Too Many Money-Making Talents 059
On the way to work.
Back when things were the same, I would have been sitting by the window on the bus, lost in the familiar scenery.
But today was different.
No, more precisely, the seat I was sitting in had changed.
“Nice.”
I gently turned the steering wheel.
The compact SUV felt like it was hugging the ground as it turned left.
It was a small SUV called Benoo.
The prize from winning the Biryong Tournament and my first car in my life.
Surprisingly quiet and comfortable in the hands.
The ride was completely different from the military vehicle I had driven as a driver during my service.
“The car isn’t that big, so driving is easy too.”
Having just gotten one car, the world already looked a little different.
Commuting to work wasn’t particularly unpleasant.
As a bank security guard.
The job that had always felt like a burden now felt like something I wanted to enjoy for no reason.
I cracked open the windows slightly.
On the road.
The morning air brushed against me.
Mixed with the sound of the wind, the radio-like ‘Park Ji-man’s Baduk in YouTube’ was playing.
Of all times, it was replaying my interview video right after the semifinals.
“Mr. Kim In-ha, you’ve been showing some surprises throughout this tournament. Were you expecting it?”
“There are no surprises in Go. Mistakes are also skill.”
“The semifinal opponent is Wu Xiaoyu 9-dan. You defeated Kim Eun-woo 9-dan to advance. Please give me a word of encouragement.”
“I haven’t lost yet. I’ll work hard to keep the records unbroken.”
“Kya. Did you hear that, everyone? Give a round of applause.”
Interview over, Park Ji-man clapped enthusiastically.
“Kim In-ha player, no, from today just call me Inha. Why are you so cool? Suddenly you pop up and shake the Go world. You’re a born star.”
A voice mixed with laughter and affection.
And underneath it, genuine emotion.
“Isn’t that right, everyone? Honestly, who plays Go these days? Young friends have so much free time. Even my son doesn’t play.”
The tone was light, but sincerity shone through Park Ji-man’s voice.
“Go is static, sure, but you have to drop the idea that it’s only for serious people. Oh Soo 9-dan did that too. He played for fun and played Go for fun. Who knows, they might have called him a troublemaker in China?”
Even though I was driving and couldn’t check the chat, the viewer reactions seemed quite friendly.
“Look at this. The China chaos is hot from the headline. ‘No greater humiliation for Chinese Go than this,’ ‘Chinese players getting toyed with by a small country’s amateur.’ Wow, just looking at it clears the old phlegm. Inha, break Wu Xiaoyu too. After a long time, let’s have a Korean final. Got it?”
At those words, I couldn’t help but smile faintly.
Definitely.
The raw feel of ‘Park Ji-man’s Baduk in’ was strong.
Crude and straightforward talk.
No hesitation in showing his dislike for China, and Park Ji-man or the viewers said exactly what they thought.
It was completely different from the traditional elderly atmosphere of Go TV.
At that moment, Park Ji-man’s voice flowed again.
“I looked into Inha a bit, you know? And the Go journalist I know says this friend… no, our Inha is pretty fun. Life is like waves, just like that.”
While saying that, he started searching for related articles and reading them.
And from YouTube, he found my video and played it.
“Ah… why is he playing that.”
The column Park Ji-man had written: “Pro Hunter Amateur, Kim In-ha. Talking About Him.”
And the video uploaded to the Ciel Bank channel: “After Work, He Dreams of Becoming a Pro Go Player.”
I couldn’t bear to listen and turned down the volume.
No, almost turned it off.
Even if the interview and articles were one thing, that video was unbearable no matter how many times I watched it.
Too embarrassing and shameful, I wanted to jump out of bed and run away.
“…Seriously, let’s not do this.”
I turned my gaze out the window as if ignoring it.
Why?
My face was hot, yet somewhere there was laughter.
A slightly meaningless smile.
That I had become famous felt a little real.
At this point, wasn’t it time to put a steel plate on my face and enjoy it?
The signal lit up, and I pressed the brake to stop the car.
At that moment.
A banner hanging in the intersection ahead caught my eye.
- 5th Nam-gu Tteokbokki Festival ‘Come Eat One Bite and Go?’
“Tteokbokki… festival?”
My head turned on its own.
