Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Noona's Tragic Past
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I ended up hearing Noona's life story somehow...
To put it simply, it sounded like she'd been through a lot of ups and downs.
After graduating high school, she had to become independent, so she worked at cafés, factories, anything to save money diligently.
After two years of not spending a dime, she'd saved nearly 40 million won.
By her third year, she even landed an office job at the factory and pushed it past 60 million.
Considering how most people blow their cash, it was practically a miracle...
But right when she turned 23...
She got hit with a jeonse scam.
All the money she'd scraped together since childhood, gone in one shot...
Her mental state shattered completely back then, beyond repair.
She couldn't function straight, so she started on antidepressants and eventually quit her job.
Honestly, if it had stopped there, time would've healed her eventually.
But right around then, her parents fell ill.
And the friends she trusted stabbed her in the back hard, leaving her in a state she could never recover from.
That's when normal jobs or part-time gigs became impossible.
And she's been like that ever since.
She picked up tattooing and waxing here and there just to get by, but neither panned out.
No one wants a tattoo artist without any ink on her own body.
Waxing fell apart after a few nightmare clients wrecked her mentally again.
Lately, she'd been learning video editing on the side, which led to her editing clips for Ju-ha...
"..."
"...Sniff."
Tears welled up in Noona's eyes.
I hesitated, then handed her a few tissues from the side.
"Th-thanks..." Her voice choked up. Man, she'd really been through the wringer.
Without a stable nine-to-six life, bad thoughts kept creeping in, she said.
Maybe she should work at a bar. Or in the nightlife scene. Or sell her body.
Then she heard OnlyFans could make bank, so she filmed a solo masturbation video and uploaded it.
But the self-loathing crushed her again, leaving her holed up in her room, listless.
Things turned around a bit when Ju-ha sent her videos to edit.
Even though they were porn clips, it felt good to work properly for the first time in ages...
Getting paid for it made her broken brain spark back to life, even just a little.
Ideas for OnlyFans started bubbling up too...
Filming with a guy would make more money than solo stuff,
and directing someone else felt easier on the mind than pleasuring herself on camera...
She had this vague fear of men, but seeing her with Ju-ha made her think I'd be okay. ...Like I'm some human condom, safe and disposable or whatever.
It also sounded like she wanted me to be the star instead of her. She still wasn't ready to show her face.
"...Sniff."
What am I, some idea machine?
Ju-ha too—every time they see me, porn concepts pop into their heads...
I mulled it over for a bit.
I pitied Noona. I did. But was I obligated to help her?
Everyone's got their own path in life...
But then Dad's face flashed in my mind.
He didn't start out that way.
At first, it was just work troubles.
Delays in payments from partner companies—small stuff like that.
Gambling wasn't his thing from the jump either.
A coworker nudged him toward it when stress had nowhere to go.
A little buzzed, he thought, Just for a bit... That was the beginning. Dad never was good at saying no.
Life's like that.
Once it starts unraveling, it spirals endlessly.
Misfortune hits hardest, most dangerously, right when you're weakest.
And weirdly, it comes in combos. Two or three punches, and you're down for the count. If you weren't born loaded, those hits wreck your life.
Watching Dad crumble was a shock.
When a man can't prove his worth, he sinks lower than low.
Self-esteem tanks, judgment clouds over, all from fear.
Family ties sour fast.
A man whining to his family, his kids? Unthinkable.
He suffers in silence. Communication dries up, the vibe turns icy.
That emptiness calls for booze.
Booze draws in trash lives tempting him to the tables.
That brief escape from stray thoughts hooks you slow.
Probably...
Noona's heading the same way.
Fail to contribute as a family member, and hell unfolds.
From primitive times, family meant workers first...
Can't pull your weight earning or feeding? You're dead weight, gone.
Noona's at a seriously dangerous stage right now.
Like two steps from rock bottom.
One or two more wrong steps, and she's gone for good.
Just like Dad.
Drown in booze. Booze clouds judgment.
Clouded judgment attracts weirdos. And those weirdos drag you down.
If luck strikes and a benefactor appears, maybe recovery's possible...
