He Really Was a Monster
Kang Seongjin stepped carefully, almost tiptoeing across the floor.
It felt like the only appropriate thing to do.
To be perfectly honest, he was starting to wonder whether he was even allowed to be sightseeing here.
This is insane.
By ordinary standards, he himself would already have been considered rich.
He made tens of millions of won a month—sometimes even up to a hundred million.
And there were plenty of people around him who were doing even better than he was.
And yet...
What kind of house is this? It’s basically the size of a sports field.
He could say with certainty that he had never seen a house like this before.
The so-called super-rich around him all bought apartments in good locations.
They were luxurious, sure—absurdly so, even.
But a penthouse like this, one that looked like it would appreciate far less than an apartment in the future, was something they wouldn’t even dream of touching.
To buy a place like this, you’d need to be at the point where money was no longer a concern at all.
The kind of wealth where twenty billion won felt like nothing.
“Waaah.”
Before he knew it, he’d become just another viewer himself.
He was too busy looking around. I’ve never seen a house like this before...
As a broadcaster, he had no commentary left to give. He was too busy gawking.
Only constant exclamations kept spilling out of him.
And no one in the chat complained.
They were all too busy staring at the house themselves.
“This is seriously fucking unreal.”
He turned his head, but the place seemed to go on forever.
He was asking out of pure curiosity.
“How many pyeong is this, hyung?”
“Probably around three hundred pyeong.”
“...Can we really put this on air?”
“Of course. I’m aboveboard.”
That was fair.
Once a house like this appeared on broadcast, it would become a hot topic no matter what.
He could practically guarantee there’d be articles about it tomorrow.
For someone doing something illegal, this would be the last situation they’d want.
Which only made it all the more obvious how clean he was.
Then he found a window. It was ridiculously huge.
He looked at the view, and another burst of admiration escaped him.
The viewers were shouting at him, saying they wanted to see it too.
Right—he’d forgotten. He was too stunned himself.
He showed them the view outside the window, and even the viewers were shaken.
It was the kind of sight most people had never seen before.
Was Seoul really this beautiful under the rising moon?
It almost didn’t feel like Seoul at all.
We walked around for a long time, touring the place.
Every room was as big as an entire house.
“How many rooms are there? No matter how much I look, it never ends.”
“I think there are eight.”
“...And the bathrooms?”
“Seven?”
Jesus. He was at a loss for words. What the hell kind of ridiculously lavish place was this?
So it was complete bullshit after all.
A man this rich could seduce not just cam girls, but even celebrities.
That alone was enough to prove it.
The fat-cat hyung was absolutely not some guy doing illegal work.
If anyone still wanted more proof after this, then they were insane.
No matter what evidence was put in front of them, they’d never believe it.
Hyung didn’t look satisfied.
“Just in case, I even prepared the real-estate registry. It’s a little awkward on camera, so... please just check it yourself, hyung.”
“Y-yes, of course, hyung.”
He showed the registry he’d prepared. Any suspicion was already gone.
This was just for confirmation.
He checked the name.
“...It’s not under a corporation?”
“No.”
It was the same name as his resident registration card.
Oh my God...
He really was a monster.
***
Hyeoni, who had been watching the broadcast, had thought it was all bullshit until Kang Seongjin got into the car.
But once she saw the luxury vehicle, she started to feel a little uneasy.
That car...
She knew it was incredibly expensive.
It must belong to someone else...
There was no way it was his.
The confusion in her chest just wouldn’t stop.
And apparently, the person who brought the car wasn’t even the owner, but a secretary.
Was he really some kind of chairman or something...?
The car headed toward Jamsil. Its destination was Lotte World Tower.
Then a thought crossed her mind.
Her older acquaintance lived in Signiel, and she’d visited once before. She had been shocked senseless.
That oppa was also from a very rich family.
So was he really not some guy doing illegal work?
“...Huh?”
Something was off. Since she’d been to Signiel before, she knew.
To get there, you had to transfer elevators partway up.
But then he pressed seventy.
And it actually worked.
How the hell was that possible...?
The elevator stopped on the seventieth floor, and from there, it was directly connected to the residence.
The fat-cat man was waiting there to greet them.
He sounded so young, though.
He opened the door.
“...”
Her mind went blank. It wasn’t just Signiel—it was a penthouse.
My God.
That kind of house actually existed?
She honestly hadn’t known.
Her whole body started shaking. Was that guy really that rich?
Then what was she supposed to do...?
Even as she struggled to keep denying it, reality kept crushing her hopes flat.
He even produced the real-estate registry.
When Kang Seongjin checked it and said it wasn’t under a corporation, she couldn’t deny it anymore.
