NOVEL WEB Chapter 1
July 2024. I died at the age of 25.
Cause of death: excessive bleeding.
Don’t ask— knife attack.
I was just walking down the street like any ordinary day when suddenly a lunatic in front of me whipped out a kitchen knife and started waving it around at everyone.
I’m not really the righteous type, but for some reason, my body moved on its own….
Whoosh—.
“Cough…, gasp….”
That lunatic’s knife stabbed right into my abdomen.
Thud, clatter.
“Oh, does it hurt? I was in worse pain! It was torturous!”
“C-Call the cops! That lunatic!”
After stabbing me, the guy must have lost it, babbling nonsense, and slumped to the ground.
Seeing him drop the knife, some guys around jumped in to subdue him, but….
“Ugh…, heh….”
Blood was already gushing out of my belly like a fountain.
“Hey, young man. Are you okay…? Just hold on a little longer. I called 119.”
“…Ugh, I don’t think I’ll make it….”
In my fading vision, I felt a man pressing down on my wound to stop the bleeding.
But….
‘Ah…, I’m dead….’
I could feel my life slipping away.
Damn, am I really going to die like this?
So meaningless.
Born an orphan without parents, graduated college, and got this far.
I worked so hard…, I held on for so long.
“Gasp…, gasp….”
As my consciousness faded, I reached out toward the sky.
If there is a next life, please let me meet good parents… and be happy….
With lots of love from many people…, so I won’t be lonely….
Let me live like that.
Thud.
With that, I lost consciousness.
And….
Waaaahhhh—!!
…A miracle happened.
Surprisingly, I was given a second chance at life.
In typical web novel style, you’d expect to be reborn in a fantasy world, but I was reborn as a baby in Korea.
However, there were a few differences from before.
First, my age.
Originally born in 1997, I was now reborn in 2005.
And the second difference….
Huff…
As I frowned while looking in the mirror, a slightly cold-looking beautiful girl in the mirror mirrored my frown.
Yes.
The second difference from my past life.
Unlike my previous life as a boy, this time I was born as a girl.
And not just any girl, but an absolute beauty that anyone would swoon over at first glance.
Caught off guard by my suddenly changed gender identity, I developed a stoic and timid demeanor, but I’ve somewhat adapted to being a girl now.
And lastly, the third difference from my previous life.
Unlike my past life as an orphan, this time I finally had parents.
But….
“Ye-rin! Trust your dad just this once! I’ll win and pay off all our debts this time!”
“Ye-rin, which one is prettier, this or that? Nah, better buy them all.”
My new mom and dad were incredibly irresponsible people.
They didn’t work, and my dad was a sports gambling addict while my mom had a spending addiction and loved luxury.
“Ye-rin! Clean up table 8!”
“Yes-!”
Since my parents weren’t working, even though I was in my senior year of high school in 2023, I couldn’t stop working part-time jobs.
“Ye-rin, did your part-time pay come in? …You trust your dad, right? I’ll pay you back.”
“Ye-rin, did your part-time pay come in? Mom wants to buy a bag, so can you hurry up and deposit it?”
Of course…, as my legal guardians, my dad and mom exploited all my part-time pay.
“Good work today, Ye-rin. Check your account; your salary should be in. Don’t let your parents take it this time!”
“…Yes, thank you. Boss.”
After finishing my grueling schedule of working at a cafe and then a family restaurant after school, I trudged home.
Having been an orphan in my previous life, I was experienced in part-time jobs. But this life felt even tougher than before.
“…Alright, let’s keep an eye on things this time so we don’t lose it.”
On the first day I received my part-time pay, I made a coin account, but my dad somehow found out and withdrew the money.
The day before the stocks I secretly bought soared 30%, my mom closed my stock account and took that money to the department store.
As soon as I knew my part-time pay was deposited, my mom and dad would surely try to take it from me again—how could I keep it safe?
While I was lost in thought walking down the street, someone called out.
“Excuse me!”
“…Yes?”
A handsome man with well-groomed hair approached me, looking slightly uneasy.
Having gone through this dozens of times in a single day, I could tell immediately what his intentions were.
“Normally, I wouldn’t ask this, but… could I get your number or Instagram ID…?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Oh… is there a reason…?”
“It’s not a good time to meet someone new. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, I see. Understood….”
As I kept wearing my cold expression, the guy probably thought I was angry and awkwardly excused himself.
“I wasn’t mad or anything….”
My usually expressionless face often causes misunderstandings.
Watching the guy leave, I resumed my walk home.
