Waking up early in the morning to have some coffee, the electric kettle felt unusually sluggish today.
‘Did water always take this long to boil?’
It seemed this little guy still didn't know.
That I was no longer the same old owner who had to put up with it no matter how slow it was.
‘Should I just replace it right now?’
-Bubble, bubble.
Still quick on the uptake, the kettle puffed out white steam before it was too late.
Deciding to give it one more chance, I poured the hot water into my mug.
Sweet and chalky, an all-too-familiar cheap instant coffee.
“Phew-”
Sipping the steaming coffee, I opened my banking app.
[Balance : 13,242,352,100 won]
I still couldn't believe it.
Even though the 10% down payment—a massive sum of 500 million won—had gone out, the number shown in my account barely felt any different.
Once the judicial scrivener finished handling all the paperwork, I would pay the remaining balance.
The number that had been 13.7 billion won would shrink to 8.7 billion won, but it was more accurate to view my net worth as having grown instead.
A building that could fetch 7 billion won even if I sold it right now.
And once I resolved the waste oil issue and the access road issue, it would be worth 12.5 billion won.
What if I also bought up the 150 pyeong of land owned by Seongjin Logistics and put up a new building?
Its value would easily surpass at least fifty billion won.
‘So this is what they mean by money making money.’
I closed the banking app and opened the diary app.
And I······.
-Thud!
I couldn't help dropping the paper cup that still had coffee left in it.
“Wh···What is this?”
The diary app icon on my home screen had changed.
Instead of its clunky black border, it now had a blue border.
With an ominous premonition, I launched the app.
[Version 2.0 update complete.]
-Happiness Viewing Function unlocked.
“Happiness··· Viewing?”
Unaware that coffee had splashed onto the top of my foot, I stared blankly at the screen.
There were no new records.
Until now, this app had only shown me related records when I took an action that would become the seed of misfortune.
Did that mean a record would now pop up when I took an action that would become the seed of happiness?
Because I had recorded happiness for the very first time in my life?
Whatever it was, I tightened my smartwatch strap by one more notch so I wouldn't miss any notifications.
The moment I looked at the watch face, I realized it.
I was running a full twenty minutes later than usual.
Deciding to check the details later, I hurried out of the house.
-Grumble. Rattle, rattle, rattle.
As if possessed by a Tyrannosaurus, my car—which had clocked well over 300,000 kilometers—let out a rough roar.
Vibrations echoed through my entire body as though I were sitting in a massage chair.
It seemed it was time to finally let this old guy rest, after having been turned into an “O-nata” because of kids prying off the “S” emblem in hopes of getting into Seoul National University.
Having left late, there were that many more cars on the road.
Worrying about being late for work—something I had never once done in ten years—I turned the wheel into the back alleys.
Was the saying “The more hurried you are, take the long way around” actually true?
As a result of winding my way through the back alleys instead of my usual route, I managed to arrive at the company parking lot with ten minutes to spare.
“Ha-. Thank goodness, though.”
Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, the thought struck me that this wasn't quite right.
When I wasn't even late, was there any need to stress out like this?
Perhaps I had been living my life caring a bit too much about how others looked at me.
And there were still ten whole minutes left before work hours began.
I had gotten anxious for nothing.
Why did I do that….
I had grown far too accustomed to the years spent walking on eggshells around Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun, who always arrived twenty minutes early.
Damn it. This wasn't right.
I was completely different from before.
There was no need to walk on eggshells around anyone anymore, let alone Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun.
And so, instead of heading to the office, I turned my steps toward the first-floor cafe.
Employees from other departments were sprinting past in a frantic hurry even though ten minutes still remained.
Our team members must have been just like that too.
Even if only for the sake of my team members, I needed to stop that stagnant, rotten water at my level.
Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun.
In a little while, he would interrogate me about yesterday.
I had ignored his repeated calls and sent him a text message more than enough to turn his stomach upside down.
And yet, why was it?
I didn't feel worried in the slightest.
It wasn't just because I had become rich.
I no longer needed to be dragged around by him.
Because I had a diary app that would prevent regret.
The smartwatch strapped snugly around my wrist remained peaceful.
“One iced Americano, Venti size, please.”
This wasn't being late.
Let's live a slightly more relaxed life.
Making up my mind like that, I ordered coffee at the first-floor cafe.
Coffee costing a whopping 5,000 won.
-Bzzzz.
The moment I placed my order, I felt a vibration on my wrist.
Unlike everything up to now, the long-awaited new notification was written in blue text.
[Tuesday, March 10th. Buying an iced Americano was nothing short of a divine move.
The iced Americano that sent Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun home early for the day.
Even though I barely drank any of it, I felt refreshed all the way down to my belly button.]
The contents were hard to understand.
The drink in my hand was going to send Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun home early?
Even more surprising than that was the fact that the diary entry was filled with satisfaction rather than regret.
So this was what the Happiness Viewing Function was.
