After the Divorce, a Treasure Map Made Me a 1,000-Trillionaire Chapter 1

Only the flickering TV lit up the gloomy room.

“Next up on our journey is…”

A familiar celebrity’s voice echoed.

I was sure she heard me, but… not even a glance.

She didn’t reply. She didn’t even flinch. Just kept her eyes glued to the TV screen.

I wanted to sigh out loud, but I held it in—knowing it'd just start another argument.

Quietly, I walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge for a glass of water…

The cause? A pile of rotting food waste left festering in the sink for God knows how many days.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Hyerin! For God’s sake, if you eat, clean up after yourself! Why the hell is this still here?!”

But even then… she didn’t bat an eye.

She just scrolled her phone, glanced at the TV. Ignoring me. Again.

I looked around the house—it wasn’t just the sink.

Everywhere was a mess. Trash littered every corner. The fridge was stacked with half-eaten delivery food.

What the hell is this woman?

I make the money. She stays home all day doing nothing. The least she could do is clean up after herself.

But no. She didn’t even try.

She ordered food for all three meals. Every day.

This month alone, the delivery fees totaled 1.7 million won.

My monthly salary? 3.5 million.

And on top of that, she spends nearly 2 million won on herself.

That’s 3.7 million. Every. Month.

Even doing absolutely nothing, we were bleeding money.

The savings I had before marriage were long gone. Now, I was taking out loans to cover the deficit.

I couldn’t even remember the last time we were intimate.

I can’t take this anymore.

I stomped toward her and said firmly, “Can we talk?”

She finally glanced up at me.

“Turn off the TV. Put down your phone. Just for a minute.”

When I grabbed the remote and shut the TV off, she made a face like I’d just ruined her life.

I let it out—finally.

“Hyerin… I’m not asking for much. Just clean up after yourself, that’s it. Look at this place. It’s disgusting. And why are we spending so much on food delivery? You know how much I make.”

“A-And… we’re still married, aren’t we? Shouldn’t we at least try to be a couple? Even just once in a while…”

She had brushed off the cleaning talk. But at the mention of intimacy, she smirked.

“Tch… You still want that, even now?”

To be honest, she was a zero as a wife, but… her looks? Her body?

Honestly, she was like a celebrity compared to other women her age.

Of course, that was the result of countless visits to dermatology clinics and personal training sessions—all paid with my card.

“Is that all? I’m going to bed. You should too.”

No apology. No resolution. She was trying to run away from the conversation again.

“Hyerin, are you really going to keep acting like this?”

“What did I even do?”

“We’re a married couple! Can’t we at least try to play our roles? I earn the money, you handle the house—that’s fair, isn’t it?”

She listened silently.

Then suddenly let out a deep sigh.

“…I was going to bring this up later.”

She walked to the room, brought out a paper, and threw it at me.

In a cold, emotionless voice, she said:

“Divorce papers. Let’s just end this.”

It felt like someone smacked me in the head.

Sure, the marriage was falling apart.

Six years of marriage, and three of them we’d slept in separate rooms.

She didn’t want to work. She didn’t want to be a housewife. She didn’t clean. She burned through money.

Still, I kept thinking—if I endured, maybe she’d change.

Maybe she’d mature with age.

I stared at the divorce papers, frozen.

“Do you… have someone else?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Our marriage ended a long time ago. I’m just finally done pretending. I want someone successful now. Not a loser like you.”

Maybe she was cheating.

Didn’t matter anymore.

I quietly went to my room, got my seal, and stamped the divorce papers.

“Great. It’s not like we had anything to divide anyway. Let’s end this clean.”

She wasn’t wrong. But she wasn’t the one who should be saying that.

When we got married, I had saved up a bit.

A villa deposit worth 100 million won. Another 100 million in cash. And a car.

The villa deposit? Used to bail out her father’s failing business.

The cash? Slowly drained away by her wasteful spending.

Now, all I had left was an old car and 20 million won in debt.

“Do whatever you want. What about this house?”

“What about it? You stay. I’m leaving. It’s rented anyway.”

“How did it come to this?”

“Gee, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re a loser. If you had just been a little more competent, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

She walked away without even looking back.

If ever there was someone the word fit perfectly—it was her.

