Chapter 2

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 2

Chapter Title: Beginning

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Kim Jin-seong was an utterly ordinary guy.

Or maybe, just maybe, a little below ordinary.

At 19, he'd jumped into the working world early and toiled away diligently without a single break.

People around him often called him a pushover when they saw him.

But he didn't pay any mind to that kind of judgment.

He enjoyed time spent with others.

And if everyone was happy even if he took a small loss, that was good enough for him.

He'd been working as a cook at a buffet restaurant when a minor conflict with the people there forced him to quit.

It was his first real break, a gap in his life.

Jin-seong found that brief rest nice at first.

But rest was only good for a day or two.

A few days in, anxiety started creeping up on him.

Right around then, while grabbing coffee with his close younger friend Dong-hoon, whom he hadn't seen in ages, and chatting about this and that, he opened up about his worries for the future.

"Hyung, why don't you just take it easy and make some pocket money? Want me to tell you about something good?"

With those words, Jin-seong stepped into the world of gambling for the first time.

At the start, his heart was light.

But he had no idea that light heart would unknowingly turn into a heavy addiction.

He couldn't even imagine that he'd end up gambling his entire life away, him who didn't even know the word "gambling" before.

And so, Jin-seong's ordinary daily life began to shake, little by little.

The moment Jin-seong entered the Bayern Fam Family Room, he was overwhelmed by the intense atmosphere.

The family room was already buzzing with heat as multiple master agents took turns tossing out Ladder Game picks.

Picks for the next round kept flooding the screen nonstop.

Every time a pick hit perfectly, the chat room exploded in mad cheers.

The screen filled up endlessly with "Success Spam."

When their picks hit, the master agents went wild like they'd won a war, dragging the whole room into a frenzy.

Jin-seong got swept up in the vibe in no time.

With this kind of heat and hit rate, recovery would be a breeze, he thought.

He swore to himself once more.

'Once I recover this time, I'll never gamble again.'

Jin-seong quietly topped up 1 million won on the site.

The master agent posting picks right now went by "Bayern Han River."

As soon as he dropped his pick, the chat heated up even more.

Jin-seong didn't hesitate and followed Han River's pick, going all-in with his full 1 million won on four lines main.

"On a winning streak? All-in's the obvious play."

His heart pounded like crazy.

Two minutes later, the result popped up on screen.

Hit.

Han River immediately spammed the chat.

The family room went berserk again.

Members and other master agents joined in the spam, celebrating together.

Jin-seong felt strangely exhilarated.

The witty banter and that odd camaraderie only gamblers could share filled the room.

He'd definitely planned to recover and get out.

But in this madness and excitement, his heart was already sinking deep into it.

On his first day in the Bayern Fam Family Room, Jin-seong turned 1 million won into 6 million.

A sixfold profit.

That night, his assigned master agent sent him a personal message of congrats.

Jin-seong felt good reading it and replied right away.

After that short exchange, Jin-seong muttered contentedly to himself.

'Picksters for sure. Gotta trust them more going forward.'

The next day rolled around, and the family room's heat was already blazing from early morning.

Master agents firing picks 24/7, people soaked in dopamine skipping sleep to bet—it was packed with that energy.

Jin-seong naturally got caught up in it.

He logged back into the site, topped up another 1 million won, and bet 300k-400k at a time, carefully tailing picks.

After watching for hours, he figured out that master agents hit highest after 3-win streaks, especially in the 4-win zone.

He managed strictly: switch master agents the instant one missed.

That day, he pulled in 5 million won in profit.

He'd recovered more than half his losses already.

Jin-seong felt relieved.

He cashed out to end the day on a high and resolved to do it again tomorrow.

But as he tried to take a break, his hand kept drifting back to the family room chat.

The members' cheers and Success Spam still bombarded his eyes.

'Feels like I could win even more right now...
Sitting still feels like missing out.'

Unable to hold back, he hit recharge again.

But this time, something felt off.

Every master agent he followed started missing picks.

They all said the same thing:

And vanished quick.

Jin-seong panicked.

1 million gone, he rushed to top up 2 million more.

That flew too.

His reason shook; he recharged 3 million and went all-in again, only to lose it all.

Wrapped in excitement and rage, Jin-seong lost control completely.

His mind was filled only with recovering the lost money.

In the end, he blew every hard-earned profit from the day and went right back to square one.

Staring at the computer screen, Jin-seong regretted it bitterly.

He was furious at himself for repeating the same mistake.

'I knew it'd end like this... Why couldn't I stop?'

But regret changed nothing now.

