The conference room whiteboard was covered in red ink. Budget: 1 Billion KRW. Target: 100,000 New Users. Timeline: 48 Hours.
"This is insane," Lee Seung-gun, the CEO of Viva Republica, paced the room. He looked like a man standing on the edge of a cliff. "We are going to give away 1 billion won? Just... hand it out?"
"We aren't handing it out," Min-jun corrected, sitting calmly at the head of the table. "We are buying customers. And we are buying them cheaper than Daegwang is."
Min-jun pointed to the calculation on the board.
Daegwang FinTech CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): TV Ads + Billboards + Celebrity Endorsements / New Users = ~25,000 KRW per user.
Toss Referral Program: Refer a friend -> You get 1,000 KRW. Friend gets 1,000 KRW. Total Cost = 2,000 KRW per user.
"It's simple math," Min-jun said. "Daegwang is paying 25,000 won to shout at people from a billboard. We are paying 2,000 won to have a friend whisper in your ear. Which is more effective?"
"Trust," Hong Ye-eun said, catching on. "People trust their friends. They don't trust Chaebols."
"Exactly. This is 'Network Effect' weaponized. We turn every user into a salesperson."
"But 1 billion won..." Lee Seung-gun wiped sweat from his forehead. "That's 20% of our entire runway. If this fails, we die in June instead of December."
"If we don't do this, Hyuk-jae's DG Pay strangles us slowly," Min-jun stood up. "The update is ready. The servers are scaled. Push the button, CEO Lee."
Lee looked at his laptop. He looked at Min-jun. He hit [Enter].
March 29, 2014. SNU Campus. 10:00 AM.
It started as a ripple.
Kim Si-woo was sitting in the engineering library when his phone buzzed. [SMS] Kang Min-jun has sent you 1,000 KRW via Toss. Link: Download to claim.
"What is this? Spam?" Si-woo muttered. But it was Min-jun. Curiosity won. He clicked the link. Ten seconds later. Balance: 1,000 KRW.
"Whoa. It's real?" Si-woo stared at the screen. A pop-up appeared. Invite a friend and get another 1,000 KRW!
Si-woo looked at the student next to him. "Hey, Chul-soo. Do you want 1,000 won for coffee?"
The ripple became a wave. By lunch, the cafeteria was buzzing. "Did you get the Toss link?" "I made 5,000 won already. I sent it to my mom, my dad, and my brother." "It's free money!"
The wave hit the internet communities. Ppomppu. DC Inside. Ruliweb. thread: [Info] Easy 5,000 won for beer money. Just install this app.
The wave became a tsunami.
Mirue Partners HQ. 2:00 PM.
"Traffic is vertical!" Park Dong-hoon, the lead engineer they had poached, was shouting from the corner desk. "We are hitting 500 requests per second! The SMS gateway is lagging!"
"Buy more bandwidth!" Min-jun ordered. "Don't let the verification server crash. If people can't claim the money, they'll call it a scam."
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"We're burning cash fast," Ye-eun watched the dashboard. Cash Burned: 50 Million... 60 Million... New Users: 25,000... 30,000...
It was a terrifying sight. Money was evaporating from the bank account in real-time. But the user counter was spinning like a slot machine.
Number 1 on App Store (Finance Category). Number 3 on App Store (Overall).
They had passed Daegwang Banking App. They had passed KB Star Banking.
"We are viral," Ye-eun whispered. "My phone is blowing up. Even my dad's secretary sent me an invite."
Min-jun didn't celebrate. He was watching the "Fraud Detection" monitor. "Dong-hoon, watch for bot farms. If you see 100 sign-ups from the same IP, ban them. We pay humans, not scripts."
"On it. The neural net is flagging them. Blocking 500 IPs from China right now."
Daegwang FinTech HQ. Yeouido. 3:30 PM.
Jin Hyuk-jae stared at the large monitor in his office. DG Pay: 5,200 Daily Active Users. Toss (Estimated): 150,000 Daily Active Users.
