The World Is Not Equal
Ecclesiastes speaks.
Vanity upon vanity,
Vanity upon vanity,
All is vanity.
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[010-9xxx-xxxx: Dear Mr. Lee Se-won, we are informing you that your current management fee is overdue. Please make the payment to the account below.
»Total amount due: 471,845₩]
“Shit.”
Empty-handed, empty-handed.
Empty-handed we came into this world, empty-handed we leave it. Life is nothing but emptiness and vanity. Therefore the world is illusion, as the saying goes. How foolish it is to invest deep meaning in material things.
Just like that, my thirty-million-won grand total instantly collapsed into nothingness with a single shitty text message.
Inside me there was only grief.
“Real fucking shit.”
The text hit my nape like a death sentence, sending chills down my spine.
Or rather, it actually was a death sentence. Because of the insane mental shock, my muscles were literally contracting.
I gripped my neck like a hypertensive drama patient, and a whimper slipped out on its own.
“Uh… uh… uh…”
It would have been better to just collapse right there. If I dropped now and this felt like nothing but a nightmare, I’d be fine with that.
The vivid pain in my nape kept reminding me that this cruel reality was still kicking me in the ass.
I’d completely forgotten that once a month the messenger of money came calling.
With so much shit happening in the past month, I’d never even had time to prepare.
And now this was what I was staring at.
Surprise attacks always hit harder. The same went for this unannounced text that had slammed into me like a truck.
Four hundred seventy-one thousand won. With only thirty million in the account, that was way too much.
Even worse, the problem wasn’t just the unpaid bill. If I paid every single won into the management fee, I’d have nothing left to live on.
In the fridge I only had three water bottles and two instant-ramen packets. And not even proper ones. No, they were literally two single packs of the cheap instant kind, not even five-bundle family size.
The flavor? Plain old instant ramen with barely enough broth. Thoroughly fucked.
All the karma I’d been stacking up was now coming back like a boomerang, stabbing straight through me.
There was no outside tube. This exact situation was the outside tube.
“What the hell am I supposed to do…”
I crouched on the chair, biting my nails, trying to think.
No obvious way to make money. I’d thought about offering commissions, but I’d already done that yesterday and it was impossible anyway.
“Maybe I should just do manual labor again like last summer…”
Every weekend, heading to the labor market under the blazing sun, exhausting my body. Hard as hell, but the money was decent.
But… I didn’t want to do it. The thought of that desperate time last summer made my chest tighten.
I had been ready to die back then. Now I really didn’t want to remember that part.
Just as I lowered my head, a cheerful chime rang out from the front door.
It pinged right in my ear.
“Who the hell could that be?”
Only I lived in this room. Except for the occasional delivery guy, no one else ever came or went.
Maybe it was a door-to-door salesman… I thought, then walked to the door and peered through the peephole.
A middle-aged woman stood there. Glasses, manager-like outfit, and she looked exactly like that old sitcom auntie who always had a story for everything.
She didn’t look like a scam artist, at least.
Then I remembered the old “Lee Se-won” memory.
(Lee Se-won): She’s the owner of this building, Auntie.
“Ah!”
I quickly opened the door.
Now I had a building owner in front of me. A literal angel of death.
One word from her—leave—would’ve sent me straight to the pavement.
I had to be careful.
“Welcome…”
I greeted her with the most polite voice and posture I could manage, the same fake sales smile I used when I was working part-time, forcing kindness into my eyes.
Right now I looked like a quiet, well-mannered college kid.
She smiled back when she saw me.
“Oh, Se-won. Long time no see~”
Her gaze was full of good intentions, but… correction. It was full of sexual intent.
From top to bottom, bottom to top. Sometimes it lingered on my chest and crotch, sliding over me like a worm.
Not crude, but still way too unsettling.
Instantly a nasty feeling wrapped around my chest.
“This fucking shit…”
So this was what people meant by “gaze rape.”
I thought street stares were just staring. No, this was the real thing.
I didn’t feel good about it. Just pure disgust.
