Wife’s Good Fortune

$2.2 million USD.

That came out to about 3 billion KRW in our money.

This unreal figure was currently displayed on my overseas exchange account.

‘Is this the power of leverage?’

If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up. Here I was worrying about when I would ever save 100 million KRW even if I worked like a dog at the company, yet I had just made thirty times that amount with a single click.

As the rate of return surged terrifyingly higher, my heart rate spiked right along with it.

Then, the golden glow vanished.

It was the exact right time to sell.

I immediately closed out all of my holding long positions.

‘I could quit the company right now.’

3 billion KRW was an amount that exceeded what I would make in my entire lifetime combined. It was a miracle that allowed me to graduate from crypto the very moment I started it.

I contemplated whether I should submit my resignation immediately.

Ah, but before that, should I drop a satisfying parting shot on Manager Kim Hyun-shik, who had tormented me so much?

No, words weren’t enough. Should I flip him off right to his face?

Or should I expose all the embezzlement he had committed so far?

As all sorts of wild imaginations flashed through my mind, laughter burst out from my mouth.

Even amid all this joy, I felt a slight tinge of regret.

If only it had been 100x leverage instead of 25x…

It was a moment where I felt through every pore of my skin that human greed truly knew no bounds.

“Assistant Manager Kang, how much did you put into Rumble?”

Team Leader Go asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Should I tell him the truth? That I turned 300 million KRW into 3 billion KRW?

No matter how much I liked the team leader, I hesitated to be completely honest. If word got out around the company, jealousy and envy would undoubtedly pour in from the other employees.

I knew that people lived their lives wearing masks. While they might smile on the outside, this society was a place where people held knives behind their backs.

Of course, the team leader wouldn’t be like that, but for now, it was hard to speak openly.

“I just put in a small amount, like pocket money.”

I managed my expression and gave an indirect answer.

At that, the team leader stroked his chin with a look of deep regret.

“Really? It went up by 40%, so you must feel pretty disappointed too, Assistant Manager Kang.”

“Yeah, I should have put in a bit more.”

“I only hold Bitcoin, but whenever I see altcoins shoot up like that, I get jealous. Makes me wonder if I should have just trusted your words and bought in.”

Sigh… should’ve, could’ve, would’ve.

Looking back, there were many times when people regretted their choices. That was precisely the case for the team leader, who had now turned into a “Could-Have-Should-Have-Would-Have Bird.”

“Would it still be okay if I put money in now?”

The team leader asked while fiddling with his smartphone. It seemed he still harbored lingering attachments.

This was the infamous FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) phenomenon—a psychological state of anxiety over missing an opportunity.

Currently, FOMO was rampant across the crypto market. Bitcoin was surging with unstoppable momentum, and the rest of the altcoins were poking their heads up as well. Watching from the sidelines made people feel like they were becoming relatively impoverished, which naturally bred anxiety.

It wasn’t just crypto, but stocks and real estate too. Recently, with zero interest rates, all asset classes were on an upward trend, and everyone was swept up in the hyped-up atmosphere.

“No, I think that bus has already left. Why don’t you target the next opportunity? If I come across good information again, I’ll let you know.”

If there was anyone I wanted to help, it was the team leader. He was the one who sincerely offered me advice whenever things got tough at work.

“Team Leader, by any chance, do you trade futures?”

“What futures? Crypto futures?”

“Yes, trading with leverage.”

“Ah, no way. I wouldn’t dare go that far. When I look at people doing futures trading, I can’t tell if they’re trading crypto or just gambling.”

“You’re right. It is gambling. A coin-flip game of heads or tails.”

People babbled on about fundamentals, decentralization, or how it was the currency of the future, but frankly, I still didn’t quite understand the true value of crypto.

To my eyes as well, trading crypto was no different from gambling.

If I hadn’t seen that golden glow in the first place, I never would have set foot in the crypto market. I only jumped into this arena because I already knew the answers. All I could trust was my own fate—my wealth luck.

After finishing my morning work, lunchtime arrived.

It was during a brief break in the lounge after finishing my meal. I placed a call to my father-in-law.

“Father-in-law, do you have a moment to talk?”

