Earning money is tedious and academic.
Spending it, however, is simple and enjoyable.
Overspending, YOLO (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘yolo,’ derived from ‘You Only Live Once,’ emphasizing living life to the fullest), impulse buying—all these prove the truth of that statement.
It is far more entertaining to spend than to earn.
Even so, could it truly be possible to spend a hundred million won in a single day?
Even the most enjoyable games eventually grow tiresome with overuse; perhaps spending money is no different.
Today, I would experience it for myself.
‘Even if a single outfit costs millions of won, to reach a hundred million…’
The luxury clothes I had just purchased amounted to about ten million won.
A rough calculation indicated that I would need to buy roughly ten times more than I already had.
‘Hmm… I don’t have enough hands to carry everything.’
The problem was that while I had the money, I lacked the means to carry my purchases.
If only I had a cart, I could simply pile everything in it and move on.
Then, a scene from a drama suddenly came to mind.
It was the image of a chaebol wife shopping at a department store, with other staff members rushing over to help carry her bags.
I glanced towards the customer service desk.
‘Would asking them to carry my purchases make me seem like an unreasonable customer?’
I wasn’t sure, but I figured there was no harm in asking.
Besides, having spent ten million won today, surely I could expect that level of service.
With a touch of apprehension, I approached the customer service desk once more.
The same employee who had issued my card earlier greeted me again with a cheerful smile.
“Is there anything you require?”
One cannot spit in a smiling face.
Nor can one make an unreasonable request to someone smiling so warmly.
Despite my confident demeanor until now, the words felt stuck in my throat as I prepared to make what felt like an unreasonable demand.
I forced strength into my vocal cords and opened my mouth.
“Um… I have quite a few items, so I was wondering if there’s anything you could do about the luggage…”
My voice cracked mid-sentence, but I managed to finish my request.
Listening to my words, she swiftly surveyed the packages in my hands.
“Are you finding it difficult to shop with so many bags? For Emerald tier customers and above, we offer luggage storage at our VIP Lounge.
Would you like to leave them there?”
This was precisely what I wanted to hear.
Rather than having staff members trail behind me, laden with my purchases, it would be far better to simply store them.
Feeling the corners of my lips curl upwards instinctively, I replied with enthusiasm.
“Yes, please do.”
“Certainly.
If you hand your luggage to me, I will arrange for its storage.
Please note that the VIP Lounge is located on the 9th floor of this building.”
While it meant more back-and-forth trips, it was still preferable to parading through the department store like a VIP with a retinue of bag-carrying staff, drawing everyone’s attention.
I merely wished to attain the Arcana tier; I had no particular desire to flaunt my wealth to other patrons.
Or did I?
‘It’s quite amusing, though, to be thinking this after already decking myself out in luxury items.’
Chuckling softly to myself, I handed all my bags to the employee.
“Thank you.”
“Enjoy your shopping.”
Enjoyable shopping.
It was truly time for enjoyable shopping, in every sense of the word.
****
“What? There’s a customer who reached Gold tier today?”
Lee Chang-jin, Assistant Manager at Shinsegae Department Store.
Receiving a call from Team Leader Han Yi-min, he was so startled that he involuntarily raised his voice.
The Shinsegae Department Store’s Gold tier.
This tier was granted to customers who spent over thirty million won annually.
Not only were such customers few in number, but those who spent that much at a department store were typically upper-middle class or above.
Thirty million won, a substantial sum, spent at a department store.
Which meant, on luxury goods.
It was a tier one could only achieve by consistently spending several hundred thousand won each month, or tens of millions of won in a single purchase over several months.
But to reach that tier in a single day?
“Are they receiving VIP treatment?”
At Lee Chang-jin’s words, Team Leader Han Yi-min’s voice on the other end of the line gradually diminished.
[Well, there are almost no VIPs who achieve Gold tier on the same day, so the manual…]
“This is driving me crazy.
Han Yi-min, Team Leader.
Your position exists precisely so you can respond flexibly in situations like this.”
[I will rectify it immediately.]
Lee Chang-jin sighed, a hint of annoyance in his breath.
He then spoke again to Team Leader Han Yi-min on the other end of the line.
“Assign staff to attend to them immediately.
Report any unusual circumstances.”
[Understood.]
“Has the economy improved lately?”
Hanging up, Chang-jin muttered to himself and opened a stock market application.
Yet, his account was still awash in red.
His stock account was as cold as the increasingly chilly weather.
He let out a light sigh and slipped his phone into his pants pocket.
Then, he rose from his seat and put on his jacket.
“Anyway.”
****
“Oh… the Gold tier card looks different again…”
I had just received my Gold card from the customer service desk.
‘If I threw it and hit someone, would they faint?’
I chuckled to myself, entertaining such a frivolous thought.
The Gold tier required an annual spending of thirty million won.
Since Emerald was ten million won, I only needed to spend roughly twenty million more.
So, what I purchased was not from the brand I was currently wearing, but a coat from a different luxury boutique.
I had gone to choose a coat suitable for autumn and early winter.
I loved coats.
In my university days, I even harbored a peculiar conviction that I would wear only coats, even if it meant freezing to death.
I truly enjoyed dressing up during my university years.
Perhaps it was because I felt so rotten inside back then.
‘I should wear this often from now on.’
A coat after three years.
