Would you believe a girl could be in debt for 1 million dollars?

[KingsAvalon]

**My game: Is *1 Million D* completely fictional?**

Not entirely. But not entirely fiction, either.

Back in 2019, I wasn’t running a game studio yet -- just a small drawing class, mostly for students and young artists.
One of them, a quiet girl who worked part-time with me, got a phone call one day while we were working. I didn’t mean to listen, but I caught a few words... and then I saw her crying.

Her father had gone into debt -- a massive one.
22 billion VND.
It wasn’t just a number. It meant hiding, disappearing, escaping. Her family wanted to send her to some remote countryside to lay low.

But I thought that would break her.

So I kept her close.

She stayed with us -- at the class, at the studio -- quietly working, quietly studying, and quietly surviving. I helped cover what I could. Food. Rent. A bit of normalcy. I didn’t do anything heroic -- I just didn’t want her to vanish.

And for a long time, I never told anyone.

---

When I started writing *1 Million D*, I didn’t plan to borrow from that story. But some parts slipped in on their own -- a girl on the run, a place to hide, a quiet weight that no one else could carry.

So no -- it’s not all fiction.
Some parts are just real memories I disguised with new names.

 

[eaudecologne]

Personally, I wouldn't believe that

 

[NeonSelf]

Easily.

Gambling addiction + loans in different banks. There are alot of ways to get into debt.
On the other hand - banks would prefer to review your loan agreement, instead of taking your stuff and selling it cheap to cover their losses. So there is no need to run and hide, like you are in debt to some criminal organization.

 

[Deleted member 6087972]

I know 2 people who are in 1m debt. One of them is a girl. So yeah, I believe it.

[The other person isn't me. I swear.]

 

[tanstaafl]

When I consider how in debt I've been in my life, then adjust that amount of money to today's rates, then consider how much my penis had nothing to do with my debt, I absolutely believe a woman can be a million in debt.

 

[Fzeren]

There was some teenage girl in the US who set fire in a walmart and as a result is now 8 million dollars in debt. Sad stuff.

 

[MissCougar]

Not unbelievable. I know people in some of those situations.

Usually they have one bad health issue and their financial life is a disaster and they are in debt millions.

You also have traditional drugs, alcohol, and gambling.

Im not sure if I remember anyone going up to a million, but I know people who went crazy with credit cards and are in over their heads with 100's of thousands of debt they can never pay off that keeps increasing.

The situation you originally outlined seems a little weird, but it's alright I guess. Not sure what a VND is so maybe in that country there are different rules. In the situations I know they did it themselves or have like cancer or some other medical problem that wrecked them and required some sort of lengthy or indefinite treatment.

 

[Kamishirov]

I could imagine a woman owning a restaurant whilst having ideas way above her station, she starts acting like it's a 5 star restaurant (totally deluded of course) and spends insane amounts of money on square plates, mood lighting and free cocktails for her so called "friends"... then she calls in Gordon Ramsey in a pathetic attempt to get him to single handedly do what Tyrone, step daddy and sugar daddy had always done for her, she's confused and frustrated however that Gordon simply doesn't finance her business but tries to actually turn it around by selling fish & chips in Las Vegas of all places.

Then Gordon hears about her disaster and introduces her to this fella who's got his own private jet and an island and is willing to "help", he always needs fresh young women flown out who are in desperate need to earn money fast... the HARD way!

 

[KingsAvalon]

Personally, I wouldn't believe that

Honestly, I didn’t believe it at first either. The number sounded way too big.

Easily.

Gambling addiction + loans in different banks. There are alot of ways to get into debt.
On the other hand - banks would prefer to review your loan agreement, instead of taking your stuff and selling it cheap to cover their losses. So there is no need to run and hide, like you are in debt to some criminal organization.

It wasn’t bank debt in this case. It was loan sharks -- the kind you don’t argue with.

I know 2 people who are in 1m debt. One of them is a girl. So yeah, I believe it.

[The other person isn't me. I swear.]

Thanks for sharing. Hopefully we don’t have to see it play out again.

There was some teenage girl in the US who set fire in a walmart and as a result is now 8 million dollars in debt. Sad stuff.

Damn. That’s a different kind of debt entirely.

Not unbelievable. I know people in some of those situations.

Usually they have one bad health issue and their financial life is a disaster and they are in debt millions.

You also have traditional drugs, alcohol, and gambling.

Im not sure if I remember anyone going up to a million, but I know people who went crazy with credit cards and are in over their heads with 100's of thousands of debt they can never pay off that keeps increasing.

The situation you originally outlined seems a little weird, but it's alright I guess. Not sure what a VND is so maybe in that country there are different rules. In the situations I know they did it themselves or have like cancer or some other medical problem that wrecked them and required some sort of lengthy or indefinite treatment.

Totally fair. But in Vietnam, even cancer doesn’t usually push someone into a million USD in debt. It’s more like 15k–50k USD at most. This case had nothing to do with illness, either.

