Chapter 3: A Not-So-Bad Young Lady Life…?

Kwon Si-young was completely different from the ‘drama-queen cousin’ I had imagined.

Of course, showing up at 2 PM driving a pitch-black luxury sedan was far from ordinary…

Still, her tone, gaze, and attitude weren’t intimidating at all.

On the contrary, she had such a good personality that even I, who had absolutely no inner connection with her, thought she was a genuinely good person.

“For our Se-ah to have a fresh start, she needs at least one new luxury bag, right?”

Kwon Si-young appeared, dressed dazzlingly from head to toe, recognizable even to me who knew nothing about fashion.

She told me to dress comfortably, yet she herself showed up like this; I wondered if she was trying to mess with me…

But no matter how I thought about it, that wasn’t it.

Her intonation?

Her gaze towards me was filled with immense worry.

Besides, if she wanted to mess with me, why would she bring me to a store like this?

“Has the item I mentioned last time arrived?”

“I apologize, Miss.”

“Production hasn’t been completed yet, so we are also waiting for it on our end.”

“Ah… Tsk… That one is perfect.”

“Black suits Se-ah the best, and she has such a young lady-like image…”

Kwon Si-young made a circle with her fingers, signaling the manager to step back.

The female manager, with her impressive slicked-back hair, was welcoming us with a smile full of vigor.

‘How much does one of these even cost?’

There were no price tags, but it seemed like each one would easily cost at least several million won.

“Se-ah.”

“Is there nothing you like?”

“I was thinking that what I’m using now is fine, so nothing immediately catches my eye.”

“New arrivals are always the best, though… Ah!”

“How about this one?”

‘I’m sorry, but I’ve only ever seen luxury bags in dramas or movies, you know?’

‘And I’ve never had a girlfriend, so even if you show me bags like this, I know nothing!’

Whether Kwon Si-young knew my thoughts or not, she brought over a black leather bag with the enthusiasm of someone playing with dolls and handed it to me.

The manager took the bag mid-way and quickly placed it on my shoulder.

“This is a new product introduced this season.”

“It adds modern sophistication to a classic mood, completing a luxurious style.”

‘What should I say?’

‘Classic, modern, honestly, I don’t know what any of that means.’

‘Doesn’t “classic” usually come after a game title?’

‘Ah, I don’t know.’

‘In times like these, I should rely on my cousin.’

“Um… It looks fine to me.”

“What do you think, Si-young unni?”

“It looks absolutely perfect on you, doesn’t it?”

“Let’s go with this one.”

“With this, no one will dare to criticize you.”

‘…Is that why people buy luxury bags?’

Just as my head was about to spin, Kwon Si-young took out a card from her wallet and handed it to the manager.

The bag I had tried on was returned to the display stand the manager had brought.

And, as if it were a matter of course, an employee handed a fancy paper bag to the bodyguard.

“Next, let’s buy a watch.”

“There are a lot of pretty new ones out these days.”

‘Just how much did this bag cost?’

‘I remembered the brand name earlier, so searching for it shouldn’t be too hard…’

“Uh…?”

‘What is this?’

‘I just learned the name Birkin bag now…’

‘The basic ones easily exceed ten million won, and rare leather or limited editions go up to the thirty million won range?’

“What’s wrong, Se-ah?”

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even answer, just staring at the paper bag the bodyguard was holding.

‘Just how expensive a gift did she buy me?’

‘She mentioned new arrivals earlier, so…’

“Come to think of it, I think Unni bought me a gift that’s too expensive…”

“Expensive?”

“Compared to the gifts you received for getting into university, this actually feels too cheap, I’m sorry.”

‘Is this… the life of chaebol young ladies?’

‘It’s so obvious she doesn’t think this price is even slightly expensive that I can’t even laugh.’

***

“To our Se-ah’s new beginning!”

Kwon Si-young, who had dragged me around all day, had one final destination: an incredibly luxurious Korean BBQ restaurant.

As soon as the two of us arrived, a woman in a hanbok came out, bowed her head, and even greeted us.

She guided us to a very private, expensive, and opulent-looking VIP room.

“To a new beginning…”

Still, even as a chaebol young lady, it seemed she didn’t pair top-grade Hanwoo beef with Western liquor.

Clinking a glass filled with a very familiar-feeling beer, I made a toast and coolly emptied it in one go.

“It must have been tough hearing all sorts of stories after you woke up in the hospital, right?”

“Yeah… It feels unreal… but after sleeping and waking up, I felt much better.”

“Sigh… Mom, and even my eldest uncle, it’s like they don’t realize you were the one who was sick, you know?”

– Chiiiiik!

Kwon Si-young skillfully placed the flower-patterned sirloin on the grill.

‘Looking at her like this, she seems like an ordinary young woman in her twenties, but…’

‘When I think about how she bought me a luxury bag, a wallet, and a watch today, she can only be seen as a chaebol young lady.’

‘…Just how much did she spend on me today?’

‘Is it really okay for me to accept all this?’

‘It seems foolish to regret it now after having already accepted everything, but still!!!’

“I thought you’d be moping around if you just stayed home today, so I kind of forced you out.”

“Was it okay?”

“Of course.”

“It was really great to see how much you were thinking of me, Unni.”

“As for Mom and Dad’s matter, well…”

As I deliberately trailed off, Kwon Si-young nodded.

“Yes, take your time to sort through your thoughts on that.”

