chapter 1
“Grandpa. Me too. I thought that if I worked hard, everything would be fine.”
When I felt stuffy, I would come to my grandfather’s grave and complain. But today was not the end of the complaint.
“But it wasn’t.”
Poured a glass of soju, turned it round and round, and placed it in front of the oxygen.
“Have a drink. I’m sorry. I know you like Andong soju, but your pocketbook is in trouble right now. Please just be satisfied with soju today.”
This time I filled my cup.
“I’ll have a drink too.”
He bumped into Grandpa’s glass and brought it to his mouth. He took a drink and sat down on the floor.
“I’m going to rest here for a while.”
Born in a small rural village, I thought I did as much as I could. I studied hard and went to a university in Seoul, and I also had an undeserved wife and a cute daughter.
I poured another glass of soju and gulped it down.
“Damn the bitch.”
My wife was a woman who was too good for me. It was a miracle that I, who worked in the general affairs team of a mid-sized company, had a beautiful wife who worked in the strategy department of a large company.
MBA, who sent me when I said that I wanted to have a child and take care of my career.
[Jaegu. If you stay still, you will lose everything. First of all, the stomach is getting married. I have to think about Hayeon.]
These were the words my wife Seo Eun-chae told me when I was under investigation after being falsely accused of embezzling 1.5 billion won from the company. In a state of mental wear and tear, thinking of a daughter who would not hurt even if she put it in her eyes forced her to divorce.
“I’m sorry for swearing. Grandpa. But that woman took my daughter hostage and tricked me. What is it?
I poured another glass of soju.
Dokgojeong, the 3rd son of the Dokgo Group, took her away. There were also rumors that he sold the newlyweds’ house he had received during the divorce and ended up in a coma.
“Dokgo Trading was our company’s biggest customer. No matter how you look at it, it looks like it was designed. There is no physical evidence. No physical evidence.”
It was unfair. I had a heart attack, but no physical symptoms. Even if he wanted to find out, there was no one to help the penniless man with a red line drawn on him.
“Besides, is there anything that prevents you from meeting your daughter?”
That bad bitch prevented me from meeting Ha-yeon. Since she married into a conglomerate family with only one body, she probably did not want to be photographed by her in-laws.
“Still, you have to let your daughter meet you to be human!”
It was unfair. I just lived hard, but now there was nothing left in my hands.
“My parents are also having a hard time because of me.”
My parents came up to Seoul to prove my innocence and protested in front of the courthouse. I was criticized by many people, and now I am ostracized from the village because of the aftermath.
Since the house used to run a small hole-in-the-wall shop, the business went bankrupt, and now my mother is doing the cleaning work and scraping by with glue.
“I think the family was destroyed because of me. Grandpa.”
Tears poured out of my heart. If he were alive, he would have stroked his hair and said, ‘This man is not crying.’ It reminded me of my grandfather who would have secretly brought me another piece of candy even though he said so.
“I miss you, Grandpa.”
But even though my parents are working hard, I couldn’t just sit like this forever. Shake everything off today and be born again. I vowed to forget the past and start loading and unloading to raise the family.
I filled the glass again and filled it up.
“Only today. Drink only today and start again.”
I kept drinking.
“It’s so bitter! Life is so bitter. Grandpa.”
***
“Yonseok-ah. If I sleep here, will I use it?”
A playful, nostalgic voice was heard.
“grandfather?”
When I opened my eyes and looked around, it seemed like I was on a cloud made of cotton candy. At least it wasn’t in front of my grandfather’s oxygen where I was drinking.
He rubbed his eyes and sat down.
“Is it a dream?”
“Yes. It’s a dream. Yonsuk-ah.”
Suddenly, the figure of my grandfather appeared. He was wearing a hanbok as he was when he was alive. With a happy heart, I jumped up from my seat and ran to my grandfather.
“grandfather!”
“this guy!!”
With a shout, the grandfather’s figure disappeared.
“The living and the dead must not meet.”
Grandpa’s figure reappeared a short distance away. I can’t reach you, but it was so nice to see you again. There were so many things I wanted to say.
“Grandpa. I’m here.”
“You don’t have much time. Take this.”
Grandpa took out a round candy and put it on my hand. He was careful not to touch me.
“Eat.”
“what is this?”
“It’s really hard to find, so hurry up and eat it.”
It was my grandfather who used to take care of candy without my mother’s knowledge, so I put it in my mouth. I was expecting a sweet taste, but the taste was bitter and bitter. I wanted to spit it out, but seeing the look on my grandfather’s expectant expression, I couldn’t do it, so I gulped it down.
“Ugh. What is this?”
“Nice job. You’ll be fine now.”
Grandpa’s figure gradually faded.
“Grandpa!! Where are you going? Grandpa!!”
***
“grandfather!!!”
He groaned almost like a scream and jumped up. He was sweating so much that his whole body was wet.
“Oh, Jaegu! Honey! Jaegu happened!”
“Jaegu!”