Inside the car stopped at the signal.
Under the banner, the phrase written in small letters caught my eye.
[Participating Company Recruitment Notice. Inquiries 010-4424-****]
That one line, a short sentence.
But in a moment, something popped in my head.
It wasn’t simple curiosity or impulse driven by mood.
To survive in the alley market against a large franchise like Tteokmidang, wouldn’t I have to do anything?
My mom’s taste.
And something else needed to survive.
The opportunity to prepare for that.
“Recruitment deadline is tomorrow.”
The timing was too perfect to just pass by.
My heart started racing.
My head was calculating quickly, and my heart had already accelerated.
This wasn’t just a simple festival.
My mom’s touch.
Inha Bunsik.
I instinctively knew that the opportunity to protect all of that had come.
I hardened my resolve.
And immediately called my mom.
“Hello. Yeah, Mom. It’s nothing special… I have something to tell you.”
3 weeks left until the semifinals.
During this period, I had to quickly get Inha Bunsik on track.
***
“Manager Kim, congratulations. I heard you advanced to the semifinals.”
“The articles are pouring out. Take a photo with me later.”
“You joined the pro league, right? What a surprise, a pro Go player in our bank.”
As soon as I arrived at work, the employees came first and gave me congratulatory greetings.
Back then, they would have just nodded or ignored me.
But now it was different.
Now they proactively approached, talked, joked, took photos, and naturally left.
“Definitely different.”
Even when I entered the finals, it wasn’t this much. There were still looks of pity.
But advancing to the semifinals and joining the pro league changed people’s attitudes.
No longer a bank security guard to be ignored and looked down on, but a respected pro Go player.
The weight of me in their eyes had changed.
Of course, not all of them.
“Those two are still the same.”
Assistant Section Chief Ha, Section Chief Park.
Still with wary eyes.
They couldn’t admit it, couldn’t speak casually, and the feeling of discomfort showed on their faces.
“Ahigo. Who is this? Our Kim Sabeom!”
A warm voice.
It was the branch manager.
The way he looked at me and the honey dripping from his mouth.
“Our, Manager Kim is a pro! No, not just pro. A pro aiming for the world championship semifinals!”
“Um, please lower your voice a bit....”
I tried to quiet him down, but it was useless.
“No, how can that be? Is this normal? This is a pride of the Republic of Korea. Manager Kim, no, Mr. Kim Pro is a national treasure of the Republic of Korea. Hahaha.”
“Ah…”
National treasure.
How could he say that so casually.
It was a bit embarrassing, making my hands and feet shrink for a moment.
“Kuuk.”
Yeon-hui, who was passing by, couldn’t hold back and let out a small laugh.
“National… treasure.”
A short word slipped out.
Her face flushed red from that.
But the branch manager continued happily anyway.
“Let’s see. The semifinals are in 3 weeks?”
“Yes. In the middle of that, I’m planning to participate in the Suyeon Cup Pair Go Championship.”
“Ah, you said you’d be going with Yuzuha Sabeom?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
“Then, use annual leave accordingly. Since the main office handled the finals directly, no need to worry.”
I silently nodded.
But in my heart, other thoughts were swirling.
Yuzuha.
After the 32nd round of the finals, contact was strangely not coming.
Calls were unanswered, and I didn’t read chats or DMs.
“…Is something wrong?”
Unnecessarily, anxiety sprouted like a small flame and was worrying me.
I asked Park Sabeom or Min-ho, but they said they didn’t know.
It was the first time something like this had happened.
A small seed of unease was growing, and it was distracting.
Soon after, the morning meeting started.
“Everyone. Our Manager Kim has officially joined the pro league and become Kim Sabeom. And by advancing to the semifinals, he has elevated the rank and image of our bank. Let’s give a round of applause.”
“Clap clap.”
Short applause.
Now, I guess I was used to it.
Whether immunity had developed or it had just become natural.
I had separately asked the branch manager to refrain, but honestly, I didn’t expect it.
He had a stubborn side in these matters.
“Well… at this point, I feel like I’m enjoying it too.”
At this point, it was close to self-deprecation or enlightenment.
The applause stopped, and the branch manager moved to the main topic.
