23 Billion Won in Two Days
The panicked headhunter collected himself, apologized for the delay, and pulled out a tablet.
The way his fingers and eyes moved in a flurry told me he was clearly searching for someone who fit the conditions I’d asked for.
After a few minutes, he introduced me to several people.
“He comes from a major conglomerate’s strategy office and has excellent connections. He’ll be able to help you in a lot of ways if you’re starting a business.”
“He played a key role in the success of multiple projects at a major corporation...”
“A former legal professional who even made it as far as chief of staff...”
“Someone who entered the strategy office at a young age and has a bright future...”
None of them really moved me.
What I wanted wasn’t someone who could help me run a business. I wanted someone who was simply good at their job.
If someone like me, who knew nothing, just threw money at a business because I had plenty of it, that would be the same as tossing cash into a furnace.
I needed someone who would protect my money and take care of every annoying little thing for me.
“How about this person? They might be a bad fit for business, but their ability is top-tier. They were made a political scapegoat after getting shoved aside in the power struggles among the children of a conglomerate family. They’d have a hard time with anything tied to that world, but they handled the royal family, so they’ve got broad experience and outstanding ability.”
At last, someone like the one I wanted had shown up.
Someone who might not be much help in business, but whose actual abilities were excellent.
“This one sounds good. Can I meet them?”
“In this person’s case, the salary you’d need to pay may be higher than the others. As a baseline, it would probably be around 500 million won...”
“Yes, connect me.”
“...Understood. I’ll contact you once an appointment has been arranged, sir.”
Would I really be stingy about paying to hire someone excellent?
If I tried to save 500 million won by hiring someone underqualified, I might end up losing far more than that.
I’d have to meet him first and talk things over before I knew for sure.
***
After hearing that he’d contact me once things were arranged, I went back home.
My aunt must have been out at work, because no one was home.
Seolhyeon’s sister had just gotten a job, so she was working overtime a lot lately, and Siyun had just become an adult, which meant he was out drinking with friends more often than not.
“How much should I set the rent at?”
I found myself thinking about how much monthly rent I should charge them. At first, I wondered if 1 million won would be reasonable, but it didn’t feel right.
For around 1 million won, you could rent a pretty decent place with only a modest deposit.
Even my aunt’s house was in Seoul, but it wasn’t exactly a great place, so if she were paying 1 million won a month, she might as well move out somewhere else.
In other words, the moment I asked for 1 million won, the rationale behind it would vanish.
“500,000 won sounds about right.”
After considering everything, I came to the conclusion that 500,000 won was just about perfect.
Slowly. There was no reason to start spending huge amounts of money already.
500,000 won might not be a massive sum, but if it suddenly disappeared, it would still deal a fairly serious blow.
Of course, it wasn’t money I absolutely had to protect at all costs, even if it meant giving everything else up.
But what if, over time, that amount grew beyond 1 million won? What if it became several million?
To my aunt, who was still adjusting to her changed daily life, it would be money she couldn’t afford to let slip away.
By then, there’d be no need to be stingy.
“Still...”
As I felt it again, I really wasn’t a good person after all.
That said, I didn’t feel any self-loathing over it. I was someone who believed in human nature’s darker side.
I had simply become someone who could do whatever he wanted.
“Should I get some sleep?”
I was exhausted. After the fierce round I’d had at the room salon yesterday, I’d come home and watched cam girls until late at night, so my body felt utterly spent.
There was still plenty of time before my aunt would be back, so I decided to rest my eyes until then.
A while later.
“...I really fell asleep.”
I’d closed my eyes and opened them again without even knowing when I’d drifted off, and now it was already night.
It was definitely late enough that my aunt would’ve been home by now.
I pulled 500,000 won in cash from my bag and put it into an envelope.
Then I took the envelope and walked into the living room.
“...Did she fall asleep?”
If it had been any other day, my aunt would have been in the kitchen cooking for my sister and Siyun, who usually came home late. But today, perhaps because work had been so exhausting, she was asleep on the living room sofa.
Wow.
Just looking at her made me swallow involuntarily.
Gulp.
There was this image floating around online of a so-called mature beauty.
And in the comments under those pictures, they were always full of things like, “Wow.”
Now I understood why those comments existed.
Seeing my aunt sprawled on the sofa, even more fitting than those pictures, made an involuntary sound escape me.
She was so alluring that, for a second, I almost thought about closing my eyes and touching her just once.
I held back.
If I got greedy already, I might end up getting kicked out of this house.
Before I could do anything, my aunt shifted in her sleep and woke up.
Th-that...
And in that instant, my eyes darted over her, catching the nightgown that had ridden up over her thigh.
