It had been a week since the "free lunch" incident, and I was still getting friendly waves and smiles everywhere I went.
It was strange… but nice.
Min-jun joked that I'd accidentally become the campus celebrity. I brushed it off, but he wasn't wrong. People started asking me for help—new textbooks, broken laptops, even project supplies. I didn't mind. Helping felt good, and money didn't matter anyway.
Still, a quiet thought lingered in my mind: What if I could do more than just buy things for people?
That thought became a spark.
One afternoon, I was sitting with Min-jun in a café near campus. He was stressing about finding a part-time job. "I've got skills," he said, "but the pay around here sucks."
I sipped my drink, thinking. "What kind of skills?"
"Coding, mostly. Web design. I've done freelance work before, but it's not stable."
Nova chimed in softly.
[Opportunity detected.]
I nearly choked on my coffee. "Nova, not now."
[Oh, come on. This is perfect. You have infinite money, remember? Invest. Create. Build something lasting.]
I froze. "You mean start a business?"
[Exactly. You could hire students like Min-jun. Pay them well. Change lives.]
I stared at Min-jun, who was still rambling about bad pay and greedy employers. Maybe Nova was right.
That night, I couldn't sleep. My mind spun with ideas. A student-run company—something small, something fair. Maybe a tech startup, maybe an online service.
By morning, I'd made up my mind.
"Min-jun," I said as soon as I saw him, "want to start something together?"
He blinked. "Start… what?"
"A business. I'll handle the funding. You handle the tech."
He laughed, waiting for me to say just kidding. When I didn't, his eyes widened. "You're serious?"
"Completely."
A grin spread across his face. "You're insane, Rin. But I'm in."
We spent the rest of the day planning—sketching ideas on napkins, laughing, arguing. For the first time since I'd arrived in Seoul, I felt like I was building something real.
As the sun set, I stepped outside the café for some air. That's when I saw Soo-ah again—sitting on a bench, sketching the city skyline.
She looked up, surprised. "Rin?"
"Hey," I said, smiling. "You're out late."
"Couldn't sleep," she admitted. "Drawing helps."
We talked for a while—about classes, art, and random things that didn't feel awkward for once.
When she smiled at me, I realized something strange. My heart felt… lighter.
Nova's voice whispered, almost teasingly.
[Be careful, Rin. Some things money can't buy.]
I looked at Soo-ah's bright eyes and smiled softly. "Yeah," I murmured. "I'm starting to see that."