Chapter 14

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 14

Chapter Title: The Con Artist's Profile

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"Huh? What did you just say?"

Park Ha-yeon asked, flustered.

Jin-seong's mutter might not have reached anyone else, but it rang crystal clear to Park Ha-yeon right beside him.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself."

"...Didn't you just say 'scammer'?"

Instead of answering, Jin-seong shook his head side to side.

His gaze stayed locked on Kim Dong-wook, refusing to budge.

Kim Dong-wook's profile was a spectacle in itself.

It was so severe it left him speechless.

Kim Dong-wook's character could be summed up in one word.

'Villain.'

A villain, nothing more, nothing less.

'Fraud? Eloquence? Even charm? What a goddamn freak show.'

Irredeemable specialties.

He was a scammer born to deceive others.

'No wonder he's a villain—his thoughts are downright sleazy.'

Kim Dong-wook's inner thoughts kept shifting.

Jin-seong closed the profile. It was too repulsive to keep looking.

Worse than rotting fish by a hundred—no, a thousand times.

It turned his stomach. His gut churned. His mood soured completely.

'I wanna grab that bastard by the collar and beat the shit out of him.'

Irritation boiled up.

'Whew, calm down. Head home first.'

He needed to cool his head. Settle his emotions.

Thoughts, decisions, actions—there was time for all that later.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Really."

"You're killing me here. Spit it out."

"......"

He shook his head instead of replying.

"I'm heading out."

"...Good work. Get home safe."

Park Ha-yeon replied reluctantly.

Jin-seong gave Park Ha-yeon a quick bow and left the gym.

On the way home, he grabbed a can of beer from the convenience store.

Cracked it open. Took a swig.

"Ahh, hits the spot."

So refreshingly cool. His head and mind cleared up.

'What should I do?'

He pondered about Park Man-bok.

'I... I want to help Sajangnim Park as much as I can. Even if it costs me a bit.'

There were two big reasons he wanted to help.

One was gratitude.

He had so much to thank Park Man-bok for.

Even though Jin-seong hadn't signed up for PT sessions, Park Man-bok had gladly taught him workouts and meal plans.

He'd personally looked up diet-friendly exercises and shared them. Often slipped him health drinks, saying they were good for the body.

'He's done so much for me—I can't just keep my mouth shut.'

Two, he was Park Ha-yeon's father.

Jin-seong had feelings for Park Ha-yeon. He wanted to look good to her. Get closer to her.

He couldn't just ignore danger looming over the father of the girl he liked.

'How should I help?'

He mulled over methods.

'Tell Sajangnim Park straight up?'

Or should he tell Park Ha-yeon?

'Neither.'

He shook his head.

'To convince someone, you need solid proof. Unfortunately, I don't have any.'

What if he tried convincing without evidence?

They wouldn't believe him. They'd think he was crazy.

He sure as hell couldn't say, 'His profile says he's a scammer.'

They'd treat him like a lunatic.

'Ugh, this is tricky.'

Not an easy problem to solve.

'Take it slow. Think it through.'

For now, with no solution in sight, all he could do was keep pondering.

5 a.m. The alarm blared noisily.

He shut it off. Sat up and stretched.

Yawn.

A yawn escaped. He grabbed his phone and opened KakaoTalk.

Messages from several people. He checked Choi A-young's first.

He tapped the photo.

Choi A-young in the photo was bare-faced. Lounging on her bed, enjoying comics and snacks.

"She's really pretty."

So damn cute.

Choi A-young looked just as good bare-faced or made up. Unrealistically pretty and cute.

He sent his replies.

Then checked the others.

He straight-up read and ignored the loan requests.

Nothing good ever came from dealing with those guys.

Replied only to Lee Ji-seong.

Changed into workout clothes.

'Out.'

Vitamins were gone.

Time to buy more.

Opened the shop. Bought vitamins. Took them right away.

'What a god-tier item.'

Ever since taking the vitamins, he was always full of energy. Boosted disease resistance meant no illnesses either.

'But...'

His eyes fixed on the shop window.

'Lucky Cookie, huh...'

'Lucky Cookie' was on the list.

It had caught his eye by chance.

He'd never bought one while playing Era of Success.

Truth be told, he'd had zero interest in Lucky Cookies and didn't even know they existed.

'Wonder what it's like. Should I grab one?'

How effective could it be?

Curiosity sparked. He had 2 points to spare.

'Alright, let's do it. Buy one.'

Curiosity won out. He boldly purchased the Lucky Cookie.

Examined the Lucky Cookie.

Round shape. Palm-sized. Brown hue. Packed with chocolate chunks.

Freshly baked warm. Crispy yet chewy-looking.

'Looks delicious.'

Especially those big, glossy chocolate bits.

He ate the Lucky Cookie. As expected, it was insanely good.

"Whoa..."

Chocolate cookie during a diet?!

Diabolically tempting flavor.

Devoured the cookie in seconds.

Jin-seong furrowed his brow.

'Tasted great, sure...'

He'd been happy while eating it.

'But isn't the duration too short?'

He didn't know how high +35.4 Luck was.

But it only lasted an hour at best.

'Total dud.'

It was 5 a.m.

Early morning, and in just one hour? No special luck seemed incoming.

'Sigh, letting it slide 'cause it was tasty. If it sucked, I'd have been pissed.'

Chalked it up to a wasted point. Headed out. Stretched out the stiff overnight muscles.

Ran.

'Hm?'

While running, a convenience store came into view.

Lotto tickets sold here.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Jin-seong stopped running.

'Lotto, huh...'

Why was that?

Why did lotto, which he'd never noticed before, suddenly stand out?

Why did he crave to buy a lotto ticket he'd never bought once?

Dug through his pockets.

1,000 won.

'Can I buy one with a grand?'

Entered the convenience store.

"Excuse me, what's the minimum for lotto?"

"From 1,000 won minimum up to 100,000 won max."

"Just one, please."

Auto-picked a line.

First lotto ticket of his life.

Checked the draw date.

'Draw on Saturday?'

Pocketed the ticket.

'Never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought I'd buy a lottery ticket.'

No big expectations.

'Fifth place at best, probably.'

Cleared it from his mind.

'80kg is right around the corner.'

Focused on running.

Left the dorms. Headed to the gym while KakaoTalking.

The reason customers flocked to the toast shop where Choi A-young part-timed.

She was too pretty and cute—that's why.

Of course, Choi A-young had no clue why they kept coming.

"Hm?"

Jin-seong halted.

'Scammer?'

Kim Dong-wook emerged from the gym.

Kim Dong-wook's steps were light. Smoking as he walked.

Stopped at a cafe three minutes away. Opened the door and went in. The door shut.

30 seconds later.

Jin-seong entered the cafe. He'd tailed Kim Dong-wook.

"One peach iced tea, please."

"To go?"

"No, for here."

He took a seat a bit away from Kim Dong-wook's spot.