Along with pure white panties.
This is seriously insane.
Before she fully woke up, I hurried back into my room, then came out again as if I’d just gotten up.
My aunt checked her nightgown and seemed flustered.
She must have been worried I’d seen it.
“D-Do-yun. Did you happen to come out into the living room?”
“Huh? No, I just woke up from a nap, so I didn’t come out separately. Why?”
“Nothing. I was just drooling in my sleep, so I looked pathetic.”
“Mm... Even if I had seen it, I don’t think I’d have thought it was weird.”
“Hm. Really? You really do say such nice things, Doyun.”
“Not at all. This is the rent I mentioned before.”
She took the envelope a little awkwardly, checked its thickness, and let out a relieved sigh.
It seemed like that sigh carried several meanings.
Relief that she’d become a little more financially secure, and relief that I hadn’t overstrained myself.
She probably thought the bills inside were all 10,000-won notes.
I decided not to correct her right away.
She’d know as soon as she checked it anyway.
“You’re sure this is okay?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll take it gratefully. I’ll make sure to cook something delicious more often.”
“Thank you.”
Seeing my aunt smile made me think I’d really made the right decision staying here.
How was it that she was even more charming than the younger woman I’d been with yesterday?
After handing over the money, I went back into my room.
Not long after, I heard a sharp intake of breath from the living room.
The door opened.
“D-Do-yun! What is all this!”
“Yes?”
“Who gives 500,000 won for rent!”
“A semi-basement in Seoul costs 500,000 won a month. I’m just sorry I couldn’t give you more than that.”
“That’s because the location is different!”
“I was just grateful, and that seemed about right, so I did it.”
“...Thank you. I’ll really put this to good use.”
“I’m glad it helps.”
“It really does... help a lot.”
Nice.
I felt helped too.
***
After dinner and once I was back in my room, I found a message waiting for me.
It was from the headhunter I’d met earlier.
He said the person he’d introduced me to told him that any time was fine and to let him know what day I wanted.
There was no need to drag this out.
I set up a meeting for tomorrow, right after my part-time job ended.
Next, I checked the KakaoTalk message from Seol-a that had been added yesterday.
She’d told me to contact her, so I figured it was fine.
“Hi. I’m finally messaging you.”
It must have been right before her broadcast started, because she replied immediately.
“Oppa! I waited for you so long yesterday. I thought you’d just ignored me.”
“As if.”
“Phew. Can I ask how old you are, oppa?”
“I’m 23.”
“What? No way, you’re only one year older than me?”
“Seems that way.”
“Whoa! So are you, like, rich rich?”
“Something like that.”
“What, now you’ve got me curious. I want to talk more with you, oppa, but it’s time for my broadcast to start, so message me again later!”
“Sure. Work hard.”
“Huh? You’re not coming to the stream anymore?”
“I’ll stop by when I have time.”
“Okay, oppa.”
Not even oppa, but oppa with a little extra sweetness to it.
Without meaning to, the corners of my mouth twitched upward.
I had some free time, so I sat down in front of my computer, thinking I might as well drop into the stream.
And while I was at it, I wanted to see what had happened to Bitcoin after yesterday’s crash.
But then...
“What the hell...”
The same situation as yesterday had unfolded.
What.
I couldn’t make sense of it at first.
That’s how unbelievable reality was.
Ah... maybe yesterday’s rate change just hadn’t been reflected yet.
That could happen.
It had been about -7 percent yesterday, so maybe it had fallen another 1 percent.
That would make sense.
Now it was down -8 percent, after all.
Which meant my profit had probably increased by about 2 billion won.
“...”
As if.
I shot to my feet.
I leaned forward until my face was practically inside the computer screen again.
Both hands gripping the monitor like it might run away from me.
“Wow...”
I couldn’t help but gasp.
It wasn’t that 7 billion won had become 9 billion with an extra 2 billion added on top.
It was that 7 billion won had been joined by 16 billion more, bringing my total profit to a staggering 23 billion won.
Ah.
It hadn’t continued from yesterday.
Yesterday’s 8 percent drop had been followed by another 8 percent drop today.
It was shocking.
What kind of plunge was this, in just two days?
I wasn’t the only one shocked. The crypto crash was being reported not only across online communities, but also in the internet media.
Everyone was denying reality.
...Huh?
What was this?
Had I actually been a genius investor?
I knew it was luck.
Even so, thoughts like that did cross my mind for a moment.
After all, I’d made 23 billion won in just two days.
And not with 100 billion won in seed money, either, but with 15 billion won.
Wow.
I was completely dumbfounded.