I wished the future me had written it down in a bit more detail, but it looked like something fun was about to happen.
There were no other records.
That meant I wouldn't have any regrets even if I acted just as I intended.
Thanks to that, I stepped into the office with an even lighter heart.
“Good morning.”
The team members breathed sighs of relief the moment they saw me.
I asked Assistant Manager Park Jong-il, who had let out the longest sigh among them.
“What's wrong? Did something happen?”
Assistant Manager Park answered with his eyes instead of his mouth.
The spot he glanced toward was Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun's empty desk.
“What? Did he not come in today?”
“Phew, it is not that. He kept glaring at your desk and then went out for a smoke. Why are you so late today?”
“There's still five minutes left, though? How is this late?”
“…No… I do not mean it is late, but…….”
Spotting the coffee in my hand, Assistant Manager Park stopped mid-sentence.
“And what is that? Did you actually pay money to buy that? And the largest Venti size, at that?”
“Yeah. I flexed a little. If it's nothing important, tell me later. Things are probably going to get hectic enough as it is.”
Had I been living too stingily all this time?
I had only bought a single cup of coffee on my way in, and yet he was that shocked.
When I put up my new building, I'd have to invite this guy first.
After sending him back to his desk, I sucked on my straw and turned on my computer.
It was about time for him to show up….
“You bastard!”
What was bound to come had finally arrived.
Huffing and fuming, Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun dragged me into the employee break room.
“You've completely lost your mind, haven't you?! What? Nonghyup Main Branch? Claiming prize money? You send me a prank text like that and then ignore my calls?!”
Shoving his smartphone in my face, Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun snorted hot air out of his nose repeatedly.
On the screen he held out was the text message I had sent him yesterday.
[There were too many people around earlier for me to tell you, sir, but I am on my way to the Nonghyup Main Branch. After I claim the prize money, I will treat you to a meal.]
With a nonchalant expression, I looked at the text I had sent.
I was going to tell him the truth.
I intended to keep it a secret from everyone else, but I wanted to let him know, at least.
He couldn't spread this around anyway.
Because he was the kind of man who could never admit with his own mouth that the lottery ticket he had thrown away had won first prize.
In fact, if that truth ever got out, he would be too humiliated to even hold his head up in public.
And I had a diary app with a cheat-like function.
Namely, the future me who would immediately warn me if I did anything I would regret.
Shall I go ahead and spit it out?
“It was not a prank. It was real. That text message.”
“What? This bastard really has lost his mind completely. You won first prize? What are you pulling here? Are you playing the lunatic now? Trying to take medical leave or something?”
“It is not that···.”
Part of me wanted to show him my bank account balance right then and there, but I decided to hold back for now.
I'd save that for the day this bastard resigned.
For now, just one light slip of paper.
I held out the document I had brought along specifically for this moment.
A Lottery Prize Payout Confirmation Certificate stamped with the official seal of the Nonghyup Main Branch.
Once again, no warning notification went off.
“You see my name right here, don't you?”
“······!!!”
Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun's eyes bulged as if they were about to pop right out of their sockets.
“F-F-First prize··· for real?”
“Yes. This is all thanks to you, Senior Manager. That retailer you texted me—a lucky spot really is a lucky spot.”
His face flushing crimson in an instant, Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun lunged at me as if to grab me by the collar.
“···Y-You thieving bastard! Hand it over! That's mine!”
Having completely lost his senses, his hands roughly shoved my shoulder.
-SPLASH.
Cross my heart, this really wasn't intentional.
The record that had been written in the diary app.
The iced Americano in my hand soaked his chest and streamed down his shirt.
“···Wh···Wh-What the hell do you think you're doing?!”
“Pardon? This happened because you shoved me, Senior Manager···.”
“Fuck. Screw that! Hand it over right now, you thieving bastard!”
It was time to deliver the lines I had stayed up preparing.
“A thief, you say?”
“It's mine! The lottery ticket I ordered you to buy for me! That's the one that won!!!”
Completely out of his mind, he snatched the payout confirmation certificate from my hand.
I had no idea why he was taking that, since it was a piece of paper I no longer needed anyway.
I stared at him with cold, sunken eyes.
“Do you have proof?”
“Wh-What was that, punk?”
“I am asking if you have any proof that this lottery ticket is the one you ordered me to buy.”
Kim Seok-hun froze.
“What kind of bullshit is that?! I even texted you the exact address!”
“You did send me the address, yes. However, when I went to that shop, do you think I only bought yours, Senior Manager? I could have bought my own ticket too. It was an automatic pick, so do you even know what the numbers were?”
Taking a slow step closer, I spelled out reality for him.
“I bought a lottery ticket with my own money—how are you going to prove whether it was the one you told me to buy, or one I bought for myself just for fun?”
Senior Manager Kim's face turned blue.
He only gaped silently, unable to even get a sound out of his throat.
