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Chapter 2…
A Lucky Day (1)
Click. Clack.
The rhythmic sound of high heels echoed through the café.
A beautiful woman came into view.
Her ponytail suited her perfectly.
Clear, porcelain-white skin, a sharp, elegant nose, and large expressive eyes completed her flawless features.
Every head in the coffee shop turned toward her.
Just looking at her made my shoulders straighten with pride.
She was my girlfriend.
Gu Hye-jin.
She glided gracefully into the seat across from me.
“Traffic?”
“No.”
“Busy?”
“No.”
Her tone was colder than usual.
“I have something to say.”
“…?”
The moment she sat down, Hye-jin stared at me with detached eyes before finally speaking.
It was a look I’d been seeing more and more often lately.
“We should end this.”
The words exploded out of her mouth without warning.
“You weren’t seriously planning to keep dating me forever… were you?”
Her icy question hung in the air.
“…”
She wasn’t wrong.
We no longer belonged in the same world.
An unemployed loser like me didn’t deserve someone like her.
She worked as a full-time employee at one of the country’s top ten conglomerates.
Someone like her was completely out of my league.
“…Okay.”
It was a truth I’d unconsciously refused to acknowledge.
But I couldn’t deny reality anymore.
“It’s our last time together, so at least have a meal before you go. And… this is late, but happy birthday.”
I hurriedly pulled a gift box from my bag.
Her birthday had been a few days ago.
I’d wanted to give it to her then, but her schedule had been too busy.
“No thanks. Sell it and pay off your debts instead.”
“Hye-jin!”
“What? Embarrassed?”
She sneered.
“You should be embarrassed. A man your age with no car and no house? That’s pathetic. At least you’ve finally realized it.”
My fists clenched.
Today alone, my pride had been slashed to pieces over and over again.
“I’m sick of pathetic men. You know that, don’t you?”
She looked at me without the slightest warmth.
“Delete my number. And don’t call me after getting drunk like some pathetic loser. Have some dignity. At least if you still have even a shred of self-respect.”
Each word stabbed into my heart.
Again.
And again.
She wasn’t just burning the bridge between us—
She was leaping across it and setting fire to the other side.
“I had fun while it lasted.”
Even her attempt at comfort sounded cruel.
“The truth is, you’re actually a pretty decent-looking guy.”
Was that a compliment?
Or another insult disguised as consolation?
“You’ll be fine. Just find a woman who’s at your level.”
Those words became a sharpened spear that pierced straight through my heart.
I silently stared at Hye-jin’s cold expression.
Even when she was busy, I’d done everything I could for both my job and for her.
I’d believed that if I lived sincerely, I’d never be betrayed.
That’s what all the older people had told me.
But they had all lied.
On the very same day…
I lost both my job…
and the woman I loved.
Even my coworkers—the people I’d shared meals with every day—were no different.
When I’d slammed into Go Dong-yeol and stormed out of the director’s office…
Every one of them avoided my eyes.
Just moments earlier they’d been saying,
“Let’s grab lunch.”
“Let’s have drinks after work.”
Watching them cut ties with me so quickly had crushed me.
And now…
Only a few hours later…
My girlfriend was doing exactly the same thing.
I had…
No money.
No connections.
Nothing.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but let me give you one last piece of advice.”
“…?”
“The truth is… you were only the third guy in my backup lineup.”
“…What?”
“So think of yourself as lucky. Besides, you were always too busy working part-time jobs to hide how broke you were. You neglected me the whole time we were dating.”
Disappointment flared into anger.
But strangely…
Only for a moment.
Then everything inside me turned cold.
We had spent years together.
Those memories flashed before my eyes like scenes from a movie…
before scattering away like dust.
Ring… Ring… Ring…
Her phone rang.
Almost as if she’d been expecting it, Hye-jin immediately checked the screen.
Her eyes lit up.
Joy filled her face.
A gentle smile spread across her lips.
She turned her head away from me and answered.
“Sunbae~”
It was the same sweet voice…
The one I’d believed was reserved only for me until just a few days ago.
“You’ve arrived?”
Even the affectionate tone was identical.
“…”
She called him “Sunbae.”
But the emotions in her voice said far more than that.
A sharp pain spread through my chest.
My whole body tingled with agony.
“I’ll come down.”
Before she even finished speaking, she stood up.
Click. Clack.
Without sparing me a single glance…
She walked away.
I grabbed the glass of ice water.
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
I drained it without taking a breath.
My throat went numb from the cold.
Yeah.
That…
That was everything that had happened to me on this so-called lucky day.
But then…
“Want me to tell you a little secret for receiving blessings?”
“…?”
“If you ever make a lot of money, don’t stuff yourself like a greedy pig. Out of every ten things you earn, make sure at least one goes to help someone else.”
“…”
“That’s how your blessings keep coming until the day you die.”
A secret?
It wasn’t exactly some incredible revelation.
Yet the old woman whispered it as though she were sharing the greatest secret in the world.
“Don’t lose heart…”
“This old granny will give you strength.”
Could she be…
A ghost?
I barely stopped myself from laughing.
“Get a good night’s sleep.”
“When you wake up…”
“Something good will happen.”
