Chapter 1

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A long-awaited drinking session with old friends. When I arrived at the meeting place, they were already in full swing.

"Hey, the guest of honor has arrived."

"Is it PongPong-ssi?"

"Ha ha ha, what a lunatic, calling you PongPong-ssi straight up."

The guys were snickering like lunatics as they saw me. Normally, I would have retorted with "Do you want a beating?" but today, I didn't even have the energy for that.

I sat down silently, poured a drink, and exuded a gloomy atmosphere.

But my friends didn't seem to care.

"Why are you being so mellow all of a sudden, PongPong-ssi?"

"Looks like this guy has alcoholism. That's why his wife ran away!"

"Right, PongPong-ssi! Cut down on the drinking~"

"... Shut up?"

"Ooh- Charisma~ I almost peed my pants."

"I'm already wet. I need to change my underwear."

"Ha ha ha, what a lunatic."

These guys, who always get under my skin. Honestly, I didn't expect them to offer any comfort when I came out. They're always like this.

Beside me, Bong-soo, who looks innocent, took the beer bottle from me and poured it for me.

"Stop being mellow and have a drink."

"Wow, Bong-soo, you're pouring it so sincerely."

"Of course! When you're a single dad, you have to pour with sincerity and respect! Welcome, single! dad! man!"

"Ha ha ha!"

"Ha ha ha, you're laughing from the side, you lunatic!"

"Of course I am, you lunatic!"

"Devil. That guy is the craziest of all."

... Damn bastards. These are the guys I've known since elementary school.

Despite their teasing, I felt a mix of frustration and amusement at my own situation. With a bittersweet feeling, I downed the beer Bong-soo poured. My throat stung, but the cold, refreshing sensation seemed to wash away some of the pent-up frustration in my chest.

"Phew, I feel alive."

"Does your stomach feel better?"

"Better? It's fucking terrible."

"At least you finally realized it."

"Agreed. It's a relief you escaped before having kids. Imagine if you had a kid. Child support... sigh."

"But how did you find out?"

"Find out what?"

"About your ex. Ah, now she's not your sister-in-law anymore, right? Anyway, how did you catch her cheating?"

"That? It's a long story, but in short, it was just bad luck. Or... good luck, I guess."

Catching my wife in the act was a matter of chance.

I had gone on a business trip for a meeting. The conference ended earlier than expected, so I returned home a day early.

I wanted to surprise her, so I bought her favorite chicken feet and sneaked into the house.

"... She was making a lot of noise in the living room."

"Ha... Just hearing it makes me feel terrible."

"My blood boiled."

"I would have grabbed a knife. How did you hold back?"

"I don't know. I don't remember."

Instead of answering, I took a drink. It was bitter. Is this the bitter taste of life?

At that moment, Kyung-do, who had been listening quietly, sighed deeply.

"Phew... PongPong, to be honest, I expected this from you."

"What do you mean? Did you think Yeseul was like that?"

"Come on, if she acts, she acts. Think about it. How generous was Yeseul? Do you remember when she asked you to buy her a phone just two days after you met?"

"Kyung-do, that was just being cute. She whined about the long commute, so Jung-woo bought her an Audi."

"Wasn't that bought with cash? And you both worked at the same place. Honestly, why would she need another car? She could have used yours if she needed one."

"But when I had to go to the Giheung factory for meetings, Yeseul didn't have a car..."

"Then she could have taken the subway. What's the problem?"

Hearing my friends badmouth my ex-wife, I felt a sudden surge of anger.

It felt like they were insulting me.

"Hey, at least she never asked for a bag like a gold digger, right?"

"Idiot. She just didn't tell you and bought it herself. Didn't you give her control of your bank account? If she acts, she acts. Didn't you know that?"

"Right, the last time you and Yeseul came to a gathering, she was carrying a Chanel bag, wasn't she?"

"Yeseul said it was a fake..."

"A vain person like her would carry a lot of fakes."

"... Tsk."

