With a small staff of 15, I founded an IT company called RevengeCode. There was no particular reason for it. It looked like a plausible company, and with Sang-min, once a genius hacker, it was perfect for gathering illegal information.
"Congratulations on becoming employees of RevengeCode."
I spoke loudly to the people standing in their neat suits in the glitzy office. I had real employees now. Employees working toward revenge, at a company built for revenge.
"All you need to do is come in on time, sit at your desks, and go home."
When I held out their employee IDs as I said it, one man, noticeably older, made a sour face. It was the man who had said his wife hanged herself.
"Your business cards will be out next week. Is there something you'd like to say?"
"I don't think I can do this after all. I can't just do nothing like this."
Even so, there really was nothing for them to do. He looked unconvinced, but it was a dream job where you got paid to goof off, and at the man saying he wanted to work, I quietly held my tongue.
"I was a section chief at a big company. If you entrust me with something, I'll work hard."
"Excuse me, but how old are you?"
"I'm 63 this year. I retired at the mandatory age, but I can still work."
His experience seemed like it would help more than leaving Sang-min, who had never done anything but hacking, to work with only his people.
"Good. Then be the company's advisor. I'd be grateful if you'd give useful advice now and then and take on the work those guys can't."
"CEO! Then what should we do?"
The other five were staring at me too, as if they wanted to work.
"Give us work too. I'm just an engineering grunt who's never done office work, but let me do odd jobs at least!"
"You're our benefactor, CEO. I'm ready to happily clean the restrooms, even."
To think I would hear the word "CEO" this often in my life. And from people who looked much older than me, saying it with all their heart and soul, no less.
"Understood. But there's nothing to do right away, so first, help dig into the backgrounds of Park Min-hwan and Kim Hyun-woo. Until there are instructions, just support the company so it keeps running smoothly."
Only then did they relax and bow their heads all at once. I had never risen to a position like this even in my office career, so it made my hands and feet curl with awkwardness, but I acted as if it were nothing.
I had no intention of stopping people who promised to do their best for a company that existed only for show.
"Kim Min-jae. Now explain. Where did all that money come from?"
Sang-min, seemingly quite angry, put on a stern face and grabbed my wrist. With the company set up in a snap and everyone made employees, things had slid by as smoothly as a serpent over a wall, and he hadn't been able to get his bearings; only now did the worry seem to hit him enough to ask.
'I can't tell him the truth.'
I didn't want to drag Sang-min into the Ghost Story Market too. But I wasn't enough of a storyteller to make up a whole tale either, so I decided to mix in some truth and fudge it.
"I met a sponsor who's so fucking rich."
"That sponsor gave you a fortune of 10 billion won?"
Sang-min didn't believe it. No, if anything, he looked even angrier.
"Hmm. It's, uh, like a survival game for rich people. Something like a Baby Squid Game?"
"What?? How does that make any sense...."
He no longer seemed to have the energy to be angry, and when he looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, I scratched my face.
"CEO. Something like that really exists?"
"Yes. It does. I was lucky. And that's why I have to go play some games from here on."
To feed my employees and get my revenge, I would have to earn points like a dog from now on. It was also true that I would have to keep busy to keep up the money going into the company while also running the Colosseum.
"Lie within reason, at least...."
"Then if I said I robbed a bank and stole 10 billion won, would you believe me?"
"No, that's not what I...."
A little thought would tell you which was more realistic. I looked at Sang-min calmly.
"And I haven't lied to you, hyung."
"Haa.... You... it's not dangerous, is it?"
Worry seeped through Sang-min's deep sigh. It was incredibly dangerous, but I couldn't tell the truth to Sang-min when he was worried about it. And I had spent nearly half the points I had collected, commissions included, so the fire really had fallen on my own foot now.
"I'll stay out of danger as much as I can. Don't worry too much, and take good care of the company."
I left the overall running of the company to Sang-min and the employees and walked out to prepare for today's Colosseum. Even if it didn't run well, it didn't matter as long as it existed.
***
Making the rounds of the ghost shops, I spent points trading for attack items or defensive items that could serve as weapons. From now on, I had to make up the points I had lost through the Colosseum and trades with ghosts, so stocking up on items was urgent. If all else failed, my last resort would be going back to the auction house to trade emotions, but I wanted to keep that as the very last line of defense.
'If I use the spare key, I can find out the grade of the next Colosseum game.'
I was still hesitating to use the spare key, so I spent points against my will. The key's abilities were so outstanding that I kept wavering at the temptation. But if it had a function that let Darkness know the instant I used it, my life wouldn't just be a total wreck; it would be fucked to hell.
"Let's not use it yet."
