Chapter 3: Fateful Connections

Tae-gyu sounded confused by my sudden urgency.

[Why are you saying that? What's the reason?]

Of course, this reaction is normal.

It'd be weirder if he just agreed to sell it right away without asking why.

I wasn't even sure why I was saying it myself.

But it wasn't just a vague feeling—I felt an intense certainty. Sometimes instinct takes over reason, and if I hadn't acted on that instinct back then, I wouldn't be where I am today.

"Just trust me."

[But why?]

"Do you trust me or not?"

[Do I need to?]

I snapped and shouted.

"Just shut up and sell it! You're not going to lose anything by selling it now. Turn it into cash immediately."

[But at least tell me why so I can understand.]

"..."

How am I supposed to explain this?

Instead, I took a different approach.

"Remember back when you broke Hyun-joo's side mirror while practicing driving? You were freaking out about getting caught, so I took the blame and told her I was the one who did it. I even begged her to forgive me for your sake."

Tae-gyu sounded flustered.

[Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden, you crazy idiot?]

"You promised to grant me a favor in return, didn't you?"

[You son of a...]

"Now's the time to fulfill that promise! Sell the Bant Coin. Got it?

There was silence on the other end.

He must be wondering why I'm going so far, even bringing up old stories. I just hoped he wouldn't ask any more questions and would simply do as I asked.

After what felt like an eternity, Tae-gyu sighed in defeat and grumbled.

[Fine, I was going to sell it anyway. I already had my sister set up a dollar account. I was just planning to sell it slowly, but I'll do it right away since you're so adamant. Happy?]

I sighed in relief.

"Good decision."

[When should we meet?]

"Let's meet tomorrow. I'll come to your place."

[Alright.]

I hung up the phone.

The hologram that had appeared earlier had already vanished. I started to wonder if I had just imagined the whole thing.

Surely it won't be like last time, right?

"No way…"

Even if nothing happens, selling it now won't be a loss. I might feel some regret later if the price goes up, but at least I wouldn't be worse off.

I just felt a bit sad about using up my one favor on this.

"135 billion..."

How much was the latest lottery jackpot? 2 billion?

This was like hitting the lottery several times over.

Something like this doesn't happen in real life. Especially not to a guy like Tae-gyu.

Suddenly, I recalled a memory from the past.

Back in high school, he had once tricked me into believing he had won the lottery. I actually followed him all the way to the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation office, only for him to burst out laughing right before we went inside.

I could still picture him laughing his head off while I stood there dumbfounded.

"Could he be pulling another prank?"

Did I just get fooled again?

________________________________

By the time I realized it, the sun had already set.

Creak!

I heard the front door open.

My mom entered and smiled warmly when she saw me.

"You were home, huh?"

"Yeah."

It had only been a week since I last saw her during my final leave.

Mom set her bag down and said,

"Let's go out for dinner to celebrate your discharge."

"Okay."

I grabbed a jacket, and we headed out together.

"What do you feel like eating? How about some barbecue?"

"Anything is fine."

We ended up at a nearby pork ribs restaurant.

Mom picked up the tongs and scissors, starting to grill the meat. Her hands, holding the tongs, were rough and chapped.

I glanced at her face.

Looking closely, I noticed fine lines around her eyes and mouth. She had lost weight since I last saw her.

After Dad passed away, Mom became the head of the household. While I was relatively carefree in the military, Mom worked tirelessly at any job she could find.

She had spent her entire life as a housewife. A middle-aged woman with no skills or work experience had very few options.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"Oh, I will. Right now."

Suddenly, my throat felt tight.

I quickly looked down and pretended to focus on eating.

"Is your current job okay? Not too hard?"

"Of course. I just sit there and talk to customers all day."

"Don't you get difficult ones? I heard there are a lot of troublemakers these days."

Mom chuckled.

"The area's pretty upscale, so there's no one like that. Everyone's so polite and nice. You have no idea how lucky I am to have such a cushy job."

"That's a relief."

The meat piled up in front of me, cooked to perfection.

"Stop grilling and eat some too."

"Mom already had plenty of good food at the department store. You focus on eating."

I forced down the meat that felt stuck in my throat.

"By the way, when are you planning to go back to school?"

"I've got some time, so I'll think it over."

"Don't worry about tuition. I've already set the money aside."

Korean National University's tuition is relatively cheap compared to private schools, but it's still a significant amount for an average household.

Despite our financial situation, Mom had somehow managed to save for my tuition.

"Okay."

____________________________________

I spread out a blanket on the narrow floor and lay down next to my mother.

She must have been tired because she fell asleep as soon as she lay down. In the darkness, I could occasionally hear her coughing.

Maybe it was because the sleeping arrangements had changed?

Sleep wouldn't come easily. After struggling for a while to fall asleep, I finally gave up and got up.

When I checked my phone, it was 3 AM.

Should I go to the convenience store and grab a beer?

I carefully stepped outside, trying not to wake my mother. The cold night air hit my face.

"Haah."

I thought that once I got out into society, everything would fall into place. But now that I had been discharged, I felt lost.