Thinking about it, Yeseul did buy a bag regularly, saying it wasn't a luxury brand. But it turned out to be a luxury brand. Now that my rose-colored glasses are off, I clearly see the truth in my friends' words.

But that wasn't the end of her true nature.

"That's not all. After Yeseul said she wanted a baby and quit her job for prenatal care, she just stayed home and lived off your salary. She ordered takeout and gave you the leftovers. And you only had 200,000 won for pocket money? How did you survive on that? Did you even eat properly?"

"Hey, that was just being cute. After she quit, she asked for a cafe, but when we opened it, she found it too troublesome and the business failed. Jung-woo lost almost 100 million won then."

"That's enough. He's still paying off the loan."

"Sigh... Cancer."

As my friends badmouthed my ex-wife, they drank beer to soothe their frustration.

With a flushed face, Kim Bong-soo picked up some dry snacks and said,

"Every time I hear PongPong's story, I feel lucky I never got married."

"Ha, Kim, you never got married? You couldn't, right?"

"I didn't get married, you idiot. I wouldn't get married even if I were reborn."

"Of course, you wouldn't. Look at your face."

"Ha ha ha."

This time, the topic shifted to Kim Bong-soo, the lifelong bachelor.

Bong-soo, who looked innocent, had a pained expression.

"Hey, even if I'm not good-looking, if I could go back in time, I'd just seduce women!"

"You? How?"

"Of course, I'd have to be rich."

"Where would you get the money?"

"Wow, you're so dismissive. Haven't you read web novels? When you regress, you buy coins and become a tycoon. That's the standard in regression stories nowadays."

"Ah! That's right, coins would work!"

"That's right. I had coins."

The topic of coins made the guys' voices louder.

Since the coin craze, everyone had tried investing in coins at some point.

Bong-soo, excited, chattered away.

"If I could go back in time, I'd go to 2009 and mine a lot of Bitcoin."

"What, 2009? If you could go back to 2017, you'd become a landlord easily."

"That's true. You'd have to hodl until Bitcoin skyrocketed. 2017 would be perfect."

"Right, wasn't Bitcoin at its peak in December 2017? It hit around 19,000 or 20,000 dollars and then crashed. That year, it rose about 20 times."

"Hey, if you went back to that time, why would you buy Bitcoin? You should buy altcoins like Ripple or Cardano."

"Wow, I haven't heard about Ripple in a while. I'm still holding it at 48 floors."

"Damn, one of my friends is a 48-floor resident of Ripple. Bong-soo, let me see your head. Is it a decoration?"

"Ripple 48-floor, want to take a punch?"

"Whoa, calm down, calm down, aah!"

Bong-soo pretended to charge, and Kyung-do ran away playfully.

Staring at Kyung-do, Bong-soo drank his beer and his expression turned serious.

"Actually, in 2017, people who invested in coins would focus on altcoins with high volatility like Ripple or Cardano. But that's not the real deal."

"Then what is?"

"Ether, Ethereum."

"Ethereum? Isn't its market cap huge and its volatility low?"

"Shut up, coin noob. Do you know how much Ethereum rose back then?"

"When I started, it was around 200,000 won."

"That was already after it skyrocketed. Let me show you, don't be surprised."

Bong-soo searched on his smartphone and showed the Ethereum chart from that time.

Surprisingly, in January 2017, the price of Ethereum was only around 8 dollars, but by January 2018, it had hit 1,400 dollars.

"From 8 dollars to 1,400 dollars? What's the return rate?"

"Simple math, 180 times, 18,000%."

"180 times... crazy."

"100,000 won would become 18 million... 1 million would become 180 million... crazy!"

"10 million would become 1.8 billion! Wow, Ethereum is over the top."

"True, but a coin called Verge rose even more, but it's a scam, so it's risky. If you regress, definitely hodl Ethereum. Got it?"

"Kim Bong-soo is talking about hodling again. Annoying guy. So, how much is your hodling Ripple now?"

"Ah, you're really going to die!"

