Chapter 24. An Unfair World!
Chapter 24. An Unfair World!
Chewing on shrimp crackers, Bella watched Cheolmin swing his wooden practice sword.
A man whose job seemed to straddle illegality and legality looked dangerous, but on the inside he was a polite, kind man.
Of course, he wasn’t Bella’s type.
The reason she was watching his training wasn’t because of Cheolmin himself, but because she was interested in his swordsmanship.
Bella didn’t know much about martial arts, but she could tell that Cheolmin’s movements weren’t normal.
The sound the wooden sword made as it cut through the air was sharp, and if you got hit by that, it wouldn’t be an injury—it would be death for sure. It was so fierce that every time the air split, a deep humming vibration shook.
If he could show that kind of power with a wooden sword, then with a real blade, he looked like he could win even if he fought dozens at once.
Of course, no matter how good your swordsmanship was, you couldn’t beat guns.
But watching Cheolmin now, it felt like he would dodge bullets too.
He’d leap three or four meters into the air, move in zigzags while swinging the sword—those were movements no human body could produce.
That kind of power belonged in movies. It couldn’t exist in real life.
From eating lunch and dinner together, Bella had figured out that this power had been passed on to him by Kang Chan, the motel employee who did nothing but grin.
She’d known he wasn’t ordinary from the moment she told him about the nuclear missile news.
But she hadn’t known it would be this kind of “special.”
Bella had assumed Kang Chan was someone from a government organization or a secret group, and that he’d used that kind of power to stop the nukes. She’d even thought it was highly likely he was an American agent.
But from what she’d observed, Kang Chan didn’t look like a secret agent at all.
He was a little lacking in empathy, had poor taste in women, and had a small-citizen mindset—he liked money and had a fussy personality about rules and routines.
Rather than a secret agent, he fit better as some kind of hero hiding his identity.
“Cheolmin. Cheolmin. I want to learn that too!”
Bella, who had suddenly received a glimpse of the future last night, told Cheolmin.
If it weren’t for that, there’d be no reason to say this—but a glimpse of the future was absolute. There were two kinds: controllable and uncontrollable.
And among them, uncontrollable glimpses—
That is, the kind that arrives suddenly like last night—was extremely important because it was tied to Bella’s safety. She had to act according to what she saw.
“Huh? Bella too? You have to learn this from Chan, my little brother!”
“Yeah, I know. But when learning, Bella also have to take off top?”
Cheolmin paused for a second, thinking about what she meant, then hurriedly waved his hands.
“No. You don’t have to take off your clothes. But it’s expensive. You have to pay my little brother a lot.”
“How much Cheolmin pay?”
“I paid 1 billion won. My brothers paid 100 million each. But my brothers are weaker than me!”
Hearing that, Bella fell into thought.
She had enough money to use while staying in Korea, but she didn’t have that kind of huge sum.
Bella felt she needed to pull money from somewhere. If she was going to learn, she wanted the most expensive course, not some “one-billion-won Cheolmin-level” option.
Saturday night, 9 p.m.
I was busy dealing with the nonstop flow of short-stay guests. Since the North Korean nuclear incident, the motel had been insanely busy. Even with our muscle cleaning team split into two shifts, we were still short-handed.
And yet the bell from Room 102 rang.
“Yes. Front desk. Sir/Ma’am.”
On my day off I spoke casually to Bella, but on workdays I always spoke politely. On a workday, she was a guest to me.
“Chan. Help me!”
“What is it?”
“Monday morning, go somewhere with me!”
Monday was a day I worked.
No.
“I’m sorry, but Monday is a workday for me. I’m sorry, Guest.”
“Ah. Then Tuesday morning, go together.”
“On my day off, I need to rest. I’m sorry, but ask another employee.”
“No. This must be Chan with me!”
“I’m sorry.”
“I give money. One hundred million!”
“Yes, understood, Guest!”
“..............”
When I agreed, Bella hung up.
With 100 million, it was only right to go with her even if it was hell.
Of course, I didn’t plan to actually go to hell with Bella. It was a figure of speech.
Still, Bella’s Korean had improved a lot.
She understood almost everything I said. No matter how I looked at it, she was smart.
Tuesday morning.
As always, Chanhyeok hyung came in at exactly 9:30.
He’d almost quit once, but after being persuaded by the people Cheolmin hyung sent, he’d been coming in at this time every day with an Isu Gang underling.
You’d think they’d be close by now since they came in together, but Chanhyeok hyung didn’t seem to like the Isu Gang guy.
From what I heard, it was because the guy came to his studio apartment from 8 a.m. and woke him up to go to work when Chanhyeok hyung wanted to sleep more. That original Isu Gang underling from Room 105 seemed to come to wake Chanhyeok hyung up while also giving Cheolmin hyung a morning report—diligent and polite.
This guy was also a member of the internal energy crash course.
Ah… he was older than me, so he wasn’t a “younger brother,” he was an “underling.”
“Please go in. Good work.”
“No, I still have some time left on my shift.”
At 9:30, the Isu Gang underling urged me to clock out, but I smiled and refused.
After the guy headed into Room 105, Chanhyeok hyung stepped away, saying he was going to the restroom. He’d probably come back to the counter at exactly 10.
But today, Bella came out dressed to go out.
She wore a white one-piece dress and sunglasses—she looked cooler than most foreign-movie actresses.
“Chan. Coffee one cup! Mix.”
Bella came into the office, sat down, and told me.
Today was the day I was going somewhere with her.
Payment: 100 million.
Thinking about it, I hadn’t asked where we were going.
“Where are we going today? Do I need to prepare anything?”
“No. Just sit next to me!”
Bella said that, sipping the coffee I made.
