Resurrection of the Little Match Girl

Plot

The story takes place in present-day Korea. A girl tries to sell matches on the street, but nobody buys them, and she gets thrown out of shops. She is freezing and hungry, so she lights matches to warm her hands. A stranger suggests she inhale the smoke instead. She does, and her hunger and cold vanish. She watches snowflakes become cherry blossoms, and amid this beautiful scene, she dies in the road.

Ju and his friend Lee are at a bar with two women. Lee is a well-known StarCraft player competing in a tournament. Ju focuses on his food and leaves by himself. He works as a delivery boy and is treated badly by his boss. He dreams of becoming a top gamer like Lee, who wins the tournament and turns professional.

Ju spends time at a game arcade, where he encounters the Match Girl and buys a lighter from her. He follows her, but another man joins her, so Ju trails them from a distance. They get on a boat, and Ju wakes up in front of the arcade, still holding the lighter, but the girl is gone. He looks for her without success. He dials the number on the lighter and hears a welcome message for a game called "Resurrection of the Little Match Girl." After learning about the game and its risks, Ju decides to play. His task is to let the girl die, but she must die believing he is her true love.

Ju is introduced to several characters he must protect the Match Girl from. An organ harvester is stopped by a small gang and a female gunslinger on a motorcycle. Ju later meets this woman, named Lara, who is identified as a lesbian. He asks her to train him, but she refuses.

A gang plans to pretend to rape the Match Girl so their leader can rescue her, beating his own men to win her affection. However, a different gang captures the girl instead. Lara fights them but is knocked out; Ju saves her from being killed. They pursue the gangsters to a nightclub, where Lara is shot and wounded during a gunfight.

The gang leader orders Lara’s execution, but then receives a call from the System. Ju is flagged as a possible virus, and the target shifts to him. Ju is taking Lara to the hospital when he is warned that going there will cause him to lose. He leaves Lara behind, taking her guns and motorcycle. Soldiers chase him, but he is rescued by the System’s designer, who is hiding in the game world disguised as a fisherman. Ju also runs into his friend Lee, who lets him escape.