Chapter 3; Second chance

“Are you going to transfer the money or not?”

The impatient voice brought Nami back to her senses.

She blinked, staring at the man sitting directly in front of her. His brows were furrowed, and his fingers tapped impatiently against the table as he waited for her response.

Daniel Hayes.

For several seconds, Nami couldn’t move.

She stared at his familiar face, taking in every detail. The neatly styled hair, the expensive-looking watch on his wrist, and the expression of annoyance he wore whenever things didn’t go his way.

It was Daniel.

“Huh?”

Her gaze dropped to the phone in her hand in confusion. The screen was still open to her banking application, and a transfer was waiting for confirmation.

The recipient’s name was Daniel Hayes and the amount was far from small.

A strange chill ran down her spine as she stared at her phone.

‘I remember this,’ she thought, her forehead creased.

She remembered sitting across from Daniel while he explained that he was in desperate need of money and it was not even a one-time event because he always had emergencies he needed money for with one convincing story after another.

And she always believed him no matter what.

She was about to send the money when she paused as something clicked.

“Wait… this isn't right.”

She gripped her head, her breathing suddenly becoming uneven.

The explosion.

The gunfire.

The screams of people begging for help, the bodies of people she knew scattered across the ground. The little girl being killed in front of her.

She remembered it all.

Most painfully, she remembered finding Daniel and Chloe speaking casually with the leader of the hostile group that killed them all.

She remembered Daniel’s annoyed expression when he saw her and his words:

“Unfortunately, she’s my girlfriend.”

His voice echoed in her head.

Then came Chloe’s laughter, followed by the cruel revelation that the two people she had trusted most had been secretly involved for years. They had used her for her money, mocked her behind her back, and eventually helped destroy everything she had worked so hard to build.

Nami’s fingers tightened around her phone as she also remembered the gunshot, how she was killed by Daniel’s orders.

Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to make sense of it. “No… no, that didn't feel like a dream… it wasn't…”

She slowly lifted her head and looked at Daniel again, the man who had betrayed her and killed her. Someone who she gave her life to, thinking he loved her, thinking he saw her as a family, the family she never had.

“What is wrong with you?” Daniel asked, his impatience becoming more obvious. “I’ve been talking to you for several minutes. Are you even listening?”

Nami didn’t answer.

Her eyes returned to her phone and with trembling fingers, she exited the banking application and opened the date.

The moment she saw it, her pupils contracted.

“Six months.”

She had returned six months before the apocalypse.

For a moment, Nami simply stared at the screen, struggling to process what she was seeing and the realization that came after.

‘I've been reborn,’ she thought, gulping hard as her chest heaved.

She was alive again, in a time when the world had not yet descended into chaos.

A wave of disbelief washed over her. She looked at her hands, then touched her face, almost as though she needed physical proof that she was no longer lying on the ground with a bullet wound in her body.

‘I’m… really back? But why? Is this really a second chance?’ her thoughts raced, eyes darting as the memories as clear as day flooded her mind.

The first strange changes in the environment, the increasingly violent weather, and the disasters that had begun disrupting people’s lives. The infection that spread as the world changed, turning ordinary people into terrifying creatures. The animals that mutated, becoming far more dangerous than anything humanity had encountered before.

She remembered how quickly society had fallen apart.

She remembered the struggle to find food, the constant danger, and the desperate efforts people made to protect themselves.

And she remembered the settlement.

She had spent so much of her first life helping people survive. Her knowledge of procurement and inventory management had become invaluable when supplies grew scarce. She had helped organize resources, manage distribution, and make decisions that kept people alive.

People had trusted her, respected her and that was precisely what Daniel and Chloe couldn’t stand.

Nami’s gaze returned to the man before her.

Her heart was beating painfully, but beneath the shock, something else was beginning to form.

Hatred.

At that moment, she wanted to kill him, to make him pay everything he did, but she just glared at him.

“What?” he asked when he noticed her staring. “Why are you looking at me like that, Nami? What's gotten into you?”

