Life Reversal with Stock Cheat

I couldn't sleep after buying 1,000 shares of Marine Transport yesterday.

After all, I had staked my entire 3 million won—money I secured by putting my body on the line. Waking up at 6 a.m. and staring at the monitor without a wink of sleep was only natural.

*Is this really going to work?*

As soon as the market opened at 9 a.m., letters appeared before my eyes.

**[Lv1. Would you like to see tomorrow's stock prices?]**

**[Clench your right hand if you wish, your left hand if you don't.]**

I clenched my right hand, and a new pop-up appeared.

**[Gwanghwa Holdings – 17,400]**

**[Deodeok Pharmaceuticals – 10,200]**

**[Deokcheon Forging – 7,145]**

**[Seam Trading – 4,510]**

**[T&U – 2,487]**

I quickly jotted them down and opened the stock app. With trembling hands, I typed *Marine Transport* into the search bar.

**{Marine Transport – 2,940}**

**{Valuation Loss: -40,000}**

**{Return Rate: -1.34%}**

Damn it!

---

"Ha! Ha-ha!! Hah!! This is insane."

To put it simply, the numbers were real—they were tomorrow's closing prices.

**{Transaction Completed.}**

**{Marine Transport – 3,640, 1,000 shares}**

Even after deducting fees, I had over 3.6 million won in my hands. It didn't feel real.

*This… This is actually possible?*

Fortunately or unfortunately, the stocks I saw this morning were all negative. So, I calmly placed my orders and waited for the market to close. Unexpectedly, I made a profit.

*I just made 600,000 won in one day? That's crazy.*

It was only 600,000 won because my seed money was small. If I had more capital, I could have earned much more.

*If I keep making money like this, I can bring Ha-yeon back.*

I thought about the grand house I had seen when I went to visit Ha-yeon. Would she be happy if I brought her back without being properly prepared?

I could already picture my ex-wife and her husband laughing at me.

*Dokgo Group's third son, Dokgo Jung...*

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. Even though he was the lowest-ranking member of the 10th-largest conglomerate, he was still a chaebol.

To take him down, this money wasn't nearly enough. Even with the magic of compound interest growing my wealth exponentially, I needed a large sum to strike when the right opportunity came.

*Should I ask my parents to take out a mortgage loan?*

For a moment, the devil whispered in my ear, but I resisted. The system wasn't fully verified yet. It wasn't too late to consider that option after I had built up my funds.

Besides, if I suddenly asked for a mortgage loan in this situation, my parents would worry like crazy. Our store was gone, and all we had left was the house where our family of four lived. I couldn't bring myself to say it.

*I may be broke, but I still have my pride!*

Thinking about relying on my parents embarrassed me. I slapped my cheeks with both hands and stood up.

*First, I need to grow my seed money.*

---

There wasn't much to do while waiting for my investments to grow.

Every morning, I checked the stock prices, placed my entire balance into the most promising stock for the next day, and waited.

Since I couldn't just sit at home trading stocks all day, I decided to work a delivery loading job to increase my seed money. But after a full shift, my whole body ached like hell.

"Damn it. That bastard won't stop cursing."

The team leader couldn't say a single sentence without swearing.

*"Hey, you f***er! Move faster! Damn it!"*

His words echoed in my head.

*F***ing assholes.*

The job posting said the daily wage was 160,000 won. But after all the deductions, the money I actually received was barely 100,000 won. And that was after I argued to get an extra 5,000 won.

Even fleas wouldn't suck the blood out of another flea like this.

*They should've written that in the job posting. Bastards.*

I wanted to call them out as scammers, but my whole body ached from the warehouse job. I didn't have the energy to argue.

Still, when I checked my stock account, I couldn't help but smile.

I had invested 3.6 million won today. By tomorrow, it would be 4.2 million.

Making 600,000 won in a single day—why should I keep breaking my body doing warehouse work? It would only ruin my health and sour my mood.

*Is there any other way to make money?*

Then, out of habit, I opened my stock trading app, and a new pop-up appeared.

**[42nd Daebak Securities Real Investment Competition]**

*A real investment competition?*

I adjusted my posture and checked the details.

*The prize money depends on your balance, huh?*

The competition had different leagues based on capital:

- **10 million won and above**

- **50 million won and above**

- **100 million won and above**

- **1 billion won and above**

With only 3.6 million won, I had no choice but to enter the lowest league.

*The first-place prize is…!*

- **1 billion league: 100 million won**

- **50 million league: 50 million won**

- **10 million league: 20 million won**

- **1 million league: 3 million won**

If I couldn't raise my capital to 10 million, I'd have to settle for just 3 million.

*Is there any way to get more money?*

The competition ran for a month starting tomorrow. Without borrowing, I had no way to gather funds in time. That 17 million won grand prize hovered before my eyes.

I glanced at my phone's contact list. Names of old friends—connections that held my past.

If I asked them for money, I risked burning bridges. But this wasn't the time to worry about pride.

*Pride doesn't pay the bills.*

I clenched my teeth and started making calls.

Rejection. Rejection. Rejection. Rejection. Rejection.

From elementary school to high school friends—not a single one was willing to lend me money.

Then, out of sheer desperation, I dialed Im Han-ul, a guy I had co-founded a startup club with.

**[Hello?]**

*"Hey, Han-ul. It's Jae-gu."*

**[Jae-gu? Kim Jae-gu?]**

*"Yeah, yeah. You remember me?"*

**[Oh, the jailbird Jae-gu?]**

*"Yeah… But that was a false accusation."*

**[Why'd you call?]**

*"I… I need to borrow some money."*

**[Pffft. You crazy bastard. Hahaha. Hey, forget that—let's grab a meal sometime.]**

A friend who wanted to meet instead of outright rejecting me? I was stunned. But I wasn't going to let this chance slip.

---

That night, I found myself in a tiny Gangnam office, staring at Han-ul over a cup of coffee.

*"So, what's the investment for?"*

*"I want to trade stocks."*

*"Instead of gambling, why don't you work for your money?"*

Then, he smirked.

*"My company needs extra hands. You in?"*