Chapter 6: Unveiling Cracks in the Crypto World!!

I told my mother about what happened yesterday.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"What is this Banto Coin thing? Where is it issued?"

"It's a virtual currency that only exists on the internet."

"So, is it like game money?"

"Well, it's easier to understand it that way."

Anyway, the 100,000 won worth of Bant Coin I received in middle school turned into 13.6 billion won, and of that, 1.24 billion won is my share.

Though the return is over 100,000 times my initial amount, it's only one-tenth of what Taek-gyu earned. The difference is because the character Taek-gyu sold was high-level, while mine was just average.

If I had known it would turn out like this, maybe I would have put more effort into it.

________________________________________

Now that I had money, the first priority was to find a new place to live.

We couldn't keep living in a basement apartment with poor ventilation. Beyond being cramped and dirty, it wasn't good for our health. My mother's frequent coughing was probably because of it.

I wanted to find the best place possible, but my mother was against it.

"You can't spend money recklessly just because it suddenly came into your hands."

In the end, we visited several real estate agencies and settled on a two-room villa with a jeonse (lease deposit) of 120 million won. Though the building was a bit old, it had recently been wallpapered and floored, so the interior was clean.

On moving day.

Since we didn't have much to move, there wasn't any need to hire a moving company.

A single moving truck was enough. The move was quickly done.

After all the items were unloaded and the moving truck left, my mother and I began unpacking.

"How do you like the house?"

My mother smiled and said, "I love it. There are two rooms, and it gets plenty of sunlight. It's perfect."

I could have spent more and gotten a better place... but I was relieved to see her happy.

While unpacking the boxes, my mother's hands suddenly stopped. Inside a small box were some framed photos, albums, and an old notebook.

With each move, our house had gotten smaller. And as space decreased, we had to throw away items we didn't use.

Most of my father's belongings had been discarded like that. What remained in the box were the things my mother couldn't bear to part with—my father's mementos.

She carefully picked up a framed photo.

It was a picture taken in our front yard when I was in elementary school. My parents stood on either side of me, with a cozy two-story house in the background.

My mother had always dreamed of living in a house like that. My father bought the land and built the house himself to fulfill that dream.

The house was finished before I was born, and I lived there from birth. Most of our family's memories were tied to that place.

My mother gazed at the photo in silence for a long time.

"Do you ever think about dad?"

When I asked, she nodded with a bittersweet expression.

"Of course. He went through so much hardship, but if he were still alive, he'd be here to see these good days too."

I looked at the photo again. The young version of my father seemed oddly unfamiliar after so long.

After a moment, my mother stood up, deliberately cheerful.

"I should clean up a bit more. Jin-hoo, go tidy up your room."

"Got it."

Since we didn't have much, organizing was quick, and with the house being small, cleaning didn't take long either.

Hmm, I guess that's an advantage?

Sitting in the living room and looking around, the house seemed pretty spacious. But that was probably just an illusion because there wasn't much furniture.

We still needed to buy a washing machine, refrigerator, dining table, and beds.

"Take a break from work for a while," I suggested.

"How can I just stay home when I'm perfectly healthy?"

There was no way my mother would listen to me.

"At least take a break for three months. Okay?"

After some pressing, my mother reluctantly nodded.

"Alright, son. I'll do that.

Even though I had spent a significant amount on the new house, I still had 375 million won left in my account (though about 100 million would go to taxes).

And there was still 740 million won to collect from Taek-gyu.

With this much, we wouldn't have to worry for decades, would we?

Despite the joy, there was also a strange feeling of emptiness. Was earning money always this easy?

I handed my mother a bankbook containing 100 million won.

"This is for you, mom. Use it to buy whatever you need."

"I'm fine. I've saved up enough over the years."

"Well, I'm not fine, so please take it."

Just as we finished tidying up and took a moment to relax, Taek-gyu barged in with toilet paper and detergent in hand.

"I'm here, ma'am!"

My mother's face lit up.

"Oh, Taek-gyu, you're here!"

Taek-gyu had been such a frequent visitor that my mother treated him like another son. While I was serving in the military, he'd come to visit her on holidays and birthdays.

"Have you eaten?" my mother asked.

"Not yet. Moving days call for jajangmyeon, right? Let's order some later."

Taek-gyu looked around the house and said, "Anything I can help with?"

I grumbled in response, "If you wanted to help, you should've come earlier."

Did he just come here to eat jajangmyeon?

Honestly, there wasn't much he could've done, even if he came earlier.

I went into my room with Taeykgyu, and since there was no desk or chair, we sat on the floor.

"Here, have some fruit."

My mother brought in a plate of fruit before leaving the room.

I skewered a piece of apple with a fork and said, "I read the news. Mountain Hill went completely under."

Taek-gyu nodded. "Yeah, it's causing chaos right now."

