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Chapter 12
Chapter 2. “Have you figured out the mood yet? Let’s upgrade.”
〚The dollar exchange rate has reached an all-time high! As financial market instability spreads, the government has announced an emergency review of foreign reserves.〛
〚Breaking news! The government has begun consultations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)—〛
〚Our government has officially requested a bailout from the IMF.〛
〚Today, the dollar exchange rate has surpassed 1,500 won—〛
〚The financial sector has shifted into emergency response mode.〛
〚The aftermath of the foreign exchange crisis is now directly hitting the field. Banks are crowded with anxious citizens—〛
The year 1997 was truly tumultuous.
In the first half of the year, news of corporate bankruptcies began appearing one after another. In the summer, the Thai baht collapsed, dragging down currencies across Southeast Asia, and eventually the Asian financial crisis erupted in full force.
The last time I saw headlines about national credit ratings and such was during the 2024 emergency martial law situation. But experiencing the IMF crisis in real time after coming back to the past… the scale was on an entirely different level.
Have you ever seen bankruptcy and delisting news pouring in several times a day?
It makes reality feel unreal.
A national bankruptcy!
“How on earth did our country even survive this?”
The Miracle on the Han River—how did that even happen?!
Even though I was a regressor from the future 2026, where Korea was at its peak, I still couldn’t fully adapt to this era…
But anyway, I had things to do.
“Customer for currency exchange number 30!”
“Next—no, ma’am, please go to the gold collection counter!”
I swallowed a sigh at the screaming voices of the bank staff.
The bank was packed—truly frighteningly crowded.
And on top of an already chaotic situation, a “gold collection campaign” desk had been added.
It was currently January 1998.
Yes.
With the new year, the famous gold collection movement had begun.
News about it appeared almost daily, and everywhere people went, the topic was: “Did you donate yours? I did mine.”
Major banks were so packed with gold donors that there was barely any space to step.
If modern MZ generation people—who believe “my money is only mine”—saw this, they’d probably faint.
The 90s really were something else.
A mother pulling out a baby’s first gold ring from a handkerchief, an old man bringing his cherished golden pig figurine, a grandmother removing gold rings inherited from her mother… watching it all made my emotions feel strangely complicated.
Ah… people of the past…
“Min-su, are you watching…?”
As expected.
As I had already guessed, Park Min-su had indeed bypassed the IMF crisis entirely.
With his regression buff, he was now ahead of history and thriving as <Quera>.
Apparently, dollar funds were piling up in the U.S. headquarters to the point of overflowing and rotting, yet he refused even when the Korean government begged for assistance.
Thanks to that, instead of becoming a national hero, public opinion flipped like a coin, and he became a nationwide “unlikable man.”
Of course, no single person could resolve a country-level financial crisis—but still.
“Isn’t this guy basically a regression protagonist from an economy novel instead of an idol one?”
But this protagonist seemed to have completely severed ties with his homeland and barely even stepped foot in Korea.
Maybe the setting was international rather than domestic?
A Wall Street domination revenge story? If so, I had nothing to say…
Anyway, the more I felt the cold, ruthless presence of this Seoul man named Min-su, the more firmly I resolved to hide the fact that an extra had been dragged along into his regression.
I shook my head and looked away. Then—
“Mom?”
“……Huh?”
“Stop right there. Ma’am, what’s inside that?”
“Ah, well…”
I couldn’t let my guard down.
While I looked away for just a moment, this lady was already trying to sell off household valuables again.
“Confiscated.”
I held out my hand sternly, and Madam Bang Suk-young reluctantly pulled a small pouch from her arms.
Inside were three cute little golden pig figurines…
I looked at my mother in silence.
“Well, the country has to be strong for the people to—”
“You already donated my and Cheongsong’s baby rings.”
“That was your father, not me! I haven’t donated mine yet! All my friends have, except me!”
“Why are you splitting the bill on patriotism?”
Is this woman joking?
Are both spouses this patriotic even acceptable?
