NOVEL NEXT C13
#13. Taking a Breath
About a week had passed since the department store hostage situation was resolved.
During that time, there had been various changes in the city.
First, the internet public opinion that had been so heated it seemed ready to overturn Cheongang Tower at any moment had cooled down again as if nothing had happened.
This was because while numerous incidents and accidents continued to occur throughout the city, Cheongang had remained completely quiet with no public activities since that day.
Last was resolving various incidents, both large and small, as an A-class hero in the Hero Corporation.
Looking at the website, his affiliation was still listed as Han Cheol-ho’s Detective Agency.
Perhaps because of that, while the original Last gave off a strong impression of being like a private soldier under a large corporation, now he had a warmer, more neighborly feeling, like a reliable person next door.
Agio’s Lecca channel, which had 3 million subscribers, transformed into a sort of whistleblower channel following their video targeting Cheongang.
It wasn’t that they stopped uploading Lecca videos altogether, but even the Lecca videos that did go up were now focused on exposing wrongdoing rather than social issues.
That seemed to be quite profitable, as they recently sent me about ten million won as thanks for the memory chip. For someone like me who had just been eating instant ramen bought from a convenience store because I had no money, it was deeply moving.
And I, the cause of this entire butterfly effect…
“F*ck.”
I had reached a point where I couldn’t execute my next operation because I had no fixed source of income.
Why do bad deeds require large sums of money?
In other works, people easily make money through stocks or cryptocurrency, so why don’t I have that ability? Why is the world…
“Why is the world!!”
“Ah, you scared me!! Miss, why are you suddenly shouting!!”
“I’m sorry.”
I bowed my head in apology to the homeless man sitting sprawled on the street.
Sniff
It was pitiful. I feel like I’ve experienced this feeling somewhere before.
Getting back to the point, in other works, people easily make money through stocks or cryptocurrency, so why don’t I have that ability?
Why? Simply because I’ve never done financial planning in my life.
The only chart I’ve ever seen in my life was a popular ranking chart on a major company’s webtoon.
What money-making methods would someone like me know?
Earning money honestly by working at a company, doing temporary part-time jobs whenever I needed quick cash, becoming a famous Instagram influencer and receiving advertisements from sponsors, or doing internet broadcasts and receiving donations.
Just about that much.
“…?”
At that moment, I froze in place and started thinking hard, as if electrocuted.
Instagram? Internet broadcasts? YouTube?
I immediately ran to a public bathroom and looked in the mirror.
“This is it!”
It was just this, damn it.
The detective agency, We’ll Do It, was rather quiet today.
Come to think of it, not just today.
Yesterday, the day before, and the day before that were the same.
About a week ago, there had been approximately six requests backed up.
Since only Han Cheol-ho could physically move among the mere three people at the detective agency, that was to be expected.
However, since Jin Hyun arrived, many things had changed at the detective agency.
Subduing armed robbers illegally occupying a large supermarket. Rescuing a builder trapped under heavy stones. Recovering a rich family’s child who had been kidnapped by a criminal organization.
Nothing was difficult. Why?
Because by simple calculation, work efficiency had doubled!
“How’s Yu-ha doing these days?”
Jin Hyun, whose face had brightened in just a week since the burden on his mind was lifted, asked Yu-jin.
At that, Yu-jin, who had been secretly looking at her phone with her head on the desk, abruptly sat up.
“My sister? She said she started Instagram, so I immediately went and followed her back.”
“Instagram?”
“My goodness, senior. Don’t tell me you don’t know what Instagram is?”
Yu-jin’s voice was mixed with surprise.
It was as if she was asking, “You don’t know this? Are you a total loner?”
“I don’t know it.”
“Oh my. I can’t believe there’s someone as behind the times as my brother.”
“So what is it then?”
“Here, look. I’ll explain it to you.”
Yu-jin, after saying everything she wanted to say, shared the screen displayed on her device with Jin Hyun.
“So, you upload photos like this, and people share the post or like it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then what benefit do people get from doing this?”
“It’s because of the desire for approval.”
“?”
“It feels good when people come and show interest in the photos you take.”
“Hmm…”
Jin Hyun couldn’t understand that at all.
That was because he hadn’t had a single good experience from receiving people’s attention during his activities over the past week.
“Besides that, there are also sponsorships using Instagram fame, but I doubt anyone would start Instagram with that purpose.”
