What on Earth Are You?
Ugh.
I stretched and got out of bed.
I felt more energized than I had any right to be. There was only one reason for it: today was the day I’d finally meet Seola, the girl I’d been waiting for all this time.
I checked the time.
“Fuck..”
The sleep vanished from my head in an instant.
I’d woken up later than I expected. I’d definitely set an alarm, so how the hell had this happened?
A memory I should never have had flashed through my mind.
I had turned off that blaring alarm earlier.
“Haaah..”
At least I wasn’t going to be late for the appointment.
Still, I’d have to go out wearing the clothes I used for part-time work.
It was too late to call the chief secretary now.
All my expensive clothes were at Signiel Penthouse. If I left them here, Aunt would think something was strange.
What could I do?
I’d just have to wear what I had.
“It’s just a meal, anyway.”
Sure, it was called a lunch date, but in the end it was just eating a meal together.
Thinking about it made me realize how much I’d changed in a short time.
If I’d been my old self, I would’ve been nervous, trying my hardest to look as good as possible.
But meeting a lot of women in a short period had helped.
Especially that hostess club I’d gone to with my brother.
Weirdly enough, the advice I’d gotten there had been a huge help.
It was strange. Back then I hadn’t thought much of it.
But as time went on, I really did find myself changing according to that advice.
“I’m good enough.”
Objectively speaking, I was way better.
Looks could vary a lot. No matter how much you groomed yourself or tried to improve, you couldn’t deny that sad truth.
But aside from looks, I beat her in every other way.
I was a man with assets worth over 200 billion won.
She was a female streamer earning tens of millions a month.
The former had the clearly superior conditions.
She didn’t like me? Fine. I didn’t have to like her either.
The one at a disadvantage wasn’t me.
Especially not in our relationship.
I was the one sending Star Balloons, the one in the position of giver.
“I should wash up.”
I’d found my calm.
***
I left the house.
I’d only been riding in a Rolls-Royce for how long, and I’d already gotten used to it, apparently.
The taxi I used to only take when I was desperate now felt disappointing by comparison.
What was this ride quality?
So this was why people say it’s easy to go up and hard to accept going back down.
I got out of the cab and arrived at the meeting place.
There was a message in KakaoTalk.
[Oppa, where are you? I’m already here.]
[I’m here too. What’s around you?]
[Hmm.. there’s a bank.]
[Found you.]
At my message, she looked around.
Wow.
She really was pretty. I hadn’t even seen her properly yet, but there was already something different about her.
A crane among chickens.
She stood out the most on the street.
The way her hair swayed whenever she shook her head told me just how much effort she put into her appearance.
I raised a hand and waved.
“Seola, it’s me.”
“.. Hello.”
She froze when she spotted me. Then she quickly collected herself and greeted me.
By the time she lifted her head, a bright smile was already in place.
Why was her face the size of a fist, too? At 165 centimeters, and with a figure that good, no less.
From a distance, she almost looked taller than me.
Even with sneakers on.
Ji-hyun, I’m sorry.
That thought crossed my mind out of nowhere. I was so glad I hadn’t ended up dating Ji-hyun.
Best decision of the year, hands down.
The absolute best was betting on Bitcoin’s crash, though.
“Oppa, you’re really in your twenties?”
“Would I have lied about it?”
“Honestly, it’s hard to believe. How do you even have that kind of money in your twenties? Crazy.”
“You make good money too.”
“That’s all thanks to you, Oppa.”
“You were already making good money.”
She really knew how to say things prettily. That was why she was a streamer.
Being pretty wasn’t enough on its own.
“Is there a lunch you want? I’ll buy whatever you want.”
“Really? So you’re going to eat something expensive?”
“.. Hehe. Something reasonable?”
“But I don’t know any place around here. Do you know a restaurant nearby?”
“Hmm.. it’s my first time here too.”
I looked around.
Nothing really stood out.
I could see places like kimbap shops, but I wanted something different today.
I wanted the two of us to sit somewhere quiet and have a relaxed meal, chatting softly as we ate.
“Then do you want to go by car? Let’s head to Cheongdam-dong or Gangnam.”
“Whoa. What kind of fancy food are you planning on eating? Your taste is seriously high-class.”
“If it’s too much, I’ll pay.”
“I’m kidding. You brought your car?”
“We’ll have to wait a little if we want to take the car.”
“Hmm.. should we just catch a taxi?”
“I’d rather go comfortably. The distance is pretty far too.”
“Okay, then.”
“It’ll take about thirty minutes, so let’s go to a café.”
“Sure. We can wait a bit.”
To be exact, I didn’t know how long it would take.
But whenever I contacted the chief secretary, he’d never been late by more than thirty minutes.
Unless the distance was genuinely far.
I called him.
As expected, he said he could arrive within thirty minutes.
He was really working hard even though it was lunchtime. How much should I actually be paying him?
My dependence on the chief secretary was growing by the day.
We’ll go all the way together.
“He says he’ll be here within thirty minutes.”
“Is a friend coming?”
