Even if I look like this, I wasn’t a completely thoughtless person.
No matter how much wealth I have, I know well that if I confront Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung directly right now, it will lead to serious bloodshed. If I make a mistake, I might not be able to win.
Therefore, fighting with “money against money” should be avoided until I have more cards in my hand.
So, what is the best way to increase the cards I have?
It’s simple. Just “buy the cards.”
Of course, the cards of being a teacher and the card of the school have already fallen into Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung’s hands. At the point of trying to purchase these, I’m already clashing in a “money against money” scenario.
So, what cards can I buy?
They are precisely the “cards that Choi Na-kyung has never thought of.”
Naturally, each of their individual power is weak. The possibility that they could become a wildcard and clearly lead me to victory in this game is infinitely low.
However, at least within this “small turn” I’m making right now, I can gain the upper hand.
“Then, let’s get started right away since it’s late.”
Team Leader Han Garam spoke with excitement, like a child opening a gift box.
… Is it really that great? It’s not even something he brought himself.
Well, this person just loves money. Even if it’s not his own money, he loves it just the same.
To be honest, if I saw a bed made of money right in front of me, I would want to lie on it too.
Team Leader Han Garam skillfully pulled the suitcase to position it in front of him, pressed a button, and lowered the handle. Vroom, with a cheerful sound, he pushed the handle all the way in and then carefully laid the bag on its side.
He then bent down and opened the zipper of the bag.
The travel bag opened like a clamshell.
With a thud, the bag that opened was filled with bundles of cash on both sides.
The highest value of ‘cash’, yellow bills were vacuum-packed and packed tightly. They were packaged as if they were fixed in place, which is why they could fit neatly inside while being pulled along.
“Did you know? Money is dirtier than you’d think. No, I’m not talking metaphorically.”
Team Leader Han Garam said while pulling out a cutter knife from his pocket.
“It travels through people’s hands. It’s not just passed through one person’s hand but goes through countless people’s hands to get here. The oils from hands are smeared on it, filled with all sorts of bacteria… Of course, if left for a long time, that bacteria breeds and creates an overwhelmingly horrible smell. I know this well because sometimes there are people who bring such money to the bank.”
He then pulled the blade of the cutter knife short and cut through the vacuum-packed bag right between the stacks of money. At a glance, it seemed like a careless move, but no single 50,000 won note was harmed that day.
“Our bank sterilizes each bill to prevent such occurrences. If you deposit them in a personal safe, we thoroughly disinfect the safe and even package it like this to prevent contamination. We always provide our clients with ‘clean money’ that they can receive with pleasure. So,”
With a bright smile, she lifted bundles of money in both hands.
“If you have any money that you want to store long-term, remember Cheong An Savings Bank!”
Then she confidently placed the money on the desk of the student who was just apologizing to Sohee, promoting the bank she worked for.
“Y-Yes…!?”
The student, seeing two bundles of money that he probably had never seen in his life, was in shock.
“That’s my money.”
I opened my mouth after watching the whole scene.
All eyes turned towards me.
As long as I have this much money in front of me, I can absolutely not be ‘transparent’. At least, the opponent can’t react that way.
Since ancient times, humans have had a huge interest in shiny gold. Nowadays it’s an important resource used in all sorts of industries, but the value of gold in the past relied solely on the fact that it “doesn’t rust or dull with age” and its “scarcity.” If a lump of gold is in front of you, you can’t look away. The sparkle, the value.
I might reach out for it without even realizing it. That’s instinct.
No matter how much time passes, that doesn’t change.
Of course, what’s in front of me right now isn’t a lump of gold. I haven’t gotten to the point where I’ll bring a suitcase filled with gold bars, no matter how much I claim to be. I even questioned whether Team Leader Han Garam could lift it at all.
Well, still.
After all, it’s also yellow. The color is somewhat similar.
If I think about how much I can buy with just a single bill that weighs only 1 gram, it seems like I could at least mimic gold to some extent.
“That’s my ‘goodwill’.”
The student with the two bundles of cash in front of him looked very shaken.
Do you know?
Five 50,000 won bills make 250,000 won, so two bundles make a million won.
Well… even for someone with a decent amount of money, that’s a considerable sum to hesitate over. But it’s not like he would sell himself over it.
