Winning first prize in the lottery.
Something like a salaried worker's dream had happened to me—but strangely, I wasn't as shocked as I expected. Maybe it was because, somehow, I'd had a feeling this was going to happen.
To be honest, compared to what I'd done with Hwang Juyeon and Yoo Eunha, this didn't even feel that extraordinary.
Those things felt more like miracles to me.
"Whew… let's see. How much is it? Two hundred million? No… twenty billion won."
Maybe it didn't feel real yet.
To be precise, 2,317,364,000 won.
Two billion, three hundred seventeen million, three hundred sixty-four thousand won.
So how much would I actually take home?
I punched the numbers into a calculator.
Roughly 730 million won in taxes, leaving about 1.58 billion won.
"…Ha."
The tax cut was absurdly large, but even so, it was still a massive amount.
Twenty years' worth of salary paid out all at once?
It was definitely a huge deal—yet for some reason, I wasn't that excited.
Maybe my dopamine receptors had been fried by crypto trading.
Or maybe it was because I'd already expected this outcome.
When I thought about it calmly, the reason became clear.
Money itself wasn't my goal.
To me, money was just a means.
If I'd still been dating Park Sojeong, I might have gone crazy with joy.
With this much money, I could buy a decent apartment outright and stop worrying about wedding funds. Her parents' opposition might have softened, and I could've smoothly headed straight into marriage.
Marriage.
That had been the biggest goal—and burden—of my life.
I'd worked for marriage, clung to Park Sojeong for marriage.
Building a happy family like my parents had—that was what I'd been taught true success in life was.
With this money, I could have grasped that happiness.
So if I'd still been with Sojeong, I definitely would've been thrilled.
But now that we'd broken up, marriage was no longer my life's objective.
That was why, even with this huge sum of money, I wasn't overflowing with excitement.
"Haa…"
My mind felt strangely cold and clear.
Analyzing pointless things like this—no wonder.
Still, no matter how I looked at it, having money was a good thing.
Because it meant I could do what I wanted.
Suddenly, the slogan I'd seen at the lottery shop came back to me.
"Turn your life around! Lottery jackpot!"
Back then, I'd been at rock bottom.
I thought I needed a reversal.
I believed that if I just won the lottery, I could overturn my miserable life.
But what did "turning my life around" even mean for me?
I'd been fired from my job and dumped by my girlfriend.
That had been rock bottom.
So did turning things around mean going back to the company and getting back together with my ex?
No.
As far as the company was concerned, I'd already let go.
If I were still working there, I probably would've slammed down my resignation the moment I won.
The same went for my relationship with Park Sojeong.
The moment I saw her leaving a hotel with another man, any future where we reconciled vanished completely.
And it must've been the same for her when she saw me entering a hotel with another woman.
We'd crossed a point of no return.
So what was I supposed to do now?
The first thing I did was call my mother.
"Hello?"
"Mom. It's me."
Maybe because it was late, her voice sounded calm.
"What's going on? Calling this late—did something happen?"
"Can't I call if nothing happened?"
"I'm just worried, that's all!"
I threw her own words back at her from last time—and still got scolded.
But today, even getting scolded felt oddly pleasant.
"Mom. That land we talked about before—did you sell it?"
The land my late father had bought with his retirement pay.
When she heard I'd been fired, my mother decided to sell it—despite saying she never would before.
That land meant something to her too.
It was the last thing my father had left behind.
If she was selling it because of me, I wanted to give something back to her.
"Well, about that… after I told them I'd sell it, they suddenly changed their tune. Said redevelopment might happen somewhere else, and they wanted to cut fifty million won off the price! Honestly, such sly people!"
My mother went on for a while, venting about them.
It sounded like the buyer was a professional land speculator—someone who quotes a high price at first, then tries to lowball once the seller agrees.
She must've been stressed by the whole ordeal.
But thanks to that, she hadn't signed anything yet.
That actually worked out well.
"Perfect timing, then. Mom, if you haven't signed anything, just hold onto the land. I found a new job."
"What? Really?"
"Yes. And it's better than the last one. A foreign-affiliated company, with much higher pay. So you don't have to worry about me."
"Oh my! That's wonderful, that's wonderful!"
"And Mom—I'll double the allowance I send you from now on."
"Oh, don't be silly. I don't need an allowance. I just want you to be healthy and doing well."
Even as she said that, joy overflowed in her voice.
"And that land might go up even more, so don't sell it. Hold onto it tightly."
"Really? I was upset they changed their minds anyway. I'll go tomorrow and tell them I'm not selling!"
"Yes. Do that."
She must've had a lot pent up.
She hadn't said it outright, but she probably hadn't wanted to sell my father's land in the first place.
Being told she didn't have to sell it clearly made her happy.
"Oh, right. Suhyeok—how are things going with Sojeong?"
"H-Haha…"
Of all things, she had to bring that up.
I'd taken Sojeong to meet my mother only once.
My mom had always wanted to meet my girlfriend, but Sojeong kept refusing, so I never had the chance.
Two years ago, I finally persuaded her and went down to my hometown.
My mother—worried about my late marriage—had been overjoyed when I brought my girlfriend.
