Episode 10
“Ah, yes, yes. Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of everything. I know the mayor personally, after all. Yes, I’ll be counting on you.”
The man in the office spoke into the phone with a voice full of confidence, as if there was nothing he couldn’t handle.
His face bore lines from years of experience, his frame solid and heavyset — the sort of man who’d seen and done it all.
Even so, there was a certain danger behind his eyes, and the smile on his lips couldn’t quite hide the cruelty that lurked beneath.
“Now that’s how business is done.”
As the call ended, he muttered with satisfaction. Everything was going according to his plan — and he liked it that way.
“Hey, what happened to those idiots who ran off in the middle of the job?”
The moment he turned off the phone, his tone shifted, cursing under his breath. Mercy was something he had none of, especially for underlings who failed him.
“They’ve been beaten half to death, sir. Don’t worry. I made sure they learned their lesson.”
The subordinate, who called him “Chairman,” explained calmly how he’d punished them.
But the man’s expression soured.
“Useless bastards who can’t even finish a job… What, you didn’t send them to the hospital yet?”
His glare carried a murderous intent sharp enough to make anyone flinch — anyone but the man standing before him, who was clearly used to it.
“Not yet, sir. We still need them for a while. Once they’ve outlived their usefulness, I’ll finish the job.”
“Should’ve killed them already… Damn it.”
If those men had been here, he probably would’ve beaten them bloody himself.
But this was his office — a place clients often visited — and so he forced himself to hold back. Losing his temper here would only ruin his reputation.
Still, it wasn’t all bad. What mattered most right now was buying time — just enough to pull in as much money as possible before disappearing.
To do that, he had to divert people’s attention. Pushing the lottery shop owner too far too soon wouldn’t help.
No, the best way was to slowly drain them dry — milk them until they broke, and vanish when things went south.
One person to take the blame, another to enjoy the profits.
That was how the world worked. At least, that’s what the man believed as he swallowed his anger and glanced down at his phone.
The notification tone brought a smile to his face. More deposits.
Watching the balance in his account rise never failed to ease his temper.
But sometimes, even the sound of money couldn’t soothe his nerves.
Sometimes, trouble came knocking.
“C–Chairman! Sir, it’s bad! Something terrible happened!”
A shout came from outside. The voice was panicked — far too panicked for his liking. And before he could even scold the man, a crowd burst into the room.
“Chairman! What is this about!?”
Each of them held a newspaper, their faces twisted in anger. They shouted, demanding their money back.
“What’s going on here? Quiet! Let me think!”
He barked, trying to assess the situation. But the crowd didn’t care.
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“You said this place was getting redeveloped! You took our money for the association fees — then what’s this!?”
They threw the newspapers at him.
On the front page, the headline read: “District Excluded from Redevelopment Plans.”
“What— the mayor told me it was happening! He said—”
The man froze. Of course he knew.
He’d known from the start this area would never be redeveloped.
But the official announcement wasn’t supposed to come out yet. He had timed everything carefully.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
This couldn’t be happening.
“What are you gonna do about our money, huh!? Give it back!”
The crowd grew louder. Even if he was strong, there was nothing he could do against so many at once.
His face stiffened as he realized he had lost control.
And the number of angry voices kept growing.
He didn’t know how it had all gone wrong — but it was already too late.
And so began his downfall.
———
A few days later, Ji-hyun once again visited the lottery shop.
This time, he had two reasons for coming.
“Hello.”
When he entered, Hye-yeon greeted him warmly. Her face was brighter now — lighter, free of tension.
Naturally so, Ji-hyun thought as he bought another ticket.
“So, no more trouble lately?”
As he pocketed the ticket, he asked casually.
Hye-yeon nodded with a relieved smile.
“Yes. Ever since you chased those people off, nothing’s happened.”
She’d spent a few restless nights, but even that was better than before. Just having peace again felt like a blessing.
“By the way, I heard the redevelopment office is in chaos. Apparently, all the guys who came after me were working for them. I didn’t even know.”
Ji-hyun nodded. That made perfect sense. The hired thugs were never the type to sit in an office.
They were just enforcers, brought in to scare people — but letting hot-headed kids handle angry investors was a recipe for disaster.
As expected, things had exploded into violence, with the police eventually stepping in.
Ji-hyun found it all rather amusing.
He hadn’t done much — just slipped a few redevelopment documents into the right newsfeed.
A simple upload using a journalist’s terminal.
No one would ever trace it back to him, and the reporter wouldn’t get in trouble either.
At worst, someone would blame a careless staffer for a security breach — and the paper would profit from the traffic spike anyway.
It wasn’t his concern.
The speculators would take the loss.
That was their karma.
What mattered was that Hye-yeon was safe now. Finally, she could rest easy.
“I looked into it,” Ji-hyun said quietly. “Turns out they were stalling on purpose — your shop was just bait.”
“Huh?”
Hye-yeon blinked, startled.
Ji-hyun went on to explain briefly about the so-called chairman and what he’d been planning.
“Why would anyone do something like that…?”
Her voice trembled. She couldn’t understand it — didn’t want to.
But sometimes, evil didn’t need a reason. Sometimes, bad luck was enough.
“It happens,” Ji-hyun said with a sigh. “You can’t make sense of what monsters think.”
At least it was over. From here on, the authorities would take care of the rest.
“Oh, and this — a gift. Take it and move somewhere new.”
Ji-hyun handed her one of the lottery tickets he’d just bought.
Then he turned to leave.
“W-Wait, what?”
Still confused, Hye-yeon scratched the silver foil — and froze.
First Prize.
Her legs nearly gave out. By the time she looked up, Ji-hyun was already gone.
She stood there, tears welling up, remembering his words:
“Take it and move.”
———
Ji-hyun walked down the street, feeling the thin paper in his pocket — another first-place ticket.
He’d bought two, side by side. One for Hye-yeon, and one for himself.
That was enough payment for what he’d done.
Smiling, he turned his steps toward the so-called chairman’s office.
There was still something he wanted to confirm.
Of course, he wouldn’t go in carelessly.
Mask, sunglasses, hat — all in place.
He just needed to see it. That was all.
“They’re still here.”
Outside the office, chaos reigned.
Victims were shouting, demanding refunds, while the chairman’s men struggled to hold them back.
No one noticed Ji-hyun slip past. He scanned the area — and there it was: the tool that had blocked the CCTV feed.
He didn’t touch it. Just one glance was enough.
As he walked by, information streamed into his mind — and his expression hardened.
“What the hell… who made this thing?”
There was no trace of the creator. None.
Just vague supply chains and dead ends. Even the sellers barely knew each other.
It was the first object since gaining his power that he couldn’t fully read.
The realization left him stunned — but not defeated.
Instead, Ji-hyun smiled. This was a challenge.
Whoever — or whatever — was behind this, he would find them.
And when he did, he would crush them.
A strange mixture of dread and excitement welled up inside him.
He knew it was foolish, maybe even reckless — but he couldn’t help it.
Someone out there was moving unseen, weaving plans beyond his reach.
He could ignore it and live quietly — but Ji-hyun had already glimpsed the darkness of the world.
And so, rather than fear, what he felt was anticipation.
A dangerous, electric curiosity about what might come next.
He smiled — bright and almost playful.
Like a man awaiting the start of another thrilling game.