Jin-seong made another firm resolution.

"One bet session per day, max.

No excited chase bets, ever.

If I lose, stop for the day and start fresh tomorrow."

With those two rules, his mind eased a bit.

Win after a day's betting? Great.

Lose? He'd meet up with his girlfriend, friends, acquaintances, have fun, shake it off.

Thanks to that, his parents and girlfriend sighed in relief seeing him return to normal life.

Like this, Jin-seong slowly but surely recovered his losses.

Daily target: 1 million won.

Filling the hole bit by bit, reassuring himself he'd quit gambling for good.

Just 14 million more, and he'd stop everything.

A month passed like that, juggling daily life and gambling seamlessly.

Jin-seong ran a small local community KakaoTalk group for casual hangouts.

Whenever he had time, they'd drink, eat, sometimes even take trips—light stuff.

Older brothers, same-age friends, younger ones, all mixed; his girlfriend Hyo-jin joined often too, they all got along great.

There was a go-to dive bar with that cozy hideout vibe.

The owner was the same age as his girlfriend, so they hung like friends.

With over ten people showing up every time, the owner hyung loved Jin-seong's group too.

That day, unfortunately, Jin-seong had lost his bet.

Mood wasn't great, but it was a planned meetup, so he went to drink.

Alcohol hit after a while off, and he got wasted quick, spilling his tough story to the close older bro next to him.

"Hyung, honestly, just a bit more and I'll have it all back.

Once I do, I'm quitting for real."

The listening hyung quietly set down his glass and gave sincere advice.

"Jin-seong, hear me out. You've recovered some, paid off the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠loans, right? That's enough.

Why not quit now and go back to normal life?

Get a job, save up honestly. You can do it."

Jin-seong nodded with a smile.

"Thanks, hyung. One month, just one more. If not, I'll quit completely and start over."

Feeling good and drunk for the first time in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ages, Jin-seong stumbled home blackout wasted.

Next morning, he woke clutching his splitting head.

He absentmindedly picked up his blaring phone.

Dozens of deposit notifications filled the screen.

Jin-seong's mind went blank.

"What the hell...!"

He frantically opened the bank app.

Balance: 0 won.

His whole body froze.

He'd gone on a drunken betting binge, recharging nonstop in a blackout.

Jin-seong collapsed onto the bed in despair.

All the hard rebuilding from the past month crumbled in an instant.

He felt empty.

Sitting limply on the bed, he stared blankly at the empty account screen.

In his head swirled the small hope from that month's betting: just one more month and full recovery.

But that hope vanished like bubbles in one night.

Hot tears streamed from Jin-seong's eyes unbidden.

'Why does this pain only come to me...?'

The reality felt so unfair.

He hadn't done anything wrong—why this harsh punishment?

But soon a cold voice whispered in his mind.

'This is the hell you made yourself.

Your pain—who you gonna blame?'

Jin-seong let out a self-mocking laugh.

It was ironic: he'd shoved himself into hell with his own choices, now resenting God.

That day, he spent the whole time in his room, mentally shattered, doing nothing but spacing out.

No matter the regret, the irreversible reality tormented him endlessly.

The next day, Jin-seong opened his eyes weakly.

His pale, shadowed face showed deep depression and resentment toward the world.

Then his phone rang. His assigned master agent.

Jin-seong replied limply.

The master agent replied with concern.

Jin-seong's eyes flashed open.

'200k just like that?'

Grateful for the unexpected comfort he hadn't hoped for.

But he already thought Ladder Games were hopeless.

Might as well try the sports betting people sometimes mentioned.

Jin-seong had never bet on sports his whole life, didn't even know soccer rules properly.

But it was World Cup season now.

He turned on the internet, hastily checked betting methods and recent team records.

Hoping beginner's luck, he picked wins/losses for six teams without much thought.

Odds: a whopping 50x.

All 200k from the master agent on the line.

Korea win 1.80x,

Switzerland win 2.30x,

Germany win 1.50x,

Italy win 2.40x,

Norway win 1.90x,

Bulgaria draw 3.50x last.

Sharing the bet slip in the family room, Jin-seong left a cautious message.

The sports-only members laughed at the slip.

Jin-seong smiled, set his phone down, and slept without watching the dawn matches.

Next morning, KakaoTalk blew up with notifications.

Half-asleep Jin-seong snapped awake.

He rushed to the site: "WINNER" flashed, balance nearly 10 million won.

His heart felt like bursting.

Unbelievable luck.

In that moment, Jin-seong truly discovered the thrilling rush of sports betting.