Chapter 18
1.
Tweet tweet—
I slowly opened my eyes to the sound of sparrows outside the window. Sunlight seeped through a narrow gap in the blackout curtains, bathing the area around my bed in gold.
“Ughhh…!”
I stretched both arms high above my head. A pleasant lethargy settled over me, and the corners of my mouth curled up on their own.
“This feels nice….”
I got out of bed, drank a glass of water, then made coffee with the capsule machine.
Vrrrr—
After a faint vibration and some noise, coffee dripped into the cup. The fragrant smell of the beans.
Swish—
I took the cup of espresso over to the window. When I pulled back the curtains, the warm sunlight gently wrapped around me.
Clunk—
I tried to open the window on the right, but no matter how hard I pushed, it wouldn’t budge. It finally opened when I lifted it a little and pushed.
“Haa….”
I breathed in, and air that was neither cold nor hot flowed deep into my lungs.
The scent of grass brushed my nose. A clear, bright sky, as if someone had poured out blue paint. Sunlight as warm as freshly baked bread.
“Perfect.”
I raised my cup and took a sip of espresso.
Slurp—
“—Ughhh….”
Spatter—
Then I spat it all right back out.
“W-why is this so bitter….”
It wasn’t that I drank espresso to act cool. I’d always liked the aroma of the beans and the bitterness, and I liked how the caffeine hit my system right away, too.
‘But this….’
I stared at the cup of espresso in my hand for a moment, then went to the sink and poured it all out.
“Mm.”
Then I took a can of energy drink from the fridge and cracked it open. I guess the previous owner hadn’t stocked up on these for no reason.
‘What a baby palate….’
I sat back down on the edge of the bed.
Slurp—
I sat there in a daze, sipping the energy drink, then took out my phone. I didn’t have a single message.
“Mm.”
I opened a delivery app. The old me would’ve eaten some soy-sauce egg rice or ordered a rice bowl, but for some reason, I was craving tteokbokki.
“Is this price for real?”
Ordering just one thing cost as much as a whole chicken. It was downright outrageous. I couldn’t believe I had to pay this much for a worthless pile of carbs with absolutely no nutritional value.
“Ughhh….”
I hesitated for a moment, but in the end, I pressed the order button.
「Your order has been placed.」
When the notification popped up saying they’d started cooking, I stared blankly at the screen for a moment. Then a question suddenly crossed my mind.
‘What kind of person was the original owner of this body?’
And then.
‘What happened to them…?’
This situation was probably the result of the wish I’d made after drinking soju and before falling asleep. But why had I ended up in this body, of all people?
A sudden curiosity made me fumble through my phone. There were no contacts, and no messages where I’d talked with anyone.
“Oh.”
There was just one photo in the gallery. It didn’t even look like the original owner had taken it; it seemed someone else had taken it for them.
‘Who took this?’
I tilted my head, but only for a moment. There was no way I could find out right now, so I let it go.
“Hmm….”
No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find any clues. In the end, I sighed and put down my phone. Then I turned my gaze to the side.
A small drawer beside the bed. A white pill bottle and a little notebook sat on top of it.
‘Should I look at those…?’
From the moment I first saw them, those things had given me an inexplicable sense of aversion. They were probably connected to the circumstances of when I first came into this body. And not in a good way.
“Tsk….”
I wasn’t the type to leave something bothering me alone. If I wanted to satisfy my curiosity now, I had to check those things.
Once I made up my mind, I moved quickly. I got out of bed and went over to the drawer. The first thing I picked up was the pure white pill bottle.
“Hm?”
I hadn’t noticed because I’d been avoiding looking at it, but when I turned it to the side, I saw some tiny writing.
[Night Tablets - Take immediately before bed. May cause drowsiness. Do not drink alcohol. Absolutely do not take more than prescribed.]
“Sleeping pills….”
When I’d first vomited into the toilet, some half-dissolved pills had come up with it. I guess these were them. At a glance, it looked like dozens of pills were gone.
There were only a few left in the bottle.
“Hmm….”
I had a rough idea of what had happened, but to understand it completely, I opened the notebook.
[I’m sorry for causing trouble right up until the very end.]
That was how the note began.
[If the smell is strong, please open the window first. The window on the right doesn’t open easily, so lift it a little and then push.]
“Mm….”
That was exactly what I’d done earlier when I opened the window.
[There are no valuables in the room. My ID is in the second drawer. I have no family or acquaintances to contact. There’s no one else to call. So there’s no need for a funeral.]
“I really didn’t have any contacts….”
I murmured softly and kept reading.
[There are pay-as-you-throw trash bags in the box under the desk. Please put all my belongings in there and throw them away. There’s nothing that would be hard to throw away.]
When I cleaned up this place, I’d found the bags in that box, too.
[Please tell the landlord I’m sorry for making a mess of the place. The cleaning fee can be taken from the deposit.]