“The funeral, too, for me it was a month ago, but for you…”

Kwon Si-young smiled as she placed a well-cooked piece of meat onto my plate.

‘Ah, this should be a genuinely sad and contemplative scene, but…’

‘I’m sorry, but my parents didn’t actually die, so I don’t feel any emotions about it, you know?’

I silently picked up my chopsticks, took the piece of flower-patterned sirloin Kwon Si-young had grilled, and pushed it into my mouth.

“Heup…”

‘Wow… this is really delicious too!’

‘Is this what they mean by “melts in your mouth”?!”’

‘It’s really, really, so, so delicious, isn’t it?!’

‘How can meat taste like this?’

“I know it’s not easy to suddenly let go of everything and make a fresh start~ But if things get too tough, tell me, okay?”

“Yes, Unni…”

I spoke while pretending to be sad, but…

‘No… it’s too delicious?’

‘No, it’s honestly so delicious I could eat it all day long?!’

– Munch, munch, gulp!

“This girl… look at her eat.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“You were so stressed you didn’t even eat lunch and just lay limp in bed, right?”

“Ah… well…”

“Sigh… I knew it!”

“You’re just like your aunt!”

“Unni will grill it for you, so eat quickly, eat quickly!”

“Let’s eat first, us!”

Kwon Si-young, under a huge misunderstanding, started grilling more meat and giving it to me piece by piece.

‘Wow… is it really okay to live so easily like this?’

‘Is this really fine?’

‘For now, the meat is melting in my mouth and it’s so delicious and I’m so, so happy, so does it matter?!’

“Gulp…!”

‘If I live like this forever, eating delicious things and buying everything I want, there would be no room for life to be boring, right?!’

***

“Ah…”

I blankly stared at the now-familiar ceiling, rolling around in bed.

“Bored… Not at all… fun… Life is so f*cking boring…”

No… it’s unfair.

I thought the life of a chaebol’s youngest daughter would be joyful, with dopamine constantly bursting every single day.

It really wasn’t like that at all.

“Ugh!”

Honestly, the first week was fun.

Unlike the days when I occasionally made do with ramen for meals, the food entering my mouth was different, so I was happy.

However, that joy of eating… honestly didn’t last long.

First, our Miss Kwon Se-ah’s stomach was devastatingly small, so she couldn’t eat much.

And eating, surprisingly, became familiar very quickly.

“Keuk…”

Of course, it was fun again to diligently search the delivery apps and try various new foods that I normally wouldn’t even attempt…

But that happiness was truly momentary, only when I was eating, and a person couldn’t just eat 24/7.

Turning my attention away from food, there were clothes, bags, accessories, and so on, but I had no interest.

I had so little interest that even hearing something was expensive or famous just made me think, ‘Oh, is that so?’

“Ugh… Was it golf… or skydiving, I don’t understand what’s fun about those things at all either…”

I was so bored that I tried a few hobbies that involved spending money lavishly, but they weren’t great.

In the first place, I didn’t like moving around much, and having to act as Kwon Se-ah was too burdensome.

Pretending to be a chaebol young lady while trying out hobbies I’d never heard of or enjoyed before… was, frankly, a continuous source of stress.

“Dopamine… I’m lacking dopamine…”

So, when I came to my senses, I was either staring blankly at the ceiling or spending time on YouTube.

Honestly, if I were a man, I would have tried to woo women with this overflowing money…

Is it because I’m in the body of a beautiful woman?

I had less interest in that than in eating.

Besides, can a woman woo another woman with money?

I don’t think so…

“Ah… How can life be this utterly boring…”

But if you ask if I’m going to work, the answer is no.

With 4 billion won in my bank account, who in their right mind would work?

Moreover, even after a month, none of my relatives expected me to work.

Starting with my grandfather, to my eldest aunt and uncle.

No one interfered even if I lazed around, so I couldn’t possibly work.

“I need to play.”

“Something… I need to do something…”

Come to think of it, when I was rummaging through my smartphone earlier, I saw a few games installed, right?

Should I try playing those? Or maybe just download a new game?

– Bzzzz!

“Ah, wha… that surprised me!”

The smartphone I was holding suddenly vibrated.

Startled, I checked the screen, and it was an obvious spam text message.

[Pioneer! Our adventure has just begun! Hurry and board the train!]

“Pre-registration?”

Just what kind of life had Miss Kwon Se-ah been living?

Why did she pre-register for a mobile game like this?

Come to think of it, I used to play these kinds of games quite diligently in the past, didn’t I?

I was so dedicated that I even wrote strategy guides and managed a guild…

“When was it… I think I quit everything while preparing for the civil service exam…”

This mobile game thing subtly consumes a lot of time and money.

At first, you try to play it lightly, but before you know it, you’ve spent an enormous amount of money…

“…Huh?”

Wait a minute, what do I have an abundance of right now?

Isn’t it money and time?

“… …Should I give it a try?”

“This even seems to be a new release, doesn’t it?”

[Impact: Galactic Train]

The trailer attached to the pre-registration message made my heart pound.

Graphics that were surprisingly clean and pretty.

A pleasant OST.

And the scent of subculture that I could enjoy without reservation since I had played mobile games in the past…

“Wow, this is a turn-based game, isn’t it?”

“Doesn’t that mean it’s a game where the moneybags always win?”

And so, I began to walk the path of a maxed-out, fully-equipped whale owner.