Chapter 8. Who's the Sucker? (3)
I woke up early and tried to make coffee.
For some reason, the electric kettle felt unusually slow today.
Did water always take this long to boil?
Apparently, this thing hadn't realized yet.
Its owner was no longer the man who had to tolerate everything no matter how inconvenient it was.
Should I replace you?
Bubble, bubble.
Apparently, it still had some survival instincts.
Before it became too late, white steam began rising.
I decided to give it one more chance and poured the hot water into my mug.
Sweet, heavy, and cheap.
The instant coffee I knew far too well.
“Hoo...”
I took a sip of the steaming coffee and opened my banking app.
[Balance: 13,242,352,100 won]
I still couldn't believe it.
Even after five hundred million won, ten percent of the contract price, had left my account, the number displayed there barely seemed to change.
Once the judicial scrivener finished the remaining procedures, I would pay the balance.
The original 13.7 billion won would drop to around 8.7 billion.
But in reality, my assets would have increased.
Even if I sold the building right now, I could probably get seven billion.
Once the waste-oil issue and access-road problem were solved, it would be worth 12.5 billion.
And if I also bought the 150-pyeong property owned by Seongjin Logistics and constructed a building?
Its value would easily exceed fifty billion won.
So this is what people mean when they say money makes money.
I closed the banking app and opened the diary app.
And then...
Thud!
I dropped the paper cup even though there was still coffee inside.
“W-What is this?”
The icon for the diary app on my home screen had changed.
Instead of the rough black border, it now had a blue border.
With a bad feeling, I opened the app.
[Version 2.0 Update Complete.]
[Happiness Preview Function Unlocked.]
“Happiness... preview?”
I stared blankly at the screen without even noticing the coffee splashed over my foot.
There were no new entries.
Until now, the app had only shown records related to actions that would lead to future misery.
Did this mean that if I took an action leading to happiness, a diary entry would appear?
Was it because I had recorded happiness for the first time?
Whatever it was, I tightened my smartwatch by one notch so I wouldn't miss any alerts.
The moment I looked at the time, I realized something.
I was already twenty minutes later than usual.
I'd check the details later.
I hurried out of the house.
Grrr... Rattle, rattle.
My car had passed three hundred thousand kilometers long ago.
Now it sounded as though a Tyrannosaurus had possessed it.
The vibrations shook my entire body like a massage chair.
After spending its life carrying children dreaming of Seoul National University until it had become an "O-nata" instead of a Sonata, maybe it was finally time to let this car rest.
Because I left later than usual, there were more cars on the road.
For the first time in ten years, I worried about being late and turned into side streets.
Maybe the saying "the more urgent you are, the longer way you should take" had some truth to it.
By taking alleys instead of my normal route, I arrived at the parking garage with ten minutes to spare.
“Ha... At least I made it.”
I sighed in relief.
Then suddenly, something felt wrong.
Why was I this nervous when I wasn't even late?
Maybe I had spent my entire life worrying too much about how other people saw me.
There were still ten minutes before work started.
I had panicked for no reason.
Why had I lived like that?
I had become too used to watching Kim Seokhun, who always arrived twenty minutes early.
Damn it.
This wasn't right.
I was completely different now.
I didn't need to watch Kim Seokhun's mood.
I didn't need to watch anyone's mood.
So instead of heading to the office, I walked toward the café on the first floor.
Employees from other departments were already running around in panic even though there were still ten minutes left.
My own team members had probably lived the same way.
For their sake too, I should stop the rotten water at my level.
Kim Seokhun.
Soon, he would interrogate me about yesterday.
I had ignored all his calls and sent him a message that was guaranteed to drive him insane.
But strangely...
I wasn't worried at all.
It wasn't simply because I had become rich.
I no longer needed to let him control me.
I had the diary app to prevent future regret.
My tightly strapped smartwatch was still peaceful.
“One venti iced Americano, please.”
This wasn't being late.
I should live a little more comfortably.
With that thought, I ordered coffee at the first-floor café.
It cost a shocking 5,000 won.
Bzzzt.
The instant I ordered, my wrist vibrated.
The new alert I had been waiting for was written in blue, unlike the previous ones.
[Tuesday, March 10.
Buying the iced Americano was a stroke of genius.
That iced Americano sent Deputy Manager Kim Seokhun home early.
I barely drank any of it, but somehow it still felt refreshing all the way down to my stomach.]
