After the Divorce, a Treasure Map Made Me a 1,000-Trillionaire Chapter 14
Gangnam, southern end of Yeongdong Bridge. The mecca of imported car showrooms in Korea.
Here, BMW, Benz, Audi, Tesla, Porsche, and even Ferrari — practically every imported car brand you could imagine in Korea had a showroom lined up in this district.
And every time I passed this glimmering row of showrooms, there was always one car that set my heart racing.
An expensive machine. With a few added options, it could easily exceed 100 million won. But in this neighborhood, where luxury imports paraded like everyday commuters, the 5 Series wasn’t even considered that expensive.
Still, to me, it was the one car that always made my pulse quicken.
I stepped into the showroom, my heart pounding like a teenager’s before a first date. Several dealers greeted me warmly, and one of them, standing at the front, approached.
“Is there a particular vehicle you’re looking for?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Do you have a 5 Series I can take delivery of today?”
“Ah… for immediate delivery? The only one we have in stock right now is this black 530i. But…” he lowered his voice slightly, “the options may not be exactly to your liking. If you’re not in a rush, I’d really recommend ordering and waiting for the perfect configuration.”
Showroom stock had already been touched by many hands. Options were fixed, no personalization. The smart choice was to place an order and wait.
But my heart didn’t have the patience for smart choices today.
I asked myself, Do you really want to keep living like you did under her thumb — pathetic and small?
If I didn’t like the options later, I could always buy another one.
Decision made, I turned back to the dealer. “This black 530i… it’s the only one?”
“Yes, sir. Our only 5 Series at the moment.”
I tapped the hood with my hand. “Alright. Let’s do the paperwork.”
The dealer blinked, a little stunned. I had been in the showroom for less than five minutes.
“Sir… you don’t even want to test drive it?”
I grinned. “Test drive? What for? BMW doesn’t need a test drive. BMW always builds perfect cars.”
The look on his face told me he’d realized he was dealing with a devout BMW believer.
“My mistake, sir. You’re absolutely right. I’ll bring the paperwork.”
He returned with the contract and the keys. “If you could just fill this out… and for payment, would you like to use financing? If so, I can connect you to our capital partner—”
“Capital?” I scoffed. “Why would I need that?”
I had over 6 billion won in cash. Financing was for people counting coins, not me.
“I’ll pay in full. Cash.”
₩84,230,000. Paid on the spot.
The dealer handed me the key, smiling from ear to ear. “Thank you so much, sir!”
Even though he’d lost out on a finance commission, he’d just sold a car in under an hour — who wouldn’t be happy?
Temporary plates and insurance were already taken care of. I slid into the driver’s seat, savoring the moment.
The engine roared to life. Brrrooom!
“Ohhh… yes. This is it.”
The sound was intoxicating.
I eased onto Dosan-daero, pressing the accelerator just enough to feel the car’s soul. This… this is perfection.
The engine, transmission, suspension — a flawless trio. The way it responded to my foot on the pedal felt nothing like any other car I’d driven. The emotional growl of the engine, the silky ZF 8-speed, the cushioned yet responsive suspension — there wasn’t a single flaw.
“Yep… the real car lovers always choose BMW.”
And right now, this one was proving the saying true.
Before buying it, I’d worried for a moment. My old car had been with me for so long I thought it might be hard to let go. But the moment I started driving this… that thought vanished.
What color was that old car again?
The road opened up, and I headed toward Sillim-dong, where my goshiwon was.
An hour later, I arrived. Somehow, the BMW made the trip feel shorter. Instead of parking haphazardly like before, I found a covered paid lot and parked carefully.
“God… it’s beautiful.”
BMW didn’t just make cars. They made works of art.
Even though the parking lot was a little far from my goshiwon, the 6 billion won sitting in my account made the walk feel light.
Maybe I should start looking for a new place… Gangnam, maybe?
Still, moving wasn’t like buying a car — it couldn’t be done overnight. My things were still at the goshiwon, so I’d have to stay there a bit longer.
On the way up, I stopped at the convenience store and bought several Häagen-Dazs bars — not the 1+1 deal anymore, but full price.
“Häagen-Dazs~ Häagen-Dazs~” I sang to myself, taking the elevator up. I unwrapped one and took a bite. The sweetness was on another level from ordinary ice cream.
I peeked into the goshiwon manager’s office to share one, but the lights were off.
Guess She’s out today.
I tossed them into the shared fridge in the common kitchen. Normally, I’d keep them in my tiny personal fridge, but right now, even if someone took them all, I wouldn’t care.
Back in my room, the first thing I checked was the treasure map.
Sure enough, the hint had updated.
[Treasure Map] [LV002 – Stage 3] [Hint: Not money, but it is money. April 2nd — check the comments faster than anyone.] [Location: Cannot be determined.]
This one was strange — no location given. But like the LV1 Stage 3 hint, it had a time attached.
April 2nd… that’s about two weeks away. Plenty of time.
The last LV1 Stage 3 reward came to mind. That’s right… Stocks.
That reward had been insider stock info. Which meant this one might also be an investment tip.
I had been planning to buy a house in Gangnam right away, but maybe I should wait until after this.
Other than the occasional noise, my current life wasn’t uncomfortable.
Still debating, I drifted off to sleep earlier than usual — probably from all the day’s excitement.
Then my phone buzzed violently. Bzzz! Bzzz!
“What the…?” I rubbed my eyes and answered. “It’s been a while. What’s up?”
It was Ji-hwan — my closest friend for over 20 years. We hadn’t seen much of each other recently, life being what it is, but he was still my brother in all but blood.
But something about his voice was… off.
“What’s wrong? Why’s your voice shaking?”
A pause. Then, almost choking on his words, he said, “I… I really hate to ask you this, especially knowing what you’ve been through, but… can you lend me 20 million won? Just this once, please…”
Ji-hwan was an honest guy. Too kind for his own good, often lending money and getting burned, but he’d never been the type to borrow.
I could lend him the money. But I had to know why.
“What happened? Why do you suddenly need that much?”
“It’s… Ha-young… hhh—!”
“Ha-young? Your daughter? What happened? Don’t cry, just tell me.”
He sniffled hard, forcing the words out. “She… she needs heart surgery right away. But we don’t have the money…”
“Twenty million won is enough for that?”
“It doesn’t have to be all of it. Even a part would help. I swear, I’ll pay you back for the rest of my life if I have to…”
I sighed. “Which hospital?”
“Shinchon Seongwoon Hospital…”
“Alright. I’m coming. Stay there.”
I drove straight to Shinchon. On the way, I scraped the car slightly against the parking garage wall, but I didn’t care.
I rushed inside, and from a distance, I saw him. “Ji-hwan!”
He stood up when he saw me. “Chan… you came…”
He was a wreck — hair messy, face pale, clearly unwashed for days.
“How long have you been like this?”
“I don’t know… when your daughter’s in pain, you feel like everything you do is wrong…”
I sighed. “Have you eaten?”
“Let’s get food first. There’s a restaurant downstairs.”
“Idiot. If you collapse, who’s going to take care of Ha-young? You need to stay healthy.”
Finally, he gave in, and we went downstairs to a seolleongtang place.
As soon as the soup arrived, he took a sip — and his eyes welled up again.
“After losing my wife… if I lose Ha-young too, I don’t know what I’ll do…”
Two years ago, his wife had died in a car accident. Since then, he’d been raising Ha-young alone.
Damn it… why didn’t you just say something sooner…
I reached into my pocket and silently handed him an envelope I’d withdrawn before coming.
He took it with trembling hands. “Chan… is this…?”
“Twenty million. Pay me back whenever. Just… save Ha-young first.”