“What? What kind of rat-bastard came charging in from the morning!”
“I… I don’t know. Kaum, Yonsei, Gubo—capital is flowing in from all directions and shaking things up.”
“Damn it, shit! How much total?”
“A… about one billion won.”
“What kind of bastard is it this time? Isn’t it that bastard from before?”
“The scale of the funds is different. This time it seems a super-ant has come in.”
“So it’s a fucking bastard that even the higher-ups don’t know of….”
“What should we do?”
Curses exploded inside the Gangnam officetel that supervised the operation on Planet77.
Three ticks above, after spending an entire week doing lower-limit suppression and other work, they had shaken off the ants.
In the first round they squeezed the ants dry of blood.
The operation was an extreme psychological battle.
They hammered out another notice and shifted their hands again.
Strategically, they were preparing to run properly once they raised it three ticks above.
They had greased both the supervisory agencies and the institutions adequately.
But suddenly a massive amount of capital came pouring in and scooped everything up from underneath.
It wasn’t in the plan.
“What do we do! We go according to the scenario. If someone throws in money… take it all!”
The team leader exploded in anger.
It ate at him that he had to sit and take it even though he knew what was happening.
They had no choice but to nibble and split it among themselves.
“Ah, understood.”
“Huff… can’t even eat this properly. These days the ant bastards are ridiculous….”
The operation team leader, who had once worked at a securities firm, let out a long sigh and slumped into his seat.
Until the very end, it was murder-level work.
After one big move, once the effect dissipated, they had to live like rats for years.
Unlike the past, now there were countless ants armed with all sorts of information.
A slight slip and the blood they shed would reveal their tracks, and the authorities would swoop in.
Between the different groups, too, unknown variables kept appearing.
But these days there were too many smart ants who smelled the scent of operation money like ghosts.
* * *
“Dad, Mom. You two go ahead first.”
“Is… is that alright?”
“Yes. I’ll do some comfortable shopping with the twins now. When my parents are here, I feel too self-conscious.”
“…Tae-san….”
My father’s eyes turned red.
When I bought the car, I used my own passbook.
When I opened the stock account, I also set up a separate stock account and living-expenses account under my mother’s name.
The amount I scraped together from here and there piled up like snow.
At the same time as opening my mother’s stock account, I invested.
My mother became a rich person.
I hadn’t told them during all that time.
I was holding it.
I intended to keep it that way.
If my soft-hearted father saw it, he would definitely end up guaranteeing something or getting tricked, just like in the past.
I deposited a bold amount of money into my mother’s account.
The amount was exactly fifty million won.
My father and mother trembled in shock.
They looked like they might burst into tears right there.
And that was how we bought the car.
It was even selected as a showroom model.
The dealer switched the insurance and finished the registration quickly.
By the time we returned from eating at the Chinese restaurant, the car—polished and freshly washed—was already waiting.
The used car wasn’t in a sellable condition anymore, so we decided to scrap it.
The dealer said our luck was good today.
Apparently the rust had eaten into even the frame and a big accident could’ve happened at any time.
That made me remember.
Back when I was in university, my father had a traffic accident.
At the time I thought it wasn’t a big deal, but from then on his body was never the same.
“Dad, congratulations. Your fine son smashed up a major accident.”
“Ju-hee, say it more nicely.”
“What? A crash is a crash.”
The twins laughed brightly and had an affectionate (?) conversation like always.
“Alright. Son, come home not too late. Mom will make something tasty for you.”
“Mom! Meat! Meat! Spicy pork stir-fry!”
“I want Mom’s japchae! Japchae with lots of beef!”
The twins chattered like sparrows.
It was a warm scene I was seeing for the first time.
Even though they wiped the tangsuyuk plate clean at lunchtime, the twins were already asking for meat again for dinner.
“You little punks… if someone saw, they’d think your father and mom’s going to get tired".
My father laughed brightly.
His shoulders felt lighter at the cash I had laid down.
Between immediate family, there was no need for pride.
My father came to his senses.
