“There’s no way… It was clearly Bitcoin… It was clearly Bitcoin!”
Baek Ho Chan ate his meal distractedly.
Seeing this, Arin whispered in my ear.
“But Nameya, 200 million is still a huge amount of money, right?”
Min Woo, who overheard, flicked Arin’s forehead.
“Baek Arin! We’re being tricked here…!”
“Why are you hitting someone who’s eating well?!”
Smack-!
“Gah!”
With an aura-filled flick, Min Woo was given a light smack on the side of his head.
Min Woo rolled on the ondol floor, groaning.
Even in such a noisy situation, Professor Chun was diligently removing the bones from the fish and placing the flesh on top of his rice.
Creaking—
The sliding door opened, and Baek Hoon Jang sat down in front of the table.
After seeing the cold glare in his fierce eyes, he finally spoke.
“I just realized that I had forgotten that the Bitcoin was in a different account.”
“…!”
Baek Ho Chan, who couldn’t hide his gloomy expression until now, regained his energy.
“Ho Chan, bring me my glasses.”
“Yes, here you go, Grandpa!”
“Hey now, don’t be so overdramatic.”
Taking his time to examine his phone, he eventually turned the screen towards us.
[My Holdings]
[5.86182 BTC (Bitcoin): ₩147,508,011]
“Haha, combined that makes 340 million! Ho Chan! That’s more than the debt you’re holding! Hahaha.”
Baek Bong Gon stated that he had accidentally bought Bitcoin Gold and then created a new account to purchase Bitcoin.
However, even back in those days, Bitcoin prices were quite high, so only about five coins remained in his digital wallet.
“In fact, after that, I developed an interest in cryptocurrencies and traded a few times. But I quickly lost my temper and quit.”
340 million won.
While Baek Ho Chan’s company couldn’t be revived, it was enough money to avoid personal bankruptcy.
In fact, despite being a considerable sum, Baek Bong Gon was generous enough to offer it to his grandson.
“I’m sorry, Ho Chan. At first, when you kept talking about 200 million, I thought it meant 200 million won, but later I realized it meant 200 million dollars.”
Miscommunication occurred due to the different currencies they used.
Baek Ho Chan was a young man who had been in America longer, while Baek Bong Gon was deeply rooted as a Korean.
“No… I’m sorry, Grandpa. I think I’ve been blinded by money lately.”
After a night of deep thoughts, dawn broke with a crowing rooster.
Wait, a rooster…? Was there a rooster here?
“Why is there a boiled chicken for breakfast?”
With an expression of complete liberation, Baek Ho Chan vigorously stirred the soup.
“I talked to Grandpa yesterday. I thought about it, and what good is having 200 billion won? It’s not money I can use right now.”
He began to reconsider just how remarkable his grandfather was for willingly giving him 300 million won.
“Name, I don’t know what you told me yesterday, but my grandfather has changed a bit.”
“How so?”
“He acknowledged my dreams as they are. Even though I have to start from nothing, just the fact that I can start again gives me hope.”
And Baek Ho Chan also didn’t forget to apologize to the children.
He abruptly stopped eating, lay flat on the floor, and bowed.
“Min Woo, Arin, I’m really sorry for causing you trouble… As the saying goes, ‘A man’s word weighs a thousand gold,’ I promise to give you each 10 billion won. I will definitely succeed and repay you!”
He pulled out a document from his black bag and handed it to the children.
“Kids, I’m really a lacking person. I’m over thirty, but sometimes looking at my grandfather makes me think, am I really an adult?”
Min Woo’s eyes widened as he received the paper.
“Uncle, is this real?”
At the top, in bold letters, it read ‘Adoption Agreement.’
“It’s been a long ten months, but the time I spent with you was the happiest. This is truly sincere. So… can I formally adopt you all, even if I’m such a lacking uncle?”
After a long silence, Min Woo returned the paper.
Baek Ho Chan, mistaking this as a refusal, quietly accepted the paper.
Then, Min Woo smiled and said,
“Then must I call you Dad instead of Uncle? That feels a little weird.”
“Mi… Min Woo!”
“Ah, why?”
Having gone days without shaving, Baek Ho Chan’s rough beard brushed against them.
Min Woo pushed him away with all his strength, but could not overcome the strength of an adult man.
On the other hand, Arin looked back and forth between me and Baek Ho Chan with tears in her eyes.
“If I get adopted… I can’t see Name anymore?”
“What do you mean?”
“Uncle is going to America. If he goes to America, I have to part with Name again…”
Baek Ho Chan waved his hands.
“Why would I go to that cursed land! I’m going to keep living in Seoul, Arin.”
“Really?”
“Of course! And you know, lately there’s a lot of support for startups in Korea. Professor, do you know how much tax the Korean government invests in startup support?”
“Hmm, maybe around 400 billion won?”
“What nonsense!”
He spread five fingers wide.
“500 billion?”
“5 trillion!”
“Is it really that much?”
“Yes! And that’s every year!”
Compared to Baek Ho Chan’s effort of running around America to gather investors, starting a business in Korea was genuinely easier.
“Still, aren’t you thinking too easily about starting a business?”
“Although there’s a limit since the upper market is closed compared to America, it’s also true that the entry barriers are much lower. And I still have the core technology in my head! I might not be able to achieve the same level as before, but I can start a similar company.”
Arin merely expressed that she hoped she could live near my house.
Baek Ho Chan accepted this, and Arin happily signed with a pen.
I watched this entire situation with a hint of discomfort.
