Chapter – 01
“Today’s clock-out time… 1:21 AM. Breaking a new record every single day.”
Is this for real? Is this actually happening? Is this the true reality of a South Korean office worker?
“Working this late and yet there’s a company out there that doesn’t even reimburse taxi fares?”
Yep, that’s my company.
At 32 years old, Kim Hae-na, an ordinary office worker, was taking a severe beating from life at her newly transferred job. In this brutal job market winter, she had barely managed to land a position. Just when she thought, ‘Wow, is my life finally looking up?’—what kind of “end of hardship, beginning of hell” situation was this?
“If the work is this hard, they should at least pay well…. The work is exhausting, but the pay is peanuts…. Could this be the CEO’s grand design? Like, ‘Since you don’t make enough money anyway, don’t even think about having the time to spend it’?”
Though it was a toxic company that squeezed every last drop of labor out of her while paying only the minimum wage, Hae-na couldn’t bring herself to quit.
Why? Because Kim Hae-na had a dependent to feed: the rabbit-like, precious version of herself.
If she had anyone to lean on, she would have taken a breather, built up her resume carefully, and looked for a better place to transfer to. But Hae-na had absolutely nowhere to lean. She was in a position where she had to survive entirely on her own.
Her parents had spent their entire lives drowning in debt, desperately trying to pay it off, until they passed away together on the exact same day in a car accident. After their passing, she renounced her inheritance, which also wiped out the debt, but Hae-na wasn’t happy at all. She would have much preferred to be drowning in debt again if it meant she could stubbornly hold on alongside her parents.
Even though the three of them had to squeeze into a tiny, cramped single-room apartment, Hae-na had been genuinely happy. Her parents lacked money, but they had always showered Hae-na with an immense amount of love. Thanks to that, even without money, Hae-na was able to grow into a spirited, healthy, and happy adult.
‘Of least, I used to be. Now I’m an office worker with no money and no happiness.’
But I’m okay. Because… Mom and Dad made me a promise.
‘Hae-na, no matter how hard things get, as long as you keep your wits about you, you’ll be fine.’ ‘…Really?’ ‘Of course. An old saying goes that even if a tiger catches you, you can survive as long as you keep your wits sharp.’ ‘I don’t think so…. Sometimes things just don’t work out, no matter how focused you are.’ ‘No, it’s true. If you keep your wits about you and endure well, the sun will eventually rise.’ ‘But it’s not rising….’ ‘I’m telling you, it will. It definitely will. And if it doesn’t~ Mom and Dad will make sure to send a bright sun to our Hae-na so your day can finally shine.’
Hae-na clenched her fists. Right, my parents told me that even if a tiger drags me away, I’ll survive if I keep my wits about me! Even if I’m getting brutally beaten up by poverty, if I just stay sharp, a bright, sunny day will come eventually!
‘And come to think of it, it’s not all that bad. At least I have a roof over my head to lie under.’
Of course, it wasn’t actually hers—it belonged to the bank… and it wasn’t her property, it was just a Jeonse (charter lease) rental… yeah…. Still, having a home to return to after work was a wonderful thing! All you need is a home to go back to after clocking out, right?
Above all, tomorrow is the weekend!
“…What? Our building… is going up for auction?” “Oh my, Hae-na. Haven’t you heard the news yet? This entire villa building is in absolute chaos right now!”
It was Saturday morning—the sole joy of an office worker’s life. The elderly woman living upstairs, Grandma Kim, had rushed down to find Hae-na, stamping her feet in anxiety. She brought the absolute worst news imaginable.
“Wait, hold on a second…. I’m not understanding this right now…. If this goes up for auction… what happens to us?” “We just get kicked out! Unless we participate in the auction and buy the place ourselves… it just gets handed over!” “What?!”
Insane. Hae-na clutched her trembling hands and took a deep, shaky breath.
“Then, could this be the thing I’ve only ever heard about in the news…?” “It’s a Jeonse deposit scam. We’ve all been scammed…. All that money is just gone….”
No way. Hae-na’s legs finally gave out, and she collapsed to the floor. My 150 million won ($115,000 USD) deposit… is just gone? Just like that?
“Th-that money isn’t even mine…. It’s all bank loans….” “Oh dear, everyone in this building is in the same boat. It’s all debt…. Oh, what do we do? What are we going to do…?”
Mom. Dad. Are you sure you can survive a tiger attack just by keeping your wits about you? Because I stayed alert, and now every demon in the world is coming to bite me.
“Bwahaha.”
A voice half-stripped of its sanity.
“Bwahahaha….”
Empty soju bottles lay scattered across the room. The only snack in sight was a single bag of chips. Hae-na lay on the floor, clutching her phone as tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t afford a proper bed yet, so she was lying on a thin mattress topper.
On her phone screen, the Cocoa Page app was open.
When she was a child, she used to practically live in the library. Since her parents worked late, there was no one to look after her. But Hae-na hadn’t been lonely. Novels had become her precious friends.
After becoming an adult, she rarely had time to read outside of her commute. To survive the next day’s shift, she couldn’t afford distractions; every spare second had to be invested in getting even a minute more of sleep.
So, reading a novel at a time other than her commute was a rare occurrence. Why read a web novel at a catastrophic moment like this? To Hae-na, it was the most natural thing in the world. Fiction was her ultimate solace.
In the past, she would have run to her parents, crying her eyes out to vent her sorrows, but the current Hae-na had absolutely no one by her side. Even when something maddeningly unfair happened, there wasn’t a single soul she could open her heart to.
That was why, the moment she opened the Cocoa Page app, she had impulsively purchased every single chapter of the very first novel that caught her eye.