‘How much was it?’
It was roughly 5.5 million won.
A single coat at such a price!
Honestly, I was quite surprised, but given it was a famous brand, I could understand.
The brand that immediately came to mind when one thought of coats.
And thus, the brand that had been my university dream.
‘It feels strange to buy it after becoming younger again.’
Not only did I not buy it as an adult, but I bought it after becoming younger.
They say life is full of unpredictable changes (TL Note: A Korean idiom, ‘saeongjima,’ referring to a situation where misfortune can turn into a blessing, and vice versa; a twist of fate.).
I truly couldn’t predict what lay ahead.
In any case, besides that, I also bought other items from the store.
I bought a regular coat, and a trench coat too.
I picked up a pair of pretty sneakers, and thought a card wallet would be useful, so I bought one of those too.
As I gathered various items, I quickly surpassed twenty million won.
‘Is a hundred million won actually less than I thought?’
‘Considering you can’t even buy a house with a hundred million won, perhaps it is.’
There’s a saying that winning the lottery doesn’t make you rich, but merely makes life a little more comfortable.
This implies that with a sum between one and two billion won, one cannot truly escape their current circumstances.
It’s an ambiguous amount of money that allows one to live comfortably within their existing world, but not to enter a new one.
Though, as someone who desperately bought a lottery ticket every week, perhaps I wasn’t one to talk.
Carefully clutching the paper bags that filled both my hands, I began to ponder what to buy next.
“Choi Yeon-bi, esteemed customer!”
“Eh?”
Someone called my name, and I responded with a slightly bewildered sound.
Turning towards the source of the voice, I saw several staff members in suits standing neatly, looking at me.
It seemed department store employees were hired based on their looks and height.
Every single one of them was tall and handsome.
‘Is that why I failed all my department store part-time job applications?’
A trace of bitterness coloring my thoughts, I gazed at them.
“We apologize for the delayed response.
I am Lee Chang-jin, Assistant Manager at Shinsegae Department Store.”
Suddenly, a middle-aged man (TL Note: ‘ajeossi,’ a Korean term for a middle-aged man, often used informally or respectfully depending on context) thrust a business card at me, smiling genially.
Though I thought of him as an ‘ajeossi,’ if I were a typical woman instead of a man, I might have seen him as a man exuding middle-aged charm.
Naturally, I wasn’t particularly fond of such things.
I even had an argument with a friend once because they kept posting such things in our group chat.
“Esteemed customer? Is there anything that is causing you discomfort?”
“Oh… no.”
Startled slightly from my extraneous thoughts, I took his business card and lightly shook my head.
[Lee Chang-jin, Assistant Manager, Shinsegae Department Store.]
It was a neat and sophisticated business card.
‘What was my business card like?’
The company name was unnecessarily long, so people usually only noticed the company name, not mine.
‘How much would a department store assistant manager earn?’
Looking at Lee Chang-jin’s face, it seemed he earned quite a bit.
After all, appearance is often determined by wealth.
‘But why have so many of them gathered here?’
“We understand you’ve become a Gold member today.
We are here to attend to you in accordance with your tier.”
He responded as if he had read my thoughts.
Feeling a little flustered, I scratched my head.
‘Do they usually swarm like this the moment someone achieves a new tier?’
I wasn’t sure.
In fact, it would be stranger if I did know.
‘…Well, since they’re already here.’
“Um… my hands are a bit full, so I was wondering if you could help me with these bags?”
“Of course!
How would you like us to handle your luggage?
Shall we move it to the lounge, or place it in the vehicle you arrived in?”
Upon reflection, I realized I had left my car at the hotel.
If I had known I’d buy this much, I would have just driven here.
I had even bought a car with ample storage space specifically for shopping.
Concluding that I had acted foolishly again, I requested that they move the items to the lounge.
Since I planned to spend the full hundred million won today, I could just leave everything at the lounge and collect it all at once.
“Do you intend to continue shopping?”
Lee Chang-jin and the staff behind him were laden with bags.
A peculiar feeling washed over me, and I stared at them for a long moment.
‘It’s just like a drama.’
Nodding, I acknowledged the somewhat surreal sight.
“Yes.
I plan to achieve Arcana tier today before I leave.”
“I see… wait, what?”
Lee Chang-jin was clearly taken aback.
The expressions of the staff behind him also stiffened slightly.
It seemed their faces had frozen at the prospect of continuing to carry endless bags.
A slight feeling of apology arose within me, but if they didn’t work now, when would they?
It wasn’t as if there were many customers who bought as much as I did.
‘Maybe I should buy them something tasty instead.’
“I plan to focus on luxury boutiques… would you be able to continue assisting with the carrying?”
“Of-of course!”
At my words, Lee Chang-jin’s face brightened considerably compared to before.
With the issue of carrying resolved, there were no more obstacles.
The remaining amount was approximately seventy million won.
‘What should I buy to be known for making a truly good purchase?’
‘Ah, right.
That boutique, isn’t it?’
There was one brand that proudly held the top spot in the luxury bag hierarchy.
While it was frankly amusing to categorize luxury goods into tiers, since I was already here, wouldn’t it be good to buy at least one top-tier bag before leaving?
“I’d like to go to the Hermes (TL Note: ‘Eres’ is a common transliteration of Hermes in Korean web novels) boutique… Which way is it?”
