The Great Power of Money
My aunt was so stunned that she let out a low murmur of curiosity.
“What kind of house costs ten billion won...?”
“Mom, it’s not just a house. If it’s Aphro River Park, you get an unobstructed view of the Han River.”
“Even so...”
“And if it’s a penthouse... it’s at least three times bigger than our current place.”
“Th-That much?”
My sister, too, went silent again after hearing that explanation.
Neither the price nor the size was easy to wrap your head around.
Instead, my sister, who had at least recovered first, asked, “So... what you’re saying, Doyun, is that you want to move, and you want us to come with you too?”
“Yes...?”
“How could we? We’re not shameless like that. You might think it’s fine now, but later on you’ll definitely start feeling uncomfortable.”
“...”
“To be blunt, you’re a man too. Now that you’ve got money to spare, maybe you’ll want to date women.”
“Seolhyun...”
“Mom, this is something we really need to address.”
“...”
“You might want to bring women home someday. At that point, we could end up feeling like an eyesore to you. Why go out of your way to create that kind of awkward relationship?”
As if I’d bring women anywhere other than Signiel Penthouse.
They didn’t know that, so they were saying things like this.
For now, I needed to smooth things over.
“I didn’t think my aunt, my sister, and Sihyun might feel uncomfortable. I was just thinking of the good side of it...”
“That’s understandable.”
“But if everyone’s okay with it, then I still feel the same. Investing is the most important thing to me. And environment has a huge impact on investing.”
“...”
“And... in the worst-case scenario, like my sister said, something like that could happen. But I also have a separate office. One I use all by myself.”
“... An office?”
“Yes, I recently got one. In Signiel, in Jamsil. At home, I’ve been able to focus on investment strategy in peace, and I only did the actual trading there. Anyway, even if something like that did happen, I’d have an office-cum-home, so those kinds of awkward situations wouldn’t arise.”
My aunt, sensing the flimsy excuse, pressed exactly where it hurt.
“Then... wouldn’t it be better to just live comfortably in a nice house? I don’t know what Signiel is like, but do you really need to buy two houses?”
“It’s mainly my own whim. A kind of investing superstition, I guess. And... Signiel is a better place than Aphro River Park.”
“...”
“It also costs about three times as much.”
By then, maybe they were tired of being shocked.
Instead, they just stared blankly, all speech gone from their faces.
“I thought you were kidding before... Did you really recover those lost Bitcoins? Or win the lottery or something? Even a lottery wouldn’t be this much...”
“My sister’s right. I did recover the lost Bitcoins, and I made successful investments with them.”
“... You’re not messing with me right now, are you?”
“I’m serious.”
I told them the truth. Just not the scale of it.
My sister stood there blankly for a long while, then said, “This is something Mom should decide. Honestly, I know it’s selfish, but... until Doyun gets uncomfortable with us, staying doesn’t seem so bad to me.”
“M-Me too. It’s close to school.”
“... Could you think about it and give me your answer later?”
“Of course. Don’t feel pressured. And please understand this is truly a suggestion I’m making for my own sake. Investing superstitions matter a lot to me.”
“... All right.”
If they refused, I’d rather give up on the house altogether.
The penthouse was already gone.
I just needed to buy myself as much time as possible.
***
Things settled down with my aunt saying she’d think it over and give me an answer later.
Another few days passed.
March drew near, and Sihyun kept commuting to school.
I timed things so I could take her to school as often as possible on my way out to work.
It would have been more convenient if she’d stayed in a dorm, but because priority went to students from the provinces, she got bumped off the list in the end.
For me, it was a real relief.
After dropping her off at school again today, I arrived at Signiel Penthouse.
The chief secretary gave me a report.
“We’ve completed the building purchase, and one floor has been prepared as the office for DE Investment. Also, Haewon, the collaboration with Chef Kang Taeyun, has entered the construction phase and has been incorporated as a DE Holdings subsidiary.”
“Good. Could I get Chef Kang Taeyun’s number, by any chance?”
“Understood.”
I received the number.
I should at least ask. My sister said she was serious about cooking, after all.
First, I needed to ask whether she really had that intention.
I called.
“What are you doing?”
-I just got up. What’s with you calling all of a sudden?
“I had something to ask you. Do you still seriously want to learn cooking?”
-... Actually, I was going to ask you about that. What you said the other day—were you serious?
“Huh? You mean about putting in a word for Chef Kang Taeyun?”
-Yeah. If you were serious, I want to try taking it seriously. Of course, I’m still going to a cooking academy. Maybe it’s late, but...
