Roy clenched his jaw as he prepared for the looming danger.
Click.
With a small sound, the strap that had bound him loosened.
“Oh, you just press this button to release the seatbelt. Like this.”
Roy swallowed hard as he watched the black strap retract smoothly.
Kim Chan, looking up at him with innocent eyes, showed not even a hint of malice.
“It comes off this easily…?”
Roy let out a weak laugh.
Ever since being betrayed by Kairus, his thoughts had been scattered.
A flush crept up his pale cheeks.
‘Still, it’s too early to let my guard down.’
Roy curled his reddened palm into a fist and steadied himself.
From the high-rising buildings to the vehicles moving faster than most carriages—everything was unfamiliar.
Everything except for one thing: monsters existed in this world too.
‘Did I really end up in another world?’
The moment the doubt crossed his mind, it turned into certainty.
‘Mulkiber, Aqua, Solum, Spiritus.’
Even when he called the names of the elemental kings, who were like family, there was no response.
His magic remained stiff and unresponsive, like a chunk of stone.
‘I don’t have nearly enough information to understand my current situation. Until I recover my powers…’
[Hero! Let’s hurry and go in too!]
A translucent window had appeared before Roy—visible only to him.
Though it sparkled desperately as if begging to be seen, no one else seemed aware of it.
***
Roy stepped out of the car first and glanced at Kim Chan, who was waiting for him to follow.
He had no confidence in his ability to read people—not after being betrayed by a close friend—but Kim Chan exuded a gentle aura.
Perhaps because Roy had saved his life, Kim Chan’s deep brown eyes were full of warmth and admiration.
His gaze was so sincere, Roy felt a twinge of guilt for having doubted him.
At this point, following Kim Chan was Roy’s only real option.
Wandering around an unfamiliar world without any abilities would be suicidal.
“Hey, aren’t you two coming in?”
Only Lee Doha had entered the building, his eyes half-closed from sleep.
When Roy and Kim Chan didn’t follow, Hwang Guman opened the door and called out.
“We’re coming now. Let’s go, hyung.”
Roy obediently followed Kim Chan.
Though the building’s exterior looked run-down, the interior had clearly been renovated.
It was clean and well-kept.
“Ahem, there’s no elevator in the building.”
Hwang Guman cleared his throat awkwardly as he led the group toward the stairs.
“But we recently remodeled, so the office itself is nice. This is our company.”
Unlike the other floors, where multiple small offices were clustered together, the entire third floor belonged to Hwang Guman’s company.
A vertical sign next to the door read “Bada Entertainment.”
He held his finger up to the door lock and opened it wide.
“Oh? President, you’re here already?”
A woman with short hair stood up from her desk as they walked into the office.
She tilted her head in confusion.
The time on the clock showed it was far too early for anyone to be back.
“A surprise dungeon opened at the audition venue. It’s total chaos over there. Looks like the news hasn’t hit social media yet.”
“Really? Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you? But… who are these two? One of them looks familiar…”
Her eyes widened behind her glasses as she studied Roy and Kim Chan.
She looked to be in her mid-twenties, with neatly trimmed hair and sharp, observant brown eyes.
“Kim Chan, you’ve heard of him, right? He’s our number-one pick for recruitment.”
“Of course! You’ve been tailing him like a stalker.”
“Ahem. That’s an exaggeration… Ah, and this one here is a newly discovered trainee.”
“Wow… President, where on earth did you find a gem like this?”
[Hero! This woman’s eyes are scary!]
Roy instinctively took a step back, overwhelmed by the intensity of her gaze.
The light practically beamed from her eyes as she stared at him.
“Minkyung, give them a moment. They’ve just been through a lot. Guys, this is Do Minkyung, our company’s exclusive stylist. She’s twenty-eight.”
“President! How could you just blurt out my age like that?”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Their casual banter felt less like boss and employee and more like a playful uncle-niece relationship.
“We’ll head into the president’s office for now. As for Doha… that kid could survive anywhere, no matter where you toss him.”
***
Hwang Guman had already opened the office door, sighing as he looked at Lee Doha sprawled out on the sofa.
“Doha says the president’s sofa is the most comfortable place in the world. If it’s inconvenient, we can move it to the meeting or practice room. But if we do, he’ll just sleep there all the time.”
“That sofa was a 12-month installment purchase…”
The rich brown leather of the sofa stood out prominently.
Hwang Guman had splurged on it to give the office a proper executive feel.
“Understood. Let me know if you need anything.”
“If I do, I’ll call.”
“Alright, I’ll get back to work then.”
“Thanks, Minkyung.”
