"Ah. Yes. Hello, Uncle!" Jihye quickly spoke after gathering her senses back together, as she shook the hand that was stretched in front of her. Kang Minhoo grasped her hands tightly and shook them before shaking the other two’s hands.

"I won't wash this hand for the rest of my life..." 

"You don't wash them often to begin with," Seoktae said, making Jisoo glare at him.

Kang Minhoo smiled softly as he watched them. He said, "You get along well, huh?" 

"Yes, well," Jihye answered, smiling a bit awkwardly. She did not know what to do with herself since there was such a big shot in front of them. 

"Shall we go?" Chairman Kang Minhoo asked as he led them away.

Since it was lunch time, a lot of people were rushing in and out of Ilhwa Group Headquarters. All of the employees bowed politely and greeted Chairman Kang Minhoo as they passed by him. Seeing them arrive, Secretary Park hurriedly opened the rear door of the limousine. This limousine was made by Benza and only ten of its kind had been produced globally. Kang Minhoo first boarded the car, before Jihye, Seoktae and Jisoo followed him inside. 

'Wow... The inside is...' 

The three of them looked at the inside of the car in awe. They felt like they had boarded the first class seat on a plane. This was a very rare experience, they had to admire every bit of it!

"You're our Minhyuk's middle school friends, right?" 

"Yes, that's right. Uncle." 

"I heard that you kept on sending our Minhyuk messages. I'm truly grateful that he was always in your thoughts," Kang Minhoo said. He looked extremely grateful. No, he was truly grateful that they reached out to Minhyuk. 

"You can let me know if you need anything." 

The car rapidly moved towards Gapyeong. Silence enveloped the car for a moment until Kang Minhoo spoke again. He said, "I hope you take care of Minhyuk and show him plenty of love." 

***

"Wow..." 

"Uwaaaah..." 

"OMG...?" 

The three, Jihye, Jisoo and Seoktae, were all left speechless after arriving at Minhyuk’s residence in Gapyeong.

"Y…you'll definitely get lost in this place." 

The mansion was large and luxurious, a scale that one could only see on TV! Several guards greeted the limousine as it entered the gate. There was even a wide lawn and a large fountain in the middle!

All four of them got off the car.

"I hope to see you again next time," Kang Minhoo said, smiling softly at them as he boarded the limousine again and disappeared from their sights. 

The three of them marveled at the palace-like feeling of the place once Kang Minhoo disappeared. Then, a man suddenly came out. They could tell that the man exercised a lot with how bulky his body was.

The man said, "Are you Minhyuk's friends? I'm Oh Changwook." 

"Ah. Yes." 

"Let's go. This way," The man, Changwook, said as he led the three inside. 

As they walked through the place, the three saw another large mansion behind the huge one up front. Oh Changwook guided them and told them about the mansion and its amenities.

"This is a building that used to cater guests. Right now, it’s being used as the employees' and staff’s living area. This was supposed to be a place for Minhyuk to play, but he doesn't use it often." 

"P…play?" 

"Yes. We have arcades, theaters, karaoke rooms, and even a disco pang pang[1]."

Changwook kept on talking as he introduced the place.

Meanwhile, Jisoo mumbled to himself, "So, this is the diamond spoon that I have heard of..." 

"You guys are very popular and rich too, huh? I'm also an Athenae player, so I know." 

The three of them immediately shook their heads at Changwook’s words. It might be true that they were rich and had a lot of money, but it also cost a lot to keep their guild up and running. They needed to invest their money on artifacts, skill books and potions to keep themselves from dropping in the rankings. In actual fact, there was not much left for them in real life. 

Not long after, they arrived in front of a room. Changwook said, "Please take a deep breath." 

"Phew. Huh? But, why do we need to take a deep breath?" 

"...I thought that you might need to prepare yourselves," Changwook said, smiling awkwardly as the three of them looked at him in confusion. 

"Minhyuk is inside. Well then, I'll be off." 

Changwook turned around and left while Jihye stood in front of the door. 

'What the hell was that about?' 

They found out for the first time that Minhyuk was very rich. However, they did not know anything about him after he had gone under the radar for five straight years. He also said that it was inconvenient for him to get out of the house. Everything was confusing.

Then, Jihye slowly turned the doorknob.

***

Changwook immediately headed out to guide Minhyuk’s friends when he heard that they had arrived. Minhyuk was left sitting on an extra large chair in front of a round table to wait for his friends. Then, he heard some sounds from outside.

‘...I’m nervous.’

Minhyuk took a deep breath to calm his thumping heart. Then, the doorknob slowly turned. Minhyuk quickly stood up in trepidation. Jihye, Jisoo and Seoktae came inside the room. As soon as they entered, they discovered Minhyuk.

“...”

“...”

“...”

Minhyuk had an embarrassed look on his face as he said, “You’re here?”

