After the Divorce, a Treasure Map Made Me a 1,000-Trillionaire Chapter 2
Chapter 2 – Treasure Map?
Below the large, bold letters that read “Treasure Map”, a few lines were written.
[LV001 – Stage 1] [Hint: The oldest item in the goshiwon] [Location: Sillim-dong]
“What the heck is this?”
The words “Sillim-dong” and “goshiwon” written on the paper caught my eye.
“That’s… where I live.”
I currently live in a goshiwon that costs 350,000 won a month—and yep, it’s in Sillim-dong.
I wasn’t sure if someone snuck into the house while Grandpa was gone and left it as some kind of prank… or maybe it was a novelty item included when this book was purchased. Either way, I couldn’t shake the weird feeling it gave me.
I considered tossing it out. But… whatever it was, it was still part of Grandpa’s belongings.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s not like I’m the only person living in a goshiwon in Sillim-dong.”
There must be dozens of goshiwons in the area.
Trying to shake off the uneasy feeling, I tucked the paper back into the box and finished cleaning.
“Ughhh… This should do, more or less.”
After hours of cleaning, I was about to head out when I heard a noise outside.
I opened the door and saw a familiar old man with white hair standing there.
“Wait, who was he again…”
“You’re still here, huh.”
He was at Grandpa’s funeral.
“Oh, sir. Weren’t you at my grandfather’s service last time?”
“Thought I remembered you. You came to organize Kang Hyung’s belongings, right?”
“Yes. I just finished and was about to leave. Did you need something?”
“Oh, nothing urgent. Just wondering… now that Kang Hyung has passed, what are you planning to do with the house?”
The truth was, I had no plans to live in this house.
My job was in Seoul, and this place was over two hours away. There was no way I could commute from here every day.
Still, the idea of selling it made me feel a little empty inside.
“Well, I run a small real estate office in town. If you’re thinking of selling it, let me know. I can put it on the market for you.”
“It’s an old countryside house though… Would it even sell?”
“Well, this area has a decent population for a rural town, and there’s a public corporation nearby. Sometimes outsiders look for houses around here.”
He glanced inside the house and added,
“With the condition it’s in now, just some wallpaper and floor repairs should make it good enough. It’ll sell once listed.”
To be honest, I wanted to sell it.
Even though I didn’t have any debts, I was basically broke.
If I could get even tens of millions of won for it, my situation would be way better than it is now.
“I’ll think about it for now. I did spend a lot of my childhood here, so I’m feeling a bit sentimental.”
“Hmm, I understand. Here—take my business card. If you change your mind, give me a call.”
“Yes, thank you, sir.”
The old man handed me a card and turned to leave. As he stepped outside, I heard him mutter to himself,
“Even after all these years, this house still has such powerful energy…”
He stopped and turned back on the country road.
“You got something else to say?”
“Yes, um… That thing you just said. If it’s not too much trouble, could you explain what you meant?”
“Oh, you mean the energy I mentioned about the house?”
He paused, looked around the yard, then said,
“It’s nothing really. Just… Before this house was built, this land used to belong to a local shaman.”
“Oh… That explains a lot…”
Come to think of it, Grandpa bought this place about ten years ago.
Before that, when we lived together, he’d rented a house in town so I could attend school. So I hadn’t stayed here much—and didn’t know anything about this backstory.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
After the old man left, I stood by Grandpa’s house and took one last look around before getting into my car.
“A house with strong energy, huh… Hmph.”
It wasn’t like I was going to live here anyway.
I loaded the box of Grandpa’s belongings into the back and started the car, heading back to my goshiwon in Seoul.
By the time I got back to my goshiwon, it was already past 9 PM.
The fatigue hit me like a truck the moment I walked in.
I was hungry too—but right now, I just wanted to rest.
I placed my wallet and car keys in the drawer and tried to pull it open—when suddenly…
The drawer broke apart with a loud sound.
It was one of those cheap drawers that came with the room. And now, it was in pieces.
“What the hell is this now…”
I was already exhausted. I didn’t need this.
Upon closer inspection, the inside was all rusted and rotted. There was no way to fix it.
I couldn’t use a broken drawer forever. I needed a replacement.
Forcing myself up despite the fatigue, I stepped outside.
‘Hope there’s a spare.’
Thankfully, the light in the caretaker’s room was still on.
