The Heart Signal Capitalism Fired
My eyes narrowed at the smartphone screen.
June 2014.
The world was still pointing fingers at this cryptocurrency, calling it gambling, a scam — but the balance in my account was already laughing right back at them.
The magic of day-trading and leverage.
One and a half billion.
Money I never would have touched in my past life no matter how many all-nighters I pulled or how much I grovelled to my bosses — and it had landed in my hands in a single month.
I was no longer that pathetic returning student Park Dohun, huddled in a rooftop room, eating two-for-one cup ramen and sweating over tuition.
Time to spend it.
Money exerts its true power not when it's sitting as a number in a bank account, but when you drag it out into the real world and swing it around. Especially when you're stealing the hearts of women with a mercenary streak.
I'd trained both their bodies. What I still needed to shatter was the last scrap of pride buried deep in their hearts — and every lingering doubt they had about me.
I sent a group chat to Yura and Jisu.
Five o'clock.
A black Mercedes S-Class glided to a stop in front of the campus main gate. A deep, resonant exhaust note. An overwhelming presence. The three-pointed star emblem caught the afternoon sun and flashed like a blade.
Students heading home started murmuring.
"Whoa, what is that car? Is that an S-Class?"
"Holy shit... someone at our school drives that?"
It wasn't every day a young guy showed up at a university gate — not even in the heart of Gangnam — behind the wheel of a flagship sedan with no chauffeur in sight.
A moment later, two women came walking over.
Yura was dazzling as always. A red halter-neck dress that left nothing of her figure to the imagination, the Chanel bag I'd bought her slung over one shoulder, sunglasses on, striding toward me like the pavement was a runway.
Jisu, by contrast, was more subdued. A neat navy dress and low heels. But you could tell she'd put in the work — her hair was curled, and she'd clearly agonized over the lipstick.
The passenger window hummed down. Yura beamed as she came up.
"Oppa! I'm here! Did you wait long?"
She opened the rear door and climbed in like she owned the place. She already knew from our last date that I'd bought a car, and after pocketing ten million won from me, this level of wealth had become something she took for granted — something to show off.
"Wow, the AC is amazing. Oppa, you've got such good taste."
Yura buried herself in the cool leather, laying the charm on thick.
Jisu was another story. She stood in front of the open door and couldn't take a step. Her eyes went from me — one hand resting casually on the wheel — to the interior finished in top-grade Nappa leather, then back to me.
"......"
Her pupils trembled hard.
The Park Dohun she knew was supposed to be a returning student with no future, living in a moldy rooftop room. A despicable thug who blackmailed people with whatever dirt he could dig up. What sat in front of her was a Mercedes S-Class worth well over a hundred million won.
Cognitive dissonance. What she felt went beyond simple surprise — and through that crack, a strange flutter began to seep in.
They say a man is his capabilities. The guy sitting in the driver's seat, looking at her with that indifferent expression — was he really the same pathetic underclassman who'd been all over her body yesterday? He would have looked so unfamiliar. So impressive.
"What's the holdup, sunbae? You getting in or not? You're blocking traffic."
I slid my sunglasses down a fraction. Jisu snapped back to herself.
"This... this is your car? For real?"
"What, you think I stole it? Get in. People behind us are cursing."
"Ah... yeah..."
Jisu climbed into the passenger seat looking dazed. The door shut with a heavy, solid thunk, and the outside noise vanished completely. Even as she buckled her seatbelt, she ran her fingertips across the dashboard like she couldn't believe it was real.
The soft ambient lighting. The scent of luxury leather. The unfamiliar cologne of the man in the driver's seat. This wasn't a car she'd been blackmailed into getting into. She felt like a woman who'd been asked out by a successful young entrepreneur.
"Where are we going?"
She asked it like she didn't care, but there was a faint tremor at the end of her voice. Anticipation.
"Shopping. Then a date. It's a day for treating princesses, isn't it?"
I answered briefly and pressed the accelerator. The car glided away.
Apgujeong Galleria Department Store.
The moment we stepped into the first-floor lobby of the luxury wing, glittering chandelier light and an expensive fragrance wrapped around us. Yura's eyes went wide. To her, this place was heaven itself.
"Any store you want to hit?"
