We would like to inform you that, as of today, “CandyCoin” has been added as a point exchange method.
Please note that the existing exchange methods will remain available.
Choi Seongwon, who had gone onto a gambling site again today, saw the floating notice and simply skipped it.
Things like this were common on gambling sites.
To skirt the law, they paid out in points, then items, then prizes.
And now even coins.
He laughed.
What use was any of that?
It only became money once it landed in his hands.
Cases where those points actually made it into his hands were extremely rare.
No, it was safe to say they almost never happened.
The reason was simple.
First of all, winning money was too hard.
Once you started playing, you lost.
You won pocket change, then lost big.
So you charged up again, but even then, winning at the games was difficult.
Second, even if you somehow won money, they would rather die than refund it to you.
It was system maintenance time.
There was a withdrawal period.
There was an error linking with the bank.
It had been flagged as a suspicious transaction and was on hold.
They would put it off with all sorts of pathetic excuses, and then at some point the site would disappear.
He knew all this.
He knew it all.
Of course, he knew he should not do it.
And yet he could not quit.
It kept coming to mind, so he kept doing it.
So rather than trying to quit, he was trying to keep it to as small an amount as possible.
Then he saw a post on the internet.
Pfft.
He saw countless posts like this every day.
Still, it said they offered sign-up points here, so he clicked it once, figuring he might as well let himself be fooled.
Huh?
Why is this place like this?
Usually, when you went into places like this, everything flashed and sparkled, it was gaudy, and pop-ups came bursting out from all over the place, but this place was neat.
Other sites felt like a water park on a midsummer night.
Things kept exploding everywhere, flashy and eye-catching.
But this place was clean and tidy, like a Korean table d’hôte restaurant? Temple cuisine?
He nearly took a bite.
When he signed up, they gave him 100,000 points.
As a joke, he pressed the withdrawal button.
A message appeared saying event points could not be withdrawn.
Of course.
He started with the familiar Badugi.
One game.
Two games.
Three games.
.
.
How many hours had passed?
They had clearly given him 100,000 points as a service, so the money should have been cleaned out quickly and he should have had to charge up at least a little more, but he was still playing with that money.
He had even won money.
The 100,000 won he had started with had become 310,000 won.
This is fun.
A smile formed on his lips.
Choi Seongwon had frequented gambling sites quite a bit, even if not excessively.
But he had never seen or heard of a site like this.
He had been here for over three hours, yet he was still playing with the money he had received at the start.
On top of that, he had even won money.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
He wanted to play more, but for tomorrow’s sake, it was time to sleep.
Of course it would not work, but he pressed the withdrawal button.
A message popped up asking if he wanted to create an account on TrustBit, and when he pressed confirm, an account was created in an instant, and the points he had were converted into coins.
It was so absurd that he laughed.
Had he been had?
Were they pulling this kind of scam now?
They’re creative these days.
He did not feel disappointed.
After all, he had not played with his own money.
Even so, just in case, he installed the TrustBit app and logged in, and there were coins worth 310,000 won inside.
They’ll at least do this much?
Anyone could make it this far.
It was just numbers.
It was only an indication saying, You have this many coins.
Nothing more, nothing less.
The key issue was whether those coins could be cashed out.
There was a transfer button, so he pressed it.
He entered his bank account, pressed the transfer button, and a moment later, a text arrived saying 310,000 won had been deposited.
Huh? This isn’t right.
Weren’t these bastards supposed to run off with the money?
Without putting in even a single won, he had made 310,000 won.
He had played around for fun with the new sign-up points, they had become 310,000 won, and he had even withdrawn them.
There was no money taken as a fee, either.
The 310,000 won was clearly stamped in his bank account.
Sleep vanished completely.
What is this?
He replayed everything that had happened so far.
They’re really giving out money?
Fuck.
This is no time to sleep.
Let’s run it~~
Let’s gooooo!!!!!!!!
*******
Im Yuna brought the goods samples.
Only after seeing the samples did my mind finally feel at ease.
Yes, this is it.
The feeling I had when I saw the drawings.
It was alive exactly as it had been.
These were precisely the goods I had wanted.
“I like them. They’re good.”
I said that after looking at the samples, but Im Yuna’s face turned red.
Was she sick?
Now that I thought about it, had she been overdoing it recently?
She did not look to be in very good condition, either.
I had said it would be nice if they were made quickly, but I had not meant she should push herself. I felt unnecessarily sorry.
“I think this should be enough. Let’s put them into production, and Yuna, you should get some rest.”
Im Yuna’s face turned red again.
Why was she doing that?
Just how sick was she?
.
.
.
We opened a goods shop on the first floor of the hotel.
Since we had prepared the space from the time we started making the goods,
we made it so that as soon as the products came in, they could immediately be displayed and sold.
And at last, the goods arrived.
The round, adorable goods took their place in one corner of the hotel lobby.
Postcards, magnets, key rings, stickers, eco bags, and more were showing off their cuteness.
Just looking at them put me in a good mood.
But the good mood did not last long.
-SOLD OUT-
It happened only four hours after the items arrived.
.
.
.
We urgently placed an additional order.
Since it was the first day, I had thought this much would be enough when we received the items, but it was nowhere near sufficient.
And I also felt a sense of regret.
The goods Im Yuna had made were extremely pretty, but because there were only goods of the same or similar types, it felt less like a goods shop and more like a solo exhibition or a pop-up store.
