desk, eyes burning.

"You think you're hot shi-"

I yawned.

A few students around us stifled their laughter. Minjae's face turned red.

"You're gonna get fucked," he muttered under his breath before stalking off.

I exhaled slowly, rolling my shoulders. That was bound to bite me in the ass later, but at this point, who cared? I'd already been dealing with the worst of the worst. A couple of classroom bullies weren't about to scare me. 

Still, I could feel the occasional glance from my classmates, some curious, some wary. They didn't know about Sehun or the Bully Council. As far as they were concerned, I was just the guy who took their games and shut up about it.

Man, I just wanted to sleep.

***

By the time lunch rolled around, I was running on fumes. My arms ached from last night's last-minute homework rush, exhaustion racked my whole body and I was starving.

I grabbed my tray, scanned the cafeteria… and groaned. No empty tables.

Well, almost none. There was one in the very corner but Cheolwoo was next to it. I sighed. I guess I'd just find a spare room to eat in.

Balancing my tray with one hand, I left the cafeteria and pushed open the door to one of the spare rooms.

And stopped.

A thin, wiry looking guy sat at one of the desks, his lunch spread out neatly in front of him. His head snapped up the moment I walked in, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.

Jihan.

It wasn't hard to guess why he was eating here.

His shoulders were already tensed like he was waiting for me to say something, to mock him, maybe even take his food. But I wasn't interested in that.

"...Mind if I sit?"

Jihan blinked. If anything, he looked more alarmed by the question.

"...What?"

I nodded at the empty seat across from him. "The cafeteria's packed, and I'd rather not deal with dumbasses while I eat."

He stayed quiet, staring at me like he was trying to figure out if this was some elaborate setup.

I sighed. "Look, man, I'm just here to eat my damn lunch. If you want me gone, say so, and I'll find somewhere else."

Jihan hesitated for a moment longer, then wordlessly gestured toward the seat.

I sat down, setting my tray down with a soft clatter.

For a while, neither of us spoke. The room was quiet, save for the occasional clink of chopsticks against plates. I could feel him glancing at me every so often, like he was expecting me to suddenly switch up and start messing with him.

Instead, I just ate.

Finally, Jihan cleared his throat. "Why aren't you with your friends?"

I snorted. "What friends?" The silence returned.

Peek at you.

⚫ ⚪

[Name: Yoo Jihan]

[Height: 175 cm]

[Weight: 55 kg]

[Strength: E]

[Speed: E]

[Potential: B]

[Intelligence: S+]

[Endurance: E]

What the fuck… E?

I knew Jihan could absolutely demolish people thrice his size, there's no way he was accomplishing that with merely E…

…

Oh. Now I felt like an idiot. 

I already knew that the physical stats merely represented the force that could be exerted during a fight, and weren't necessarily representative of a body's muscles for example. The dots at the top, and the fact that the window was green compared to the blue it normally was all meant something.

It's a mentality shift. Like in the manhwa.

I wondered what his stats would be then after. Probably well into the S rank.

"Gimme your number."

"W-what?"

"Your number. Give it to me."

"Why?"

"Because I want to be your friend."

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he murmured, "You really want to be my friend?"

"Yeah," I said simply, holding out my phone. "Why do you think I fucked up Jaemin? The pig?"

His fingers hovered over the screen for a moment, typing his number out. The moment he hit send, I couldn't help but feel a bit of satisfaction. I honestly didn't think that'd work.

But just because he gave me his number didn't mean he'd be my friend. This was only the start. 

I pocketed my phone. "You free tonight?"

"...Yeah?"

"Perfect. We're going to a PC café."

Jihan narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at me like I was some kind of lunatic. "…Why?"

"Because," I said, standing up and grabbing my tray, "I don't know how else to make friends."

Jihan let out something between a scoff and a short laugh. It was barely there, but it was something.

"Alright," he muttered, shaking his head like he couldn't believe this was happening. "Text me, then."

I grinned. "Will do."

