Chapter 184: Seo ji woo was chosen

Flustered by Hayoon’s masterful acting, Seo Ji-woo stammered an apology.

It was true. Even Seo Ji-woo felt that accusing the benefactor who had helped her earn ₩600 million of being a stock manipulator was a bit much.

She had gotten too engrossed in the movie.

Seo Ji-woo was generally a carefree person, and since Hayoon had taken the helm, she hadn’t really thought about anything.

That’s probably why she had been so easily frightened.

“I’m sorry… Hayoon…”

“No, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

After Seo Ji-woo prepared a tomato pasta apology offering, Hayoon quickly forgave her and twirled the pasta onto her fork.

And so, as Hayoon and Seo Ji-woo were finishing their dinner…

“Hayoon.”

“Yeah?”

“Did the other unnies also invest like you told me to?”

“Ah, that?”

“Yeah, yeah, I was suddenly curious…”

Seo Ji-woo, her curiosity piqued, brought up the topic of stocks.

Following Hayoon’s instructions, she had sold all her stocks as soon as the US market opened.

The transaction fees were substantial due to the large sum, but Seo Ji-woo was now a wealthy woman with over ₩600 million worth of US dollars.

Moreover, with the dollar exchange rate peaking at ₩1,475 in January 2025…

Considering the exchange rate gains, she might not have even paid any fees.

Anyway, having made a fortune from stocks, she was curious about the other members.

“Well, Baek-seol probably earned a bit more than if she had just kept it in a savings account.”

“Huh? Why? I earned 600%.”

“Baek-seol is meticulous, so she researched everything herself and invested in safer, less volatile stocks. Well, she says she’s grateful to me for getting her interested in stocks every time we talk.”

Baek-seol, following Hayoon’s original plan, had invested in index funds and was content with the fact that she was making a profit from stocks.

In fact, due to the explosive growth during this period, many people who invested in index funds saw returns close to 100%, so her happiness was understandable.

“Seo-hyun unnie and Arin unnie invested because I told them to, but they didn’t put in much money. They only invested about ₩100 a month, so their returns wouldn’t be as high as yours.”

“Ah.”

Hong Seo-hyun and Choi Arin had followed Hayoon’s stock picks, but their investment amounts were smaller than Seo Ji-woo’s.

It was Seo Ji-woo who was unusual, investing ₩100 million in individual stocks over two years, starting as soon as she turned twenty, simply because a friend told her to.

“What about A-yeong unnie?”

“Ah, A-yeong unnie…”

“Why that reaction?”

“Well…”

Jo A-yeong…

“When I talked about stocks, she heard something strange somewhere and said, ‘Bitcoin is the future!’ and invested in some weird dog-themed coin? She lost ₩20 million and now she won’t even look at stocks, no matter what I say.”

“Ah…”

“She was the one who didn’t buy what I told her to, but for some reason, she doesn’t trust my judgment anymore.”

“Oh dear…”

“So I got annoyed and didn’t tell her to buy more. She earns a lot of money anyway, so she’ll make back that ₩20 million in less than a year.”

As they say, luck plays a part.

Seo Ji-woo had simply trusted Hayoon and ended up with the highest profits among the BGG Company members.

Baek-seol, who had done her own research.

Hong Seo-hyun and Choi Arin, who had strong egos and invested smaller amounts.

And Jo A-yeong.

The fact that Seo Ji-woo had made such overwhelming profits compared to the other three was purely due to luck.

“In that sense, our Ji-woo is the best at stocks. Stocks are all about faith, you know.”

Of course, Hayoon praised Seo Ji-woo, saying that trusting and holding onto stocks was the standard method.

“Really…?”

Seo Ji-woo, hearing the praise, twirled some pasta onto her fork and wondered if she was really that good at stocks.

She had simply followed Hayoon’s instructions, investing a portion of her salary into her stock account as directed.

She hadn’t done anything else.

But…

“Maybe?”

Seo Ji-woo glanced at her phone, checked the amount in her stock account, and nodded in agreement with Hayoon.

Even if Seo Ji-woo herself lacked confidence, the numbers in her stock account spoke volumes.

You have talent, they seemed to say.

Seo Ji-woo, who had become a multi-millionaire without even realizing it, had no intention of bragging about it to others.

Especially since Hayoon herself never shared settlement amounts with other members, even if she had recommended the same stocks with the same tone…

The current situation, where only Seo Ji-woo had made a profit of ₩600 million, was a bit awkward.

