Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Translation: Godtl
Is it now?
No. Not yet. Not yet.
I sat in front of the computer, staring blankly at the screen.
["Hey. Jin-ho. Just click it already."]
["Seriously, you're making me perform ancestral rites waiting like this, I swear."]
"Ugh. Just give me a second, hyungs."
The guild members in voice chat with me started pestering me impatiently.
["Just click it!!"]
At their ear-splitting shouts, I reluctantly clicked the mouse.
Ping~.
It was red.
Meaning a trash item dropped.
"I told you! These things are all about timing!"
["Timing my ass."]
["It's all about innate luck. That box was never gonna work. You really think an S-rank weapon would come from that?"]
"There's still one more try left. And this time, I'm doing it my way."
["Pfft. Like you'll actually pull something."]
["Hey. If you pull it, I'll give you a million gold. For real."]
"Seriously? Should I write that down?"
["I'll throw in another million."]
["I'll bet too. Let's see if you can pull it, maknae."]
"I swear I'll pull it no matter what happens, so why don't you all go grind for a bit?"
After sending the hyungs off, I went back to staring holes into the screen.
Pressing the open button would unlock this last remaining item box.
It might spit out another piece of garbage like before, or with extremely low odds, an S-rank item might appear. But it wasn't time to open the box yet.
'Just a little... just a little more.'
I spent the time in complete stillness.
["What the— He's still doing that?"]
["This crazy bastard."]
["It's because you keep hesitating like this that nothing drops."]
"Can you all just be quiet for a second?"
Just as the guild members' nagging was about to start up again—
A tingling electric thrill shot through my fingertips and spread through my entire body.
'Now!'
Before the feeling could fade, I quickly clicked the mouse.
["Huh? Wait— Did his character just glow gold for a second?"]
["N-no way... did it drop? Did it actually drop?"]
I exhaled a shaky breath as I stared at the golden weapon that had burst from the box.
This euphoric feeling.
Only those who've experienced it would understand.
"IT DROOOOOOPPED!!"
["GAAAAAH!"]
["YOU CRAZY SON OF A—! YOU ACTUALLY PULLED IT!?"]
["It dropped? For real? Don't mess with me. How the hell did that drop? The odds are insane!"]
"Heh heh. Didn't I tell you? When Jeong Jin-ho does something, he does it right."
The guild members seemed utterly dumbstruck by the radiant golden weapon I was showing off.
"Oh right. And those of you who bet a million gold—pay up."
["Ugh. Of course he remembers that."]
["Ah, damn. Looks like all my saved gold is getting wiped out."]
"No DCs allowed. Pay up now."
The guild members congratulated me and actually sent over a million gold each.
To me, it was a huge amount, but to these hyungs, it seemed like pocket change.
["Tch. Jeong Jin-ho, you're making bank today."]
["Hell, if you sell that weapon, it's worth millions in gold, isn't it?"]
["How much is this punk making today?"]
"It's all thanks to you hyungs. I'll enjoy my rice-cooking funds."
["Like you'll actually cook rice with it."]
["You're just gonna blow it all on level-ups and gear again, aren't you?"]
["Still, thanks to maknae, we're ending today with a dopamine explosion."]
["Hey, did you record the pull?"]
"Ugh. Of course I saved it. I'll upload it to the guild chat."
["Alright. I'm logging off first."]
["Me too~ Good work, everyone."]
"Ah. Take care, hyungs."
After seeing them off, I leaned back in my chair, gazing at the gleaming golden weapon.
"Everything's thanks to this ability."
It's hard to call it a superpower exactly, but... how should I put it?
Whenever there's probability-based gacha or extreme-odds upgrades, I wait until I get 'the feeling.'
It's hard to describe in words, but there's this sensation.
A moment when my whole body tingles and shivers with anticipation.
It was precisely at that moment—if I didn't miss it and clicked right then—that items like this would often appear.
"Of course, the problem is having to wait endlessly for it."
Sometimes waiting for that feeling to come would eat up an enormous amount of time.
There had been moments when I gave up, but today, luck was on my side.
A unique ability of mine, one I never shared with anyone else—you could call it that.
"If only this could tell me the lottery numbers, how great would that be?"
But since it was a fleeting ability that passed by in an instant, predicting lottery numbers was, of course, impossible.
Who knows?
Maybe I just didn't know the right way to use it.
Or perhaps I was deluding myself into thinking I had some special ability.
"Ah. I feel proud."
Whatever it was.
Today, I succeeded.
I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
"Proud? I wish I could feel proud looking at you too."
At that moment, a chilling voice from behind made me jump, and I whipped my head around.
"Gahk! Mom. Wh-when did you get here?"
"You brat, you were so absorbed in your game you didn't even notice your mom and dad coming home from work."
"S-sorry. You must've had a tough day today."
Behind Mom, Dad walked in with a stormy expression.
"Just how long do you plan on living like this, huh?! Aren't you going to get a job? Other kids your age have already found work and moved out!"
"..."
"Even your younger brother has a job and is doing well at his company. And you—how much longer are you going to keep this up?"
All the frustrations they had been holding back came pouring out at once.
Every word they said was right, so I didn't dare argue back.
"Sigh. Jin-ho. Everything we say is for your sake. Mom wishes she could let you play games your whole life if that's what you wanted. But that's not realistic, is it? We won't always be by your side. Understand?"
"...I know."
