“Honey!Come out here for a sec—I've got something to show you!”

  Baek Kyung-soo had just finished the dishes, which was suspicious enough on its own. He lounged on the couch with a grin that practically glowed across the living room as he shouted toward the bathroom. His wife, Yoon-jung, was mid–toothbrushing when he called.

  “What now?” she shot back. “I’m brushing my teeth, not fleeing the country. You mope around like a depressed puppy every day, and suddenly you’re full of sunshine? You even did the dishes. Should I check the weather for lightning strikes?”

  Her voice teetered between annoyance and curiosity.

  Hearing the unusual excitement in her father’s tone, their daughter Dahye burst out of her room. She launched herself onto the couch, clinging to her dad’s arm like an overexcited koala.

  “Dad! What are you showing Mom? Why’re you so happy today? You haven’t smiled in, like, weeks. Show me first! Pleaaaase?”

  “When did I stop smiling?” he scoffed. “What, do you want me walking around with a clown grin all day?”

  For the first time in forever, laughter drifted across the living room instead of the dinner table.

  “So?”Yoon-jung crossed her arms.“What exactly are you trying to show me? If it’s not money, I’m not interested. Or did you buy another stupid book?”

  His grin died instantly.

  The memory hit him hard: six months ago, a rundown secondhand shop in Dongmyo, an old notebook titled Soo-gyeong-shin Method—a so-called manual for becoming immortal—and the fifty thousand won he’d wasted on it. He could still feel the echo of his wife's rage rattling in his bones.

  Stolen story; please report.

  In the weeks after, he’d tried fasting to “reach enlightenment,” but hunger knocked him out every time, and he snuck food like a guilty raccoon rummaging through the kitchen at midnight. He gained no wisdom. Only stress.

  “So tell me,” Yoon-jung said, her tone sharp enough to slice wood,“How’s the immortal training going? You ascending anytime soon?”

  “Yeah, Dad,” Dahye chimed in dramatically. “When are you becoming immortal? And if you do, can I be a fairy too?”

  “Oh God,” Yoon-jung muttered. “Both of you are ridiculous. Now—what is it this time?”

  That’s when Kyung-soo sat up straighter.He reached behind his hip and pulled out a thick bundle of cash—more than either of them had expected—and held it out toward his wife.

  “Here.Take it.It’s about twenty-five grand.I’ll give you the same amount again in six months.”

  For a heartbeat, something like joy flickered in her eyes… until suspicion smothered it.

  “What… is this?” she demanded. “Where did you get that kind of money? Why would I take it without knowing why you have it? Do I look like an idiot? Explain. Now.”

  Kyung-soo swallowed, carefully picking his words.

  “Well… it’s complicated.Just don’t jump to conclusions.Could you just… accept it first? It’s not shady money. I swear.”

  That hesitation was the wrong move.

  Her expression hardened; her voice wavered with fury.

  “Are you insane? You want me spending cash when I don’t even know where it came from? Tell me right now—because if you don’t, you won’t survive the night!”

  Caught between her mother’s volcanic rage and her father’s mysterious bundle of cash, Dahye couldn’t stop smiling.

  Yes. Money.Let the drama begin. I’ll just enjoy the show.

  She quietly peeled herself away from her dad’s arm and slid to the side of the sofa.

  Her mother’s glare snapped toward her.“And you! Why are you smiling? Go to your room!”

  “But Mom,” Dahye pleaded, eyes sparkling,“If I don’t find out the truth behind this glorious stack of cash, I might literally die of curiosity. I’ll be quiet. I promise.”

  Watching his wife and daughter exchange suspicious looks like rival detectives, Kyung-soo finally set the money beside the sofa.

  He drew a long breath.Cleared his throat.

  “Ahem…So, the thing is…”

  His eyes drifted upward, unfocused.Slowly—he slipped back into the memory of something that had happened a year earlier.