He threw his espresso cup against the wall. It shattered, leaving a brown stain on the silk wallpaper.
"What is this?" Hyuk-jae hissed. "We spent 50 billion won on marketing. We have Girls' Generation on our billboards. Why is a blue app made by a dentist beating us?"
"It's... the referral program, sir," a trembling executive explained. "They are giving cash directly to users. It's spreading through contact lists."
"Giving cash? That's bribery! That's illegal!"
"It's... technically marketing expense, sir. The FSS hasn't regulated it yet."
Hyuk-jae stood up, his face red. "Block them. Call Daegwang Bank. Tell them to block Toss transactions again. Say it's... say it's money laundering risk."
"We can't, sir. They have a government shield. Mirue Partners filed a preemptive compliance report with the Blue House yesterday. If we block them now, during the 'Creative Economy' drive, the FTC will raid us."
Hyuk-jae slammed his fist on the desk. He was the heir to an empire. He had money, power, and lineage. But he couldn't stop the swarm.
"Fine," Hyuk-jae sneered. "Let them burn. They have what? 2 billion won? We have trillions. Let them empty their bank account buying users. When they run out of cash, we will buy their carcass."
April 5, 2014. One Week Later.
The campaign was paused. Total Cost: 850 Million KRW. Total New Users: 480,000. Cost Per User: ~1,770 KRW.
It was a masterclass in efficiency. Toss was no longer a niche app. It was installed on half a million phones. It had achieved "Critical Mass."
Min-jun sat in the quiet office of Mirue Partners. Ye-eun poured two glasses of champagne.
"To the burn," she toasted. "We spent a fortune, but we bought a moat."
"We bought survival," Min-jun corrected, taking a sip. "Now Daegwang can't kill us without angering half a million voters."
He checked his phone calendar. April 5.
His mood darkened. The champagne tasted ash-like. April 16 was eleven days away.
The Sewol Ferry. It was a tragedy that would scar the nation. The economy would freeze. Consumption would drop. The stock market would enter a period of mourning and volatility. Travel stocks (Hana Tour, Modetour) would crash. Insurance stocks would take a hit. Entertainment stocks would plummet as concerts and shows were cancelled.
Min-jun stood up and walked to the window.
"Ye-eun," he said softly.
"Hmm?"
"Liquidate our positions in the tourism and leisure sector. Anything related to travel, ferries, or events."
"Why? Spring is peak travel season. The numbers look good."
"Just... call it a hunch," Min-jun said. He couldn't tell her. He couldn't save the ship. He wasn't Superman. He was just a guy with a ledger.
"Sell it all. And go heavy into cash. Or defensive assets. KEPCO (Utilities) or KT&G (Tobacco)."
"You're being weird again," Ye-eun frowned. "You get this look. Like you're seeing a ghost."
"I am," Min-jun whispered. "A lot of them."
He looked at the Seoul skyline. The city was vibrant, oblivious to the impending sorrow. Min-jun felt the crushing weight of his knowledge. He had saved his family. He had saved his company. But he had to stand by and watch the world break.
"One more thing," Min-jun said, turning back to her. "Tell your father's newspaper to prepare an investigative team. Not for business. For... safety regulations. Maritime safety."
"Maritime? Why?"
"Because when the storm hits," Min-jun said grimly, "The media will need someone to blame. And I want Hanseong Ilbo to be the one asking the right questions, not covering up for the government."
Ye-eun stared at him. She saw the pain in his eyes—a depth of sadness that a twenty-year-old shouldn't have. "Okay," she said quietly. "I'll tell him."
Min-jun finished his champagne. The victory of Toss felt hollow. The shadow was falling.
[TRANSACTION LOG]
-
Date: March 28 - April 5, 2014
-
Entity: Viva Republica (Toss)
-
Expense: 850,000,000 KRW (Marketing).
-
Result: +480,000 Users. #1 Finance App.
-
Mirue Partners Status:
-
Toss Valuation: Est. 20 Billion KRW (4x increase).
-
Paper Gain: +1.5 Billion KRW.
-