Taek-gyu seemed bewildered by my words.
[Why are you doing this? What’s the reason?]It’s natural for him to react this way.
It’s even stranger to suddenly tell him to sell it and have him say, ‘Yes. Got it. I’ll sell it right away.’
I don’t know why I’m saying this either.
But it went beyond just a feeling—there was a strong sense of certainty. Sometimes, instinct takes precedence over reason. If I hadn’t done this back then, I wouldn’t be here now.
“Listen to me.”
[So, why?]“Do you trust me?”
[Why? Do you need a guarantee?]I shouted in frustration.
“Shut up and just sell it! It’s not like you’ll lose anything by selling it. Turn it into cash immediately.”
[No, you have to give me a reason to understand.]“······.”
How do I explain this?
Instead, I took a different approach.
“Remember when you were practicing driving and broke Hyun-joo’s side mirror? You were scared she’d kill you if she found out, so I took the blame and said I did it. I begged her for forgiveness on your behalf.”
Taek-gyu was flustered.
[Wh-why are you bringing that up all of a sudden, you crazy idiot?]“Do you remember that in return, you promised to grant me one wish?”
[You bastard…]“Now’s the time to make that wish come true, pal! Sell your Bantcoin right now. Got it?”
There was silence on the other end for a while.
You might be wondering why I’m bringing up old stories. I’d prefer if you didn’t ask any more questions and just followed my advice…
After a long pause, Taek-gyu grumbled in surrender.
[Okay. I was planning to sell anyway so I had my sister set up a dollar account. I was going to sell gradually, but I’ll do it right now as you said. Satisfied?]I sighed in relief internally.
“Smart move.”
[When should we meet?]“Let’s meet tomorrow. I’ll come to your place.”
[Got it.]I hung up the phone.
The hologram that had been floating in front of me had long disappeared. I wondered if I had seen it wrong.
Could it really align just like that again?
“No way…”
Even if nothing happens, there’s no harm in selling it. I might feel a bit bitter if the Bantcoin price soars later.
It’s just a shame I used up one of my precious wishes like this.
“135 billion….”
What was the top prize for the lottery these days? 2 billion?
This is like hitting the jackpot several times over.
Such luck would never happen in reality. Especially to someone like Taek-gyu.
Suddenly, I recalled something from the past.
Back when we were in high school, he once lied to me that he had won the lottery. Believing him, I even took a taxi together to the NH Bank’s main branch.
Just before we entered, I remember him looking at me and laughing gleefully.
“Could that bastard have been lying?”
Did I get fooled again?
* * *
As I was lying down, the sun had already set before I realized it.
Creak!
I heard the front door open.
My mother came inside and greeted me warmly.
“You were home, son.”
“You’re back?”
It had been a week since I last saw her during my final leave from the military.
My mother put down her bag and said,
“Let’s go out to eat to celebrate your discharge.”
“Okay.”
I got dressed and went outside with my mother.
“What do you want to eat, son? Want some meat?”
“Anything is fine, really.”
We entered a nearby pork ribs restaurant.
My mother picked up the tongs and scissors and started grilling the meat. Her hands, holding the tongs, were rough and calloused.
I saw my mother’s face.
Looking closely, I noticed her eyes and mouth were filled with fine wrinkles. She looked much thinner compared to the last time I saw her.
After my father passed away, my mother became the breadwinner. Unlike me, who was relatively comfortable in the military, my mother worked tirelessly at any job she could find.
My mother spent her whole life managing the household. It was obvious what kind of work a middle-aged woman without skills or experience could do.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“Oh, I’m about to start.”
For a moment, I felt choked up.
I quickly bowed my head, pretending to eat.
“Is your current job not too hard?”
“Not at all. It’s just sitting and talking with customers anyway.”
“What about troublesome customers? I hear there are a lot of them these days.”
My mother smiled and said,
“It’s a well-off neighborhood, so there aren’t any like that. Everyone is so kind and nice. Do you think finding such a comfortable job is easy?”
“That’s a relief.”
The cooked meat piled up high in front of me.
“Don’t just grill, have some too.”
“I had lots of delicious food at the department store, so you go ahead and eat.”
I forced myself to chew and swallow the meat that wouldn’t go down easily.
“By the way, when are you planning to go back to school?”
“I have some time, so I’ll think about it.”
“Mom has already got the tuition money ready, so don’t worry.”
Korea University is a national university, so the tuition is cheaper compared to private universities. Even so, it’s a substantial amount for an ordinary family.
It seems that you have saved up the tuition fees from your limited household budget.
“Alright.”
***
I spread a blanket on the narrow floor and lay down next to my mother.
She fell asleep as soon as she lay down, probably because she was tired. In the darkness, I could occasionally hear her coughing.
Was it because of the change in sleeping arrangements?
I couldn’t fall asleep easily. After trying to force myself to sleep for a long time, I eventually gave up and sat up.
When I checked my phone, it was 3 AM.
Should I go to the convenience store and have a beer?
I carefully went outside, trying not to wake my mother. The night air felt cold on my face.
“Sigh.”
I thought everything would work out once I got out into society. But now that I’ve finished my service, the future seems bleak.
