Chapter 4: From Rags to Riches

When I had just earned my first sergeant stripes.

Our unit was undergoing mortar firing training under the command of the division commander.

Bang! Bang!

With a loud noise, shells were fired and fell to their targets.

Corporal Kim Jae-hak, the gunner, inserted a shell into the barrel with familiar motions.

But at that moment, something appeared before my eyes like a hologram.

At first, I wondered what it was.

What is this?

Why is this appearing in front of me?

The KM188 was the name of a new type of mortar that had just begun to be supplied.

And that mortar was right in front of me.

Even now, I don't know why, but...

I instinctively dropped to the ground and shouted.

"Get down!"

That quick judgment saved my life.

Boom!

An explosion erupted, followed by screams and cries.

"Ugh!"

"Ahhh! My leg!"

The shell exploded inside without being fired. The barrel burst, and Corporal Kim Jae-hak collapsed, hit by shrapnel.

One person lost their life, and another sustained serious injuries from the accident.

I lay flat on the ground, and aside from my ears ringing for a while, I was mostly unscathed. I had no injuries, but I ended up hospitalized in a military hospital for a month.

Not wanting to worry my mother, I intentionally didn't tell her. But I did inform Taek-kyu, and he immediately came to visit me at the military hospital.

"Why didn't you say anything back then?"

"Would you have believed me?"

"That's true."

After that incident, I had tinnitus for a while, possibly due to damage to my eardrum.

Later, when I regained my senses, I wondered if it could have been an illusion.

So I tried to forget about it for a while.

"But it suddenly came to mind while I was talking to you."

"The hologram?"

"Yeah."

When I first saw 'it' appear before me, if I hadn't ducked, I might have died or sustained serious injuries.

The only reason I'm okay and here now is because of that.

"So, when I saw 'Mountain Hill Bankruptcy,' I told you to sell right away. I thought something might happen."

Taek-gyu still looked disbelieving.

Even I found it hard to logically accept. If our roles were reversed and I heard such a thing, I wouldn't believe it either.

"Does this even make sense?"

"Whether it makes sense or not, I'm just glad I was saved."

If I had waited just a few hours longer to sell, I would have lost all my BNT.

Huh? If you think about it that way, am I not a savior?

"What kind of superpower is that?"

At first, I had similar thoughts. I wondered if I had developed some ability, if not a superpower.

But there's no such thing as superpowers in this world.

"It's probably just intuition. You know how there are stories about people who feel something and don't board a flight, only for it to crash?"

"Hmm…"

Taek-gyu thought for a moment and then asked me.

"Can I really tell you this? This kind of thing shouldn't get out."

"Who would believe something like this?"

When I actually told the doctor during my consultation that I had seen a warning message right before the explosion, rather than being surprised, they just prescribed me medication, saying I might have been confused due to the shock from the blast.

If I had an ability to move objects without touching them, I would have kept it completely hidden. That's something that could be objectively verified.

I even asked people who were at the scene of the mortar incident if they had seen a hologram. Of course, no one had.

In other words, it was a type of cerebral hallucination that only I could see.

And…

"There are probably around a million people in the world claiming to have superpowers."

All sorts of absurd individuals with claimed superpowers appear on TV or the internet every day.

In such a situation, if I shouted that I saw a hologram in front of me, who would care?

Well, even so, there's no need to disclose it.

"I'm only telling you. Don't tell anyone else."

He nodded with a serious expression.

"Got it. I'll keep my mouth shut."

Even though he tends to be loose-lipped, he can keep secrets well.

I asked Taek-gyu.

"How much did you make from selling?"

"Just take a look."

Taek-kyu opened his account on the computer and showed me.

[12,387,000]

This amount isn't that big.

Anyone could earn this much with a year of hard work. However, if the unit were dollars instead of won, it would be a different story.

"…"

Is that around 13.6 billion won?

In this world, outrageous things happen.

"Is this an American account?"

"Yeah. Have you ever heard of a place called Dela Island?"

"What's that?"

"It's supposed to be off the eastern coast of the Caribbean."

Dela Island is a U.S. territory with a population of only 20,000, where people mainly live off sugarcane farming and tourism.

Most people have never heard of it. But among wealthy entrepreneurs, it's a well-known place.

The reason isn't just because it's a must-see tourist destination with beautiful natural scenery… but also because it's a tax haven.

Taek-gyu scratched his head and said.

"When I looked into it to sell after finding the crypto key, I found out that there are complicated tax issues involved."

Cryptocurrencies have only been around for less than a decade. The concepts are still unclear, and there are no internationally unified regulations.

