Money Is What’s Left
After I’d already set the investment in motion, I went into the community I used most often.
When I clicked into the cryptocurrency category, there were already countless posts about the current downturn.
Back when I’d first discovered Bitcoin and sold, the place had been overflowing with posts praising it to the heavens. This time, though, it really did seem like the drop wasn’t just a temporary dip.
Everyone was laying bare their despair over this latest drop.
And yet most of them still seemed to believe the fall was temporary, that prices would bounce back soon enough.
Unlike me, who was betting on a further decline, they were expecting another rise.
“Weird.”
By all rights, I should’ve been the one getting anxious after seeing reactions like this, and yet for some reason my conviction only grew stronger.
This drop wasn’t temporary.
Even if I turned out to be wrong.
“I’ve still got 90 billion won.”
I still had money left over that I’d once thought I’d never even be able to imagine owning.
I was standing at a crossroads now.
I could live the rest of my life as a wealthy man with 90 billion won, or I could ride this investment through to success, see the possibilities, and go after a life even richer than that.
Either way, it was more than enough to satisfy me.
“As for the investment…”
That wasn’t the conclusion I needed right this second.
Putting it aside for the moment, I started thinking about what my future life as a rich man should look like.
First on the list was a luxury house with a view of the Han River and a garage full of supercars.
Those were the things I’d always wanted to achieve if I ever made it. Of course, I hadn’t known I’d get there this fast—much less with even bigger results than I’d dreamed of.
“Hmm…”
There was a problem.
I might have money, but aside from that I wasn’t any different from an ordinary person.
I didn’t even know the first thing about buying real estate, let alone how to buy a supercar.
And even if I did manage to buy them, I wouldn’t be able to tell whether I was paying a fair price or getting taken for a ride.
Neither of those things cost pocket change, either. If I got scammed there, how much damage would that cause?
It looked like I had something I needed to do before I could start indulging my desires.
I need to find someone.
I needed someone who could handle all the annoying things I didn’t want to deal with myself. Honestly, the very idea of a rich guy doing every little thing personally was ridiculous.
Maybe I hadn’t shaken off all the habits of my broke life yet.
I looked it up online.
There were people called headhunters.
I’d call one tomorrow and ask them to connect me with someone like a chief secretary.
“Money really is the best.”
Even laziness could be bought with money.
What couldn’t money do?
So far, I still hadn’t found the answer.
For now, I decided to do things this way.
“Didn’t they say pretty women from Ten Pro went into camming?”
The comment I’d heard earlier came back to me.
That pretty women were doing internet broadcasts now.
It was welcome news to me, especially since I already enjoyed watching online streams.
“Good thing I’ve got tomorrow off.”
It felt like a waste even to sleep.
***
“So days like this really do come.”
I never thought the day would come when I’d have to check the daily charge limit on America TV.
Once I topped up 10,000, the system told me I’d hit the limit.
I called the Star Balloon recharge proxy service right away.
“They’re working hard, huh.”
Since they were open twenty-four hours a day, they replied immediately, and after I handed over my account ID, they handled the recharge for me.
This time I’d bought 100,000 Star Balloons, for a total of 10 million won.
Some people might call that excessive, but if I wanted to definitely leave an impression on a camgirl, that was what it took.
For someone making tens of millions a month, ordinary money wasn’t enough to make them blink.
I entered the stream of a camgirl I’d always liked watching.
There were only around a hundred viewers. Definitely not a huge audience.
Still, her donation power didn’t fall short of the other camgirls by much.
She probably made twenty or thirty million a month after the platform took its cut.
I went into her room.
There she was: Seola, still as pretty as ever.
I thought she could hold her own even compared to most idols.
Of course, that was easy for me to say, since I’d never actually seen an idol in person.
Still, if I had to choose, I’d take Seola—the one I could actually talk to—over some unreachable idol any day.
At least, that was how I felt now.
The camgirl, checking the Star Balloons, was so shocked she covered her mouth with both hands and gasped.
The viewers also reacted with surprise, as if 10,000 gifts really weren’t all that common.
“Waaah! Oppa! What is this? Where did this noble benefactor come from?!”
Cute. Worth it.
That was how I felt now, after once not understanding why anyone would bother sponsoring Star Balloons in the first place.
