---
Suwon – Morning
It had been a week since Jung Ha-Joon returned.
He woke before the sun rose, helped his mother sweep the kitchen, and boiled rice for breakfast. His father left quietly for his security guard shift, and his sister was already getting dressed to open the small shop across the alley.
Nothing had changed—
At least, not visibly.
But Ha-Joon could see it clearly.
The worn soles on his father's shoes.
The dark circles under his sister's eyes.
The silence in his mother's expression when she counted grocery receipts.
They didn't complain.
They never would.
But Ha-Joon had changed.
And this time, he would not let them suffer.
---
Later That Day – In His Room
He sat at his old desk and opened his beat-up laptop.
> "I need to earn money," he murmured.
Not by flashy methods.
Not by revealing his power.
But by building quietly.
Smartly.
He typed "freelance remote work – Korea" into the search bar.
---
A Week Later
Ha-Joon began translating documents online.
Then doing virtual tutoring in English and science.
Soon after, he started writing and editing product reviews for e-commerce clients overseas.
The money wasn't much per job.
But with his speed, memory, and ability to instantly understand and complete any task, he was soon earning more than the average part-time worker… in just a few hours per day.
---
By the second week, he'd earned ₩1,500,000 KRW (approx. $1100 USD).
He handed half to his mother.
She blinked.
> "Joon… where did this come from?"
> "Just some freelance jobs. Online," he smiled.
His mother's eyes watered a little, but she nodded and placed the money in a small red envelope.
> "We'll use this for groceries… and maybe fix the bathroom faucet."
His father didn't say anything.
Just patted him on the back with a small, proud smile.
---
At the Shop – Ha-Rin
"Where'd you get a new price scanner?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Found a sale online."
In truth, he'd bought it with his first check.
He didn't need credit cards. He just transferred funds through dozens of virtual wallets using anonymous IDs. Something he learned in the Tower when dealing with interdimensional trading networks.
The system was gone—but the knowledge remained.
Nothing about Earth's economy could confuse him anymore.
---
Later That Night – Suwon Streets
Ha-Joon walked alone past an alley behind a grocery store. He noticed a worn-down truck and a man struggling to lift crates of bottled water.
He stepped forward.
> "Want some help?"
The man turned, startled.
> "I… sure. Thanks, kid."
In ten seconds, Ha-Joon moved the crates into place.
The man blinked.
> "What the—how'd you lift that one with one arm?"
> "Adrenaline," Ha-Joon replied with a polite smile.
The man offered him a bill.
Ha-Joon declined.
> "I just didn't like seeing you struggle."
---
Meanwhile – Baek Seo-Yeon
From a rooftop, Seo-Yeon observed him again.
Same calm steps.
Same smile.
No aura.
> "He's pretending to be normal."
> "But that kindness... It's real."
She lowered her binoculars and sighed.
> "Is he a threat?"
She didn't know yet.
But she wasn't ready to report him.
---
The Following Week – More Income
Ha-Joon began learning the stock market.
Cryptocurrency trends.
High-volume reselling.
He didn't gamble.
He didn't take risks.
He simply understood the structure of markets instantly, like looking at a board game he'd mastered eons ago.
By the end of the month, he had made nearly ₩7 million won (~$5,000 USD).
---
He opened a second bank account in his father's name and transferred most of it there.
---
One Day – At Dinner
His father stared at the bank alert.
> "Did… someone make a mistake?"
> "I just did some work. No big deal," Ha-Joon replied casually.
They didn't push.
But his sister finally said softly:
> "You're… really different now."
He looked at her.
Smiled faintly.
> "Just more focused."
---
That Night – On the Rooftop
The sky was clear.
Distant sirens rang in another part of the city—another portal incident.
Ha-Joon stared up.
> "I'll build slowly."
> "No chaos. No noise."
> "But I'll make sure no one in this family ever suffers again."
His crimson eyes pulsed gently in the dark.
---
At a Hidden Military Base
Researchers stared at live dungeon evolution scans.
More gates were mutating.
Faster.
Wider.
One researcher adjusted the filter—then gasped.
A gate reacted for 0.02 seconds… to something in Suwon.
To someone.
And then went quiet again.
The pattern repeated three times that week.
> "Is something drawing them in?" the supervisor whispered.
---
But they wouldn't find the source.
Because the source was no longer visible to science or magic.
It was Ha-Joon.
And he had only just begun.
---