Chapter 5

"Good morning, Kang Assistant."

"Oh, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Deputy Director. Good morning, sir! You're in early."

"Yeah. You're unusually lively today. Your face looks brighter, too. Something good happen?"

Deputy Director Kwak asked with obvious curiosity.

"Ah, really? Nothing special, sir."

Nothing had actually changed.

And yet, ever since I’d left for work, I’d felt strangely confident.

Even after running into Assistant Manager Park again on the way in, driving his Mercedes, I hadn't felt the least bit envious.

Is this because of the balance?

Fifteen million won.

To some people it might be pocket change, but for me it was the kind of money that would take months of careful savings to put together.

Feels like I’ve got an emergency fund now.

Besides, it wasn’t as if it was a one-time windfall and done.

I can appraise relics once a month...

That alone should bring in a pretty decent amount each month.

It was a lot of money, but even so.

Thinking about quitting over this would be ridiculous.

It wasn’t as if the relic appraisal effect had disappeared, but still.

I could only use it for twenty-four hours a month.

Buying a valuable antique cheap and selling it high every time wasn’t going to be easy.

In fact, even after I’d made a full circuit around Dongmyo last week, the only thing I’d bought that was even close to masterpiece-level was the white porcelain bowl.

It’s enough to think of it as a good side hustle.

I decided not to get greedy.

After all, a stable monthly salary is still the best.

Unless I suddenly had tens of billions of won and enough money to buy a building, that was one thing. For ordinary office workers like me, it was the monthly deposit into the bank account that kept the mind at ease.

I flinched, then quickly calmed down.

If it was a work problem or a consultation, he’d call me into his office. But if it was the rooftop, then it was personal.

Kim Bu-jang left the office first.

After finishing my own work prep, I headed straight for the rooftop.

***

Whoosh.

Kim Bu-jang lit the cigarette from the lighter I held out.

"Sorry to call you out all of a sudden."

"Not at all. But what’s this about, sir?"

"Truth is, I watched the broadcast."

"...Pardon?"

"MBS's Treasure Appraisal Show."

"Hah..."

That was the last thing I’d expected.

"Do you mind if I give you a bit of advice, even if I sound like an old man?"

"Not at all, sir. Please speak freely. I always take your advice seriously."

"Well, thanks for saying that."

Kim Bu-jang chuckled and went on.

"It’s nothing major, but... I thought maybe you might end up showing it at work."

"...Showing what?"

"I heard the backstory too. That you got it cheap at the antique market."

"Ah, yes. That's right."

"If you start bragging around about suddenly making a little windfall, people latch on fast. You’ll end up buying meals left and right, and before you know it, you’re down a hundred thousand or more. Then you get freeloaders asking you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to lend them money without any shame."

"Ah..."

"Then they get jealous and say you won’t lend it because it’s money you got for nothing."

Kim Bu-jang added, sounding incredulous.

"They never think about the fact that you spent your own valuable time picking through antiques, and then even went on television to get it. Third parties never see that part."

"That's true."

"So I’m telling you not to make a show of it, because it only hurts you, Assistant Kang."

He grinned and added,

"Of course, once that video starts spreading on NYouTube, somebody may recognize you soon enough. If that happens, just say you used it to pay off debt. That'll keep things simple."

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

It wasn’t flattery.

What he’d said was the best advice a senior in the working world could give.

"As thanks, let me buy you a coffee or something..."

"Sssst!"

Kim Bu-jang glared at me with his eyes wide.

"Didn’t I say no?"

"Ah, sorry."

"No need to apologize."

He chuckled and patted my shoulder.

"I’m only saying this because I want you to do well, Assistant Kang."

"Thank you."

"All right, let's head back in. Let’s keep up the fighting spirit today, too."

"Yes, sir. You too, sir!"

***

2:30 p.m.

The time of day ranked by science magazines as the hardest for office workers to endure.

Lunch had settled, drowsiness had set in, and work had become dull enough to make your eyes heavy.

Looking over, I saw Assistant Manager Park, who had driven out with his car during lunch to eat with the female staff, already nodding off.

One of the executives passing through the hallway swept his tiger-like gaze across the office and moved on.

My spine prickled for no good reason.

"Huuuaaaahh."

I stretched myself awake and forced my focus back onto work.

4:00 p.m.

The frequency with which employees checked the time steadily increased.

Alongside the company messenger, messages about drinking plans began arriving one by one.

The chief and the deputy director were out visiting clients.

As for Chief Choi...

"Please, please, please."

He was staring at his phone and praying for his stocks to turn red.

At this point, well...

I’d finished my work for the day, too.

Quietly, I alt-tabbed over.

[Side Hustle Heaven!]

I opened a part-time job site.

