Chapter 3

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003 A Dreaming Life

I'm nervous. It's Monday, so I have to wait a long time. They say there are four more lucky customers like me this week.

Sitting in the waiting room, I feel restless. An employee dressed sharply hands me a brochure, saying it contains useful information for investing, and I should read it while I wait. Honestly, I want to ask if I can even focus on this.

Finally, it's my turn.

"You've been waiting a long time, lucky customer."

"Yeah, a bit."

She's beautiful. Her surprised expression when she sees the winning ticket is even more beautiful. With two first-prize wins, it's no wonder she's surprised.

"Customer, you've won two first prizes. The total prize money is 42,292,816,520 won. After deducting 33% for income tax and local income tax, the net amount is 28,336,587,070 won. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

I tried to act cool, but I can't control my expression. How foolish must I look to her?

"The prize money will be deposited into your VIP account. We need to fill out some documents. Is that okay?"

I start filling in the blanks that she highlights with a highlighter. It's just a few words, and 28 billion is coming in. Filling out the internet banking application form, I feel a profound sense of accomplishment. I'm now a newcomer who uses the latest financial techniques!

"Thank you for filling out the forms. Lucky customer, if I may ask, how do you plan to manage your prize money?"

I want to spend some on you. How about a caramel macchiato after work?

"No, to be honest, I'm still not sure if this is a dream or reality, so I haven't had time to think about it."

"Hehe. Yes, I understand. I'd like to introduce a few products available only to VIPs."

I think I understand why they assigned such a beautiful employee. It's a tactic to prevent prize money from being taken away. I know, but I want to see her more. Her face has only reached my retina and hasn't been stored in my hippocampus yet.

I want to get lost in a fantasy. In this space, just the two of us, the temperature is rising.

"It's a bit warm in here, isn't it, lucky customer?"

She undoes one button at her collar, revealing a neat clavicle and a clean neck line.

She leans forward to introduce the various product brochures on the table, and a space is revealed between the unbuttoned buttons. I don't miss the view. Her cute chest peeks out shyly. You're wearing violet today. I'm curious about the design, but just one more button?

"Lucky customer~."

"Ah, yes. Sorry, I was daydreaming."

I snap out of my fantasy.

I won't waste time on fantasies anymore. With all this money, I can do anything.

Let's do a simple calculation. If I spend one million won a day, it will last for eight years. Eight years? That's shorter than I thought.

I, a nobody, have already become complacent. I earn only about 1.4 million won a month, working hard and getting scolded for all sorts of trivial tasks. Should I be sad that I can only spend one million won a day for eight years? What a fool. They say you don't gain anything by keeping your head black.

"Hehe. Yes, I understand. It's natural to have many thoughts when you suddenly have a lot of money. So, it's important not just how much money you make, but how you manage it."

In the end, I did everything she suggested. A list of various products that prioritize stability while also considering profitability was presented, and the documents to be filled out piled up. I ended up depositing 20 billion. I feel like I've been bewitched by a fox spirit, but it feels great.

The outside air is incredibly refreshing. It feels like it's purifying my lungs. I crave a cigarette. I might as well splurge.

I won't smoke the cheapest brand anymore. The days of worrying about a few hundred won are over. I'll smoke whatever the foreigners smoke—Marlboro, Camel, Pall Mall, and so on. I can smoke expensive cigarettes and get expensive health check-ups.

"Give me a pack of Pall Mall."

The convenience store part-timer who hands me a pack of cigarettes without a word is annoying. But with money overflowing, I feel incredibly generous.

I take out a ten-thousand-won bill. My wallet is already in a state of indigestion from the cash I brought.

"Keep the change."

Wow, cool! I used to smoke a cigarette until the filter was visible, but now I can casually throw away the money for three packs of cigarettes on the convenience store floor!

"Thank you. Have a good day."

The part-timer, who finally found his voice after my generous tip, is inconsistent...

I can't wait for tomorrow. I want to throw in my resignation and shout, "I'm not coming to this damn company anymore!"

What should I do from now on? I briefly thought about just loafing around like a bum, but I quickly dismissed the idea.

With the ammunition for my dreams now securely in the arsenal, can I just loaf around and live like a bum? No, I can't. I can't just throw away the three years I spent at this damn company out of sheer stubbornness.

The message to quit and start a business is etched in my mind. I've always wanted to start my own business, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to draw a concrete picture. Who plans in detail, thinking they'll win the lottery?

Should I start a transformer company, given that my only skill is theft?

Starting a transformer company is easy; anyone with money can do it. It doesn't require much technical expertise, and the design is as common as a neighborhood dog. But it's profitable. You can make at least 20% profit by making a transformer haphazardly. That's why it's a highly competitive market.

Over the past three years, I've worked hard and gained the trust of various suppliers. If materials come in on time, I can make a decent profit. The rest is sales, and I can hire a salesperson.

