Prologue

In the middle of a quiet pub, Choi Yu-Seong sat across from the man drinking from a beer mug as he stared pointedly at him. When he first saw him, he had no other words than to say that the man was dang handsome.

Even though he was a man, his jawline was pretty to the extent that it was elegant and his black eyes were so deep and mesmerizing they could easily draw women in.

And his physique?

Aside from his broad wide shoulders, his tight leather jacket couldn’t hide his solid chest and abs. But why such interest in the same gender, you ask?

It couldn’t be helped.

‘Kim Do-Jin.’

This guy - even his name was handsome - was the main character of [The Modern Master Returns] a web novel that Yu-Seong enjoyed reading until a few nights ago.

And now, the main character in the novel was in front of him as an actual living, breathing person. It was impossible to be unfazed.

What was he talking about? He was talking about a story that some might call a cliche.

‘It means I awoke inside the novel.’

As a character, his role was to be manipulated by the handsome returner, Kim Do-Jin, to help murder his own father, be neglected by Do-Jin, then be thrown out of his family, and end up as a snack for the monsters inside the crack. He was a villain whose life was doomed to be a tragedy.

Again, cliche, but now that he was the villain in this cliched story, he was about to go insane.

‘How the hell am I going to solve this…’

After sighing heavily a couple of times, Yu-Seong recalled when he had woken up as the villain a few days ago.

Chapter 1

Choi Yu-Seong was an orphan. However, he never felt awkward about being an orphan because his parents died when he was four, which was as far back as he could remember.

But that didn’t mean he was ignorant about reality. Rather, he knew it all too well.

Perhaps some could say he was an ingenious kid. That was why he escaped from his rotten orphanage when he was twelve. After that, he successfully paved his way as he paid for his own college tuition and even got accepted to the country’s best game firm, NX Soft, at the age of 28.

He was able to achieve all of this because he never let his disadvantages as an orphan bog him down. People who knew him well often described him as a tenacious man, which wasn’t technically wrong.

At the age of thirteen when he should have been living a normal life with his parents, he had already devised his plan to fight against society and carried it out. It wasn’t easy at a young age. But this was how he was able to lead a decent life despite being an orphan. He was proud of his life.

“But…”

The mirror showed a handsome man that looked ten years younger than his actual age. Yu-Seong stroked his cheek as an awkward smile hung on his lips.

Awkward, but familiar. Although he wanted to deny it, the man looking back in the mirror was definitely Yu-Seong himself.

"...But why the sudden change?"

That was his first doubt.

'Let's slowly piece this together.'

Yu-Seong recalled what happened last night.

He had been pulling an all-nighter for the grand reveal of a new game when he decided to have a cup of coffee while enjoying the latest chapter of his favorite novel, [The Modern Master Returns], in an effort to stay up. Without realizing it, he must’ve fallen asleep.

But the scene he encountered when he woke up wasn't the familiar lounge, nor was it the small ten pyeong [1] studio he lived in.

As Yu-Seong looked away from the mirror and checked his room, his lips curiously twitched. 'It seems to be as large as a medium-sized apartment.’ And this was only a single bedroom. He felt strange at first but soon realized that it wasn't a big deal.

'Choi Yu-Seong. A 20-year-old young man, and the heir to the Comet Group, one of the largest conglomerates of Korea.’

It wasn't that hard to figure out who he was by going through his memories. Of course, he did experience horrible pain when he woke up, but that was better than not being able to remember who he was. It would’ve been difficult if he didn’t know his own identity.

Yu-Seong, having the same name as the novel character, Choi Yu-Seong, had transformed into an immensely wealthy heir to a conglomerate from the orphan he was just yesterday.

"Hmm... Rags to riches, in just one night."

Groaning slightly, he shook his head with a faint smile. His actual emotions were different from what his response would lead someone to believe.

He had lived a lonely life with no family to depend on. No economic freedom, continuous nagging from his boss, and spontaneous all-nighters were certainly tough to deal with. However, he also gained confidence from his hard work and was satisfied that he managed to achieve his life goals.

But all of a sudden, everything disappeared. Although his economic status had gotten better, it wasn’t something to be completely happy about. Also, a critical problem remained.

'Let’s see. Today is October 21, 2029. It's ten years after the year 2019 that I remember.'