From the standard ads looking for labor for Coupang deliveries, parcel sorting, and water hauling, to all kinds of listings for Kumon tutors, dishwashing, serving, and more, there was no shortage of posts.

But the one that interested me was already decided.

I typed two simple characters into the search bar.

[Translation]

That’s right.

Translation work.

To be honest, I had never been particularly interested in foreign languages.

Ever since I was young, I’d liked math, but English had never come easily to me.

Because of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that, even the TOEIC prep that everyone else seemed to do so casually had only gotten me an 800 after dragging myself through a hagwon, just barely high enough to scrape into employment.

But the second talent that had opened this morning was language ability.

It caught me off guard at first.

Unlike relic appraisal, which could be used with no risk at all, learning a language required payment.

There was even a special condition.

After learning English conversation for ten million won this time, if I wanted to learn Japanese a month later, I’d have to pay twenty million.

At first, I’d been shocked by the amount.

But on the way to work, I thought it over.

Come to think of it, this really isn’t that expensive.

How much money do Koreans pour into English academies?

These days, parents send kids to English kindergartens, and that alone costs several million won a month.

And that still isn’t enough, so they spend several more million a year on language training overseas.

And I can learn this for only ten million won?

There was nothing to lose.

No, it was actually a bargain.

Just my TOEIC hagwon and the online lectures I took when I was preparing for jobs cost me several million over six months.

And if I learned reading and conversation separately, that came to twelve million won.

They even give a discount if you buy it all at once.

The comprehensive ability was ten million.

If I think of it as money invested in my future, it doesn't seem bad at all.

Besides, I already had a reassuring deposit in the bank from selling the white porcelain bowl.

Honestly, if I leave it alone, I’ll just end up wanting to buy something out of compensation psychology anyway.

I’d already spent the entire weekend searching for new sofas, phones, TVs, and other appliances before finally snapping back to my senses.

Right. Let’s just think of it as reinvesting the money I made from selling the relic.

Since the relic had turned out to be real, I had no reason to doubt this system.

Purchase. Comprehensive ability.

The instant I gave the command, the money left my account.

Cold as steel.

There didn’t seem to be any restrictions on what I could choose, so I figured I might as well pick something and get on with it.

I don't think I need English right this second.

I wasn’t perfect, of course, but I could manage basic conversation and even some business talk.

Chinese would be better, I think.

After all, HR Vision handled a fair amount of work with foreign companies.

Lately, requests from China had been coming in more often, too.

But since I didn’t know Chinese at all, we had to communicate through the team leader.

That had been frustrating more than once.

It was the same when it came to side jobs.

There are plenty of people who are good at English, but relatively few who are good at Chinese.

And more importantly...

There’s a limit to how much a Korean can realistically learn of Chinese characters, but with this ability...

If it was an A-rank skill, then I should be able to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reach something close to native-level fluency.

It might actually become overwhelming.

So I decided.

Chinese.

...That's it?

It was only a simple notification.

Did it really work?

Since nothing seemed different, I opened a Chinese shopping mall and clicked on the first thing I saw.

--Explosive hit large-capacity suitcase, 30-inch thick and sturdy, durable aluminum-frame rolling luggage, women's travel case, men's leather trunk.

The moment I looked at the Chinese text.

--A smash-hit large-capacity travel suitcase, 30 inches, thick and sturdy, a durable aluminum-frame rolling suitcase, women’s travel luggage, men’s leather trunk.

What the hell...! It works?

The translation came to mind automatically in my head.

Reading worked the same way.

Without knowing anything beyond a basic ni hao ma, I could even pronounce the tones of Chinese correctly.

Converting Korean into Chinese was no problem either.

Just to be sure, I checked it with a translation app, and my translation was perfect.

This is insane.

It was literally a cheat code.

At this rate, I’d learn more as soon as I had the money.

In the meantime, the price had doubled.

And a month-long cooldown was now required, too.

For now, I guess I’ll be satisfied with Chinese.

Anyway, I didn’t have enough money to keep investing in languages right now.

The easiest side job to make money with this new language ability was, of course, translation.

On the Side Hustle Heaven site, there were more listings than I’d expected.

[Looking for Chinese trade interpreter part-time.]

[Office support and translation (Chinese)]

[Dermatology clinic Chinese interpreter part-time hire.]

[Simple Chinese office work.]

Among them, the one that stood out most was this.

This looks good.

No need to go into the office.

It was exactly the kind of thing I could do as a side hustle whenever I had free time.

And the hourly rate is solid, too.

Should I give it a try?

I left the office and called from the hallway.

"Yes, I called about the translation part-time listing. I graduated from a university in Korea. My period of residence in China? No, I haven't been there before, but... Ah, so I need to take a test? Yes, that's possible. I'll be there by then."