Chapter 2

Even that embarrassing and ridiculous part of my past.

“Aaaah!!”

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Hello.

This is Shimhaeng.

I'm starting the story.

No, Oppa.

〈 Flashback 〉

The day after receiving a breakup notice from the person I loved, I felt like I was about to die, but the world remained unchanged from the day before.

I had barely managed to get a job at a company that was too small to be called a large corporation and too big to be called a small one, in a situation where finding employment was extremely difficult.

We had been together for four years.

I loved her so passionately. But it turned out I was the only one.

During work hours, she would only use messaging apps, but one day she called me. It was around the time I had finished organizing things and was just starting my work for the day.

Ding, ding, ding, ding—

The vibration of my phone on the desk felt different from usual, as if it was a premonition of something.

But I tried to ignore it, got up from my seat, and ran to the emergency exit, swiping the screen to answer the call.

“Hey, Sujin. What’s up...?”

“I was going to ask, ‘What’s up?’ But why suddenly...?”

“Suddenly? Out of the blue? We were just together last weekend, watching a movie and kissing in front of your house?”

“What? What do you mean!”

At that moment, I should have yelled.

Damn it.

Even though my blood type is B, my personality is timid, like a triple A.

“No, I didn’t yell...”

I made a ridiculous excuse and was dumped. I know what you want to say. It feels like getting cancer, right?

But do you know?

I really did get cancer.

After receiving that one-sided, bizarre breakup notice, my brain felt like it was boiling, and my vision blurred before I collapsed. When I woke up, I was in the hospital.

The doctor told me there was a tumor in my stomach, and it was a big one.

When I asked if treatment could save me, there was no answer. That day, for the first time, I realized I was B type, as I grabbed the doctor’s collar and threw a tantrum.

Nowadays, it’s not about blood types but MBTI, right? What do I care! I’m only going to live for a few more months!

What would you do in that moment?

Would you go through the five stages of grief and dying as proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (DABDA)?

That day, I was immediately prescribed sufficient painkillers and discharged.

I went straight to the company and submitted my resignation. I’m not sure if they understood my situation or if they heard about it because it was a company-affiliated hospital, but they didn’t ask any questions and processed my resignation. They even promised to deposit my severance pay much faster than expected.

But do you know what’s really a pain in the ass?

The day after being discharged, completely beaten up.

I woke up from a deep sleep on the sofa after drinking a lot of hard liquor. The TV, which I had turned on out of habit, was making noise. I was annoyed and looked for the remote, and just as I did, the TV was showing a lottery draw. Before the draw, a male announcer narrated where the lottery funds were used.

Without realizing it, I focused on the TV reflexively, and then I let out a self-deprecating laugh, wondering what I was doing. I rubbed my cheeks roughly with both hands and found the remote. Familiar numbers started to come through.

— The first winning ball is the blue ball number 17. The second winning ball is the yellow ball number 16. The third winning ball is the yellow ball number 9, 9. The fourth winning ball is the yellow ball number 7. The fifth winning ball is the yellow ball number 2. The last sixth winning ball is the gray ball number 31. What is the second prize bonus ball?

The male announcer handed over to the female announcer for the bonus ball, but I wasn’t interested in that.

The numbers that came up were like a jumbled dream.

7, 17, 2, 31, 9, 16.

My birthday, July 17.

My ex-girlfriend Sujin’s birthday, February 31.

And the day we first started dating, September 16.

I had been buying lottery tickets with these numbers every week for four years.

Seeing the first prize numbers 2, 7, 9, 16, 17, 31, I thought,

“Is it the first prize?”

I checked again, and it was the first prize.

Yellow ball 6. Blue ball 18. The second prize bonus ball is the yellow ball 3.

“Huh. Huh huh. Huh huh huh.”

What’s the point of winning the first prize? I’m only going to live for a few more months. What kind of ridiculous luck is this? Who would want this kind of luck?

Feeling so frustrated, angry, and absurd, I started to cry, and then suddenly,

“I’ll become a landlord. Haha. Will I achieve my dream before I die? Haha. Life is really a pain in the ass!”

I threw the remote at the TV but couldn’t and turned it off nervously, then went into the room.

I repeated the cycle of sleeping and waking up all weekend, and when I was so hungry—again, feeling self-pity—I had a thought.

With only a few days left to live, should I die like a complete idiot in this small room?

This thought, whether it was enlightenment, a realization, or a confrontation with reality, made me look around my apartment.

I had struggled to buy this apartment, called a mixed-use building, and couldn’t even afford nice clothes or good food. If I got a bonus, I would spend it on gifts for my girlfriend. When I ate alone, it was always ramen.

So, how could my stomach be fine? If I didn’t have cancer, it might have had a hole.

“Great! From now on, it’s YOLO (You Only Live Once)!”

On Sunday evening,

I went to a department store without any specific plan. I started by entering a luxury clothing store, which I usually avoided, and bought some clothes.

