Chapter 33
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 33
As soon as class ended, I stopped by the dorm and grabbed a debit card.
It had been in Park Ha-yul's wallet, and well.......
One glance was enough to tell it was no ordinary card.
It looked plated in real gold, and when I pulled it out carelessly, the reflected sunlight nearly blinded me.
On top of that, 'VIP' was actually engraved in the upper-right corner.
V.I.P
Just how much money was in the account to earn a title like that?
An ordinary commoner like me couldn't even begin to guess.
Anyway, I headed straight for the nearest ATM, reached out with a trembling hand, and inserted the card.
Gulp—
The result was.......
[Checking balance.]
[Balance: 123,000 won]
"Huh?"
A strange sound slipped out.
At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.
There was no way....... Or had there been so many zeros that it was displayed in units of ten thousand?
But no, even after looking again, it was still 120,000 won.
To be precise, 123,000 won.......
I stood there blankly for a moment, then called him first.
Not long after the phone started ringing, a frantic voice burst out.
-Y, young master. This is Choi Jin-cheol. Did something happen?
It happened, all right. Something huge.
Without wasting time going back and forth, I got straight to the point.
"It's a pretty serious situation. I just checked my Gungmin Bank account, and the amount seems off. Where's my main bank? Do you happen to remember? I was using it without thinking and got confused for a second. Haha......."
Not even knowing my own bank account sounds like bullshit, but if it's Park Ha-yul, that's a different story.
At least that made the story plausible enough.
-Ah.......
But then Secretary Choi let out a pitying sigh.
Something was off.
Wouldn't most people respond with "What?" or maybe "Oh!" in a situation like this?
The sudden sense of foreboding soon became reality.
-Young master. The family cut off your financial support after the drug-abuse incident, remember? The Family Head ordered the punishment himself, so if you pretend not to know.......
"P, punishment?"
"Yes, you attended the family disciplinary committee in person, didn't you. I heard you received fifty million won as emergency funds, so surely you didn't spend it all in two months, did you?"
Me? Fifty million won?
Wow.
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even speak properly.
I was genuinely wronged.
I swear, I hadn't spent a single penny of Park Ha-yul's money that whole time.
The only thing I'd needed money for was food, and I'd been so busy I barely managed one meal a day. Even that was free at the student cafeteria.
-I'm sorry, young master. There's no way for me to help. If you can just endure a little longer, even if it's hard, the main family will.......
Choi Jin-cheol only repeated that he was sorry, his voice growing smaller and smaller.
So what could I do?
I had no choice but to try to regain my composure.
It was in the past, and it wasn't what mattered right now.
To win the Lorelei Necklace, I had to secure money somehow.
If I couldn't rely on savings, I'd have to sell something I owned.
"Understood. Setting aside the cash for now, the relics at home are fine for me to sell, right?"
-Ah, well, after that drug abuse incident, the ownership went to the family.......
But when that damn drug abuse incident came up again, I couldn't hold back.
"X—."
Why did my penniless lot in life stay the same even after changing worlds?
-Pardon?
"No, never mind. I'll hang up for now."
Click—
In the end, there was no free money.
"What do I do now?"
That was when I hit a wall: the only option I could use immediately had fallen through.
Suddenly, a bonus I'd tucked away flashed through my mind.
"Mid-grade Magwang Ore."
A crystallization of magical power accumulated over hundreds of years, the foundation that opened the era of magical engineering and a gift from god.
......Or so it was said.
"And they also said it's insanely expensive."
My laziness about checking the price had unexpectedly turned into a winning lottery ticket.
Who knew?
Maybe if I sold it, I could get about a hundred million won.
Treating it as my last resort, I went online and searched the price of mid-grade Magwang Ore.
Click—
That was when an ordinary browser window suddenly looked unfamiliar.
"Huh?"
A strange sound slipped out again this time too.
But the reason behind it was completely different.
Unlike before, the listed price had so many zeros that I could not count them at a glance.
...Jackpot.
I reached out with a trembling hand and counted the digits.
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand...... hundred million.... O-one billion?
I, it was this expensive?
How many times was I going back and forth between heaven and hell in a single day?
I stood there dazed for a while, then hurriedly pulled myself together.
"This isn't the time."
It was definitely good news, but I also had to consider the practical issues.
The problem was that Magwang Ore was a physical item.
I had to sell it to get that kind of cash, and I knew the process was fairly complicated.
It was difficult to sell privately, so I had to go through a dealer and pay a hefty commission on top of that.
But dealers varied wildly too, so if I sold it blindly, I would be an easy mark.
Hm.
For now, I crouched down and weighed various possibilities.
After mulling it over, one person came to mind.
"If it's her, I can trust her."
If things went according to plan, I could solve the commission problem and what to do with the remaining funds in one shot.
"I need to wrap this up today somehow."
I headed for a place where she was likely to be.
* * *
Jangsumot, a hidden scenic spot north of Taehak, was a small pond where even the wind seemed to linger, a secluded little retreat inhabited by only a few golden carp.
Joo A-rin sat in a cafe overlooking that quiet scenery and immersed herself in organizing her direct team.
She had to submit her candidate list by tomorrow at the latest, so she was evaluating each prospect with a sharp eye.