When it turned 10, Chanhyeok hyung shuffled to the counter. I went up to the rooftop living quarters, changed into my day-off outfit—tracksuit and slippers—and came back down.
Chanhyeok hyung, who had been smiling and chatting up Bella, looked shocked when he saw me.
“What’s going on? You’re not sleeping? On your days off you go up the second you can and rest.”
“I have somewhere to go with Bella. Then good luck! Let’s go, Bella.”
I walked out like that. Bella followed along, and Chanhyeok hyung chased us to the entrance, repeating, “Where are you going?”
“I don’t know either!”
I left him behind, still curious about our destination.
Bella overtook me and headed for the subway station. She checked the subway map on her phone, went inside, and even bought two tickets—one for me too.
Bella was thorough in areas like this. There were things about her I didn’t like, but I liked that part.
The train arrived. We stood side by side talking about this and that, and I could feel people around us sneaking glances.
Maybe it was because I looked mismatched—me in a tracksuit and slippers, and Bella looking like a movie star.
I didn’t care and kept talking to her.
Our conversation was mostly about famous restaurants and food menus.
We got off at Chungjeongno Station.
She walked a bit from the station and went into a building, and my heart started pounding.
NongHyup headquarters.
No way…
My eyes went wide. I wanted to grab Bella and ask a million questions as she went in. It was rare for me—someone always calm—to get this shaken.
But Bella went straight to the security guard on the first floor, took out a piece of paper from her handbag, and said,
“First prize!”
The guard dipped his head slightly like it was routine and guided her to the third floor.
I couldn’t believe what was happening.
Even I—someone lacking empathy like a psychopath—was panicking, but Bella stayed cold and aloof. She sat down at the prize-claim counter and motioned for me to sit too.
“Congratulations, ma’am! But are you a foreigner?”
“Bella! Russian!”
“Yes, foreigners can receive Lotto winnings the same as citizens. Ma’am. And who is this person?”
The bank employee smiled kindly at me. Bella introduced me.
“Errand boy. Follow person! Henchman!”
From what I remembered, that vocabulary was Bella from a long time ago.
Lately her Korean had been more fluent, but today it felt like her Korean skills had regressed.
“Ah, I see. Then we’ll explain the guidance information.”
“Bella no Korean. This kid stupid. Give money fast!”
“First, may I see the Lotto ticket?”
At the employee’s request, Bella handed over the Lotto ticket—one game, first prize—and her passport. On the back, as if prepared beforehand, Bella’s name and signature were written.
“Congratulations. You’re this week’s winner. This week is unusual—there was only one first-prize winner. Congratulations. It’s a huge amount we haven’t seen in years.”
The employee’s eyes widened as if even they were surprised, and I felt the back of my head tighten.
Was this what blood pressure was?
Only one first-prize winner.
My mouth hung open and wouldn’t close.
The employee explained taxes, regulations, cautions, and so on for a long time, but none of it properly reached my ears, and Bella didn’t seem to understand anyway.
So the employee rattled through it like explaining insurance terms, copied Bella’s passport, opened an account, and paid out the winnings.
They tried to push investment products, but Bella’s repeated “Don’t know” overwhelmed them, and they gave up.
“One hundred million cash.”
After confirming the winnings had gone into her account, Bella requested it and gave me 100 million won in cash on the spot.
Where was I supposed to put this bundle of money?
If she’d told me we were coming here, I would’ve brought a bag. I borrowed a black plastic bag from the bank employee, put the 100 million inside, and held it close like treasure.
When everything was done, Bella smiled brightly at the bank employee and said,
“Thank you. Very kind. Thanks to you, fast finish. Thank you.”
The bank employee smiled politely and bowed.
Walking out of NongHyup headquarters with Bella, I felt the unfairness of life down to my bones.
Today, Bella won 22.4 billion won, and after taxes, received 15 billion.
Some people live frugally day after day and still don’t know how long it’ll take to achieve their dreams, but this pink pig who eats whatever she wants, wallpapers her room with flashy luxury goods, and watches dramas all day made more money overnight than I plan to save in my entire life.
Maybe this was what people meant by “reality check.”
“Chan, thanks.”
As soon as we left the bank, Bella said.
Only then did I regain my reason.
“Thanks for what. I’m the one who’s grateful. I just followed you around and you paid me 100 million.”
Bella stared at me and spoke.
But her expression was strange.
It looked wistful, or maybe bitter. It didn’t look like the face of someone who’d just made a fortune.
“Tonight beef. I buy.”
“Yeah. You should pay today. Let’s eat later.”
“Chan style too ugly. Dress better. Buy clothes with money I gave! Go department store now?”
“You also ugly normally. Pink clothes don’t suit you. You look ugly.”
“Bella pretty. All men like me. Chan weird!”
“All men is Bella misunderstanding.”
Did that make her upset?
After that, Bella didn’t say a word the entire subway ride back.
Maybe because we didn’t look like we were together, people weren’t whispering.
I didn’t mean “ugly.” I meant her clothes didn’t suit her, but it seemed my words didn’t land right, and it bothered me a little.
Sure, I was jealous of Bella’s 15 billion—no, she gave me 100 million, so she made 14.9 billion—but I also made 100 million today.
4.78 billion won.
In less than a month, my assets had ballooned massively.
If I made this much in a month, I didn’t know how much my wealth would grow after a year. From other people’s point of view, I was sure Bella and I would look similarly enviable.
As soon as we got back to the motel, Bella changed into her pink tracksuit and ordered five servings of jajangmyeon to the office. I quietly sat down beside her to wait.
Chanhyeok hyung, who always opened his wallet whenever Bella was around, boldly opened it again and paid for the jajangmyeon.
Watching him complain that she should’ve ordered tangsuyuk too and not just jajangmyeon, I felt a little sorry for him.