By Zephyria 
The furniture, including the bed, looked luxurious just by glancing at it, and the clothes filling the wardrobe were high-priced items whose costs were hard to guess. The accessories organized separately were from brands I’d never heard of; when I searched for them on my phone, astronomical prices came up, and more than half were items whose prices couldn’t even be found on the internet.
Good, very good.
I expected this, but I was extremely satisfied with an environment that was even better than anticipated. No worries about making a living, able to have everything I need—why on earth did Cha Soo-kyung think about suicide while hoarding such expensive things? I couldn’t understand it.
On the neatly organized desk sat a few unfamiliar art books and a computer. Since he had graduated high school not long ago, it seemed he had cleared everything out after his college admission was decided, as no textbooks were in sight.
I wonder where the wallet is. He must have had it when he tried to die, and since I didn’t see it at the hospital, they must have set it aside. While scanning the desk, I opened the drawers, and the wallet was lying in the first drawer.
A glossy black leather wallet. With trembling hands, I picked up the wallet and looked inside, seeing a small amount of cash, an ID, and two cards.
As expected, rich people don’t carry cash.
I took everything out of the wallet and spread it across the desk. I pushed the cash, which was less than a hundred thousand won, to one side and looked down at Cha Soo-kyung’s ID, likely made a year or two ago. Another person’s resident registration number, another person’s address, another person’s birthday, another person’s face. Everything was unfamiliar, but these were things I now had to accept as my own.
I put the ID and cash back into the wallet and rolled the remaining two cards in my hand. This means I can use these. Cards I can spend wildly without worrying about paying back. I’ll have to sneakily ask what the limit is later.
Is there nothing else? Physical assets are good, credit cards are good, but cash is the best. I didn’t know what might happen later, and relying solely on credit cards felt unstable.
I should check if there are any stocks, land, or buildings in my name. I need to check bank accounts too. I prayed fervently that there was a lot of money saved in a passbook.
I carefully put the two cards back in the wallet and rummaged through the remaining drawers to see if there was anything else. The bottom drawer contained miscellaneous items Cha Soo-kyung had used, and in the middle drawer, I saw a notebook, a brown paper envelope, and the passbook I had been searching for so desperately. Calming my racing heart, I opened the passbook.
“…Fuck.”
I don’t know whether to call this good or bad. An amount slightly less than a hundred million won would have been a lot of money for the old Min Jae-hee, but based on the standard of a rich young master like Cha Soo-kyung, it was an amount that fell short of expectations.
It’s okay. Let’s think positively. If something happens, I can at least get a monthly rental with this money. As for a jeonse deposit… Seoul housing prices are fucking expensive, so let’s not even think about it.
I left the passbook open and tapped the desk.
I need to hoard cash so I can run away with it if necessary. Should I take a cash advance from the card? If I pull out a huge amount and put it in the account, wouldn’t the rich fathers pay it back? Or should I buy something valuable with the card and then resell it for cash? But then the loss would be too great.
“Aaaaagh.”
My head began to ache, and I let out a groan. No, it’s okay to think slowly. I’ll be living as Cha Soo-kyung for the rest of my life anyway, and it’s not like something is happening to this body right this second.
No matter what crazy things I do, other people won’t know that I’m not Cha Soo-kyung. It’s not a problem that can be detected by a medical exam, so as long as I behave myself, I can live out my life comfortably as Cha Soo-kyung.
…Still, just in case, I should gather as much cash and physical assets as possible. A person must always be prepared for the unexpected. That is the attitude of a forward-thinking individual.
I quietly returned the bankbook to its place and took out the notebook and paper envelope that had been lying with it. The notebook seemed to have been used as a scheduler; it contained Soo-kyung’s past schedules and short memos. Yeah, useless. There’s nothing here that would be a major problem even if I look at it when I have time.
Finally, I gripped the remaining paper envelope. Could this be land deeds or building documents? My mouth watered and my heart raced. I took a deep breath with a solemn heart and opened the envelope, sliding my hand inside.
What came out of the paper envelope was just a thick stack of papers, some newspaper clippings, and a few photographs. Even without reading the densely written text on the papers, the accompanying photos were enough to let me guess what this was about.
Photos of my real parents, and a family photo taken with me as a child.
