Surviving Among the Letters

“As you just heard, this is the Paradise Psychic Research Facility. So, what do you think we research here?”

Psychic abilities.

“That’s right. Psychic abilities. Specifically, the current experiment focuses on identifying psychic abilities under certain conditions.”

So, they had intentionally selected children without any known psychic abilities for the experiments.

“There’s a lot I could explain about control variables and so on, but I doubt our 12-year-old test subjects would understand. Right, Han Ari?”

“Director, perhaps you should consider what you understood when you were twelve.”

“I understood everything just fine back then.”

“…Ah, of course. Then perhaps detailed explanations should be offered only to those who request them.”

Director Messier smirked as he exchanged banter with the black-haired researcher who had guided us earlier.

Han Ari, was it?

It hadn’t even been a few days since my arrival, yet seeing another Korean unexpectedly felt oddly comforting.

After listening to Han Ari, Director Messier turned back to us and asked for volunteers.

“Any volunteers?”

The room fell into silence.

“Of course not. I must have been expecting too much. If anyone changes their mind later, feel free to knock on my office door. I promise not to kill you for asking.”

At this point, it wasn’t just me—most of the kids looked visibly uneasy. Remy, in particular, had an expression that shifted between skepticism and unease.

“Now, each of you has a translator on your left wrist, correct? Look closely. There should be a number engraved on it.”

Following his instructions, I examined the translator on my left wrist. Sure enough, a number was etched into the surface: 13.

Judging by the fact that Remy’s number was 14, it seemed the numbers were assigned in the order we received the devices.

“That number will serve as your name while you’re here. During experiments and interactions with researchers, you will be addressed by that number. Understood, Number 13?”

Number 13. That’s me.

“Number 13, respond?”

“…Yes.”

“Good. For a moment, I thought you might be mute.”

I answered reflexively, but internally, I was rattled.

Did he somehow sense that I was different? Or was it pure chance that I was singled out?

“Well, that’s all for now. The experiments will begin this afternoon. Dismissed!”

Before I could dwell further on Messier’s intentions, he exited the room. Han Ari stepped forward to address us next.

“Hello! My name is Han Ari. I’m the lead researcher at this facility. You can call me Chief Ari, or if you prefer, Ari-noona or unni, depending on what suits you.”

She looked like she was in her mid-20s—not someone you’d expect to hold such a high-ranking position.

“See the researcher waving at the door? Follow him, and he’ll take you to your accommodations. Each number has a designated room, so make sure you go to the correct one.”

“… …”

“Responses?”

“Yes!”

“Great. Researcher Kim, take them.”

“Got it, got it.”

So, the researcher guiding us to our accommodations was also Korean.

The strange mix of familiarity and foreignness in this place was starting to unsettle me.

Nonetheless, the 98 test subjects followed the researcher toward the living quarters.

As we walked, Remy sidled up to me, glancing around cautiously before speaking in a low voice.

“Blanco… do you think what the director said earlier was true?”

I turned to meet her gaze, waiting for her to elaborate.

“I mean, don’t people who talk like that usually turn out to be liars?”

“Usually, yes.”

“Exactly! You feel like something’s off too, right? Hmm…”

She lapsed into thought, her expression tense.

Her musings were interrupted when we arrived at the accommodations.

“Wow… are we really staying here?”

The sight before us was almost surreal.

The living quarters were pristine—no, luxurious.

The corridors were immaculately decorated in white, with sleek automatic doors equipped with electronic locks. Each door had a large number prominently displayed.

Beyond the halls was a massive dining hall, large enough to seat all 98 of us at once.

“Impressive, right? If you want anything, just fill out the request form in your room. If you can’t write, grab any researcher and ask them to do it for you,” the guide explained.

The facility lived up to its name—Paradise Psychic Research Facility—but the perfection of it all was starting to feel ominous.

Like a kindness masking a far darker purpose.

Knowing that all 98 of us were destined to die only deepened the unease.

It felt like a slaughterhouse dressed up as a paradise, offering us one last banquet before the end.

“─────. ──── ───. ─── ───── ─── ───.”

As I walked, I noticed something strange. One of the researchers was speaking, but their words weren’t coming through my translator.

Their mouth moved, forming words, but I couldn’t hear them.

Quietly, I nudged Remy.

“Hey, have you noticed any cases where someone was speaking, but the translator didn’t pick it up?”

“Huh? Not really. Why?”

“Just now, a researcher was talking, but I couldn’t hear anything. It felt like the translator glitched.”

“Hmm… I haven’t noticed anything like that yet.”

“Weird…”

After some thought, I concluded that the translator likely wasn’t flawless.

Even with the advanced technology and magic of this world, a real-time translation device implanted into the mind was bound to have errors.

The researcher soon left, leaving only the 98 test subjects behind in the living quarters.

Remy and I made our way to our assigned rooms.

“This is it?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re right next to each other! It’s fate.”

“It’s probably just because we received our translators one after the other.”

“Ugh, do you always have to ruin the mood like that?”

My door had “13” written in bold, diagonal numbers.

Instead of a handle, there was an electronic lock. When I held my bracelet up to the sensor, the sliding door opened with a soft whoosh.