[I left a little money in the third drawer. It’s not much. Still, please use it to make up for the trouble I caused the person who found me and the person who cleans up.]
I bent down and opened the third drawer. There was a white envelope inside. It contained twenty 50,000-won bills. Exactly one million won.
[It’s fine if anyone takes the money. I can’t check on it or complain anymore, anyway. Still, if possible, please use it for the trouble I caused.]
[I’m sorry for causing trouble right up until the very end.]
[And thank you for finding me.]
There wasn’t another word after that.
The handwriting was neat. The spacing was even, as if it had been written with a ruler, and there were hardly any indentations from the pen. But in places, the letters were blurred, as though the ink had run.
[And thank you for finding me.]
This part in particular was on a slightly crumpled patch of paper. I gently rubbed it with my fingertip. It felt rough, but also a little damp.
“Hoooo….”
I sighed and closed the notebook. I’d expected this. But actually confirming it left me feeling conflicted.
I didn’t know how to put this feeling, this emotion, into words. Maybe heartbreaking was the right word. I felt a little sad, like I could understand how the person who wrote this must have felt.
Gulp—
I drained the energy drink in my hand in one go. The cold carbonation scraped down my throat, and the heaviness that had filled my head seemed to ease a little.
“Ha….”
At least it was a little easier to breathe.
I put the notebook back in the drawer and walked to the fridge.
I took out a bottle of soju. From the cupboard, I took out a soju glass and a rice bowl. I put a little rice in the bowl. Then I picked up the crumpled pack of cigarettes beside the sink and went out into the hallway.
Crack—
I opened the bottle of soju I’d left half-finished and filled the glass. Then I took out a cigarette and lit it. I stuck it upside down in the bowl of rice, and white smoke slowly rose.
I’d always hated the smell of cigarettes, but right now, it didn’t seem so bad.
I thought about clasping my hands in prayer, but stopped. It felt strange to bow, too. I wasn’t this person’s family or friend, after all.
So I just stood there quietly, until the cigarette had burned down completely. That was all I could do, and the best I could do.
Ding—
I turned toward the sound of the elevator at the end of the hallway. A delivery driver wearing a black helmet walked toward me. The bag said ‘Alligator Turtle Tteokbokki.’
“……….”
I turned to face forward again, doing my best not to look in that direction.
“Did you happen to order tteokbokki?”
Unexpectedly, the delivery driver had a light, high-pitched voice. That was a little better, at least, but I still wasn’t comfortable facing a real person.
“Ah, no?”
“Oh, okay….”
She nodded and set the bag down in front of my door.
Ding—
Then, as she operated something, the phone in my pocket rang.
“……….”
“…Enjoy your meal.”
The delivery driver gave me a little bow, then got back on the elevator and disappeared. I felt my face heat up.
“Ah, this is so fucking embarrassing….”
I quickly gathered up the trash and went back inside. I didn’t forget to bring the tteokbokki, either.
“It’s pretty good….”
Still, the tteokbokki was delicious.
2.
After eating and taking a shower, I sat down in front of the computer.
It wasn’t time to start streaming yet. But since I’d gotten up early anyway, I wondered if I could start a little sooner.
Ding—
“Huh?”
[+85]
When I opened That’scode, I saw a ton of messages waiting for me. They were all from Heukrangi, Aura, and the female duo.
“…What is this?”
There didn’t seem to be any reason for so many messages. I tilted my head and checked them.
[Heukrangi : Hey, how could you just leave like that, fuck;; They’re coming to my stream and acting like idiots.]
[Heukrangi : Turn on your stream. I said turn it on. Don’t ignore me.]
[Heukrangi : Fuck, just you wait.]
“Uh… hmm….”
It looked like I’d caused some trouble for everyone else when I abruptly ended my stream yesterday.
As I checked the messages one by one, they were all more or less the same. I felt a little sorry and guilty, but at the same time, I was relieved.
‘At least the attention’s been drawn away a little.’
I sighed with relief and sent each of them an apology. I also sent them burger and chicken gift vouchers.
‘Money’s a little tight, but I can just eat a bit less….’
I’d just gotten through breakfast with a quarter of a serving of tteokbokki and an energy drink. You could say this body was pretty economical.
The last person left was Heukrangi. I hesitated for a moment, then sent her a message.
[Me: Haha;; sry… lol!!]
[Me: (200-won candy gift voucher)]
Can’t pass up a chance to cash in.
And that bitch Heukrangi owes me one, so this much is fine.
‘Time to get started.’
Everyone on the team showed as offline, so they were probably all asleep. Streamers’ schedules were usually flipped around, after all.
‘I’ve drawn the attention elsewhere, and it’s daytime, so not many people should show up, right?’
I grinned and pressed the button to start streaming.
2.
『Jibjik Gallery』
[General] Bullet, this fucking bitch went live lol
[General] Bullet’s stream is on lolololol
[General] Bullet’s doing a daytime stream lolololol
All right, let’s gooooooo~~~~~~~~~