The divorce was simple since it was mutual.

No kids. Just a one-month reflection period.

Once that passed, we were strangers again.

The first thing I did?

The lease was ending anyway. No need for a three-room house anymore.

I need to save money.

I thought about getting a one-room apartment, but even that seemed expensive.

So I found a goshiwon.

“This is one of the better ones around here. It’s small, but clean.”

“Yeah… I’ll take it.”

“Great! Just sign here…”

Free instant noodles, rice, and kimchi.

It was tiny, but it had a big window and five kinds of noodles.

No more that awful woman. No more tension.

At least my mind is at peace.

Most of my debt was cleared using the deposit refund.

I had almost no money left—but my expenses were low.

No more living on just 100,000 won a month.

Yeah… I’ll save up and start over.

And my job? A decent mid-sized company.

To celebrate, I went to the convenience store under the goshiwon and bought a Häagen-Dazs ice cream—something I could never afford before.

5,900 won. Worth every bite.

As I sat outside eating, I got a call.

“Who’s calling this late?”

I answered, and a panicked voice came through.

“Are you Kang Chan, guardian of Kang Seok-doo?”

“This is Daejeong Hospital. Mr. Kang Seok-doo’s condition is critical. Please come immediately!”

“G-Grandpa?! What happened?!”

I jumped into my car and rushed to the hospital.

My grandfather was the one who raised me after my parents died when I was eleven.

He was my only family.

When I got there, he was on a ventilator—barely hanging on.

“Chan… You came… I know you’re busy…”

He was barely conscious. He could go any second.

He asked, using his last bit of strength:

“You and Hyerin… are doing well, right?”

Then forced a smile and nodded.

“Yes… We’re doing well.”

His wrinkled, weathered hand wrapped around mine—warm and soft.

“No, don’t say that. You’ve done nothing wrong…”

His eyes slowly closed.

But… he never opened them again.

“His blood pressure’s dropping!”

“Nurse Jung, get the doctor now!”

Beep. Beep. Beeeeeep…

The doctor arrived minutes later.

“Kang Seok-doo, passed away on March 3rd, 11:30 PM.”

The funeral lasted three days.

I was the only family he had, so I stood as chief mourner.

Not many people came.

Some of his friends. A few of mine.

But one person, who absolutely should have come—didn’t.

I’d even sent her a message.

She knew he was the only family I had left.

Even if we were divorced, Grandpa never treated her badly.

In fact, he always handed her pocket money, even in the countryside.

“Why bother coming all the way out here?” “Take this—it’s not much, but use it well.” “Please take care of Chan. I just want you both to be happy.”

I didn’t want to call her.

But for Grandpa’s sake, I did.

She answered with a cold voice.

“You didn’t see my text? Grandpa passed away. He treated you well… Can’t you come, just once, to say goodbye?”

Her voice exploded from the other side.

“Are you dumb? Why would I go there? I married an orphan and had to spend every holiday in some stinky countryside with that old man! Do you know how annoying that was?!”

“Don’t call me for things like this again. We’re done, remember?”

“…Fine. This is the last time I’ll ever call you. But let me say just one last thing.”

I took a deep breath.

“You heartless b*tch. Don’t live your life like garbage.”

“…What? Did you just curse at me?! Kang Chan!! You just—how dare you—!”

And no wonder. Not once—not during dating, not during marriage, not even during divorce—had I ever cursed at her.

Even when she insulted me—I endured.

But she insulted my grandfather.

That… I couldn’t forgive.

After the funeral, I went to clean out Grandpa’s old house.

It was rural, so selling it would be tough. But I had to tidy it.

It had been vacant since his hospital stay, but surprisingly, it was clean.

Dusty, but not messy.

I tossed out junk, and kept only meaningful belongings.

Some photos of us. A book he always read.

One small box. That was all.

Then I noticed the book.

“Ah, he loved this one…”

[Treasure Island] An old adventure novel by Stevenson. A story of a boy who finds a treasure map and embarks on a journey.

“He used to read this to me all the time…”

As I remembered those old memories…

A piece of paper fell out of the book.

“What’s this? Did a page tear?”

“No… this isn’t part of the book.”

The texture, the ink—it was different.

And the top of the paper read: