Flex!
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Park Jiwoong was grilling meat on a brand-new frying pan—the old one, stripped bare days earlier, long since tossed. He worked the pan with quiet focus.
"Jiwoong-ah. Grandma can do the grilling."
"Just sit, Grandma. You said your back hurts."
"Well, still…"
Jiwoong had never felt happier than he did right now. The exams had gone well. More than anything, he could not forget the electrifying moment at lunch last Friday. Ha Taewoong had cleaned house on Oh Seora and her crew—the ones who had tormented him for so long. Every knot that had been twisted tight inside him finally came loose.
Even after smashing Oh Seora's clique, five hundred million won had landed in the account. All of it thanks to Ha Taewoong's efforts. Taewoong was holding the money for now, but that didn't matter. Truthfully, Jiwoong didn't even need it. Five million won still sat in his own bank account—more cash than he had ever seen there in his life. Just knowing the balance existed was enough to make Park Jiwoong happy.
Grandma's knees had been getting much worse lately from all the scrap paper she scavenged. They had been scraping by on government support, barely hanging on. And in the middle of that, he had been able to grill Hanwoo beef for her and simmer ox-bone soup. The satisfaction was something he had never tasted in his whole life.
"But… where did you get the money?"
Grandma Lee Malnyeon asked carefully. The government subsidy barely covered rent each month; after that, only enough for living expenses and medicine remained. Skipping meals was the best they could hope for most days. Yet watching what Jiwoong had been doing the last few days, she could tell he had spent a fair amount—Hanwoo beef she couldn't even remember the last time they had eaten, and bone broth on top of it.
"A friend helped me out a bit."
"A friend?"
Grandma Lee Malnyeon started in surprise. Ever since high school, her grandson had never once mentioned a friend. After her only son and daughter-in-law died so suddenly, Jiwoong had locked everything away inside. These past few days, though, he hadn't been the same. Even while studying for exams, the shadow had lifted from his face. Apparently the reason was a friend.
"Yes! His name's Ha Taewoong. He's a really solid friend."
Strength filled her grandson's voice as he spoke the name. The way he carefully pronounced "Ha Taewoong" felt unfamiliar—and good.
"Is that so… First time I'm hearing of this friend. You get along well with him, now."
Grandma Lee Malnyeon was happier than anything that her grandson finally had a friend. The heavy weight that had been pressing on her heart felt a little lighter.
"Grandma."
"What is it?"
"Should I… become a prosecutor?"
"Prosecutor? Are you sick somewhere?"
"Huh? No—I mean a real prosecutor. Judge and prosecutor."
"Judge and prosecutor? Those high-and-mighty people?"
"High-and-mighty? Yeah… should I do that?"
"My, my!! Your father passed the first round of that exam, you know. We just couldn't afford to keep him in it, but he was a bright one."
"Really?"
Jiwoong had never heard that his father had passed the first stage of the bar exam. For a moment his eyes lit up. So that was why Ha Taewoong had told him, out of nowhere, to become a prosecutor instead of a thug.
"Then I'll do it. I'll become a prosecutor."
"That's right! Our grandson's going to be a prosecutor. You'll make your father's dream come true."
"T-Team leader! What is this?"
"What?"
"A request just came in to raise the withdrawal limit."
"Raise the limit? How much?"
"Well… they're asking us to unlock up to one billion won a day…?"
"One billion? What lunatic—!"
Upbit Customer Support Team. The team leader's face twisted at the female employee's report of a customer complaint. Every so often people showed up who were completely outside the range of normal clients—the ones who hit it big on coins and wanted to cash out a lump sum. Naturally it was impossible. Pulling a huge amount all at once drained operating capital. The company would wobble. Trillions flowed in and out every day, but pure profit left standing was never that much. Withdrawals had to come cleanly from net earnings. That was why they capped things around two hundred million at most. But… one billion? That was a figure they only ever allowed limited VVIP accounts.
"It's that kid from a few days ago."
"That kid? Who?"
"The nineteen-year-old. Ha Taewoong."
"Ha Taewoong? The one with the billion?"
"That's right."
"So now he wants to pull the whole thing out?"
"Well…"
The employee hesitated.
"What is it! Just spit it out."
"He… put eight hundred thousand Tether into the account."
"E-Eight hundred thousand Tether??"
The team leader couldn't believe his ears. Eight hundred thousand USDT—roughly ten billion won in Korean currency.
"How is that even possible? That bastard only started trading coins a few days ago."
"Maybe he ran leverage?"
"…Ugh. Damn leverage!"
It felt like being robbed with his eyes wide open. Unlike overseas exchanges, domestic platforms didn't allow leveraged trading. On top of that, Ha Taewoong had already finished verification, so the Travel Rule didn't even apply to him.
"Did a note come with it?"
"Yes."
"What does it say?"
"If we don't change the limit to one billion… he'll move everything to another exchange…"
"Petty little shit, acting high and mighty over a measly ten billion."
The team leader shuddered with pure envy while wrestling with himself inside. Easy to say "ten billion," but it was a fortune he would never hold in his entire lifetime. Some lucky kid named Ha Taewoong who had struck gold on futures leverage was openly blackmailing them.
"That's… not all of it."
"What! There's more?"
"He says… don't make the petty assumption that the Tether sitting there right now is everything…"
"……!!"
The team leader's face went black. And then—
"W-What are you doing! Call him right now!!"
"They should be calling any minute now."
I had never half-assed my time in the working world. My life might not have been the longest, but experience ran deep. Only someone who had lived on a board that was already set could recognize a moment of opportunity like this.
Ring-ring… ring-a-ling~♬
"There it is."
The call I had been waiting for. I smirked and tapped the answer button.
"Who is this?"
I knew perfectly well, but I asked as if I didn't.
"Hello, valued customer. This is Upbit counselor Go Hanil."
Standard-issue polite mode, fully engaged. Friday morning, 9:05 a.m. On a normal day you could dial until your fingers bled and never reach anyone—yet now a counselor was calling me directly.
"Yes, go ahead."
I kept the reply short. Right now I was the one holding all the cards.
"I understand you've been experiencing some inconvenience. How may we assist you?"
They already knew the issue—why keep asking? Someone with real authority was standing behind the counselor, feeding instructions.
"Exactly what I wrote in the email. Unlock the daily withdrawal limit up to one billion won. I want to be able to pull cash within one hour."
"Regarding the limit, yes. As you know, cash withdrawal limits are determined by reviewing transaction history and customer activity. At present, your account still falls under our standard policy guidelines…"
"Shall I just move it?"
"Pardon?"
"Understood. I'll transfer everything to a Bithumb wallet right now. Simple enough."
I steered the conversation as if I were about to hang up that second. In that instant—
"Ah—no, sir! Special approval just came through. Your limit has been raised. You can withdraw immediately."
Are you kidding me right now? I barely held back a hollow laugh. In this lawless, free-for-all coin market, absolute power came down to one thing only: the number of coins you held.
"Thank you."
"You have been registered as a VIP. Should you have any customer concerns going forward, please feel free to contact us anytime."
Click.
The call I needed was over. Normally Upbit threw every excuse in the book at regular customers to refuse limit increases. I already knew the real rule: coin count was king.
"Go ahead and take good care of me. Heh."
A small, quiet revenge for all the exchange bullying I had swallowed in the past when I only held a handful of coins.
"My personal allowance managers. Looking forward to working with you."
Korean coin exchanges were nothing more than allowance windows in my larger plan. I had no intention of trading in plain sight and leaving a paper trail. I would make dollars on overseas platforms and simply convert them domestically. In my own way, I was a different breed of patriot. Even at this point in time, dollars and Tether still counted as foreign currency.
"Shall we move some?"
I had plenty of places to spend money today. Cash needed to land in the bank account first. A few taps converted Tether into won. Then the transfer.
"Now this is real money."
The one billion won I had inherited from Grandma had started laying golden eggs nonstop. Golden geese breeding in real time through the overseas exchanges. One billion. An unbelievable number appeared on the account screen. Back when I had celebrated a "big win" on coin futures in the past life, my highest balance had been a few tens of millions.
"What should I hit first?"
Earning hundreds of billions and just sitting on it would be its own kind of stupidity. Money was a living thing. Living, moving money never planned for tomorrow. Right now was the time to flex—strictly for myself.
"Then today… something light…"