The Trap of Easy Money

Kim Hyeonseong, Kim Jihye's older brother, stopped in front of his room. The door was open.

"...What are you doing?"

His father and sister turned their heads at the same time. Hyeonseong scanned the room. The computer was on. A sports gambling site was open on the screen. And there stood his father and sister, staring right at it.

For a split second, his heart plummeted. But his panic didn't last long. Hyeonseong's face instantly twisted in anger.

"Hey, why are you guys just barging into my room? And why did you turn on my computer?"

His voice was sharp and aggressive. Jihye flinched, her shoulders trembling. His father, face grim, said, "Let's talk for a moment."

"I'm tired. Just get to the point."

Hyeonseong scratched his head and casually stepped into the room. His immediate plan was to shut down the computer. But his father blocked his path.

"Sit on the sofa."

"Why?" Irritation flared. Just as he was about to push past his father—

"Off work? You never even went to work in the first place."

A strange voice echoed. Hyeonseong narrowed his eyes and glared at the laptop in his sister's hands. A young man on the screen was staring right back at him.

"Who the hell is that bastard?"

Before his sister could open her mouth, the man on the screen spoke first. "Never mind that."

"..."

"You're doing illegal sports gambling right now, aren't you?"

Hyeonseong was dumbfounded. Scowling at this complete stranger who was suddenly accusing him of illegal gambling, he barked, "What kind of bullshit is that? I've never touched illegal Toto in my life."

He spat it out with a sneer, but his stomach churned. He had no idea how much this guy actually knew.

Then, the man on the screen smirked. "You deposited money and placed a bet last night too, didn't you?"

Hyeonseong froze. "...What?"

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"You bet on the Premier League after two in the morning, and the second that ended, you threw money on La Liga."

"..."

"Saying you've never done it is pretty hilarious."

A cold sweat broke out down his spine. Hyeonseong gritted his teeth. "So what?"

"Then how about this?" the man on the screen continued coldly. "The money in your account... it's not yours."

Pure irritation boiled over. "Don't make me laugh. Why the hell isn't it my money?"

"Then withdraw it."

"What?"

"You said it's yours."

"..."

"Pull it out right now."

Hyeonseong grimaced. "Ha, this is ridiculous. You can't just withdraw same-day earnings immediately."

"Just request it."

"There's a ten percent fee!"

Then, his father spoke in a stern, unyielding voice. "If you lose it, I'll cover the difference. Withdraw it. Right now."

Hyeonseong stared at his father. He wasn't joking. His blood rushed to his head. If he backed down now, his father would never let this go.

Gritting his teeth, Hyeonseong violently pulled up a chair and sat down. "Fine. Since you said you'd cover it, let's pull it out."

With practiced fingers, he navigated the site. He entered his secondary password, and his balance screen appeared. It showed tens of millions of won.

Behind him, he heard his sister gasp. His father remained silent.

"See? This is all the money I won."

He clicked the withdrawal button. A prompt popped up warning that an immediate withdrawal would incur a ten percent fee. "Still want me to do it?"

The man on the screen replied flatly, "Yeah."

Hyeonseong sighed, entered his bank account number, and clicked 'Withdraw All'. After completing the security code verification, he hit the final confirmation button. "There, happy?"

He waited for the withdrawal to process. Once the money hit his account, he could finally shut that bastard's mouth.

A moment later, the screen froze, and a popup window appeared.

Hyeonseong's hand froze. "...What?"

He frantically hit refresh. He tried logging in again. But the result was the same.

Cold sweat poured down his spine. "No, wait. Why is it doing this? This makes no sense."

Hyeonseong immediately opened the administrator inquiry window.

Hyeonseong's mind went completely blank. "...What?"

Doubting his own eyes, he stared at the screen again. The words hadn't changed. He hadn't misread it.

"Th-this can't be. This is impossible."

Hyeonseong stared blankly at the monitor. Everything he had believed to be his money had vanished into thin air in an instant.

Then, the man on the other side of the laptop cut him off. "That's it for the shamanic reading."

And the Discord call disconnected.

The Discord call was disconnected, but the stream chat was still buzzing.

Park Jihun scanned the chat. Suddenly, his hand stopped. A brief vision flashed before his eyes.

It was a high-rise apartment overlooking the ocean. In one corner of a spacious living room, rows of monitors were turned on. Four young guys, barely out of their teens, were snickering as they tapped away on their keyboards. Empty cup ramen containers and cigarette butts were strewn carelessly across the table. Next to them lay thick stacks of cash and shiny sports car keys. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass window, the Gwangan Bridge stretched across the water. It was Busan.

