People who win the lottery typically have one immediate priority.
That is, to settle their debts.
Though it’s a somewhat somber thought, very few people in this day and age live without debt.
There’s talk of debt being a form of asset, or some such notion.
‘It’s ultimately money that needs to be repaid.’
Such is my perspective on the matter.
In any case.
After repaying their debts and shedding various financial burdens, the remaining sum typically amounts to roughly the cost of an apartment in a provincial city.
It implies that living a lifetime without working on the remaining funds is simply impossible.
‘Even if I had won the lottery, wouldn’t I still be going to the office?’
The mere thought of it sent shivers down my spine.
While I might live a more comfortable and stable life than before, the prospect of still having to commute to work remained.
To think that such would be the outcome of a lottery win, a probability akin to being struck by lightning seven times.
Still, merely owning a home would be cause enough for gratitude.
Yet, here I was now, a proprietor of 500 billion won (or rather, 499.9 billion, having spent 200,000 won earlier).
This was enough money to live a lifetime without working, even after settling all my debts.
Initially, all my debts were owed to Choi Min-hoo.
So, did that mean my debts were gone?
Upon a quick check, it was just as I suspected.
Everything was clean.
“Haaah….”
A complex mix of emotions escaped me in a sigh.
Was it a sigh of relief, or a lament that Choi Min-hoo’s presence had vanished without a trace?
I couldn’t tell.
Scratching my perplexed head, I searched online for how to buy an imported car.
“…My own car.”
My very first car, which I was buying for the first time in my life.
The one I had almost leased in a fit of anger after enduring a hellish commute.
“Saved myself some money there.”
I chuckled, muttering to myself.
****
I had roughly searched for the method.
Having never bought a car before, it was difficult to understand.
Still, one fact became clear.
I had to go outside.
Of course, I wasn’t going out just for a car.
I also needed to buy groceries and get a credit card, as I couldn’t rely on bank transfers forever.
Oh, and I also needed to check the name on my phone.
It was likely registered under Choi Yeon-bi’s name, not Choi Min-hoo’s, but there was no harm in checking.
“Or was it not?”
If it were under Choi Yeon-bi’s name, wouldn’t the Team Leader have been unable to call like that?
Could it be the only remaining trace of my former self?
The sudden thought made my heart pound.
“Let’s check.”
Perhaps this truly was the last piece of evidence that I had once been Choi Min-hoo.
With that thought, I opened the closet.
“…I have no clothes to wear.”
I wasn’t someone who usually bought a lot of clothes.
With an endless cycle of company, home, company, home, there was no real reason to care.
No, it was simply that clothes were too expensive these days.
A mere T-shirt cost thirty or forty thousand won; I couldn’t bring myself to buy them.
“Do I need to buy clothes too?”
Stroking my chin, I stared at the empty closet for a long time.
What should I wear?
First, I tried on a pair of jeans.
I remembered them being quite tight, but now they simply slipped down the moment I put them on.
“…Am I too thin?”
Complaining idly, I pulled out other pants.
None of them fit.
Even the training pants, which I’d considered my last hope, were a bit too large.
If I forced them up, they might stay on somehow, but they were so loose that they felt like they’d fall off if my foot caught on them.
“Absolutely not.”
I took off the pants again and tossed them aside.
None of the clothes in the closet fit me.
“Is that obvious?”
All the clothes in this room belonged to Choi Min-hoo, not Choi Yeon-bi.
The training pants I’d planned to casually wear out were loose, and the jersey top was far too big.
“The car isn’t the problem; I need to buy clothes online first.”
No matter how I thought about it, going out like this was impossible.
And.
“Underwear… I’ll need to buy that too….”
I tried not to think about it, but every time I put on and took off a T-shirt, my chest felt incredibly conspicuous.
It was my own body, yet my face inexplicably grew hot.
Perhaps because of that, I still hadn’t properly looked at my body.
After all, I wasn’t Choi Yeon-bi.
“…Can I really say I’m not?”
I asked myself, looking in the mirror.
Me?
I am…
Ding-a-ling— Ding-a-ling—
“You startled me….”
I was seriously examining my face in the mirror when a sudden call came in.
Wondering who could be calling at this hour, I checked my phone to see the two characters ‘Moron’ emblazoned on the screen.
This moron was none other than my high school friend, Park Ji-min.
Recalling why he might be calling at this hour, I remembered we had discussed a class reunion recently.
Carelessly, I answered the phone, intending to say I couldn’t go.
[Oh, Choi Min-hoo. You said you’d come to the reunion, right?]
A welcoming voice.
Sitting on the bed, I answered casually.
Should I show him the insults I hurled at the Team Leader Bastard while I was at it?
We could have a good laugh and chat about it.
“I’m sorry to tell you suddenly, but I don’t think I can make it to the reunion.”
