Chan was a normal boy…. or at least, everyday, he wished he was. 

In truth, he was anything except normal. On the day he was born, his father bought a lottery ticket and won. He didn’t just win a consolation prize, but the grand prize- several million dollars. From then on, his family never went poor again.

When he was three, they asked him to pick stocks by placing his toddler toys on different company names. The next day, the companies Chan the baby picked at random had their stocks skyrocket, and the companies that he didn’t pick plummeted. 

When Chan was five, his parents started a company and had him pick the staff by hand. Somehow, everyone he picked, regardless of resume or background, became extremely successful in their role.

When he was seven, he became an honorary board member of his family’s fast-growing conglomeration. He was just a kid, but he had to approve or veto every major business decision. 

Chan knew nothing of business, or stocks - he was a just a child- but he had extremely good luck. Everything he chose worked out; everything he liked was blessed with fortune. You would think Chan would be happy, this wasn’t the case.

By the time Chan was 22, he had everything he wanted from his rich family - except excitement. In truth, Chan was bored. His parents had given him everything he wanted with the wealth he unintentionally brought to them; he was never challenged. In addition, his family kept him under strict protection and watch. He was their golden goose, and unlike the fairytale*, his parents were desperate to keep him safe so they could enjoy the benefit of his luck for as long as they could.

So Chan lived like a butterfly trapped in a cage: every day he would eat perfectly balanced and delicious expensive foods, put on fancy brand named clothes, be chauffeured in the top-end cars, sit through board meetings at the top of the most expensive skyscraper in all of Seoul, be chauffeured home, eat an expensive dinner with his family and go to bed. He was not allowed to socialize, make friends, go on vacations - none of these were “safe” or “secure” enough for Chan. 

Chan didn’t even go to school - he was homeschooled, and thus had no friends his age. His closest acquaintances were the other board members of his parent’s company, none of which were young like Chan.

Yes, he had every tangible item he could have wanted, but what he really wanted was not something that could be brought: excitement, adventure- something different. Chan had thought this was for years now, but he couldn’t act on it. His servants were all his parent’s watchdogs and he had no friends to depend on. If he left himself, he would be vulnerable; he was aware that he knew nothing of the real world. He was a sitting duck (or should I say sitting goose?).

Anyways, Chan had waited day-in and day-out for something exciting to occur: perhaps a new hot hire that was his age, or perhaps his luck could finally run out and he could become a normal person, or perhaps he could get isekai’d to a new fantasy world where he would go on an epic adventure to defeat a demon lord. Little did he expect he would be kidnapped and held hostage. 

“Get out of the car!” a gun was shoved into Chan’s face. Chan gulped as he stared down the barrel of the gun.

“Hurry up and get out! Hands up and above your head.”

Chan shivered with panic as he slowly got out of the car and raised his hands in compliance. 

“Turn around. Don’t move.”

Chan slowly turned around to face away from the gunman, noting the two men dressed completely in black with masks covering their faces. It was still dark outside; Chan was originally on his way to work in the early morning hours when the car was ambushed while stopped at a traffic light.

Chan’s vision turned dark as he felt one of men behind him blindfold him. He felt someone yank his arms behind him and cable tied his wrists together. Another pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and shoved him forward. 

“Walk.” He heard one of the men say.

Chan hesitantly shuffled forward, nearly tripping on the uneven and unfamiliar pavement. 

“Walk faster.” Chan felt the gun prodding him in the back. He wanted to make noise or cry, but he knew that wouldn’t help him in this situation. Even a call for help could end up with a bullet in his body. 

Chan took more steps forward, before he felt hands grab his shoulders again and shove him to the side. Chan stumbled into the road and tripped into what felt like another car. He was again shoved inside and he heard the car door close. 

“Let’s go.” He heard the voice say and the car began to drive.