So this was the joy of spending money.
A beautiful woman who was hard to approach outside sat down and talked to me, acknowledging my existence.
It was a world away from being just another viewer whose presence she didn’t even notice.
“I’ll do a reaction!”
A reaction. In return for the Star Balloons came a sexy dance.
I found myself smiling.
“I’ll give you a room selfie. And take manager status.”
A message appeared saying I’d been appointed as a manager.
Seola sent me a message in manager chat.
"Oppa, who are you? Is this your first time watching my stream?"
“I’ve been watching before. I just started donating this time.”
“Eek! Oppa, thank you! I’ll work hard!”
“Could I get your KakaoTalk ID, by any chance?”
“I’m really grateful, but… that’s kind of a privilege for hardcore fans, so… I’m sorry!”
“No, that makes sense.”
“Really, I’m so sorry. I’d love to give it to you, but if I do, people might start talking.”
It was fine by me.
Asking for her KakaoTalk ID in exchange for just 10,000 Star Balloons was the problem, not me.
I donated the remaining 90,000 all at once.
At the same time, a message appeared saying I’d become a new hardcore fan.
Since Seola was a camgirl with a relatively short career, the hardcore fan threshold for her was lower than it was for the others.
What the hell am I even looking at…
Is this guy a whale alt account?
This is giving me secondhand embarrassment.
He spent 10 million won in ten minutes, right?
With tax, that’s another million on top.
Holy crap, he really became a hardcore fan again just like that.
He’s 100 percent some illegal rabbit.
Let’s not be insulting.
Comments from stunned viewers flooded upward at speed, and Seola, too shocked to speak, seemed on the verge of tears.
Even for a camgirl making a lot of money, getting 10 million won in donations in a single day wasn’t easy.
If it were, her monthly income would easily clear 300 million won.
“Haa… I think I’m actually going to cry. RichKid oppa, thank you so much…”
Her eyes were already glistening with tears.
“How am I supposed to express how grateful I am…”
Today’s goal had been KakaoTalk.
The manager chat continued.
“Oppa, I’ll give you my KakaoTalk ID… I’m really thankful.”
After getting her ID, I watched the stream a little longer before leaving.
I was so tired my eyes were almost closing on their own.
I checked the community again.
There were posts about me in the America TV category.
Posts about camgirls were rare, so I felt oddly proud.
There were plenty of posts criticizing me, but instead of feeling bad, I found myself agreeing with them more.
It lined up perfectly with how I’d thought before.
Haha.
Now, I knew exactly how to answer that kind of comment.
“If that money is nothing to you, then you can spend it without a problem.”
Ten million won.
For me, it was nothing.
And I was even more satisfied that I’d gotten Seola’s KakaoTalk with it.
It had been an intoxicating night.
***
The next day.
When I contacted the headhunter agency, they set up a meeting for that very same day.
I headed to the café where we’d agreed to meet at the appointed time.
I’d even left ten minutes early, but the staff member was already there waiting for me.
“Hello. You’re the one from the headhunter agency, right?”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Headhunter Baek Minseok.”
We shook hands and took our seats.
“I haven’t received your detailed information yet. Would you mind telling me whether you’re looking for a job or looking for an employee?”
“I’m looking for an employee.”
“I see. To be successful enough to need employees at your age—how enviable. May I ask what conditions you’re looking for?”
“Someone who’s worked in a conglomerate’s strategy office would be nice. Even better if they once served the owner’s family. I want someone with enough experience.”
“…”
He looked taken aback by the conditions I’d laid out.
Sure, I had plenty of money, but I still hadn’t quite shaken off the air of a part-timer.
It made sense that he’d be surprised.
“I’m sorry to be blunt, but to hire someone under those conditions, you’d need to guarantee at least a 200 million won annual salary.”
“I’m prepared to go higher than that. Just make sure they’re good at their job.”
“…”
“I can afford a 1 billion won salary, so please introduce me to someone worthy of it.”
“Kh—”
He choked hard enough to cough.
“S-sorry. I was just so shocked. If you’d like, give me a little time and I’ll find someone who matches your criteria right away…”
“Take your time.”
What I had plenty of was time.
And even more than that, money.