RAP STAR

Chapter 1 [Intro, Once in a Lifetime]

Once in a Lifetime

Intro. Once in a Lifetime

Sanghyun silently gazed at the flowing river. Suddenly, he felt the urge to jump in.

Lee Sanghyun.
A successful 38-year-old entrepreneur with a modest upbringing.
Owner of assets in the range of 8 billion won.
CEO of a stock trading consulting firm operating in Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Various titles that represented himself came to mind, but now, in Sanghyun's mind, those things were a thing of the past.

In 2025, due to the U.S.-originated financial crisis, Sanghyun's company eventually went bankrupt.
In fact, it wasn't destined to fail.
Perhaps the reason he was so despised by the financial conglomerates was because he had been rigid towards them until the very end.

"It looks like the collaterals will be seized soon. Am I really going to become broke now?"

Feeling desperate, Sanghyun forced a smile. His parents had passed away long ago, and his younger sister was in her third year of marriage. Although he didn't particularly like his sister's husband, he had no right to interfere in her life.

He broke off his engagement with his fiancée too naturally.

"What's the use of love or vows? I've become destitute now. What good will that do?"

Now, it was every man for himself. Yet, even in this situation, he couldn't sell his soul to the devil.

"Mother, father."

Life for Sanghyun had become solemn and sacred since his parents passed away in an unjust accident. It was living each day they couldn't live, even if they wanted to.
This sacredness had driven him to work hard and become one of the rare wealthy self-made individuals in Korea.

"I must live diligently."

Sanghyun took one last look at the river. He wanted to see the river, but he couldn't afford to put gas in his car, so he had walked a long way.

Looking at the clear sky and the flowing river, he somehow felt hopeful that everything would turn out fine.

"You're still young."

-Crash!

At that moment, the piercing sound of tires screeching and colliding was heard. Startled, Sanghyun looked back to see a man wearing a motorcycle helmet soaring through the air. And beside him, a motorcycle, losing its balance, was sliding towards Sanghyun at tremendous speed.

-Crash!

The motorcycle that hit Sanghyun smashed through the railing and fell into the river. But on the ground, there was no Sanghyun.

-To my elite peeps with the murderous mystiques. I hit the streets with beats and they critique for weeks. They be like "How that kid Ra reach the peak?"

Somewhere, Rakim's 'When I be on the mic' echoed. "Hmm...." Sanghyun furrowed his brows as he groped for his neck to turn off the alarm. His usual necklace-like wearable gadget wasn't there. The rough alarm sound didn't come from the wearable.

"What's going on? Where's this alarm coming from? And what's this song?"

Sunlight poured in through the narrow window, making it hard for him to open his eyes.

"Ugh, my head..."

Rubbing his hangover-ridden head, Sanghyun got up. Did he drink yesterday? Who did he drink with? What's with this clock? Where is he? The refrigerator seems small, like an old one.

Turning off the alarm clock placed beside the old bed, Sanghyun frowned deeply. Then, a scene flashed through his mind.

-Crash!