‘Is my debt 150 million won, or 150 million and twelve thousand won? The difference is… honestly, completely meaningless.’
Haha. Dazed and drinking straight from the soju bottle, Hae-na began to read.
“Fine, since I’m already in debt, let’s coolly add a twelve thousand won debt to the pile.”
The Chabol’s Method of Loving (The Chaebol’s Way of Loving)
That was the novel Hae-na had chosen. Of course, she only picked it because the word “Chaebol” was in the title; she had no prior information about the plot. She just figured that if the character was a chaebol, they would spend money like water. She wanted to live vicariously through someone else throwing cash around.
Reading through the novel, Hae-na finally reached the end.
< The Chaebol’s Way of Loving > [FIN]
Upon finishing the final chapter, she slammed her phone down.
“Are you kidding me?!”
Regardless of whether her phone broke or not, Hae-na fumed, venting her exploding wrath. The alcohol had fully kicked in, and she was seeing red.
“Giving up all that money and running away just for the sake of ‘love’? Are you out of your mind? Are you crazy? Is this a joke?! If you’re going to split, at least take a massive divorce settlement first!”
That was the issue. The chaebol male lead and female lead of this novel had endured all kinds of atrocities from the villains. Yet, instead of demanding a massive settlement, they had actually handed over a fortune in alimony. To make matters worse, that wasn’t the end of it. They chose to abandon all their wealth and elope, simply because they couldn’t overcome the family’s opposition!
“I mean, sure… the male lead has never lacked money in his life, so let’s say he doesn’t know how the world works. But! You, the female lead, have never even had money before, so why on earth do you have zero sense of reality?! Why are you eloping?! You should have gritted your teeth, endured it, and inherited the company! If the male lead lost his mind, you should have snapped him out of it and made sure he secured the inheritance!”
It was infuriating. Hae-na clutched the back of her throbbing neck. The title was The Chaebol’s Way of Loving, so she had expected the thrill of watching someone flaunt their wealth, but what on earth was this? Give me back my coins.
“The villain is honestly better. Much better.”
The villainess of this novel was another third-generation chaebol, Hong Hae-na. She shared the same first name as the ordinary office worker Kim Hae-na, but lived a completely different life. Hong Hae-na was a woman who would abandon love in a heartbeat for the sake of her wealth. And thanks to that, she remained a wealthy chaebol until the very end of the novel without facing ruin.
Above all, unlike the male lead who didn’t know how to use his fortune properly, Hong Hae-na knew exactly how to spend her money from start to finish. If there was something she wanted? Solve it with money. An obstacle in her way? Solve it with money. Someone claims there are things money can’t buy? Wrong, solve it with even more money.
“The villainess is actually charismatic. I resonate way more with her….”
Ding!
[Do you really think so? Rather than the male and female leads who chose love, you find the villainess who chose money more appealing?]
“…What is this?”
Hae-na’s jaw dropped as she stared blankly at a screen-like window hovering right in front of her face, resembling a video game interface.
[You, who do not know the value of love, have chosen money! In that case, why don’t you become the third-generation chaebol villainess of <The Chaebol’s Loving Way of>, Hong Hae-na!]
“Pardon?”
[Will you truly be able to possess both love and money?]
“No. Uh… I don’t need love, I just want the money.”
Hae-na weakly protested, but the message window completely ignored her wishes and filled the room with a blinding white light.
“Ahhh!”
“Lady Hae-na. Are you awake?”
Good goodness.
“What would you like for breakfast today? Korean, Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisines are all prepared.”
A dream? Is this a dream? If Kim Hae-na can only experience luxury in her dreams, that’s a bit tragic.
Hae-na chuckled weakly and pinched her cheek. But it hurt. A lot.
“…?”
Why does this hurt? Panicking, Hae-na pinched herself once more. But the pain remained sharp and undeniably real.
Wait. Then that strange game status window she saw earlier wasn’t a hallucination—it was real? As a dedicated VVIP customer of Cocoa Page for the past ten years, a massive wave of déjà vu washed over her.
‘This is the exact starting point of a possession cliché!’
Is this the legendary romance novel possession?! Ah, wait, it’s not a fantasy romance, just a modern romance novel.
Hae-na slowly opened her eyes and turned her head toward the gentle, sweet voice addressing her. Standing there was an incredibly beautiful woman who looked to be in her early 30s.
“The Chairman is waiting downstairs, so let’s wash your face and head down together.” “Okay…!”
Huh? Wait a minute. Something feels terribly wrong.
“My, look how energetic you are, Lady Hae-na. It’s wonderful to see you wake up so easily in the morning.”
E-energetic? She hadn’t heard a word like that directed at her in almost twenty years…?! Come to think of it, her voice sounded incredibly strange too.
Hae-na lifted her hands to inspect them. And then….
“Holy crap.” “Oh my goodness! My Lady! Where on earth did you learn such bad words?! Heavens! I told you that you shouldn’t secretly watch OhTube!”
These hands… were the tiny hands of a child…!
“Ex-excuse me. Exactly how old am I right now?” “…Pardon? My Lady, did you have a bad dream? You’re acting very strange today….” “Quickly! Just show me the number using your fingers!” “Ah~ you want to show off the counting you learned at kindergarten! My, it’s been ages since you learned how to count numbers. You should have just said so from the start. Of course, My Lady is….”
The beautiful older sister (presumably a maid) kindly folded Hae-na’s fingers until seven of them were pointing up. Which meant….
“Seven… years old?”
I appreciate you possessing me into the body of a wealthy third-generation villainess, but still….
Did you really have to start me off at seven years old to satisfy yourselves?!
