* * *
Eunseong immediately sought help from the police, but tracking down someone who had already left the country was nearly impossible, and there was no clear way to recover anything.
When Eunseong returned home, he found Eunhye standing in front of the mailbox, staring at the mountain of overdue notices.
When she turned to look at him, his legs gave out, and he collapsed on the spot.
Eunhye held him tightly as he sat on the floor.
Her small, warm embrace only made his suffering worse.
In desperation, they moved out to at least reclaim the deposit.
Filing for bankruptcy was no easy task, and the predatory lenders from the third-tier finance companies his uncle-in-law had borrowed from showed no signs of letting him go.
As a student, Eunhye could get help from a youth protection center.
Eunseong practically shoved her in and sent her off, then wandered around outside for a while before finally taking shelter in the subway to escape the cold.
He curled up and spent several nights there.
Unable to bear the hunger, he all but begged a convenience store clerk and was given some discarded food.
He scarfed it down, piling it up in front of him and devouring it without chewing properly.
“Ugh, disgusting.”
He could hear people whisper as they passed by, but he couldn’t stop.
They said he must be a gambler. Said he was probably into crypto.
That a guy with working arms and legs should try actually working.
That it was a waste of their taxes for people like him to exist.
“Let’s just go. People like that are mentally ill. Haven’t you seen the news? What if he suddenly pulls a knife on us?”
Eunseong shoved a triangle kimbap down his throat.
His stomach turned and he fought the urge to throw up.
Once he’d eaten everything, he felt so weak that he collapsed again.
He lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness.
Then someone placed money in front of him.
Eunseong didn’t even register it.
When dawn came, a group of homeless people who normally occupied that space showed up and kicked him.
“How dare you trespass on someone else’s territory?”
Eunseong had no strength to fight back. He took the beating and was thrown out.
After a week, he finally surfaced from the underground.
The sunlight outside the subway was unbearably bright.
People avoided him as he stumbled down the street, bruised and beaten.
He must have looked like a suspicious vagrant.
Someone muttered that he smelled.
The sun was still shining, but beneath it, Eunseong was freezing.
He slumped into a corner.
The winter sun felt too hot, and he couldn’t walk anymore.
“Oppa!”
He thought he was hallucinating.
She ran toward him the moment she saw him, and he was sure it wasn’t real.
Eunhye touched his dirty cheek and opened his clenched hand.
In her small palm was a crumpled 50,000 won bill.
“Look. I earned this. I got a part-time job.”
“……”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been too focused on studying and left you to suffer alone…”
Eunseong stared at the 50,000 won.
It didn’t seem like a dream or a delusion, but he almost wished it were.
“I’ll work now too. I don’t have to go to college. Let’s live together. If we both work, we can pay it back. It’s okay, Oppa.”
Following Eunhye, he returned to the youth center where he had sent her.
The director said he’d help them find a cheap room they could share.
“You’re still young. You can start over.”
The director patted him on the shoulder.
That night, Eunseong clutched the 50,000 won tightly and stepped into the dark river.
“Are you going to let your sister live a trash life like you? Going around borrowing money, doing someone else’s dirty work for scraps?”
His uncle-in-law’s voice echoed endlessly in his head.
“Are you going to ruin her life too?”
Maybe it was true.
Maybe Eunhye was better off without a brother like him.
Without hesitation, he stepped deeper into the water.
His lower half was submerged, and soon, the water reached his chest.
He raised one arm above his head and let the rest of his body sink.
When even his head was underwater, he couldn’t breathe.
His mind went blank, and his body grew heavy.
But the hand holding the money stayed above water.
Eventually, Eunseong emerged again.
He couldn’t let the 50,000 won get wet.
“Ugh… ugh… nghhh…”
He sobbed through clenched teeth.
Then he pounded his chest with his fist and wailed.
If he died like this, Eunhye would be left alone.
He couldn’t leave her to the debt collectors.
Why should she suffer because of him?
But he had no idea what to do next.
He dried his soaked body and only returned to the center as dawn broke.
Just as the sky began to lighten, he saw Eunhye sitting outside.
He stopped in his tracks.
Eunhye held a vocabulary book in one hand, murmuring something under his breath.
He was so focused on studying that he didn’t even notice Eunseong approaching.
The sky was still dark with the sun just beginning to rise, but the world was slowly growing brighter.
He was still billions in debt.
Nothing had changed, and yet… hope didn’t seem to be something determined by money.
It didn’t seem to be the thing that kept a person alive.
Eunseong thought—maybe he could try a little longer.
Eunhye hadn’t given up, so it wouldn’t be right for him to be the one to let go first.
And so, their exhausting routine of day and night work began again.
While attending school, Eunhye also picked up a part-time job.
He said he wouldn’t take the college entrance exam right now, nor go to university—for the time being.
“It’s okay even if it takes longer. I’ll earn the money myself. You don’t have to carry it all, oppa.”
Eunhye didn’t want to be a burden to Eunseong.
He said they should work hard together to pay off the debt.
Touched by his younger brother’s earnest heart, Eunseong threw himself into work.
Though they only managed to pay the interest and the principal remained untouched, still—they tried.
They had no room to breathe, but they had each other.
After graduating, Eunhye took on more jobs.
He tried to hide it, but it was obvious how much he was struggling.
More than his own physical exhaustion, what hurt Eunseong more was watching Eunhye suffer.
Under the weight of stress and sleepless nights, Eunhye started playing a free game—’Even Ice Castles Bloom’.
It was a romance simulation.
Eunseong was just glad Eunhye had found something he liked.
He was happy to see him smile again.
Maybe things would get better if they just kept going.
Eunseong was still young, his body still fine.
He could keep working.
Most importantly—Eunhye was by his side.
Then one dawn, while riding his motorcycle on a night delivery, Cha Eunseong was struck by a speeding car and thrown far across the road.
His body, after tumbling across the pavement, was completely broken.
How could he pay off the debt now, when he couldn’t even move?
Realistically, it had been an impossible debt even before.
But still—he had hope.
But before he could give up everything, Cha Eunseong became Ranshel.
A quest was given to him.
He couldn’t leave Eunhye behind like that.
That single thought kept him going.
He scraped and clawed, did everything he could.
He fought to survive.
But—
Like falling into a river, water filled his mouth.
Hope vanished from sight.
Even hoping became exhausting.
He no longer had the strength to keep trying.
Bubbles, once furiously rising from his mouth, began to fade.
Slowly, his breath stopped.
Or so he thought.
* * *
