My hands trembled as I turned on the computer and opened the website.
After entering my name and date of birth, I clicked the Confirm button.A moment later, bold letters filled the screen.
[Rejected]
Below it followed a familiar chain of polite, empty phrases.
"We regret to inform you that despite your outstanding qualifications…""Unfortunately, we will not be able to move forward together this time…"
The usual words.Words I had seen far too many times.
"…Hah."
A long sigh escaped my lips.
I really had tried my best.
Just as I graduated from university, a brutal economic downturn struck.The job market froze solid, colder than bone.
Even applying for a basic office position at a small company meant facing competition ratios of over 100 to 1.
Young people giving up on job hunting and isolating themselves had become a social issue—but I didn't have that luxury.
Because my father was lying unconscious in the intensive care unit.
After my mother passed away when I was young, my father had spent his entire life working himself to the brink of collapse just to support our family.
That father—who had worked at a chemical factory for decades—was diagnosed with kidney cancer several years ago.
Not long after, his liver failed as well.
Now, he lay in a hospital bed, trapped in a coma, suffering from multiple organ failure.
These symptoms were well-known.They were textbook consequences of long-term exposure to trichloroethylene, a chemical solvent widely used in industrial sites.
But the company denied everything.
They refused to acknowledge any connection between my father's illness and his work.
A classic corporate response to an industrial accident.
They hired an elite legal team—some of the most expensive lawyers in South Korea—and dragged the trial out using every legal trick imaginable.
Because time always favors the corporation, not the dying worker whose body has been soaked in toxins.
Everything went exactly as they planned.
Our family savings were almost gone now.
The money my father had earned through decades of sweat and blood was melting away, like salt dissolved by heavy rain.
That's when a thought crossed my mind.
Maybe this world was like a pinball machine.
A structure designed to throw people around, crush them, and drain them dry.
A pinball game.
Yes. Life really was like a pinball game.
Once the ball is launched, it bounces upward at times, plunges downward at others.Eventually, when it can no longer control its own movement, it falls into the hole at the bottom and disappears from the game.
In a normal pinball game, everyone starts from the same position.The rules are fair. The board is the same.
But life isn't like that.
In the pinball game called life, the starting position changes depending on who fires the ball.Sometimes, even the board itself is completely different.
Always tilted in favor of those born with advantages—Lineage. Talent. Luck.
Unfortunately, my father and I started this game with none of that.
When I was younger, I dreamed that one day I'd hit massive bonus points, just like those who began from better positions.
But I realized long ago that such dreams were nothing more than children's fairy tales.
People should live within their means.
That was the lesson life taught me as I grew older.
I didn't particularly resent the structure of this world.Complaining wouldn't change anything anyway.
This world had always been built this way.
But still…
Was this really right?
Was it right that corporations could ignore and trample over workers whose bodies were rotting from chemical exposure—and still win in the end?
No matter how much I complained, nothing would change.
I couldn't even take my first proper step into society.
In an era where even science and engineering graduates struggled to find jobs, finding employment as an ordinary humanities graduate felt almost impossible.
To help support our collapsing household, I was already doing day labor—loading and unloading goods, physical work alongside job hunting.
The urge to give up came over me several times a day.
But I couldn't.
I was the head of this household now.
Even if my father was unconscious, I couldn't allow myself to show him despair.
I had to endure.I had to survive.
There was no time to wallow in self-pity.
Instead of this, I should be searching for one more job posting, preparing for one more certification exam.
At this rate, I wouldn't even be able to pay my father's hospital bills.
If I could just secure a stable job, maybe I could take out more loans and buy some time.
Just as I hardened my resolve and reached for the folder containing my job application materials—
The monitor suddenly began to flicker violently.
The screen blinked erratically… then went black.
A reboot.
The computer tower roared unnaturally loud, sharp beeping sounds echoing through the room.
"W-What the hell?"
When the reboot finished, the monitor turned back on.
It should have shown my familiar desktop.
But it didn't.
Instead, the screen was completely filled with a blood-red interface.
A chilling message appeared in bold letters.
[All your files have been encrypted!][If you want them back, send Bitcoin to the wallet below.]
My breath caught.
I hurriedly opened the file explorer.
Every file was corrupted beyond recognition.
Documents I had spent countless nights preparing had turned into unreadable strings of nonsense.
Ransomware.
The cybercrime I had only heard about in rumors.
They were demanding three million won.
But paying didn't guarantee anything.
Often, hackers couldn't even decrypt the files themselves.
In short—
I was completely screwed.
"AAARGH!"
I screamed.
Everything I had prepared—cover letters, interview answers, weeks of effort—had turned into meaningless data.
How long would it take to rebuild all of this?Weeks? Months?
"Why… why does this keep happening?!"
I slammed my desk, unable to contain my rage.
As if rejection wasn't enough, even ransomware had decided to kick me while I was down.
I thought I had endured well until now.
No matter how many times I fell, I always stood back up.
But this time…
It felt like the world was pushing me into a corner, daring me to endure just one more blow.
Dark thoughts began creeping back into my mind.
Should I just give up?
My father was terminally ill.The doctor said he only had a few months left.
The corporation still denied all responsibility.
They continued to hide behind elite lawyers.
In a situation like this… what difference would my effort even make?
Loan sharks had started showing up, demanding repayment.
Every instinct in my body screamed the same answer.
This is the end.
Despair wrapped around me.
This time, it was unbearable.
This was my limit.
Even human willpower has limits.
And I had reached mine.
Just as the rope of life was slipping from my hands—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound pulled my consciousness back to reality.
I staggered to the front door and opened it.
No one was there.
But beside the door sat a large package.
"…What is this? I didn't order anything."
The box was huge—big enough to hold furniture or an appliance.
When I lifted it, it was far heavier than expected.
The shipping label caught my eye.
Recipient: Hyun Si-wooSender: Luktic Trading Company
It wasn't a mistake.
I'd never heard of Luktic, but my name was clearly printed there.
I carried the box inside and placed it on the table with a heavy thud.
Cutting it open, I froze.
Inside was a strange electronic device.
A computer.
One that looked like it came straight out of the 1980s—monitor, keyboard, and main unit fused into a single body.
Something you'd expect to see in a museum.
"…Is this an old PC?"
If it was rare, it could be worth a fortune.
But there were no labels, no specifications.
Curious, I plugged in the power cable and pressed the button on the side.
Beep.
The screen lit up.
Surprisingly, the monitor was a modern LED display.
"…Wait. LED?"
Boot screens flashed by.
Then, a black screen.
Text appeared.
The moment I saw it—
My jaw dropped open.
That was the moment my entire life changed.