Ah.
[…Is this not Choi Min-hoo’s phone?]
The moron wasn’t him; it was me.
Flustered, I immediately hung up.
Setting the phone down on the bed, I sat still for a long time, feeling my pounding heart.
Before me was the full-length mirror.
The mirror where I always checked my appearance before heading to work.
I walked purposefully toward it and gripped its frame.
“Who are you?”
Even to my question, the woman in the mirror offered no reply.
“Who are you, I asked!!”
****
When I opened my eyes, I was slumped in front of the mirror.
My clothes were damp.
Unbeknownst to me, I had apparently shed tears.
I lifted my head and looked into the mirror.
In the mirror, a beautiful woman with black hair and swollen eyes stared back at me.
When I sniffled at the sight, the woman in the mirror sniffled too.
When I wiped my tears, she wiped hers as well.
The woman in the mirror.
She was now glaring at me with a strange look.
‘I am you.’
It was as if she were saying just that.
“….”
I didn’t know.
Why was I so sad?
I possessed an absurd 500 billion won, money that an ordinary office worker would have to toil for an equally absurd 4,000 years to earn, yet I felt nothing.
Why was I so sad?
“Mom.”
Suddenly, I missed my mother.
My father, who had left me when I was very young.
And my mother, who had raised me through those tender years only to suddenly disappear.
What would Mom say if she saw me now?
‘Mom told you not to keep going back and forth to the kitchen, didn’t she? I told you your pepper would really fall off~!’
Would she have laughed and playfully slapped my back like that?
Perhaps she would have been delighted to have a daughter and would have wandered around downtown with me.
“…I’m tired.”
I felt as tired as when I had first woken up.
I trudged to the bed and buried my face deep into the soft duvet.
It felt as though tears were about to flow again.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I tried to think of nothing.
****
Ding-dong— Ding-dong—
Along with the doorbell, my phone vibrated.
It was a notification that a delivery had arrived.
‘I told them not to ring the doorbell.’
Irritated, I rose from my seat.
A package? Had I ordered something?
Yawning widely, I opened the front door to find a large box sitting there.
“…Ah, the monitor.”
The package I had ordered to confirm if the money in my account was real.
They had promised same-day dispatch and delivery, and it had indeed arrived quickly.
Still, to think it had arrived already, even though I’d ordered it in the early hours.
I looked up at the clock, which showed it was already past three o’clock.
“I slept for a long time.”
I had a long dream.
A dream where I kicked the Team Leader Bastard’s knee with my shoe.
No wonder I felt more refreshed than before.
“Ugh… it’s heavy….”
Filled with that refreshed feeling, I tried to lift the monitor box, but it was ridiculously heavy.
“Why is it so heavy?”
As I uttered those words, my eyes fell upon my thin, delicate wrist.
I understood why.
I let out a soft sigh.
“Ugh… that’s it.”
I dragged the box into the entryway.
After a brief struggle, I quickly cut the tape with a utility knife and finally opened it.
“Oh….”
Inside the box, a 144hz gaming monitor gleamed beautifully.
“This is what I really wanted to buy.”
I stared blankly at the monitor.
Then, a thought occurred to me.
“No, then I have to lift this again and put it over there….”
To think that lifting and moving it would be this difficult.
I felt like I needed to start exercising.
Still, I definitely felt better than before.
Time heals all wounds.
And money is power.
The power that allows you to get back up even when you fall.
“…It’s certainly nice.”
Looking in the mirror, the woman reflected there had a slight upturn to her lips.
****
These days, identity verification can be done via mobile phone.
So, upon checking, it confirmed that this phone was indeed mine.
Meaning, it was Choi Yeon-bi’s phone.
All of Choi Min-hoo’s records remained, but the owner was Choi Yeon-bi.
It felt somewhat strange.
“…I guess I can just keep using it.”
Even though I had cursed out the Team Leader Bastard, there probably wouldn’t be any problems.
How important a person was I, anyway?
And even if someone tried to do something to me, I was Choi Yeon-bi, not Choi Min-hoo, so what could they possibly do?
“If push comes to shove, should I just sue him for stalking?”
I chuckled, gazing at the 144hz monitor in front of me.
Many thoughts crossed my mind.
The thought that it was definitely bigger than my old one.
And the picture quality was sharp, and when I ran a game, I could feel a much greater improvement compared to my previous monitor.
Moreover.
“…I could even buy an even bigger one.”
I once again realized the power my money held.
“First, I need to go out to do anything… so let’s buy some clothes.”
And so, until I went to bed, I spent my time adding clothes and various other odds and ends to my shopping cart.
‘Tomorrow, I’ll really buy a car. Should I visit a real estate agency too? I don’t need a deposit… I could just prepare to move….’
And even lying in bed, my thoughts did not cease.