Humming, I stuck one hand into my pocket, walking towards the…

The door swung open so hard it slammed against the wall.

I barely flinched.

Five people stepped inside, Minjae at the front. He looked pissed, though not nearly as much as the four other guys behind him, all of them radiating the same kind of 'we're about to kick your ass' energy.

I sighed, rubbing my temple.

So this was happening now, huh?

I glanced at Jihan. He had gone rigid, chopsticks frozen mid-air. His eyes darted between me and them, calculating. Yeah, he knew exactly what was going on.

"Yo, Dowan," Minjae called, voice laced with fake friendliness. "You got a second?"

I let out a slow exhale and turned to fully face them.

"You embarrassed me earlier, Dowan."

I blinked. "Damn. Tragic."

The guy with the shaved head stepped forward, jabbing a finger at me. "You think this is funny?"

"A little," I admitted.

Minjae's face twitched. "You ignored me in front of everyone! Do you know how humiliating that is?"

I scratched my chin. "I mean… probably as humiliating as getting your friends to fight losers for you, right?"

One of the other guys, the wiry one, let out a snort but quickly covered it with a cough. Minjae shot him a glare before turning back to me.

"Five on one, huh?" I continued, sighing dramatically. "This is peak honor, guys. Textbook martial arts morals. Bruce Lee would be proud."

Oh yeah. Bruce Lee. I wonder how strong he was in this verse. I snickered as I imagined his one inch punch shredding through a wall of steel while he screamed.

Shaved Head cracked his knuckles. "Shut the fuck up and stand up."

"I am standing."

"Outside."

"Why?"

"So we can kick your ass properly."

I groaned, rubbing my face. "Guys, come on. Can we do this tomorrow? I pulled an all-nighter, my body hurts, and honestly, I don't even like fighting. Can we schedule this, like, Wednesday? Maybe Thursday?"

Minjae's eye twitched again. "No."

Why was I talking so much? I remembered the first day I'd been here, I'd been silent. Even at the karaoke place with Jaemin, I'd been silent. 

Maybe it was just that… all this… 

Shaved Head lost his patience first, lunging at me.

Crack.

…all this didn't feel real.

A rank E jab was already blindingly fast to the average untrained person. Make that Rank C? With a relatively high strength and speed stat?

Shaved Head stopped from the impact, his dazed look suddenly forming as he fell straight to the ground. I didn't want to attack him anymore.

The room was dead silent.

Shaved Head was laid out on the floor, eyes unfocused, arms twitching slightly. I didn't even hit him that hard. Well… relatively speaking. What was his endurance anyways? Peek at you.

[Name: Kwon Seok]

[Height: 179 cm]

[Weight: 65 kg]

[Strength: C]

[Speed: C]

[Potential: C]

[Intelligence: C]

[Endurance: C]

Oh wow, now I just feel bad.

Minjae's mouth opened and closed like he was trying to come up with something intimidating to say, but all that came out was a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeak.

One of the other guys shifted uncomfortably. "Uh…"

I adjusted my grip on my tray. "So? We still doing this?"

Silence.

It was almost ridiculous how much confidence 3 days of non stop fighting could give you. It helped that I was taller now too.

I sighed. "Look, I get it. Your boy got dropped in record time, and now you're rethinking your life choices. But, if we're really gonna do this five-on-one thing, can I at least put my tray down first?"

Another beat of silence. 

Then Minjae did what all great warriors did when faced with an opponent out of their league.

He pointed at me, nodded to himself, and said, "This isn't over," before turning on his heel and walking out.

The rest hesitated for a second before following, Shaved Head groaning as one of them hoisted him up.

Jihan and I just watched them go.

"…Did you just win a fight by asking politely?" Jihan asked, staring at me like I'd broken some fundamental law of physics.

I scratched my head and yawned. "Nah, I won a fight because I knew I won, and they knew I won. Everything else was just paperwork. Anyways, I'll see ya tonight."

I didn't wait to hear a response and just left. 

That's how cool people did it… right?

Damn, I'm so fucking cool.