The notification hovered in front of me, glowing like a quiet invitation.
[New Feature Unlocked: Investment Expansion.]
I rubbed my eyes. "Nova, what does that even mean?"
[It means the game just got bigger. You can now invest in anything—companies, projects, even entire industries. Your wealth is infinite, so your reach can be too.]
I blinked. "So you're telling me… I can just buy shares of anything? No risk?"
[Exactly. Infinite balance, zero loss. The world's economy just became your playground.]
I leaned back in my chair. "That sounds terrifying."
[Only if you're bad at sharing,] Nova teased.
Later that day, Min-jun and I sat in our usual café, laptops open and drinks going cold.
"UniTrade's blowing up, dude," he said, scrolling through the stats. "We're hitting users from Busan and Daegu now. That's… insane."
I smiled, trying to hide how proud I felt. "Not bad for a student project, huh?"
"Not bad? It's crazy! You could actually go pro with this."
I thought about that—then about Nova's words.
"What if we did?" I said. "What if we made this a real company? Paid developers, proper servers, full expansion."
Min-jun froze mid-sip. "Rin… that's not a small step. That's like… jumping into space."
"I've already got a rocket," I said, grinning.
He laughed, shaking his head. "You're either fearless or completely nuts."
[I vote both,] Nova chimed in playfully.
That evening, I went for a walk around the university district. Neon signs flickered, people hurried past, and I couldn't help but wonder how many of these little shops and dreams could thrive with just a bit of help.
A bookstore with barely any customers. A café with a flickering sign. A street musician playing to no one.
[You could fix that,] Nova said softly. [You could give people the chance they need.]
"I know," I whispered. "And I will."
The next day, I saw Soo-ah again—same bench, same sketchbook, same quiet focus.
I sat beside her. "You said you wanted to open an art studio someday."
She looked up, smiling a little. "I did. Why?"
I hesitated. "What if you didn't have to wait someday? What if you could do it now?"
She tilted her head. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"Completely."
Her eyes softened. "You're strange, Rin. But… thank you."
As she went back to drawing, I looked at her, the campus, the sky glowing gold behind the buildings—and I realized something.
Money could buy anything.
But meaning… meaning had to be built.
And maybe, for the first time, I knew exactly what I wanted to build.