Let's Assemble a Computer

"A DIY computer...?"

"Yeah!"

There were box-like things with little fan-like parts attached, and some contraption with wires packed together, plugged in, and fastened with screws.

Anyway, Han Mi-reu showed me a picture of a transparent rectangular box filled with connected components that looked complicated.

"I said it was inconvenient to keep using your computer, Mi-reu, but where did you even get something like this?"

"Don't worry! It's made from rare metals from the Tower, so it's really sturdy!"

"Rare metals?"

"Oh. You don't know yet, So-jeong? Some of the loot from the Tower includes special minerals! Mithril, orichalcum, spirit stones, and things like that!"

Apparently, some floors gave Awakened people minerals every time they cleared them, and production-class Awakened could use those minerals to make things.

I wasn't particularly interested, though.

"How much does this cost?"

"About this much?"

The receipt Mi-reu pulled out had an absurd number of zeros on it.

"Parts made from rare metals cost that much. Of course, they're worth it for the performance, so it's normal for huge corporations or even governments to buy them! For reference, by huge corporations, I mean—"

"I'm not interested."

"I figured~"

Apparently there were companies operating on a national scale or something. I'd never thought about it, and had no reason to care.

"Anyway, today we're assembling a computer with these parts!"

"Why not just buy one already assembled?"

"This is all part of the experience! Playing games with an incredible graphics card later feels totally different!"

Mi-reu looked so happy, saying things got better with every new season, that I decided not to say anything.

Anyway... RAM, a cooler, a motherboard, CPU, graphics card, power supply... Why are there so many things?

"But this hexagonal... star-shaped screw is unusual."

"Oh, don't touch that. A component with a screw like that is incredibly sensitive."

"Is that so?"

"Oh, right. Go wash your hands first. There's hand wash, so use that. And dry them properly with the hand dryer on the wall! I'll do a preliminary assembly test while you're gone."

"Why?"

"Parts can be incredibly sensitive! You have no idea how many times things have been completely ruined because someone got a drop of sweat on a chip, scratched or pricked something with their bare hands, or got even a drop of blood inside!"

"...? Okay."

I didn't know what "preliminary assembly" or "testing" meant, but Mi-reu was speaking seriously while wearing thick gloves, so I went to the bathroom without saying anything.

Until I became Awakened, I'd never been part of internet culture or cared about it. But the moment I became a phoenix, I got a smartphone, and now I had a custom-built computer.

It felt like my standard of living had suddenly shot way up. Was this how someone who'd spent their life farming in some remote place felt when they experienced big-city civilization for the first time?

I didn't know. Han Mi-reu being the head of the Management Bureau, and then getting shot in the head twice with a sniper rifle by some... Joo... what was it? Some terrorist, the moment I stepped outside the Bureau—it all made me feel like things had gotten tangled in every possible way.

Anyway, when I held my hands under the thing called a hand dryer, air suddenly blew out. When I moved them away, it stopped; when I put them back, it started again. It felt strange.

Was the stand underneath there to catch the drops of water falling from my hands?

"...Is it done?"

After letting the air blow over them for a while, I couldn't feel any moisture anymore. Mi-reu had called this 'nice and dry.' What did that mean?

When I opened the door and came out, Mi-reu was sitting on the floor, laying out the parts with gloved hands.

"Oh, you're back? All the parts are fine! Now it's time to really put it together!"

"Is that so?"

"Here, put these gloves on. If you get pricked and a drop of blood gets inside, it's the end of the world."

"Would the world actually end?"

"The computer you're going to use would."

"I don't know what you expect me to say to that."

I put on the gloves Mi-reu handed me and slowly read the manual.

...As expected, I still didn't understand.

The only thing I could make sense of was the diagram showing where the parts laid out in front of me were supposed to go.

"First, you install the I/O panel, lining it up with the square opening... But this is a high-end model, so it's integrated. We can skip to the next step!"

"...It's sharper than I expected."

"That's why I told you to wear gloves."

"What if I used it as a weapon?"

"If you really did that, Sawako would scratch you with her claws."

I was kind of looking forward to seeing how sharp a vampire's claws were, but Mi-reu would obviously stop me.

"I've installed the standoffs and the I/O panel... See those rear ports on the motherboard? Fit them into the panel carefully... Okay. You got them in without bending the pins."