I was surprised that a pair of ordinary-looking sneakers cost over a million won, but I bought two pairs and wore one. Now I can’t return them.

Then, I took a taxi to Cheongdam-dong and visited a famous hair salon. There were many customers, either because it was the weekend or because it was always like that. I felt nervous and tense. Damn timidity.

But a very cute woman approached me. When I came to my senses, I was sitting on a comfortable sofa, holding a sandwich and a cup of tea, and there was a price list in front of me.

The prices ranged from about 300,000 to 500,000 won. The fact that the price varied depending on the designer was surprising, but the cost of getting a haircut was also shocking.

“I’ll take it.”

I checked the 500,000 won box and signed it. The employee looked a bit surprised but smiled and said,

“Understood.”

Then, she quickly disappeared. When I returned to my apartment after leaving the high-end salon,

“Spending money is more fun than I thought.”

I felt so good that I forgot about my terminal illness. It was a continuous cycle of tension and excitement, and I fell asleep on the sofa. When I woke up, it was already morning.

Again, it was morning. The important thing is that yesterday was Sunday, so today is Monday morning.

I checked the lottery numbers I always bought in the morning. I wrote my name, resident registration number, and phone number on the back of the lottery ticket with a pen and put it safely in my wallet before leaving the house.

The process of claiming the lottery prize was smoother than expected. It was more difficult to refuse the financial consultation offered by the representative.

This time, there were a total of three first-prize winners, including me.

The first-prize amount was about 200 billion won. Before taxes, the first-prize amount was about 67 billion won. After deducting 33% in taxes and 3% in property tax, I received a little over 42 billion won.

“Really, it’s a hardcore YOLO!”

That day, I spent money for the first time in my life like water.

* * *

Damn embarrassing past. Why did this memory come back? Ah!!

“Right. There was a lottery.”

I wanted to erase the embarrassing past that came to mind against my will, so I hurriedly looked for my wallet. I found it in the inner pocket of the suit jacket I had carelessly taken off after a tiring day at work. Inside the wallet, as usual, was a single lottery ticket.

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2, 7, 9, 16, 17, 31

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Now, I’m not sure which is my ex-girlfriend’s birthday and which is the day we met, but the important thing is that these numbers are the winning numbers.

“What’s the point? I’m going to die anyway.”

I put the lottery ticket back in my wallet and continued the thoughts I was having earlier.

Why do I want to die even after regressing?

Do you want a proper explanation?

Fine. I’ll briefly explain what will happen in the future. Then you’ll understand why I’m doing this.

The Earth will be destroyed.

The initial goal is the extinction of humanity, but the effects will also destroy the Earth.

A few months later.

A message will appear before human eyes, something you might see in a game.

I don’t remember the exact details, but it seems the Earth’s will decided to exterminate humanity because humans are so X-like.

That’s right.

Looking back, from the Earth’s perspective, humans must have been really X-like.

The Earth can be seen as a landlord, and humans as tenants. If a tenant not only damages the house but also destroys it and makes it dirty with all kinds of filth, wouldn’t the landlord be angry? And wouldn’t the landlord say, “Get out immediately!”? If the tenant doesn’t leave after being warned, the landlord would use force.

For the Earth, that force is destruction.

A species that treats humans like food.

A species that seeks out human corpses.

And a species that only destroys.

With the invasion of these three species, the freedom and prosperity that humans enjoyed under the power of science were completely destroyed.

From an era of cutting-edge technology and the fifth industrial revolution, humans were thrown back to before the industrial revolution, along with bizarre monsters threatening them.

“So, I don’t want to see that disgusting sight again. I’ll die cleanly.”

If I keep looking at the lottery ticket, I might get attached and start thinking about YOLO and wanting to live. Then I’ll regret it later.

“Fine.”

I quickly made a decision.

“I’ll jump.”

I chose to end my life by falling. It’s a clean and quick way to die.

“Fine. What’s there to hesitate? The longer I wait, the more I’ll get attached.”

Fortunately, this apartment, which I bought with the compensation and inheritance from my parents’ accident, is quite high.

“Is the roof door open? Will the property value drop if I commit suicide here?”

What does it matter? The world will end in a few months anyway. I let out a dry laugh, changed into comfortable clothes, and made a few preparations.

In short, I wrote a will. The content was that the lottery prize, with my address and resident registration number, would be donated equally to a few orphanages I usually supported. Honestly, I don’t see the point, but I hoped the children would have a better life before the end.

“This is enough. What’s the point anyway?”

Muttering to myself, I opened the door to go to the roof.

But.

“Hello? Oppa?”

A high school girl was standing in front of my door as if she had been waiting.

“...Who are you?”

Just like I forgot my ex-girlfriend’s voice after regressing, my memory of the people I met during this period is vague. I wondered if she was someone I knew, but she only smiled creepily and didn’t answer.

“Oppa.”

“Huh? Oh. Hi. Student.”

“Nice to see you again.”

“...Do we know each other?”

“Tsk. You forgot, didn’t you? I told you to greet me first when we meet again.”