"Jeong Jin-ho. Get a grip. Before you waste another year of your life."
"Dear, that's enough. I'm sure he gets it."
Dad bit back the rest of what he wanted to say at Mom's urging.
"One last chance. Show us you've really changed this time. Got it?"
With that final warning—that they'd kick me out if I didn't—their scolding came to an end.
"Ha..."
Not a single thing they said was wrong.
I was 27.
I couldn't keep living at home as a deadbeat forever.
It wasn't like I hadn't tried.
I may not have graduated from a prestigious university, but I did go to a decent Seoul-based school, and I'd sent out applications left and right.
But after getting rejected 100 times out of 100, my willpower had crumbled at some point.
That was when it started.
I picked up gaming again—the very thing I'd quit to focus on job hunting.
"I've been slacking off for too long."
If this kept up, I'd end up a complete shut-in, never stepping foot outside again. The thought was a little terrifying. Maybe I was finally facing the reality I'd been deliberately ignoring all this time.
＊＊＊
[Huh? Quit gaming?]
"Yeah. I even thought about selling all my in-game items for cash, but it's not like it'd be a huge amount. And I owe you guys a lot, so I figured I'd just give it all away before leaving."
[Why all of a sudden? You were doing so well.]
[Yeah, maknae. Did we do something wrong?]
"Ugh, it's not like that. The truth is..."
I explained my situation in full.
That I needed to quit gaming to focus on finding a job.
[I see...]
[Sigh. Well. Your parents aren't wrong.]
[What a shame. Without you, this gloomy guild atmosphere will be unbearable. It's already just a bunch of old men hanging around.]
I felt the same way.
But what could I do?
Until I landed a stable job, I couldn't afford to waste time on anything else.
Then, the Guild Leader sent me a private message.
Why was he whispering to me separately when we were all in the same chat?
You mentioned before—which university did you graduate from?
Jinseon University.
Hmm. A Seoul-based school? What was your major?
Suddenly, he was investigating my academic background.
Then you must have learned how to count numbers, right? Like accounting and such.
Yes. A little.
Good. Then why don't you skip looking elsewhere and just come to our company?
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Excuse me?
Forget job hunting and wasting time. Just join our company. That way, you won't have to quit the game. Right?
This hyungnim had always been generous during guild meetups, driving nice cars, so I figured he was well-off.
But he owned a company?
Whenever we met one-on-one, he was just like a warm, friendly neighborhood hyung.
Write up a resume and email it to this address.
Hyungnim... Are you serious?
You've done well in the guild all this time. You've got good character, you're diligent, and you've managed the raid members well in my place. I want to repay you for that. Besides, I don't think the game would be as fun without you.
Hearing that, I felt my eyes growing inexplicably hot.
So he had noticed all my efforts.
He was usually so reserved—I never would've guessed he felt this way about me.
'But... what if the company isn't great?'
No. Snap out of it, you idiot.
This isn't the time to be picky.
Just landing any job, even at a small company, is what matters right now.
"Let's see..."
I received the email address the Guild Leader sent me.
Still curious about what kind of company it was, I checked the domain at the end.
The moment I saw it, my eyes widened into perfect circles.
"...Huh?"
He's really the CEO of this place?
***
Gwangun Securities—one of Korea's top 10 securities firms.
With assets under management reaching a staggering 10 trillion won and a stable financial structure, it was classified as a mid-sized financial institution.
Though still modest compared to the industry giants, it took pride in being among Korea's elite securities firms—and most importantly, it was still growing.
That made it one of the dream workplaces for young aspirants in finance, and the HR department was always busy scouting the best talent.
"Just who is this guy?"
A run-of-the-mill Seoul university.
Only the most basic licenses.
"No Investment Asset Manager, no Financial Investment Analyst... nothing?"
It wasn't like they were asking for CFA or FRM, the so-called MBAs of the investment world.
But this applicant didn't even have the basic financial certifications everyone else brought.
Normally, they'd have shredded his resume, wondering what gave him the confidence to apply. But there was a problem.
"Team Leader, this came from upstairs."
"Upstairs? Where upstairs?"
"The CEO's office."
"What?"
The CEO himself?
That meant this applicant was a parachute hire.
"Since when does the CEO plant parachutes?"
He was famous for rarely hiring anyone unless they were rock-solid—all for the company's growth.
His own skills aside, he had a sharp eye for talent, having built the company from the ground up to its current scale.
"But this guy looks like a complete nobody, no matter how you look at it."
This was the first time the CEO's office had outright sent just one application.
It was an unspoken command.
Make sure he gets in.
"At this point, he must be family, right?"
"Hmm. They don't share the same last name, but... well, family doesn't have to."
Team Leader Kim Mun-sik stroked his chin.
"No word from upstairs about where to stick him?"
"No."
So they were supposed to figure it out themselves...
But where the hell were they supposed to use someone like this?
"Put him in the trading department."
The place with the least risk and the least workload—perfect for someone who'd just be lazing around.
"Trading? They'll hate it."
"What else can we do? He's a parachute straight from the top. Odds are, he's related to the CEO. Besides, junior traders don't do much anyway—just mock investments and some light paperwork. Stick him there."
A parachute in our company?
Well, now that the company's grown this big, it's about time family members started filling seats.
"Jeong Jin-ho..."
Better remember this guy's face.
You never know.
He might end up being my superior someday.
Isn't bloodline more important than performance in a company, after all?