The kind of attention that came from a woman who looked like she belonged in an old sitcom wasn’t something I wanted.
Ah, but the feeling changed depending on the speaker, didn’t it? I’d just learned one more cruel fact about society’s reality.
Still, I smiled as much as I could. After all, she was the building owner.
“So… why are you here?”
“Aww, you’re making me feel bad. There has to be something wrong between us if you open the door like this.”
“Heh heh…”
I just gave an awkward laugh.
Inside my head I was screaming.
“You fucking shit…”
What the hell did “between us” even mean? Stop dropping such terrifying words!
A chill ran down my spine. Nyarlathotep’s cold madness was gnawing at my body.
Was it possible that the old “Lee Se-won” had secretly become friends with me?
If so, I genuinely wanted to kill this guy. Even if it was just a memory, I’d crush it into tiny pieces.
Then the old “Lee Se-won” memory echoed in my head.
(Lee Se-won): Nope, not at all;;;
Lucky.
Even though it was just a memory, there was an uncomfortable feeling inside it.
So the words were a lie. Just an outdated joke from a middle-class auntie.
I let out a relieved sigh.
“Whew…”
Scared the hell out of me.
I’d almost ended up in a sticky situation with that old sitcom auntie. I’d almost been taken advantage of with those clammy stares.
Thank God her chest wasn’t as big as I feared. I was genuinely lucky.
While I was still sighing in relief, she spoke again.
“Actually, I came because of the rent talk with you, Se-won.”
“Oh, okay.”
I straightened up immediately.
Now it was time for the main topic. First, I’d apologize.
“I… I’m really sorry. I don’t have any money right now. I’ll pay it back as soon as I get some.”
When I bowed my head, she waved her hands frantically.
“No no! It’s fine. I didn’t come to complain about the unpaid bill. You’re still a student, so it’s only natural you don’t have money yet. I understand.”
“Ah, thank you…”
She hadn’t come to chase me out after all. Good.
I didn’t have to worry about being thrown onto the street right away.
While I was thinking that, she cleared her throat loudly and continued.
“First, the management fee. It’s the combined electricity, water, and rent bill. It was easier for me to just pay it all at once.”
“Ah, I see.”
That was why it came from a personal number. Smart. Checking each utility bill separately would’ve been a hassle.
That’s why I wondered why it wasn’t from the tax office. She had simply organized it herself.
Even though saying “I” felt a bit weird, I felt grateful.
But the good news didn’t stop there.
“And since you’re struggling, I’ll cut five thousand won off this time. Pay slowly.”
“Oh.”
I nodded with real sincerity this time.
“Thank you!”
50,000 won!
Technically not a huge amount, but to someone with nothing, it felt like a fortune.
It was basically extending my life by five whole days.
Suddenly the auntie in front of me looked like an angel.
She had even risked her chastity for pure kindness (sexual in this case)!
People are born to do good deeds. Sometimes good things just happen.
While I was still bowing my head, she said,
“That’s right. This is also something I’m doing because I feel close to you~”
Suddenly both of her hands grabbed my right hand.
“Eh?”
Surprised by the sudden softness.
She started kneading my hand gently, almost sensually. Then her hands moved up my arm, slowly stroking.
Every time her fingers brushed my skin, chills ran down my back.
“It’s not for any special reason,” she said. “I just like you like a son.”
I couldn’t hold back anymore and pulled my arm away.
I was feeling the threat to my survival right now.
“Heh heh… thanks but I’m good. I’ll send the money as soon as I have it!”
I said that and
Slam!
Closed the door.
The gaze was cut off, and relief flooded back into my heart.
“Haa… haa…”
Wow.
Wow, you fucking shit.
I’d almost been taken advantage of. I had genuinely felt my life was in danger.
I almost cried from the fear.
I forced myself to think of good things and calmed my heart.
“Still, she cut five thousand won off…”
That was the bright side.
I felt threatened to my chastity for the price of fifty thousand won.
The value wasn’t perfect, but… hey, you get something for something.
“Now all I have to do is make money.”
I braced myself.