“Do not get so worked up. What will you do if the other employees find out and you embarrass yourself? Besides, even if I concede a hundred times over and assume this was your lottery ticket, do you not remember? What did you say when I asked you for the 5,000 won?”
“Th···That was···.”
“You said you were too disgusted to take it. And did you not say there was no way a ticket bought by an unlucky bastard like me would ever win? There are plenty of witnesses too, Senior Manager.”
Knowing full well that the Store Development Team Leader and the Franchise Operations Team Leader had been right there at the time, Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun clenched his teeth and glared at me.
Was he a chameleon?
Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun's face, which had turned red and then blue, now drained to a deathly white.
“Grrrgh···.”
“I will head back out first. Even if I won the lottery, I still have my work to do.”
Leaving the violently trembling Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun behind, I casually strolled out of the break room.
What a pathetic excuse for a man.
What would he do if he found out it wasn't just one ticket, but ten? Tsk.
Watch closely.
Just how big the lottery ticket you threw away is going to swell.
***
After Jin-hyeok left, Seok-hun remained alone, checking his smartphone with violently trembling fingers.
[1,291st Lottery Draw: Total of 12 First-Prize Winners, Payout of 2.05 Billion Won per Person]
It matched the exact amount printed on the slip of paper Jin-hyeok had left behind.
‘Over 1.3 billion won after taxes?’
Running a quick mental calculation, Seok-hun trembled with clenched fists.
The lottery errands he had made Jin-hyeok run for ten years.
He had won fourth prize just once to pocket 50,000 won, and aside from that, winning 5,000 won every now and then had been the extent of it.
‘The one single lottery ticket I refused to take happened to win? And first prize, at that? How does that make any sense?!’
It was something he couldn't believe even while looking right at the proof.
He couldn't believe that Jin-hyeok had won first prize, nor could he believe the claim that it was an extra ticket Jin-hyeok had bought for himself rather than the one meant for him.
Seok-hun had worked himself to the bone for twenty years and taken out massive loans on top of his savings just to move into his own 1.5-billion-won apartment.
If he had just handed over 5,000 won, he would have had more than enough to pay off every last penny of his loan.
Thinking that Jin-hyeok had gained a sum comparable to his entire life's work overnight made him feel like the food he had eaten the day before was crawling back up his throat.
Seok-hun's pale white face turned a sickly yellow with jealousy and gut-wrenching envy.
‘It's only 1.3 billion won. With that kind of money, he can't even buy a single apartment in Gangnam, and he can't afford to quit the company either.’
And that wasn't all.
Once Jin-hyeok got called into the Division Head's office tomorrow morning and chewed out to pieces, he would learn his place.
That even winning first prize in the lottery didn't change a damn thing here.
He tried to claim a mental victory by coming up with all sorts of excuses like that, but his foul mood didn't improve in the slightest.
Returning to his desk, Seok-hun put in for early leave, citing his stained clothes and a stomachache.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, he simply couldn't bear to look at Jin-hyeok, whose lips twitched into a smirk every single time their eyes met.
Thanks to his departure, peace descended upon the Commercial District Analysis Team.
With just Seok-hun gone, everyone enjoyed their workday with smiling faces.
Just like always, Jin-hyeok diligently tapped away at his keyboard, taking care of his backlog of work.
Putting off his resignation really had been the right call.
Watching Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun writhe in agony from envy right beside him was an absolute delight.
If Senior Manager Kim Seok-hun couldn't take it anymore and chose to resign himself, that would be even better.
Because then Jin-hyeok would achieve the goal of becoming Team Leader that he had held since joining the company.
‘Shall I head out to pick up the documents now?’
A call had come in from the judicial scrivener.
Saying that all the procedures for the Mullae-dong land had been finalized.
All that remained was to meet him at quitting time as arranged and receive the documents.
Checking his watch, Jin-hyeok smiled brightly and tidied up his desk.
“Did something good happen, Manager?”
At Assistant Manager Park Jong-il's question, Jin-hyeok answered casually.
“Why? Does something look strange?”
“No, it is just that the Senior Manager went home early saying his stomach hurt, while you have been smiling nonstop, Manager. What is going on?”
Staring at Jong-il for a moment, Jin-hyeok shut down his computer and stood up from his seat.
“Let's just clock out and go home.”
“Huh? Do you have something going on?”
“I'm clocking out because there's nothing urgent left to do. Assistant Manager Park, anything that can wait until tomorrow, just do it tomorrow.”
The team members, who had always had to watch their superiors' moods before leaving for the day, blinked in surprise at Jin-hyeok's change.
Jin-hyeok, who used to spend at least thirty minutes wrapping up his work after hours before leaving, packed his bag the moment the clock struck six and walked right out of the office.
Even though Jin-hyeok had told them not to worry about appearances and head home early too, they couldn't help feeling a bit awkward about it.
For him to actually say to put off tomorrow's work until tomorrow….
That truly was an astonishing change.