However, what about a kid who’s studying hard to get into a ‘good university’ on a scholarship?
Even if prices have risen, suddenly receiving a million won can greatly benefit a working-class family.
And, well…
“It’s your freedom whether to take it or not. But, as I’m invisible to those people anyway, it would be stupid not to pick it up when a million won suddenly falls in front of me.”
That’s right. Formally, I am still an invisible man.
Thus, my money related to me is ‘invisible money’.
“……”
That kid swallowed hard. Sweat was glistening on his forehead.
“Is this insufficient?”
When I tilted my head, Han Garam bent down and picked up three more bundles.
Now, the money on the desk totaled 25 million won.
This isn’t something I impulsively increased in value.
Team Leader Han Garam, who loves money too much, told me never to give away all the money in one go when tussling with someone for cash.
To remind them that they could lose it all, and to assure them that they could receive more if they did something extra.
“I-I don’t understand why this is happening to me…”
“You’re an external student, right?”
At my question, the kid nodded while trembling.
He probably has never given or received a bribe before. He must’ve studied hard to get in here, and if so, he’s likely been a top student back in middle school. He’s never done anything bad; he’s just been studying until he stumbled into this situation.
It’s only natural for him to tremble when suddenly such money falls before him. Somewhere in his head, there’s definitely a clear thought of “This kind of money shouldn’t be accepted”.
“You didn’t actively participate in this. You just did it because the others said so.”
Whether that kid accepts the money or not, there’s no way he can ignore me, the owner of the money. It’s a genuinely ‘mind-shaking’ situation. For whatever reason, it’s too big a sum of 25 million won to just let go without a reason.
If he wants to give it up, he’ll need to create a justification for himself. That way, he won’t be tormented by regrets later.
Yeah, no matter how good of a person you are, you must go through this process.
And I just need to break that justification as much as possible.
“You know the things you’ve been doing are wrong, right?”
At my question, the kid fell silent. He couldn’t deny it. The person involved is right in front of him. Furthermore, isn’t there so much money spread out right now? If he carelessly denies it, who knows what would happen with that rich daughter?
“I’m asking you to stop those wrongdoings. I’m not trying to punish you.”
It’s been only a month since he enrolled. If he stops now, I won’t really hold anything against him. The wrongdoing towards me at this point is separate from the wrongdoing done to Ye Sara. Those who bullied Ye Sara back in middle school are up to her to forgive or not.
…Probably, Sua would be included in that.
“……”
My request is valid.
The party who was bullied is asking, while giving money, to stop those actions. When I weigh it on the scales, it’s much more righteous than the forced apologies insisted by the teachers right now.
I can’t be sure whether this will resonate with the other students at this school. Some kids might use 25 million won as pocket money. At least for guys like Yoon Da-ho, it probably wouldn’t register at all.
However, at least here, the kids who were meant to be used as a shield were different.
They are a thoroughly small minority within this school, existing at the very bottom of the food chain.
This is, in itself, a contract.
Not just receiving a bribe and being done with it, but a contract to build a ‘relationship’ with me going forward.
A request to break the bars surrounding me.
Yeah, this is the “card” I wanted to buy.
The forgotten ones that no one cared about, yet were useful.
One of the kids serving as a shield swallowed hard.
All the eyes in the room turned towards the open travel bag.
There’s no money in this bag meant for the teachers. Of course. Although it wasn’t intentional, and even if Sohee and Yang Hye-in had acted secretly, it already seems like they were stuffed with bribes.
“What will you do?”
External students don’t constitute a large number of the total students.
However, that doesn’t mean they can be perfectly ignored. Once a crack begins, it will slowly begin to spread.
Well, the cracks have already started long before.
“Wait…!”
As I confidently handed money to the students, a teacher shouted and sprang to his feet.
BANG!
But soon he flinched and began to tremble.
Sohee had just stomped her foot on the desk she placed the money on.
Well, the desk didn’t split in half like something in a comic. It just made a loud noise.
But that sound alone was more than enough.
Because it defied the expectations of ‘an opponent they can’t ignore’.
Money is really something strange.
It can turn relationships between ordinary people upside down like this.
Now, I think I understand a bit why Han Garam was smiling so broadly.