Her team could have at most ten members, assuming Tier 8 Awakeners.
Five each for the combat team that would assault the nest and the intelligence team that would support them.
Compared with her half-siblings, who had unofficial backing from their maternal families, it was a meager setup. In truth, even this was more than she could reasonably ask for.
She had only managed that much by scraping together every bit of her personal slush fund.
"The budget's tight, so it's not easy."
Joo A-rin took her eyes off the monitor for a moment, rubbed her stiff neck, and leaned back in her chair.
To clear her head, she turned to look out over Jangsumot.
Flutter
At that moment, a golden carp broke the surface and flicked its body.
As ripples spread across the calm pond, a glint of interest settled in Joo A-rin's eyes too.
"Golden carp. Carp gold. Gold......."
How much is all that....... Huh?
Joo A-rin, who had been muttering in a daze, gave a small, awkward cough.
Ahem.
She was glancing around awkwardly when, just then, the cafe door opened.
Sunlight poured in brightly enough to make her squint, and a silhouette shimmered at the entrance with the light haloing it from behind.
Step, step.
At first, she assumed it was just a customer.
But the gradually sharpening appearance somehow looked familiar.
A pale complexion, a slim, graceful build, and navy-blue hair that complemented sharp features.
A man with striking looks and a terrible reputation—two things that did not seem to belong together.......
"Why are you here?"
She blurted out in recognition, and he met her eyes.
Then, as if they had arranged to meet, he walked straight over and sat across from her.
"......What are you doing right now?"
"I thought we could have a talk."
"With me?"
As she stared at him blankly in confusion, Park Ha-yul spoke with an oddly serious expression.
"Shall we talk business? On the subject of the direct team you're putting together......."
* * *
The approximate market price of mid-grade Magwang Ore was a whopping 1.5 billion won.
After setting aside the 200 million won I needed for the auction, I would still have 1.3 billion left—but only on paper.
If I sold it on consignment, the commission alone was 20%.
Insurance this, appraisal that.......
The cost of turning it into cash came to 300 million won.
That felt like such a waste to me.
So what choice did I have?
I had no choice but to play the Joo A-rin card. We weren't close, but we weren't complete strangers either.
"......Business, investment. I didn't mishear, did I?"
"If you're asking how I knew, it's simple. It's not a secret. If you're a direct line of the Joo Family, it's a worry everyone has around this time of year."
With that, I took out the Magwang Ore and set it on the table.
Joo A-rin narrowed her eyes and asked me.
"......It's Magwang Ore. Judging by the size, at least mid-grade or higher. But why this?"
"The terms are simple. Commission at 5%, payment by next week. If you do that, I'll invest everything except 200 million into the direct team you're organizing."
"What? No, what do you......."
My blunt announcement made Joo A-rin's brow furrow deeply.
But the stick was necessary—it made the carrot that followed look all the sweeter.......
"Of course, there'll be no interference at all. The rights are still 100% yours. I'm just a pure investor."
"......You'll really invest on those terms?"
As Joo A-rin's sharp tone softened a degree, I nodded without a moment's hesitation.
.......
Silence followed for a moment.
It was brief, but for someone as sharp as Joo A-rin, it was probably enough time to weigh the options.
In the end, apparently having reached a decision, she straightened slightly and continued.
"...Fine. I'll acknowledge it's business for now. But I haven't accepted yet. There are a few things I want to go over."
"Now we're getting somewhere. Ask away."
"Then I'll start with what I'm most curious about. Investment is investment. Why are you leaving the handling of the Magwang Ore to me? What about your family?"
"That's......."
Of course, I had considered going through my family.
But I gave up on it because the losses outweighed the gains.
Succession in my family was just as fiercely contested as in the Joo Family.......
Right now, I was treated as a cast-off child, so no one was watching me, but if I poked around here and there and drew attention?
I'd end up making a losing deal.
Since the power I held was still weak, the longer I could put off standing out, the better.
So I explained it away by saying I needed money I could use discreetly.
"Hmm, well, I'll let that one slide. Then what about the commission?"
Joo A-rin went on to explain that even if she handled the sale personally, 15% was the best she could manage; 5% was impossible.
Well, she wasn't wrong.
But that only applied when using the standard approach.
"Then sell it somewhere other than through the Joo Family."
"What?"
"There has to be at least one person you know who runs an exchange."
Quick-witted as she was, Joo A-rin understood immediately.
"......You're asking me to call in a personal favor."
"Yeah. This is what connections are for. The lower the commission, the better it is for both of us."
"......Hm."
Joo A-rin bit her lip, as if searching for someone who fit the conditions.
Well, she'd think of someone soon enough.
I'd already seen that person once too.
Dodam's club president, Jeong Ae-ri.
They were close, and the exchange run by the Jeong Family was one of the best in South Korea.
"I've explained my whole plan, so I think it's time to hear your decision......."
I prompted her, trying to seal the deal.
Given the timing, she probably wouldn't be able to refuse.
The amount itself wasn't that large, but since she'd been racking her brain over funding issues, it would be no small help.
Soon, Joo A-rin's red, full lips parted.
"I don't normally trust other people."