Mountain Hill was the world's largest Bant Coin exchange.

The damage from the hacking was estimated to be anywhere from hundreds of billions to one trillion won. In principle, Mountain Hill should compensate the users for their losses.

But where would a private exchange get the money to cover that amount?

In the end, Mountain Hill filed for bankruptcy.

"So what happens to the users?" I asked.

"What do you think? They lost their money. That's it."

If something similar had happened at a bank, the government would step in to take measures, compensate the victims, and punish those responsible.

But since Bant Coin had no governing body, there was no institution to take action or offer compensation.

That was the fundamental problem with virtual currencies like Bant Coin.

According to Taekygyu, this wasn't the first time an exchange had been hacked. It just hadn't made headlines before because the amounts were relatively small.

But this time, it was different.

The scale of the damages made this hacking the biggest event in the history of BANTCoin.

A few days had passed, but no one knew who was responsible for the incident. There were only rumors—some said it was a hacker group affiliated with ISIS, while others pointed fingers at the international hacker organization Anonymous.

Before the MountainHill shutdown was announced, BANTCoin was trading at around $1,120 per BNT. As soon as the closure was reported, the price dropped below $1,000.

In just one day, it plummeted more than 20%, falling below $800 per BNT.

Korean media outlets started pouring out articles expressing concern about the safety of cryptocurrencies.

What is the fate of BANTCoin?

MountainHill hack exposes flaws in BANTCoin.

BANTCoin: the currency of the future stands at a crossroads.

The reliability of BANTCoin under scrutiny again.

Growing skepticism about cryptocurrencies.

Some financial experts even added fuel to the fire, claiming, "The value the public has placed on BANTCoin is disappearing. In a few months, it will be treated like Monopoly money."

"It looks like it's about to get cut in half soon," I said.

But for Taek-gyu, this was all someone else's problem now. He had sold everything beforehand.

"No matter how I think about it, this doesn't make sense," he said.

"The bankruptcy?"

"No. The fact that you called it," Taekgyu replied.

"It was just a coincidence," I said.

"There's no such thing as just coincidence in this world. I think…" Taekgyu's expression suddenly turned serious. Did he figure something out?

I leaned in to listen.

"You've had a hidden superpower all along. When a crisis hit, that ability awakened. Superheroes are born like that."

"... Have you lost it?"

I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

But Taek-gyu was still dead serious.

"Think about it. It's clearly… Ah! I think I just had a great idea."

"What is it?"

"Let's call that power the Oracle Eye. How does that sound? Pretty cool, right?"

"Yeah, no, it doesn't sound cool at all."

Unlike me, who firmly shook my head, Taek-gyu nodded as if he was completely satisfied.

"Oracle Eye it is. From now on, that's what I'll call it."

"... Please don't."

At that moment, Taekgyu's phone rang.

Ding ding!

"Who else calls you besides me?" I asked.

"Plenty of people. Hardworking delivery guys and all sorts of spam," Taek-gyu said as he looked at his phone. Then his face turned pale.

"Gasp!"

Answering the phone, Taek-gyu's face went white.

"Oh, when did you come to Korea? Huh? Now? I'm kind of busy… No, not really, but… Ah, okay… Yes!"

When he hung up, his expression was unsettling.

"What's up?" I asked.

"My sister," Taek-gyu replied with a miserable look.

"Hyunju?"

Taek-gyu had a sister who was 10 years older than him.

Her name was Oh Hyunju.

Unlike Taek-gyu, who was a full-blown otaku, Hyunju was an accomplished professional working at Golden Gate, a U.S.-based investment bank.

It was thanks to Hyunju's help that Taekgyu was able to establish a corporation in the tax haven of Delar Island before selling his BANTCoins.

"But why do you look like that?"

"She's back in Korea. She wants me to come to her right now."

Hyunju worked at the Asia branch in Hong Kong, so she rarely came to Korea. The large age gap made Taek-gyu feel intimidated by her.

Taek-gyu grabbed my shoulder and pleaded, "Come with me."

"Why should I?"

"She's just my sister to me, but to you, she's a senior you need to respect."

"Well… She is like a senior."

Hyunju graduated from Korea University with a degree in economics. Though she was in a different department, she was 10 years ahead of me, making her a senior of mine in college.

"It's been a while since you've seen her, hasn't it?"

Now that I thought about it, the last time I saw her was before I went to the military. We had dinner together then.

I nodded. "Alright, I'll go with you."

Taek-gyu beamed. "Good decision."

I quickly threw on my padded jacket and got ready to leave.

"Mom, I'm stepping out with Taek-gyu for a bit."

"We'll be back, ma'am," Taek-gyu said politely.

My mom asked, "When will you be back? What about dinner?"

"We might be late, so go ahead and eat without us," I replied.