Unlike Yu-Seong's original Earth, this Earth contained beings that existed in movies or novels, such as monsters, the Crack, and players. Even though the two worlds could be deemed as completely different, the overall setting was familiar to Yu-Seong.

'...It's the background of [The Modern Master Returns.]'

It was something he could easily tell just by digging through his memories about the novel.

The only reason he went over it, again and again, was because he wanted to confirm this seemingly impossible reality. What happened was literally something that would happen in a novel or a movie. And the main character of the script was Yu-Seong himself. He spent two hours in his seat trying to accept this new reality.

“Haha…!” Then he burst into laughter and nodded. After accepting everything that happened, his conclusion was simple.

“I’m in big trouble!”

Yu-Seong’s role in the novel was a villain who tormented the weak and someone who would be abandoned after being used by the main character.

What a terrific role to wake up in. The easiest way to avoid all that catastrophe was already in front of him.

‘Not befriending the returner Kim Do-Jin.’

But what could he do? By the time he had woken up as Choi Yu-Seong, this rascal had already become so close to Kim Do-Jin that one could mistake them as brothers.

‘This would roughly be chapter 15 of book 1 in the novel…’

If only he had started 10 chapters earlier… then he would’ve been able to avoid their relationship somehow. But it was too late to cry over spilled milk.

The returner Kim Do-Jin wanted to murder Choi Yu-Seong’s father, Choi Woo-Jae, the head of the Comet group and his sworn enemy that had killed his father when he was a child. And Do-Jin had chosen Yu-Seong to be a stepping stone to that goal. Yu-Seong, a fool who knew nothing, had fallen for Kim Do-Jin’s flattery.

‘I must keep my distance from Do-Jin by any means.’The closer one gets, the more dangerous Do-Jin becomes. But it wasn’t something to decide easily. After all, it was a matter of life or death.

He was satisfied when Choi Yu-Seong had been made a fool of and abandoned in the novel, but now, he wanted to hit himself for thinking that back then. ‘If I get swayed, I’m dead meat.’

So he had to cut ties with Kim Do-Jin somehow. But how?

Several options immediately came to mind. The first one, which was to kill the returner before he gained strength using the money and power of his wealthy family, was quickly erased.

'This world will one day have to face the Devil Lord's arrival.'

And if it followed the original novel's plot, Do-Jin would be given the heroic role to stop the Devil Lord and save the world. So if he wasn’t there, then who on earth would be able to stop the Devil Lord?

'I'd prefer to keep this world alive.'

Therefore, the best, and the most realistic, solution for Yu-Seong was already determined.

'Turn away from him'

Whether Do-Jin contacted or visited him, Yu-Seong would ignore him. At the very least, he would start keeping his distance from Do-Jin as much as possible from now on.

"Whew..."

He sighed in relief after sorting things out. Although Yu-Seong was said to be cool-headed and shrewd since his orphanhood, comprehending and accepting his own death was a hard task even for himself.

'I hope the situation turns favorably but...'

If not, he needed to have backup plans ready. Choi Yu-Seong had never been this grateful for his innate ability to keep calm under pressure.

“If I panic and get careless, I won't survive.”

Do-Jin, despite his young looks, was actually a cunning 50-year-old snake [2] with over 30 years of accumulated experience.

Even the tiniest mistake would result in the snake biting him in the back.

'Let's drift away calmly, one step at a time.'

Actually, Kim Do-Jin wasn’t the only problem. Choi Yu-Seong was the ninth child of the Comet group. This meant that regardless of Do-Jin's existence, his status couldn't be considered perfectly secure.

Hence, there were various problems lying ahead. While his life had completely changed from when he went to work for a paycheck, the larger framework hasn't altered much.

As an attempt to brighten the situation, Yu-Seong realized he had remembered [Modern Master Returns] quite well. It was almost as if he was reading the novel right now. 'This might be temporary. I should record this in my cell phone as much as possible.'

After all, the greatest weapon Yu-Seong had now was the future he read in the original novel. If he didn’t write down what he knew because he was afraid someone would somehow read his notes, it would be the same as avoiding the streets because he was afraid of getting into a car accident.

'I must write down as much information while I can still remember.'

Why?

'I have to survive.'

Although his environment, appearance, and everything else he knew in his life had vanished, he didn't want to die.