The second I asked, Yura grabbed my arm and pulled.
"Oppa, that one! Dior! I want to see their new collection! I saw it on social media and it was so pretty."
"Let's go."
We walked into the Dior boutique. The staff looked us over, spotted the Rolex on my wrist and my shoes, and hurried over bowing at the waist.
"Welcome, sir. Is there something I can help you find?"
"Show this young lady everything that would suit her. New arrivals, preferably. All of it."
I sat on the sofa and crossed my legs. Yura started picking out clothes like a fish thrown into water, practically glowing.
Jisu hovered awkwardly at the entrance. The fifty-thousand-won wholesale dress she'd worn here felt like a pathetic rag in this place, and the inferiority complex hit her hard. But she still couldn't take her eyes off me — sitting on that sofa, casually commanding the staff. That gaze was saying it plainly.
He had this side to him...?
They say money makes the man, and the aura coming off me now was different at the root. The confidence. The easy gaze. I could feel it tickling her heart in a way she didn't know what to do with.
"Sunbae, what are you doing? Don't just stand there. Pick something out."
"I'm fine. I have plenty of clothes."
"Plenty of what? It's all cheap wholesale stuff. The kind they sell in front of campus."
Jisu's eyebrows twitched.
"Hey, Park Dohun. That's a bit much."
"It's just facts. The student council president can't go around dressed like that. You're my woman. Let's maintain some dignity."
My woman.
Those two words drove themselves into Jisu's chest. She knew this relationship was bound by blackmail, and she still didn't hate that possessive. If anything, it felt reassuring — and she found herself both pathetic and thrilled for feeling that way.
I gestured for a staff member.
"Bring over some dresses and shoes that would suit the woman standing over there. Get her size. The most expensive line. Something elegant."
"Yes, sir!"
A staff member approached Jisu and politely guided her along. Jisu let herself be led to the fitting room, putting up a token resistance.
A moment later, the curtain parted and Jisu stepped out.
An elegant black dress. The design revealed a hint of her shoulders and cinched her waist, perfectly showcasing the toned figure she'd built through exercise.
"Wow..."
Yura's mouth fell open.
"Unni, you look incredible. Like a different person. I thought you were a celebrity."
Jisu stared blankly at her reflection in the full-length mirror. The fit and fabric of a designer piece worth millions of won existed on a completely different plane. The woman in the mirror was no longer a student council president being chased by debt. She was a noble lady, cherished by a capable man.
"Well? You like it?"
I stepped up behind her and met her eyes in the glass.
"It's expensive... how can you just..."
Jisu glanced at the price tag and nearly had a heart attack. 5.8 million won. Two semesters of tuition for a single dress.
"It's fine. Compared to what you're worth, sunbae, that's pocket change. And..."
I leaned in and whispered against her ear.
"You've earned the right to wear expensive things. After how well you satisfied me yesterday."
Jisu's face flushed crimson. But it was closer to shyness than offense. She met my eyes in the mirror and nodded, just barely.
I pulled out my card without hesitation and handed it to the staff.
"This, plus everything Yura picked out earlier. And those two handbags on display. All of it."
"That'll be a single payment, I assume?"
"Yes."
The staff member accepted the card with both hands and ran it. A whir, a zip — the sound of a receipt printing.
Total: 23 million won.
Jisu peeked at the slip in my hand and sucked in a breath. Twenty-three million won... in one go? Money she could never touch in her entire life no matter how desperately she worked part-time jobs — and I was spending it like I was buying gum at a convenience store.
That overwhelming gap in capability didn't register as fear. It registered as sexiness. A powerful male who could take hold of her and lead. I could see it happening in real time — Park Dohun the blackmailer being erased from her heart, replaced by Park Dohun the man who could provide.
Dinner was at a floating restaurant on the Han River. A reserved window table with the night view laid out in a single glance. Course after course arrived, and red wine filled our glasses.
"Cheers."
Clink. Three glasses touched.
Yura was in heaven as she cut into her steak. Jisu took a sip of wine and stared at me without blinking. The look in her eyes had shifted from suspicion to curiosity and something close to admiration.
"Park Dohun."
"Yes."
Jisu set down her fork and looked at me with a serious expression.
