I Just Memorized It
I quickly cut my brother off.
"Huh? Wh-what? Why?"
Only then did Beomjin snap back to his senses.
"Weren't you about to say something too?"
"Ah… it's nothing big. I got a job. Kitchen assistant."
"Oh~ Nice! Where at?"
It was the most welcome news I'd heard in a long time.
But my brother's expression was a little ambiguous.
"I'll tell you later. Anyway, I got a job too, so don't worry too much."
"I wasn't worried."
I deliberately brushed it off lightly.
"Then we're good."
We traded pointless jokes while cleaning up the kitchen, then headed to our own rooms.
The fact that he wouldn't tell me left me a bit uneasy, but at least he'd found work somewhere.
All I could do was wish him well.
I turned on the computer and opened the coin trading window first.
Today, as always, every coin was freefalling.
The drop was milder than yesterday's, but it was still clearly panic selling.
"This is going to drag on quite a while, isn't it?"
I muttered, stroking my chin.
It might even be an opportunity.
There would be people making easy money by taking short positions.
The problem was the occasional unexpected long green candle that shot up out of nowhere. Plenty of people had already been liquidated that way.
The market was definitely unstable, which made investing feel dicey.
On top of that, unlike stocks, it leaned heavily on charts and was drowning in variables.
Holding coins long-term carried way too much risk.
If I'd poured everything into coins and just held, I'd probably be broke by now.
So I needed to tweak the method I'd planned.
Something between swing trading and scalping, maybe?
To pull that off, I needed one more helper besides myself.
Someone who could watch coin trends in real time and react instantly whenever needed.
No matter how I looked at it, Junseok was perfect for the job.
I'd research the coins, pick the assets and directions, and Junseok would handle the rest.
We'd split the profits fifty-fifty.
I didn't want to get greedy with coins.
Just a side hustle, really.
And one of the reasons I wanted to do this was that I was worried about Junseok.
If he lived with my brother, maybe his lifestyle would improve too. That was the hope, at least.
Until I fell asleep, I pulled a few books from the bookshelf that covered an entire wall.
Speed-reading was enough for the content to sink in, but thorough reading let me go beyond mere absorption—into higher-level development and recreation.
I was simply curious how far my brain could go.
On Sunday we hired a professional moving company and transferred everything from Junseok's studio apartment into the empty room on the second floor of our house.
Swift and decisive.
I'd already finished talking everything through with Junseok the day before, so I planned to have it all perfectly ready while he was still in the hospital.
Aside from the computer and monitors there wasn't really much to move, so the whole thing didn't take long.
"Seriously, what kind of person is this? How can there be so little stuff?"
My brother, helping sort the boxes, stared at the empty cartons in disbelief.
"Someone who does nothing, I guess."
At my answer he frowned and muttered,
"It's not even a PC bang—just a pile of computers…"
He wasn't wrong. Once we set up the computers and monitors, the place felt exactly like a PC bang. It didn't look like a personal space at all.
If I hadn't brought him over, his future would have been bleak.
"Treat him well when he gets here. He's a good guy. And from now on he'll be my business partner too."
"Business partner?"
"I'll explain later. I'm starving. Let's eat first."
We'd gone to Junseok's place early, moved everything back, and cleaned up, so there had been no time for a meal.
It was already past lunch, so we hurried outside.
Cooking at home would take forever; better to just grab something out.
We stepped into a Chinese restaurant and ordered jajangmyeon and jjamppong.
While we ate I told him a little about Junseok's past.
And at the end I mentioned that I planned to invest in coins with him.
"Isn't that dangerous? I've never tried it, but I've heard plenty of people call it gambling."
"Don't worry too much. We'll only use spare cash as seed money. And Junseok's better than you'd think. Plus with my brain… never mind."
I stopped myself.
It was better to keep anything related to my brain hidden as much as possible.
Even from family. Not for my sake—because the other person could end up in danger.
"It's really weird. The books stacked all over the room, too. You're not the brother I used to know."
My brother spoke in a suspicious tone.
"People change."
"Ah!"
I grinned and stole a sip of his jjamppong broth.
The next day. Monday.
The moment I walked into the office, two good things happened.
First, a solid paycheck hit my account.
It was my first salary after the promotion to manager, and a hefty performance bonus for the Han Yojung ad campaign that had blown up was attached.
The amount stamped in the account came to nearly eleven million won.
A lot of it would disappear today for loan interest, credit cards, insurance, living expenses and the rest, but I still felt good.
I'd earned it by working hard. Or… not exactly hard?
And the second good thing was A-Tech Solution.
The stock that had been sideways around two hundred thousand won was riding a sharp upward wave again today.
From the opening bell it pushed hard, trading with exploding volume while up more than fifteen percent.
The thousand shares I'd bought at 122,000 won were now at 230,000.
Current assets: 230 million won.
With that, my expected profit easily cleared a hundred million.
It wasn't pure luck—it was the result of analysis and reading the flow—so the satisfaction hit harder.
Of course, it was only possible because my brain awakening let me sift real information from the flood of variables and articles.
Three in the afternoon. Conference room on the thirteenth floor.
We held the scheduled first meeting for the Home AI Project.
Six teams participated, two people each.
AI Development Team, UX/UI Design Team, IoT Device Integration Team, Security Technology Team, Network Infrastructure Team, Marketing Team 3.
