Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Na-young Han
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I used about a third of the first-prize winnings to barely keep Dad's company from going under.
"Winning first prize again next round feels a bit much, doesn't it?"
I could easily sweep the whole thing if I wanted, but it just felt off.
It's not like I'm buying it myself—if I did that, fine, but how do I explain it to Mom and Dad?
Maybe just do it one more time. If I keep going two, three, four times or more, the lottery company will definitely start eyeing our family suspiciously.
Even if there's nothing suspicious about me no matter how much they dig, it'll just be a huge hassle.
Why bother with the lottery anyway? With this smartphone, I can make way more money on stocks than lotto tickets.
"Mom, buy shares in 00 Electronics."
"Huh...? 00 Electronics stock?"
"Yeah."
The answer was stocks. Yeah, stocks were the way.
Bitcoin was mining away with the computer running nonstop, but the price wasn't fluctuating much right now, so I didn't feel the urgency to buy yet.
If I buy any, I'll grow the money through stocks first.
Stocks from a decade or so ago were dirt cheap.
But.
"That's too expensive, though?"
I recommended a stock before its face-value split, and Mom shook her head.
It was a million won per share—pricey, sure—but buying now would net at least three or four times the return. Mom thought it had already peaked and showed her reluctance.
"Wouldn't it be better to buy something else?"
She named one as an example.
It wasn't bad at the moment, but internal issues would crop up soon, leading to delisting.
"How about Kakao or Naver?"
"Hmm..."
With the leftover lottery jackpot giving us some breathing room,
and since the numbers I pushed so hard had hit exactly, Mom had started trusting my word, whether she meant to or not. She pondered seriously, then nodded.
"Okay. I'll buy a little."
It was money that wouldn't exist without me anyway, so she decided to give it a shot, figuring even if she got burned, so be it.
"Just look at it in about ten years. Don't check it for now."
If she held blind until the peak of the domestic stock market, it'd be perfect.
As long as she didn't peek out of curiosity, panic-sell on a dip, or cash out too early on a small gain. But could she really pull that off?
No... actually, maybe it's better if I take her stock account and day-trade it. That way, I could make money faster and in bigger amounts.
With my future smartphone charting stocks plain as day.
"Can you just give me the account login?"
"You mean the stock account?"
"Yeah. I wanna try it myself."
Mom fretted over whether a kid my age, who should be out playing carefree with friends without a worry about money, ought to dip into stocks. But she agreed readily enough.
"Trying it once won't hurt. But I'll only give you a little to start."
Diving into the cutthroat stock market with big money right off the bat would be idiotic.
You wait until you can see the market's flow clearly and make solid calls before going big. Otherwise, bankruptcy's inevitable.
Mom knew that well, and considering my age, she couldn't just hand over a fortune recklessly.
"That's fine."
And it really was.
With 100% accuracy, trading domestic stocks in the morning and overseas ones in the evening would turn it into a fortune before I knew it.
But when I actually tried...
"Fuck?"
I lost it all.
Stocks were one thing, but 100,000 won was way too paltry to work with.
That's when I thought of FX margin trading.
FX margin trading involves simultaneously buying and selling currencies from two countries—like dollars, pounds, euros, yen, from eight major currencies—betting on exchange rate swings for profit. The result? Disaster.
Normally, you'd need collateral, but 100,000 won wasn't enough, so I used an exchange with no minimum deposit but high fees.
I figured I could make plenty anyway... or so I thought.
But I blew the whole 100,000 in no time flat.
Cash in hand feels real, but numbers on a screen? Might as well be game money. I went all-in with high leverage on a position, and it evaporated in seconds.
Like an idiot.
I should've used moderate leverage, but I trusted the smartphone too much—dumped the full 100,000 into a 50x long on a slight dip, and my balance hit zero.
The kicker? After liquidating me, it rocketed up just like the phone predicted. That pissed me off even more.
But hey, I'm the moron who cranked the leverage that high.
"Uh, Mom...?"
"Yeah?"
I hemmed and hawed in front of Mom, who was sipping tea with a relaxed face, watching TV like she'd committed no crime herself.
"Um... could I get another 100,000 won?"
"Did you... lose it all?"
"Yeah..."
"Already? How long was that?"
Her I-knew-it face felt kinda belittling.
Well, with results like this, I couldn't blame her.
"Ji-hoon, come sit beside me?"
"Okay."
She turned off the TV and had me sit next to her.
"Ji-hoon, I've always encouraged you to try all sorts of things since you were little. I still do. Even if it's gambling or stocks. Better to learn now when you don't have much money and swear off it forever, than wait till you're loaded, lose big, and regret it then."
She took my hand with a gentle smile and continued.
She had a point.
If you try it young, lose everything, that memory keeps you from touching it again unless you're desperate later.
Jump in late instead, and you'd just take an even bigger hit.
I got it—I'd gotten burned bad on crypto before regressing.
But... still. It was just me being too reckless this time. Now I was sure I could grow it without losing.
I'd regressed, had the smartphone with all the info—overconfidence without caution was the issue. I'd learned and would play it safe now.
"Mom... one last time. Really the last. Can't I have another 100,000 won?"
I needed to make money and run stocks on the side.
My future life had to start waking up in a luxury penthouse in Cheongdam-dong, glancing over at a perfectly grown Na-young with a body that endlessly stoked a man's desires, surrounded by beautiful women.
Money was key to that.
I could use holiday cash from relatives later, but waiting sucked.
I just wanted to hustle and change my life now.
Mom gave a wry smile.
"I'd rather you quit here, but if you want one more go, fine. But this is absolutely the last. Even if you lose it again, no more. Got it?"
She warned it was final but handed over another 100,000 anyway.
She might think 100,000 was peanuts compared to the billions I'd made her, but given my age,
venturing into what she saw as a deadly risky stock world? Her caution made sense.
"Like I said, this is the last. No second chances."
"Yes! Thank you!"
She went to her room, grabbed her wallet, and came back.
She sliced open the plump red leather wallet, revealing a wave of green bills inside.
Pulled out a stack of ten and slapped them into my hand.
"Be careful, okay?"
She ruffled my hair roughly, stressing it again.
"No more screw-ups, ever...!"
I shouted, grabbing an unused bankbook and the fresh 100,000 as I headed out.
Time was plentiful, but for some reason, I felt rushed.
This time, I'd take it slow and steady.
Straight to the bank, pulled a number ticket, waited anxiously for my turn—got antsy again, took deep breaths.
The smartphone had easy deposit features, but only for me—useless here, just wasting my time.
No ATM nearby either, so I had to come in person.
"Hoo..."
Try to calm down, but knowing billions were almost in my grasp? Excitement wouldn't quit.
Managed to settle somehow. My turn came.
Rushed to the counter, shoved the bankbook and cash forward.
"Deposit this, please!"
"Uh...?"
The teller smiled bright, assuming parental errand, but frowned at the deposit account.
"Into this one?"
"Yes! Right here!"
She hesitated seeing the FX margin account number scribbled on paper, but processed it as I asked.
"Thank you!"
Soon as it was done, I bolted—eyebrows whipping in the wind—racing home.
"Back already...?"
I blew past Mom watching TV in the living room, straight to my room, plopped in front of the glowing computer.
"Came in nice."
Exactly 100,000 sat pretty in the virtual wallet.
"Alright, time to kick off the starting point of redesigning my life for real?"
For the second time, I took my massive first step toward becoming a mega-conglomerate tycoon. Right now.