“So you do mean it. I’ll ask him. Even if the answer comes back negative, keep studying cooking. You should do what you want.”
-... What is that? Acting all dependable. But why does it actually feel dependable? Brother, I’m counting on you.
My sister really was serious about cooking.
She was already going to a cooking academy.
I called the number I’d been given.
No pressure, just a question.
-Yes, I’ve received the call.
“This is Lee Doyun. We’re planning to work together.”
-Ah, yes. Chairman! I heard from the chief secretary!
“Yes...”
Hearing someone else call me “Chairman” made it feel oddly real.
Come to think of it, maybe it really was fitting now.
Not as some kind of childish pretend game, but for real.
As March began, Bitcoin slipped back below 7,000 dollars. My profit was around 150 billion won. At this point, I was starting to wonder when I’d ever finish realizing it all.
Even if I spread the sales out across multiple exchanges at once, the systems were connected, so...
It wouldn’t be easy.
Now was really the time to move into stocks.
Either way, my assets were worth about 500 billion won. Net assets, even.
At that level, wasn’t “Chairman” a pretty fitting title?
“By any chance, one of my acquaintances wants to learn the ropes of work. Would it be possible to take on just one person?”
-Are you referring to Shin Jaehun, who you mentioned last time?
“Ah, no. He’s decided to do something else. I’m talking about my older sister.”
-What exactly do you mean by learning the ropes of work...?
“She’s interested in cooking. I was asking whether she could learn under the chef. If that’s too much trouble, feel free to say no.”
-N-No, not at all. It would be an honor just to have someone from the chairman’s family learn cooking from me.
“I appreciate you saying that. Until then, she should be able to build up the basics at her cooking academy.”
-If your sister has the time, please send her to me. I’ll teach her cooking myself.
“... Are you sure that’s all right?”
-I’m in the middle of construction right now, so I don’t have any especially pressing work. It’s more than possible.
“Then I’d appreciate that.”
In the end, I got a positive answer.
Come to think of it, what had Jaehun hyung been up to?
With Haewon’s opening pushed back quite a bit, he’d said he couldn’t just sit around until then, so he was looking for other work.
He’d probably do fine.
At the very least, he was better at social life than I was.
Even if I was the one working hard like a sucker.
I passed the news along to my sister.
-I never thought I’d be saying this to you, but... did you find a place to live on your own?
For an instant, Signiel and Aphro River Park flashed through my mind. Absolutely not.
Signiel was for the women I’d eventually meet. Aphro River Park was for my aunt’s family.
There was no room for my sister to wedge herself in anywhere.
“I’ll find you one.”
-... What are you talking about? Hey, are you really that rich? I’ll just live like a mouse, I swear...
“I’m rich.”
-... Seriously? Can I trust my little brother on this one?
Honestly, her ability to flip her attitude was impressive. I should’ve known from the moment she’d pretended to be in such a panic just to call me and tell me to turn off the lights in her room.
And on top of that, I’d just made 150 billion won in profit...
A studio apartment was nothing.
Where would be good? I wanted to send her as far away from my own place as possible.
“Look around, but no Jamsil or Banpo.”
-Good grief, I wasn’t even dreaming of those areas.
“Cheongdam is fine too, so just find anywhere.”
-Foorr real...?
Just keep her away from Jamsil and Banpo, seriously.
Even running into her would be a nuisance.
***
After tying up all the loose ends, I finally began realizing profits at a slow pace and, for the first time in a while, went back into American TV.
When you were realizing profits, there wasn’t much need for intense focus.
“I wonder what Seola’s doing.”
Before the trip. After the conversation with Seola, I hadn’t contacted her separately.
I didn’t particularly want to reassure her by reaching out now, when I was watching to see how she handled things on her own.
If she’d refused, then she needed to carry that responsibility.
And I was curious whether Seola, after tasting money, would be able to push forward boldly.
I entered the broadcasting site.
There was a notice posted today.
“Oh.”
She was doing pretty well, in her own way.
This time, she was challenging the crew audition. Held today.
Looking through the comments, it seemed like this was her fourth time trying for an audition...
Still, she hadn’t asked me for help, and she was carrying on bravely.
But then.
“Hm.”
I found myself wondering whether she’d choose to fight through it alone again this time too.
I’d helped her get into the crew, but if that help disappeared...
Would she still answer that she’d handle it by herself?
Lately, I’d been feeling something more and more clearly...
The power of money was greater than I’d ever imagined.
That little sister of mine had gotten to the point where she called me “brother-nim,” after all.