The Kingdom Raised by a Giant - 1
Kang Do-dam was deep in thought.
She sat on one of the little hobby horses the orphanage kids liked to ride, wearing a grave expression. Outwardly she still looked young, but it was not the sort of thing a woman in her early twenties ought to be doing.
“....”
So the yellow-haired convenience store part-timer, huh... No matter how I look at it, that seems like Aki. Did Aki tell me to come here? But Aki knows I’m an orphan, not that I came from this orphanage.
While she kept worrying over it, one of the younger girls beside her frowned.
“My horse... ”
Do-dam had left the orphanage three years ago, but she still came back now and then to pull this kind of nonsense. That annoyed the kids.
“Unni, your horse is making a creaking sound.”
“It’s fine. I’ve overcome it with the power of bonds.”
“The power of bonds?”
“Yeah. This horse is a precious comrade who’s been with me since I was eight. No matter how fast my butt gets bigger, it’ll keep holding on.”
“?”
The younger girl tilted her head.
“The horse only came in last month. And your butt hasn’t gotten bigger at all.”
“That’s because I’m a slender beauty. ...And so this isn’t the horse I knew.”
“Slen-der...?”
“Anyway, excuse me.”
Do-dam rose lightly to her feet.
“....”
Come to think of it.
No wonder it had felt strange.
She’d assumed it was because she’d put on weight in the hips.
“Hehe.”
“?”
The younger girl stared at her oddly for a moment, then went back to playing on the horse.
Leaving her behind, Do-dam paced through the cramped orphanage and kept thinking.
“....”
Still, the director and Ye-seo unni both saw the paperwork, so they probably know the orphanage’s name. Ever since Aki got that one billion won donation, those two have been listening to so much about her. Maybe they told her?
Pace.
Pace.
The deeper her thoughts went, the faster her steps became.
This time, two younger boys who were crowded around the computer in the living room and playing a game complained. Their voices had all deepened a little since Do-dam’s memory of them.
“Aah! Noona! Come on! You’re distracting us, so go outside and do it. I’m in my promotion match.”
“Why do you keep coming back here?”
Do-dam answered.
“That computer was donated with my salary. I was even going to buy you a game console next month, but I guess I should just cancel that.”
“....”
The room went silent.
A game console.
A brand-new game console was not something they could simply endure.
I heard game consoles have gotten insanely expensive lately because of the exchange rate...
And, with no choice, she said,
“...Cancel it.”
“Hah.”
“....”
The smug laugh of a working adult.
That was the cruelty of capitalism.
“Grrk...!”
The two kids swallowed their tears.
Damn it...!
Despicable adults all use money to threaten people!
When I get outside, I’m buying a lottery ticket first...
...But I should probably start with labor work.
Swallowing the bitterness of being a kid, the two of them carefully asked the respectable adult before them,
“So what do you do out there, noona?”
“Yeah, what on earth do you do outside to make that much money?”
“....”
Do-dam struck a strange pose, arms stretched wide, and answered,
“Soymeal farming.”
“!”
“!”
They were dumbfounded.
It felt like their entire understanding of reality was shattering.
“Y-you can live for two whole years off soymeal farming?”
“They say that stuff gets crushed down hard these days. What game are you even playing?”
Do-dam answered seriously.
“You go into games old men play and make your voice cute, then you don’t even need to roll the dice and you just farm free wins. That’s how I make a living. You two should use voice changers and become netkamas when you get out there someday. Or save up from part-time jobs, get a handsome avatar, and start streaming.”
“....”
“....”
Ah.
So that was it.
“....”
“....”
The two of them looked at each other.
Just by reading each other’s eyes, they could tell what the other was thinking as if they were grabbing it with their hands. After so many years in the orphanage, they’d learned to exchange thoughts like siblings.
This time too, their thoughts were nearly the same.
I’d better not grow up into some hopeless adult like that.
They shut off the computer and left the living room.
“I should read a book.”
“I need to start preparing for a certification.”
“These days, skilled trades are better than coding or web design.”
“No, once you actually get to a job site without connections, they’ll treat you like dirt...”
The two boys climbed the stairs of adulthood.
Do-dam looked at them with satisfaction.
“Hah.”
I was only joking around, and now they’re off to read books.
Well, what did it matter?
It was a win-win.
Do-dam continued her thoughts in the quiet living room, playing on the empty computer after the younger boys had cleared out.
Tap.
Tap.
Thunk!
[Normal matchmaking has begun!]
Then she started the game.
Tap.
Tap.
Since it was a Saturday afternoon, the opponents were surprisingly weak.
With her godlike controls, she delivered a delightful early skirmish.
[First Blood!]
But in her head, the deduction never stopped.
“....”
First, I heard the keyword “Hangang,” so I should list all the convenience stores over there. Then I narrow it down to the ones in a quiet location where stock would still be left...
The direction of vehicle traffic,
the surroundings of the convenience store,
even the flow of capital and human instinct...
“....”
Do-dam’s smart little brain was drawing on all of it, keeping up the search for the answer without pause. Even then, the match kept racing toward victory.
In the end, the result was decided fifteen minutes later.
She crushed their base before they even had time to surrender.
[Victory!]
[15:57]
“Ah, shit.”
To hide that ominous number,
Do-dam forgot even to savor the damage-chasing and rushed out.
“....”
And then she gave the answer to her long chain of deduction.
“...Wouldn’t it just be easier to call Aki and ask her directly?”
Do-dam pulled out the sleeping Big Smartphone from her pocket, complete with the deluxe custom case printed with Big Man’s one-billion-won trophy, and dialed. It was a sacred object Big Man had bought for her, so she treasured it carefully at all times.
“....”
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Even while the line was ringing, she worshiped it.
