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Chapter 45   —–CROW—–   

Two months had passed since I’d heard Deok-woo’s atrociously feminine voice.   

Nothing much had happened in the meantime.   As expected, I’d landed a glorious 198th place in the final exams, the very bottom of the barrel.  

Yerin Unnie had burst into tears upon seeing my report card, wailing about how she was going to explain this to Mom.   

At the gym, my heavy lifting had become a regular event. On weekends, the moment I walked in, the guys would have all the plates ready, loaded onto the barbell.  Cheers erupted every time I lifted, fueling my drive to break my personal record every week.   

The gym owner seemed to be using me as a marketing tool, even putting up a banner with my picture.   What else happened… Oh, Yerin Unnie and Mr. Yong-chul started dating.   They acted like lovebirds, cooing and cuddling every weekend, even though winter break hadn’t even started yet. It made my stomach churn.  I’d set them up, but I wished they wouldn’t be so lovey-dovey in front of me.   

And lastly…hmm.   

* “Bitcoin prices recently surpassed 10 million won…” * 

“…Yuna, isn’t that coin thing…the one you were buying?” 

* “Yes, it is.” * 

“???”   

Ah, winter break was approaching, and things were heating up.   

People’s interest in Bitcoin was starting to skyrocket. There had been talk about it before, but for most people, it was just a “useless virtual currency” or a “collectible”…or worse, just a bunch of data.   But as the price soared, it started to grab everyone’s attention.   

What the hell?  A bunch of data was worth over 10 million won?  Huh.   

Everyone was shocked and amazed by Bitcoin’s meteoric rise.   So, here’s the question: What would people do in this situation?   

Those who didn’t follow trends and preferred to watch from the sidelines would just say, “Oh dear, the world is ending,” but…   Modern people, whose brains were wired for capitalism and measured value in numbers, would think, “Holy shit, it’s going up that much? Should I jump on the bandwagon?” and dive right in.   

Unaware that the soaring red graph would soon turn into a deep, dark blue.   

Hmm~ should I start selling~?   

I pulled out my phone, opened the app, and sold all the Bitcoin I’d diligently accumulated.   

The money I’d steadily invested over the past four years, now worth several million won…wow. The numbers were changing.   

From millions to hundreds of millions. Look at this magical money-multiplying trick. It’s like printing money!   

120 million won.   Who would have thought I’d ever see this much money?   For the first time in both my lives, I was holding a fortune, and my brain was doing a dopamine-fueled dance!   A thrill ran down my spine, and a grin spread across my face.   This was why people played the crypto game.   

Well, I offered my condolences to the latecomers who would soon witness the upcoming crash…but in this world, the early birds always got the worm.   

“Unnie, look at this.”   

“Huh? What’s… Gasp!!”   

Yerin Unnie’s jaw dropped when she saw the amount on my phone.   

Hehe, surprised?  A 15-year-old investment genius who earned 120 million won was standing right in front of her!   

It was time to cash out.   And it was best not to look back.   

“Y-Yuna…what are you going to do with all that money?  Should we move to a bigger house?”   

“Huh? What are you talking about?”   

Was she crazy? Move with just 120 million won?   120 million.   

It was a lot of money, but we lived in Seoul, the capital of a country consumed by capitalism.   Move in this expensive city with just that much?  That was ridiculous.   

I deposited the 120 million won into my stock account, which I’d set up back in Ulleungdo, and went all-in on Busan Industrial.   

“Ta-da~! Unnie, we’re poor again~! Hehe.”   

“???”   

I kept 20 million won as a reward for myself.   It wasn’t much of a hardship, but it was a small reward for resisting temptation.   I was also interested in that VR thing Deok-woo had…and who knew when Yerin Unnie and Mr. Yong-chul would get married?   

Life was unpredictable. They might get so horny and lonely that they’d walk down the aisle before their first anniversary.   And winter break was coming soon, and I was planning to take them to Ulleungdo.   

I needed to buy gifts for Mom, Dad, Jeong-woo, and Yuri.   

“Y-Yuna?  B-but stocks are risky! You could lose all your money!!”   

“But you can also earn a lot, right?  You gotta risk it to get the biscuit!”   

I giggled as Yerin Unnie collapsed, watching the 100 million won vanish into the digital ether, the notification confirming the transaction.   Most people thought that way.   The stock market was a cruel world of haves and have-nots, where the cries and tears of the ants watered the ground for the rich to walk on.   But the stock market wasn’t just for the rich; it was a world for real men, where information, intuition, and action determined success or failure.   

And who was I?   Han Yuna, a beastly alpha female with information from a past life, a bulldozer personality that didn’t care about subtlety, and the impulsiveness to charge headfirst into anything that caught my eye.   

I knew that Busan Industrial, which had been stagnating for years, would soon skyrocket due to the inter-Korean railway project.   