What did that even mean?
The drink in my hand would somehow make Kim Seokhun leave work early?
Even more surprising was that the diary entry contained satisfaction instead of regret.
So this was the Happiness Preview Function.
I wished future me would write with a little more detail.
Still, it sounded like something entertaining was about to happen.
No other entries appeared.
That meant if I acted the way I wanted, I wouldn't regret it.
Feeling much lighter, I entered the office.
“Good morning.”
The team members sighed in relief the moment they saw me.
Assistant Manager Park Jongil released the biggest sigh of all.
I asked,
“What's wrong? Something happen?”
Instead of answering with his mouth, Park Jongil answered with his eyes.
He was looking toward Kim Seokhun's empty desk.
“What? He's not here today?”
“That's not it. He's been staring at your desk all morning, then went outside to smoke. Why are you so late?”
“There are still five minutes left. Am I late?”
“...No... That's not what I meant...”
Then Park Jongil noticed the coffee in my hand and stopped.
“What is that? Did you actually buy it? With money? And that's the biggest venti size, isn't it?”
“Yeah. I decided to flex a little. If it's not important, tell me later. I already have enough going on.”
Had I really lived that poorly?
It was just one cup of coffee.
Why was he so shocked?
I should invite this guy first when I built my new building.
After sending him away, I turned on my computer while sipping through the straw.
He should appear soon...
“You bastard!”
There it was.
Kim Seokhun stormed over and dragged me into the employee lounge.
“Have you completely lost your mind? Nonghyup headquarters? Collecting prize money? You send me a joke message like that and then ignore my calls?”
He shoved his smartphone toward my face while breathing heavily through his nose.
The message I had sent yesterday was on the screen.
[There were too many people around, so I couldn't tell you earlier. I'm on my way to Nonghyup Bank headquarters. I'll buy you a meal after I collect the winnings.]
I looked at my own message with a calm expression.
I was going to tell him the truth.
I had planned to keep it secret from everyone else.
But I wanted him to know.
He couldn't spread the story anyway.
He was the kind of man who could never admit with his own mouth that the lottery ticket he had thrown away had won first prize.
If people found out, he'd be too embarrassed to show his face.
And I had the unfair advantage of the diary app.
If something I did would make me regret it, future me would immediately warn me.
All right.
Let's say it.
“It wasn't a joke. That message was real.”
“What? You bastard, you've seriously lost it. You're saying you won first prize? What the hell is wrong with you? Are you pretending to be mentally ill so you can take sick leave?”
“Nothing like that...”
Honestly, I wanted to show him my account balance.
But I held back.
That needed to be saved until the day he left the company.
For now, one simple piece of paper would be enough.
I handed him the document I had prepared specifically for this moment.
A lottery prize payment confirmation stamped by Nonghyup headquarters.
Again, my smartwatch remained silent.
“You see my name there, right?”
“...!!!”
Kim Seokhun's eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
“Y-You... really won first prize?”
“Yes. It's all thanks to you, Deputy Manager Kim. That lottery shop you recommended really was lucky.”
Kim Seokhun's face instantly turned bright red.
He rushed at me as though he wanted to grab me by the collar.
“Y-You thieving bastard! Give it back! That's mine!”
He had completely lost his mind.
His hand violently shoved my shoulder.
Splash!
I put a hand over my chest.
This really wasn't intentional.
The diary entry had said it would happen.
The iced Americano in my hand splashed directly across his chest and poured down his clothes.
“W-What the hell are you doing!?”
“What? You pushed me...”
“Fuck that! Give it back right now, you thief!”
Time to use the line I'd prepared all night.
“Thief?”
“It's mine! The lottery ticket I told you to buy! That's the one that won!!!”
Completely out of control, he snatched the prize confirmation from my hand.
I didn't know what he intended to do with it.
I didn't need that paper anymore.
I stared at him coldly.
“Do you have proof?”
“What did you say?”
“Do you have any proof that the winning ticket was the one you told me to buy?”
Kim Seokhun froze.
“What nonsense are you talking about!? I even texted you the address!”
“You did tell me the address. But who says I only bought your ticket there? I could've bought one for myself too. It was an automatic ticket. Do you even know what numbers were on it?”
I slowly stepped closer and showed him reality.
“I bought lottery tickets. How exactly are you going to prove which one was yours and which one I bought for fun?”
Kim Seokhun's face turned blue.