"Aah!"

Unable to tolerate Kyung-do's teasing, Bong-soo threw a snack. The guys laughed.

At that moment, Dong-hyun, who had been laughing, spoke up.

"But Kyung-do is right. Bong-soo should have invested in real estate instead of coins. He's good at hodling, right?"

"How much would he have if he had bought a house instead of investing in coins?"

"His Mapo apartment, which he tried to apply for before, is now worth 1.6 billion. It was 500 million when it was for sale."

"Especially since it was unsold. He could have bought it with a 50 million won deposit and a loan."

"Probably. Honestly, when I see that, I think I'd rather invest in real estate if I could go back in time. Coins are too volatile and risky. Real estate is more stable."

Dong-hyun praised real estate, and Kyung-do objected.

"But real estate is hard to sell nowadays. There are a lot of taxes, like capital gains tax."

"Stocks don't have as high a return as coins or real estate."

"Not true. What about GameStop or Tesla?"

"Ah... Tesla is the king."

I knew about GameStop and Tesla. I had a little interest in stocks, not in coins or real estate.

Especially with Tesla, I had invested and experienced its growth, making some profit.

"So what? The government will take it all in taxes."

"Overseas stocks are different. Once you buy, you hold them forever."

"Mr. Stock Expert, what's your return rate? Mr. Warren Buffett?"

"... Shut up."

Our stock expert, Kyung-do, had a miserable track record. He had switched stocks like a flake and only lost money.

Thinking about his miserable stock balance, Kyung-do changed the topic, annoyed.

"Let's stop talking about the terrible stock market. I'm more curious about what Jung-woo will do."

"Right. PongPong-ssi, stop eating the snacks and let's hear it."

"What?"

"What would you do if you could go back in time?"

"Me? It depends on the time."

"Let's say 2017."

"Hmm... divorce?"

My answer sounded pathetic, and the atmosphere suddenly became solemn.

Trying to lighten the mood, Kyung-do asked again.

"Correction, before 2017."

"Then... I wouldn't get married at all."

The atmosphere became even more solemn. I tried to lighten it with a forced laugh.

"Ha ha, just kidding. If I regress, what's the big deal? I'd just work hard to make money. I'd do everything, coins, stocks, real estate, as you guys said."

"Shut up... Damn, PongPong-ssi!"

"Tears are blurring my vision... damn it!"

"Come on, don't make the mood worse. Let's drink! To our escaped PongPong-ssi, the single dad Jung-woo!"

"... To that!"

Our beer glasses clinked, and we drank.

After a lively chat, the beer had lost its fizz. Once flat, it can't be restored. That's the way of nature. And trying to reverse time is just nonsense.

But... if it were possible?

"... It would be fun."

A ridiculous fantasy popped into my head.

But as an adult, I know it's just a fantasy, so I quickly erased it from my mind and raised my glass.

"Let's drink until we die today!"

Let's run until we black out!

* * *

"Aah, I feel like I'm dying."

How much did I drink yesterday? My head felt like it was splitting as I regained consciousness.

The ceiling greeted me, familiar yet unfamiliar. The newly painted white ceiling clearly indicated it wasn't my own room.

"... A motel, probably."

Thinking my friends had taken me to a motel after I got drunk, I tried to sit up but was startled.

By the soft sensation from the side.

"Ah! Who is it!"

Startled, I lifted the blanket and saw a beautiful woman lying on her side, wearing a thin slip.

Her silhouette was eerily familiar, shockingly similar to my ex-wife.

"... No way."

Despite thinking it was impossible, I couldn't help but check the face of the woman lying on her side.

Her sleeping profile was visible, with a sharp jawline.

It was definitely my ex-wife, whom I once loved to death but now hated with a passion, An Yeseul.

"... What the hell."

How long had it been since our divorce that I ended up in bed with her?

Until then, Jung-woo believed he had made a mistake by contacting his ex-wife while drunk and spending a night with her.

Until he looked at his smartphone.

Oh.