L*st and Death

Siron logged into his old gaming-only account and immediately opened the Peoplebook messenger window.

[Me]: Hello. You're Joan Welch's younger sister, right? I'm Ron, a friend of Joan's. I'm sending this message because I haven't been able to get in touch with her and I'm worried. Last Friday, she told me she was heading to San Diego to stay with you, but I haven’t heard from her since. Did she arrive safely?

After sending the message to Kelly Welch, Siron stared intently at the screen. Ten minutes passed, but she didn’t reply. The current time in Hel Sota was 3:49 AM, which made it 12:49 AM in San Diego—a three-hour time difference.

“Well, I guess it is kind of late.”

Checking the chat window and confirming that the message was still unread, Siron shut down the computer. It was already far too late to wake up feeling refreshed the next day. Moving quietly into the hallway, he climbed the stairs to the second floor. From the first-floor dining room, the low murmur of two people chatting drifted up faintly.

Back in his room, Siron burrowed into bed. He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep and didn’t wake until well past noon. Rising abruptly, feeling oddly alert rather than groggy, he headed straight into the small bathroom attached to his room.

After a quick wash, Siron emerged to find a sandwich and a cup of warm coffee waiting on the table. It seemed Lewis had dropped by while he was in the shower.

“Went to visit our parents. Don’t go out. Stay home.”

Apparently, Anna and Lewis had spent the night talking through the mysteries surrounding their parents' deaths and ended up resolving their misunderstandings and reconciling. Siron figured that conversation must have been what pushed Lewis to start pursuing the same goal as Anna.

Siron himself had no intention of taking revenge on the people who killed their parents, and neither of them had any reason to stop him from becoming an omega. The thought that he might be the only person in the world who didn’t want to become an omega—who never would—made him feel a crushing loneliness.

After all, omegas were supposedly a cure for alphas doomed to live a shortened life. What alpha would turn down the chance to possess one? Lewis, too, was a man of instinct. Siron found himself repeatedly pulled along by Lewis’s urges and desires.

His sexual appeal came at Siron like a sudden, unpredictable hurricane—overwhelming and intense. At this rate, he might just give up on all his worries and escape through sex.

“I already ruined my life over sex in Korea. I can’t destroy myself again the same way.”

More than anything, the moments when Lewis let his guard down and showed his true feelings—pouting and seeking affection without hesitation—made Siron feel conflicted. That emotional turmoil was precisely why he needed to strike out on his own.

First things first—solve the money problem.

Sitting at the table, Siron quickly powered on his laptop and picked up the sandwich. He first checked Peoplebook and logged into the messenger. No messages had arrived from the homeless man’s younger sister. She still hadn’t even read what he’d sent. He double-checked her profile to see if there were any other contact details but found nothing.

“Well, if she’s not reading the message, what can I do. I’ve done all I can.”

He captured a screenshot of Kelly Welch’s Peoplebook profile and the message he had sent her, then forwarded it all to Anna. After stuffing the rest of the sandwich into his mouth, Siron turned his attention to refilling his empty wallet.

He logged into his email account. While he’d been too preoccupied to check it, messages had piled up. Most were spam, but there were a few important ones—specifically, eight emails from Kim Jiyeon.

Twenty million dollars—more than 25 billion won—had suddenly and inexplicably been deposited into Kim Jiyeon’s account under Siron’s name. With no explanation or contact from Siron, she must have been absolutely beside herself trying to figure it out. She’d likely been about to ask whether she could disclose that Baekgyeong was the source of the money—but then the tragedy happened, and Siron had completely forgotten to reply. He opened Jiyeon’s emails.

Uncle, I paid my tuition.

Uncle! I asked if I could use the money but you never replied, and the payment deadline was coming up ;; Why are you ghosting my emails? ㅠㅠ

I called Dad, and he said not to touch the money until you responded. But I really didn’t want to take a leave of absence, so I only used it for tuition. ㅠㅠ

But seriously, what is this money? It’s such a huge amount I’m starting to lose all sense of reality.

Uncle, did you win some super lottery or something? You’re not involved in anything shady, right?

Uncle, can I spend the money? ㅠㅠ

Uncle... I was short on utilities, so I converted just $155 and used that. One of the parents I tutor keeps delaying payment, so I borrowed just a little.

I’ll pay it back once I get paid from my part-time job, so please reply! My mind’s spiraling into all sorts of crazy thoughts!

There were others, too—saying she dipped into the money for transportation, for rent, for a textbook. The messages came in daily. But all told, the amount Jiyeon had used for living expenses was barely 500,000 won. Siron found himself oddly touched. Usually, Jiyeon was all business, but now she was worrying about him.

More than that... maybe Baekgyeong was actually a good person. Twenty million dollars was no small sum even for him, and yet he didn’t ignore someone in need. He had shown true courage and compassion. And thanks to that act of generosity, Siron was the one getting all the credit.

As a dopey grin spread across Siron’s face, a thought suddenly struck him.

If generosity flowed from a full granary, maybe a bit of sweet-talking would earn him a cut of that money. It had already left Baekgyeong’s hands, so there was no basis for him to claim it anymore. If Siron owed anyone, it would be Jiyeon—not Baekgyeong.

