Chapter 1

===================

Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

Is it now?

No. Not yet. Not yet.

I sat in front of the computer, just staring at the screen.

[Hey, Jin-ho. Hurry up and click it.]

[Seriously, you should hold a ritual at this point, man.]

“Wait. Just wait a sec, hyungs.”

The guild members I was voice chatting with started pressing me.

[Just click it!]

I reluctantly clicked the mouse at the deafening voice.

Pow.

It was red.

That meant junk items dropped.

“No. Didn’t I tell you? These things are all about timing!”

[Timing, my ass.]

[It’s just fate. That box was a dud from the start. Like you’d get an S-rank weapon from that?]

“I still have one more left. And this time, I’m doing it my way.”

[Keke. As if you’ll actually pull it.]

[Hey. If you pull it, I’ll give you a million gold. For real.]

“Really? You mean it?”

[I’ll add a million gold too.]

[I’ll bet on it too, so let’s see if you can pull it, kid.]

“I swear I’ll pull it no matter what, so everyone go hunting.”

After sending off the guild hyungs, I stared at the screen again.

If I press the open button, this last remaining item box will open.

Trash items might come out like before, or there’s a very slim chance an S-rank item will drop. But it’s not time to open the box yet.

‘Just a little more. Just a little more.’

I spent time endlessly.

[What? He’s still doing that?]

[Crazy bastard.]

[You keep dragging it out, that’s why it’s not dropping.]

“Everyone, please be quiet.”

Just as the guild members’ unsolicited advice was about to start again.

I felt a tingling thrill stimulating my fingertips spread throughout my body.

‘Now!’

I quickly clicked the mouse before this feeling disappeared.

[Huh? Wait. Didn’t his body just sparkle with golden light?]

[No way, did it drop? Huh? Did it?]

I exhaled a trembling breath as I looked at the golden weapon that popped out of the box.

This ecstatic feeling.

Those who haven’t experienced it would never know.

“It dropped!”

[Kyaaaaa!]

[You crazy bastard! You really pulled it!?]

[It dropped? For real? Don’t bullshit. How did that drop! The odds are insane!]

“Hehe. Didn’t I tell you? This Jeong Jin-ho. When I say I’ll do it, I do it.”

The guild members all seemed mesmerized by the brilliant golden weapon I showed them.

“Oh right. And those who bet a million gold earlier, pay up quickly.”

[Ugh. He remembered that too.]

[Ah. I’m about to lose all the gold I saved up.]

“No discounts. Pay up quickly.”

The guild members said congratulations and actually sent me a million gold each.

It was a huge amount of money for me, but it seemed like a trivial amount for these hyungs.

[Wow. Jeong Jin-ho. Making a killing today.]

[That weapon alone, if you sell it, isn’t it worth millions of gold?]

[How much is this guy making today?]

“It’s all thanks to you hyungs. I’ll use it well, gratefully.”

[As if you’ll use it well.]

[You’re just gonna blow it all on leveling up and buying items.]

[Still, thanks to the kid today, we’re getting that last dopamine hit before we go.]

[Hey. Did you record the video of pulling the item?]

“Of course I saved it. I’ll upload it to our chat room.”

[Alright. I’m clocking out first.]

[Me too. Everyone worked hard.]

“Ah. Take care.”

After sending off the hyungs, I leaned back in my chair while looking at the golden shimmering weapon.

“It’s all thanks to this ability.”

It’s a bit ambiguous to call it a superpower, but how should I put it.

Whenever I do things like this probability-based gacha or enhancements with terrible odds, I wait until I get that ‘feeling.’

There’s this feeling that’s hard to explain with words.

A moment when my whole body tingles and thrills run through me.

If I don’t miss that moment and click, items drop like this really often.

“Of course, the problem is having to wait endlessly.”

Waiting for that feeling to come sometimes takes an insane amount of time.

That’s why I’ve given up before, but today I was lucky.

A ability of mine I haven’t told others about.

“If only this could tell me lottery numbers.”

It’s an ability that passes by in just a fleeting moment, so of course it doesn’t work for figuring out lottery numbers.

Who knows.

Maybe I just don’t know the proper way to use it.

Or maybe I’m just deluding myself that I have a special ability.

“Ah. This feels good.”

Whatever it is.

I did it today.

I’m just grinning, smiling naturally.

“Feel good? I wish I could feel good looking at you too.”

At that moment, a chilling voice from behind made me jump and turn my head.

“Huh. Mom. W-when did you come in?”

“This boy is so absorbed in his game he doesn’t even notice his mom and dad came home from work.”

“S-sorry. You worked hard today too.”

Behind Mom, Dad entered with a stern expression.

“Just how long are you going to live only playing games, huh?! Aren’t you getting a job? Other kids all got jobs and even moved out!”

“..”

“Your younger sibling has a job now and is doing well at work. So when are you going to stop this?”

My parents started letting out everything they’d been holding back.

Every word was right, so I didn’t talk back even once.

“Sigh. Jin-ho. We’re saying this for your sake. Mom wants to let you play games your whole life if that’s what you want. But that’s not realistic, you know. We can’t always be by your side either. Okay?”

“..I understand.”

“Jeong Jin-ho. Snap out of it. Before you get even older.”

“Honey. That’s enough. I’m sure he understood.”

Dad held back the few more words he wanted to say at Mom’s restraint.

“I’m trusting you one last time. Show us you’ve really changed now. Got it?”