From Marketing Team 3, Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi and I attended.
Originally Manager Park Heegon had planned to join, but he pushed me forward, saying I'd be handling more of the actual work.
The rest of the team took it as natural, so I had no choice but to sit in.
I'd expected the atmosphere to feel heavy under the weight of a company-priority project, but it was lighter than I thought.
An oval table sat in the center of the room, and the practical leads from each team filled the seats around it.
For a major project it was a surprisingly small group, which only made the focus sharper.
Maybe that had been the point.
"Nice to meet you all. You already know me, so before we dive into the real discussion, let's do a quick round of introductions."
The meeting was chaired by Team Leader Jang Yujeong of the AI Development Team, who also served as overall project lead.
Her neatly cropped short hair and clear diction left a strong impression.
Since this was a Home AI project, the AI Development Team carried the heaviest load.
"Jeon Yonggi, Marketing. Early on I'll handle initial target analysis and viral marketing based on user behavior data."
Starting with Deputy General Manager Jeon Yonggi, the team-leader-level staff took turns with short remarks.
"I'm handling UX design. Jo Yejin. Once Marketing Team 3's target-group analysis comes in, we'll design the home-device screens and flow to match."
Jo Yejin answered while scribbling on her tablet. A speaker UI that looked like it had been sketched with colored pencils appeared on the side monitor.
"Smart-device integration will be covered by our IoT Technology Team. Ah—I'm Kim Taehwan. We handled the previous Smart Home Alpha."
A middle-aged man with a solid build spoke. His voice was surprisingly soft for his appearance.
"We'll take full responsibility for the network. Park Yunseok. Stability first. We're also reviewing a pilot of Wi-Fi 9."
A fairly young man said it with casual indifference.
I'd heard they'd picked a top-tier team for network, since it would be the most critical piece once the product went commercial.
"Jeong Sumin, Security Technology Team. From the second voice commands or camera data hit the server, we lock it down."
Jeong Sumin was a man of few words, but his eyes were sharp.
There was a coldness that seemed to suspect everyone in the room.
Classic security team.
After that the accompanying staff introduced themselves in turn. I exchanged brief greetings as well.
Finally Team Leader Jang Yujeong nodded and wrapped it up.
"Good. Roles seem roughly sorted. This week is for organizing the planning, reviewing the flow, and drafting common scenarios. Please share by Friday. And…"
The meeting stayed strictly on necessary conversation.
Fast and efficient.
Yet the atmosphere felt oddly charged.
No one said it out loud, but they were unusually conscious of our Marketing Team 3.
There was no need for me to jump in, so I simply listened.
Everything I heard was being stored in real time without a single gap, so I didn't bother taking notes.
The others, though, were scribbling furiously on laptops and notepads.
Near the end, once the main discussion points were finished, the mood loosened a little.
"Does Manager Noh Hoojin have anything to add?"
Ahn Ilseung, attending as a member of the Network Team, suddenly asked me.
Every gaze in the room quietly swung my way.
Interest and wariness. So that was it?
I slowly lifted my head and looked around the table once.
Then I spoke without a single tremor.
"No. Nothing particular. Since we're still in the early planning stage, I think the priority is for the teams to mesh well together."
I deliberately steered the comment toward cooperation.
The tone was polite and humble, yet the faint confidence riding the end of the sentence tightened the air in the room just a fraction.
This is getting interesting.
I smiled to myself.
Ahn Ilseung gave an awkward laugh.
"Ah, right. Just like the rumors—cold and sharp."
There was a subtle edge in his voice. Respect, sarcasm, or a probe—hard to tell.
"More practical than cold, actually."
I answered without the slightest change in expression, completely unfazed.
Team Leader Jang Yujeong picked up the thread again.
"When can we expect concept planning or initial marketing materials from Marketing Team 3?"
"We'll organize and share the first draft plan within this week. That said, if we keep approaching it purely from the feature side the way we are now, the delivery power and impact will stay weak. We plan to put the emphasis on the early emotional hooks."
When I finished, a brief silence settled over the conference room.
Everyone looked blank.
I'd dropped it without warning, so of course they did.
Then Jo Yejin from Design gave a small nod.
"Emotional… that works. The whole idea of Home AI is still unfamiliar. Coming at it from feeling might lower the resistance."
Beside her, Network Team Leader Park Yunseok muttered quietly,
"Hmm… whether emotion actually produces results…"
A few employees exchanged meaningful looks at his words.
I knew exactly what those looks meant.
I'd been receiving some rather unusual evaluations around the company lately.
When the meeting wrapped, Team Leader Jang Yujeong stood and delivered the closing line.
"Good. That concludes today's meeting. I'll send the sharing schedule for this week shortly."
Everyone rose and began packing up, yet their eyes still flicked toward me more than once.
I felt those gazes and kept my face blank while I organized my things.
Wariness or interest—didn't matter.
In the end, only the results counted.
That was when it happened.
Ahn Ilseung paused on his way out and casually said,
"By the way, you didn't take a single note during the meeting. Did you record it? If you're going to record, you should get permission from the team first…"
"No. I didn't record."
I cut him off cleanly.
"I just memorized it."
I answered with a light smile. Ahn Ilseung's face went blank with pure disbelief, and he stood there frozen in place.