I knocked on the window and called out softly,
A moment later, the window creaked open and revealed a messy-haired young woman. Her hair was wild, her eyes barely visible, and she answered in a gloomy voice,
She was definitely a young woman by her voice… but she looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
‘She could at least brush her hair…’
I wanted to comment on her messy look but kept it to myself. No point starting trouble.
“Sorry to bother you. The drawer in my room broke. Could I get a replacement?”
The moment I explained, she started blaming me.
“What? How could you break it?”
“I didn’t! I just opened it and it fell apart on its own.”
“Sure, suuuure… Of course it did.”
Her voice was full of sarcasm.
“No, really! You can check yourself. The whole inside was corroded. It was bound to fall apart eventually.”
She sighed dramatically.
“…Fine. I’ll see what I can do.”
I was already irritated. Life had been hard enough lately—I really didn’t want to fight with some creepy woman in a goshiwon.
“Do you have any spare drawers?”
She rummaged through her drawers, found a key, and stepped out of the room.
She led me to the deepest corner of the goshiwon.
She unlocked a door that hadn’t been opened in a while. The smell of dust and mold filled the air.
Cough. Cough. “It’s over there, in the back.”
The room was filled with old furniture—desks, chairs, and drawers.
Probably used as a storage room.
Soon after, she came out carrying a small drawer.
“Use this one. Just leave the broken one in front of my room later.”
It looked ancient—at least several decades old.
‘Jeez… What is this, a Joseon Dynasty relic?’
It was laughable, but I couldn’t afford to waste money right now.
No way I was buying a new drawer.
I brought it back to my room, then headed down to the convenience store on the first floor.
Since I was now wide awake, I figured I’d reward myself with some ice cream.
Today had been a rough day—I deserved a treat. So I walked past the cheap ice cream section and straight to the Haagen-Dazs corner.
Haagen-Dazs bars were doing a buy-one-get-one-free promo.
That kind of deal was almost unheard of for premium ice cream.
It felt like the universe was giving me a little reward for all my troubles.
Excited at the thought of having two whole Haagen-Dazs bars to myself, I practically skipped back up to my room.
The light was still on in the caretaker’s room.
She was sitting at her desk, staring at her phone with that same ghost-like hair.
‘Now that I think about it…’
Even though she’d grumbled the whole time, she did get me a replacement drawer. And she hadn’t even demanded I pay for the broken one.
I knocked on her door again.
“Yes… What is it now?”
I held out one of the Haagen-Dazs bars.
She looked surprised as she took it.
“Oh, this is… kind of expensive.”
“You helped me out earlier. Don’t worry, it was buy-one-get-one-free.”
After a moment, she bowed slightly.
“Th-thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
Her tone had changed—she actually sounded polite this time.
“Alright, have a good night~”
As I was walking away, I heard the familiar shout from the shared kitchen:
“What the hell?! Who ate my chicken?!”
Stealing leftover food. A common issue in goshiwons.
I didn’t know who it was—but I wasn’t about to get involved.
I headed straight back to my room.
“Sigh… I really need to move out soon.”
The sun was already up, and I hadn’t slept much.
Last night, two residents had a huge fight that lasted until dawn.
“You ate the rest of my chicken, didn’t you?!” “What are you talking about?! Why would I eat your chicken?!” “You’re the only one around here shady enough to do it!” “What?! How old are you, huh?!” “You've eaten enough already!”
The paper-thin walls of the goshiwon made it impossible to sleep.
It wasn’t until the caretaker called the police that things finally quieted down.
“Sigh… Let’s wash up.”
I grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom.
At least this goshiwon had an in-room bathroom—pretty decent for 350,000 won a month.
Despite all the nonsense, this place was still a steal in my situation.
Looking at my hands, I realized my nails had grown quite a bit.
Before showering, I needed to find my nail clipper.
“Let’s see~ Where did I put it~”
Maybe I was getting old, because I’d started humming as I did things.
Whether I wanted to or not, I just kept doing it.
‘Pretty sure I put it in that drawer I got yesterday…’
I’d tossed the clipper and other small stuff into the top drawer last night.
I walked over to the ancient drawer and opened the top section.
The drawer wouldn’t open all the way. Something was stuck.
I tried again. Still jammed.
“Ugh, seriously? She couldn’t have given me a working one?”
I started regretting giving her that Haagen-Dazs bar.
I gritted my teeth and used all my strength.
Finally, the drawer opened—
—and something dropped onto the floor.
I bent down and picked it up.
It was an old-looking bracelet.
“What the heck… is this?”