“Ah.”
At this point, there was no arguing with it.
To be honest, even if he really were someone doing illegal work, with everything he’d shown so far, no one would think that anymore.
So he really is rich.
“Chairman” wasn’t the wrong word after all.
“It’s not my fault.”
This wasn’t her fault alone.
Teo oppa had clearly said it at a drinking party. He’d said that guy was someone who did illegal work.
She had only passed along what she’d heard.
With trembling hands, she called Teo oppa.
“Oppa... what are we going to do...?”
-Why are you asking me that? Then why did you go and say something like that on air? Apologize right now. Say it was your fault.
“...But oppa, you were the one who said it at the drinking party. It wasn’t just me who heard it.”
-I said it could be that way. When did I say it was for sure? Get a grip. If you can’t clean this up properly, you’re out of Excel.
“Oppa! O—”
Click.
Fuck...
No, that wasn’t right! He’d definitely said it to them!
She still remembered clearly what her oppa had said.
This was obviously him cutting ties.
Even while her whole body trembled, she calmly called another cam girl she worked with.
“Do you remember what oppa said last time?”
-I do, but honestly, I think what you said on air was wrong, unnie.
“...Get lost.”
She didn’t need to keep calling. She needed evidence. Evidence so she wouldn’t be the only one fucked later.
She started gathering it late, but better late than never.
Even as that was happening, the broadcast kept going.
And it was heading in a dark direction.
-I can put up with most insults, but trashing someone’s family is another story. I’m thinking about filing charges for that.
-Insulting someone’s family really is crossing the line. Good call, hyung.
The fat-cat didn’t seem intent on ending this here.
The chat was in chaos too.
And not in the way she wanted.
As he brought out one piece of evidence after another, the mood in the chat had already turned friendly toward him.
No, this was bad.
And then it got worse.
-And... the female streamer who framed me will be considered for defamation. I don’t know how far that’ll go, but... at the very least, I can make things annoying for her. I’m planning to hand it over to a law firm.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Why the hell was he doing this to her?
All she’d done was repeat exactly what Teo oppa had said.
She didn’t even know what she’d done wrong.
People weren’t looking for an explanation.
They were just taking action.
The broadcasting station was in utter ruins. The chat was flooded with doom. The community boards were no different.
“Ah.”
What was she supposed to do now?
She didn’t have any money.
Maybe she should ask Teo oppa for help.
It was frustrating, but if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t even have money to hire a lawyer.
The answer she got back was:
-Blocked.
He was cutting her off.
That bastard...
She had no intention of dying alone.
That bastard. She would never forgive him.
***
After checking the real-estate registry too, I let out a low whistle.
It felt a little awkward to bring it up in this atmosphere, but I still told him about the lawsuit.
Luckily, he didn’t look especially troubled.
In fact, he even encouraged me.
So did the viewers.
“More than that, hyung, I’m seriously impressed.”
“Haha... I got lucky.”
Before I knew it, I was back in broadcast mode.
The moment I first stepped into the house, I’d been acting more like a viewer than a broadcaster.
Still, there was a reason he’d survived this long in the cutthroat American market.
“Hyung, would it be rude to ask about your net worth? Haha. Just kidding, just kidding.”
“Hmm... let’s not get into exact numbers. I’ll give you three chances, up or down?”
“R-really, hyung? Is that okay?”
“I should at least satisfy some of your curiosity.”
He wasn’t asking for an exact figure, just a rough guess. That was fine.
I wasn’t a businessman or a broadcaster trying to keep things secret, so there was no real reason to hide it.
He asked with renewed determination.
“Hmm... ten billion won!”
I deflated a little.
“Up. This house alone is worth more than ten billion.”
The viewers went nuts.
Given everything they’d seen so far, there was no way he was only worth that much.
“Ah, calm down, everyone. Sorry. Hyung, what I meant was net assets, excluding loans.”
“Yes, I was speaking based on that too.”
“...Wow.”
Wasn’t that how people usually calculated it?
“...Fifty billion won?”
“Up.”
This time, he looked genuinely shocked.
Looks like the first one had been a joke.
He swallowed hard.
“One hundred billion won...”
“Up.”
“...Huh?”
He made a dumbfounded face.
“You said net assets, right, hyung?”
“Yes.”
“...Huh?”
“...Yes?”
This time, even the viewers weren’t cursing at Kang Seongjin; they were reacting with the same shock.
Countless question marks rose like hooks in the air.
It was still a little embarrassing to be called a chairman.
Still, I couldn’t deny the fact that I was rich anymore.
That would just be dishonest.