The Poor Bastard
In this world, women are assets.
A cruel world.
Owning a high-grade female asset meant clutching power, honor, and wealth in your hands.
That was the rule. That was justice.
The problem was that I had neither.
I... no, my father had been a poor man.
He had scraped together every penny, every loan, just to buy Seo Ji-hyun, my mother.
“...?!?”
Name: Seo Ji-hyun Grade: E (dropped from C) Occupation and Use: Wife / Mother / Housewife Potential Grade: A (upgradable) Owner: Han Tae-young → Han Jae-young (inheritance complete)
But one day, my eyes started showing my mother’s grade.
Even rubbing my eyes didn’t make the letters above her head disappear.
They floated there like a price tag, right on top of her.
“Mom, up there...”
“Hm? Up there?”
“Look in the mirror.”
While my mother prepared lunch in the kitchen, she walked into the bathroom with a strange look on her face and checked the mirror.
“...Is there something on my head?”
But she looked at me with a puzzled expression and let out a small laugh.
“Are you worried about your mother? Just kidding?”
From the way she reacted, it seemed only I could see it.
‘Potential Grade A...?’
My father’s first purchase of my mother had been grade C.
The average market price for C-grade was 7.5 to 9 million won.
But because of our poverty and lack of maintenance, it had dropped to a pathetic E-grade worth 12 million won—basically garbage.
My useless father had ruined an A-grade asset worth at least 50 million won.
I scanned my mother from head to toe.
The outline of her full, round breasts beneath the thin, faded T-shirt first caught my eye.
Whether she was wearing a bra or not, the natural sway with every step made it clear.
Her waist, tied tightly with a shabby apron, was so slim it looked like it could be held in one hand, but the flare of her hips and ass beyond that was so wide and voluptuous it defied her age of over thirty.
Her face was a little sharp from exhaustion and hardship, but the eyes beneath her long, thick lashes had a strangely melancholy yet provocative charm.
Her naturally fair skin was so flawless that even the smallest amount of dirt would reveal the elegance of a top-tier asset.
‘Haa... If only you were properly cared for, you’d be truly beautiful.’
Even in this impoverished home, her beauty hadn’t faded, but the source hadn’t disappeared.
My father had only died a week ago.
What he left me were my mother and this house.
And the massive debt that came with them.
“Mom. How much was the debt you said we have to pay every month?”
My mother’s movements in the kitchen froze for a moment.
“U-um, there are documents in the TV stand drawer...”
Sadness dripped from her trembling voice.
I opened the drawer she pointed to and pulled out the bundle of papers.
Then I sat on the sofa and slowly read them.
The asset inheritance documents my lawyer had given me recently.
They listed the monthly repayment costs after the debt was transferred to me.
“A total of 2.7 million won per month?”
I blurted out in shock, and my mother’s shoulders twitched.
- Asset (Seo Ji-hyun) loan principal and interest: 1,700,000 won - Housing collateral loan principal and interest: 800,000 won - Asset maintenance mandatory insurance: 200,000 won
Even adding in all the living expenses, it was clear we were burning through at least another 500,000 won a month.
That wasn’t even the end.
Every quarter, female assets had to undergo grade evaluation.
The fee was roughly 250,000 won for E-grade.
A hundred thousand a year. My mother had supposedly paid the higher C-grade fee the whole time.
“Son, eat your meal.”
My mother’s voice was trembling slightly.
I set the papers down and went to the table.
A handful of side dishes and rice.
There was basically only the kimchi and vegetable side dish.
“I’ll eat well.”
“Yeah. Eat a lot.”
My mother and I began our quiet dinner.
Lately, we hadn’t had much to say at the table.
And my mother was now eating at such a slow pace it was hard to tell if she was chewing with her mouth or her nose.
“Son.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Don’t worry too much.”
“...About what?”
My mother’s sudden change in tone left me confused as I stared at her blankly.
“Your mother wants you to dispose of me and live a little easier.”
“What kind of talk is that?”
“...Because your father bought me with debt, our family is in this situation. If I sell my mother... ah... a new life...”
Tears trickled down my mother’s cheeks.
She lowered her head and covered her face, trying to hold back the emotion that threatened to burst.
Her eyes were tearing up, but the pain in her heart didn’t seem to match the tears.
