I Became Rich
“No! I’m just hungry, damn it! Order me some kkukbap!!!”
I’d somehow shaken off the false accusations, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around how I’d ended up labeled a two-timing scumbag screwing around with a saintess and a secret agent, not to mention cozying up to an executive at the Awakener Association. Just a day ago, I’d been a total loner with no game, and now that I’d ditched that loser mindset, I was just your average, run-of-the-mill single guy. I’d never had a girl confess to me in my life, so this ridiculous misunderstanding felt like a gift from the gods—even if it made no sense. But one look at the bone hangover soup steaming in front of me, and all my anger melted away.
I scooped up the first spoonful of broth still bubbling in the hot pot. Ahhh… this hits the spot!
Slurp— slurp— I marveled inwardly as I took a few more sips, then grabbed the bone whole and tore off the tender meat with my front teeth, popping it into my mouth. The soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture dissolved without even needing to chew. After two days of starving, this bone hangover soup was pure heaven.
Crunch— crunch— I shoveled in a big piece of kimchi in one bite, chewed it down, then mixed the remaining broth with a bowl of rice and polished it off in no time. Even in dramas, food in interrogation rooms always looked tasty, but damn, this was surprisingly good. Just like how jjajangmyeon at a billiard hall is the best, instant ramen at a comic book cafe hits different, or half-boiled egg on top of jjajang ramen at a PC bang is peak—just like that, hangover soup in an interrogation room was top-tier.
Is this why criminals get caught? Nah, probably not, but it’s a reasonable suspicion. South Korea’s criminal arrest rate is unnaturally high. Sure, there are CCTVs on every corner, fingerprint stamping, a tiny landmass surrounded by ocean on three sides with nowhere to run… but the hangover soup in interrogation rooms must play a part too.
With my belly full, even my idle thoughts felt fun. I patted my stomach, took a sip of water, and locked eyes with Na Hyunseo sitting across from me.
I’d been so hungry I scarfed it down without noticing her. Eating while watching her would’ve made it even better.
“Um… d-did you… enjoy your meal?”
“……”
When someone asks, at least answer properly—instead, she just glared at me with those weird eyes. Was she still mad about me calling her “auntie” earlier? Honestly, I’d recognized her as a stunning older sis from the first glance, but I couldn’t exactly say it out loud. Your office look is fire. With that face and body! Wanna rip those stockings— Sis, you’re making me hard! You can’t just say stuff like that to someone you just met.
Now that my belly was full and I was disarmed, I leaned back in the chair casually, letting her do whatever, and stared at Na Hyunseo. Her lips twitched like she had something to say but couldn’t spit it out easily. I waited. And when she finally opened her mouth, I nearly jumped up and flipped the table over.
“Cash for the reward, or shall I send it to the Dungeon Shop?”
“Re… reward?!”
“Bounty is the precise term. You rescued the Saintess, after all.”
“Bou… bounty?!!”
Forget the table—my eyes nearly flipped inside out.
*
“Heh heh heh heh—”
For two nights of crashing on the streets, this reward was generous. My lips curled up on their own. What in the world is this…!
I hadn’t dreamed of my ancestors or done any major good deeds—hell, I’d been too broke just scraping by to even think about helping others. But now my heart felt warm, my balance was flush, and I vowed to start giving back.
How many zeros is that… 100,714,320…
The bounty for rescuing the Saintess was a whopping 200 million won. The other 100 million went straight to my Dungeon Shop account—enough to buy everything I’d been eyeing and then some.
I hit the jackpot~~~~
Had I ever felt this good in my life? It was a bigger rush than fooling around with the Saintess in the dungeon. Seeing my bank balance hit nine figures proved it: life’s all about the money, money, money.
La la la~
As I strolled out of the interrogation room whistling, two women blocked my path, so I quickly pocketed my phone.
This is mine!
I figured I owed them a meal later, looking at the dumbfounded Saintess and Kim Chaerin’s goofy grin. Kkukbap should be fair compensation, right?
“You two still have stuff to do?”
A decent amount of time had passed, yet they hadn’t gone home.