The day when the railway would connect to the other Korea up north, and the stock price would soar, was just around the corner.   

Another ordinary day passed.   

During breaks, I calmly read the light novel I’d borrowed from Deok-woo or played on my phone.  

During class, I drooled and snored, only to be woken up by the teacher’s scolding, at which I’d offer a sheepish grin. 

At lunchtime, I suppressed my beastly urge to dive headfirst into the food trough and displayed the wisdom of a civilized person, knowing that if I waited, I could have all the leftovers…   

“What part of a woman are you most interested in?”   

What the hell was that?  Crazy.   

While I was starving, but patiently waiting in the classroom for the other kids, driven by their baseless instincts, to clear out of the cafeteria, the four weirdos’ nonsense caught my attention.   

Was that an appropriate topic for school?   

Even though we were the only ones in the classroom, Young-wook’s horny comment piqued my interest.   Hey, if you’re going to talk about that, include me! I like girls too.   

“I’m embarrassed to say this, but…obviously, it’s the boobs.”   

“If you’re embarrassed, at least hesitate a little, you perv.”   

“…Hmm, hmm.”   

Look at that perv talking about boobs so confidently.  That’s why his only friends were these weirdos.   Birds of a feather flock together, as they say.  He was surrounded by perverts because he was one himself.   

I was embarrassed to be associated with them.   Please don’t call yourselves my friends in front of other people.   

“Ha, Chul-soo, I knew you’d say that.  Looks aren’t everything.  Boobs can be faked with padding…it’s all about the ass.”   

“What?!”   

“…!!”   

I smirked at Chul-soo’s declaration, the human pig who could rival Burari in terms of belly fat. I looked at him with the disdain of a veteran gamer looking at a newbie…I wished they’d both just disappear.   

I agreed with them, though… Should I just join in?   But they were talking about this without me.  Maybe they were being considerate, thinking I, the prettiest girl in school, would be uncomfortable with such lewd talk.   

‘…Wait, why am I being considerate of these pathetic, embarrassing males?’   

If they were being considerate, they wouldn’t be talking about this in front of me.   And it was unnecessary consideration.  Hey, include me! I like dirty talk too, you assholes.   

“Hey, guys.”   

“!!”   

“Huh?”   

“Hmm.”   

“…!!”   

Me being considerate of them would be like a baby craving nicotine, waddling on two legs to the convenience store, hands in pockets, and asking for a pack of Marlboros.  It just wasn’t possible.   

I approached the four weirdos with a playful smile, and three of them, except for Deok-woo, jumped in surprise.   

“What are you talking about~?  Include me.”   

“Um, well, you see…”   

“It’s…guy talk. Yeah, you wouldn’t understand.”   

“Hmm! Hmm!!”  

 Bullshit, “guy talk.”   It was just horny talk from perverts whose brains were ruled by their dicks.   

“We were discussing what part of a woman we’re most interested in.  Chul-soo said breasts, and Young-wook said butt.”   

“Deok-woo, you crazy bastard!!”   

“Y-you can’t tell Yuna that!  It hasn’t even been a year since she broke your ribs!”   

Oh, right. That happened at the beginning of the school year.   I missed those days~ It was hard trying to beat him up without leaving any visible marks.   

The other guys quieted down after I tossed them around a bit, but Deok-woo, with his chuunibyou and inflated ego, kept coming back for more, so I had to jab him in the ribs a few times.   

“Boobs and butt?  Hmm~ Big boobs are nice~  A plump butt is good too. Wait a second, I think I have a picture on my phone.”   

That incident was how I became close with these guys.   

I pulled out my phone from my yellow cardigan and scrolled through my photos… Ah, there it was.   

“Is this your type? Big boobs, small waist…and a huge butt.”   

It was a picture of me with a beautiful woman who looked like a puppy, gentle and cute, with an almost unrealistically curvy figure for an Asian, a tiny waist, long, slender limbs, and especially huge breasts and a round butt.   

Chul-soo, Young-wook, and even Mok-gol’s eyes widened, and they nodded excitedly like gorillas in heat.   

“W-who is she? Do you know her?! Please give me a chance to marry her!!”   

“No! Not this pervert! A gentleman like me, polite and refined, is a much better husband!”   

“I…I want to meet her too.”   

Wow, they were enthusiastic.   Except for Deok-woo, who wasn’t interested in real women, they were practically drooling, kneeling and begging, their eyes glued to my phone. It was hilarious.   I could introduce them.   I was planning to visit her during winter break.   

“That’s my mom.”   

“???”   

“???”   

“???”   

“I’ll tell her all about this~!”  

My friends were lusting after my mom. I was so embarrassed. Hehe.

—–CROW—–   #Only READ at DarkstarTranslations