I reached out and gently took her hand.
“Why would I sell you, Mom? I can just earn money.”
“Ugh... But your father never got to rest because of me. He worked himself to death...”
My father’s cause of death was overwork.
But I had never planned to suffer like that and die.
“Don’t worry. I’ll earn the money somehow.”
“You can’t follow your father’s footsteps...”
I looked my mother straight in the eyes with determination.
“Mom, you’re my asset now. I have no intention of throwing you away just because you’re struggling. Are you trying to leave me?”
“Ah, no! It’s not like that at all! I’d never want to abandon my son!”
She looked startled, as if she’d said something she shouldn’t have.
“Your mother just... wanted you to be happy.”
Her voice and eyes were sincere.
But underneath, something else lingered.
“Since you’re my asset now... I can’t refuse your will, but... with you... that... it’s a bit...”
Her voice trailed off in a whisper, barely audible.
I could tell she was worried about something without her saying it.
“Right. Since I’m your asset now, you can do whatever you want with me. You can’t refuse. Mom.”
That was true.
If I wanted to, I could sleep with her whenever I pleased.
It was both the duty of a female asset to serve her owner in every way and my right as the new owner after inheritance.
But I had no intention of carelessly satisfying my lust right now.
‘My father only died a week ago. If I did anything with Mom now, her mind could break and she could drop to F-grade in the next evaluation.’
F-grade was basically trash—no better than a disposal candidate.
My mother’s potential grade was A.
A top-tier asset.
It was priority number one to restore her value properly.
I nodded.
My mother blushed and gave a small nod.
“Were you asking if I should sell because of that?”
Nod.
Another small shake of the head.
“I... I don’t hate doing it with my son... it’s just a little embarrassing...”
Her voice continued, still blushing.
“Mom is E-grade now... and I’m not pretty anymore...”
Her self-esteem had fallen so low that I shook my head.
“Don’t worry. I’ll manage your grade so I can raise it again somehow.”
“Hm? Mom is forty-one now. It’s so late. Raising the grade will be hard. It’ll cost a lot of money. We can’t afford to spend it on places like that...”
Just as her complaining was about to drag on, I cut her off.
“Mom, I’ve finished eating.”
My bowl was already empty, and I set my spoon down.
“I need to find a job. The monthly repayments are too high.”
I was only twenty.
Graduating high school and now having to go straight to work felt like a harsh reality.
It seemed to darken her expression even more.
I looked away from her gloomy face.
I glanced upward and stared at the letters floating above my mother’s head.
They felt like they could change my entire life.
‘Is anyone else seeing this besides me?’
I could check.
“Mom, I’m going out for a bit.”
I immediately prepared to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“To look for a job.”
***
I stepped out of the house.
We walked down the street from the crumbling old villa.
The neighborhood was quiet, and with no one around during the day, we only started seeing people when we reached the main road.
‘There...’
Nothing floated above the men’s heads.
But above every woman’s head, just like my mother’s, were the same game-like letters.
Name Grade Occupation and Use Potential Grade Owner
Five items for each woman.
‘Women show everything. Men... nothing.’
I suddenly didn’t understand why these letters were appearing.
It could have been hallucinations.
‘If I’m not crazy, this is a cheat key that can rewrite my life.’
How should I use this power?
My brain started spinning.
How could I use this unique ability to escape this hellish poverty?
Then, a chat came in.
- Hey, have you thought about what I said last time?
A KakaoTalk from my high school friend Im Jun-sung.
A while ago he had told me to go work at his father’s company, but I had completely forgotten because of the bullying.
- Should I work or not?
It sounded like good news at first, but it wasn’t.
The reason Im Jun-sung was suggesting it was clearly not pure.
He was the bully who had tormented me for three years, and he was always scheming.
‘That bastard’s family company... it was the Raon Aesthetic Center, right? A female-asset specialist salon.’
My mind raced.
An aesthetic center was exactly the place where assets came to be styled and enhanced to attract higher value.
And my eyes showed me the value of every woman there.
Jun-sung’s proposal was probably meant to humiliate me...
‘This place would be perfect to test my ability.’
The corner of my mouth curled up.
Im Jun-sung, you said you’d drag me down to the lowest level? Fine by me.
It was the chance to get revenge for three years of torment.