After the Divorce, a Treasure Map Made Me a 1,000-Trillionaire Chapter 4
On the way back to the goshiwon from the gold shop, I stopped by the convenience store and bought four Häagen-Dazs bars—two in each hand. Even though it was a buy-one-get-one-free deal, it still cost me a whopping 11,800 won.
Not long ago, I would’ve trembled just thinking about spending over 10,000 won on dessert. But now… Now I was a man with a surprise deposit of 3.5 million won in my bank account. I had nothing to worry about.
“Häagen-Dazs~ Häagen-Dazs~”
I was humming like some kind of Häagen-Dazs salesperson as I got into the elevator heading up to my room.
Just as I was about to press the close button, someone came running from down the hall. ‘Who’s that?’
I paused and hit the open button, waiting for the person to catch up.
As she came closer, I realized it was someone I knew. Not just familiar—a face I definitely recognized.
“Th-thank you… huff, huff…”
‘Ah, it’s the manager.’
“Where were you just now?” she asked as she caught her breath and looked at me.
“Oh… you’re in Room 507, right? I just went home to grab a few things.”
Come to think of it, she wasn’t around the goshiwon all the time. So she didn’t actually live here full-time.
The elevator ride fell into a brief silence. But something about it felt incomplete.
‘Now that I think about it… it wouldn’t feel right to just ignore it.’
If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have found that treasure map in the first place. Which means, technically, I owed her for the 3.5 million won.
Even if I couldn’t exactly split the money, I could at least give her an ice cream out of courtesy.
I held one of the Häagen-Dazs bars out to her.
She looked surprised as she took it.
“Um… didn’t you already give me one last time? I’m fine, really…”
I smiled and showed her the remaining three bars in my hands.
“I had a bit of good luck today, so I bought a few extra. It’s really fine. Please, take it.”
Seeing that I still had plenty left, she finally gave in and bowed her head politely.
“Th-thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
Looking at her now… she was actually quite pretty. ‘If only she did something about that messy hair of hers.’
The elevator arrived at the 5th floor.
As she stepped out first, she turned back to me with a smile.
“I don’t know what happened, but congratulations on your good luck.”
I thanked her, but I wasn’t sure if today really counted as a lucky day. Sure, I got 3.5 million won by sheer luck… But I also got fired.
The reason? The company director had just remarried— To my ex-wife. And he said it made him “uncomfortable” to work in the same place as me.
Honestly, it was humiliating as a man.
Just thinking about it gave me a headache.
‘Still… how the hell did she pull that off, Lee Hye-rin?’
Sure, Director Hong was a bit older, but he was still the son of a chaebol. What kind of trick did she use to reel him in?
“What am I even thinking…”
Trying to shake off the pointless thoughts, I tore open one of the Häagen-Dazs bars the moment I got back to my room.
I tossed the other two into the tiny freezer in my mini fridge, then took a big bite.
“Mmm… this is heaven.”
The sweet flavor washed over me, and for the first time today, I felt a bit alive. That awful feeling from earlier started to fade.
‘No wonder girls are always craving sweets.’
Just as I finished the ice cream, something fell off the desk with a soft thud.
It was the box of Grandpa’s keepsakes.
I’d placed it near the edge because I was low on desk space, and now it had slipped off.
I hurried to finish the rest of my ice cream and started picking up the fallen items.
‘Man, I really need to move out of this cramped place…’
As I was putting things away, my eyes fell on something.
That treasure map paper from last time.
[Treasure Map] [LV001 – Stage 2] [Hint: The once most famous tree, now nameless, where youthful passion once gathered daily.] [Location: Sillim-dong]
Something had changed.
Last time, I clearly remembered it saying “Stage 1” after LV001. And the hint was completely different too.
Confused, I rummaged through the box and pulled everything out to double-check. Even flipped through the “Treasure Island” book it came in.
But there was no sign of the previous paper that had “Stage 1” on it.
A chilling thought crossed my mind. Had someone broken into my room?
But I quickly shook my head.
