Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: 001. I Thought It Was Spam, But My Stock Crashed
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A few months after returning to university following my military service.
Early summer at age 23.
[New Message]
First Step as a Masseur
I, Jang Hyunwoo, received a text with some bizarre content on my way back to my studio apartment after class.
"What the hell is this?"
A number starting with zero and stretching over 15 digits. It was neatly spaced out, but aside from that one line, there was nothing identifiable about it.
The moment I saw it, I was convinced it was spam.
Normally, I'd have dismissed it in 0.1 seconds and gone on my way—a worthless message like any other.
"A masseur? What... Did some academy just open up or something? Damn Korea. Personal info might as well be public property."
I spat out curses, but for some reason, this spam text was getting under my skin today.
I had no idea why, but it just was.
So I checked the content. No risk as long as I didn't tap any URLs.
First Step as a Masseur
Massage someone else's hand and earn revenue.
(Minimum amount: 1,000 won)
⏰ Time Limit: 12 hours
🎁 Rewards: Massage App activation, Official Masseur's Eye acquisition
⚠️ Penalty for failure: NCdia stock price drop
! During the quest, Apprentice Masseur's Eye will be applied to the user.
"...Ha ha."
I scanned the text with my eyes and let out an involuntary chuckle.
It felt just like receiving a quest in a game. Pretty elaborate for a prank.
"Who the hell sent this? Im Hamin...? Nah, couldn't be. Moon Seokho? Lee Jinhyuk?"
It had to be from someone who knew me.
The penalty singled out NCdia, the U.S. stock I'd dumped every penny from my military savings into.
It had been steadily climbing since I bought in, with returns now over 15%, and I was still steadily adding to my position with part-time cash.
It was my golden child, bringing a smile every night before bed or morning check-in.
Since I'd bragged to friends now and then, anyone close knew about it.
"Crossing the line. Daring to mess with my NCdia?"
Rage boiled up uncontrollably, but one text wasn't enough to pinpoint the culprit.
I clicked my tongue, shoved my smartphone in my pocket, and kept walking.
I was on my way to my part-time job—no time to waste here.
"Whoever you are, you're dead when I find you."
That was the extent of my griping. I shoved the prank text out of my mind.
"Ugh... seriously, who was it?"
I'd tried to forget it, but even two hours into my shift, that prank text still nagged at me.
There was one unresolved itch keeping it from being ignorable.
"Massage... yeah, probably just coincidence?"
Everyone close knew I had over ten million won in NCdia—no issue there.
But using 'massage' as the theme bugged me.
'It's not like I have a massage certification or anything...'
Since childhood, relatives like my grandparents always praised my 'good hands' and 'feels great' when I gave them massages.
I thought they were just humoring the kid with tiny hands, but even now, Grandpa and Grandma demand one first thing whenever they see me.
Parents and other relatives slip me pocket money and ask too, sneakily.
I rarely do it for anyone but my grandparents since it's a hassle.
Just a minor family anecdote, nothing to brag about to friends...
"But the only one I've told that massage story to is Hamin."
Aside from my closest friend and college buddy Im Hamin, no one else had heard it.
Hamin wouldn't pull a stunt like this, nor blab to others.
So it kept gnawing at me.
How did they know? Pure coincidence from random prank material?
But dismissing it as mere chance felt off somehow...
"Sunbae! Sunbae sunbae sunbae!!"
"Yeah?"
Deep in uncomfortable thoughts, frowning at my phone, a frantic voice called out.
I turned my head, and there was a girl in a cafe uniform staring at me.
Beige long hair with waves.
Her round eyes bulged like something huge had happened, small face with slightly parted light pink lips.
About 160cm tall, slender limbs, porcelain-white skin.
"What? Something wrong? Please tell me you didn't spill milk in the fridge again."
I kept my tone casual on purpose, knowing my place, but even now that we were somewhat close, facing her still made my heart race—my part-time junior.
Bae Yuri.
She held a milk pitcher in one hand and a steaming pitcher in the other.
"Hey, I don't make mistakes like that anymore! It's not that—sunbae, do you know what milk King Sejong made?"
"What."
"The milk made by King Sejong!"
"Milk made by King Sejong? Hmm... no idea. Was there even milk back then?"
"You don't know? How do you expect to get a girlfriend if you can't even get this?"
"What does that have to do with girlfriends? So, what's the answer... wait, never mind. Don't tell me."
"Aya-eo-yeo-o-yo milk!"