I can’t let my mother work alone, so I need to start earning money quickly.
As I walked to the convenience store with these thoughts, my phone rang.
Beep-beep!
Who would call at this hour?
It was Taek-gyu. I answered the call.
“Hey! Why are you calling at this hour…?”
Before I could finish my sentence, an urgent voice interrupted me.
[Something serious has happened!]“Don’t be ridiculous. Are you joking again?”
[The Mountain Hill exchange just got shut down!]I replied calmly.
“Stop joking around, I’m serious.”
Then Taek-gyu shouted furiously.
“Does this look like a joke to you!?”
“Then, is it not?”
“Where are you right now?”
“At home.”
“Come to my house right now. See for yourself if it’s a joke or not!”
With that, Taek-gyu hung up the phone.
“…”
Wait a second. Could it actually be true?
I hurried out to the main street and waved down a taxi.
“Taxi!”
As the taxi stopped, I quickly got in.
“Please go to Gangnam. Hurry.”
***
Taek-gyu lived in a one-room apartment in Yeoksam-dong.
I had visited so often during my leave that I even memorized the door code. As I opened the front door and stepped inside, the floor was littered with game magazines and comic books, and anime posters adorned the walls.
On the desk, the cables of a computer and a gaming console were tangled messily. And sitting in front of it was one man.
He was in his early twenties, with a chubby build, a short military-style haircut, and thick horn-rimmed glasses that made his eyes seem small.
He looked utterly dazed.
“Hey! What the hell is going on?”
Instead of answering, Taek-gyu pointed at the computer monitor.
An internet forum window was open.
– All my BantCoins registered with MountainHill have been withdrawn.
– Same here. 150.387BNT disappeared!
– That’s my entire fortune, sob ㅜㅜ
– What’s going on?
– Give me back my money!
– The exchange is inaccessible, and they’re not answering their phones.
– It’s on the news right now. CNN says MountainHill has shut down due to hacking.
– Hackers have raided the exchange and stole all the BantCoins.
– So what happens now? Does MountainHill compensate us?
– No way, those bastards!!!
I continued to read the flood of posts.
People were furious, despondent, crying, cursing, talking about dying, and more.
The bulletin board was nothing short of chaos.
“What on earth…?”
I looked at Taek-gyu and said.
“Hey, explain this to me.”
“I told you. Mountain Hill has been shut down.”
The exchange had been closed by the time Taek-gyu called me. An exchange that usually opened just fine suddenly became inaccessible.
If that was all, I might have thought it was just under temporary maintenance.
But all the BantCoins disappeared from the accounts registered on the exchange! It was as if they were wiped out without the users even knowing, like voice phishing. And it wasn’t just one or two people; all Mountain Hill exchange users experienced the same thing.
So everything Taek-gyu said earlier today was true?
The first thing that came to mind was the 11,000 BNT that Taek-gyu had.
“What happened to you? Did you lose everything too?”
“….”
Taek-gyu sat there still dazed, not reacting to my words.
A sense of dread trickled down my spine.
I shook Taek-gyu’s shoulder and shouted.
“Hey! Oh Taek-gyu!”
Taek-gyu looked at me with unfocused eyes and stammered,
“I sold it all earlier. When you told me to. Around midnight.”
“Haah!”
For a moment, it felt like all the strength drained out of my legs.
“At least you salvaged something.”
Thinking that, Taek-gyu suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
“You didn’t know about this, did you?”
“Know about what?”
“That Mountain Hill was going to be hacked! You must have known!”
I shook my head.
“No, I didn’t know either.”
“Then why did you tell me to sell it immediately earlier? It doesn’t make sense!”
“That’s because…”
In fact, it’s natural for Taek-gyu to react this way. It’s impossible to know in advance about a hacking incident unless you’re an insider.
As I didn’t respond, Taek-gyu pressed me, spitting out his words.
“Were you the one who hacked it? Is that why you gave me a heads up?”
I was so dumbfounded that I shouted.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Taek-gyu spoke with a determined expression.
“You don’t have to hide it from me. I won’t report you to the police, so just be honest.”
“I said it’s not true.”
In reality, the most bewildered person in this situation is none other than me.
“I’ll explain, so just calm down a bit.”
I calmed Taek-gyu down and had him sit down. He sat on the floor and took deep breaths diligently.
It seemed to have some effect as Taek-gyu calmed down a bit and spoke.
“Just tell me quickly.”
I pondered for a moment.
Should I tell him that a hologram suddenly appeared before my eyes?
This guy is the only person I can trust besides my mother. There’s no need to lie to him, right?
In any case, no one else would believe me even if I told them.
After finishing my thoughts, I honestly spoke about what had happened earlier.
“So, here’s the thing…”
After listening to everything, Taek-gyu nodded as if he understood.
“Ah, I see. So while you were talking, the phrase ‘Mountain Hill Bankruptcy’ appeared before your eyes like a hologram, right?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly it.”
Taek-gyu suddenly shouted.
“Are you joking!?”
“…It’s true.”
It’s normal not to believe it.
I sighed as I recalled past events.
“Actually, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”
The first time I saw “it” was in the military.