“A lucky…”
She kept encouraging me without knowing anything about my situation.
Even if they were just empty words…
I appreciated them.
I’d never seen her among my relatives before.
Yet for some reason…
She felt strangely familiar.
I’d met her suddenly in the alley while stumbling home completely drunk.
I’m sure I’d never met her before.
I couldn’t even tell whether this was reality or a dream.
“Run along now…”
“I’ve put a few good things in place for you, so cheer up.”
“And no matter what happens…”
“Never forget that you’re the Great Bear.”
“Th-thank you.”
At that point…
Even if my miserable life turned out to be nothing more than a dream…
I wouldn’t have cared.
“A few good things?”
I still had no idea what she meant.
Honestly…
The old lady herself was far more confusing.
Even so…
I bowed politely.
Dream or reality…
I was still someone who knew basic manners.
“I’m so very sorry…”
Why did she keep apologizing?
Who exactly was she?
Shouldn’t we at least introduce ourselves first—
“Life is short.”
“So go out there…”
“And enjoy it while you can.”
She left me with nothing but mysterious words.
Only then did I notice…
Her eyes were glistening with tears.
What… is that look?
They were filled with pity.
And deep sorrow.
No matter how I looked at it…
I had never met her before.
So why…
Shuffle… Shuffle…
While my fragmented thoughts slowly came together…
The old woman, wearing flower-patterned rubber shoes, disappeared into the alley.
I wanted to stop her.
To ask her at least one question.
But for some reason…
I couldn’t open my mouth.
Then—
“…!!”
She vanished.
Without even leaving a shadow behind.
It was as though darkness swallowed her whole.
“…Was I haunted by a ghost?”
No.
She wasn’t a ghost.
Even now…
Everything that had happened that day remained vivid in my memory.
“…A lucky day…”
“My ass…”
* * *
“Ugh!!”
I jerked awake.
Thud!
Without opening my eyes, I kicked the blanket tangled around my feet.
The moment I woke up…
Every miserable thing that had happened yesterday came flooding back.
Every tiny detail.
“Fine! Get lost! Go! I may be broke, but at least I’ve still got my pride!”
I shouted at the ceiling.
Gu Hye-jin…
The woman who had stomped what little dignity I had left into the ground.
She’d been my junior in the Business Administration department.
We’d met after I returned from military service when we ended up in the same general education class.
From the first day I saw her…
She’d been incredibly popular.
The definition of a social butterfly.
Small face.
Great proportions.
Eye-catching beauty.
Even standing still…
She naturally drew people toward her.
Her looks were far beyond what you’d call ordinary.
Any man would have been attracted to her.
And whenever she acted cute…
The men around her completely lost their minds.
At first…
I wasn’t interested in her.
“She’s pretty.”
That was all.
Because of my family’s financial situation…
I didn’t have the luxury of thinking about dating.
I was too busy squeezing every possible hour into part-time jobs.
To someone like me…
Gu Hye-jin—
The bright, cheerful girl who was the target of countless men’s affection—
Was completely out of my reach.
Ironically…
That was exactly what caught her attention.
Because I didn’t show any interest…
She started paying attention to me instead.
She would pout whenever I ignored her.
Curiosity slowly turned into attraction.
The classic “bad boy” effect.
She showed interest in me over and over again.
I noticed.
I simply pretended not to.
But eventually…
The fox won.
After all…
I was still a man.
There was no resisting a fox determined to seduce you.
It happened during a drinking party with my juniors.
She was there too.
She sat right beside me…
Calling,
“Sunbae.”
“Sunbae.”
Again and again.
Leaning close enough for our shoulders to touch.
I got drunk almost immediately.
Her seductive eyes had been fixed on me from the start.
No man could resist a fox like that forever.
Even now…
Those days still felt like happy memories.
But yesterday…
Every bit of that happiness came to an end.
It ended with a spectacular finale that would never happen again.
“Thank you…”
“…Live well.”
The words I hadn’t been able to say yesterday escaped my lips.
I wasn’t petty enough to curse her.
If anything…
The bigger fool was me…
For trusting her.
For loving her.
Still…
I had been happy.
She was beautiful.
Cute.
Affectionate.
She had been the greatest blessing of my passionate youth.
“…So I’m unemployed starting today.”
“Now how the hell am I supposed to survive?”
The future looked hopeless.
I’d proudly submitted my resignation…
But all that awaited me was darkness.
I was almost afraid to open my eyes.
I never imagined I’d experience an economic collapse like the IMF crisis my parents had gone through.
Flaaash!
“Huh?”
Even with my eyes still closed…
I could feel brilliant sunlight shining on my face.
That was…
Strange.
I lived in a semi-basement apartment.
The ground-level window was always shut tight.
Heavy blackout curtains covered it twenty-four hours a day.
I didn’t want pedestrians peeking into my room.
But…
This light…
Could never enter that basement window.
Warm sunlight gently caressed my face.
Real sunlight.
Filled with comforting warmth.
My eyes flew open.
“…?”
A cheap ceiling covered with checkered wallpaper came into view.
It looked unfamiliar…
Yet strangely familiar at the same time.
More than anything…
It looked exactly like…
The rooftop room I’d lived in during high school.
“Huh?!”
