---
The Next Morning – 7:03 a.m.
Dae-Hyun woke up feeling… different.
His neck still hurt from the truck incident, but his soul felt lighter.
Probably because he wasn't sleeping under 86,000 flying dollar bills anymore.
Now, thanks to the "System," all his money was stored safely in some mysterious virtual account.
The app on his new phone—a phone he ordered instantly using 0.1% of his balance—displayed:
> [Current Balance: ₩253,644,000]
[+₩86,400 per day guaranteed. Passive income: ACTIVE.]
He stared at the screen.
"…I'm a living pension plan."
But even though he could now afford a yacht, he had to go to work.
Why?
Because his coworkers didn't know he was secretly richer than most chaebol heirs.
And more importantly… his boss still owed him two days' worth of leftover BBQ meat.
---
8:41 a.m. – Restaurant Kitchen
"Dae-Hyun! You're late again!" shouted Manager Park, wiping sweat from his neck with a lettuce leaf.
"Sorry! I got hit by a truck and became spiritually awakened," Dae-Hyun muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing."
He walked to his station and began slicing onions with suspicious calmness.
Across the kitchen stood a familiar face—Min-Ji, a part-timer like him.
Smart, hardworking, way out of his league. She had a bad habit of smiling at customers too politely and a worse habit of making Dae-Hyun's brain melt every time she said his name.
"Morning, Dae-Hyun!" she said cheerfully, tying her apron.
"M-Morning."
She frowned. "You okay? You look like you survived a natural disaster."
"I did. Kind of."
Then she sighed and muttered, "Ugh, my scooter broke again. I had to run three subway stops."
Dae-Hyun blinked.
"Wait… you take a scooter to work?"
"Yeah. It's old, though. Sometimes it dies if I look at it wrong."
He paused.
> [Would you like to purchase a vehicle?]
[Suggested: 2020 Honda PCX Scooter – ₩2,200,000]
[Purchase anonymously?]
"…Oh no," he whispered.
---
That Afternoon – Behind the Restaurant
The lunch rush was over. Everyone was wiping sweat and counting tips.
Suddenly—
"Delivery for… uh… Min-Ji?"
A delivery truck pulled up. The driver unloaded a shiny new Honda scooter, brand new, with a pink bow tied around the handlebars.
Everyone stared.
Min-Ji walked out, blinked twice, then looked like she'd forgotten how to breathe.
"Wh-What is this?!"
The driver held up a receipt. "Paid in full. Anonymous sender. Says it's a gift. Enjoy!"
Then he zoomed off.
Silence.
Everyone turned to stare at Min-Ji.
Manager Park squinted. "Anonymous? What kind of rich boyfriend nonsense is this?"
Min-Ji stammered, "I—I don't have a boyfriend! Who would…?"
Her eyes scanned the crowd.
Dae-Hyun, standing off to the side, was sweating buckets, whistling innocently while pretending to wipe a nonexistent window with a cucumber.
He looked very guilty.
"Dae-Hyun…?"
He froze.
"Dae-Hyun, did you…?"
"N-NO! Why would I?! I don't even know how to spell scooter! It's spelled... uh… Scootuh?"
Min-Ji stared.
Everyone stared.
Even the lettuce on the side dish stared.
---
Later That Day – On the Rooftop
Dae-Hyun sat alone, eating cold rice balls while kicking his legs.
Min-Ji appeared quietly beside him.
"…It was you, wasn't it?"
He sighed.
"Okay, maybe."
"Why?"
"You looked tired. And your scooter was trying to commit suicide."
She blinked, then slowly smiled.
"You really didn't have to."
"I know. But I felt like it."
She sat down next to him.
"You're weird."
"I get that a lot."
They sat in silence.
Then she said something that made his ears turn red.
"…Thanks. You're kind of… cool."
He nearly choked on his rice.
---
That Night – Back Home
Dae-Hyun stared at his system again.
> [Current Balance: ₩263,012,000]
[Auto-donation for Min-Ji: OFF]
He quickly turned that off.
That was a slippery slope.
He flopped onto his now visible floor mattress and sighed.
"I'm going to get caught if I keep doing this."
He stared at the ceiling.
"…But I really want to buy Manager Park a bidet next."
---
End of Chapter 3