Jin Seo Ryun sat on the creaky wooden floor of his apartment, staring blankly at the glowing numbers on the system screen.
10,000,000 Won.
The absurdity of the situation struck him like a slap. He let out a dry, disbelieving laugh and ran his hands through his hair.
"Ten million won?" he said aloud, the words tasting foreign in his mouth. "Me? Jin Seo Ryun? Ten million won?"
He chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. "In my lifetime—hell, in all the lifetimes I'll never have—I wouldn't have made that much. And I just… earned it? By killing some nightmare dragon in whatever-that-was?"
He leaned back, laughing at himself. "Maybe I am dead. That makes way more sense than me being a millionaire."
As if to mock him further, his battered phone buzzed loudly on the floor. Jin flinched and scrambled for it, his fingers fumbling to unlock the screen. A notification from his bank app blinked back at him.
You've received 10,000,000 Won.
Sender: [Unknown]
He blinked. Once. Twice. His jaw dropped.
"No way. This can't be real."
He opened the app, his heart pounding. The balance was there, glaring back at him. Ten million won, sitting in his account as though he'd worked hard for it. There was no sender name, no traceable information about the transfer. Just the amount, deposited out of nowhere.
Jin let out a shaky breath and burst into hysterical laughter, clutching his stomach. "Oh, this is wild. Absolutely insane! Me? With ten million won? What's next? A luxury penthouse?"
Still laughing, he shook his head. "I could live off this for years! Decades even!" He paused, then teased himself. "Actually, knowing me, I'd blow it all on cheap ramen and still be broke next month."
He leaned against the wall, the absurdity of his newfound wealth sinking in. "Ten million won," he whispered again, as if saying it enough times would make it real.
For a moment, life didn't seem so terrible. Maybe, just maybe, things were finally looking up.
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud, sharp banging on his door.
BANG! BANG!
Jin's heart stopped.
"Who the hell?" he whispered, crawling toward the door.
Before he could even peek through the crack, the door was kicked open with a deafening crash. Jin froze, his breath caught in his throat.
"Hey, you hear that?" a gruff voice said.
"Yeah," another replied. "Sounded like someone talking in here."
Jin's blood turned cold as the intruders stepped into his apartment. They were two men—big, broad, and armed. One of them held a bottle of soju in his hand, wobbling slightly as he looked around the room.
"Dude, are you drunk again?" the sober one asked, glaring.
The drunk man hiccupped and waved him off. "No way, I heard someone! I swear it! Right here!"
The other man sighed, rubbing his temples. "Look, we already executed the guy that lived here. You think his ghost came back to haunt us or something?"
The drunk man froze, his eyes wide. Then he burst out laughing. "His ghost! Oh, that's a good one! Maybe he's mad we tossed him in the Abyssal Pit. Ooooh, spooky ghost!"
They both laughed, the sound echoing in the small, empty apartment.
Unknown to them, Jin was already gone. He had slipped out through the window as soon as the first bang sounded, landing softly in the alley below. He pulled the hood of his old jacket over his head, his face hidden in the shadows.
The streets of the city were as noisy and bustling as ever, but Jin kept his head low, avoiding the gaze of anyone who might recognize him. The last thing he needed was for someone to figure out he was supposed to be dead.
His mind raced as he walked. The events of the last few hours were overwhelming, a jumbled mess of fear, pain, and disbelief.
"I killed a dragon," he muttered to himself. "I… actually killed something that powerful. And now I have ten million won to my name."
He paused, glancing at a reflection of himself in a shop window. His hoodie covered most of his face, but the faint scorch marks on his clothes were still visible.
"Everyone thinks I'm dead," he whispered. "Even those guys back there… They're laughing about my ghost. If I'm going to keep living, I need to disappear for real. I need to start over."
Jin spent the rest of the day wandering the streets, avoiding crowded areas. As evening fell, he came across a small, run-down real estate office tucked away in a quiet corner of the city.
The office was dimly lit, and the smell of old paper filled the air. Behind the desk sat an elderly man, his hair thin and gray, his glasses perched on the edge of his nose. He looked up as Jin entered, his eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of the hooded figure.
"Looking for something?" the old man asked, his voice rough but not unkind.
Jin nodded, keeping his hood up. "I… need a place to stay. Something small. Quiet. Cheap."
The old man raised an eyebrow, studying him for a moment. Then he chuckled. "You're not the first young guy to come in here looking for a fresh start. Got into some trouble, eh?"
Jin didn't respond, his silence enough of an answer.
The old man shrugged and pulled out a dusty binder from beneath the desk. "Well, you're in luck. I've got a place that's been sitting empty for years. Modest, clean enough, and no one asks questions about who's living there. It's a bit out of the way, though."
"That's fine," Jin said quickly. "How much?"
The old man scratched his chin. "I'll give it to you for cheap. Five hundred thousand won upfront, monthly rent after that. What do you say?"
Jin hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I'll take it."
The old man handed him the keys, giving him a small, knowing smile. "Good luck, kid. Sounds like you're gonna need it."
The apartment was a tiny, one-room space on the outskirts of the city, but it was clean and quiet. The walls were freshly painted, and the wooden floorboards didn't creak under his feet. A single bed and a small table were the only pieces of furniture, but Jin didn't mind.
"This'll do," he said to himself, his voice echoing softly in the empty room.
He closed the door behind him and pulled off his hoodie, letting out a deep breath. For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt a small sense of relief.
Jin sat on the bed, staring at the keys in his hand. "A new apartment. A new start."
But as his thoughts wandered back to the dragon, the system, and the ten million won in his bank account, he couldn't help but feel that his new life was about to get a lot more complicated.