"......"
"Aya-eo-yeo-o-yo milk!"
"...Ha."
"Heh heh heh heh... Fun, right? Fun, right?!"
"I seriously want to kill you right now..."
"It was fun, admit it! I saw your lip curl up, sunbae!"
"You're infuriating. Whatever—why are you holding the milk and steaming pitcher?"
Her dad-joke—cheesy as hell—drew an involuntary sigh as her eyes crinkled with genuine delight.
No joke, if she weren't so damn pretty, I might've smacked her.
But I couldn't bring myself to...
"I was practicing cappuccinos, but the steam was a fail, so I was gonna dump the milk when it hit me. I pulled a shot too—want me to make you a cappuccino with it, sunbae?"
"You know a failed cappuccino is straight-up waste, right? Toss it."
"But it's a waste... Sorry, milk~"
Too pretty. Damn it.
Bae Yuri bounced off with her cheerful voice and springy steps to wash the pitcher—a girl impossible to hate.
She made mistakes often but powered through without getting down, studied hard, played when it was time to play, but worked diligently.
Loving dad jokes was a fatal flaw, but her friendly, playful personality made up for it.
The epitome of a cute junior.
Plus, her figure had some generous curves—eye candy every time...
'Whoa, careful.'
I quickly reined in my gaze drifting to her shorts' hip line and smooth legs.
Women are sensitive to stares like that—I did my best not to make her uncomfortable.
Couldn't risk losing this sweet gig with fun work and a pretty girl.
A moment later.
Yuri approached and handed me the rinsed steaming pitcher.
"Sunbae! Show me a demo on milk steaming."
"Cappuccino?"
"Yep. Frothing's easy, but it always gets too coarse."
"Most folks won't notice if it's decent enough... but doing it right is tricky. Here."
Truth be told, I'd only started a month before Yuri.
Still, a month's experience in a cafe isn't negligible, and my dexterity made me a natural.
Boss even said I'd learned faster than anyone.
So I mastered most things in a month, and Yuri, who came right after, was basically my trainee.
Anyway, I took the milk and pitcher from her.
And as I turned toward the coffee machine to demo...
"......?"
Something caught my eye.
Specifically, on Yuri's hand—faint... blue glow? Spots of subtle blue light...
"Something on my hand?"
"Uh, no, nothing. Thought I saw something, but nope."
I brushed it off, but it wasn't gone.
Focus, and it was still there.
'Tired? I've been sleeping fine lately—why hallucinations...'
A soft blue light pulsing like it was trying to tell me something.
"Good work, both of you. Get home safe."
"You too, boss! Good night!"
"I'll head out first."
"Alright."
Evening.
After closing cleanup, we left under the cafe owner's send-off.
Her somewhat languid face watched us go—she was too young and pretty to call 'boss' in the traditional sense.
Mid-to-late 20s?
Her detached gaze and ethereal, clear features were captivating. Today, too, she saw us off indifferently over her coffee cup.
Less a livelihood gig, more a hobby—keeping an enigmatic distance.
The polar opposite of Yuri.
"See you tomorrow, sunbae!"
"Don't you have no class tomorrow? Gonna slack off before work."
"You know it! Bye then... oh wait! Sunbae, know what two night watchmen at 10 PM are?"
"......No way—night-vision goggles?"
"Whoa?! How'd you know?"
"Ha... Guessing right just pisses me off more."
"You're getting good...! Great job! Here's a praise sticker!"
"Just go already..."
"Hehe, byeee!"
Yuri, draining my energy to the last, parted ways, and I hurried back to my place.
Needed rest pronto.
'Gotta hit the eye doctor after tomorrow's classes.'
The blue glow on Yuri's hands wasn't unique to her.
Boss had it, customers too.
Not just blue—black, even red sometimes.
"Seriously, something wrong with my eyes... Damn."
Either extreme fatigue I hadn't noticed, or an eye issue—those were the suspects.
So tonight, no games or messing around—I showered and crashed.
The next morning.
"Mm... my phone..."
Eyes open, I grabbed my phone on habit and opened the stock app.
"................................What?"
—Springing up!
I bolted upright at the screen.
"No, no... what? No, fuck?! Don't screw with me!"
Head burning, chest tight, limbs trembling.
Couldn't believe my eyes—rubbed them nonstop with my knuckles.
"Wh-what... why? What the hell happened overnight..."
Nothing changed.
My stock, +15% until yesterday, had cratered to -26%.