 

[KingsAvalon]

I could imagine a woman owning a restaurant whilst having ideas way above her station, she starts acting like it's a 5 star restaurant (totally deluded of course) and spends insane amounts of money on square plates, mood lighting and free cocktails for her so called "friends"... then she calls in Gordon Ramsey in a pathetic attempt to get him to single handedly do what Tyrone, step daddy and sugar daddy had always done for her, she's confused and frustrated however that Gordon simply doesn't finance her business but tries to actually turn it around by selling fish & chips in Las Vegas of all places.

Then Gordon hears about her disaster and introduces her to this fella who's got his own private jet and an island and is willing to "help", he always needs fresh young women flown out who are in desperate need to earn money fast... the HARD way!

That escalated quickly. I blinked and we went from debt to Epstein Airlines.

 

[anne O'nymous]

**My game: Is *1 Million D* completely fictional?**

Not entirely. But not entirely fiction, either.

In regard of the question itself, totally believable. Everyday there's people making stupid decisions, and many among them stick to them expecting that one day they'll have some luck and their situation will change.
In nowadays context, how many 20yo are ready to take loans for hundred thousands in order to build a perfect internet celebrity setup, then even more to have their photo taken in luxury places and by professionals, in order to fit with what is currently trending? All this just because they heard that some people earn millions thanks to this, and they are sure that they can do it too. Depending on the country it can easily goes up to millions in local currency before reality catch them.
"Dress for the job you want" is good, but just as long as you've the money to buy the clothes and the capabilities to get the job. If you lack both, you'll end in debt.

But in regard of the context, therefore a game story, I'm tempted to say: Who fucking care if it's believable or not?
There were surely be parts of the story way less believable than this premise.

 

[KingsAvalon]

In regard of the question itself, totally believable. Everyday there's people making stupid decisions, and many among them stick to them expecting that one day they'll have some luck and their situation will change.
In nowadays context, how many 20yo are ready to take loans for hundred thousands in order to build a perfect internet celebrity setup, then even more to have their photo taken in luxury places and by professionals, in order to fit with what is currently trending? All this just because they heard that some people earn millions thanks to this, and they are sure that they can do it too. Depending on the country it can easily goes up to millions in local currency before reality catch them.
"Dress for the job you want" is good, but just as long as you've the money to buy the clothes and the capabilities to get the job. If you lack both, you'll end in debt.

But in regard of the context, therefore a game story, I'm tempted to say: Who fucking care if it's believable or not?
There were surely be parts of the story way less believable than this premise.

Totally get your point, there are crazier things out there, especially in VN storytelling
But I just wanted to share this one because, well... where I live, 1 million USD equals about 22 billion VND.
It’s a lot. Like... life-changing, hide-under-the-floor kind of “a lot.”

 

[Turmple95t]

I'm pretty sure with that amount in debt over at Vietnam she had to have been trafficked somewhere already or forced to work in the night industry. So no, unless for some reason you are in espionage, I seriously doubt with that amount of money at stake the bank/debt collectors/gangs won't put in the serious legwork to find her.

 

[Icarus Media]

Not unbelievable. I know people in some of those situations.

Usually they have one bad health issue and their financial life is a disaster and they are in debt millions.

You also have traditional drugs, alcohol, and gambling.

Im not sure if I remember anyone going up to a million, but I know people who went crazy with credit cards and are in over their heads with 100's of thousands of debt they can never pay off that keeps increasing.

The situation you originally outlined seems a little weird, but it's alright I guess. Not sure what a VND is so maybe in that country there are different rules. In the situations I know they did it themselves or have like cancer or some other medical problem that wrecked them and required some sort of lengthy or indefinite treatment.

Do they not have Bankruptcy in the US?

 

[MissCougar]

Do they not have Bankruptcy in the US?

Yes. Thats something we excel at, unfortunately.

 

[woody554]

what does it matter if it's believable or not?

only the internal logic of your story in relation to its world matters. dragons jerking off to witches being burned is perfectly believable in a world with pervert dragons and witch hunts. it's up to you to build your world in a way that your story makes sense.

 

[KingsAvalon]

I'm pretty sure with that amount in debt over at Vietnam she had to have been trafficked somewhere already or forced to work in the night industry. So no, unless for some reason you are in espionage, I seriously doubt with that amount of money at stake the bank/debt collectors/gangs won't put in the serious legwork to find her.

That’s a totally fair thought, and I had the same fear when I first heard her story.
But in Vietnam, things can spiral fast without needing criminal trafficking.
Debts pile up from interest, friends/family connections collapse, and people end up stuck in this weird gray zone — still “free”, but barely surviving.
That’s what made her situation feel so real and… heavy.

Do they not have Bankruptcy in the US?

Haha, we do. it’s called “disappear quietly and work under the table.”
But seriously, no real bankruptcy protection like in the US.
Here in Vietnam, if someone’s in deep debt, especially via private lenders or shadow loans, there’s basically no escape.
You either pay, run, or... get creative.

what does it matter if it's believable or not?

only the internal logic of your story in relation to its world matters. dragons jerking off to witches being burned is perfectly believable in a world with pervert dragons and witch hunts. it's up to you to build your world in a way that your story makes sense.

100% agree.
I didn’t write this story to prove anything, just to show what I experienced, in the way that made sense to me at the time.
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, but what matters is if the emotions ring true. Thanks for this comment, really appreciated.