O god of capitalism, this humble servant uses your grace once again today. Big men...
Carrying mercy,
and peace,
and abundance...
Big men-
At that moment, Aki’s voice came through the Big Smartphone.
“Hello?”
“Aki, did you come to the Olive Sprout Orphanage today? The one in Mangwon-dong.”
“Yeah! How did you know?”
“I thought so.”
“?”
“Which convenience store do you work at, Aki?”
“Ah.”
*
After I finished eating with A-young at the temple and returned to the convenience store, a disheveled girl had come looking for us. Her loose shirt and pants flapped around her as she shadowboxed with earnest intensity.
“Shh, swish, swish, swish...”
“....”
Without saying a single word,
she kept throwing punches.
Every time she punched, her short hair swayed.
She was taller than A-young,
but unlike her solid build, this girl was all skin and bones.
So her punches did not look especially painful.
I stared at her blankly.
“Shh, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish...”
“....”
Who is this? If A-young invited her despite her irregular life from streaming, she must be someone from the company, or an ABCD member...
Ah.
I thought I knew who it was.
“....”
So it’s DoDa.
An unexpected second Red Pill.
She didn’t seem to have even the slightest intention of hiding it.
I thought it was just her broadcast concept, but she really goes around like this in public.
DoDa seemed to be getting tired, because her punches toward me gradually slowed. I still couldn’t tell what exactly she was trying to do.
“Shh, swish, heh, swish, huff...”
“....”
Beside her, A-young made an awkward face. It was an expression where familiarity and exhaustion coexisted. Then, stumbling over her words, she said, as though she didn’t know where to begin,
“Th-this... um. That company... no, uh. She’s a friend. She looks like that, but she’s really nice.”
“I see.”
“Um, so, this morning... the orphanage we went to. I think she came because of that. She suddenly called me and... well, um. Today is supposed to be the day all of us rest from streaming...”
“Yes. Take your time.”
“Um, ah...”
“....”
Was she unsure how much she should say about DoDa?
A-young’s eyes darted around as she struggled to find the words.
In the end, the person in question opened her mouth. Even while catching her breath, she kept a composed face.
“Aigoo! Huff...! In your heart, tock, tock, tock—! Nice to meet you. I’m DoDa of the VTuber group ABCD. Real name’s Kang Do-dam.”
“I see. Nice to meet you, Do-dam. I’m the convenience store manager, Seonwoo Taek.”
“Oh, thank you very much, Mister Hong.”
“Mister Hong?”
“You donated together with her at the orphanage where I grew up, apparently. I was bored, so I came by. In this age when righteousness and duty are dead, a hero still lives.”
“I didn’t steal anything.”
“I know that. It was just a joke.”
“I see.”
I asked about one thing that had been bothering me.
“Then why were you shadowboxing?”
“Because I was bored.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Why do you ask?”
“I was curious.”
“I see.”
We had only just met,
but for some reason the conversation flowed smoothly.
Probably she was joking around while taking my measure in several different ways.
“....”
“....”
We shook hands right away.
“Nice to meet you. Have you eaten?”
“I ate snacks on the way here, so I’m full.”
“I see. There’s coffee and snacks inside the store, so please make yourself at home. If you want to use the second floor, you just need to ask A-young for permission.”
“Then I’ll eat in the store. Excuse me.”
“Not at all.”
She had a considerate attitude toward A-young’s space.
She was eccentric, but she really did seem like a good companion.
“....”
It was sudden meeting her, but she seems more candid and easygoing than I expected. She also looks pretty close with A-young.
Even inside the company, A-young had a friend this close. Once I felt that firsthand, my heart somehow settled a little.
“....”
So.
Even if I wasn’t there...
But the scream that rang out beside me cut that thought short.
“Hey, hey!! Why are you doing that—?!”
“?”
“?”
It was the first time I’d ever heard A-young speak casually.
When we turned around,
A-young’s face had gone deathly pale.
“W-why would you suddenly reveal you’re a VTuber...?”
“Why? Aki seemed to have just dropped it too.”
“H-how do you even know that...?”
“If someone as bad at lying as Aki is starts talking about the company and all that stuff right in front of me, then she’s probably already told that person everything.”
“....”
“And if even sharp-eyed Aki is saying it, then that person must have a pretty tight mouth... Besides, weren’t you planning to use work as an excuse and stay here all day today anyway?”
“D-don’t say things like that in front of the person herself. That’s rude.”
“...Oh?”
Do-dam grinned. Then she looked over A-young’s face from top to bottom. At that reaction, A-young, a little embarrassed, pressed her baseball cap down lower.
“....”
In the end, A-young hurriedly said,
“A-anyway! D-Do-dam, come upstairs with me.”
“Follow me to the roof.”
“?”
“It was a joke.”
“Ah.”
In the end, the two of them linked hands and headed upstairs to the break room.
Just before climbing the stairs, A-young said,
“O-oh... Manager! We’ll be upstairs for a bit!”
“Yes, make yourselves comfortable.”
Then Do-dam copied A-young’s way of speaking from the side.
“Manajuh~”
“Ah, stop that.”
“Eeh, Huizme~”
“Seriously—!”
Even as they went up the stairs,
I could still hear them bickering.
“....”
I sat for a while at the outdoor table.
It was only Saturday afternoon,
but somehow a lot had happened already.
Strangely, I felt a little tired.
“...Hah.”
*
Several documents and materials were spread across the table.
They were collaboration documents for the Live Future and Pazijik platforms, along with papers analyzing various financial statements. On top of that pile of papers sat a newspaper clipping.
The most out-of-place,
and the most jarring material of all.
[The Winner of the 10 Billion Won Jackpot Is a Man in His Mid-Twenties!]
“....”
The one reading it was Jeong Yu-ri.
“...No way.”