Just one hundred million won. No more, no less.

Siron had full faith in the power of that $20 million balance sitting in Jiyeon’s account.

But the moment he opened Jiyeon’s most recent email, just delivered today, Siron’s entire world collapsed.

Uncle, something’s wrong ㅠㅠ I got a notice from the National Tax Service

[Notice to Submit Documentation Regarding Source of Overseas Asset Acquisition and Funding]

This came from the tax office. What do I do?

Twenty million dollars were deposited into my account under the name “Mr. YoonSR,” and it says the sender’s account is based in the Cayman Islands. That’s your account, right?

I looked it up and apparently the Cayman Islands are a tax haven used for money laundering.

Because it was flagged as a suspicious transaction, not just the account with the 20 million, but all my other bank accounts got frozen. ㅠㅠ I can’t withdraw a single cent. I’m freaking out ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

They said I need to submit documentation proving the source by next month.

Can I tell them it was from you? Please reply quickly ㅠㅠ

“Aaaaaaaagh!”

Siron let out a raging snort like a bull and clutched at his hair. He was so furious he could scream.

How could this happen? How could an act of goodwill boomerang into such a catastrophic disaster? They say unlucky people break their nose even falling backward—just being near Baekgyeong was enough to get your face smashed in. The man’s talent for attracting misfortune was borderline supernatural.

Just moments ago, Siron had been praising Baekgyeong for his courage and compassion, but now his mood flipped like a pancake.

“That dumbass whale-brained bastard! I asked for 10 million won—who the hell told you to send 25 billion?! It’s too much! Way too much!”

Sure, Siron hadn’t thought about tax complications or proving the source of funds either, but now that one billion won had gone up in smoke, he couldn’t think straight.

The only silver lining was that Baekgyeong had used the name “Mr. YoonSR.” No one would believe it, but if he screamed and insisted enough, maybe he could deny that it was him. But if Jiyeon told anyone the money came from Siron, the hashtags would explode: #SironEmbezzlement, #20MillionDollars, #SironTaxEvasion—and all manner of speculation and slander would follow.

The sex scandal alone had already been enough to break him. He couldn’t be the poor loser at the center of a financial crime storm too. Just imagining it made his chest ache. Desperate, Siron called Jiyeon. It was 2 AM in Korea, but he had no choice. After several rings, she finally picked up.

“Ji—Jiyeon!”

“...Uncle?”

“Oh! Y-Yeah, it’s me. Uncle Siron. I read your email.”

Silence. The sound of rustling blankets and a heavy sigh.

“...Why have you been so hard to reach? You’ve been driving me nuts.”

“I’m sorry. Things have been... really hectic. And, uh, about the money that got deposited into your account—it wasn’t me, okay? I was just as shocked reading your email. Twenty million dollars?! I never imagined that kind of money. There’s no way it was from me. I don’t even have a penny to my name. I’m totally broke. Ahaha... ha.

Still, I think I might know who sent it. It was Baek—”

But Siron’s mouth snapped shut. He wasn’t sure if he could safely reveal Baekgyeong as the sender. If Baekgyeong had hidden the inheritance he got from Dr. Tigri in a Cayman Islands account for tax avoidance, then once the 25 billion won's origin was uncovered, he’d be bombarded by both the media and tax authorities in both Korea and the U.S.

And besides, that money had gone to the daughter of Siron’s old agency CEO—who was now buried in debt because of him—under the name MR.YoonSR. No matter how it played out, Siron would be caught in the middle.

“...Uncle?”

Jiyeon’s nervous voice broke the silence. Siron, overwhelmed by the impossibility of the situation, buried his face in his palms.

“Yeah. I’m here. ...Sorry, I’m doing all the talking even though we haven’t spoken in so long. How have you been? How’s your dad?”

“Well... we’ve been doing okay, thanks to you. Last I heard, you were working at a curry place?”

“That already got around, huh? Haha. But I’m not working there anymore. I moved on.”

“Oh? What are you doing now?”

“I’m a freelancer now. Freelance delivery driver. Toughing it out, you know? Making more than I did before.”

In truth, he had only just now decided to become a freelance delivery guy, but it felt like he was already living a new life. Still, Jiyeon remained quiet even as he excitedly rambled. The silence made Siron nervous. Just as he was about to return to the real topic—the money’s origin—she finally spoke.

“Uncle... I already used some of the money. What do I do? It is illegal to spend it, right?”

“No, no! It’ll be fine. I just can’t reveal who sent it yet, but I’m sure they didn’t mean any harm. I’ll tell them to send you proper documentation, so please don’t worry.”

Siron swallowed hard, then continued.

“And about that money...”

He opened and closed his mouth several times, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to shamelessly ask her for one billion won.

“...Please don’t mention my name during the investigation. If people start talking about me, it’ll cause all kinds of trouble. You understand, right?”

“...Yeah. I understand.”

After ending the painfully awkward call, Siron collapsed face-down onto the table, completely drained. But he didn’t have time for this. He quickly dialed Baekgyeong. He wanted to scream every curse in the book at him—but Baekgyeong didn’t answer. Probably because he was on a flight.

The more I think about it, the more incredible it is. Only Baekgyeong could spend that much money and somehow end up the one getting cursed for it.

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