“No, someone who helps me with my work.”
“Wow.. what? Are they a businessperson or something?”
“Hmm.. something like that.”
“I knew there was something different about you.”
“You’re lying.”
“.. It showed?”
“Of course. Tell me what’s different.”
“.. Your aura?”
What was there to be different about me?
I wasn’t even decked out in luxury brands.
The look in her eyes from the moment we met had already told the story.
She looked surprised because I was young, but not because she saw me any differently.
“Let’s go to the café first.”
“Okay~”
She was cute.
What am I supposed to do with this?
Why on earth wasn’t South Korea a polygamous country?
I felt like I might fall in love the way Ji-hyun had.
Get a grip.
***
What is this guy..?
Han Seonhwa was utterly flustered when she met the newly rich man for the first time.
It wasn’t just because he happened to be around her age.
She couldn’t quite believe that the person who looked so ordinary if you passed him on the street had sent her nearly 100 million won in Star Balloons.
It wasn’t that he looked poor.
He just didn’t look rich enough to casually blow 100 million won on someone.
Even his clothes weren’t luxury brands, just ordinary off-label stuff that suited a guy his age.
Strange..
She didn’t think too deeply about it. That wasn’t really her personality.
Well, at least he isn’t some creepy old man.
She should just think of him as a fellow young guy she’d met.
With that in mind, she decided on a light, casual restaurant.
The problem was that neither of them knew this area well, so they had no idea where to go.
Then he suggested they travel by car.
That much made sense. Plenty of people in their early twenties drove cars these days.
And someone spending over 100 million won on America TV clearly wouldn’t be without one.
What flustered her was the fact that he wasn’t driving it himself, but that someone who helped him with his work was bringing the car over.
Hmm..
It still didn’t fit.
He really looked so ordinary..
Wasn’t he just calling a friend?
After all, to a man in his twenties, a streamer was a mysterious creature.
For now, all she could do was wait and see.
Besides, he had sponsored her with around 100 million won; she could hardly refuse a little inconvenience in return.
If his friend came, she figured they’d just eat together.
That was better anyway.
If a friend was there, he wouldn’t make an obvious pass at her over lunch.
There were far too many viewers like that in the streamer world.
She understood. That was part of the job.
But she had no intention of selling her body too.
If she’d wanted that, she wouldn’t have become a broadcaster; she would’ve gone into the entertainment business instead.
She ordered a drink at the café.
Ugh, I’m so curious I can’t take it.
“Oppa, what do you usually do?”
“Usually? Well, I used to work part-time, but I quit recently.”
“..”
What?
Was he joking?
She had no idea how she was supposed to take that.
So, to sum it up:
He had sponsored America TV with 100 million won, and someone who helped him with his work was going to drive over in his car.
Did that make sense in any kind of common-sense universe?
“You’re taking the joke too far, Oppa. I’m really going to believe you.”
“I’m serious.”
“.. Then how did you sponsor me? Honestly, if you add in the money you gave my Excel too, you’re basically the chairman of my room.”
“I’ve made a lot of money recently. From coins.”
“..”
Should she believe it or not?
He’d quit his part-time job recently, and in that time he’d made enough from coins to come up with 100 million won?
If you wanted to spend 100 million won comfortably, you’d probably need several billion won.
And that was being conservative.
Besides, when people made money from coins, didn’t they usually buy luxury goods first?
Did you need someone to help you with coins?
Honestly, it was hard to believe.
Maybe..
Is he doing something illegal?
The thought crossed her mind that he might be involved in something unlawful.
Right now, that seemed more plausible.
Whatever.
He was an Oppa who sent a lot of Star Balloons.
Legal or illegal, what did it matter?
She was just worried he might get arrested.
“Hmm.. would it be rude to ask this? I heard Bitcoin crashed hard recently. Are you okay? I’m worried about you..”
“I made a huge profit from it.”
“.. Wow. You’re really amazing.”
“I just got lucky.”
“But Oppa, you’re not even nervous in front of a pretty girl like me. Are you sure you’re really someone who recently succeeded?”
“Huh? Am I supposed to be nervous?”
“Tch, I just said it because everyone else gets nervous. It doesn’t mean I have a princess complex or anything.”
“Hmm.. really?”
“.. What?”
“Usually, people don’t say that about themselves.”
“.. Well, it’s true, so what?”
Still, the atmosphere wasn’t awkward.
That was better than being unable to say a word because you had no experience talking to women at all.
Honestly, this easy conversation was much nicer.
At least the talk kept flowing.
They spent about thirty minutes trading silly jokes.
During those thirty minutes, she reached her own conclusion.
He was awfully easygoing.
He didn’t seem like the unbelievably rich man she’d imagined.
“Oh, he’s here. Let’s go out.”
“..”
Not until she saw the Rolls-Royce parked in front of the café.
“.. What is that, Oppa?”
“Huh? What is?”
Now she understood.
He’d totally played her.
He’d been teasing her the whole time.
What on earth was he?
Was he some kind of chaebol or something?