‘If someone came in, they’d have taken the laptop first.’
There wasn’t anything too valuable in the room, but the laptop alone could fetch a few hundred thousand won secondhand.
If anyone had broken in, they definitely wouldn’t have left it behind.
I suddenly remembered the hint from the first map.
[Hint: The oldest item in the goshiwon]
But I couldn’t help but glance at the drawer that had brought me that 3.5 million won. It was ridiculously old— Decades, at least.
‘Could there even be anything in this goshiwon older than that thing?’
If the map was real… this would actually make sense.
“Then maybe… the map updated itself because I found the first item?”
Still doubting, I stared at the new hint.
Unlike last time’s direct wording, this one was more like a riddle.
“The once most famous tree, now nameless, where youthful passion once gathered daily.”
I took the map out of the box and placed it on the desk to think.
‘Sillim-dong… youthful passion… tree…’
If this “level” system was real, then Stage 2 shouldn’t be that hard either. Even games start easy, or new players would quit.
‘Where do the most young people gather in Sillim-dong?’
Sundae Town? Sillim Station? Or maybe…
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck me.
“Seoul National University!”
Youthful passion? University students.
And the only university in Sillim-dong? The country’s top school—SNU.
I threw on my clothes and rushed outside.
Even if this all turned out to be a joke, it didn’t matter. I had no job starting tomorrow anyway.
‘Guess I’m Time Billionaire now.’
To avoid drawing suspicion, I walked around the campus slowly with my hands behind my back, like a local out for a stroll.
“Hmm… where could it be?”
Every time I saw a large tree, I checked around it. Underneath, behind, even above.
After searching for over three hours, I was exhausted.
‘Maybe someone really did sneak into my room as a prank…’
“But then what about that gold bracelet…?”
None of it made any sense.
As I sat on a bench trying to collect my thoughts, I heard a loud sound behind me.
I turned to see a security guard about to tumble down the stairs.
I dashed over and caught him just in time.
“Whew… are you okay?”
The old guard thanked me over and over, bowing deeply.
“Ah, thank you. You saved me! That could’ve ended badly…”
“I’m glad you’re okay. You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Thanks to you, I’m fine. Thank you, young man.”
He called me “young man,” and for some reason, that made me happy.
‘Guess I still look kinda young, huh?’
He dusted himself off and started heading down the stairs again.
“Well, I’ll be off. Thanks again.”
Who knows this campus better than anyone?
“Excuse me, sir. Can I ask you something?”
“It’s nothing strange. Just… do you happen to know what the most famous tree in Seoul National University is?”
“The most famous tree…?”
He looked at me suspiciously.
Before he could get the wrong idea, I blurted out a lie.
“I’ve got a class assignment. It’s about famous trees on campus.”
“Ah, I see. Hold on a moment… the most famous tree…”
He seemed to be thinking hard.
“Even if it’s one that used to be famous, that’s fine.”
His eyes lit up and he motioned for me to follow.
He led me straight to the university’s main gate.
And there, he stopped in front of a pine tree that looked fairly ordinary.
‘It’s big, sure… but this is it?’
“This tree right here was once the most famous in all of Seoul National University.”
‘Doesn’t look like much…’
“Well, to be precise, it used to be. Before the main gate was built, this tree acted as the entrance to the school.”
“It was even called the ‘Main Gate Pine Tree’ back in the day…”
“Where youthful passion gathered daily… now nameless, once the most famous tree…”
Thousands of students must’ve passed through this gate every day.
And it used to be famous—now forgotten.
I bowed deeply to the old man.
“Thank you so much, sir!”
“Haha, it’s nothing. Good luck on your assignment!”
He left, and by now the campus was almost deserted. Midnight.
The perfect time to search.
I quickly began scouring the area around the tree.
‘Alright… where is it…’
I rolled up my sleeves and dug through the grass and soil at the base of the tree.
And after five minutes of searching—
A slip of paper buried beneath the dirt.
I brushed the dirt off and examined it.
“…It’s a scratch lottery ticket?!”