It was like a bolt from the blue. Flustered, I blinked, then quickly apologized, took out my wallet from my pocket, and chose another card.
This was a debit card I’d used a month ago in Jeju Island, and its balance had been so substantial it was hard to read the full amount at a glance. Naturally, the payment….
“Customer. I’m sorry, but this card has insufficient funds….”
“Insufficient funds?!”
There’s no way!
Apologizing repeatedly, I offered another card. When the approval was denied and it was returned, I gave another card, and then another.
However, all the credit cards were suspended, and all the debit cards were declined due to insufficient funds, leading me to despair.
“This can’t be….”
Insufficient funds. Cards suspended.
I shivered, a strange and unpleasant feeling as if my pre-transmigration life, which had been like a gutter, had returned. I knew my weakness, I was endlessly vulnerable to money.
If there was someone who laughed and cried because of money, it was me. Even if I smiled because I earned money as proof of living diligently, it was only for a moment.
Because I always cried whenever I experienced money disappearing like a handful of sand due to the private debts my father left behind when he ran away.
My father’s debts alone were overwhelming, but my mother’s gambling debts were added on top. When money was torn away for this reason or that, I even wanted to be torn away from the world myself.
Anyway, I’m used to being broke, but I couldn’t easily accept a large sum of money that I had, disappearing overnight without a word. I just wanted to deny reality.
The employee returned the cards to me first. At their concerned gaze, asking what I would do, I somewhat came to my senses and quickly took out a crisp bill. Fortunately, I had cash on hand.
After receiving the change and a vibrating pager, I trudged to a nearby bar table. I plopped down onto a chair and muttered dejectedly, like someone who had lost everything.
“Cards suspended…. Insufficient funds….”
No. This must be a dream. Something is wrong!
I couldn’t believe it until I checked my bank balance myself, so I clung to a shred of sanity and opened the banking app. However, I was only met with the despairing reality with my own two eyes.
[Daehan Bank
XXXX-XX-XXXXXX
189 Won]
My vision went dark and my mind went blank in an instant. Cold sweat trickled down my back.
“Haha, this is a lie….”
How can the balance be like this? How could my cards be suspended and money withdrawn without a single notification?
After checking the balances of all my accounts, I sighed in utter dismay. After checking, I couldn’t believe it even more. It was scarier and more horrible than any horror movie.
After checking other accounts, they were also empty. A total of 189 won was all I had.
My vision spun, and my mouth went dry from the difficult and shocking result. This was the first time this had happened.
Even when I was struggling to pay off debts before transmigration, I'd never had only 189 won left.
Not even before transmigration, just a month ago, it wasn't like this. Han Sol's money was like an endless spring, constantly flowing no matter how much you dug.
This doesn't fit Han Sol's character. Han Sol, as the villain in this novel, wasn't just ill-tempered. he was equally infuriating with money. And that Han Sol is now me.
And for that Han Sol, 189 won...
Looking at the account history, the money was completely drained in one go under an unknown name. This must have been someone's doing.
They not only filled my spring with stones but poured cement into it. Who could it be? An undeniable face came to mind: Chairman Han, that old man.
The one silver lining in this misfortune was that I had cash in my wallet. Four 50,000 won bills. I'd just used one. So, the total remaining amount was 190,500 won.
"This must be a dream..."
Frustrated by the unbelievable reality, I took off my hoodie and gripped my hair tightly. Losing money meant losing the world. I'd lost both freedom and money. Disappointed and dejected, I couldn't even touch my drink or dessert, struggling in deep despair.
Could it be that even after transmigrating into Han Sol, the son of a renowned chaebol family, I still have to work? I'm speechless. This incredibly unlucky fate hasn't changed, even though my body has.
As soon as I composed myself, the vibrating pager buzzed. Holding what I ordered, I sat in a corner, trying to stay calm. Every time I realized my penniless state, my heart sank. I felt a lump in my throat.
Alright, first, let’s enjoy what I paid for. I put the paper straw in my mouth and sipped the Americano. Since I drank coffee, I should eat the pastry too.
Everyone except me was working on their laptops or tablets. Among them, only I was sitting still. Just steadying my ragged breath, blankly.
I decided to watch people and cast my gaze out the window. But I couldn't go far before I made a sad face and rested my forehead on the table. Thinking about all that money disappearing at once made irritation surge.