It could potentially cause hurt feelings.

“Ji-woo, I don’t have to tell you, but let’s try not to talk about the money we made from stocks, okay?”

“Uh, okay… So I shouldn’t brag about it on stream either?”

“Just mention 10%. Only 10%.”

“Huh?”

“Say the CEO told you to invest small amounts regularly, and after two years, your initial ₩10 million investment turned into ₩70 million. Say you set up automatic deposits and forgot about it, and if you had known, you would have invested more.”

“Hmm… But isn’t ₩70 million still a bit like humble-bragging? It’s almost ₩100 million, and so many people don’t even have that much.”

“True.”

“Then why are you telling me to say that?”

“I’m indirectly telling you not to talk about it on stream, Ji-woo.”

“Ah!”

Seo Ji-woo clapped her hands, a clueless expression on her face.

Hayoon really liked Seo Ji-woo.

She was quick to renew her contract, never late, and streamed diligently.

But there was just one thing, her intelligence…

It was lacking in many ways.

No wonder she was considered the only “idiot” in BGG Company.

‘Hong Seo-hyun’s RP is that of a scholar, Baek-seol is clearly smart from the way she writes her ASMR scripts, and Jo A-yeong has experience as an accountant in a small company.’

The other three were at least average, but Seo Ji-woo fell short, making her “idiocy” quite noticeable.

And that very trait had become a selling point, making her incredibly popular with fans.

In many ways, Seo Ji-woo’s naive and slightly dim-witted persona worked well for her, both in terms of streaming and finances.

“Phew, that pasta was good. Anyway, I know you’re fine, Ji-woo, so I’ll get going now, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll see you out.”

Hayoon looked at Seo Ji-woo like an older sister looking at her younger sibling, then put the pasta bowl in the sink and prepared to leave.

Hayoon wasn’t free either.

Streaming had truly become a hobby for Hayoon, but it had become a hobby because she was leading such a busy life.

The Vtuber industry had also expanded significantly, and she had to meet with various business partners and lead contract negotiations.

For the sake of tomorrow, she needed to go home and rest.

“Ji-woo, I’ve told you repeatedly, I’m absolutely not a stock manipulator or anything like that. You know that, right?”

“Ah, I know, I know.”

After giving Seo Ji-woo one last reminder, she took the bus home.

She was a respectable CEO, but Hayoon hadn’t bought a car.

‘Cars are scary…?’

Honestly, she wasn’t confident in her driving.

Hayoon was brutally honest with herself.

Meanwhile, the day after Seo Ji-woo and Hayoon’s altercation.

Do Jin-ho, who had become BGG Company’s de facto operations manager and had earned the title of “Department Head” at the age of twenty-five this year, urgently called Hayoon.

Of course, “Department Head” was just a title; his salary hadn’t changed much from two years ago.

Anyway…

– Boss!

“Yes, I’m listening.”

Do Jin-ho had called Hayoon after a long time.

Last December.

BGG Company had hosted a concert at the 2024 AGC.

After that, besides giving out year-end bonuses, they hadn’t spoken much, even with Do Jin-ho, Hayoon’s right-hand man, due to the MCN’s flexible work system.

– Emergency. Real emergency.

“What is it? Did the fans who couldn’t come to AGC ask for another concert? That’s a familiar tactic, why are you taking it so seriously?”

Hayoon found Do Jin-ho’s reaction a bit strange.

Do Jin-ho had worked with Hayoon for over five years, her right-hand man. Why was he still not over the year-end concert hype?

Shouldn’t he be used to it by now?

– N-no… th-that… th…!

He was now stuttering incoherently.

Wondering what was going on, Hayoon remained silent.

Finally, Do Jin-ho regained his composure and managed to form a coherent sentence.

– Ji-woo, she got an offer for an advertising music contract for the Z Tab launch?

“Huh? What Tab?”

– Z Tab, Z Tab!

“Eh…?”

However, upon hearing Do Jin-ho’s words…

“Huh? Uh oh…?”

Even Hayoon was stunned.

Z Tab.

It was one of the flagship product lines of Korea’s largest IT company.

In fact, a faceless Japanese singer had collaborated with an IT company on advertising music around last year, and Hayoon had secretly envied them.

“Really? With us?”

Fortunately, Korea’s top IT company had readily extended a hand to BGG Company.