If BNT is defined as currency, then Taek-gyu would only be making a currency exchange profit, meaning he wouldn't need to pay taxes. However, if it's classified as a commodity, income tax would be incurred.

The domestic tax authorities initially decided to classify BNT as a commodity and impose taxes on it. If he's not careful, he might have to pay taxes in the tens of billions.

Taek-gyu's sister suggested one method. That method was to establish a corporation on Dela Island.

By setting up a corporation in a tax haven and funneling profits there, they could avoid paying taxes.

"So I set up a company called OTK Company on Dela Island."

"OTK? Does that stand for 'Otaku'?"

"...No, it stands for 'Oh Taek-gyu.'"

It's a nice way to call it a company, but it's essentially a paper company.

"Isn't that illegal?"

Taek-gyu shook his head at my question.

"Strictly speaking, it's not illegal. The law says anyone has the right to establish a corporation wherever they want. Just like global companies that set up their corporations in tax-free places, even American companies like Apple or Google have their corporations in tax havens.

"..."

While it's not illegal, isn't it a form of exploitation?

Well, if I could avoid paying tens of billions in taxes, I'd probably do the same.

I glanced back at the account. Even though I was looking at it, the amount was still hard to believe.

"That's incredible."

"Haha, from now on, I can just relax and do nothing."

For someone who was supposed to be relaxing, he was still working hard at playing around.

I crossed my arms and fell into thought.

"Hmm."

"What's up?"

"I don't know, but I feel like I'm forgetting something important related to this. It's on the tip of my tongue."

Taek-gyu nodded in surprise.

"I feel that too. For a few days now, I've had this nagging feeling that I'm missing something. What could it be?"

I mentally traced back to the past. After thinking for a while, I was able to recall a forgotten fact.

"Wait! Didn't you sell my character along with mine?"

At my words, Taek-gyu shouted.

"Ah, right! I remember now. I sold my character for 10,000, and yours for 1,000!"

At that time, it was such a small amount that I didn't pay much attention.

Then, BNT skyrocketed to 50 million won, and when Taek-kyu lost the crypto key, we almost got into a physical fight over the money.

In the end, we settled by having him treat me to meals for a month.

I quickly calculated in my head.

With 11,000 BNT, and 1,000 BNT being my share, that's about 9.1 percent. 9.1 percent of 13.6 billion is around 1.24 billion won.

I reached out my hand towards Taek-gyu.

"Give me my money."

After a moment of dazed silence, he stammered.

"I-I'll give it to you."

One day after my discharge.

Suddenly, I had 1.24 billion won.

____________________________________

The day broke.

I went to the bank and inserted my card into the ATM.

When I entered my PIN, the account balance was displayed.

[500,000,000]

"Awesome!"

I clenched my fist.

I already knew the deposit had come in. However, seeing it in person felt entirely different. The unit of "billion" was incomprehensible.

How many zeros are there?

It's hard to wrap my head around it.

I had saved up to 3 million won from pocket money and tutoring, but this was the first time I had seen such a large amount.

The money I was supposed to receive was 1.24 billion won.

However, there's a problem in receiving this money. Taek-gyu giving me money is considered a gift. It might be fine as long as the money stays in the tax haven, but as soon as it comes to Korea, taxes must be paid.

At least up to 500 million won, the tax rate is 20 percent, but as the amount increases, the progressive rate continues to rise.

I could create a corporation in a tax haven like Taek-kyu did to avoid taxes, but I needed money I could use right away in Korea.

So, I decided to take the 500 million first and look for another way to deal with the remaining 740 million.

Surely, this isn't a dream I'm having in the army, is it?

I feel like if I spin a top, it will keep spinning.

For now, I decided to withdraw 1 million won.

Swoosh!

The ATM quickly dispensed twenty 50,000 won bills. The balance dropped to 499,000,000 won.

"Ah…"

Seeing it come out confirms it's real.

I quickly tucked 1 million won into my wallet, hoping no one would see.

It felt like my life changed overnight.

As I stepped outside, the bright sunlight poured down on me. Suddenly, the world seemed different. Even the cold of winter felt warm.

Could it be that I hadn't been cold physically all along, but rather emotionally?

I stopped and looked at my reflection in the building's glass. My shirt was stretched out, my jeans were worn out, and my padding had frayed sleeves.

I was still wearing the clothes I bought before going to the army.

If you look at it positively, it could be called a thrift style or vintage style... but no, no matter how you look at it, this is just a shabby style.

The smell of poverty wafted from my attire.

"I should buy some new clothes."

At this time, my mother should be working at the department store.

I want to buy some clothes and see my mother.

I headed to the Litteh department store in Gangnam.