"What happens if the pins bend?"

And then, the world ended, and as I stood all alone, a gallery I'd never seen before appeared in the air before my eyes—

"I get that we'd have to get a new one."

M.2 SSD. CPU cooler.

SATA SSD and HDD.

ODD.

Power supply.

I couldn't understand why assembling a computer took so much work.

Listening to explanations of all these complicated things, it felt like five minutes had already passed in no time.

I felt mentally exhausted somehow.

The most annoying part was connecting the cables for the front ports on the case to the motherboard, then connecting the power supply cables all over the place.

They said it was important because it was the computer's heart.

I was getting sleepier and sleepier. I had to plug some things in, then screw others into place...

...When I came to, we'd already reached the step of installing the graphics card.

"Undo these screws, and put it in here... Ah, it'll be a disaster if it sticks out. Inside... Yeah, like that."

Click.

And now I screw this into place, right?

"Then, now..."

"The dust filter!"

"?"

Something went click-clack as it was fitted over the outside.

"And the glass!"

Finally, the see-through glass panel went in, and when the protective film was peeled off, the transparent glass reflected both of us.

Along with the parts inside.

"Is this how assembling a computer usually goes?"

"You did great for your first time! Usually, people ask an expert to assemble it for them!"

"Is that so?"

"Then, now we plug it in."

"Again?"

"This is really the last thing!"

Mi-reu attached something black to the outside of the case and plugged the power cord into it. Then came the monitor cable... the keyboard and mouse cables... and even the speakers and headset.

Then all sorts of things started appearing on the monitor.

"We did it!"

"But what does this 'Activate Windows' thing mean?"

"Oh, wait a second... Now it's really done!"

"I see."

So now I could finally use it.

I knew how to use a mouse... I'd learned last time.

"What should we set as the start page? The green one? Or G?"

"I don't mind either way."

"Then let's go with the green one! G sometimes brings up something inappropriate out of nowhere!"

"?"

I didn't know what "inappropriate" meant, either.

"What do you mean, something inappropriate?"

"W-well, you know... a man and a woman with all their clothes off..."

"That's just a picture of people naked. What's the problem?"

"Ugggh! Well... they're, uh, connected? No, how do I explain this..."

"Connected?"

I had no idea what Mi-reu meant. Connected. Did that mean attached to each other?

How did they connect?

When I searched for it, a page came up telling me I had to verify my age first.

Were they saying they wouldn't show me unless I verified?

"W-what did you search? I never taught you that!"

"...I clicked because I wondered how a man and woman connect."

"You actually searched for that...? Ahem! Unfortunately, some things can't be found unless you do what's called age verification."

"I did it."

"Already!?"

Mi-reu yelled that I hadn't even practiced typing!! But...

I'd simply memorized the locations of the Korean letters and numbers. I'd figured out how to use Shift ages ago, too.

I even made an account while I was at it.

But why did G have mail in the middle of my email address?

"Y-you're breezing through things I never even taught you..."

"Was I supposed to learn first?"

"...No, never mind. If you want to learn anything technical, I'll find you a textbook. For now, we should eat something. What do you want?"

"...A hamburger... I think."

"You've never even eaten a hamburger... What kind of life have you been living?"

So, to celebrate assembling the computer, we ate hamburgers.

Maybe I could've eaten something 'better' normally, but right now, I wanted to try things I'd been familiar with even before I Awakened.

...There were more kinds than I expected.

"By the way, what is a gallery?"

"Ah... that? You could say it's a place where people's desires are easily let loose."

"Desires?"

"There are all kinds, so maybe 'desires' isn't quite the right word."

There were plenty of things that were easy on the eyes, but sometimes people enjoyed posting things that caused mental damage...

"Then finding information must be a pain."

"It's fine, because there are people who specialize in taking down that kind of mentally harmful stuff. The problem is, it's basically unpaid, so no one wants to do it."

I didn't understand what was fun about making other people see disgusting pictures, but since there were people who deleted them, I decided not to ask any more.

"Ugh... Stop posting Auntie Shimura's face..."

Maybe Mi-reu was remembering something unpleasant, because the color drained from their face and they started trembling.

...And who was Auntie Shimura?