The female employee checking the account balance trembled at the corners of her eyes. She had never seen such a cash depositor in all her time working at this bank.
Holding trillions in cash alone, how much more could there be in real estate or stocks? Even the wealthiest people in our country mainly hold stocks or real estate, not hard cash like this.
And this child, Hana, was only 10 years old this year. How could a 10-year-old have trillions in cash? No matter how you think about it, earning trillions at 10 is impossible, so she must have inherited it from her parents. But how rich could her parents be? It was beyond imagination.
At this level, wouldn’t she be on the list of the richest in the country? The employee stopped her spinning thoughts and moved her hands to handle the customer’s request. Still in shock, her usual smooth actions faltered. Why were her fingers so stiff?
“Ha… Haru, how much would you like as the daily transfer limit?”
“Hmm… around 10 billion won should be fine.”
“Ye… yes!”
Normally, the daily limit for individuals is 500 million won, but the customer had already prepared the documents, and judging by the account balance, there was no need to worry about such limits. Increasing the limit could expose one to voice phishing or other financial crimes, but this customer could probably survive a hundred phishing attempts and still have money left.
Or maybe she could just earn that much again.
—————————————————————————-
“Now, Hana. This is your account. And there are many ways to make money…”
I was studying boring economics. It was a method where the boss taught, and I learned. After half a year, enough money had accumulated in my account, and the boss suggested not just leaving it there but investing it elsewhere.
Of course, the boss recommended investing in stocks, specifically blue-chip stocks. He also said he wasn’t running a hedge fund. So most of the stocks in my account were from American companies. There were some domestic stocks, but mainly those with high dividends.
“Running a hedge fund isn’t the way, Hana.”
The boss said firmly. Having lost money on coins before, I was curious. I heard that if you do well in stocks, you can make a lot of money. I even heard there’s a profession called individual investors.
“Why? Don’t you make money if you do well in stocks?”
I asked while fiddling with a pen. But the boss replied,
“Hana, you might not understand because you’re young, but hedge funds don’t return profits to investors when the company does well. They’re obsessed with taking investors’ money through corporate splits, rights issues, stock buybacks, etc.”
“Don’t you run a stock company, boss?”
“I hold all the stocks, so it doesn’t matter, Hana.”
“Really?”
Honestly, even if one person holds all the stocks, given the boss’s background as the child of a conglomerate, he probably sucked the blood of small investors… Of course, I didn’t say that out loud. No need to stir up trouble.
“But if there’s a risk of losing money in stocks, shouldn’t we avoid them like you said? Can’t we just stick to savings?”
I was curious about that. Investment isn’t always about making money; there are plenty of cases where you lose money. There’s a saying about jumping into the Han River because of stocks.
“Savings alone can’t keep up with inflation. Twenty years ago, a bowl of jajangmyeon was 2,500 won, but now it’s 7,000 won. If you had saved money 20 years ago, you wouldn’t even have doubled it by now. In short, the interest rate is lower than inflation, so you’re losing money.”
Ah, I see. I’m a complete novice in economics and knew nothing. Honestly, in your mid-20s, you’re just graduating from university and entering society. And in our country, we don’t study economics much. When I was in school, I heard savings were the best.
Since the boss knew how to make a lot of money, he said even if I lost these trillions, I could recover the principal with a little patience.
So for now, it’s invested in safe places, but as I become more familiar with economics, the boss hopes I’ll invest in various areas. I just nodded lazily, pretending to agree.
Anyway, even if I had a lot of money, there was nowhere to spend it yet. The Research Institute provided housing and meals, making it feel like a military base. There was nothing for me to spend money on. They fed me, gave me a place to sleep, and I didn’t even have to pull night shifts. It was like a dream job.
“And Hana will be getting a share transfer. She’ll be holding 40% of Starlight Food’s shares. Hana will now be one with Starlight Food!”
The boss mentioned giving me shares of Starlight Food. Of course, in exchange for the share transfer, a portion of the profits would be exchanged, but Starlight Food’s stock was only going to keep rising. There was no way it would drop.
From the boss’s perspective, it was the best way to keep me tied down. Even though I had no reason to go anywhere else, giving me shares made it seem like I was now part of the company, which seemed reassuring. In an instant, I became one of the wealthiest 10-year-olds in South Korea.
I was confident that no other kid my age was making more money than me. According to the boss, the day I become an adult would be the day South Korea’s economy flips. He said even he couldn’t predict how much money I’d have by then.
There might be even more opportunities in the future. I smiled brightly, imagining a bright future. With my biggest life worry—food and shelter—solved, I felt incredibly at ease.
—
The priestess who guards the World Tree, Linea, woke up early as usual to tend to the World Tree.
“World Tree, I miss you…”
After finishing her cleaning, Linea stroked the World Tree, which seemed to have lost its spirit, and spoke to it. It would return in a few hundred years, but that time felt like an eternity. It was almost unbearable.
Perhaps her longing for the World Tree was too strong. Even her friend Luna was amazed by Linea’s behavior.
“You only have to wait a hundred years for the World Tree to return. Aren’t you worrying too much?”
By elf standards, it was just a fleeting moment. But even that fleeting moment was hard for Linea to wait through. At lunch, while eating meat with her friend, Linea hung her head low. Her friend was right; as a priestess, she shouldn’t be so swayed by emotions.
“But what can I do? I miss the World Tree…”
“There’s no priestess as impatient as you.”
Having only recently become a priestess, Linea was hit with what felt like harsh advice from her friend. Realizing her own impatience, Linea nodded in agreement. There probably wasn’t another priestess as impatient as her.
“Anyway, hang in there! Next time, I’ll bring you the rabbit meat you like!”
“Okay. Bye!”
The thought of eating rabbit meat next time made Linea’s ears perk up. Her ears, long and thin like an elf’s, twitched.
After eating her fill, Linea returned to her duties of assisting the World Tree. Performing the ceremonies at set times was crucial. That’s why the elf tribe had entrusted her with this task. Of course, even if she disappeared, it wouldn’t cause a huge uproar.
Even if she suddenly died, the elf tribe would just select another priestess to manage the World Tree. What mattered was that there was at least one person assisting the World Tree.
And so, Linea didn’t return home until late at night. She went to bed early on her leaf mattress so she could see the World Tree again tomorrow.
She dreamed of wandering around with the World Tree. It was such a sweet and happy dream that a smile formed on Linea’s lips.
Unaware of the gate forming around her as she slept…
