After the Divorce, a Treasure Map Made Me a 1,000-Trillionaire Chapter 5
With the unscratched lottery ticket safely tucked in his pocket, he held his breath all the way back to the goshiwon.
As soon as he arrived, he checked the door several times, locked it tight, and shut all the windows. Just in case.
From the drawer, he pulled out a 100-won coin and slowly began scratching.
“Alright... let’s see here...”
First row—nothing. Second row—also a miss. And then... the final row.
The first two images matched. That meant one thing. A win.
Now it was time to find out just how much he’d won. He took a deep breath, heart pounding in his ears, and slowly scraped away the final bit of silver.
“Please... please, please...”
And beneath the scratch-off surface—four beautiful characters: ₩10,000,000 Ten million won.
Following the gold bracelet, now this—he’d just made nearly three months’ salary in a single moment.
He screamed at the top of his lungs, completely overwhelmed by the flood of dopamine.
It was the dead of night, and this was a goshiwon. Soundproofing was a myth here.
Bang! Bang! “SHUT UP, DAMN IT! I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!”
He quickly stuffed the lottery ticket back into his pocket, apologized profusely, and lay down on his bed.
“S-Sorry!” “Damn it... you know what time it is?”
Luckily, after that quick apology, no further complaints followed.
He pulled the ticket back out and stared at it quietly, double-checking in the dim light. Was this real? Could it be a mistake?
But no—no matter how many times he looked, flipped it over, held it up to the light—it was a genuine winning ticket for ₩10,000,000. And it was still valid.
‘Wait... but what if someone else dropped this?’
But then he remembered—it was an unscratched scratch-off. Just another ₩2,000 ticket until scratched. No one would report a missing scratcher. It wasn’t technically worth anything... until now.
‘It’s really ten million won...’
He should’ve been exhausted after everything that happened today, but his body was still buzzing from all the dopamine.
‘Oh, that’s right...’
Two lucky strikes in a row? That wasn’t coincidence anymore.
He flicked the light back on and pulled out the box with his grandfather’s keepsakes.
‘It should be... right at the top—’
He was expecting the paper to change again. And sure enough, there it was: “Treasure Map” printed boldly across the top.
But beneath that... it was blank. Completely blank.
‘Huh? What...? Is that it? Only two times?’
A wave of disappointment washed over him.
Still, as he looked down at the winning ticket in his hand, a quiet gratitude filled his heart.
“Well... it’s still amazing.”
Come to think of it, maybe this was his grandfather’s final gift.
“Thank you, Grandpa...”
As soon as the bank opened, he made his way to Nonghyup Bank to claim the prize.
Sunglasses, mask—the full disguise. He walked in cautiously, nervous someone might somehow guess he was now a winner.
But as soon as he stepped inside, he noticed something strange.
‘Why is everyone looking at me?’
A security guard approached, one hand resting near his holster, and spoke quietly.
“Excuse me, sir... may I ask why you’re here?”
He leaned in and whispered, “I-I'm here to claim a lottery prize.”
“A lottery prize...? What kind?”
“A Scratch Spitto ticket...”
The guard made a call, then nodded.
“Yes... Yes, understood.”
Then he turned back to him with a polite smile.
“Sir, Spitto scratch tickets aren’t handled at Nonghyup anymore. You’ll need to go to the Donghaeng Lottery Headquarters in Seoul.”
The guard then eyed him curiously. “You’re a first-prize winner, right?”
He shook his head confidently. “Nope. Just third prize.”
The guard’s enthusiasm immediately deflated.
He tore a number ticket from the machine and handed it over. “You can claim third prize here. Please wait over there.”
His tone had turned professional—cold, even.
‘Did I overdo the disguise?’
Apparently, the other people in the bank lost interest once they heard “third prize.”
Come to think of it... it wasn’t that much. ₩10,000,000 wasn’t pocket change, but it wasn’t exactly winning the Powerball either.
He sheepishly removed his sunglasses and mask and sat quietly in a corner.
‘God, that was embarrassing...’
He waited in silence. That’s when someone tapped his shoulder.
A familiar female voice.
He looked up—and saw a woman he didn’t recognize.
The voice was familiar, but the face? Completely new.
‘Do I know any girls this pretty...? Maybe Hyerin?’
