Chapter 555 – Rookie Agent Cha Jinchul
—
– Cha Jinchul
— Ring ring! Ring ring!
“Hmm, I thought it was Hyung again—oh? It’s Elena!”
As soon as I picked up, her upbeat and cheerful voice rang through.
“Jinchul, did you get the invitation? I sent it via email!”
“Haha, of course I did.”
“You’re coming, right? I’ve prepared the best room for everyone—”
“Umm! Ahem! Well, Elena, this time it seems a bit difficult.”
“…Hmm.”
Her voice carried a hint of disappointment.
I felt a pang of guilt for disappointing such a stunning colleague, but right now, I was also swamped!
“Elena, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve been a bit busy lately.”
“Yes, I heard from the doctor. It’s okay! There will be other opportunities.”
Elena seemed excited to mention that Songee and Eunsol would also be coming, along with Kain. So it was probably fine for her, right?
With that thought, my guilt faded away. Now that I’ve finally returned to reality after all my hotel adventures, I hope she finds success in her love life.
“Sounds like you’re having fun these days, Elena.”
“Of course! I’ve been thinking a lot about how to use ‘dreams’ and it seems I’ve used them well.”
“Congrats!”
The call ended there.
“…”
Now that I had a general understanding of how my colleagues were faring, I felt a bit strange when I thought of ‘Yu Songee’ and ‘Elena’.
Neither had any malicious intentions, though.
In fact, it was somewhat amusing and even a tad envious.
But what if you looked at it from the standpoint of someone who isn’t in the hotel circle?
“…”
I gradually began to understand why the Management Bureau was wary of those who had escaped from the hotel.
Because those two had created their own amusement park.
“… Let’s do some financial investments.”
*
10, 17, 22, 30, 35, 43, and bonus number 44.
That’s the lottery I just won.
Winning prize of 12.7 billion, and even after taxes, that’s roughly 8 billion—a staggering value.
That money just landed in my bank account.
If I hadn’t experienced the hotel before, I would surely be dazed, questioning whether this was a dream or reality.
“…”
But I felt nothing.
After all, it’s just another fake fortune that the Bureau fabricates every so often, and frankly, what does money mean to someone who wants to become an agent?
“A little more….”
Not enough yet.
There are countless lottery winners in South Korea every week.
So just winning the lotto isn’t enough for the Bureau to consider me a ‘regressor.’
The lottery prize is just a starting fund; the real game begins after this.
“Is this really okay?”
I searched online and downloaded some bizarre trading program.
It was a convoluted mess and extremely shabby.
“Hmm… Honestly, it looks sketchy.”
According to Ahri, the prices of these weird things skyrocket within three years.
“…”
Can this possibly make sense?
I might be lacking in economic sense, but come on, does this even work?
Who’s issuing this currency, anyway? There’s no authoritative financial institution controlling its circulation or giving it any legitimacy.
Decisively, nobody even knows where you can use this currency.
Am I even able to buy a slice of pizza with this?!
“Ugh~ This is ridiculous. Was Ahri really wrong about this?”
They say a bunch of money would be flooded in within three years, but I can’t seem to believe it.
Moreover, Ahri stated that the spike in value was largely delayed due to the Bureau’s ‘interference.’
“Let’s just put a little in. Just a little…!”
Even though I received this money thanks to the lottery, throwing it away online feels a bit unfortunate.
Let’s use only 100 million won.
— Click!
Bought 5,000 bitcoins.
“Done.”
With that, I spent my time wisely investing 80 billion.
Remaining cash: about 1.7 billion won.
Now it’s time to buy the dreams and hopes of 50 million Koreans.
*
Outskirts of Yongin City.
The tired real estate agent at ‘Happy Realty’ widened his eyes in shock.
“W-wait, did I hear you correctly? You want to buy the land and building in Jigok-dong all at once?”
“Well, I said it several times already.”
“U-understood! But you should really see the place first—”
“Just contact the landowner.”
What kind of property are we buying without even checking it out?
Even I think this is ridiculous, and I can only imagine how flabbergasted the agent must be!
“W-wait just a moment. I’ll contact the seller.”
I thought since I’m spending 1.5 billion won without even seeing the property, I might as well take a look.
Or wait, considering my true intentions, it’d be normal to act suspiciously, right?
Just as I was grappling with my thoughts, a tall young staff member lightly tapped my shoulder.
“Chairman Cha, why not just check the place out?”
“I’m fine.”
“Honestly, it’ll take quite a while to meet the seller anyway.”
“Then let’s just take a look.”
*
A desolate lot, a shabby building.
That was my objective evaluation of a property worth 1.5 billion.
Even if the real estate market is a bit overpriced, it’s not like we’re in the heart of Gangnam. Does this price even make sense?
But I did come here looking to buy it.
“Chairman, would you like to check this area too?”
“…”
The staff kept going on about how the prices in Jigok-dong are currently trending and about the construction laws for a three-story building.
He seemed to have studied a bit, but to me, ‘Chairman Cha’ wasn’t the least bit interested.
About half an hour passed.
As the sky began to darken, the real estate office contacted me.
