Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The End of Gambling is Death
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The moment I picked up Jong-won's call, I couldn't believe my ears.
Seong-gwang was dead? It was nonsense.
"Hey, cut the crap. That's not funny."
But Jong-won's voice was trembling, unlike his usual self.
"Jin-seong... I'm not kidding. Seong-gwang's really gone."
In that instant, the world spun wildly.
My mind crumbled right along with it.
I didn't want to believe it, but it was true in the end.
While I'd been busy with work, drinking, and partying,
Seong-gwang had been suffering alone.
I only realized it now.
He'd been hitting Gangwon Land regularly and had sunk even deeper into live betting.
And hearing that his depression had been severe tore my heart apart even more.
I started regretting it all too late.
Why hadn't I held on tighter when we'd talked?
Why hadn't I pulled him closer?
I'd been clueless, having fun while my friend was struggling so hard.
I'd told him multiple times to come work under me,
but I hated myself for not grabbing him with real sincerity.
Seong-gwang's death shattered my heart to pieces.
We childhood friends decided to head to the funeral home together.
I put on a black suit in the afternoon, handed the office over to Hyun-sik, and left.
Hyun-sik just quietly said he understood.
The underlings and even headquarters got the news and accepted it without a word.
When we arrived at the funeral home, the friends were gathering one by one.
Everyone just stared at each other's faces in silence.
Inside, Seong-gwang's sister from our childhood days and his parents sat there with blank expressions.
I bowed my head and greeted them quietly.
His sister gave me a brief smile.
"Jin-seong... good you came. It's been a while."
Those words crushed my heart even further.
Not knowing what to say,
I quietly gazed at Seong-gwang's portrait photo.
Tears poured out uncontrollably.
Seeing that brightly smiling face hurt my heart beyond endurance.
It all felt like my fault.
"Sorry... Seong-gwang... I should've held on to you more..."
I muttered without realizing it.
Seong-gwang's sister and parents looked at me and shed tears together.
We wiped our tears, finished bowing, and sat in the corner of the funeral home with the friends, quietly sipping soju.
Everyone held back their words. Jong-won finally spoke.
"Jin-seong, they said Seong-gwang's depression was bad.
He was found three days after he died..."
A chill ran through my chest.
"His parents thought he'd just run away at first and didn't worry.
But his room was cleaned spotless,
and he left his phone behind, so they got suspicious."
I felt suffocated. Jong-won continued.
"Later, they found him hanged in the veranda they used as a storage room..."
I couldn't continue speaking.
My mind went completely blank.
The thought of my friend leaving so lonely like that
made it hard to even breathe.
It was unbelievable that the friend I'd talked to just days ago was gone forever.
I kept crying. The friends silently patted my shoulders.
We spent three days at the funeral home, eating and sleeping there to see Seong-gwang off.
On the last day, on the way to the crematorium, we friends lifted the casket together.
The moment that casket entered the crematorium,
the realization that I'd never see Seong-gwang again hit me, and I broke down sobbing.
The friends cried with me.
After the cremation, we received Seong-gwang's ashes.
We decided to scatter them in the Pohang seafront he loved so much.
I stood on a rock by the seaside and slowly sprinkled the bone dust.
"Seong-gwang... sorry. I should've taken better care of you sooner...
I'm really sorry.
Don't hurt up there, don't struggle,
rest easy. I'll come visit often..."
Tears soaked my face.
My voice got lost in the sound of the waves.
And so we sent Seong-gwang off.
I stood there for a long time, staring at the empty sea with an empty heart.
Leaving the deepest scar and regret of my life etched in my chest.
After sending Seong-gwang off,
my life changed completely.
I quit drinking and stopped all nightlife.
The friends from headquarters worried at first,
but they understood and stopped pushing.
They just hoped I'd get through the tough times,
cheering me on from the side.
I threw myself into work like a madman.
If I didn't, the moment I sat still,
thoughts of Seong-gwang flooded me, and I couldn't bear it.
Working let me escape the guilt and regret, if only for a bit.
I immersed myself without even a moment to breathe.
A few days after the funeral, I went alone to Seong-gwang's house.
I met his parents and quietly handed over an envelope.
"Mother, Father... this is the money Seong-gwang lent me before.
Sorry it took so long to pay back."
The envelope held about 20 million won in cash.
His parents were surprised at first,
but soon nodded, understanding.
I bowed my head again and continued slowly.
"I'm truly sorry... I should've talked to Seong-gwang sooner and held on to him. I'm so sorry I didn't.
Please take this money and live a bit more comfortably."
His parents silently took my hand.
That alone was comforting.
In truth, it was a kind of mental victory.
If I didn't do something like this, I'd be tormented,
and I felt like Seong-gwang wouldn't resent me from heaven.
It was money I could've blown on a few drinks, so I decided to use it meaningfully.
My heart eased just a little.
Two months passed like that.
I barely slept for those two months,
clinging to work like a maniac.
Surprisingly, my code grew bigger and bigger during that time.