How will I live without a single penny now? How will I survive with only 190,689 won? Wait, does Han Jinheon know about this?
A thought suddenly came to mind. Han Jinheon had said,
"It’ll be meaningless even if you go.’
That was Han Jinheon’s answer when I said I wanted to shop indoors.
“Back then, already…?!”
There was a reason he said I had nothing. He knew everything. That cunning bastard.
Should I go to Han Jinheon again? No, let’s wait at home. I’ll wait for him, grinding my teeth.
The moment I steeled my resolve, my eyes glaring, I heard my name from somewhere.
“Heol, hey. Isn’t that guy Han Sol?”
Did I mishear? Thinking that, I casually turned my eyes towards where the voice came from.
"Heol, crazy. It is him. No wonder he’s so damn pretty.”
“What’s with all the fuss? Who’s Han Sol?”
“You know. That...! What do you call it? A celeb? No...”
A couple who looked like college students were whispering while looking at me. Even though I was grateful for the compliment that I was ‘damn pretty,’ I hadn’t expected them to recognize me, so I froze. They kept whispering, perhaps thinking I couldn’t hear them.
"He’s the son of some corporation, right? There were articles saying he was two-timing Alpha idol Seon Jun and Beta model Lee Joongwon simultaneously.”
I leaned slightly towards them.
Seon Jun and Lee Joongwon. I’ve never met them, but I know their names. One of the major articles that came up when I searched for Han Sol was about him two-timing them.
“Crazy. It comes up right away when you search…. HANQ, it’s HANQ.”
"That’s right! HANQ! The HANQ chairman almost had the company’s image ruined because of him and even made a public apology.”
“This guy has an apology video too? Wow, the views on the YouTube video are insane. Why haven’t I seen it?”
If it’s Han Sol’s apology video, it must be the apology interview conducted to somehow restore public sentiment. With millions of views, if they saw that video, not just them but others too would be able to recognize my face. Especially since this face isn’t exactly ordinary-looking.
"There was a rumor that Kim Gyuyeong, who has a lover, had an affair with Cha Seonmin. They say it was a lie spread by his side.”
“Right. That was famous.”
I already know all of it. I even remember reading about it in the web novel. It was one of the episodes where I wondered why Han Sol acted so childishly and recklessly, and it seems to be circulating on the internet as an established rumor.
It wasn’t pleasant to have them whispering about me right in front of me. I wouldn’t care at all if they did it when I wasn’t around, but listening to them do it in front of me made a part of my heart bitter.
“But isn’t it just someone similar? Somehow, I don’t think it’s him. I heard Han Sol went to America? There’s even an airport sighting photo.”
There’s a sighting photo?
My eyes widened. At those words, I immediately took out my phone and roughly searched ‘Han Sol airport’.
I’m not a celebrity, there’s no way there’d be a photo. No way……. Crazy.
No way, I thought, as I went into the image section and found a candidly taken photo uploaded.
In the photo, Han Sol was looking at his face using the back of his phone as a mirror. Seeing the utterly aghast expression, I guessed it was me. It seemed to be from the time when I, having just possessed him, was surprised that it wasn’t my face.
Suddenly, the fear that people who knew Han Sol’s face could be everywhere—from the people whispering beside me to my photo circulating on the internet—washed over me.
Looking back to the time in Jeju Island, there were occasional stares. Back then, I just assumed they were interested and let it go, but were they recognizing my face?
Could there have been people in Jeju who approached me because they recognized me?
My appetite vanished. I couldn’t eat or drink anymore. I watched for an opportunity and stealthily got up.
I pulled my hood down low and my mask up to just below my eyes. For a moment, I tried to wrap a muffler around my neck but realized my hands were empty. Ah. I gave that to Secretary Jeong Seongwoo.
Barely managing to draw my coat collar tighter, I sighed endlessly all the way home. Han Sol’s soul was gone, and I remained. Han Sol’s money was gone, and Han Sol’s misdeeds remained.
In other words, all that was left for me, who possessed him, were Han Sol’s misdeeds and the worst reputation.
It’s a bit unfair.
“What kind of crappy possession is this….”
Worried that someone else might recognize me, I quickened my pace, looking only at the ground. This is troubling. I don’t want to just stay at home, but at this rate, I’ll have to.
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