"You fought again, didn't you? Oh dear. Suhyeok, just give in a little. Girls these days are all like that. Men have to give way."
"Yes, yes. I'll handle it, Mom."
"Alright, I won't say anything. You're coming for Chuseok, right?"
"Yes. I'll see you then. I'll call again later."
"Okay. Take care."
I finally hung up and let out a deep breath.
Whew.
I never expected her to ask about Sojeong.
How was I supposed to tell her we'd broken up?
She was already looking forward to grandchildren.
…For now, I'd just pretend nothing happened.
No need to worry her unnecessarily.
If I got another girlfriend later, I could tell her then.
Buzz.
My phone vibrated.
It looked like I'd gotten a missed call while I was talking to my mom.
The caller was—
CEO Cha Yoonjung?
The CEO of IntelliOn.
Seeing her name, something came back to me.
What I truly wanted to do now that I had money.
IntelliOn.
This was it.
I wanted to invest in this company.
Not for any complicated reason.
I wanted to see it with my own eyes—to know whether my judgment had been right, what would've happened if the project I'd handled had gone through successfully.
Maybe IntelliOn didn't even need my investment.
With that level of technology, they might've already found other investors—or Hwangsan might've bowed their heads and offered better terms.
Maybe this call was just to tell me they were selling to a U.S. big tech company.
But if there was even a sliver of room for me to step in—
I wanted to give these pure, untainted domestic engineers wings to fly in a bigger sky.
After organizing my thoughts, I pressed the call button.
The missed call had been only a minute ago, but it felt like a long time before the call connected.
"Hello?"
A tense voice.
It was CEO Cha Yoonjung herself.
"Yes, CEO. This is Kang Suhyeok. You called earlier—I couldn't answer because I was on another call."
"Oh—hello. This is Cha Yoonjung."
"Yes, hello."
…Huh?
Something felt different from before.
When we'd spoken previously, her voice had been more confident.
Now it lacked that assurance.
Maybe what Assistant Manager Park had done left her traumatized.
If that were the case, as someone from the same company, I'd practically owe her a bow in apology.
"CEO Cha. I know you must've suffered a lot because of someone from our company. I can't speak for Hwangsan, but I'd like to apologize on their behalf."
"Oh, no—it's okay. That had nothing to do with you, Manager Kang. I'm actually sorry for making you uncomfortable."
"I'm relieved to hear that. If that incident had interfered with your work, I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night."
"Oh, it's nothing… it's not like I'm doing anything that important…"
Still no confidence.
She'd sounded more confident back when she was presenting to an empty hall.
Assistant Manager Park's actions must've dealt her a serious psychological blow.
This woman was a crucial talent for the future.
She couldn't be allowed to be broken by something like this.
I raised my voice, determined to encourage her.
"No. You should have more confidence, CEO. IntelliOn is an incredible company—and you, as its leader, are even more incredible."
"Manager Kang…"
People grow weak sometimes.
Especially after failing right before success.
That was probably where Cha Yoonjung was now—her faith in herself and her technology shaken.
At times like that, you need someone who believes in you.
That was my role right now.
"Hwangsan is an outdated company. Partnering with IntelliOn was their last chance to survive. But they missed that golden opportunity and will be left behind by the changing times—because of a single mistake made by one employee."
I spoke firmly.
"But IntelliOn is different. I know its potential. A company with the best talent and the best technology."
IntelliOn was the company I'd chosen.
Nothing but the best would do.
And that applied to its CEO as well.
"So please, CEO. Don't be discouraged just because one small contract fell through. I was simply lucky enough to discover IntelliOn earlier than others. In a few months—no, even in a few weeks—major corporations will be lining up in front of you with contracts."
As I spoke, my emotions boiled over.
I felt like storming into my old company and beating some sense into the idiots upstairs who couldn't recognize real value.
"So please, stay firm and keep your place. Show the world that the IntelliOn I believed in is the real thing. Prove that my judgment in recognizing you wasn't wrong."
The moment I finished, regret hit me.
I'd gone too far.
Had I ever spoken this passionately to anyone before?
I did plan to talk about investing eventually—but I wasn't deeply involved enough yet to say all this.
Maybe my anger at the company had carried me away.
For a moment, there was silence on the other end.
…Had I left her speechless?
That would be embarrassing.
Then I heard a faint sound through the phone.
Someone was quietly sobbing.
"…H-Hic…"
"CEO Cha?"
…Was she crying?
Soon, her choked voice came through.
"…I'm sorry. I got overwhelmed… sniff."
So that was it.
Overwhelmed by emotion.
Well—that was a relief.
At least my long speech hadn't come across as ridiculous.
I was a little embarrassed, though.
"Ah—no, I'm sorry. I got carried away. I may have spoken out of turn."
After a few sniffles, Cha Yoonjung steadied her voice.
"No. Thank you, Manager Kang. You gave me strength."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Encouraging a valuable talent was worth a little embarrassment.
"And… if possible, could I meet you in person? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."
She asked carefully.
That was exactly what I'd been hoping for.
"Of course. I actually have something I wanted to discuss with you as well."
Right then and there, we set a meeting.
Tomorrow evening.
At the restaurant of the hotel I'd been visiting frequently lately.