—Oh, Son-in-law Kang. What made you call at this hour?

“I called to send back the money I borrowed. I can just transfer it back to the account number you gave me, right?”

—What? You’re paying it back already? It’s only been a few days since you borrowed it!

My father-in-law questioned back in a shocked voice.

“I had somewhere I needed to use it temporarily, but I don’t need it anymore. Besides, I should return it quickly so you can use it, Father-in-law.”

—I still can’t tell if I’m dreaming or awake. 500 million KRW suddenly dropped out of the sky, and I don’t even know what to do with it.

“Just do what you’ve always wanted to do.”

—As for me, I want to move to a house with a big yard in the countryside, do some small-scale farming, and live out my golden years quietly.

“That sounds like a great plan. If you ever run low on funds, please let me know. I’ll help as much as I can.”

—Ayy! Help with what? I should be the one giving to you, receiving help from you would be shameful. If it weren’t for you, I never would have found this money in the first place.

My wealth luck hadn’t just brought me money. Thanks to it, I was able to score major points with my father-in-law as well.

—By the way, Son-in-law Kang, how long do we have to keep this a secret? This isn’t just a small amount, it’s a whopping 500 million KRW. To spend it, won’t I eventually have to tell my wife?

“Yes, that’s true.”

If he spent such a large sum of money, the people around him would naturally find out. If my mother-in-law learned about the source of the funds, my wife would inevitably find out as well.

Then she would realize it came from crypto profits, and her ominous malefic star might block my wealth luck.

Suddenly, the roadside fortune teller’s words echoed in my mind.

‘You must never let your wife know. Her destructive star is no joke.’

‘It’s a malefic star that blocks wealth luck. It tightly chokes off the path where wealth flows.’

‘So, you must never reveal the path where your wealth comes from to your wife. Keep just that one thing in mind while carrying this talisman, and wealth will follow you.’

To be exact, he said I mustn’t reveal the path where the wealth comes from.

Then, couldn’t I just change how I explained that path?

Deep thoughts suddenly consumed my mind.

Here comes the 3 billion KRW tycoon.

I walked out of the company building puffing my shoulders out like a proud peacock.

It was clearly the same sky, the same ground, and the same daily commute home, but right now, everything looked completely fresh and different.

Before going home, I stopped by a toy store.

There, I purchased the Heartsping toy set that Hyerin had wanted so desperately. My footsteps felt light as I imagined how happy she would be.

“Honey, you’re back?”

“Daddy!”

Hyerin’s eyes went wide when she saw the toy in my hands.

However, my wife’s expression turned dark.

“What’s that?”

“This? My team leader at work gave it to me.”

My apologies to the team leader, but I used his name as a quick cover.

“Why would your team leader give you this? Does he run a toy store as a side hustle?”

“No, it belonged to his youngest daughter, but she doesn’t play with it anymore, so he gave it to me.”

“It looks completely brand new for that though? It even has the box.”

“In case he ever needed to sell it secondhand, he kept the box. That’s probably why he didn’t throw it away.”

“Is that really true?”

“Of course it’s true. Do you think I’d actually spend money to buy this?”

Having lied to my wife so frequently lately, my acting skills seemed to be improving. I answered smoothly without so much as a twitch in my expression.

Fortunately, my wife didn’t seem to suspect anything.

She was currently writing in her household ledger. Watching her intently, I asked a question.

“What do you want to do once you save up enough money?”

“Huh? Why the sudden question?”

“You write in the ledger every day and save up so diligently by being frugal. I was just curious what you want to do with all that.”

“Mmm, we should buy a house later, of course. We can’t live in someone else’s house forever.”

“And besides that?”

“Pay for Hyerin’s college tuition when she grows up, cover medical bills if we get sick… won’t we need it all eventually?”

Though she saved money fiercely as if she intended to buy a whole skyscraper, my wife’s dream was surprisingly ordinary and humble.

Seeing her like this was cute, but a part of my heart also felt a bit sorrowful.

However, the future she was about to face might turn out to be vastly different from what she imagined.

Jung Da-yeon.

Before going grocery shopping, she always wrote down a list of items to buy before leaving the house. It was to avoid buying unnecessary, un-planned items.