His mouth opened and closed.
No sound came out.
“Don't get so worked up. What if the employees hear you? That'd be embarrassing. And even if we generously assume the winning ticket was yours, don't you remember what you said when I asked for 5,000 won?”
“T-That...”
“You said you didn't want it because it was filthy. You said there was no way a ticket bought by an unlucky bastard like me could ever win. We had plenty of witnesses too, Deputy Manager Kim.”
Kim Seokhun clenched his teeth and glared at me.
He knew the Store Development Team leader and Franchise Operations Team leader had both been there.
Was he a chameleon?
His face had gone red, then blue.
Now it turned completely white.
“Ughhh...”
“I'll head back first. Winning the lottery doesn't mean I can stop working.”
I left the trembling Kim Seokhun alone and calmly walked out of the lounge.
Pathetic.
What would he do if he learned I hadn't won with one ticket?
I had ten.
Watch carefully.
Watch how far the lottery ticket you threw away grows.
After Jinhyeok left, Seokhun stood alone and checked his smartphone with trembling fingers.
[Lottery Draw No. 1,291
Total First-Prize Winners: 12
Prize Per Winner: 2.05 Billion Won]
The amount matched the paper Jinhyeok had left behind exactly.
More than 1.3 billion after taxes?
Seokhun rapidly calculated in his head.
For ten years, he had constantly ordered Jinhyeok to buy lottery tickets.
Only once had he won fourth prize and received 50,000 won.
Other than that, he occasionally won 5,000 won.
The one time I threw the ticket away, it wins? And first prize? How does that make any sense?
He couldn't believe what he had seen.
He couldn't believe Jinhyeok had won first prize.
And he certainly couldn't believe Jinhyeok's claim that the winning ticket had been an extra one purchased for himself.
Seokhun had spent twenty years working himself to the bone.
After borrowing heavily, he had finally managed to buy a 1.5-billion-won home.
If he had just paid 5,000 won, he could have completely cleared the mortgage with money left over.
The thought that Jinhyeok had gained almost that much overnight made yesterday's food rise into his throat.
His pale face turned yellow with jealousy and resentment.
It's only 1.3 billion.
You can't even buy a Gangnam apartment with that.
And it's not enough to quit your job.
There was more.
Tomorrow morning, Jinhyeok would get called to the director's office and be thoroughly crushed.
Then he'd learn that even winning first prize changed nothing.
Seokhun tried desperately to comfort himself with those thoughts.
But his foul mood didn't improve at all.
Once he returned to his desk, Seokhun applied to leave early, claiming his stained clothes and stomach trouble as reasons.
For some reason, every time he made eye contact with Jinhyeok, the corner of Jinhyeok's mouth seemed to twitch upward.
He couldn't bear looking at him anymore.
Thanks to that, peace descended over the Commercial District Analysis Team.
Only Kim Seokhun had left.
Yet everyone suddenly enjoyed working with smiles on their faces.
Jinhyeok, as always, worked hard and cleared his backlog.
Delaying his resignation had definitely been the right decision.
Watching Kim Seokhun nearly die from jealousy up close was incredibly entertaining.
It would be even better if Seokhun eventually couldn't take it and resigned.
Then Jinhyeok could achieve the goal he had held since joining the company.
Becoming team leader.
Should I head out and collect the documents soon?
The judicial scrivener had contacted him.
All procedures for the Mullae-dong property were complete.
They had agreed to meet after work so the documents could be handed over.
Jinhyeok checked the time, smiled brightly, and began organizing his desk.
“Did something good happen?”
At Park Jongil's question, Jinhyeok answered casually.
“Why? Is something strange?”
“No. Deputy Manager Kim left early because his stomach hurt, and you've been smiling all day. What's going on?”
Jinhyeok stared at him for a moment, shut down his computer, and stood.
“Let's go home.”
“What? Did something happen?”
“There's no work left, so I'm going home. If something can wait until tomorrow, Assistant Manager Park, do it tomorrow.”
The team members, who had always watched their superior's mood before leaving, blinked at Jinhyeok's change.
Normally, he spent at least thirty extra minutes wrapping up work.
Today, the moment six o'clock arrived, he picked up his bag and walked out.
Jinhyeok had told them not to worry about appearances and leave first.
Even so, they couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.
Telling them to leave tomorrow's work for tomorrow...
That was truly an incredible change.