“As you all know, this month’s performance is poor. The fact that customers are in a high age group is not an excuse. Make the performance. It’s okay if you get home a little late, right?”
Cold tone.
Demands for overtime.
Colder than cold, the atmosphere was such that even if you poked, no blood would come out.
“This was the branch manager’s true self.”
He was endlessly warm and kind to me.
But when forcing performance on employees, he was close to cold-blooded.
In times like this, it was fortunate that I wasn’t a bank employee.
After the meeting, the employees dispersed with heavy faces.
Yeon-hui was the same.
On the way back to her seat, a heavy heart was weighing down.
At that moment,
“Hey, Manager Kim.”
When I turned around, Assistant Section Chief Ha was awkwardly smiling.
It was obviously an unnatural smile.
“…I saw the articles. It was amazing. I didn’t know Manager Kim played Go that well.”
“Thank you.”
I gave only a formal greeting.
“The prize money was huge, and you probably received the internal model fee… Did you put that money in the bank account?”
“Yes.”
Biryong Tournament winning prize 30 million won.
3 video shoots 15 million won.
Even though the Ciel Bank semifinal prize and brand content incentive hadn’t been settled yet.
The account had nearly 50 million won.
“At times like this, it would be good if the money-making talent came out.”
Assistant Section Chief Ha slyly brought up.
“…Manager Kim probably knows too, but the inflation rate is high these days, right? If you just leave that money, it will lose value quickly. Especially for large sums, you should invest it. You have to invest and manage it. Just putting it away will be a loss.”
I listened silently to his words.
“A few days ago, a new ETF product was launched. The joining conditions are good, and withdrawals are free. Ah, to avoid misunderstanding, it’s not because of me, but from Manager Kim’s perspective, it’s a product that won’t be bad either.”
Only then did he show sincerity.
It was an approach conscious of performance.
No apology for ignoring me, and the intention to just manage performance with a few words.
When my reaction was lukewarm, Assistant Section Chief Ha added with a glance.
“Well, it’s not forcing, but if you’re interested….”
“Excuse me, Assistant Section Chief Ha.”
I cut him off firmly.
“I have someone else to sign up for.”
“What?”
Section Chief Park suddenly butted in.
“…Eh? Who is that?”
Eyes full of expectation, no conscience.
Really, people have no shame.
Instead of answering, I looked at Yeon-hui sitting at the counter.
“University junior.”
At that, Assistant Section Chief Ha’s expression hardened.
“No way… Yeon-hui? You two know each other?”
“Does it have to be that you know each other?”
“That… well, no but….”
I turned nonchalantly and continued.
“These days, it’s best to sign up with a trustworthy person, you know.”
At those words, Assistant Section Chief Ha and Section Chief Park had nothing to say.
They looked dazed as if hit.
I mulled over that expression and immediately headed to the counter where Yeon-hui was.
“Yeon-hui sunbae.”
I greeted with a slight smile.
“I want to sign up for the subscription and ETF product. Could you explain it to me?”
Yeon-hui was dazed for a moment, then smiled brightly.
“Yes! I’ll help you now.”
The light started to return to Yeon-hui’s face.
The expression that was like a shadow just before was slowly regaining vitality.
“Thank you, sunbae. But… it’s not forcing, right?”
Yeon-hui lowered her voice slightly.
“Helping a junior, what’s the problem?”
“Yeah.”
Only then did Yeon-hui seem relieved.
“Then, first, sign up for the subscription….”
“Ah, wait.”
My smartphone in my pocket vibrated.
On the screen was Team Leader Jeong Soo-yeon.
I briefly asked Yeon-hui for permission and took the call.
“Yes, Team Leader. Now? Ah, I understand. Then I’ll see you later.”
After hanging up, Yeon-hui, who had been watching, asked cautiously.
“What was that?”
“It was a call from the main office.”
“Who?”
“Team Leader Jeong.”
Yeon-hui looked at me intently.
She didn’t ask directly, but her eyes were full of curiosity.
“Another shoot?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
Actually, even I was dazed after hanging up.
“…Not that. This time, it’s a CF. Also, the main CF for Ciel Bank. They’re coming to coordinate the schedule?”
Yeon-hui’s mouth opened slightly.
“Wow…”