“But Baek Ho Chan, I never promised you 300 million won.”
“What…?”
Baek Ho Chan’s eyes trembled at the news that struck like a bolt from the blue.
The funds Baek Bong Gon had handed over were already incorporated into my account.
Where did that confidence come from?
The bear does the trick, but the owner earns the money?
That would never happen.
* * *
The romanticism of the countryside usually shatters upon living there directly.
Firstly, there aren’t many things to enjoy like in the city. Secondly, insects buzz in the summer, and the weather swings from one extreme to another. Lastly, you have to endure the local residents’ territorial behavior.
But if there’s a servant, the story changes.
They provide entertainment, spray to repel insects, and fan me wherever I go.
Most importantly, there were no residents here because it was an uninhabited island.
As the wind began to calm, I waved my hand, pretending to be hot, and Baek Ho Chan started fanning me diligently again.
“40%.”
“No, Nameya. A startup isn’t just a little shop run by me alone; it’s a complex ecosystem involving multiple institutional investors, you know?”
“40%.”
“When doing business, you have to give shares to angel investors through capital increases, and you have to allocate shares every time you lack funds.”
“40%.”
“Moreover, 40% would be enough influence to pass special resolutions on your own, but if my shares are less than yours, how would other investors view our company?”
“40%.”
“Okay, okay! I’ll give you a 40% share! Is that fine? Is it?”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Then you’ll send the money, right?”
“Dream on until the shareholders’ agreement specifies the share ratios.”
“You stubborn… Fine! I get it!”
Baek Ho Chan, still sniffing but starting to get ready to leave the island, was slowly beginning to tire of country life.
It was to the point where I missed the concrete jungle.
Still, Baek Ho Chan seemed to adapt to reality relatively quickly.
What changes just because I’m fixated on nonexistent money?
Business people should not consider sunk costs anyway.
They should only think about how much cash flow they can generate in the future.
And I quite liked his business-minded attitude.
“Hey Baek Ho Chan, could you consider the pharmaceutical business as well?”
“Do you know what pharmaceuticals are?”
“I do.”
“Pharma bio startups are the tombs of founders. Even large corporations spend astronomical amounts only to fail; how can an individual do that?”
He pursued safety over profitability.
Was this why he chose the less damaging field of cellular observation and disease diagnosis when his company went under?
“Is that so?”
“I just think of it as a kind of lottery. Some will surely succeed and make a fortune, but that won’t always be me.”
“A lottery… What if you already knew about five out of seven numbers? Would you try your luck?”
“What do you mean by that?”
The molecular formula underlying a treatment for multiple sclerosis is recorded in my Akashic records.
If only I could somehow bring the next-generation interferon beta, which currently only exists as magic, into reality.
Before leaving the island, I expressed my opinions as a prospective major shareholder to the professional manager.
Thus, the two of us ended up in the same boat.
Perhaps even Adella might join.
* * *
While the company is being founded, the tasks to be done exponentially increase.
I know this well.
But…
“Aaaaah! I was going to use it first! Min Woo Oppa played a lot of games yesterday too!”
“You were the one who suggested deciding the order by rock-paper-scissors. Baek Arin, aren’t you throwing a tantrum now?”
“Nameya! Hurry up and scold Min Woo Oppa!”
“Hey, wait a minute, that’s cheating…!”
During the summer vacation, Baek Min Woo and Baek Arin decided to stay at my house.
He said he would be sleeping in the office for a while and focus only on company work, but I couldn’t help but wonder what that irresponsible line during the adoption process was about.
Still, since the kids liked Uncle Ho Chan so much, I didn’t say much.
“Min Woo Oppa will yield.”
“No… Ha! Fine…”
“Woohoo!”
“And Min Woo Oppa, come to my room. We’re finishing up second-year middle school math today. Did you finish yesterday’s homework?”
“Nameya, can you really go through a whole chapter in one day? This is child abuse.”
“…?”
Is he serious?
I pointed at him and myself with my finger.
[I’m in second grade, and you’re in second year of middle school.]
Thus, child abuse is not applicable.
At first, Min Woo scoffed at my offer to tutor him, but now he had lost all sense of leisure.
“Today’s chapter is probability. If you keep holding out like this, what’s the probability that I’ll smack your forehead?”
“What…? Um… about 800?”
“The correct answer is 1. Because the minimum probability is 0 and the maximum is 1. Quickly, come and touch your forehead.”
Now Min Woo would protest PTSD just from seeing my bent middle finger.
Holding aura on the tip of my finger, I slowly pushed him into a corner.
Thud—
“Nameya? Have you prepared everything?”
Professor Chun opened the door and asked.
“Yes? Are we leaving already?”
“It’s 2:45 now; we should be leaving soon.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll change quickly and be out. You should feel relieved.”
“You’re not even calling me ‘oppa’ anymore. Seriously, what a life.”
July 10, 2051, Monday.
It was the day I began a college life that seemed impossible in my fate.
* * *
[Korea University Everytime]
[Free Board]
[What? I think I just saw Noname at school!]
[Is Noname really at Korea University? LOL]
[If you’re enrolled in the victorious summer semester, it’s a must! Starting with me.]
[Does anyone know where Noname is now?]
[Where is Noname right now?]
[Is she at school? Why is that?]
[I missed Noname right in front of the academic buildingㅠㅠㅠ]
[Wow, what the heck! LMAO]
[Coordinates for Noname please, I’m begging youㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[Why is it that fun stuff only happens on the days I don’t go to school? Gah…]
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")