Do Minkyung gave a bright smile to Roy and Kim Chan, bowed politely, and left the office.
“Have a seat. Don’t worry about Doha.”
One side of the sofa was already claimed by Lee Doha, who was sleeping soundly, snoring softly.
Roy sat across from him with Kim Chan.
The sofa’s warmth enveloped his body, and for the first time in a while, his tension began to ease.
“Do you like drinks? All I have right now is coffee and orange juice.”
“Coffee?”
“You like coffee, huh, Roy? I’m not really a fan, but Doha is a total coffee addict, so we bought a really good machine.”
Hwang Guman stood up and walked over to where the coffee machine was.
Roy’s eyes followed him like a shadow.
He couldn’t understand most of the words being said, but the word “coffee” stood out clearly—it was a familiar luxury item even in the As continent.
Roy rose from his seat as if drawn by some invisible force and approached Hwang Guman.
“How does this thing work again…?”
Hwang Guman fiddled with the machine, holding a capsule that looked tiny in his large, pot-lid-sized hands.
“Coffee comes out from here?”
“Yeah. You just stick this capsule somewhere and press a button…”
He didn’t seem to care that Roy was speaking informally and focused entirely on opening the coffee machine.
“I give up. Doha!”
“I’m so sleepy…”
Doha’s loud voice echoed through the office as he groggily got up from his seat, rubbing his eyes.
“Where exactly do you put the capsule in this thing?”
Still half-asleep, Doha walked over and reached under the machine.
With a mechanical whirring sound, the top part of the spaceship-shaped device opened up.
“You just put it in here and press the button.”
He placed the capsule inside, closed the lid, pressed a button on the side, and set a small espresso cup underneath the nozzle.
“Prrrrrrrk”
Before long, the rich scent of coffee filled the room as a deep brown espresso flowed into the cup.
Roy’s eyes lost focus and began to tremble.
The cars and tall buildings had amazed him—but none of them compared to this coffee machine.
In the As continent, if you wanted to drink coffee, you had to roast the beans yourself and grind them by hand.
Roy, who was unusually picky about his coffee, handled every step of the process personally.
And yet, the coffee appearing before him now—with just a wave of Doha’s hand—smelled richer and more flavorful than anything he’d ever brewed with his own effort.
It was more enchanting than any magic.
***
“Espresso? Iced Americano?”
“What?”
“Your coffee preference.”
Since he was already up, Doha seemed ready to make more coffee and began pulling out various cups from the cabinet.
“Ice… a lot…”
Roy hesitated, thinking that he probably shouldn’t accept food or drinks from strangers—but the smell of coffee broke down his will.
His cheeks reddened as he timidly pointed to a tall cup with his index finger.
Though Roy couldn’t understand Doha’s words, he watched him pour water into the coffee and add a generous amount of ice—just the way Roy preferred it, even back on the As continent.
“Here you go.”
Doha, seemingly understanding Roy’s request perfectly, handed over a freshly made iced Americano.
Roy reached out with a trembling hand and took the cup.
Gulp, gulp.
The cool, bitter taste of the coffee slid down his throat, and the red tint on Roy’s cheeks deepened.
“Tasty, right?”
“Yeah.”
“There are all kinds of flavors too.”
Doha seemed pleased to see Roy enjoying the coffee and held up a box full of colorful capsules.
“There are… different flavors?”
“Yup. The one you just had is more acidic. The gold ones have a fruity aroma. The blue ones are more bitter.”
[Hero, did you just fall for coffee…?]
A trembling voice echoed in Roy’s head, but his eyes were fixed on the rainbow-colored capsules.
His gaze had a touch of madness to it.
The coffee he just drank was already mind-blowingly delicious—and now he learned there were more flavors? For the first time since arriving in this unfamiliar world, the corners of Roy’s lips twitched ever so slightly.
“You really love coffee, huh?”
Kim Chan watched Roy’s subtle expression change with admiration.
The icy impression Roy had left—like someone carved from a block of ice—melted like spring sunshine.
“Roy, if you sign with our company, I’ll buy you every coffee machine in the world. And all the capsule flavors too.”
Hwang Guman seized the moment and made his pitch.
It was an offer more than enough to shake Roy’s heart.
Quietly, Roy walked back to the couch with his coffee in hand and sat down.
[I can’t believe the hero would do this…]
Even the voice of Earth itself sounded betrayed.
But Roy scoffed at Earth’s overreaction—it barely knew him.
Doha, now fully awake, made another cup and sat across from Roy.
With one leg crossed over the other, he sipped his coffee with the poise of a magazine model.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.
As someone whose addicted to coffee I feel Roy Joy .coffee is life