The three of them remained silent for a moment while Minhyuk fell down in a spiral of thoughts.

‘As expected... I’ve changed too much...’

Was he that hideous? Well, it was true that it was hard for anyone to see someone weighing 160 kilograms outside. Even the shape of his face was completely covered with his fat and had made him unrecognizable. Minhyuk slowly became dejected thinking, ‘It’s the end…’

Then, Jisoo spoke bluntly, “We’re here. Do you think we’ll leave just like that?”

Jisoo naturally slid on the chair beside Minhyuk as he continued to say, “Phew. You always wanted to be a fat man who could connect with the wild boars. Have you turned your dreams into reality?”

Jihye smiled lightly as she sat down with Seoktae. Then, Seoktae said, “Hey. Aren’t I still handsome?”

“Wow. Just like what Jihye said, you’re still a narcissistic jerk.”

“Hmph. What did you say about me?”

Jihye chuckled awkwardly as she swiftly changed the subject. She asked gently, “What happened to you?”

Minhyuk looked completely different from the past. So, Minhyuk began to tell his story. He described his eating addiction and everything that he had been through. The three of them were shocked and speechless after hearing about such a rare disease.

“Now, it seems like I’m starting to get better.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Oh. So you will eventually come back to what you used to look, no, to what you look like in Athenae, right?”

Jisoo and Seoktae had not seen Minhyuk in-game, but Jihye was able to see his face since he took off his helmet when he was with Boroto. Jihye could still recall how handsome and cool Minhyuk was. It was to the point that anyone that saw him would be impressed and amazed.

“Ma…maybe...?”

Then, Jihye suddenly opened her phone. She said, “Ah, that’s right. What time is it now?”

Jihye quickly looked at the clock. The clock showed that it was already four minutes past one in the afternoon.

“I heard that the Athenae update will open at one o’clock today.”

Jihye quickly clicked on the update. Then, she placed her phone on the center of the table.

[Athenae Update

1. 100 million gold will now be converted to 1 platinum and will become a silver-like coin just like the image below.

2. Your nickname will now float above your head. Can be turned on/off.]

It seemed like they had modified the game and catered to the countless player complaints. The fact that 100 million gold would now be converted to one platinum was very convenient for players. Right now, they had tens of billions of gold with them, to be exact, they had around 57.2 billion gold. It was much more pleasant and convenient to have 572 platinums, than numerous pouches of gold. The second update about having the nickname float above their head was also convenient. Of course, Minhyuk and the rest of the people here would always have it turned off.

Then, the next part of the update…

[There will be a higher drop rate for ingredients and artifact materials in the Northern Continent. There will also be better cooking ingredients, more effective medicines, new fields and dungeons, and plenty of quests!

1. You will have a higher probability of obtaining better and superior artifact materials in the Northern Continent. In other words, materials that can be used to make epic artifacts will be in abundance. There is also a rare chance of acquiring artifact materials for legendary artifacts.

2. Special cooking ingredients will also be released in large quantities. A new class of medicine will also be released.

3.  New field dungeons will be opened! Inside one of these dungeons, there will be a new artifact and a way to transfer to a special class. In addition, events will randomly occur in certain dungeons in the whole continent including the Northern Continent.

4. SS ranked quest! The Northern Continent has a hidden SS ranked quest! The rewards are definitely amazing ^^!]

Jihye nodded after checking all the contents of the update. She said, “We have to keep up and increase our speed as the level of players increases.”

Jisoo and Seoktae both nodded in agreement.

“The epic and legendary artifact materials are rare, but with the increase in drop rates, a lot of supplies will be released. And since a lot of high-leveled players will go to the Northern Continent, it’s only natural that there will be epic artifact drops.”

All of them nodded. As rankers, whether official or not, they had to move quickly and adapt to the changes.

“A new class of medicine?”

It was Minhyuk who reacted to these words.

“I know right? What do you think is the new class of medicine?”

“You’ll find out when you get it.”

Minhyuk looked excited when he saw that update. He grinned. There was only one thought flashing in his head and that was, ‘I wonder if the new class of medicine is something delicious?’

Minhyuk chuckled. That was when he suddenly felt the pangs of hunger. He held back from eating his salad and cherry tomatoes since he was with his friends. However, his stomach was already complaining and cold sweat was already starting to drip from his forehead. He said, “I’m sorry, but I have to step out for a bit.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“The bathroom.”

Minhyuk stood up and went out of the room. He saw Changwook waiting for him with his air-tight box filled with salad and cherry tomatoes. Minhyuk hurriedly went to the room next door and ate his food.

“What did your friends think?”

“I don’t know,” Minhyuk said. It was the truth. He still did not know what they thought of him. Perhaps it was because they could not speak out in front of him, or because they felt that they should not frown in front of Minhyuk? However, it did not stop Minhyuk from feeling heartbroken.

‘This bloody hunger. Just for today, please....!’