I thought we needed to diversify the products.
After thinking it over, I called Patrick.
“Patrick, I’d like to hold something like an art contest. Do you know anyone?”
“Of course. Graduates of our Philippine university are everywhere.”
.
.
.
The Bohol provincial government.
The governor’s office.
Haa.
Why am I sitting here again?
What am I going to do with this bastard Patrick?
What on earth did he say that I ended up talking with the governor?
All I needed was someone to take charge of running the contest.
A partner who would send official documents to more places and help with promotion.
But the governor?
No, and if Patrick, that bastard, has the connections to set up a meeting with the governor, wouldn’t it be better for him to do something else?
Instead of working under us.
“Thank you so much for coming all the way here.”
“Not at all. Of course I should come. Thank you very much for inviting me.”
“I’ve heard that your business has been thriving lately. Congratulations. Thanks to you, Bohol seems to be developing day by day.”
“Not at all. It’s possible because you govern Bohol Province so well, Governor. Bohol seems like an excellent place to do business.”
“I’ve lived in Bohol for a long time, but I’ve never seen anyone who employs as many Bohol citizens as you do and treats them so well. As governor, I offer you my deepest thanks.”
“Please, not at all. I only did what I naturally should. Our employees are so positive and work so hard that our sales have increased greatly as well. If anything, I should be thanking you.”
“If you have any inconveniences while doing business in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will do my utmost to help.”
“Hahahaha. Then I’ll shamelessly contact you when the time comes.”
“Hahaha. I’ll be waiting. By the way, I heard you’re holding an art competition.”
An art competition?
When did the contest turn into an art competition?
Patrick, that bastard, I swear...
“Ah. It’s not quite an art competition. I’m thinking of holding a contest for Bohol citizens and tourists.”
“A contest?”
“I think it would be faster to show you once rather than explain it.”
I took out a tablet and showed him the drawings Im Yuna had made,
as well as the products that had been made into goods this time.
Emerald Canyon and Lumina Lake were mystical as well,
but when familiar scenery like the Chocolate Hills, tarsiers, and whale sharks appeared, the governor’s eyes went round.
“Ah~ This is really fresh. I’ve seen these things often, but I’ve never thought of them in this way. They’re round and charming.”
“Right? That’s exactly what I’m aiming for.”
“That?”
“This is the scenery that one tourist saw and drew. Governor, when you see this, don’t you want to go there?”
“I do. I’m very curious.”
“Exactly. Then what if even more people drew even more places from even more varied perspectives?”
“It would become a new stimulus.”
“That’s right. Phase two of Bohol’s new tourism industry would open. Tourists who come to Bohol and buy goods would not only keep them as good memories, but also serve as moving billboards and bring in new tourists.”
“Aha. It would become a virtuous cycle.”
“On top of that, we might discover new tourism resources in Bohol, or uncover new charms in existing tourist spots.”
“As expected, there was a reason your business was thriving. I don’t know how you came up with this idea. It’s remarkable.”
“You flatter me. I only thought of what anyone else would think of.”
“Then what can I help you with?”
“Would you be able to take charge of running the contest?”
“Yes?”
“We don’t have experience in that area, so I’d like to ask you for a favor, Governor. We will prepare the prize money and operating costs on our side. Other than that, it would be good if you could handle it. All we need is the right to choose the works that can later be turned into goods.”
At my words, the look in the governor’s eyes changed.
He had probably agreed to meet because he thought there might be some scraps to pick up if he got involved with a business tied to the province.
If it went well, he could get a piece of the rice cake.
If it did not, he could at least establish a connection.
But if he was the host, if the Bohol provincial government was the host, that changed the story.
On top of that, he would be planning and operating an event in which citizens participated?
It would be an enormous help to the governor’s career and image.
I continued speaking to his eyes, which gleamed with greed.
“We’re expecting about twenty prizewinners. One first place, three second places, six third places, and ten fourth places. Like that.”
“How much are you expecting for the total prize money?”
“We’re thinking of a total prize pool of about one million pesos, around 24 million won.”
“Ah! That’s truly excellent. I think it will be a tremendous help to our Bohol art community.”
“Separate from the prizes, we plan to pay 50,000 pesos, around 1.2 million won, for each work that is produced as goods. We’ll also pay 2% of net profit as royalties.”
“Wow~ That’s more generous than I expected. I might have to participate myself.”
“You’re welcome to. There are no restrictions, whether it’s photography, painting, illustration, and so on, so please try participating as well, Governor.”
“Hahahaha. Good. I’ll be sure to give it a try.”
“Thank you.”
“I will continue to pay close attention to the contest. As governor, I am deeply grateful that you have planned and sponsored an event like this.”
“I’m also glad that I can be of help to Bohol Province. I hope we can create events like this from time to time in the future as well.”
“You are welcome anytime.”
The conversation ended successfully,
but my instincts told me
that it was not over yet.
As I organized the shopping bags containing the goods,
I took money out of my inventory and put it into a shopping bag.
I put in about ten thousand dollars.
“These are goods we produced. They may help with preparing the contest, so I’ll leave them here.”
I spoke to the governor with my eyes,
and the governor answered as if he understood.
“Of course. I think they’ll be a very great help to us. Hahahaha.”
The governor laughed, showing his yellowed teeth.
The governor seemed to be in a very good mood.
.
.
.
A few days later.
Posters and advertisements announcing the contest appeared everywhere.
It was the official start of the contest.