I couldn't let my mother work alone, so I needed to start earning money quickly.

Lost in these thoughts as I headed toward the convenience store, my phone rang.

Ding!

Who could be calling at this hour?

When I looked at my phone, it was Tae-gyu. I answered the call.

"Hey! What's with the call at this hour..."

Before I could finish my sentence, a panicked voice came through.

[We're in big trouble!]

"Stop with the dramatic talk. You were just joking earlier, right?"

[Mountain Hill Exchange just got shut down!]

I tried to calm him down.

"Stop joking around. This isn't funny."

Tae-gyu shouted back.

[Does this sound like a joke!?]

"Then what do you mean?"

[Where are you right now?]

"I'm at home."

[Get to my place right now. You need to see for yourself if this is a joke or not!]

He said this and then hung up.

"..."

Wait, could this be real?

I rushed out to the main road and waved for a taxi.

"Taxi!"

When a cab stopped, I jumped in quickly.

"Take me to Gangnam. Hurry."

____________________________________

Tae-gyu was living in a one-room apartment in Yeoksam-dong.

I had visited so often during my leave that I even knew the passcode. As I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw game magazines and comic books scattered all over the floor, and posters of anime characters plastered on the walls.

On the desk, the cords of his computer and gaming console were tangled together. Sitting in front of it was a young man.

He was in his early twenties, with a chubby build and a military-style buzz cut, wearing thick-rimmed glasses that made his eyes look small.

His expression was vacant, as if he were in shock.

"Hey! What's going on?"

Instead of answering, Tae-gyu pointed at his computer monitor.

On the screen was an open forum thread.

|—All the Bant Coins registered on Mountain |—Hill have disappeared.

|—Same here. 150.387 BNT has vanished!

|—That was my entire fortune! 😭

|—What's going on?

|—Refund my money!

|—The exchange isn't accessible, and they're not answering the phone.

|—It's on CNN right now. They say Mountain Hill has been hacked and shut down.

|—The hackers stole all the Bant Coins from the exchange.

|—What happens now? Will Mountain Hill compensate us?

|—No way, you bastards!!!

I read through the flood of posts.

Angry people, despairing people, those crying, those cursing, those talking about dying, and more.

The forum was a complete chaos.

"What the hell is this...?"

I looked at Tae-gyu.

"Hey, explain this to me."

"I told you. Mountain Hill got shut down."

The exchange had closed exactly when Tae-gyu called me. A platform that had been operating fine suddenly became inaccessible.

If that were the only issue, I might have thought it was just a temporary maintenance issue.

But all the Bant Coins registered in users' accounts had vanished!

It was like a voice phishing scheme where the balance disappeared without anyone realizing. And it wasn't just one or two people—everyone using the Mountain Hill exchange was facing the same situation.

So what Tae-gyu had mentioned earlier was all true?

The first thing that came to mind was the 11,000 BNT he had said he owned.

"What about you? Did you lose everything too?"

"..."

Tae-gyu seemed lost in thought and didn't respond to me.

An ominous feeling crept down my spine.

I shook Tae-gyu's shoulder and shouted.

"Hey! Oh Tae-gyu!"

He looked at me with unfocused eyes and then stammered.

"I sold everything earlier. I listened to you. Around midnight."

"Haah!"

In an instant, it felt like my legs were going weak.

At least he got out in time.

Just as I thought that, Tae-gyu suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

"You didn't know, did you?"

"Know what?"

"That Mountain Hill was going to get hacked! You knew about it, didn't you?"

I shook my head.

"No, I didn't know either."

"Then why did you tell me to sell right away? It doesn't make sense!"

"Well, that's..."

Honestly, it was understandable for Tae-gyu to react this way. Unless someone is an insider, it's impossible to know in advance that a hacking incident will occur.

When I didn't answer, Tae-gyu pressed me further, his spit flying.

"W-wait, did you hack it? Is that why you told me in advance?"

I shouted in disbelief.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

With a convinced expression, Tae-gyu said, "You don't have to hide it from me. I won't report you to the police, so just be honest."

"I told you it's not like that."

The most bewildered person in this situation was none other than me.

"I'll tell you, so just calm down for now."

I managed to calm Tae-gyu down and had him sit down. He sat on the floor, taking deep breaths.

It seemed to have some effect, as Tae-gyu calmed down a bit and said, "Now tell me."

I hesitated for a moment.

Should I tell him about the hologram that suddenly appeared before my eyes or not?

This guy was the only person I could trust, besides my mother. There was no need to lie to him.

Besides, no one else would believe me anyway.

After finishing my thoughts, I spoke honestly about what had happened earlier.

"So, it's like this…"

After I explained everything, Tae-gyu nodded as if he understood.

"Oh, I see. While we were on the call, the 'Mountain Hill Bankruptcy' appeared before you like a hologram, right?"

"Yeah, exactly."

Tae-gyu yelled in frustration.

"Are you kidding me!?"

"...It's true."

It was normal for him not to believe me.

I sighed, recalling past events.

"Actually, this isn't the first time something like this has happened."

The first time I saw 'that' was while I was in the military.