Death Progress Bar [Taekook] Inheritance

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When Taehyung opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a soft, wide, wooden bed, wearing cotton pajamas and holding a cucumber pillow in his arms.

Kim Taehyung

[Where is this? It doesn’t look like a hospital and certainly not like hell either.] ಠ_ಠ

He blinked in confusion, raising a hand to rub his forehead.

Kim Taehyung

[Wasn’t I hit by a truck that ran a red light while he was pursuing a thief? With speed of the truck, there was almost no possibility of survival, so what is going on?]

Someone

A crisp mechanical voice suddenly sounded inside his head, making Taehyung sit up in alarm. He looked around vigilantly

Kim Taehyung

Who said that? (o_o)

TaTa

<Me, your golden finger and savior. You can call me TaTa.>

Kim Taehyung

Meaning ‘death by laughter’?

TaTa

<…Meaning ‘Little Death’. My Korean is quite standard, thank you.>

Taehyung stopped looking around and finally decided that the voice was really speaking directly in his brain. He tried to knock on his head.

TaTa

Kim Taehyung

…

At this point, Taehyung determined that he really was reborn and definitely not in his own body. He used to be a handsome, long-legged man with eight-pack abs, but this body was “round as pearls and smooth as jade”—white, fat and round, with the mass of flesh instead of arms and legs. When he breathed, his pajamas almost burst, when he sat down, pants tightly clung to his legs.

Kim Taehyung

[…In my whole life, I was never so “magnificent”!]

Kim Taehyung

[I might as well have died.] (┯_┯)

TaTa clearly perceived what he was thinking and asked without any pity

TaTa

<What’s more important, your life or your weight?>

Taehyung lay back on the bed and closed his eyes with a serene expression.

Kim Taehyung

…Weight can be lost, but if you lose your life, it’s the end. You wouldn’t be able to eat delicious food or enjoy playing mahjong.

Taehyung exhaled, thinking about the feeling of smooth mahjong tiles under his fingers. Then he opened his eyes, got out of bed and finished dressing.

Kim Taehyung

Tell me then, what is happening?

His words were followed by silence. Just as Taehyung started to suspect that all this was a hallucination that appeared before death, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his brain, and a lot of confused memories and pictures poured in.

After half an hour, Taehyung lay back on the bed once again and calmly closed his eyes.

TaTa

<…You can’t do this! You are a public servant, you should be full of righteousness and fervor!>

Kim Taehyung

*Began to snore*

TaTa

<Waah, police uncle, you can’t do this, waah waah…>

Kim Taehyung

*Endured* (´△｀)

TaTa

Taehyung couldn’t tolerate it any longer. He once again got out of bed and dressed, asking with an unfriendly expression

Kim Taehyung

So the novel I read before my death is the origin of your existence? You transported me into a world inside a book?

TaTa

*Stopped crying and replied obediently* <Yeah>

Kim Taehyung

Am I really inside a book right now?

TaTa

*Silent*

Kim Taehyung

Then can I get out of here? (´･Ω･｀)

TaTa

<If you go out, you’ll never come back alive.> *Stating facts*

Kim Taehyung

*This time it's his turn to fell silent.*

Kim Taehyung

Why me?

TaTa

<Because…> *Hesitated for two seconds, then enunciated clearly* <When you are in trouble, you should find the police uncle!>

Kim Taehyung

…

Kim Taehyung

👉A Honest Police Officer in previous life

Kim Taehyung

[Actually, what you said makes perfect sense.] (ಠ_ಠ)

Taehyung, having nothing to say in reply, walked into the bathroom connected to his bedroom and stood in front of the mirror.

His appearance was both familiar and strange. Familiar, because the face closely resembled his own, strange because of the body shape—he looked exactly as he did when he was younger, there was even an identical little mole on his nose; it just felt weird because his body was several times larger.

Kim Taehyung

[Fortunately, my appearance hasn’t changed. It feels less disturbing this way.]

Kim Taehyung

*Sighed deeply, then washed his face and brushed his teeth.*

Kim Taehyung

[According to the memory provided by TaTa, I am also called Taehyung now and was about to turn eighteen. ‘He’ is the protagonist of a novel that should make the readers feel good by taking rightful revenge, called “Death Progress Bar”. Unfortunately, its plot was mostly depressing and just when the protagonist was about to begin his revenge, it was dropped.]

Kim Taehyung

[There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. TaTa took a lot of trouble to let me be reborn, it definitely had something it needed my help with.]

TaTa

*Displayed two things resembling progress bars inside Taehyung's mind, one active and one grayed out.*

TaTa

Kim Taehyung

👉The guy who had a slight OCD

hadn’t shown immediate interest in the connection between this progress bar and his own life, but instead asked with an extremely disgusted expression

Kim Taehyung

999? Can’t you round it up to 1000, like the one below? ┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘

TaTa voice, which had been somewhat serious, suddenly become heated

TaTa

Taehyung’s mind was shaken by the force of this passionate cry.

Kim Taehyung

Stop fooling around and focus on what matters!

TaTa

<…Before the progress bar below yours reaches 1000 points, I need you to find its owner and help him to save his life by emptying his progress bar while keeping your own life.>

TaTa

*Tone became serious again. It begged earnestly in a pitiful voice* <Will you help me? I, I can reward you, and ensure your safety.> (._.)

With all this said, what was Taehyung supposed to do? Of course, he could only endure his obsessive-compulsive disorder and nod seriously.