"You... how the hell do you have this much money? Did you win the lottery or something?"
There was a tremor in her voice.
"The lottery? Something like that. I made a few investments. A little earlier than everyone else, a little more aggressively. Let's just say I bought the future."
I swirled my wine glass, answering at my leisure.
"Then let me ask you one more thing."
Jisu fidgeted with the stem of her glass.
"If you have that much money... why do you still live in that stinking rooftop room? You drive a Mercedes around, but you live in a place that looks like it has cockroaches. That doesn't add up."
The question was sharp. The tone was soft. Like a lover sulking.
I smirked, put a piece of medium-rare steak in my mouth, and chewed slowly.
"Why? Because it's fun."
"What? Fun?"
"Yeah. Having the two most popular goddesses on campus walk into that cramped, filthy room of their own free will, strip down, and roll around. It's a lot more thrilling than doing it in a penthouse, don't you think?"
"......"
"The sight of Choi Yura, playing at being born with a diamond spoon, and Seo Jisu, the apostle of justice, corrupting themselves in dirt-poor Park Dohun's room. There's a certain pleasure in that gap."
"You really are... a perverted bastard."
Jisu let out a hollow laugh. But her face was flushed. She couldn't deny it. The secrecy of that cramped, sealed-off rooftop room — and the fact that they were dominated by me there — drove them even crazier.
"And it's not time to move yet. I will soon. Somewhere higher. Somewhere more private."
"...You're not the Park Dohun I knew."
Jisu shook her head, muttering.
"That pathetic returning student who used to grovel around campus. The underclassman who was always watching my face for cues... none of that is here. The you sitting in front of me right now... you're a completely different person. It's almost frightening."
Her words said one thing. The look in her eyes said something else entirely. The faint heat of a woman craving a superior male. I could feel it in her gaze.
After dinner, I loaded both women into the car and headed back toward campus. A flicker of quiet disappointment crossed both their faces — they'd clearly expected a hotel or a motel. Jisu especially was biting her lip as she stared out the window. She didn't want to part ways like this.
"That's it for today."
I pulled up in front of a convenience store at the entrance to the off-campus housing area.
"Huh...? We're just leaving?"
Yura asked like she couldn't believe it.
"Yeah. I'm a little tired today. And if we see each other too often, you'll get bored of me."
I grinned, mischievous, as I let them out.
Push and pull. A woman's heart burns hotter when she thinks she can have you — and isn't sure she can.
"Get home safe. See you at school tomorrow."
I shut the door and started to pull away. The two of them stood there watching the Mercedes's taillights, looking disappointed. I confirmed it in the rearview mirror and slipped out of the alley at my leisure.
That was when it happened.
Bzz. Bzz.
The phone I'd left on the center console vibrated. Not a blocked number.
I smirked, pulled over onto the shoulder, and answered.
"Hello."
"...Hey, Dohun."
Jisu's trembling voice came through the receiver.
"What's up? Did you leave something in the car?"
"No... it's not that..."
She hesitated. Her breathing was rough.
"Are you... going straight home?"
"Yeah. I told you I'm tired."
"Then... do you want to come to my place?"
"......What?"
I hadn't seen that coming.
"I live alone...! It's a studio, but... it's cleaner than your rooftop room."
She added it in a rush.
"I sent Yura home. I'm by myself."
"Are you... inviting me over? To your place, sunbae?"
"Yeah... I just... I wanted to try on the clothes I got today..."
Her voice grew smaller and smaller.
"And... I wanted to have another drink... just the two of us..."
A lie. I knew it wasn't the drinks she wanted. It was me. She didn't want the forced arrangement of the rooftop room. She wanted to make love with me in her own space, of her own will.
A signal that she'd opened her heart to me completely.
"You'll come, right...? I'll give you the door code..."
Her breathing through the phone was desperate. I tightened my grip on the wheel and flicked on the U-turn signal.
"Leave the door open. I'll be right there."
"Okay... I'll wait... Hurry."
The call ended. A deep smile spread across my lips.
Not a slave of the rooftop room — a queen who had invited her master into her bedroom of her own accord. Tonight was going to be far hotter, far thicker, than last night.
I buried the accelerator.
VROOOOM—!!
The engine roared like a beast and tore through the darkness.