Chapter 9: Lotto

“Goddamn it…”

On a quiet weekend evening, as the sun nearly vanished below the horizon, Joon sat in a park, sucking on a piece of candy, deeply immersed in thought.

While most people greeted such days with smiles, Joon, however, sighed heavily, burdened by a worry that had plagued him for days.

‘To buy dozens of lottery tickets, relying on flyers alone won’t suffice.’

Thanks to Park Chaerin, a plan had sparked earlier in the week.

Presumably, next week’s lottery would feature consecutive numbers.

Yet, frustratingly, he couldn’t recall the exact sequence.

Therefore, his solution was clear: ‘Why not just buy every possible consecutive combination?’

Admittedly, it was an absurdly simple idea.

Since the numbers would be sequential, he could, in theory, calculate all possibilities and purchase them accordingly.

Although the cost wasn’t trivial, compared to the jackpot, it was, without question, manageable.

Moreover, a week of hard work would cover it, so there was no reason to hesitate.

Nevertheless, the biggest hurdle remained: ‘Who would buy the tickets for me?’

As a minor, he was legally barred from purchasing lottery tickets.

Initially, he considered asking his mother for help.

However, if he suggested betting their rent money on lottery tickets, she’d likely respond with, [Joon, has it been too tough lately…? I’m sorry…]

Consequently, that idea was quickly abandoned.

So, who else could he turn to?

‘The construction boss? No, if he finds out I won, who knows what he’d do. The homeless guy on the bench? Ugh, that’s also risky…’

If he enlisted someone’s help, the news would, as he remembered, spread like wildfire.

Subsequently, if the buyer saw the news, things could turn dangerous.

‘After all, even the kindest people can lose it over money.’

Having read countless online stories of lottery winners being blackmailed, he knew he had to be cautious in choosing his proxy.

“Still, I can’t just keep agonizing over it…”

Was there anyone suitable?

Ideally, an adult with no ambition, content to live as a jobless slacker.

“Why do they keep pushing me to get a job? I don’t wanna work~”

Even if not entirely free of greed, someone from a wealthy family, less likely to resort to blackmail, would be perfect.

“If I could just inherit Dad’s building, I’d live easy.”

Better yet, if they were small and non-threatening, that would be ideal.

“Even when I work part-time, kids look down on me ‘cause I’m short and weak…”

“…”

There she was.

As if she’d read his mind, a voice muttering the perfect criteria drifted from the nearby bench.

Turning his head, he saw a woman with disheveled, just-woken-up hair, slouched despite the late hour.

Dressed in a plain tee and sweatpants, her job—or lack thereof—was obvious at a glance.

Her hopeless, dead-fish eyes matched her earlier complaints, and her barely 150 cm, scrawny frame sealed the deal.

“Awesome…”

Truly, she was the perfect candidate.

After assessing her, Joon sprang up and cautiously approached her.

“Excuse me.”

“I don’t believe in that.”

Before he could finish, she cut him off sharply, assuming he was some religious solicitor.

To clarify the misunderstanding, he tried again.

“No, it’s not that.”

“I’m not buying anything.”

Not buying was, in fact, the problem.

Despite her distrust, he crouched to her eye level and pleaded.

“Can you just hear me out?”

Still avoiding his gaze, she waved him off irritably.

“I’m from the next town over, so I don’t know the way. Ask someone else.”

“…”

Clearly, she had no interest in listening.

Even in a cold society, her iron wall made conversation nearly impossible.

‘Screw it.’

Since she wasn’t going to listen anyway…

Instead of wasting words, he decided action would speak louder.

“Here.”

With a brief word, he gently placed a few 50,000-won bills on the bench beside her.

Her avoidant eyes widened at the cash, and she finally looked at him.

Flashing his kindest smile, he said.

“Can you do me a quick favor?”

“…”

After a few seconds of silence, she stared at him, then picked up her phone and dialed.

‘What’s with the sudden call?’

After a few rings, the call connected, and she spoke in a trembling voice.

“Police? There’s a guy here asking me for prostitution…”

“What the hell!”

Panicked, Joon snatched the phone and hung up.

At that, her frail, pitiful frame shook as she screamed.

“Eek! Don’t do this!”

“I’m not doing anything like that!”