My mother explained again what happened when we signed the contract at the Chinese restaurant.
He didn’t believe it at first.
My father couldn’t understand how selling a book could bring in close to one hundred million won.
I explained it to him simply.
In the short time after, the print run had gone up to fifteen thousand copies per volume.
The CEO said they had already gone into a fourth reprint.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t “book money.”
As royalties, it was a bit lacking, but my father believed it.
My father’s expression changed from laughter to tears and back again.
But in the end he looked at me with a stern gaze.
Did some con artist somehow coax several tens of millions of won out of me?
“Have a good time. I’ll come back in time for dinner.”
“Thanks to our son, we’ll enjoy our date. Thank you.”
My mother laughed brightly.
“Thank you.”
My father didn’t say much, but I could fully feel his gratitude.
“Ah, between parents and children, you should say ‘I love you’ rather than ‘thank you.’ The grace of bringing us into the world and raising us… no amount of thanks can repay it.”
“Ohh! Our oppa is totally jjang.”
Hearing Mom and Dad say thank you put me into sentimental mode.
Ju-hee pushed out her pinky and assisted me.
“Alright, we’re going.”
My father and mother got into the new car.
Vroom, vroom.
A pleasant diesel sound rang out.
It matched the solid body well.
“Tae-san… the car’s really nice.”
My mother admired it with delight.
“Drive safely.”
“Dad, don’t take Mom too far.”
“Beep-beep~.”
To our cheers, the Laxton pulled out.
Seeing the solid, rock-like body of the car, my heart finally relaxed.
“Oppa, where are we going?”
“Where else? We’re going shopping!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaa! Oppa’s the best!”
The youngest, Ju-hee, grabbed my arm and jumped around wildly.
Kind Ju-a just smiled bashfully.
This is why money is good.
Grandma used to say: “If you live a life of poverty from birth to death, in the next life you’ll be born a slave.”
You need money to donate.
You need money to enjoy culture.
You need money… to maintain good relations between siblings.
They could see it clearly themselves.
Between a cranky, irritable older brother and a capable older brother who plays the princely role, the capable one is always cooler.
* * *
“Oppa, do I look okay?”
“Ohhh! Ju-a, the fit looks great! You could model.”
“R-really?”
“Oppa, look at me too.”
“Our Ju-hee is pretty even without looking.”
“Oppa. Did you spread mayo on your lips? Why are you so good at saying greasy things? Are you really our oppa?”
After dying and surviving again, there was nothing shameful left in the world for me.
Everything was good.
Even my younger sisters being pretty was good.
No matter what clothes they wore, they looked adorable.
Taking after Dad, they were already 165 centimeters tall.
Even though they were in middle school, their growth was good.
The fit of the jeans looked like a model’s.
They took after Mom—fair skin, with their eyes and nose set so delicately.
At the Calvin Klein store specializing in jeans, I bought them jeans.
I told them to pick three tops each that they liked.
Even though I had money, I didn’t want to spend recklessly.
If I kept the line appropriate, they wouldn’t develop a habit of relying on me.
I couldn’t live the twins’ lives for them.
I had struggled too; maybe that’s why today felt precious.
Moderate hardship is the nutrient that matures a person.
“Try it on for the first time.”
Calvin Klein, which I had only heard about.
To someone who used to only wear street-market jeans, department-store name brands didn’t feel any different.
It was the same for my sisters.
In the eyes of someone who had lived to 2020 like me, these looked good.
Jeans tend to ride the wave of fashion .
The baggy-pants style was excluded entirely.
Overall, since it was summer, there were many refreshing styles like half-pants or light full-length pants.
“Oppa, pick something too. I’ll look for you.”
“But oppa, you seem a bit different these days? Are you exercising lately? Your face too… it’s different from before?”
While choosing jeans, my sisters turned toward me and giggled.
As I trained the Taeguk Five-Elements Dual-Intent Internal Method and the Taeguk Five-Elements Dual-Intent Fist, my body slowly changed.
The skinny body I once had gained flesh and muscle.