Why was he even thinking about her again?
Before he could get annoyed, the woman spoke again.
“Room 507, right? It’s me—the manager of the goshiwon.”
Now that she mentioned it, the voice was hers.
But the looks? A complete 180 from how he remembered her.
“What... what happened to your hair?”
She laughed and touched her newly styled hair.
“Oh, didn’t recognize me, huh? I thought I looked too messy all the time, so I went to the salon today.”
‘She’s actually... beautiful?’
Now that he thought about it, her messy bun and slouched posture had hidden her face this whole time.
‘Why would she hide that face...?’
“So what brings you to the bank, Room 507?”
It was only ₩10,000,000—not exactly secret agent money.
He pulled the ticket from his pocket and showed her. “I won the lottery. Came to pick up the prize.”
“Wow! Is that ₩10,000,000? Congratulations!”
Her reaction was bigger than expected—and far more cheerful than how she acted at the goshiwon.
‘Huh. That actually made me feel good.’
“Haha, thanks. So, what about you? What brings you here?”
Just then, a well-dressed middle-aged man came hurrying over.
“You’re here! If you’d called, we could’ve sent a car. Right this way, please.”
His nametag read: Bank Manager.
She gave a wry smile and turned back to him. “I’ll see you later. Enjoy your time here.”
The bank manager just greeted her like she was royalty.
‘She’s a VIP?! The messy-haired girl who played on her phone all day?!’
His mind couldn’t process it. But he didn’t have time to think—
“Customer number 359.”
His number was called. It was time.
[Donghaeng Lotto / ₩7,800,000 / Deposited] [Balance / ₩13,060,000]
As soon as he left the bank, he checked his balance and burst out laughing.
With his severance pay and this month’s salary, he’d soon hit ₩30,000,000.
When he got fired, he was lost—completely hopeless. But now? Now he had breathing room. Enough to survive until his next job.
“Thanks again, Grandpa.”
He looked up at the sky with a grateful heart.
On his way home, he almost entered the usual gimbap shop... but stopped.
“Come on. I made real money today. No more budget meals.”
Instead, he headed to the fanciest Korean beef BBQ restaurant in the neighborhood.
A three-story restaurant, bustling with people and known for premium quality.
As soon as he sat down, a server brought him a hot towel and the menu.
‘Of course, gotta go with Hanwoo beef.’
[Hanwoo Ribeye / ₩102,000]
That was per 250g. He’d need at least 2 servings to be full. Over ₩200,000 in one meal.
‘That’s like... 20 Gimbap Heaven specials!’
Even after winning over 10 million won, he hesitated. He was a simple man at heart.
Then his eyes landed on the American beef option: [U.S. Ribeye / ₩69,000]
‘You know what, American beef is still good!’
“Excuse me, I’ll take two servings of the U.S. ribeye, please!”
The server even grilled it for him. Probably part of the service at these prices.
“Here you go. It’s ready to eat.”
The perfectly grilled beef sizzled on his plate.
“Alright... let’s try this.”
Even though it wasn’t Hanwoo, it was way better than the cheap company dinners he used to suffer through.
The sides were amazing too. Everything tasted top-tier.
‘This is the life... money really is everything.’
The flavor was so good, it almost brought tears to his eyes.
‘I’ll work hard and come back again.’
He finished two full servings of beef alone, then stopped by a convenience store to grab a Haagen-Dazs bar for dessert.
Back at the goshiwon, lying in bed, he felt the stress from being fired start to melt away.
Then his eyes fell on the treasure map sitting on his desk.
‘Should I put that away?’
It was blank now, but still—it brought him fortune. A keepsake from Grandpa.
He reached for it to return it to the box—
“Wait... what the hell?”
The once-blank paper was now showing text again.
He didn’t know why or how. But the map, which yesterday had shown nothing but the words “Treasure Map,” was now updated.
His brain buzzed with dopamine all over again.
He had time. Nothing to do. Nowhere to be.
‘Let’s see how far this rabbit hole goes.’
[Treasure Map] [LV001 – Stage 3] [Hint: Thursday, 9 PM. A legendary general glows red atop a black grill, whispering the secrets of the future amid the smoke.] [Location: Sillim-dong]