I enjoyed a thorough shopping trip with the points I had left and was now a penniless beggar again, like back when I was a Beginner Investor. I had no points left on hand. One month from now. I decided to work like a machine until then and fill my points back up to where they had been. There seemed to be some trap in rising to Expert Investor, so I decided to push back the timeline a little. What was urgent was revenge, not becoming an Expert Investor.
'Oh no. Look at the time.'
When I raised my wrist and checked the time, the Colosseum was about to begin. Unless something unexpected happened today, Min-seo and Daniel would definitely take part. If I got lucky and a team game came up, and I teamed up with the two of them, I could earn points easily, so I couldn't be late.
"Is no one here yet?"
I had run to the waiting room without stopping for breath, but neither Min-seo nor Daniel was in the waiting room. I sat in a chair for now to wait for them, but even as the game time approached, they didn't show up.
'Strange.'
I didn't know Daniel well, so fine, but Min-seo had never once been late for an appointment. My unease grew and grew. In the end, I got up from my seat and took my phone out of my pocket. Since things had turned out this way, I had no acquaintances or friends who would contact me, so I never took it out once I was in the market, but today, for some reason, I felt I had to check.
"...Damn it!"
After checking the message, I shouted as I hurried out of the waiting room.
"I'm forfeiting this game!"
When I threw the door open and tried to escape, a giant snake head popped up right where I was headed. Then it wound around my body, tied me up tight, and dragged me back so I couldn't run.
[Investor No. 3029. You cannot forfeit within 10 minutes of the start of the match.]
When I raised my head and looked up, Falsehood, in his mask, was looking down at me, bound as I was, and giving off a vicious, murderous air.
"I have a question."
[Go ahead.]
"Then is it possible to forfeit during the match?"
[Of course! If you have a forfeit item, you may forfeit.]
Raw, unfiltered curses welled up and tried to spring out of my throat. It meant I couldn't forfeit after all, but I couldn't bring myself to curse at Falsehood, who was looking at me with golden eyes as sharp as pen nibs. The snake's tongue, flicking and licking my cheek, was so sticky it made me shiver.
"Let me go. I need to organize my items in the waiting room."
[A wise decision.]
I squeezed my eyes shut and resigned myself. When Falsehood let me go, I went into a private room in the waiting area and took out the silver marble.
I checked the phone message one last time and opened the alert window to use the marble. If I was going to die either way, I decided to bet on the hope that Darkness might not notice if I used this key.
[Do you wish to use the spare key?]
I pressed the accept button without a moment's thought. Then I immediately opened the risk level assessment and checked the game coming up in this Colosseum match.
[Alternating Drop the Handkerchief : A-Grade]
A game played with ghouls and humans sitting in alternating seats, plop, plop.
If caught by a ghoul, you lose one body part at a time, according to that ghost's traits.
You get 3 chances, and if you are caught all 3 times, your entire soul is taken.
Try not to get caught.
"Damn it. Ghouls?"
Each one was about as strong as an ordinary person, but they hunted in packs and were outstanding in speed and durability. They were also ghosts treated as legends, with little information about them out in the world, so my unease grew.
It also bothered me that the additional note said that if there was time left over, they might take something more than just one body part. Something I had learned from trading in this market for a long time was that they were darker and faster than humans perceived.
This game was basically a pizza. A banquet delivering party food right under those creatures' noses.
'I can't die like this.'
I had only just founded a company, and there was so much I had to do. About 3 minutes until the match. I began digging through the key's abilities for some way to dramatically survive at this point.
"I'll use Experience Sharing and the Protection Spell."
[Experience Sharing is only possible with persons in the market. Do you wish to designate one?]
I hadn't thought of that.
I only knew Min-seo, Daniel, and Ocheonsa, and if I put sharing on them, they would find out I was using Darkness's key. So I couldn't use this ability.
"I'll use only the Protection Spell."
[Protection Spell applied. You may change to Guest. Do you wish to change?]
There was no time, so I hadn't read what the ability was in detail, and I hesitated to answer.
"Please explain in detail."
[Damage taken during the game is automatically restored when the game ends, and penalties are exempted.]
"I'll change to Guest."
[However, this does not apply if you lose your life during the game. Please keep this in mind.]
I changed it without hesitation. It meant that even if my body got torn to pieces, I would recover as long as I was still breathing, so if I made staying alive my goal in this game, there was a chance I would walk out in one piece.
1 minute left.
I couldn't see any ability that could offset the ghouls' speed. My heart pounded, and my pupils shook this way and that. I couldn't properly read the descriptions of the abilities.
'Please. Please. There has to be some way....'
You'd think there would be at least one ability that let you move as fast as a shadow or specially upgraded your physical abilities, the way Darkness moved around the market.
"Ah! Can I use the Whispering Shadow?"
[Not possible.]
"Goddamn it!"
[Do you wish to use quest creation?]
With that alert as the last thing I saw, I left the waiting room at Falsehood's announcement and headed into the Colosseum.