The larger the code got, the busier my mind became,
and I no longer got stuck on thoughts of Seong-gwang.
Before I knew it, time had passed, and the piercing sadness in my chest faded bit by bit.
The guilt over Seong-gwang wasn't completely gone,
but I could slowly let him go.
Like that, I stood back up, little by little, very slowly.
Now, Jin-seong had become the leader of one of the 'Big 3' lines in Korea's master agent world.
Before long, his line had become one of the top large-scale operations in the country, and combining Jin-seong and all his underlings' members pushed past 6,000 easily.
Daily deposits into the site averaged over 500 million won, and weekly settlements easily topped 100 million.
With over 400 million won a week in earnings, his life was completely different from before.
As member numbers grew, no matter who won how much,
settlements always came out positive, and Jin-seong's profits snowballed daily.
But as the scale grew, Jin-seong's mind started feeling uneasy somewhere.
Truthfully, from the start, his dream had been to earn steadily and slimly,
then retire quietly.
But the scale had grown beyond expectations,
and anxiety about getting caught by the police anytime lingered in a corner of his heart.
Of course, as long as the office wasn't raided, the odds of getting caught were slim.
He received settlements only in cash,
and deliberately took out small private loans of 5 to 10 million won to pretend his finances were shaky.
Early on, he'd bragged on SNS about luxury foreign cars, designer goods, and cash, but as it scaled up,
he realized that was just dangerous.
Now, wherever he went, he wore shabby training pants and slippers, dragging his feet.
When meeting acquaintances, he drove a cheap domestic compact car,
thoroughly hiding his wealth.
He only drove the foreign sports car when absolutely necessary,
living to avoid ordinary people's eyes.
Even eating ramen or cheap eats at a local joint, people saw him as just an average young guy.
That lifestyle was a hassle, but safe.
As Jin-seong earned more, he focused even harder on security.
When recruiting new underlings or teams, he verified identities multiple times,
and managed operations more meticulously and cautiously.
Feeling the weight of his massive line, Jin-seong lived each day more carefully.
Preparing for unknown dangers, he kept himself low-key,
moving like a shadow without revealing his presence.
Jin-seong finally built the TM team he'd pondered for so long.
For the manager to handle TM operations, he put his high school buddy Young-ho in the seat.
Young-ho had run a Thai massage shop before getting busted and spending time unemployed.
When they met for coffee after ages, Young-ho said,
"Hey, Jin-seong. I gotta eat too. Got any job openings?"
Jin-seong sipped his coffee, thought a moment, then quietly told Young-ho,
"Can you manage? Gotta make a TM team.
If you can do it, it'd be perfect."
Young-ho nodded without hesitation.
"Hey, you think I can't? I've done illegal stuff anyway."
They nailed down the details right there with Young-ho.
The female staff were Young-ho's sister's friends and juniors.
All on leave from school, so no pressure to work.
Staff salary was base 2.5 million won a month;
Young-ho got 15% of total sales commission. Deal done.
First day opening the office and meeting staff,
Jin-seong didn't introduce himself as line leader,
just as a regular worker, keeping it simple.
Instead, wherever he went, he presented as the team's proxy.
"Just work comfortably, everyone. No need to be formal."
But the staff were awkward at first, treating Jin-seong a bit distantly.
To loosen the vibe, Jin-seong dropped by the office multiple times a day, handing out coffee and checking needs.
"Anything uncomfortable with the work?
Tell me if you need anything.
I'll handle it right away."
One female staff timidly raised her hand.
"We still struggle with phone scripts... Never done this, so we don't know what to do."
Jin-seong smiled softly.
"Everyone's like that at first. It's fine. Do it a day or two,
you'll pick it up quick.
I'll watch closely and give feedback,
so don't worry, just try."
Thanks to Jin-seong's kind attitude, the staff soon warmed up.
Now when he entered, they'd greet him first, calling "Oppa" affectionately.
First month, barely any results.
With no experience, calls were clumsy, sign-ups tough.
But Jin-seong encouraged them more.
"First couple months are always like this. Don't worry.
I built this team thinking I'd invest even if it loses for months.
Things'll fall into place with time.
Don't stress, take it easy."
One day, a female staff asked weakly,
"Oppa, if we keep getting no results, will we get fired?"
Jin-seong laughed.
"Who said that? Never gonna happen.
We'll get there slowly, so don't even think like that."
To motivate more concretely, Jin-seong gathered everyone.
"Alright, here's the deal. Base pay plus incentives.
10,000 won extra per new signup,
so 100 a month makes 3.5 million. Worth it, right?"
The staff's eyes widened, looking at each other.
"For real? Then we gotta hustle!"
Seeing their energy, Jin-seong smiled warmly.
"Good, everyone fight! Tell me anytime you need something.
I'll make it happen."
Thanks to Jin-seong's steady encouragement and solid incentives,
TM team staff gained confidence gradually.
Phone skills improved, scripts got natural.
Inflows started picking up slowly.
Jin-seong took the initial losses as long-term investment,
keeping morale high,
and his TM team was slowly finding its footing.