Once my qi circulation settled, my face and frame also found their proper place.
Overall, my body became well-balanced.
I also grew taller.
“Wow! Our oppa is actually a real handsome guy now. Isn’t that right, unni?”
“Huh? I guess….”
Family is like this.
My sisters were genuinely impressed with my changes.
Truthfully, we barely saw each other.
Since they were in the third year of middle school, they had after-school sessions and even night classes.
We rarely had time to see each other’s faces in the morning.
“Twins. Isn’t it too cold to be so indifferent to oppa?”
“Oppa. Sorry.”
“Your personality changed too. Where did the shy and embarrassed oppa go?”
Ju-a said sorry, and Ju-hee’s eyes sparkled.
“Oppa, your body is really nice. Are you a college student?”
A female staff member who had been watching from the side expressed admiration for me.
A woman in her early twenties with acne covered by makeup.
Thin, and with a cute, cat-like face.
In the past, no woman like this had ever shown interest in me.
Today was practically a miracle.
“Our oppa is handsome, right? But guess what—he’s a student at Jangju High School, second year. A sophomore.”
Ju-hee caught the staff member’s interest and cut in.
“What? H-high school student?”
“Haha. Noona. Do I look that mature?”
“No… you don’t give off a high-schooler’s vibe.”
Her expression made it clear she realized I wasn’t an ordinary teenager.
I had the presence of someone who dealt with adults regularly.
“I’ll go try these on.”
I chose some clothes and entered the fitting room.
I picked two pairs of half-pants and jeans, a light summer shirt, and a sleeveless top.
Urged by my sisters, I tried on clothes for the first time.
Ssssk.
I took off my clothes.
My solid upper body appeared in the mirror.
It wasn’t complete yet, but the muscles were forming.
“Looking good?”
A gasp of admiration rose from my throat.
My physique had upgraded from flimsy to sculpted.
It was clearly the result of the Director’s (Celestial Dragon Divine Lord’s) illegal training.
I wasn’t vain, but I did touch my body with my hands.
There was no trace of the skinny, rib-showing past me.
I put on the slim jeans.
The trimming around the waist looked good.
The well-balanced physique looked cool even to me.
The light full-length jeans wrapped snugly around my legs and felt good.
The jeans fit my muscular butt and tightened waist perfectly.
Then I slipped on a cool navy V-neck on top….
“Jang Tae-san. You’ve really become a dragon!”
What even I admitted looked good appeared in the mirror.
I couldn’t do anything about the grown “lion’s mane” hair that had grown during vacation.
The slightly long, tousled hairstyle matched me softly.
“Why is your skin so good?”
When I touched my face, there wasn’t a single bump.
Once the impurities inside my body cleared, even my skin improved.
My slightly flushed skin radiated masculine charm.
Size 105 wasn’t too big or too small.
Slim, but well-balanced—this body couldn’t be more perfect, even from my own perspective.
I perfectly understood Narcissus hyung’s self-love today.
“Twins. What are you doing here?”
“Yu-ra, Hye-jin!”
“You guys came to buy clothes?”
“Yeah~.”
“Ohh, did you get allowance? Did your dad buy them?”
“No. Our oppa said he’d buy them.”
“Oppa? Real oppa? Or boyfriend?”
“Kyaa! Where would I get a boyfriend!”
Ju-hee shrieked in embarrassment.
It looked like the twins’ friends had come.
Tutuk.
I tore off the price tag.
It was a purchase that fit my taste right away.
The stretched-out and faded, shabby old clothes were boldly thrown into the trash bin.
Selling off old memories had come to an end now.
I walked outside.
The sensation of clothes clinging snugly to my body felt unfamiliar but nice.
Good jeans were definitely different.
“Oppa~.”
The youngest, Ju-hee, called me as I stepped out of the dressing room.
And the short-haired girls who seemed to be the twins’ friends turned their gazes toward me.
“Ah!”
“Oh my…….”
The two girls covered their mouths with their hands as they looked at me in surprise.
Their cheeks turned red and their pupils widened endlessly.