His attempt to shift her focus had backfired spectacularly.

A stranger handing her cash—her reaction was, understandably, predictable.

Frustrated, Joon’s raised voice only scared her more, tears streaming down her face.

“S-Sorry, please don’t hurt me…”

“Ugh…”

Correcting this misunderstanding was clearly going to take time.

“You want me to buy lottery tickets?”

“More precisely, I’m leaving money here, you buy the tickets, then forget them here.”

Only after standing ten steps away from the bench could Joon finally have a proper conversation.

Although she still didn’t fully trust him, keeping 112 dialed, he could at least explain his goal.

“If you need lottery tickets, why not buy them yourself?”

“Because I’m a minor…”

“…”

When her skeptical expression persisted, Joon pulled out his student ID.

“Here’s my ID.”

“…Isang High?”

Her alma mater, where her younger sibling currently studied.

Since there was no reason to fake an ID, and it matched her sibling’s perfectly, her suspicion eased slightly.

However, new questions arose.

‘Why’s a minor buying lottery tickets?’

While curiosity might drive such a request, wouldn’t he ask his mom?

Asking for cigarettes or alcohol was cheeky but understandable—kids that age often experimented, and she’d tried drinking herself, though never through a proxy.

Curious about his motives, she gave a probing look, which he noticed and addressed.

“My mom said with my face, no one would suspect me, so she sent me to buy them. But they checked my ID right away…”

“Hmm…”

Although it was odd for a mom to send her son on such an errand, his build made it plausible.

Still, she couldn’t fully trust him yet.

‘Hmm…’

Sensing her hesitation, Joon offered a harmless smile.

“If you buy them, you can keep the change. How about it?”

Normally, an adult wouldn’t bite.

However, based on her earlier muttering, she was a jobless slacker, likely short on cash.

“…Really?”

His guess was spot-on.

Now in her third year of unemployment, she lived off her parents’ allowance.

But they’d recently cut her off, demanding she get a job, leaving her desperate.

Unable to afford a limited-edition game skin, she’d been agonizing over working, so his offer was irresistibly tempting.

‘That was a lot of cash earlier…’

Recalling the bills—around twenty 50,000-won notes—she glanced at his wallet, lost in thought.

‘It’s a bit suspicious…’

Since the deal seemed too good, her doubts lingered.

As her hesitation stretched, Joon nudged her.

“If you don’t trust me, we can keep this distance to the lottery shop.”

“…Fine, I’ll buy them.”

Finally, she made her decision.

If it felt risky, she could send the pre-typed 112 text while keeping her distance.

‘Yes!’

Joon cheered inwardly as they walked to the lottery shop, maintaining the gap.

Once in the bright shop, feeling safer, she approached and asked.

“Just pick random numbers?”

“No.”

Handing over the money, he specified.

“1 to 6, 2 to 7, 3 to 8, all the way up to 45 to 5.”

“…What?”

Perplexed by his precise request, she questioned him, but he just smiled.

“My mom said she had a gut feeling and told me to buy like that.”

“…Whatever, it’s not my money.”

Without further ado, she took the cash and bought the tickets as instructed.

“Thanks.”

As Joon thanked her brightly, she asked hesitantly.

“You’re really letting me keep the change?”

“Yeah, I said you could, didn’t I?”

“I mean, yeah, but…”

“It’s fine, my mom said to use the change as pocket money.”

Though it stung a bit, if he won billions, this was a small price to pay.

Nevertheless, she seemed uneasy, her dark-circled eyes narrowing as she handed back half the change.

“Take it.”

“No, really, it’s fine.”

“Take it. This is enough for me.”

Even as a slacker, she had a shred of pride.

Taking all of a high schooler’s money felt wrong.

‘I just need enough for the skin anyway.’

Insisting it was fine, she grabbed his gesturing hand and stuffed the bills into it.

“Take it.”

“Uh.”

“I’m going.”

Fearing he might stop her, she bolted across the street.

“By the way, your ID said you’re a first-year…”

Since her sibling was also a first-year, they might know each other.

‘Should I have asked?’

Musing, she reached the convenience store near her house.

As she opened the door to buy a gift card, someone called out.

“Unnie!”

Turning, she saw her younger sibling with long, straight hair and a similar petite build.

Hayan was beaming at her.