It was something that would make someone feel uneasy if they heard it.
“Then photographers would be good at this.”
“No. Not necessarily.”
“Huh? Then what aspects are people so attracted to that they show such great interest in someone who just uploads a single photo?”
“Well, that…”
Yu-jin tapped on her phone to bring up Chae Yu-ha’s Instagram screen.
“If you see this, you’ll get the feeling?”
Jin Hyun carefully looked at the phone screen Yu-jin held out.
It was a modest page compared to the influencers’ Instagram that Yu-jin had shown just before.
That was because there was only one uploaded photo.
However, Jin Hyun, who belatedly realized who was in that one photo…
“……”
Silently took the phone from Yu-jin.
-> So pretty~^^ (♥)
-> Good~!! (♥)
-> Want to connect (♥)
-> This sister is just starting Instagram for the first time, no wonder I couldn’t find her before (♥)
-> Who is this person? (♡)
-> You’re here (♥)
-> Worship the holy woman (♥)
-> This much engagement for a first post…? (♥)
-> Is this person a celebrity? (♥)
-> Why is her expression like that (♡)
Jin Hyun thought his pituitary gland had been damaged from seeing that sight.
It must have been a huge shock indeed.
For Jin Hyun, who couldn’t even properly access the internet and just peeked at videos that Yu-jin or Cheol-ho were watching.
“Why are you taking my phone without permission!!”
Just by the fact that Yu-jin easily retrieved the phone with her strength alone—which normally would have been impossible to get back by force—one could tell.
“My goodness, her followers exceeded three thousand while I wasn’t looking? This sister is really something!! With that face, what have you been doing without Instagram until now!!”
-Tap tap tap tap tap…
Yu-jin, completely immersed in Instagram, began typing at a speed Jin Hyun couldn’t even imagine.
Jin Hyun saw Yu-jin moving her fingers so quickly for the first time.
“…Is that normal?”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“That Instagram thing, do people normally give that many hearts and stuff?”
“No? This is probably the first time an ordinary person’s followers have risen this fast?”
“Why is that? Just because the person is pretty?”
“It’s not just that? I think…no, this f*cking guy is cursing at someone he just met, calling her an attention seeker?”
-Tap tap tap tap tap…
Her mouth was answering Jin Hyun’s questions while her hands never stopped typing.
To Jin Hyun’s eyes, that was already a skill.
“But, do we need to think about reasons?”
-Tap!
After elegantly typing a period with her skillful hands, Yu-jin, now with a refreshed expression, showed Jin Hyun the selfie of Chae Yu-ha.
“Honestly, she’s pretty.”
“……”
Jin Hyun became speechless and averted his gaze elsewhere.
Pretty? He had been thinking that since they first met. She had the kind of appearance that wouldn’t easily be forgotten once you put it in your mind.
But Jin Hyun’s feelings weren’t just that. This indescribable emotion had continued since they first made eye contact in the restaurant. Perhaps even before that.
“Come on, repeat after me. She’s pretty.”
“……”
“Just say it once!!”
Whether she knew it or not, Yu-jin kept pushing Chae Yu-ha’s photo toward Jin Hyun and insisting.
At least until the gorilla (Han Cheol-ho) woke up from the commotion and rushed out of the pantry.
Meanwhile, the following was happening in Chae Yu-ha’s studio apartment.
“Whew~ The response is good!! People really do need to have looks first!!”
“Eh…? Wait, why does this keep going up? Am I really that good?”
“Hey hey… No!! S-stop!! Enough!!”
“This must be manipulation…Some invisible forces must be manipulating this behind the scenes…”
Chae Yu-ha, who was far from being an attention-seeker by nature and needed a lot of courage even to appear in court, was on the verge of being swept away by the wave of hearts that were pouring in.
There was a reason she suddenly received such great attention.
-> (Teary standing ovation emoticon)
-> I’ve seen it so many times that I can hear the sound just by looking at the GIF
-> This person for the National Assembly!
-> Lay out the red carpet for her
The speech about enhanced humans that Chae Yu-ha had cried out for Jin Hyun had, unexpectedly, touched the hearts of many enhanced humans living in the city.
However, Cha Yu-ha, who didn’t know this and couldn’t even imagine it…
“It’s manipulation…”
She had collapsed as if all her energy had been drained just from staring at a screen.