I don’t know how he obtained photos I didn’t even know existed, but even if they were acquired through illegal routes, they felt like a surprise gift to me. More than the money in the bankbooks he had collected, or the credit cards his parents might have given him, these few photos made me happy, sad, and surprised.
Cha Soo-kyung. He spoke as if he knew something about my parents’ accident, and it seems he even did a background check on me. It wasn’t limited to just me; information about my parents and the past accident was also inside the paper envelope.
My parents passed away in an accident when I was six years old. At that young age, I went through an orphanage and ended up in a syndicate, wandering the streets and begging to survive.
My childhood memories had gradually faded, leaving only the vague recollection that my parents had died in an accident.
For the first time, I learned my parents’ exact names, the date they died in the accident, and I confirmed my birthday—which I had forgotten after being handed over to the syndicate—and realized the reason I had to go to an orphanage.
“The culprit… they just died saying they’d rather die than tell me who it was, but I guess there’s still something helpful here.”
I carefully gathered the documents, newspaper clippings, and photos and put them back in the paper envelope. I thought about carrying the photos in my wallet, but since it would surely be seen as strange if someone saw them, I decided to tuck them safely away in the drawer.
I might lose them if I carry them around. I never received the photos I originally had because I didn’t know how my belongings were handled after I was declared dead at the hospital. I thought that was the end of it, so I was glad I could obtain other photos.
I put the paper envelope back in the original drawer and closed it firmly. Surely the employees don’t clean the desk drawers. Even if they do clean, they won’t just take things kept in a drawer. Still, I kept feeling anxious, so I thought I should either install a lock on the desk drawer soon or get a small personal safe.
Having finally finished exploring Cha Soo-kyung’s little treasure room, I straightened my bent back. I hadn’t realized it, but I was still wearing my coat after arriving home. I must have been incredibly focused.
My neck hurt and my back felt stiff. I decided I should wash up with warm water, change into comfortable clothes, and take a short nap. Just as I was standing up from the desk, I heard a knock—knock, knock—from outside the door.
When did I start hearing someone outside? While tilting my head in confusion, I answered diligently, “Yes.” The door opened slightly, and one of the employees stepped inside.
“The Director arrived a moment ago, and the Hospital Director is expected to arrive in thirty minutes. The Director asked if you could come down to the first-floor drawing room, unless you are doing something special.”
“…He’s already here?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Hadn’t it been just a moment ago that he left, saying he had to return to the art gallery? I hurriedly checked the time on my phone and saw it was already past six. I hadn’t even noticed the time flying by because I was so spaced out.
“Please tell him I’ll wash up and come down.”
“Yes, Young Master. Shall I prepare tea in advance?”
“Just leave it. I’m going to eat soon, so why bother with tea? I’ll wash up and come down on my own, so don’t worry about me and you may go.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
The title ‘Young Master’ that followed every time I spoke felt so awkward. For some reason, I kept flinching, and goosebumps rose on my arms. To say it was just because it was unfamiliar… it felt like a title I wouldn’t get used to even after hearing it for a year.
I grabbed a change of clothes from the wardrobe and entered the bathroom. I placed the clothes near the entrance so they wouldn’t get wet and stood before the mirror.
I stared at the still-unfamiliar face of a stranger as if searching for the Cha Soo-kyung who might be hiding somewhere.
Perhaps he is hiding, holding his breath and pretending to be dead somewhere in my consciousness. Or perhaps he is looking down at me as a soul above my head. Or maybe he’s screaming, trapped in my corpse at the morgue.
“That’s why I’m asking, why did you die? There’s a reason people say this world is better even if you roll in a field of dog droppings. This is your fault.”
I threw words of rebuke toward the now non-existent Cha Soo-kyung. Although I didn’t intend for this to happen, it was also an excuse for taking over Cha Soo-kyung’s body.
“You probably didn’t expect things to turn out like this… but you’ll regret it. I’m going to find the culprit you tried so hard to hide.”
The documents in the envelope Cha Soo-kyung left behind didn’t reveal who the culprit was, but if it was someone he tried so hard to conceal, it was certainly someone close to him. I absolutely wanted to catch that damn human. I even wondered if that was the reason why Cha Soo-kyung’s and my bodies were swapped.
“You should regret it. You pretended to care for me but never told me the truth. Just as you said, you’re a sinner too. …I don’t know if you’re in heaven, hell, or wandering this world, but look at me and regret it.”
And I’ll make that damn culprit regret it too.