Despite requesting protection from the casino and being cautious, it was impossible to silence tens of thousands of people. As I feared, news of the $50 million jackpot started spreading.
Such a large jackpot, the first in years, was a hot topic. Even newspapers in countries unrelated to the incident reported it briefly.
And when rumors spread that the winner was Korean, even Korean TV news started covering it.
"I had always dreamed of achieving great success and appearing in the media, envied by everyone," I said with a grimace, looking at the newspaper article about the jackpot after returning to Korea. "But I never imagined it would be because of this."
The article, titled "Is the $50 million jackpot winner Korean?", was a collection of rumors and speculation.
They were saying the winner was Korean, a chaebol (conglomerate) heir who had gone gambling overseas.
Maru said worriedly,
"What do we do? The rumor that the winner is Korean has already spread in just three days."
Park Jong-bum tried to reassure him.
"It'll be fine. Just think of it as a passing storm. It'll blow over soon."
"I don't think so."
I said to Park Jong-bum, who looked puzzled,
"The news has been filled with depressing stories about the economic downturn and the job market. And now there's this exciting news. Do you think the reporters will just ignore it? They'll be scrambling to find the winner."
I sighed.
"If it were a lottery win, it might blow over quickly. But this is a casino jackpot. It's gambling. People get jealous even when you earn money through hard work, and this is a windfall from gambling. It's the perfect target for criticism."
I massaged my throbbing forehead.
"People will be furious. Who would sympathize with someone who won a 50 billion won jackpot while gambling overseas during an economic crisis like this?"
I looked at Maru.
"How long do you think it'll take for my identity to be revealed?"
"I don't know. If the reporters are determined, it won't take long."
"I guess so. We need to find a solution."
As more and more people searched for the lucky winner, the net closed in.
Newspapers and news programs, which had initially reported the incident briefly, started focusing on it as the winner's profile emerged. Illegal overseas gambling became a hot topic again, and they started portraying the winner as a criminal, citing past cases and laws.
The public wasn't forgiving, and they were angry at the winner's good fortune, which contrasted sharply with their own struggles.
"Those bastards should be locked up."
I was startled to hear my father say that while watching the news about the jackpot. I had stopped by my parents' house to clear my head.
I asked cautiously,
"Bastards?"
"Yes, that guy who won 50 billion won gambling in Macau or somewhere. This world is going to hell."
My mother nodded in agreement.
"In these difficult times, who would have the time and money to go gambling overseas?"
I said, trying to defend myself,
"Maybe he was just a tourist who got lucky."
But my father said firmly,
"Tourist or not, in times like these, when we're struggling with a shortage of foreign currency, anyone who takes dollars to a casino overseas should be locked up. They should create a new law if there isn't one. Those people are selfish bastards."
He looked at me suspiciously.
"You're not gambling with the money you earned, are you?"
I said in alarm,
"Of course not! You know I would never gamble."
"Really?"
I hesitated and then said,
"…I tried it once when I was on a business trip, but that was the first and last time."
My father said in a lecturing tone,
"Never gamble again. No one gets rich from gambling, and it always ends badly. It's the path to ruin. There's a reason for the old saying. Listen carefully. I'm telling you again, never gamble."
"Yes, Dad."
I had learned my lesson from the casino incident and had no intention of gambling again.
I looked at my parents, who were chatting, and thought with a serious expression,
'The public perception is even worse than I expected. I could become a public enemy.'
I asked my father for advice.
"Dad."
"Yes?"
"What would you do if you won the jackpot?"
"If I won the jackpot? I would never gamble."
My mother nodded.
"Your father would never gamble."
I waved my hands.
"No, I mean, what if? Just hypothetically. It's not a small amount, 50 billion won. What would you do?"
My father thought for a moment.
"I would get rid of such ill-gotten gains as quickly as possible. There's a saying that you should spend found money quickly, or it'll bring bad luck. Money earned without hard work disappears quickly. So you should get rid of it."
I asked with a serious expression,
"Get rid of it?"
"Yes, give it away, donate it, buy something you need, and get rid of the rest. That's how you invite good fortune."
"Hmm."
My father, seeing my troubled expression, patted my back and said,
"Is something bothering you?"