Jihun spoke calmly. "Hold on a second."

He immediately opened his Discord direct messages. His chat history with Detective Park Donghyeon, whom he had connected with recently, was still there.

After sending the DM, he spoke to the stream. "Spinning the next roulette."

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Once again, the viewers' usernames flashed rapidly across the screen before slowly grinding to a halt. The name that appeared was Hope1234.

The chat immediately erupted.

Jihun accepted the Discord call. A moment later, a youthful male voice came through the speakers. "U-uh, hello."

He sounded incredibly nervous, his breathing shallow and excited.

Jihun asked, "Yeah. What's your question?"

After hesitating for a moment, Hope1234 spoke cautiously. "Well... there's a girl I like."

The chat instantly went wild.

Hope1234 continued, his voice tense. "We go to the same academy. I don't think she's completely indifferent to me. But I'm worried I might be misinterpreting things... and if I confess, it'll just make things awkward between us."

Jihun stared at the monitor for a moment before speaking. "She's definitely interested in you."

"R-really?"

"Didn't she try to test you recently by offering to set you up with her friend?"

"Oh? Yes, she did. I turned it down."

"She did that to see if you're the type to easily meet other girls."

The chat exploded instantly.

Jihun continued without missing a beat. "And last week, she complained about the cold and slipped her hands into your padded jacket pocket, didn't she?"

"...Yes, that's right. She did."

"Girls don't do that to guys they aren't interested in."

Hope1234 asked, his voice trembling. "Y-you're sure?"

"But don't let your guard down just yet."

"...What?"

"There's another guy hitting on her besides you."

Hope1234 held his breath, unable to say a word. Jihun pressed on. "If you keep hesitating, you might lose her."

"W-wait... is she interested in that guy?"

Jihun replied flatly, "No."

"Whew."

"But if you keep acting half-hearted, her mind might change."

Hope1234 was silent for a moment. Then, gritting his teeth, he said, "I'm going to go confess to her right now."

Jihun added, "Don't beat around the bush. Just tell her you like her."

The Discord call disconnected. Instantly, the chat erupted.

Amidst the mixture of jealousy and curses, Jihun spoke. "Moving on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the next."

Before he knew it, the final roulette was over. Just as Jihun was about to end the stream—

The chat went wild at Neyton's sudden appearance.

Jihun scanned the chat and said calmly, "We're done for today."

A moment later, Neyton's messages appeared in the chat.

The chat reacted instantly.

Jihun said nothing. In that moment, his vision blurred slightly. He saw a brief flash of Neyton's back, looking utterly exhausted. Behind him, a long, dark shadow stretched out ominously.

Jihun's eyes darkened for a fraction of a second. But in the end, he chose not to say anything. "That's it for tonight's stream."

The next morning.

Kim Tae-jun had just arrived at the office and was hanging up his coat when there was a knock at the door. A manager entered, carrying a leather folder.

"Director, do you have a moment?"

Tae-jun looked up. "What is it?"

The manager walked straight to the desk and held out the folder. "This is the partnership agreement that has already been approved by the Planning Director. We just need your final signature."

Tae-jun took the folder and flipped open the first page. It was indeed a partnership agreement. Looking at the top right corner, his maternal uncle's signature caught his eye first.

Tae-jun silently flipped through a few more pages. On the surface, everything seemed perfectly standard. Yet, for some reason, he hesitated to pick up his pen.

The manager spoke up cautiously. "Please sign here."

Tae-jun slowly raised his gaze. The manager was bowing politely, but there was an underlying sense of urgency in his posture.

"Is there a rush?"

"No, sir. It's just that the Planning Director asked me to get your approval as quickly as possible."

The pen in Tae-jun's hand hovered for a moment. A brief silence filled the room. Then, he set the pen down and closed the folder.

The manager's face instantly stiffened.

"I'll review this more thoroughly before making a decision."

"Director, this has already been approved by the Planning Director..."

"Which is exactly why I need to look at it more closely."

His tone was short and unyielding. The manager couldn't find any words to argue and shut his mouth. Tae-jun gestured with his chin. "You may leave."

As the manager reached to retrieve the folder, Tae-jun added, "Leave the agreement here."

The manager hesitated for a fraction of a second, but ultimately left the contract on the desk and withdrew.

Even after the door closed, Tae-jun stared at the contract for a long time. Something felt off. Yet, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what the issue was.

After a moment, Tae-jun picked up his phone. "...Looks like I'll have to queue up early."