With the words that otherwise they’d kick me out of the house, their nagging ended.

“Sigh..”

There wasn’t a single thing wrong with what they said.

I’m 27.

I can’t stay unemployed at home forever.

Actually, it’s not like I didn’t try.

Even if not a prestigious university, I graduated from a university in Seoul, and I submitted applications here and there.

But after being rejected 100 times out of 100 applications, my motivation seemed to break at some point.

That’s when it started.

I resumed the game I had quit to prepare for job hunting.

“I’ve been playing too long.”

At this rate, I felt a bit scared I might really become a shut-in who never goes outside. Maybe I’m just now facing the reality I’ve been deliberately avoiding all this time.

————————————————————————————————————————

[What? You’re quitting the game?]

“Yes. I thought about selling all my game items and converting them to real money, but it’s not that much money, and I owe you hyungs a lot, so I’m going to distribute it all before I go.”

[Why all of a sudden? You were doing fine in the game.]

[Yeah, kid. Did we do something wrong?]

“No, it’s not that. Actually..”

I explained my situation in full.

That I need to quit the game to focus on job hunting.

[I see..]

[Hmm. Well, your parents are right.]

[It’s unfortunate. Without our kid, what’ll happen to this dull guild atmosphere? It’s already just a bunch of old guys here.]

I felt the same regret.

But what can I do?

Until I get a job and settle down stably, I can’t have my time taken by other things.

-Jin-ho.

But then the guild master sent me a private whisper.

Why is this hyung whispering separately when we’re in the same chat room?

-Where did you say you went to university last time?

-Jinseon University.

-Hmm. It’s in Seoul? What major?

-I majored in Business Administration.

Then he suddenly started investigating my education.

-So you learned how to count numbers, right? Things like accounting.

-Yes. A bit.

-Good. Then instead of going elsewhere, why don’t you try coming into our company?

I doubted my eyes.

-Excuse me?

-Don’t waste time on job hunting and whatnot. Come to our company. Then you won’t need to quit the game. Right?

This hyung always spent money well at meetups and drove a nice car, so I thought he was well-off.

But he’s a company president?

When we met one-on-one, he was completely like a warm neighborhood hyung.

-Write your resume and email it here.

-Hyung. Are you serious?

-You’ve been doing well in the guild all this time. You’re upright. Diligent. You managed the guild members well in my place too. I want to repay you like this. Plus, I don’t think I’ll enjoy the game without you either.

Hearing those words made my eyes well up for no reason.

So this hyung knew about all my hard work.

He’s usually taciturn, so I never dreamed he had these feelings toward me.

‘But.. What if the company is no good?’

No. Get a grip, you fool.

Is now the time to be picky about that?

Even if it’s a small company, the important thing is that I got a job.

“Let’s see..”

I received the email address the guild master hyung sent me.

Still, I checked the latter part of the address to see what kind of company it is.

The moment I confirmed that address, my eyes widened.

“..Huh?”

You’re really the CEO there?

————————————————————————————————————————

Gwangwoon Securities, one of South Korea’s top 10 securities firms.

With assets under management reaching 10 trillion won alone and a stable financial structure, it was classified as a mid-sized financial company.

Although still insufficient in scale compared to major securities firms, they took pride in being one of South Korea’s top 10 securities firms, and above all, the biggest advantage was that they were still growing.

For that reason, it was one of the workplaces young people dreaming of working in the financial industry aspired to, and the HR team was always busy trying to find the optimal talent.

“Who the heck is this?”

-Name: Jeong Jin-ho

-Age: 27

The university is an average Seoul university.

Certifications are just very basic ones.

“There’s nothing like Investment Asset Manager or Financial Investment Analyst?”

I’m not asking for CFA or FRM, which are called the MBA of the investment world.

But an applicant who doesn’t even have the basic financial certifications everyone usually brings.

Normally, I would’ve thought, “What confidence made you submit this?” and put it in the shredder. But there was a problem.

“Team Leader. But this came down from above.”

“Above? Where above?”

“The CEO’s office.”

“What?”

Directly from the CEO?

That meant this applicant was a parachute hire.

“Did the CEO originally insert parachutes too?”

He’s famous for not hiring people easily unless they’re certain, even for the company’s development.

Not only his own skills, but his eye for people is good, so he grew the company from rock bottom to its current size.

“But no matter how I look at this, there’s nothing special?”

This was the first time the CEO’s office just sent down a single application like this.

This was a silent order.

To make him join the company.

“At this level, could he be the CEO’s family?”

“Hmm. They don’t have the same surname. Well, family doesn’t have to have the same surname.”

Team Leader Kim Moon-sik stroked his chin.

“Didn’t they say where to place him?”

“No.”

Then they’re saying to insert him somewhere suitable..

But where the hell am I supposed to use this guy?

“Put him in the trading department.”

It’s the place that requires the least attention, doesn’t have much work, and is perfect for just hanging around.

“Trading? They’ll hate that.”

“What can we do? He’s someone inserted from above. There’s a very high chance he’s related to the CEO. Plus, junior traders have nothing to do, right? Mock investment dabbling and organizing files is about it. Send him there.”

A parachute in our company.

Well, if the company has grown to this size, it’s about time family members start taking positions one by one.

“Jeong Jin-ho..”

I should remember this man’s face well.

Who knows.

This person might become my superior later.

Isn’t it said that bloodline is more important than performance in a company?