Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing

Bright LED Lights

The office, illuminated to the point of eye strain, was silent.

Everyone typed on their keyboards and moved their mice, their eyes sunken from exhaustion.

Receiving work, completing tasks, coming up with ideas, attending meetings, preparing materials.

A quiet yet fiercely competitive scene—just another day at a mid-sized company.

Baek I-hyun, the head of Overseas Business Team 2, was no exception.

Well, except for the fact that he was slightly busier than most.

Tap, tap, tap—click.

“Wow, Manager Baek. The last project just ended, and you’re already back in work mode?”

A colleague who had arrived late after taking half a day off looked at him in disbelief.

“Don’t say that. Manager?”

“Why not? Isn’t today the day the CEO reviews the approvals? We all know how this goes.”

“Exactly!”

The team members chimed in, seizing the moment.

“The Indonesian export deal you landed is huge.”

“Honestly, if it weren’t for you, who knows what would’ve happened? How do you always know exactly what the buyers want? I really want to learn from you!”

“Forget it, man. That’s like a superpower. I’ve been trying to pick up on his tricks for years, but it’s impossible.”

At this point, it felt like excessive flattery.

But in reality, Baek I-hyun had pulled off an impressive feat.

He had secured a deal to export his company’s pharmaceuticals to a major firm in Indonesia—the fourth most populous country in the world.

Well, the deal was almost finalized; all that remained was official approval.

Before the contract was signed, it had to be confirmed that Baek I-hyun was the one responsible for the project’s success.

“It’s thanks to everyone’s help.”

“Come on, don’t downplay it. We just pulled some reports from KOTRA and the local offices. You did all the real work. Even the buyers really liked you.”

“Yeah. No matter how much favoritism the CEO plays, there’s no way he won’t acknowledge you this time. You’ve worked way too hard. What, you barely went home once every three days?”

As they chatted, the office’s HR representative cautiously approached Baek I-hyun.

“Um, Manager Baek? Executive Director Park wants to see you now. Are you available?”

“The Executive Director?”

Baek I-hyun tilted his head.

Not the Director, but the Executive Director? Something’s off.

Executive Director Park.

A blatant nepotism hire, a distant relative of the CEO.

Also known as the CEO’s ‘messenger pigeon.’

He was notorious for delivering the words the CEO didn’t want to say himself.

And now he’s calling for me?

It didn’t feel right.

His teammates must have sensed it, too, because the lively atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

“…No way. This isn’t what I think it is, right?”

One of them spoke up, and the air turned even colder.

The moment Baek I-hyun got home, he collapsed onto his bed.

* * *

“What a load of crap…”

His bad feeling had been right.

— “This deal… can you yield it?”

— “You know that the head of Overseas Business Team 1 is the CEO’s youngest son, right? As the CEO’s son, he needs at least one major success under his belt.”

— “Of course, I understand how much effort you put into this. Next time, we’ll make sure you get the credit. Just this once, let it slide.”

It wasn’t a request.

The tone, the way they spoke.

They’d already decided, just pretending to seek his approval, acting as if they felt guilty.

Refusal wasn’t an option.

And ‘next time’?

Like hell there’ll be a next time.

He could already see it happening over and over.

He’d do all the work, and the CEO’s son would take all the credit.

There was no future here.

Not for the company. Not for him.

But he wasn’t the type to sit back and let it happen.

So he did it.

— “Ugh… screw this.”

— “W-what?!”

For the first time in years, he dropped the mask and flipped the entire office upside down.

Then, after throwing his resignation letter in their faces, he walked out.

And just like that, he was free.

He acted on impulse, but he had no regrets.

He had done enough, and he was confident he could start over.

“Alright, since it’s come to this…”

Maybe it was time to start living for himself.

Baek I-hyun sat up and turned on his computer.

Back when he was stuck in the daily grind, he used to dream about what he’d do if he ever quit.

It was the only way to stay sane.

And at the top of his list wasn’t sleeping in, traveling, or indulging in good food.

It was gaming.

“How long has it been?”

The game he had to abandon when he started job hunting.

.

A standard MMORPG, but one with a perfect balance of PvP, raiding, gathering, and crafting.

Updates were frequent, offering new challenges.

More than anything, though, it was the game of his childhood—the one he had the most fond memories of.

He had once been completely obsessed.

“Ten years, maybe?”

Between job hunting and corporate life, it had been at least that long.