But life usually sends devils, not angels, in crises.
Not saviors—scammy predators looking to exploit.
She'll get trapped for sure.
Deeper than the usual "rock bottom."
Selling her body won't even take years.
The scariest part? That's not even true bottom.
I've seen worse from the depths.
Think you've hit bottom? There's a basement below.
Laugh that there's no lower? There's more.
Step by step, deeper.
Worlds below you never imagined, like the higher ones you haven't seen.
Think you can't fall further? You can.
Survive all that, and you die. Head smashed. That's life.
A existence worse than a whore's...
I've seen that world with my own eyes.
Noona's not far off... That's the vibe from someone who's been around those types.
Without help, she'll keep sinking.
Even trying to climb, more hands pull you down. That's the world.
Draggers wanting company are bad enough, but the worst kick you down from above just to squeeze the last drop for fun.
Noona was thrashing desperately.
Reaching out for me to grab her.
Stretching for even a rotten lifeline like me.
How fucking awful must that feel?
Having to beg a total loser she'd have ignored before.
Probably doesn't even register as shitty anymore. Brain's too fried—only desperation left.
If I shove her off here...
She's done.
Eyes wide, plummeting in despair.
I hesitated.
Could I even help?
No guarantees. Might make it worse.
There could be better paths, but she might follow my bad one instead.
Won't know till I try... That's why life's hard. No signs for right or wrong.
Screw it.
I took Noona's hand.
Her cold, trembling fingers gripped mine back.
We'll sink together... or rise... Who knows.
Not till the end...
"Th-then, I'll hit you up later?"
"Take care. Gotta be gentle for a few days."
"Yeah... Get home safe, Noona."
"Mhm."
Noona even came out to see me off personally.
She fidgeted a moment, then pointed inside.
"Want me to finish what I couldn't do earlier...?"
"No thanks..."
You literally just said to take it easy for days!
Not sure if she has some frictionless technique to make me cum smooth, but...
Asking now like Hehe, pretty please, Noona? would be ridiculous.
"I'll head out."
"See ya later, Jun-hyeong."
"Yeah..."
I bowed and retraced my steps.
Glancing back, she hadn't gone in—waving at me.
...Another bow. Why's my heart aching?
"Sigh."
So now OnlyFans with two of them?
Already dizzy thinking about it.
Once with Ju-ha, once with Noona... No clue what to even film.
Noona seems geared toward handjob stuff over full sex.
Though she didn't rule out banging entirely.
As long as no face, she might be prepared for that too.
Makes sense—one guy might not feel like a big deal.
Prostituting means dozens with strangers... This could be mentally easier...
"Sigh."
What a mess.
Came for a wax and leaving with a hook attached.
"Hook"... Nah, more like a pretty lady's favor. Should think positive.
"Hell if I know, fuck..."
Just avoid the road to ruin.
This path doesn't feel like it, at least.
Not by my standards... Broke and scraping bottom is way worse...
Maybe this is helping someone.
Saving her with my dick... Who knew it'd do good deeds. ...Fuck.
'Suuuuck, haa.'
Three delinquent girls squatting in the alley, smoking.
Narrowed eyes, sucking deep—exhaling smoke.
What're you staring at?
That's their faces, so I turned away.
They probably have no clue about their futures either.
Figure once they're adults, it'll be free, fun, successful—pure fantasy.
I thought that too.
Maybe adulthood changes things.
Maybe a smidge better than Mom and Dad.
But now out of school...
All gone.
Just three months in as an adult, reality slaps back. Even I, who knew it, hoped maybe... Fat chance.
No fairy-tale futures.
Just bone-chilling reality.
High school freshman me couldn't picture 20-year-old me... Now I am him.
And 20-year-old me has nothing.
Adults never warned us.
That at 20, society dumps you in the deep end.
Noona probably never heard it either. Or it didn't sink in.
Why no prep till 19?
That'd help more.
I got the crash course early thanks to Dad.
My hands shook.
Craving a smoke I don't even do.
It'll be fine. Everyone makes it. I've been there first... I can show them.