In a rundown villa neighborhood a bit out of the city.
A place where the word ‘poverty’ might as well be written in bold in the middle.
And yet….
“…Huh?”
In front of our old villa, some black cars stood in a row, oddly out of place.
…They looked strangely familiar.
“C-Could it be…!”
As soon as I saw them, a sense of dread washed over me, and I hurried into the house….
“Ye-Ye-rin! Hooowww-!!”
“Y-You can just talk to our daughter now…! As you know, I’m the head of the household….”
…My fears were confirmed. Inside were my sobbing parents and some well-dressed men in black.
Phew—!
“Long time no see.”
“…Yes, long time no see, sir.”
The man chain-smoking in our house without permission was Kang Hyung-man.
He was quite a famous loan shark in our neighborhood, and my mom and dad often borrowed money from him, so we were familiar with each other.
I asked Kang Hyung-man with a feeling of dread.
“Sir, did my parents borrow money again?”
“Yeah.”
Damn.
So much for hoping.
Suddenly, vertigo hit me, and I pointed my finger at Kang Hyung-man.
“…Sir, could I have one cigarette, too?”
“…What?”
The first ones to panic were my parents.
“What?! Cigarette?!”
“Ye-rin! What are you talking about?! Cigarettes?! Boys don’t like girls who smoke! And you’re supposed to marry into a wealthy family later, and if you smoke…!!”
My parents’ dream was to marry me off to a rich family and have me live a good life.
But seriously, shouldn’t they act like it so I wouldn’t crave cigarettes?
How many times have they gotten us in debt already?!
Thud.
“……?”
Unable to contain my rising anger, I gripped my head, and Kang Hyung-man watched me quietly before handing me something.
“…It’s your choice. If you really want one, go ahead.”
It was a single cigarette and a lighter.
“Still, I wouldn’t recommend it. Smoking won’t solve your problems.”
“…….”
I held it, thinking about lighting it, but I eventually refrained.
I had just been reborn with clean lungs; it was too wasteful to start smoking over something like this.
“Good choice.”
As I bowed my head, not smoking, Kang Hyung-man took the cigarette back and set down another piece of paper in front of me.
“…What’s this?”
“It’s the promissory note for the money your parents borrowed.”
Damn.
I quickly checked how much my parents had borrowed.
200,000,000 won.
“20 million? …Ugh, when am I going to pay this back….”
“Twenty million? I think you read that wrong.”
“…Huh?”
“Check the amount again.”
I gasped as I heard that and read the amount on the promissory note again.
‘Zero, one, two,…….’
Oh.
It’s not twenty million; it’s two hundred million.
Thud.
Overwhelmed by the outrageous amount, I dropped the promissory note and turned to my parents.
“…Which one of you borrowed 200 million…?”
“…Hehe, not one, but both of them borrowed it together.”
“You borrowed together? …Why? You still had money left, right? Huh? You can’t have spent all 200 million!”
I desperately screamed like I was clutching onto a rope, and my parents shyly smiled, pulling out their phones to show me the screen.
“Here’s the thing….”
Whoosh—.
It was a coin account with no balance left….
My mom awkwardly pointed at the empty account and chuckled, “My brother said this was a sure thing to invest in, but it got delisted.”
“So, we lost everything. Hahaha, you wouldn’t believe it. But don’t hate your uncle too much.”
“…….”
I decided not to hate my uncle as they suggested.
Instead, I absolutely hated my mom and dad.
‘200 million…, how on earth am I going to pay this back….’
Shiver.
My face turned pale, and my hands started trembling.
Whoosh—.
At that moment, my mom and dad came over and tightly wrapped their arms around my shoulders.
“Don’t worry, Ye-rin. No matter what challenges come our way, our family will rise again.”
“You know family covers for each other’s mistakes, right? So….”
My mom tightly held my trembling hand and whispered softly in my ear.
“Today’s payday, right? Your part-time pay came in? Let’s use that to pay off some of this debt.”
“Sir, just give me a cigarette. Ah, I’m so tired… I can’t hold it together…!”
“Cigarettes are not allowed—!!”
Whether I was a high school girl or whatever, even with clean lungs, I felt like I couldn’t hold out without smoking.
But my mom and dad desperately kept me from smoking.
“Smoking will ruin your chances of marrying into a wealthy family—!!”
“You know? This is all for your sake—!!”
There wouldn’t be any sane parent letting their minor daughter smoke.
In that regard, my mom and dad were truly, maddeningly good parents.