Her extreme cheapskate mindset of wanting to save even a single 100 KRW coin revealed itself in every single action she took.

Some people looked at her behavior and said:

How much can you really save by living miserably to scrape together pocket change? Instead of living under stress, just spend what you need and enjoy life.

To others, her actions looked foolish, but she acted on the belief that grains of dust gathered to form a mountain.

At least, that was how it had been until recently.

Stopping in front of a real estate agency, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the window displaying property listings.

A deep sigh naturally escaped her lips.

‘It went up again.’

Real estate prices were climbing steeply day by day. What goes up ought to come down eventually, but real estate prices kept climbing upward with no end in sight.

Even the so-called “No-Do-Gang” areas—Nowon-gu, Dobong-gu, and Gangbuk-gu—were no exception. Though housing prices here were relatively cheap compared to the rest of Seoul, even this neighborhood had seen rapid price surges.

An apartment that cost around 300 million KRW when they moved here ten years ago was now asking for 600 to 700 million KRW.

Looking at these real estate prices, a wave of futility often washed over her.

Because housing prices climbed faster than the rate at which she could save money through budgeting, it felt like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

She wasn’t the only one feeling this emotion.

Lately, the term “overnight beggar” had become popular—referring to the state of becoming relatively impoverished while everyone else was making money.

The joy she felt just a moment ago from getting special discounts on groceries at the supermarket suddenly made her feel pathetic.

“Hello! We’re running a promotional event right now, would you like to take a quick look?”

“I’m sorry, no thank you.”

While walking down the street, one could occasionally bump into promotional vendors. A woman marketing yogurt and beverage products stopped Da-yeon.

However, having zero intention of spending money on such things, Da-yeon tried to ignore her and keep walking.

“We’re holding a free event, please feel free to try some! You don’t have to buy anything.”

“Free?”

At the word “free,” she halted in her tracks and turned around.

“Yes, we’re handing them out as part of a promotion.”

What the woman handed over was a pack of probiotic yogurt. Along with it, she also handed over a business-card-sized piece of paper.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a lucky scratch card! If you scratch it and win, we give you a prize.”

“A prize?”

Da-yeon, who couldn’t resist free stuff, immediately pulled out a coin and scratched the card.

There, the words [1st Place Winner] clearly appeared.

“Excuse me, is this a winning card?”

“Wow! Congratulations! You won 1st place!”

“1st place? What is the 1st place prize?”

“You won 20 don (75g) of Gold Bars!”

“Pardon? 20 don of Gold Bars?!”

Her breath caught in her throat as she gasped in shock.

Gold? Did she mean actual gold?

Gold prices had risen significantly lately and were very expensive—a whopping 67,000 KRW per gram. Since 1 don of pure gold was 3.75g, 20 don was 75g.

That meant it was worth approximately 5 million KRW in gold.

The good fortune that visited her didn’t end there.

A few days later, an electronics store gave her an entry ticket for a promotional event, and the very next day, she received a call.

—Hello, customer! This is the Nowon branch. We’re calling because you won the event you entered.

She ended up receiving a brand-new, latest-model TV for free.

Having lived her whole life without ever winning a proper raffle, she pondered over this continuous streak of good luck in bewilderment.

‘Why am I having such good luck lately?’

My wife told me she entered an event at the local electronics store and won.

And just a moment ago, a sparkling new TV was installed in our living room.

How long had it been since we last changed the TV?

It was a brand-new QLED TV model from a famous brand. We were finally replacing the TV we had bought nine years ago when we were newlyweds.

Looking at my wife beaming with a bright smile, a satisfied grin formed on my face.

Was she really this happy about winning an event? Seeing her celebrate over a free TV as if she had gained the whole world made me smile.

After laughing, chatting, and checking out the new TV with my wife, I quietly slipped into the master bedroom.

While my wife remained in the living room, I lay on the bed fiddling with my smartphone.

Opening my banking app, I transferred 500,000 KRW each to two individuals.

And after completing the transfers, I didn’t forget to leave them a text message:

[I’ve sent your pay for the gig. Thank you for your hard work, actors.]