Chapter 3: Money and Talent Pour In

 

              Chapter 3: Changing Heart (1)

No matter when she hit him, his mother’s hand always delivered the spiciest pain in the world.

“Arghhh! Why’d you hit me?!”

“Why are you even asking! No matter what, a person has to work!”

“Ugh… I’ll work, I will.”

“Ahem. Yeah. Whatever it is, you’ve got to work.”

“I got it, I got it.”

Maybe feeling a little guilty for hitting too hard, his mother reached out her hand.

Is she going to pat me?

That thought crossed his mind—but no.

“Let me see. Hand it over.”

She just wanted the kitten.

Tch.

Clicking his tongue inwardly, he carefully passed the kitten over. Well, now that he had the permission of the “queen of the household,” he didn’t need to worry about anyone else. She was the real power in this family. That part was definitely a positive.

“Tsk tsk, it’s so skinny.”

While his mother gently set the kitten down on the living room floor and examined it, Ryu Seong poured Pocari Sweat into a shallow dish and placed it in front of the kitten.

Meowww.

Whether it reacted to the smell or was simply parched, the kitten struggled to its feet and began lapping at the drink.

“It’s drinking well.”

“Yeah.”

What a relief.

“I’ll turn the boiler on too!”

Once the room temperature rose a little, the kitten seemed to grow drowsy. It curled up in a corner and started dozing off.

Purrrr.

Ryu Seong watched the purring, sleeping kitten for a moment before hurriedly heading out again.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

“Where to?”

“Gotta go see Shin-woo. I barely got to talk to him properly earlier.”

“Oh, right? Go have fun.”

Normally she would have seen him off at the door.

But today was different.

His mother was gently stroking the kitten and smiling.

“I’ll be back!”

He grinned and left the house.

They look good together.

But the moment he stepped outside, his expression changed.

The mother cat had come to mind.

What should I do with her?

Burying her in the ground was illegal. The best options were either taking her to an animal hospital or asking the district office for help—but hospitals usually disposed of them as medical waste, which didn’t sit right with him. While walking, he pulled out his smartphone and searched a few things.

“This seems okay?”

He found out that the district office offered free cremation services. He immediately called them and explained the situation. They quickly transferred him to the appropriate department.

“Yes, there’s a dead cat right now.”

(Ah, I see. May I ask your current location?)

“It’s the alley next to the chicken shop on Sanho 17-gil.”

(We’ll head out right away.)

“Yes, thank you. But can I ask one thing?”

(Of course.)

“I looked it up and saw that the district office provides free cremation for cat bodies—is that correct?”

(Yes, that’s right. Starting last year, we signed agreements with several pet cremation companies, and they handle stray cat bodies free of charge.)

“Ah, I see.”

(Public awareness has changed a lot.)

“That’s really good to hear.”

(Yes, it is.)

Thanks to that, even the handling of animal remains had become more humane.

(Anything else you’d like to ask?)

“No, that’s all.”

(Then we’ll prepare and head over right now.)

“I’ll wait.”

By the time the call ended, he had arrived at his destination.

Stepping into the narrow alley, he saw the mother cat’s body lying cold in the corner. He carefully covered it with the cloth he had brought and waited for the district office staff.

“…”

A quiet time passed.

As he stared down at the body, he couldn’t understand why his heart felt so bitter.

“I’ll take good care of your baby, so rest easy.”

That was all he could say.

Meanwhile,

Two district office workers approached, and Ryu Seong handed the body over to them.

“Please take good care of her.”

“Yes, don’t worry. And thank you for contacting us.”

“No problem.”

He watched them leave for a long while before finally stepping into Lee Shin-woo’s chicken shop.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait just a bit. I’ve only got this last delivery order left. I’ll fry up a crispy one for us, so let’s crack open a beer. I want to hear more about that animal hospital thing earlier too.”

“Sounds good.”

His mood still wasn’t great.

But it was already over.

Time to focus on living again while hoping she had gone to a good place.

…Shop.

The moment he strongly thought the word, a hologram filled his entire field of vision.

The first thing he saw was text.

[Shop]

He reached out and tapped the word. Items appeared in a list.

1. Cash 1,000,000 won

   Required Good Deed Points: 1

2. Random Stock & Coin Information

 - Acquire information related to domestic or overseas companies, as well as coins. The quality/level of information is random.

   Required Good Deed Points: 30

3. Fatigue Recovery Potion (Low-grade)

   - Instantly recovers a certain level of fatigue.

   Required Good Deed Points: 20

4. Treatment Medicine (Low-grade)

   - Can provide near-instant healing for conditions requiring minor surgical or internal medical intervention. For severe illnesses, only a very minor effect can be expected.

   Required Good Deed Points: 100

5. Random Draw (Low-grade)

   - Ranges from completely useless trash to some items unobtainable through the regular shop. Extremely low chance of acquiring rare/special products that cannot be found in the normal shop.

   Required Good Deed Points: 10

[Current Good Deed Points: 5]

Only five items in total.

It was quite modest.