Nami chuckled low. “What's gotten into me?” she repeated the word as if talking to herself.

Then she put her phone aside and said, “I’m not sending you the money.”

Daniel blinked and for a second, he seemed unsure whether he had heard her correctly.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me right?” she retorted. “I said I’m not sending you the money.”

His expression changed immediately. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want to.”

Daniel frowned, clearly displeased by her answer. “Wh…what… Nami, are you serious? We’ve already discussed this. I told you I need the money urgently. You know how urgent I need…”

“And I heard you,” Nami cut him off.

“Then what’s the problem?” Daniel asked, leaned forward, his expression hard.

Nami shook her head. “There is no problem. I’m simply not giving you the money.”

Daniel stared at her, confused. This was not how things usually went.

Whenever he needed something, Nami would listen to his explanation, worry about his situation, and eventually agree to help. Sometimes she asked questions, but he always managed to convince her.

She had never refused him so directly.

“What’s gotten into you?” he asked, his voice becoming more serious. “Did I do something to upset you?”

Nami almost laughed.

‘Did you do something to upset me?’

The question was almost insulting.

He had betrayed her, helped massacre an entire settlement, and killed her. Yet he was sitting here pretending that her refusal to send him money was the biggest problem between them.

“No. I’m just not interested in sending the money anymore.”

“Nami, don’t be unreasonable.” Daniel lowered his voice, glancing around as though he didn’t want other people listening. “I thought I could count on you. I need that money, Nami. Please.”

Nami’s chest felt heavy as she listened to him. She really was that gullible in her past life.

If they hadn't confessed everything before they killed her, she wouldn't have known how they were making her out to be the biggest fool of the century.

He needed the money?

He needed it to maintain the comfortable life she had unknowingly funded. He needed it for the luxuries he enjoyed with Chloe. He needed it because he had grown accustomed to treating her money as his own.

And he had never intended to repay her.

Just the thought of it, Nami realised how foolish she had been and eyes welled up.

She quickly looked away, blinking to stop the tears before looking back. She needed to deal with her new reality carefully.

So she replied, “Something came up.”

Daniel’s expression darkened, jaw clenched. “What could possibly have come up? You didn’t mention anything earlier.”

Nami scoffed in disbelief. “Does that mean I’m not allowed to have my own expenses?”

“That’s not what I said.” He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “I’m just surprised. This is urgent. You have to give it to me. Life and death is involved.”

Nami looked at him without responding.

There had been a time when those words would have made her feel guilty. She would have worried about disappointing him and wondered whether she was being selfish.

But he killed that woman and she was gone.

She had spent her first life helping people, protecting them, and putting their needs ahead of her own. Yet when she needed help most, the people she trusted didn't just abandon her, they killed her without hesitation.

They forgot that they were supposed to be her only family. They forgot everything she had done for them.

She wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.

Daniel sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Okay, fine. If you don’t have the full amount right now, just send what you can. I’ll figure out the rest.”

Nami’s eyes narrowed slightly. Even now, he was trying to negotiate.

“No.”

“Nami!”

“What?”

He stared at her, visibly irritated. “Why are you suddenly acting like this? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

She picked up her phone and slipped it into her bag. “I’m tired, Daniel. I want to go home.”

Before he could say anything else, she stood and Daniel immediately looked up at her, slamming his hand on the table. “Wait. We’re not finished talking.”

“I think we are.”

“Nami, you don’t walk away while I’m talking to you.”

Nami paused briefly, looking down at him daringly. “Then watch me.”

With a scoff, she turned and walked away.

Daniel remained seated, watching her leave with a deep, confused frown.

He couldn’t understand what had happened.

Nami had never behaved this way before. She had always been considerate, sometimes to the point of being foolish. Even when she disagreed with him, she eventually gave in.

But today, she had refused him without even offering a proper explanation.

He took out his phone and glanced at the message he had received earlier. His expression grew increasingly unpleasant.

He had been counting on that money.

“Did she get wicked overnight?” he muttered, not liking what was happening.