Minhyuk felt anxious as his stomach continued to complain in hunger. All he could do was inhale his food crazily. Just like that, thirty minutes had already gone by. His friends were waiting for him, but his damned hunger kept him from going there. Another thirty minutes went by. Finally, his stomach calmed down to some extent. Minhyuk stood up and slowly went back to where his friends were.

“Minhyuk.”

“Yes?”

“Your friends look like they’re good people,” Changwook said, smiling softly at him. It was like he was telling Minhyuk to not be nervous and just be his usual self. Minhyuk knew that that was what Changwook meant, but it was still hard for him to do so. He was curious, anxious even, about what his friends thought of him in their hearts.

Then, he heard the voices of his friends from inside the room.

“Why isn’t Minhyuk coming?”

“Yeah. I wonder what’s wrong?”

It was Jihye and Seoktae’s voices of concern. Then…

Bang!

…a loud noise suddenly came from inside. Minhyuk looked at the door with confusion on his face.

“Jisoo. What’s wrong with you?”

“Ah. I don’t know. I suddenly feel so annoyed.”

“...What?”

“Ah. That fatty!”

“...!”

Minhyuk’s body stiffened in shock. In the end, were they not going to accept him after his change? Minhyuk trembled in fear, he was so nervous that he swallowed rapidly, even though his mouth had already run dry.

“No. I mean, what does being a piggy have to do with being friends with us? Does he think we’re going to hate him since he became fat? Was that all there was to us?”

“Yeah. For us, I think he was the same Minhyuk as before, but when we first came in, he was very awkward.”

“But the fatty Minhyuk, don’t you think he looks cute? I want to touch his fat tummy.”

“I want to put my head on his fat tummy and make it my pillow... I wonder if it’s like a water pillow...”

“...”

Minhyuk finally understood. He was the only one who was worried about his appearance. It didn’t matter to his friends whether he was fat or not.

“Phew...” Minhyuk sighed in relief. That was right. He should be proud and confident. Then, he went inside and proudly said to his friends, “Let’s go play now!”

“Play? Where? In Seoul?”

“No. In this building?”

“Ah...!”

The three of them recalled that this building itself was filled with things that could entertain guests. Minhyuk first guided his friends to the movie theater. Even though it was just a movie theater, it was still unbelievable to them.

Jisoo turned his head to look around. He said, “There’s pop...”

Then…

Step, step, step, step━

…A man suddenly appeared. It was Changwook. Changwook said, “It’s absolutely forbidden to talk about popcorn here. Remember this. Octopus legs, caramel popcorn and cola are prohibited here.”

“Ah. Oh... Yes.”

Changwook quickly whisked away and disappeared, the sound of his steps echoing in the hallway. It had been a long time since Minhyuk had watched movies with his friends, but instead of munching on popcorn, Minhyuk was munching on his cherry tomatoes.

Then, they went to karaoke. Jihye searched for ‘Spring Chicken Soup’[2] with the remote, but it did not come up. She came out to ask but she saw Changwook standing by the door. She said, “There aren’t that many songs in the karaoke machine. I think you need to update this with the latest songs. There’s no Spring Chicken Soup~”

Spring Chicken Soup was a song that was released five years ago, but it was not even in the list of songs. However, Changwook looked at her with a solemn expression and said, “Songs like Spring Chicken Soup, My teeth are so cold because of naengmyeon, Naengmyeon[3], Bingsu and Patbingsu[4], are strictly forbidden.”

“...Huh. Ah... I…is that so?” Jihye said, nodding blankly.

After singing, the three of them came out and admired the building.

“Wow. There’s even a cafe in this building!”

The cafe had a nice terrace. The four of them stood together in front of the cafe. The employee manning the counter was also Changwook. The moment Minhyuk turned his head to look somewhere else as he munched on his cherry tomatoes, Changwook quickly signalled to Minhyuk’s friends. He mouthed, “You can only order tomato juice here! Tomato juice! Without any sugar! It’s healthy!”

“...”

“...”

“What would you like to drink?” Minhyuk turned to the three of them and asked them what drink they would like to order.

“To…tomato juice... The one without any sugar... For all of us... Ha, haha! I really like tomatoes...”

“Me, me too... I, I really love tomatoes!”

“Ha, hahahahaha! Tomatoes are the tastiest in the world!”

“...Your taste buds are weird. I’m eating it reluctantly.”

The truth was, it was only Minhyuk who was unaware of the taboo and the rules in this place.

“...”

Jisoo, Jihye and Seoktae all thought the same thing…

‘Are we in a strange country where all of the food is controlled?’

1. 디스코팡팡 (disco pang pang) : a circular ride that spins round and round ☜

2. Jeong Hyeongdon sang this. If you want to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE9zmPJ_8_Q  ☜

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCd5-m2hQ1Y  ☜

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOHApDM3KX4  ☜