My father rushed from the kitchen to my mother’s cry. The wet towel on his forehead fell off.
I must have been drinking at my grandfather’s oxygen…
“You were lying in front of your grandfather’s grave, and your father came in looking for you.”
“What if you’re sleeping in such a cold place?”
You said you went to your grandfather’s oxygen at that dawn? I think my father used to visit my grandfather when he was having a hard time.
“Kill this. Eat some.”
My father brought porridge from the kitchen. It was freshly made, hot porridge. He blew up and started eating.
“However, what if I drink alone in the mountains like that?”
My mother was in tears because she was upset. They are more upset than anyone else because of me, and I am sorry that I seem to have caused a nuisance.
“I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated… I’ll live really hard from today.”
“really?”
“Yes.”
It’s already been 2 months since I came out of my sentence and went around trying to prove my injustice. Nothing was proven, and the wrinkles on my parents’ faces deepened.
I couldn’t just sit like this forever. For the sake of my parents and to see my daughter Ha-yeon again, I had to get up now.
“I’ll look for a job.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“OK.”
My mother went to work, and my father started cleaning the house. Even if you said cleaning, it was just wiping a narrow house, but you couldn’t find a job now because you sprained your back while working at a construction site.
If it wasn’t for me, he would still be running the mart, but I felt sorry that even that seemed to be my fault.
I sat down in front of my computer and started browsing the site. Even if I couldn’t get into an ordinary company because of my criminal record, I thought that at least I could find a delivery service.
I was looking at the part-time job monster site, but something overlapped on the screen and came to my mind.
[Lv1. Would you like to see tomorrow’s share price?]
[Right hand if you want, left hand if you don’t want]
Even when I rubbed my eyes and looked at it, the letters overlapped. I moved the site to see if the screen was strange, but the text was the same. Even when he turned his head, the letters were still there in front of him.
‘I have to pay less.’
When I squeezed my right hand, the writing changed this time.
[Happiness Telecom 24,640
Marine Transportation 3,640
Make sure to read from noble mtl com
Jindo Mobile 4,600
Gangil Airlines 5,620
Hadex 16,420]
[If you quickly squeeze your left hand twice, this window will disappear]
I hurriedly opened the notepad and typed the text. After checking twice, I quickly squeezed my left hand twice and the letters disappeared. As the letters that filled my eyes disappeared, my vision became clearer.
‘What the hell is this?’
I looked up the stock price of the company on the Internet.
Happiness Telecom 25,420
Marine Transportation 2,950
Make sure to read from noble mtl com
Jindo Mobile 4,700
Gangil Airlines 5,300
Hadex 15,890
“The numbers are slightly different.”
The stock price did not differ greatly, but the numbers differed slightly. At that time, the first comment suddenly came to my mind.
“Would you like to see tomorrow’s stock price?”
The hand holding the mouse trembled with tension. What if the number written on the notepad is tomorrow’s stock price?
It was an anomaly that appeared suddenly, but money was desperate. However, I couldn’t recklessly invest as much as I was desperate.
‘But what if this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?’
Visiting my grandfather’s grave. And in a dream, I remembered receiving and eating strange-tasting candy from my grandfather.
‘What if it has something to do with it?’
The pieces seemed to fit in my head. He was caught for embezzlement and his entire property was collected, so he didn’t have a single penny in his pocket. But I couldn’t borrow money from my parents who were having a hard time because of me.
‘The highest rate of increase is 23% for Marine Transport.’
This was enough to borrow a debenture once. The interest rate on the debentures was high, but I should have been able to borrow enough for my current credit rating. He’s a man in his early 30’s with no limbs.
‘yes. When else would you walk?’
There was a supernatural phenomenon, and I couldn’t be lingering. I got dressed and prepared to go out. Father came.
“Where?”
“I’m going to look for a job.”
You can’t say you’re going to borrow a bond.
“I’m still not feeling well…”
It seemed to be telling me to rest today, but I couldn’t. Because all I had was one week for tomorrow. If he hesitated today, the opportunity would fly away.
“Do not worry.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Yes.”
The tip of my nose frowned at the thought of my mother, my father, and a child as deficient as me.
***
‘It’s only 3 million won.’
Since he was unemployed and had a history of embezzlement, it seemed unlikely that he would be able to get a loan from the bank, and since the review took a lot of time, he eventually went to the private loan business.
So, I only had 3 million won in my hands.
‘My value is 3 million won.’
I was bitter at the thought that if I could not repay this debt, I might end up on a deep-sea fishing boat. Since the stock market operating hours were until 3:30, I hurriedly made a deposit and opened the application.
{Marine Transport 2,980}
It was a higher number than the starting price, but because it was so, it gained credibility. The entire amount of 3 million won was pushed to the current price. After waiting for a while, a notification came.
[Concluded: 1000 shares of Marine Transportation]
It felt like running out of energy. All of my money, 3 million won, went into Marine Transportation.
“Please, it should be fine…”
It had been a long time since I was so nervous.
< You can see tomorrow’s stock price > End