Ren Kurose didn't move for several seconds after stepping out of the convenience store.
The cool evening air brushed past him, but he barely registered it. His entire focus was locked onto the screen of his phone, where the number remained unchanged, unwavering, almost stubborn in its presence.
¥500,000.
It didn't flicker. It didn't disappear. It didn't correct itself like a glitch.
It simply… stayed.
"…This isn't funny."
The words left his mouth quietly, more out of reflex than intention. He glanced around instinctively, his eyes scanning the street as if someone might be watching him—waiting for a reaction. A prank, maybe. Some kind of elaborate setup.
But there was nothing.
People walked past him without a second glance. A couple laughed as they crossed the street. A cyclist sped by, weaving through traffic. Everything continued as it always did, completely indifferent to what had just happened to him.
Ren lowered his gaze back to his phone, his fingers tightening slightly around it. His thoughts began racing, trying to piece together something logical, something grounded.
A bank error. That had to be it.
A delayed transaction, maybe. Someone else's money mistakenly transferred into his account. It wasn't impossible. These things happened.
Rarely—but they happened.
Which meant one thing.
Using that money would be dangerous.
Ren inhaled slowly, locking his phone and slipping it into his pocket. His shoulders tensed as the conclusion settled in his mind. If this was a mistake, then spending even a small amount could lead to complications—account freezes, investigations, legal trouble. The kind of trouble he absolutely didn't want to deal with.
"…Just leave it."
He muttered it under his breath, as if saying it out loud would make the decision more concrete.
"That's the safest option."
He turned, intending to walk away, to go home and pretend none of this had happened.
But after taking only a few steps, he stopped.
His gaze drifted back toward the convenience store behind him.
More specifically… toward the back shelf.
A faint frown formed on his face.
"…Wait."
He stepped back inside, the familiar chime of the automatic doors sounding again as cool air greeted him. His eyes moved quickly toward the spot where he had found the strange phone just minutes ago.
The shelf looked exactly the same.
Neatly arranged.
Ordinary.
But the phone was gone.
Ren stared at the empty space for a moment longer than necessary, his brows slowly furrowing. There was no sign that anything had ever been there—not even a slight disturbance in the arrangement of items.
It was as if he had imagined the entire thing.
"…That's not possible."
He muttered quietly, though his voice lacked conviction.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Ren's body stiffened slightly before he pulled it out, his movements slower this time, more cautious.
A notification.
[Spend Smart. Or Don't.]
The same message.
But now, standing there with the empty shelf in front of him, it felt different.
Not like a system message.
Not like an app notification.
It felt deliberate.
Ren stared at the words for a long moment before locking his phone again, exhaling slowly as he ran a hand through his hair.
"…I'm overthinking this."
He said it quietly, almost automatically.
But even as the words left his mouth, he knew they weren't entirely true.
After a brief pause, he reached for a bottle of water from the refrigerator and walked toward the counter.
Something simple.
Something normal.
"¥120," the cashier said without looking up.
Ren nodded, pulling out his debit card. His hand hovered for just a fraction of a second before he moved.
It was such a small purchase.
Even if something was wrong, something like this wouldn't matter.
At least… that's what he told himself.
He tapped his card.
A soft beep followed.
"Thank you."
The transaction went through instantly. No delay. No hesitation. The cashier handed him the receipt with the same neutral expression as always, already moving on to the next customer.
Everything felt… ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Ren stepped aside, glancing down at the receipt in his hand.
¥120.
His phone vibrated again.
This time, he didn't hesitate.
He opened it immediately.
Bank App Notification
His eyes scanned the screen quickly.
Balance: ¥500,000 → ¥499,999
"…What?"
The word slipped out before he could stop it.
He looked back at the receipt.
Then at his phone.
Then back again.
¥120 spent.
¥1 deducted.
Ren refreshed the app.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
The numbers didn't change.
His heartbeat slowed, but not in relief.
In disbelief.
"…No way."
This wasn't a visual error.
This wasn't a delay.
This wasn't a coincidence.
It was consistent.
Which meant—
It was real.
A strange sensation spread through his chest, not explosive, not overwhelming, but steady and heavy, like something settling into place. It wasn't excitement. It wasn't fear.
It was something harder to define.
Possibility.
His thoughts began to shift, slowly at first, then faster.
If this worked the way it seemed to…
If every expense was reduced like that…
Then—
Ren stopped himself.
He exhaled sharply, tightening his grip on his phone.
"…Don't jump ahead."
There had to be limits.
There were always limits.
Something like this couldn't exist without conditions, without consequences waiting somewhere beneath the surface.
And yet…
His gaze lowered slightly, focusing on the screen again, on that number that barely changed.
¥499,999
For the first time, the thought didn't feel distant or hypothetical.
It felt close.
Reachable.
Ren slipped his phone back into his pocket slowly, his expression no longer just confused, but thoughtful—calculating in a way it hadn't been before.
He didn't know what this was.
He didn't understand how it worked.
But one thing was becoming increasingly clear.
If this really was what it seemed—
Then doing nothing… might be the worst choice he could make.
[End of Chapter 2]