"Ugh, so comfy!"
Stretching lazily, Lee Jin-woo sat up straight, basking in the morning sunlight streaming through the window.
It was his third day of unemployment. Refusing to be exploited by capitalism or slave away for his boss's new Maserati, he had once again been gloriously fired—this time by the dockyard company.
It was his sixth firing in two months.
"As long as I stay chill, no boss is swapping cars every year, heh!"
Patting the 30,000 won in his pocket, Lee Jin-woo nodded with satisfaction. "Yup, this'll last me a week."
With a sudden carp-like flip, he leapt out of bed and headed to the "kitchen" in the corner.
His 20-square-meter studio was his foothold in Seoul.
"Work hard your whole life—what's the point, huh?"
Shaking his head with a self-deprecating chuckle, Lee Jin-woo filled a small pot with water.
From the cabinet below, he grabbed one, two, three packs of instant ramen.
He boiled the water, adding a tomato just before it reached a full boil.
A pinch of salt, then he waited until the tomato softened before tossing in the noodles.
Stir…
Let the tomato broth seep into the noodles, boiling for a minute and a half.
Crack an egg, drop it into the pot, poke it with chopsticks, and stir quickly to make egg flakes.
Add the seasoning packet, and a perfect bowl of homestyle ramen was ready.
Slurp, slurp~
Letting out a contented sigh, Lee Jin-woo exclaimed, "Man, that's good!"
Beep beep. Energy charge complete. Self-Improvement System activated. Initiating scan…
Host detected as unemployed. Location confirmed. System generating…
Big Brother Self-Improvement System fully loaded!
This system is dedicated to shaping the host into a law-abiding, socially respected Big Brother.
What the—?!
Lee Jin-woo's chopsticks, mid-ramen, froze in the air, his mouth agape.
A system?
Haha, I knew transmigration came with a cheat! It was just a matter of time.
And now, his cheat had arrived.
Profession assigned. Distributing rewards and first mission.
As a modern Big Brother, your physique, aura, and style must match the image.
Distributing professional gear: watch, full-arm tattoo, gold set.
Lee Jin-woo was stunned. "Whoa, hold up! A full-arm tattoo? That'll make it impossible to get factory jobs!"
Wait, with a system, who needs a factory job?
Still, a full-arm tattoo wasn't exactly his thing!
Unfortunately, the system didn't care for his protests.
On the low wooden table in front of him, five brand-new items appeared out of nowhere.
A thick gold chain, as wide as half a pinky. A pair of solid gold rings. A hefty two-finger-wide gold bracelet.
These three alone had to weigh over a hundred grams.
At current gold prices, they were worth at least 50,000 or 60,000 won…
Lee Jin-woo's first instinct was to sell them.
Then his eyes landed on the gleaming gold watch.
Gold dial, gold strap, gold accents.
Tacky, tacky, tacky—low-class from the inside out.
But it couldn't hide its value as a Rolex.
Grabbing his phone, Lee Jin-woo quickly looked up the watch online.
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date 40, 18K gold model. Price: 53 million won.
"I'm rich."
He'd sell it the moment he stepped outside.
Warning: Professional gear is a unique reward. It cannot be lost, damaged, or intentionally discarded.
If such behavior is detected, the system will uninstall, and per Safety Regulation 11019, the host's consciousness will be terminated before the system departs.
What? Can't sell it?
Lee Jin-woo's excitement fizzled out.
But he quickly perked up. If he couldn't sell it, fine.
He'd flaunt it instead.
Though… it's not fake, right?
Surely a system this powerful wouldn't scam him with counterfeits.
Brushing off his doubts, Lee Jin-woo set the gold watch beside the gold accessories and picked up the final reward.
A pair of sleeve-like arm covers, resembling a bib a kid might wear for meals.
Except these were covered in tattoos, looking a bit intimidating.
He slipped the neckpiece on and pulled on the sleeves.
To his shock, they fused with his skin. He rubbed them hard—no reaction.
"Stickers?"
Realizing no needles were involved, Lee Jin-woo got excited and checked himself in the mirror.
A soaring eagle adorned his neck, its head at the center, yellow eyes glaring with fierce intensity, as if it might come alive and attack.
The eagle's wings spread across his shoulders and arms. From behind, the feathers were so vivid, they looked real.
"Gonna need my ID everywhere now," Lee Jin-woo muttered, shaking his head. He pushed the gear aside to eat his ramen.
As a Big Brother, how can you eat instant ramen at home?
New mission: Have a dinner befitting a Big Brother's status.
Lee Jin-woo's face froze. He slammed his chopsticks into the ramen.
"Damn it, I can't even eat in peace?"
Staring at the blinking "New Mission" prompt, he reluctantly picked up the bowl.
With a pang of regret, he dumped the freshly cooked, untouched ramen into a trash bag.
Looks like ramen was off the menu for good.
Grabbing a jacket, he headed for the door.
Reminder: Wear the professional gear, or face punishment.
"So many rules, I swear—"
Lee Jin-woo froze mid-step, convulsing. His right arm shot up, his left hooked back, and he started dancing wildly in place.
Three seconds later, he collapsed.
Numb. His entire body was numb.
A powerful shudder drained him, as if a void had opened inside, sucking away his strength and thoughts.
Even breathing felt distant, like he might stop any second.
Ten minutes later, Lee Jin-woo gasped, bolting upright. "Huff, huff…"
He felt like he'd died and come back at the last moment.
That terrifying, hollow fear—he never wanted to feel it again.
He grabbed the gold watch, slung the gold chain around his neck, and tried slipping a ring on each hand.
Finding it awkward, he settled for both on his left hand—index and ring fingers.
Each square-faced ring was engraved with a character.
Index: Harmony.
Ring: Peace.
Together: Harmony and Peace.
"Not bad, not bad. I'm all about peace," Lee Jin-woo said, twirling the rings.
He stood in front of a secondhand mini mirror he'd scavenged from a flea market.
Bending his knees, he adjusted to his new look.
Overall, it wasn't too bad.
Sure, it was a bit intimidating, but it didn't detract from the ruggedly handsome face in the mirror.
"Hmm~" Rubbing his chin, Lee Jin-woo nodded, satisfied.
He tugged his jacket collar, straightening it out.
Grabbing the trash, he headed downstairs.
After tossing the garbage into the food waste bin, he pondered where to eat.
What counted as a "lavish" meal? He couldn't eat abalone and sea cucumber every day—his body and wallet wouldn't survive!
But the promise of an "unknown" reward was too tempting to ignore.
Guess it was time to use that card.
From the deepest layer of his wallet, he pulled out a joint credit card, his expression filled with resignation.
Youthful stubbornness had finally lost to cold reality.
How pathetic.
With the last obstacle gone, there was no reason to hesitate.
"Take me to the nearest Hanwoo restaurant."
Flagging a taxi, Lee Jin-woo headed straight for a "tycoon restaurant."
In South Korea, eating Hanwoo beef was a mark of success.
A Hanwoo meal should fit a Big Brother's status, right?