Yet not a single one failed to catch his eye. The more he read the descriptions, the more shock—beyond mere surprise—hammered his mind. These were more than enough to make anyone let out a genuine exclamation of disbelief.

“This is… insane…?”

Just 1 point for straight-up 1 million won in cash. With his current 5 points, using them all would instantly put 5 million won in his hands.

That alone was astonishing enough.

But that was only the beginning.

Every other item listed below held value far exceeding mere cash.

Especially the Treatment Medicine entry—it was shocking.

Instant healing?

Even though it was low-grade, the description clearly stated it could have at least a slight effect on serious illnesses. The moment he read it, he instantly knew exactly how to turn it into money.

Perfect for terminal illnesses.

If he used it on a chaebol chairman or one of their blood relatives suffering from an incurable disease…?

A complete cure was obviously impossible.

But even showing a noticeable level of improvement would undoubtedly bring in an astronomical amount of money.

He could practically hear the cash registers ringing already—but he couldn’t actually do it.

Chaebols are terrifying.

Real chaebols are never easy prey. The pattern might be similar everywhere, but in South Korea especially, chaebols are deeply intertwined with power. They might gratefully hand over a mountain of money at first, but eventually suspicion would arise.

How the hell did you cure it?

“That curiosity might end up killing me.”

If he crossed the wrong chaebol—the vicious, ruthless kind—he could end up suffering terribly. The spoiled third-generation chaebols in movies and dramas were already nightmarish, and in reality, things could be even crueler.

So—on hold.

Unless he had some ironclad protection, he decided he would refrain from using the treatment medicine no matter how many points he accumulated.

Then what’s the best option?

To make money…

His eyes landed on the stock and coin information.

Yeah, that’s probably the strongest one.

But it required 30 points—he couldn’t buy it right now. The last item, the Random Draw, was also 5 points short.

“Tch.”

The only thing he could buy immediately was cash, but spending points on that felt wrong.

Unless it was truly an unavoidable emergency.

What a shame.

Still—he could keep collecting points diligently and eventually buy whatever he wanted.

He decided to wait for that day.

“You wait long?”

Lee Shin-woo’s voice pulled him back to reality as he set down a sizzling plate of freshly fried chicken and two cold beers.

“Huh? No—more like, you wrapped up fast?”

“Heh, yeah. Closed up early today.”

Lee Shin-woo set the plate down on the table.

All stray thoughts vanished.

The fragrant aroma of freshly fried chicken seized his sense of smell.

“Damn, this looks killer.”

“Told you it’d be good, right?”

“Yeah—the smell alone is on another level.”

“Here, beer.”

“Thanks.”

Lee Shin-woo sat across from him and moved one chicken leg onto a small plate. After letting it cool just a bit, he grabbed the thin end with his fingers and took a big bite.

“Mmm— I fried it myself and it’s still disgustingly delicious.”

He took a swig of beer and looked at Ryu Seong.

“But seriously—what was up with the animal hospital?”

“Oh, that.”

Ryu Seong gave a concise recap of everything that had happened that day.

“Man… that’s so sad.”

“Yeah, but at least it’s healthy. That’s something.”

“You should’ve told me—I would’ve closed earlier and waited with you.”

“You’re really raising it? Yourself?”

“You know I’ve raised twins. Taking responsibility for a living thing isn’t a joke—you get that, right?”

Seeing the vivid, lifelike reaction, Ryu Seong nodded.

“Yeah. I know. But I still want to try.”

“Good. That’s all that matters. If you have any questions, just ask. I’ve got a cat too, remember?”

“Oh right—Yang-soon, yeah?”

“Yep. She’s already five. Time flies like crazy.”

“And Ha-min and Ha-bin are already three.”

“Right? We’re pushing late twenties.”

“Day after tomorrow we’re thirty.”

“Thirty…? Holy shit. The fact that this is reality is the real shock.”

“Pffft—hahhaha.”

They clinked glasses and downed their beer.

Kaaaah.

The heavy, suffocating feeling that had lingered since seeing the mother cat’s body slowly melted away.

“Let’s really drink tonight!”

“Hell yeah!”

That night, the two who had boldly declared they’d go all out ended up enjoying their chicken and beer for exactly about two hours. For people who had sworn to drink properly, it was surprisingly modest.

*

On the way home.

Phew—feels nice.

He was tipsy, but since it was only beer and not soju, he wasn’t staggering badly. Walking slowly while letting the cool night breeze hit his face actually felt refreshing.

After walking for a while,

Street food stalls started appearing along the road.

At one of them,

An elderly woman had laid out various wild greens that looked like she had personally foraged them from the mountains. They were displayed sparsely, almost pitifully. The way she kept glancing around nervously, trying to catch people’s eyes to sell them, drew his attention.

“…”

In the past, he definitely would have looked away.

Maybe with a bitter expression and a click of the tongue.

Or perhaps just indifferently.

But now, he didn’t avoid her gaze. He looked straight at her.

He took it all in with clear eyes.

[Ding!]

The familiar sound rang inside his head.

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