Even though everything had completely changed, his desire remained the same as it had when he entered society at a young age in his original life - he wanted to live.

* * *

After pondering for over an hour for a way to survive, Yu-Seong called in the two siblings that served him as his direct secretaries.

"Jin Do-Yoon."

"Yes, young master." The young man nodded sternly. Jin Do-Yoon was barely over twenty and had dark, distinct body-lines that gave a masculine impression despite his skinny physicality.

'22 years old. A level 70 player with B-rank physicality. Estimated maximum potential to be S-rank. The only person to side with the troublemaker Choi Yu-Seong.'

Do-Yoon could be categorized as a faithful and straightforward man. A talented man who failed to blossom as he died protecting the rascal Choi Yu-Seong even until his death. On the other hand, Choi Yu-Seong had never acknowledged his loyalty and disliked Do-Yoon for being a disturbing annoyance.

Of course, the present Yu-Seong held him in high regard and thought he was reliable. Having positive emotions toward Do-Yoon couldn't be helped. Then he glanced at the short woman about 160cm tall standing next to Do-Yoon.

'Jin Yu-Ri. 20 years old. A level 20 player with A-rank sorcery ability. Estimated maximum potential to be S-rank. Sister of Jin Do-Yoon.'

Her eyes were twinkling with curiosity and she was wondering why Yu-Seong suddenly called them. When he saw her eyes, he felt a similar but slightly different emotion from when he looked at her brother.

'She’s just as loyal as her brother in standing by Choi Yu-Seong’s side till the end, but… she’s different.’ 

Possessing greater potential than Do-Yoon, she was absolutely different from her rigid older brother. She was flexible in her thinking and was adept in leading people. Perhaps that's why the villain Choi Yu-Seong followed her words even without realizing it.

"Yu-Ri."

"Why are you being so serious right now?" Tilting her head slightly, she asked back with her glittering eyes. An action that was possible only because she knew he had a weak spot for her. In fact, the other women inside this house generally didn’t want to have eye contact with Choi Yu-Seong.

Despite Do-Yoon and Yu-Ri having entirely conflicting personalities, Yu-Seong believed that their response to his following words would be the same.

'They won't believe it.’

That was why Yu-Seong decided to tell them slowly but clearly, pausing every breath.

"I'm planning to meet my father."

"What?" Jin Do-Yoon exclaimed as he thought he misheard what Yu-Seong said. It was surprising considering his usual reticence.

"I will be preparing to leave, so get in touch with the main house. It's 10 a.m. now, so getting there around 6 p.m. would be perfect, don't you think?"

"Yu-Seong oppa, are you serious?" Yu-Ri asked.

"Yes. Why would I be joking?"

At first glance, it would seem like an ordinary scene in which a son was going to meet his father. But no, the parent-child relationship in this family was far from normal. Perhaps that was why Choi Woo-Jae as a father was both revered and feared by his children.

Naturally, the troublemaker Choi Yu-Seong never attempted to go and visit him. After all, his misdeeds would get him scolded as soon as they met. But now, Choi Yu-Seong was suddenly planning to see his father by his own will.

"What’s gotten into you?"

"I have a favor to ask."

Choi Yu-Seong's placid answer to Yu-Ri's question only caused their faces to stiffen.

He had a favor to ask of Choi Woo-Jae. As mentioned before, the parent-child relationship in this family was abnormal in many ways. Asking for a favor from the master of the house who wielded wealth and fame in each hand and gave out a small portion only to those he preferred was insane, particularly so since Choi Yu-Seong had never done anything pleasing. It was like walking into a lion’s den.

The confused siblings exchanged looks as they tried to comprehend Yu-Seong's intention but they couldn’t figure anything out. After all, the Choi Yu-Seong they knew was a loose cannon.

"What are you doing? Start preparing."

"...Understood."

"I'll make the call to the master’s mansion."

The siblings reluctantly nodded and left. As Yu-Seong was left alone in his room, he took out his phone that he had been writing his notes in for the last hour.

How to survive in a novel with himself as the foolish villain.

Instruction one.

"Start by gathering a number of supporters."

1. Pyeong is a Korean unit of measurement for area and floor space. 1 pyeong is about 3.31 square meters or 35.58 square feet. ☜

2. Not actually a snake, but metaphorically. Someone who’s sly and crafty ☜