“Chairman, I got in touch with the seller. Shall we go?”
“Sure.”
At that moment, the employee cautiously asked,
“Um… Chairman Cha?”
“Hmm?”
“Excuse me, but—”
“If you think it’s an excuse, you shouldn’t say it.”
That’s my philosophy.
“Uh, you’re right, but I just can’t help but be curious.”
“Curious about what?”
“Well… Given the price I mentioned, you probably guessed this isn’t worth 1.5 billion, right?”
“Oh, really?”
“… Did you gain some insider information or something?”
Do they think I have some sort of information that would make the land price skyrocket from a high-ranking official or politician?
Okay, for a regular person, this would seem like a reasonable deduction.
“I don’t know. It’s not like I have a clue.”
“Come on! Who invests 1.5 billion without knowing anything? You must know something!”
He was probing cautiously.
His demeanor was amusing enough that I decided to entertain him.
“Why should I tell you? What’s your curiosity?”
“You’re really asking if I’m curious?”
And then the young man smiled.
“Of course! I’m dying to know that the government is releasing news of a new high-speed train line in three months, which will cause the price of that parcel to increase twelvefold!”
He beamed with a grin.
“And the real reason is because of the serial number D – 0241 trapped underground in that building! Now I’m curious to see how much you know.”
He didn’t address me with respect anymore.
The Management Bureau had finally approached me.
*
— Stomp! Stomp!
In early autumn, a cool breeze swept through the quiet street.
The young man said with a hint of amusement,
“Quite the enjoyable time, huh?”
“…”
“What happened to you? Want me to tell you? Same as ever, you were living your ordinary life when something out of a novel happened.”
“…”
“A heavenly light descended from the sky, and everything vanished. When I came to my senses, I was awakened in the past.”
“…”
“Oh, wait. I must have the wrong story! In the sea, I heard the earth-shaking roar. A vortex arose that shook the entire South Korea. When I came to my senses, I was awake in the past.”
“…”
“Is it not so? This world has countless doomsday scenarios, so you should understand. The point is, the world did collapse, and you woke up in the past.”
—
A regressor.
Soon, a candidate agent.
“Since you’ve returned to the past, there’s something you need to do, right? Of course! Buy a lottery ticket. Win! Oh yay! Next up? Should I buy bitcoin? What’s up with just buying 100 million won? Were you afraid that buying too much might destabilize the world? Or was it the butterfly effect?”
His playful tone rang out.
“Haha! Chairman Cha, have you ever considered that the luck you encountered might not belong solely to you?”
“…”
“That there might be other regressors in the world besides you?”
“Is that you? Or your organization?”
He grinned broadly.
“Not too sharp, are you?”
He looked about five years younger than me, yet he casually dropped informal speech.
It felt oddly comfortable.
If this guy is an agent, he might indeed have far more life experience than I do.
“Are you going to scold me? Did I steal someone else’s fortune?”
The very essence of the benefits sought by a regressor.
Grabbing the benefits that others should have obtained.
Lottery winnings, coin investments, real estate profits.
All those should have ideally been gains for someone else.
The young man answered my question with laughter.
“Pfft!”
“…”
“Hehe! Hahaha!”
“Is it really that funny?”
“It is! It’s actually pretty hilarious!”
“What’s so funny about it?”
“Stealing someone else’s luck? Hahaha! It’s not incorrect, but would ‘we’ blame you for that?”
The Bureau won’t blame me for ‘that.’
“You get it, right? Do you know where I come from? You know where ‘strange’ folks like me belong.”
“The Management Bureau.”
“Have you ever wondered about this thought?”
It’s a thought everyone’s had at least once.
“Where does the Bureau get its money?”
The police is funded by government budgets.
The military runs on government budgets too.
Public organizations that protect the world are sustained by taxpayer money—that’s the common sense of it.
But the Management Bureau is a group detached from that understanding.
No individual, company, or government pays taxes to the Bureau.
And yet, the Bureau has branches around the globe, providing its members with generous salaries.
In fact, labor costs are just a tiny portion of the Bureau’s operational expenses.
Numerous war weapons to fight chaos entities, satellites and drones monitoring the globe, and systems controlling the internet!
Where do all these resources come from?
It’s completely unfathomable, sparking rampant conspiracy theories worldwide.
The Management Bureau is the actual owner of major conglomerates.
A portion of the taxes paid to the government flows into the Bureau.
…
All of it is wrong.
“People in the world think they never paid taxes to the Bureau, right?”
“…”
“That’s a misconception. All of humanity pays taxes to us. The heaviest of taxes!”
Originally, lottery winnings that should have gone to someone else.
Coin investment profits that should have gone to someone else.
Real estate price surges that should have been earned by the existing landowner.
An organization collecting all those ‘fortunes’ from across the globe!
Just then, a black limousine appeared before me.
As I tried to approach, the young man placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Until yesterday, you were a ‘child at the playground.’”
“… A playground.”
“Congratulations. From now on, you are a person who has awakened. Therefore, remember this line.”
The one sentence the ones who manage the ‘playground’ firmly believe in.
“All humans are equal. Everyone except us!”
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