So this is why I lived in poverty in my previous life.
This household was full of capital-F feelers. Without a regression cheat code, there was no hope.
“Customer for exchange number 34! Are you here?”
It was our turn.
I grabbed my mother’s hand and walked straight to the counter. My whining mother stiffened instantly like a chicken being grabbed by the neck.
“Ah, h-hello! I’d like to exchange into won!”
“Yes~ Today’s exchange rate is 1,420 won per dollar. Would you like to exchange the full amount in your account?”
1,420 won.
“In the movies it was like 1,700… 1,600 and climbing.”
Even though Park Min-su was basically ignoring Korea like a cold shoulder, foreign investors didn’t seem to view the Korean market as completely disposable thanks to <Quera Korea>.
So the exchange rate was milder than in the original timeline.
“No. Half, please.”
“Yes~”
The staff, who had been responding mechanically, paused briefly after checking the account—but only for a moment before processing it.
“As expected.”
Right after the IMF crisis broke, when the dollar surged past 1,500 won, my parents had panicked and rushed to the bank.
But if we had come then, things would not have gone this smoothly. We would have drawn suspicion from the bank and government alike.
At a time when the atmosphere had calmed somewhat, splitting the exchange into parts to secure cash first—and entering the stock market later when things quiet down further—was the safest route.
“Oh my goodness! The money doubled!”
My mother looked incredulous, repeatedly checking the passbook with flushed cheeks.
“Earning money is this easy? This is unbelievable.”
‘Of course it’s unbelievable.’
This was only possible with the miracle called [Regression].
It was basically cheating—having the answer sheet of the future.
【Tutorial Complete!】
【Evaluating the challenger’s tutorial performance……】
“…Huh?!”
I flinched and looked around.
It wasn’t my imagination.
Everything had stopped like a frozen frame.
My mother staring at the passbook in excitement and fear, people at the gold collection desk, bank staff shouting for order—all of it was frozen in place.
The world had stopped!
“What… what is this?”
In the silence where even a single strand of hair didn’t move, the only things in motion were the blinking system window in front of me and the sound of counting money—
No.
“That’s the sound of a bill counter!”
Are they really counting money? My money?
“Grading…?”
I couldn’t help making a strange expression.
It was the system that had first appeared when I was six years old and had been silent ever since.
It was shocking enough that it suddenly reappeared—but now it was grading me in this terrifying frozen world?
“Was there even a report card for this mission…?”
【Evaluation complete.】
【Challenger’s tutorial score: 62 (+20) / 100 — Good】
【Overall evaluation: You have successfully succeeded in your first investment and entered the mission. Riding the flow of opportunity was a very standard choice, but also a cautious one. Congratulations on successfully making your first step.
Let’s see… you barely scraped into the “Good” tier with bonus points. Considering you started from scratch, additional “beginner’s luck” has been applied. Note that beginner’s luck only applies once, so don’t expect such fortune again.】
“IT TALKS?!”
And it’s incredibly rude while it’s at it!
While I was still stunned, the word [Good] on the score deepened in color and exploded into particles like flower petals.
【Final Grade: [Good] Reward】
Reward?
I quickly regained my composure.
I didn’t really understand what was happening, but apparently I was getting a prize. Now wasn’t the time to be confused.
【‘Fate Dice Pair’ has been added to the challenger’s wallet.】
I swear I had never even known I had a wallet.
I instinctively rummaged through my Sailor Moon bag, and sure enough, there was a coin pouch I had never seen before.
I hurriedly flipped it open.
Two dice rolled into my palm.
A pair.
They were transparent with an aurora sheen, like pebbles glimmering in light, smooth to the touch.
One was a normal six-sided die numbered 1 to 6.
The other was identical in shape, but the numbers on each face kept changing as I looked at it—so much so that it was disorienting.
As I squinted, I caught glimpses of numbers like 0 and 99 flashing across its faces. It was bizarre.
“Fate dice? How am I supposed to use these?”