Alright! Let's do it. If I establish a foothold, it's almost impossible to fail, but it's also hard to grow big. Still, I have a good feeling. I think it will grow incredibly, to a degree that's hard to imagine. I have a hunch.

I was a legend in the stock market, known as the "touch of death" for causing stocks to plummet whenever I touched them. Despite that, this time, the feeling is different.

Yes! I'll start a company, dirty and despicable as it may be. I've worked my ass off for three years, to the point where my clothes would be covered in salt from sweating in the summer. All I got in return was abuse and a thin paycheck.

The boss's family complained about losses every day while driving expensive foreign cars. They said they couldn't raise salaries because the company was struggling, but they took ten million won a month as their salary. The family alone takes over forty million won a month in salary.

I want to show them that I can live well without running a company like they do!

Let's go home first instead of standing here in front of the convenience store. If I get hit by hail falling from the sky, it would be a waste. Let's draw a peaceful future from the comfort of home, even if it's a top-floor apartment with a 100 million won deposit and a 250,000 won monthly rent.

I've arrived home. My familiar heavy breathing calms me down. As my breathing steadies, I start to think deeply.

First, I'll keep this big win to myself. It's common knowledge that telling others will only cause trouble. There will be people waiting in line to take advantage of me, like a drill field. Friends are no different.

"Hey, will you tell us if you win the lottery?"

"Are you crazy? Why would I tell anyone? They'll just leech off me and suck me dry."

"Damn, you."

"Will you tell?"

"I won't, hahaha."

"Damn."

I don't know how long I can keep it a secret, but I need a plausible scenario.

Family? It's a bit sad. My mother, obsessed with gambling, left home twenty years ago. She only came back once to sign the divorce papers, and now she doesn't care. If she had any conscience, she would have shown her face when my father was in such a state.

My father worked hard to raise me, taking any job he could. He dealt with the hard work, as many fathers did back then, with alcohol. The continuous drinking didn't do his body any good. The liver cirrhosis he thought was minor turned into liver cancer.

His grueling battle with cancer left me, his only son, with a massive hospital bill as an inheritance. If it weren't for someone telling me about the inheritance tax waiver, I would have had to pay off the debt and wouldn't have had money to buy lottery tickets.

Enough of the sad memories. Let's think positively.

If I change my house and car, the nosy people around me won't let it go. It's a sad reality that I can't tell anyone, even though I have enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life.

My head hurts from all these thoughts. I want to clear my mind, like washing my intestines in salt water.

First, I'll submit my resignation tomorrow. I was skeptical at first, but now I'm looking forward to the text message. I wonder what kind of message I'll get after I resign.

* * *

The fateful day is approaching. From morning, the old-timers were full of energy, but I ignored them. Let them shout and pretend to work hard.

The walk to the boss's office is enjoyable. I can submit a resignation anytime, but the thought of making the boss angry gives me a wicked pleasure. Just think of it as a piece of taffy from Ulleung Island and eat it.

"What is this?"

I want to tear the boss's eyes out for asking with raised eyebrows, even though he knows.

"It's a resignation letter."

"Hmm... Resigning today? That's not acceptable."

"My grandmother is ill, and I need to take care of her. It's an urgent situation, so please understand."

I have my own plan. I don't intend to resign immediately.

In small companies, it's easy to join but hard to leave, often more difficult than joining a large company. It's hard to find people, so the process of leaving is like picking stars from the sky. That's why the best strategy in small companies is to just run away.

I didn't want to do that.

The thought of being sued for not handing over responsibilities and the boss playing games with my severance pay is stressful. Stress is stress, but I didn't want to give these guys, who will be my competitors, any leverage. I wanted to leave with dignity.

I need to prepare for starting a business while still being employed. The key is people, and it's better to prepare while pretending to hand over responsibilities. Suppliers will come to me on their own if I'm still here.

I didn't plan to leave immediately, but I wanted to provoke the boss. This is purely emotional. I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine, even if it's just a little.

"I understand you have a difficult situation, but this is not acceptable. Is this your first job?"

As expected. What do you want me to do, really? You're a first-timer too.

I made up a grandmother, and he almost got angry as if she were really in the hospital. Shouldn't he ask if she's okay first?

"When I express my intention to resign, it becomes legally effective."

"Are you trying to fight with me? You come in out of the blue and say you won't come to work from tomorrow? Really, it's ridiculous. What? It becomes effective? Are you joking with me?"

"I'm not trying to fight. It's an urgent situation. There's a principle in the Labor Standards Act that prohibits forced labor. I hope you understand my situation."

My method acting was intense. If this were real, I would have been furious. I wanted to make the boss's mouth look like the Joker's when he casually says the company comes first, no matter what happens to your family.

"Really. I understand. We need to find a successor and hand over responsibilities. I'm thinking at least three months."

Three months? I knew it. I was so close to exploding. The Civil Code Article 660 says one month is enough!