“You said let’s go to your place!”
“I said that’s not it, but… ah! Fine! I’ll just tag along quietly, so stop nagging!”
“Huh? What’re you talking about?”
“To your house!”
“I know it’s not that house, but fine!”
I had no clue what was going on.
“What house? I meant everyone go to their own homes?”
Isn’t that how it usually works? We’d found a way out of the dungeon, so I suggested heading home… I didn’t think I’d invited them to my place.
*
“This… this is your house?”
“Heh heh heh… smaller than my bathroom at homeee…”
“……”
I had no idea what was happening, but we left the Association building, hopped into a massive pickup limousine at the entrance, and ended up at my place together. I didn’t even give the address, but it got us here in one shot. Every light was green the whole way, and we were the only car on the road. Oh, a few police motorcycles escorted us too.
This is insane…
I’d only seen this VIP treatment in movies—never dreamed I’d get it myself. Obviously thanks to Saintess Choi Eunji, but when else would I experience this? They’d mentioned a ride home before I left the interrogation room, but not like this.
But why did the Saintess and Kim Chaerin get off here?
I thought it stopped at my place first since it was closest, but they got out too, and the car drove off. Now here we were: Choi Eunji grumbling but plopping onto the sofa comfortably, Kim Chaerin giggling about how small it was and bouncing around excitedly.
“Hold up… aren’t you two going home?”
“We’re home…”
“Heh heh heh… heh heh heh heh…”
My place was an 11-pyeong one-room: modest kitchen with table, small sofa, bed, TV, desk. Bathroom included. For a solo guy, it wasn’t luxurious but never felt lacking. Fine by a 24-year-old bachelor’s standards. But with two more people, my cozy space felt cramped. They got government support—surely lived better than this.
“Why’d you come here?!”
“You said let’s go home together? And… now I’m your…”
“Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh…”
Our conversation was a bottomless black hole. This wasn’t getting anywhere.
“Choi Eunji!”
“Eek! Y-yeah… what?”
“Go home.”
“Wh-what… we have a contract!!!”
“What contract?”
“L-look at this!”
I’d planned to handle them one by one, but Choi Eunji shoved a paper in my face. I knew what it was at a glance. Slave contract. No—
“Dungeon Guide Contract? What’s that?”
“Look at this!”
“What am I looking at?!”
Her finger pointed to clear text: The “Eul” shall provide close guidance to the “Gap.” A proper contract with “Gap” as Choi Eunji and “Eul” as me, obviously. But what?
“That just means close guiding in the dungeon!”
“Where? Where does it say dungeon?!”
“It’s… obviously…”
“You’re my close guide! You signed to stick close for a whole month!!! L-look! Breach penalty is triple! See? See?!”
Shit. Why does it sound like “pussy, pussy”? Suddenly craving some. But yeah, contracts are like that. No explicit “dungeon,” and since it’s a tourist guide, it implies dungeon tours. But she wasn’t wrong—it doesn’t specify “dungeon,” so she could argue 24/7 close guidance. Damn, it is a slave contract?
I was stunned for a sec, but tabled her for now.
“Chaerin, you should go home, right?”
“Ehh? Didn’t you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“The government’s assigning escorts for a while—”
…Come to think of it, after the dungeon debrief and bounty, Na Hyunseo had said something like that. I’d half-listened with the reward on my mind and said “got it.”
—“We’re pulling Hunter Corps personnel to escort the Saintess for the time being. Weird stuff might happen again, and we can’t risk anything like this time…”
I figured it was just for dungeon runs… what the hell?
“Aigoo… my back…”
“Hee hee, talking like Iris—”
“Iris?”
“Yeah! The old elf I contracted with—Iris! What?! Fineee… stop nagging! Elf Iris, got it? Got it?”
I couldn’t believe how chummy they’d gotten, chatting away. Wasn’t elf communication a secret? Anyway, the Saintess and the nation’s little sis in my place didn’t fit. Looked impressive, but I didn’t like it!
I grabbed both by the scruffs and lightly hauled them out the door. Hey, I’m a farmer—stamina and strength are my thing.