The Last Coin

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"Hey! Kim Dong-su!"

Two days later, the office door burst open with a bang.

Youngsoo came tearing in, out of breath, his face chalk-white.

"Dong-su!"

Team Leader Jeong's head snapped up.

"And just which high and mighty VIP kicks open another department's door and waltzes in like he owns the place?"

Youngsoo flinched. For a few seconds, too flustered to string a sentence together, he said nothing at all.

"I-I'm sorry, Team Leader. There's something urgent."

"Urgent enough for this?"

"Quite... quite a lot, actually. Haha..."

Team Leader Jeong's expression hardened.

That look. A dressing-down was coming.

I shot up from my desk and hauled Youngsoo out of the room. Only once we were out in the hallway did I ask.

"What's wrong?"

Youngsoo answered between ragged breaths.

"It's over."

"What's over? What more is there left for you to lose?"

"Not me... Iniues! The coin! It's completely finished. It got delisted!"

Youngsoo clutched his head. His fingertips were trembling.

"Slow down. Tell it to me word by word."

"It was fine just yesterday! Trading volume was exploding, the articles were circulating again! Then this morning a notice suddenly went up. Trading suspended, delisting confirmed... The whole thing evaporated in a single day!"

I quietly closed my eyes. The line that had floated in my ability window two days ago resurfaced in my mind.

"How did you know? Why did you tell me not to buy back then..."

Youngsoo's voice cracked.

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"I was right, wasn't I?"

"Yeah. It played out exactly like you said."

With that, one thing was confirmed for certain: the ability never lied.

"You didn't put more money in, did you?"

"Of course not. Honestly, I don't have anything left to invest anyway."

"Then let's go over the details at lunch. Come up to the rooftop after we eat."

The rooftop, after lunch. Youngsoo still hadn't come up. I slipped a cigarette between my lips and opened the app — the exchange for unlisted coins.

Four chances left. Might as well check a few before Youngsoo arrived.

Here was the problem: I knew next to nothing about crypto. I'd heard of the big names — Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple — and that was about it. Unlisted coins? Not a chance. So I decided to simply go with whichever ones showed heavy trading volume.

A moment later, the screen flashed.

Whoa... a scam.

One more.

Scam. And scam. Three straight verdicts, every single one a fraud.

What is this? It's nothing but coins running cons in broad daylight — and I'm supposed to make money in a place like this?Choi Youngsoo, you absolute lunatic!!

"..."

Still — one last chance. I grabbed something at random.

"Jackpot."

The very last one had come up a winner.

"What jackpot?"

Youngsoo came puffing up the stairs — he must have run the whole way.

"You know a coin called Elsius?"

"Elsius? Doesn't ring a bell. First I've ever heard of it. Is that one a scam too?"

"No. But what if it isn't a scam, and it lists on a major exchange?"

"Hold on. Let me take a look."

Youngsoo started typing the coin's name into the search bar. A flicker of hope crossed his face, shot through with unease.

"Never seen this one before... But why? Is this one about to get delisted too?"

Youngsoo tilted his head, staring at me. I drew a long breath and spoke.

"No, nothing like that. When a coin like this actually makes it onto an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exchange, how far does it usually climb?"

Curiosity lit up Youngsoo's eyes as he answered.

"Hmm, it's sitting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at 5 won a coin right now, right? Once it lists, it'll go for at least 50. A listing usually pumps a coin tenfold. Assuming it lists at all, of course."

"Then how about I pick up around ten million won worth?"

"Hey, if you've got that kind of money, hold on a second. Let me dig up something reliable first."

"Forget it. The Iniues coin you recommended just got delisted, remember? Honestly, I don't think you've got a gift for crypto."

"That's... okay, fair, but..."

The color drained from Youngsoo's face and his words tripped over each other. He avoided my eyes, scrambling for whatever excuse he could find.

"Enough. I'm going with this one. If it lists and climbs, you can pay your debt off with it."

I said it flat and final. Youngsoo stared back like he couldn't possibly have heard me right.

"What?"

"I said pay off your debt. You're in so deep you can't even get another loan, right?"

"Th-that's true, but..."

I clapped him on the shoulder and kept going.

"Besides, if it weren't for you, I'd never have bought into this stuff in the first place. So how much do you actually owe?"

Youngsoo blinked at me.

"Th-the loans alone... 120 million won..."

His voice trembled, and the moment the number landed, a sigh escaped me before I could stop it.

"..."

For a long moment, neither of us said a word.

"I never thought it would come to this... I regret it. I really do..."

"Do you actually regret it?"

"Yeah..."

Youngsoo answered with his head hanging low.

"If it climbs and you can wipe out every last won of that debt — are you confident you'll never go anywhere near the crypto world again?"

"..."

Youngsoo ducked his head, hesitating, unable to answer. I pressed him. I had to nail down that promise, right here and now — if for nothing else, then for my friend's future.

"What, you can't even promise me that?"

Youngsoo spoke like he was whispering.

"No, it's not that... I just feel terrible about it..."

"Forget it. Just pray the thing goes up. It has to climb if you ever want that debt paid off."

I took out a cigarette and lit it.

"Hoooo..."

Then I bought. Five hundred million won worth.