“…Hope my account wasn’t hacked.”

He had never changed his password or set up OTP security.

So he wouldn’t be surprised if someone had broken in.

And sure enough…

[No main character detected. Would you like to create one?]

“…Some bastard deleted my characters?”

His in-game cash was still there, but every character—his main, his alts—was gone.

Rangers, priests, assassins, druids… all wiped clean.

Yet, oddly enough, his premium currency remained untouched.

But instead of getting angry, Baek I-hyun simply nodded.

“Yeah, makes sense.”

If he were younger, he would have raged.

But he was a seasoned corporate worker now.

It was just another mild inconvenience.

“Well, guess I’ll just start fresh.”

He wasn’t attached to the game anymore.

He just wanted to revisit his old stomping grounds and find a bit of peace.

“Let’s see… Did anything change?”

Baek I-hyun was humming the BGM of In the World while scrolling through the homepage when, at some point, his brows furrowed deeply.

“What’s up with this last update?”

He rubbed his eyes and looked at the update log for In the World again.

Scroll—scroll—

No matter how much he scrolled down, scrolled up, or clicked around…

“The last real update was four years ago?”

There had been updates as recently as two weeks ago, but they were what gamers often called “no-updates”—updates in name only.

Mostly bug fixes, cosmetic item additions, or server stabilizations.

Now that he looked at it, the homepage UI and design were straight out of ten years ago.

Some of the banners weren’t even loading properly, likely blocked because they were in an outdated Flash format.

“…Did the game… die?”

Sure enough.

When he opened his messages, there was a letter from the game company.

Skipping all the unnecessary fluff, the message boiled down to this:

In other words, the official story had ended.

“As if I care about ‘returning to my own life.’”

A game that was only being kept alive by life support!

He felt hollow at how time had passed so mercilessly, and resentful that a game he had loved had ended up like this.

The only silver lining was that he had at least experienced In the World to its fullest, reaching endgame before diving into the brutal job market.

“Well. Not that it really matters to me.”

No matter what happened to the game, Baek I-hyun wasn’t planning on creating a character for PvP or raids this time around.

“A pacifist build.”

He had no desire to deal with unfairness even in a game.

He just wanted to live self-sufficiently, reminiscing about old memories and finding peace of mind.

“I’ll just go fishing, forage for herbs, and heal my soul.”

After setting up his character without much thought, he was just about to hit the login button—

When his hand suddenly paused.

“…I should at least spend the remaining cash, right?”

Spending money to buy talents was definitely less frustrating than struggling from scratch.

—Purchased 5 Life Talent Random Boxes.

—Would you like to open them?

[Yes / No]

Baek I-hyun pressed ‘Yes’ five times without hesitation.

The opening animation quickly skipped, revealing five bold-lettered talents.

[Expert’s Eye]

[Mana Allocation]

[Potion Crafting Specialization]

[Master’s Touch]

[Spirit Communion]

“Oh.”

Was this the luck of a returning player?

He had practically hit the jackpot.

If characters weren’t limited to only five talents, he might’ve even considered spending more money.

Especially [Expert’s Eye].

It provided beneficial information across not just life-skills but the entire gameplay.

For a character focusing on peaceful activities, it was an absolute must-have.

On top of that, [Potion Crafting Specialization], which gave numerous benefits for potion-making, and [Mana Allocation] and [Spirit Communion], which would be useful for high-level crafting, were solid picks as well.

‘Gathering materials, crafting, and selling items was always a steady way to make money.’

And when [Master’s Touch] randomly triggered, producing a high-grade item? That rush of dopamine was unbeatable.

“Next is character customization…”

He wasn’t particularly obsessed with appearances, but a decent-looking character was a bare minimum.

Running around with the default face was the fastest way to get mistaken for a bot or a gold farmer.

So he quickly set up a decent look and moved on.

“Alright. Let’s do this before the game completely shuts down.”

His tone was cynical, but the thought of revisiting the world of In the World, a place he had admired as a child, made his heart race with excitement.

A feeling he hadn’t experienced once since entering the workforce.

Like a kid with a new toy, Baek I-hyun grinned and clicked ‘Start Game’—

***

After spending about a month in In the World—

“…This wasn’t the kind of healing I had in mind.”

Baek I-hyun—

No, the eccentric whom even the Grand Mage family had given up on, Leon—

Today, too…

Pop!

—You have obtained [Blue Basil]!

Was gathering herbs.