Kim Taehyung

[I got a brand-new life. Even though I may still lose it at any time, there was also a crybaby self-proclaimed ‘golden finger’ in my mind and a matter of finding the other person with a progress bar, but it is a life anyway. I can still touch the mahjong tiles many more times.]

Kim Taehyung

[It is my gain anyway.]

TaTa

*cheered* <Wow, I knew that my family’s TaeTae is the best.>

Kim Taehyung

👉The one who was mistaken for a girl countless times because of this nickname

Kim Taehyung

…Shut up.

After finishing exchanging information and sorting out the memory in his brain, Taehyung finally stepped out of the door.

‘Taehyung’s’ stallion father, called Kim Junghyun, was a business genius who built a huge business empire from scratch. After ‘Taehyung’ was born, he moved overseas with him and focused on expanding his company.

His funeral ended yesterday, and today his lawyer was going to announce his last will. The only person who was going to be present during the reading of the will was Taehyung, his five brothers weren’t invited. This is what Kim Junghyun wished for because he hadn’t intended to leave even a cent for his other sons.

While they were all his children, Kim Junghyun treated his sons in quite a different way. He was partial towards Taehyung, his youngest son, and Taehyung’s existence had never been revealed to the public. The other five sons all lived with their mothers, gathering together only on New Year’s Eve. Even though the outside world has heard of the five outstanding young men, their family relationship with Kim Junghyun wasn’t known.

Kim Taehyung

[They were all his sons. How could Kim Junghyun be so biased?]

Taehyung flipped through the memory of the original ‘Taehyung’ and the information given by TaTa, completely unable to understand Kim Junghyun’s behavior.

TaTa

<Probably because your appearance is the best?> *Flattered him shamelessly* ˶⚈Ɛ⚈˵

Kim Taehyung

…

Kim Taehyung

*He looked at his pig-like stomach and pig-like legs, deciding to end this topic and stop looking for abuse*

While they chatted, Kim Junghyun’s lawyer had arrived. After a brief greeting, he began to read the long list of Kim Junghyun’s possessions and businesses that Taehyung inherited.

It went in one ear and out the other—Taehyung used this time to discuss the progress bar in his mind with TaTa.

Kim Taehyung

TaTa

Kim Taehyung

*Fell into deep thought*

Kim Taehyung

[In the plot of the novel, the original ‘Taehyung’ was tortured by his brothers, which means the danger of death came from all five of them. As for the reason why they weren’t willing to meet with ‘Taehyung’…] *His eyes moved to the documents in lawyer’s hands and he cursed Kim Junghyun in his heart.*

Kim Taehyung

[How could the children who were treated indifferently or even outright ignored by their father like their brother who was favored? Furthermore, the circumstances were much more complex, as the money interests were involved.]

Kim Taehyung

[Kim Junghyun’s decision to snub his elder sons and leave all his inheritance to the youngest… Did he feel that 'Taehyung' wasn’t hated enough and wanted to make him die faster!?]

Cha Joon (Lawyer)

…With Maria Cordero Manor, this is all of the real estates. In addition, Mr. Kim decided that you will inherit all the shares of the Daesung Corporation. Since you haven’t graduated from the university yet, the company will be managed by the Deputy Chairman of the Board, Kang Daniel, with your supervision. This is the entire content of the will. If there are no problems, please sign here.

At last, the lawyer finished reading the will and put several documents in front of Taehyung.

Taehyung returned to reality. Glancing at the progress bar that had reached 998, he decisively pushed the document back.

Kim Taehyung

*Said firmly* I don’t want these things.

Kim Taehyung

[If I takes it, the progress bar will be filled completely and I will die.]

Cha Joon (Lawyer)

*Raised his hand and rubbed his ears, suspecting that he had misheard*

Kim Taehyung

I don’t want anything that my brothers haven’t gotten. *Got up, his childish face full of stubbornness. His expression became tense and full of grief* What dad did was wrong, I don’t want those things. Divide it into five parts and give them to my brothers

Kim Taehyung

(Yeah Childish, as he is in a body of 18 year old fatso)

Cha Joon (Lawyer)

*Stunned* However, Young Master Kim, your brothers already have their own successful careers. Getting the inheritance wouldn’t make a difference for them, but you still haven’t come of age, that’s…

Kim Taehyung

[How can it make no difference, it makes a big difference!]

Kim Taehyung

*Acting skills suddendly awakened. He shouted loudly* Enough!

Cha Joon (Lawyer)

*Is so surprised that he shut up and gave Taehyung a funny look*

Kim Taehyung

My brothers could struggle by themselves, I can do it as well. *slumped, uttering sadly* Dad always said that my brothers are his pride, and I want my father and brothers to be proud of me too… Please go back, I’m tired.

Following that, he turned around and hauled his fat body back to the room on the second floor. After slamming the door shut he stopped his act and asked with a nervous feeling in the pit of the stomach

Kim Taehyung

TaTa, how was my performance? (●´ω｀●)

TaTa

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! *expressed its approval with applause*

Kim Taehyung

Thank you for your support, thank you for your support. *thanked him with a bashful expression. Then he rubbed his hands expectantly* I rejected the inheritance, my progress bar should have decreased a little, right?

TaTa

*Also felt some expectations* <Definitely>

Kim Taehyung

*Looked at the progress bar*

TaTa

*Looked at the progress bar*

Kim Taehyung

*Paled* What’s going on? Why hasn’t it decreased?

Kim Taehyung

[It even rose a little, from 998 to 998.5!]

TaTa

*screamed* <I don’t know!>

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Golden finger - means cheat code