Inside, the room was the epitome of cleanliness.

“Wow, a bed!”

Remy dashed inside and began inspecting the bed, running her hands over the surface.

“It’s perfect. No tears or worn spots… I’ve never seen a bed this new before.”

Then, she turned her attention to me, studying my face.

“Blanco, you must’ve grown up in a privileged family. I mean, you’re not even surprised by things like this…”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“Definitely a rich kid… but then, why were you sold? Hmm…?”

Before Remy could make any more pointless assumptions, I needed to change the subject.

Let’s see.

Is there something that could catch her attention?

“Look, Remy! Over there, a bookshelf!”

“Hmm…”

“Look at that wall, it’s too white, don’t you think? I bet it would be fun to draw on it, right?”

“It’s fine, Blanco. I’m not the type to get jealous over something like that. But I wonder, what kind of big things must have happened for someone like you, who probably lived so well, to end up here?”

Remy’s assumptions were picking up speed.

“No… that’s not it…”

“Yeah, I get it… you don’t want to talk about it. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone!”

“Sigh…”

In the end, I put my hands on my forehead and collapsed onto the bed.

Remy, seeing that, climbed onto the bed next to me.

“Should we sleep together?”

Without hesitation, I shot back,

“No.”

“Blanco… whhhhyyyyyy…”

Of course, it’s because the body I’m inhabiting is female, but my mind is still male.

When I slept on the transport plane, it felt like being in a subway with strangers—closing my eyes and falling asleep without a care. But right now, I just wanted to sleep alone, quietly.

“…I sleep better alone.”

“Well… if that’s the case…”

After some thought, Remy seemed to accept my reasoning, and I was glad it passed without an issue.

“Well then, we’ve seen the room. Let’s go explore somewhere else!”

By now, Remy’s constant leading was becoming more familiar.

She grabbed my wrist and led me around the quarters until we came to a stop.

It was a relief to hear the announcement that lunch was ready.

The speaker called for everyone to gather in the dining hall, and Remy and I made our way there.

In no time, all 98 test subjects had gathered, and the meal distribution began.

The food was simple, humble… Korean food.

“Blanco… what is this food…?”

Remy stared wide-eyed at her tray.

It was food that could easily be compared to a school cafeteria meal, but for Remy and the other kids, it seemed like a luxurious feast.

“Korean food.”

“Korean food?”

“Yeah. Below Paradise, there’s a country called South Korea. This is one of their traditional dishes.”

To understand why Paradise speaks Korean, has so many Koreans, and has Korean cuisine so widely adopted, we have to look back at history.

The author of The Idealistic Hero in Paradise wanted a historical shift but didn’t intend to write an alternative history.

So, after World War I, the opening of the Gates caused many historical changes, but the core aspects remained the same.

The division of Korea remained one of those unchanged aspects.

Japan’s colonization of Korea ended due to the Pacific Gate, which isolated Japan as an island, but Korea never saw peace.

The Korean Peninsula remained problematic due to dense mountains, which made the Gates a constant headache. Along with this, monsters from Manchuria became another nuisance.

However, with the support of socialist forces and the Soviet Union, a socialist government was established in the north, fortifying the defense along the Tumen River.

On the other side, the United States and the Western bloc supported South Korea, which became strategically important as the only area that could exert influence after the US mainland was isolated from Europe.

As a result, in 1948, separate governments were formed in the North and South.

Fast forward to the 1970s.

The division that seemed eternal ended unexpectedly.

A joint operation to attack the Siberian Gate, planned by several European nations and the Soviet Union, involved many mages, martial artists, and psychics, but ultimately failed, causing the Siberian Gate to go haywire.

Monsters poured through the Gate, causing the Tumen River defense line to collapse and the fall of North Korea.

South Korea, protected by the DMZ defense line, managed to hold on.

This led to the establishment of a joint South Korean-American operation to clear monsters and connect the Bering Strait and the Korean Peninsula.

With this, a massive wall was built in Eastern Russia over 30 years to secure a safe zone, and in the early 2000s, the Bering Strait was filled using the abilities of psychics, linking the Americas and Asia.

Through this, a vast territory was secured, and a new force led by South Korea and the United States was established, which led to the creation of Paradise.

Fast forward to the 2020s, the setting for the novel.

Paradise has continued to grow, becoming a center of psychic abilities and science, in contrast to Europe’s EU, with the Magic Tower at the forefront.

As a result, Korea’s culture and influence are extremely prominent in Paradise.

The official languages of Paradise are both English and Korean.

I was about to explain all this to Remy when she interrupted me.

“Blanco.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. Let’s just eat.”

“Oh….”

Right, that’s the normal response.

There’s no time to waste on knowledge when we’re just trying to survive.

I grabbed my spoon and began eating.

The food wasn’t great.

It was definitely school cafeteria level.

(© OpenStreetMap contributors / Source: openstreetmap.org / CC BY-SA / Map edited)

[For reference]

The Bering Strait is the space between Russia and Alaska.

In the story, psychics helped fill the gap, turning it into the Bering Land Bridge.

The Korean Peninsula is located in the bottom-left center of the map.

The straight line drawn is the Siberian Wall.

The area below that represents the territory of Paradise.