Money had its uses.
“Si-woo-ah, what did you think of the house we saw at the real estate agency yesterday? You like it?”
“Of course! It was incredible! I’ve never seen a place so spacious and luxurious in my entire life! Only in pictures…”
“Apparently, it’s the best place to move into right now. The security is top-notch, too.”
Park Jin-ho planned to move into a unit at Cheong-un Palace in Cheongsu-dong. The property was valued at seven billion won, but he hadn't spent anywhere near that much. He had signed a lease instead of purchasing it outright.
“But why sign a lease when you have so much money?” Park Si-woo looked at his brother with wide eyes, but Park Jin-ho didn’t seem bothered.
“I invested everything in coins, except for one billion won.”
Coins? What is he talking about? His younger brother was baffled.
“You invested fourteen billion won into… that?” Park Si-woo’s voice cracked. “Hyung! What were you thinking?”
Park Jin-ho raised a hand, a placating gesture. “I know what you’re going to say. It seems foolish, I know. It looks reckless, like I have no plan, but that’s not the case.”
“You have some kind of faith in it?”
“That’s why I invested everything but a billion won.”
He’d earned fifteen billion won overnight, only for it to vanish just as quickly. Of course, it wasn’t lost, merely invested; but in Park Si-woo’s eyes, it was gone. Even as a middle schooler, Park Si-woo knew how risky coins were.
“Is it really okay? It’s your money, so I don’t want to meddle, but…”
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to be concerned about losing it.”
But he couldn’t feel relieved. It wasn’t even regular stocks. It was coins. As if sensing his brother’s spiraling thoughts, Park Jin-ho offered a reassuring smile.
“Stop worrying about the money. If I just win the lottery a few more times, we’ll be fine.”
“I dreamt of the winning numbers for five separate rounds.”
“Really? Just in a dream?”
“I’m certain. But I only remembered the numbers for five of them.”
Of course, there was no guarantee they were all first-place numbers. But if he could win the lottery four more times in the future… If one hundred and fifty billion won came in, four more times…
Park Si-woo clapped a hand over his mouth.
“If you remember the numbers, don’t you dare forget them!”
Park Jin-ho checked the time on his phone and stood up. “Let’s grab lunch, and then get ready to move.”
“Oh, did I not mention it? We’re moving today.”
CRACK!
With a single punch, Lee Yong-min shattered the brick wall. He drove his fist into it again, and the structure crumbled further, dust and mortar raining down. Each time he did it, a thrill of amazement shot through him. How could anyone not enjoy wielding power far beyond that of a mere mortal?
“I can even use my status and inventory in real life… This is incredible.”
Even his runes were active in the real world.
“A rune that doubles my strength. I was lucky to get it.”
Although runes didn’t have official ranks, their power was self-evident. The [Him-ui Rune] he had chosen was particularly remarkable.
“I was already planning to pump my strength, so getting this rune was a godsend.”
Empowered by the rune, he had poured all his stats into strength. As a result, he could pulverize bricks with his bare hands, though his knuckles throbbed with a dull ache after a while.
“With this, my fist is a goddamn nuke. Even Choi Bae-dal would be jealous.” Lee Yong-min laughed, brushing the red dust from his knuckles. “That’s enough for a test run. Time for a real fight, hehe.”
He flexed his fingers and started walking toward a shabby multi-unit house down the street. It was, of course, Park Jin-ho’s home.
“That arrogant shuttle brat… how dare he glare at me like that?”
It had been a few days, but the sneer on Park Jin-ho’s face at the construction site was still seared into his memory.
“You thought I’d just let it go? You’re dead, Park Jin-ho, you little punk.”
He hadn’t seen him since they’d returned to reality. He’d tried calling him like usual, but the calls went straight to voicemail.
Did he think he could just hide from me?
Although he couldn’t reach him, he knew exactly where Park Jin-ho lived.
“Guess I’ll have to fix this bad habit of his myself.”
He didn’t know if the kid was alive or dead, but a trip to his house would clear that up. And even if they were both from the same round, even if they both survived, Lee Yong-min was confident he could crush him. A nerd was still a nerd, awakened powers or not.
Lee Yong-min jabbed the doorbell at Park Jin-ho’s house.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
He mashed the button again and again, but there was no response. He pressed his ear to the cold metal of the front door but heard only silence. No footsteps, no movement.
Is this guy really just hiding in there? He pictured Park Jin-ho cowering on the other side of the door, expecting him to come looking.
“Hey, you a student? What are you doing there?”
Lee Yong-min turned at the voice behind him. An old man was shuffling toward him.
“What’s it to you, old man? You’re not the landlord.”
“And if I was? My friend lives here, but I can’t get in touch with him. Can you open the door?”
The old man didn’t answer, just clicked his tongue. “Your friend is gone. That house is empty.”
“Yes, it’s empty. I came to check on it because he told me he moved.”
“Do you know where he went?”
Lee Yong-min’s face twisted into a scowl, and he ground his teeth. That little brat moved without a word?
He had never imagined his personal bread shuttle would dare to retaliate against him like this.