I shook my head.
"No, nothing. I was just curious."
He patted my back again and said,
"If you have any worries, you can always talk to me. You're my son, I'm always here for you."
My mother nodded excitedly.
"That's right. Our Sol is the most successful person in our family's history. Thanks to you, I'm enjoying life. The other mothers are so envious that we're living off the rental income from your building. Hohoho."
They suddenly started showering me with praise, and I said, embarrassed,
"It's nothing, Mom."
"There's no son as filial as our Sol. Everyone is complaining about the economic crisis, but we have nothing to worry about thanks to you."
I waved my hands at her praise.
"I'm not that filial. I don't even visit you often."
"By the way, Sol…"
My mother narrowed her eyes.
"Are you seeing anyone?"
"What? Seeing anyone?"
"Yes, you're already 28. You should start thinking about marriage. You're successful and handsome, don't you have a girlfriend?"
I forced a smile at her expectant expression.
"No, I'm too busy with work to date."
"I knew it."
She went to her room, brought out some documents, and spread them out in front of me.
"You're so successful that we've been receiving a lot of marriage proposals lately. Take a look. They all seem nice and pretty, but it's up to you."
I said sternly,
"Mom, I'm not even 30 yet!"
"That's why you should start now! You bought a house! A woman needs a home to settle down. Just take a look."
We bickered for a while, and she finally let me off the hook after I agreed to take the documents and read them.
"Donation… donation…"
My father's words about getting rid of ill-gotten gains were bothering me.
I didn't understand the concept of "ill-gotten gains."
By that logic, all the wealth I had accumulated through illegal and shady means was ill-gotten.
Money was just money. It could be used for good or evil.
Of course, considering the trouble the jackpot was causing me, I could call it ill-gotten.
The reporters and the public were closing in. There were reports of a Korean man matching my description being seen with a large man.
It was only a matter of time before my identity was revealed, and I could become a scapegoat for the public's anger.
The best way to resolve internal conflicts was to create an external enemy.
With my illegally acquired wealth and the gambling winnings, I was the perfect candidate for a public enemy.
"But would donating 50 billion won solve everything?"
I didn't think so.
The reporters were already on the move, and once my identity was revealed, I would be investigated for illegal gambling.
If I were just an ordinary rich person, it would be a simple matter of paying a fine for violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and gambling overseas. But I was the lucky winner of the biggest jackpot in recent history, the focus of public attention.
And what if they investigated my wealth and discovered its shady origins? A righteous reporter and prosecutor exposing the truth, and the downfall of the lucky winner…
It was an interesting scenario, as long as it wasn't happening to me.
Donating to charity and improving one's public image was a common tactic used by the wealthy to avoid scrutiny, but it only worked for chaebols with influence over the media and the government.
I was just a nouveau riche in Korea, nothing more.
"I can't just sit here and wait to be caught."
Maru, seeing my determined expression, said hopefully,
"Did you come up with a good idea? You're a genius when it comes to these things."
I slammed my hand on the table.
"In difficult times, we need a public enemy, but we also need a hero. I'd rather be a hero than a villain. We'll separate the company. The light and the dark. We've been operating in both worlds, but we've become too big. We'll reveal the parts that can be exposed and operate transparently in the light. And we'll bury the rest even deeper in the shadows."
My eyes gleamed.
"We'll collect all the good deeds we've done and create a hero. We have plenty of material. We've been donating over 100 million won to the Disabled People's Association every year, and we haven't fired a single employee since we became a corporation, even though other companies are downsizing. We're even increasing our hiring."
We had been paying 10 million won each to the chairman and the association every month to use their name for the donation box business. And we had been donating the low-value clothes that couldn't be sold secondhand through the association.
Of course, it was all for profit, but words could be twisted.
Park Sol, a young man who made his fortune through illegal activities and tax evasion and won a casino jackpot, versus Park Sol, a young man who worked in a despised industry, donated to charity, protected his employees' jobs, expanded his business globally, and happened to win a casino jackpot during a business trip.
It was the same person, but the narrative could be completely different.
"A hero in the light, a villain in the shadows. No more gray areas, only black and white. We can be both."