The Loner Who Drained the Capsule Machine
Han Sia had chosen the grand prize from a claw machine parlor—a giant black bear plush—as Lee Narin’s birthday present.
But that bear was one of the capsule machine’s main prizes, so there was no way to get it outright.
In the end, she decided to keep spinning the machine until a capsule marked First Prize finally came out.
She was prepared to keep feeding it coins until every last capsule inside the machine was gone.
...
What followed was a total war of attrition between Han Sia, me, and the claw machine shop owner.
Han Sia would simply slip a 500-won coin into the machine, turn the dial, slip in another coin, turn again, and keep going.
And when she ran out of coins, she went back to the exchange machine and came back with a fresh stack of 500-won coins.
Then it was back to the machine again—coin in, turn, coin in, turn... Han Sia wasn’t interested in what the capsules held at all. She was focused on one thing only: emptying the machine.
My role was to crack open the capsules she won, check the contents, and toss the shells and junk into the shop’s trash bin.
As expected, most of what was inside was garbage.
Cheap accessories, sticky toys, static-charged trinkets, stickers of some unknown character—all of it went straight into the trash.
“Are you sure this is okay? We’ve already burned through half the machine’s contents, and we still haven’t gotten the first prize—just more junk.”
“Don’t worry, Ian. My allowance is a lot bigger than you think. Even after I’ve emptied every capsule left in the machine, I’ll still have enough to pay for legal advice when I sue the shop owner.”
The owner, who had been watching us with curious eyes since earlier, stiffened for a moment at Han Sia’s words.
But apparently he took our exchange as a joke, because... he let out a snort and went right back to watching us.
No, sir! If that first prize doesn’t come out here, you’re going straight to the police station, seriously!!
...
And so, Han Sia’s and my claw machine deathmatch continued.
By the time the shop’s trash bin was overflowing with plastic capsules and random bits and pieces, we finally managed to get our hands on the slip that said First Prize.
.
.
“Mm... it’s heavy, but that’s fine since it’s not meant to be carried around. The material is... pretty decent. Still, there’s no way to know how long it’s been sitting in that display case, so maybe I should take it to the cleaners before I give it to her.”
Han Sia looked genuinely satisfied with the fruits of her little war.
Thankfully, nothing like “we opened every capsule in the machine, but there was no first prize, so we sued the shop owner” happened.
By the time we got the first prize, about half the capsules were still left in the machine.
At that point, it was fair to say the situation was better than I’d initially feared.
Still... the amount Han Sia had poured into this claw machine massacre had slightly exceeded 100,000 won.
No matter how rich her family was, she was still just a student living off allowance from her parents.
How could she spend that much money so suddenly and still look so calm?
So I asked cautiously as Han Sia hugged the bear plush with both arms.
“Even if it’s for a friend’s birthday, wasn’t that a little too much? If it were electronics, maybe, but it’s just a big stuffed animal.”
At my question, Han Sia fell quiet for a moment.
She wasn’t the type to waste money thoughtlessly, so she was probably deciding where to begin explaining.
After a moment, Han Sia gave me a smile that looked a little sad as she opened her mouth.
“When you’re held by someone you can trust, it alone can make you feel incredibly safe and comfortable. I only realized that fairly recently.”
“...Because Somi hugged you?”
“Yes. After my mother died, I hadn’t been held by anyone until recently. So until Somi hugged me, I didn’t even feel the need to be embraced by anyone.”
Lee Narin had lost her parents in a car accident and had been living alone for two years.
And Han Sia had lost her mother when she was young, too, so it seemed she could sympathize with Narin’s situation.
“Narin’s parents are gone, and she’s been transferred to a new school, so there’s no one around who can hold her now. Somi’s close with her, at least, but that still isn’t nearly enough.”
“So that’s why you picked such a huge plush as the gift? If she has this at home, she can hug it whenever she wants without worrying about anyone’s reaction.”
“Exactly. A stuffed toy can’t replace the warmth of a real person, of course. But it’ll be far better than being alone in an empty house. When you think of it that way, 100,000 won doesn’t feel wasted at all.”
“...But then couldn’t you just order one cheaply online and give it to her later?”
“Think about it. If I didn’t have the excuse of a birthday party, how would I ever hand her something like this?”
“Fair enough. If some total stranger suddenly showed up and handed over a giant teddy bear for no reason, that would be pretty awkward.”
Seeing how much effort Han Sia put into Lee Narin’s birthday present, I couldn’t help thinking that her guarded attitude about Narin and her family’s wealth wasn’t entirely fake after all.
After losing her mother as a child, Han Sia had lived with a stepmother whose personality was all kinds of wrong. No wonder she couldn’t just stand by and ignore Lee Narin, who had lost both parents and was living on her own.
Han Sia herself had seemed pretty pleased with her hug from Yu Somi, so maybe she wanted to share that same feeling with Narin.
But I’d lost my parents in an accident, too.
Of course, that had been before my regression, so it wasn’t something I could complain to anyone about.
If I’d bought a big stuffed toy back then and kept it at home, would the end of my last life have turned out a little differently?
That thought made me take the black bear plush from Han Sia and hug it once.
...
But oddly enough, I didn’t feel much of anything.
It seemed the effect varied from person to person... Maybe this just didn’t work on loners.
“By any chance, do you need a big bear plush too, Sia? I could buy you one if you want.”
“Heh... I’m fine.”
“Really? But you just said a big plush worked well?”
“That’s true... but I already have something much better.”
Han Sia came around behind me while I was still holding the big bear plush, then wrapped her arms around me tight.
There was no distance at all in her embrace, so the soft, springy weight pressed plainly against my back.
...
Ahem... I couldn’t say I felt calmer, exactly, but it definitely had the effect of speeding up my pulse.
And since I was already holding the giant bear in front of me, I didn’t even have to bend down.
Come to think of it, maybe it was because I was carrying this huge teddy bear, or maybe because a boy and girl in school uniforms were doing a back hug in the street, but passersby were starting to look our way.
A boy and girl in school uniforms, a back hug, and a giant bear plush—it was the kind of combination that was bound to draw attention.
Still... Han Sia seemed to pay the people around us no mind at all as she said in a slightly excited voice,
“Hah... I want to take you home instead of this bear. Would that be so terrible?”
“Well. If your parents saw that, wouldn’t they tell you to throw me out immediately?”
“Hehe... I suppose that can’t be helped. If I lived alone like Narin, I would’ve dragged you home and tied you up there long ago.”
“Haha... That was a joke, right?”
“...It’s getting late. Should we head out? Walking home while carrying this giant bear would be a pain anyway, so I’ll call home and have a car sent. Ride with me.”
Her brushing off my last answer bothered me a little... but I needed to get ready for my part-time job soon, too.
So I didn’t press the matter and quietly let myself get a ride.
***
Han Sia’s POV
Children from wealthy families who lose their parents before entering society are no longer children from wealthy families.
It’s a cruel thing to say, but... they’re nothing more than orphans with a little more money than everyone else.
The reason a child from a rich family can one day stand in the place of their parents isn’t money. It’s the education and connections they receive from those parents that matter.
If Lee Narin were a third-generation chaebol or higher, she might have been able to dream of a comeback by using the solidarity of the relatives who had already built up their network over time...
Unfortunately, she is a second-generation chaebol who rose through her parents’ own generation.
That means there are no family ties formed after the founding generation built the wealth.
In other words, the relatives she has left are not capable of giving her the management training or connections her parents could have provided.
So the path that allowed Lee Narin to live as a rich family’s daughter effectively vanished the moment her parents died.
But... is there anyone more convenient to exploit than a young, pretty, rich orphan?
In this world, there are people who approach orphans who’ve lost their parents and whisper sweet lies as if the child still has a way to keep living as a daughter of wealth.
Yes. Just like the chaebol family of Song Changwon, who is protecting Narin.
Of course, I still don’t know exactly what picture they’re painting.
Perhaps they truly only intend to protect Narin until she can stand on her own and aren’t scheming anything beyond that.
But... considering that Narin transferred here together with Song Changwon as a set, I can’t help doubting them.
No matter how I look at it, sending Narin here “just because” is far too unnatural.
From Narin’s reaction, they still seem to be keeping their mouths shut for now... but once they decide this is an exploitable situation, they will definitely start whispering sweet words into her ear.
Aren’t school studies hard? It’s very different from middle school, isn’t it?
Even if you get into college and find a job, all that’s ahead of you is endless competition. Don’t you want to go back?
High school entrance exams are exhausting for everyone, and if a person is offered something like that when they’re weak, they’ll waver.
But all they’ll get in return is to be treated like a disposable pawn. It’s never a real solution.
No matter whether the work they force on her succeeds or fails, Narin’s life would undoubtedly be thrown badly off course.
So even though I’d like to be warm to her because she lost her parents...
if I want to keep her from being swept along by the chaebol family, for now I have no choice but to make her feel the danger and cut down her resolve.
What Narin needs now is preparation for living as an ordinary member of society, not entanglement with conglomerates.
Someday, when she accepts her situation and shows the resolve to cut ties with the chaebol family, only then will I finally be able to open my heart to her.
So for now, the only thing I can give her is this stuffed bear, under the excuse of a birthday present.