I Have Too Many Money-Making Talents - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Talent That Pays – Episode 11
After finishing my lunch, I stopped by a coffee shop near the Gymnasium for a bit.
I grabbed an iced americano to go—partly to shake off the drowsiness, partly to refill on caffeine.
Wary of running into the branch manager on my way back, I slipped quietly into the Gymnasium.
‘What’s happening? Some kind of event?’
A long line snaked out from the entrance.
I peered ahead and spotted someone at the front signing autographs and chatting with fans.
I stepped closer and craned my neck to see.
A familiar face.
My eyes widened.
“Jang Yu-na?”
It was the professional baduk player Jang Yu-na, 2-dan—the same one I’d faced in that broadcast match not long ago.
In person, she struck me as more composed and sharper than her on-screen image suggested.
“Next, please. What name should I write for you?”
Perhaps because we had history together.
She didn’t feel like a stranger exactly—more like someone I’d already seen before.
And she was far prettier in real life.
That soft demeanor, so at odds with her audacious baduk style.
I was beginning to understand why she was so popular.
‘Wait, there’s another line here too?’
Beside Jang Yu-na, who was signing autographs and even taking selfies with fans’ phones, another long queue stretched out.
By sheer volume of people, this line had even more traffic than hers.
I caught a glimpse of the nameplate.
—Professional Baduk Player Kang Hyeok, 9-dan.
The name from the opening ceremony came back to me.
A regional native and a legend of the baduk world, I’d heard—he’d won the Giseong Tournament, the premier professional championship.
Perhaps riding on his past renown, his line drew more middle-aged and older fans compared to Jang Yu-na’s.
An announcement crackled over the speakers: “The first autograph session is wrapping up now. The Clever Move Explanation event is about to begin. The second autograph session will run from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.”
People who’d been waiting in line let out disappointed sighs and drifted away.
Soon after, Jang Yu-na and Kang Hyeok took the stage to begin the Clever Move Explanation event.
“First problem: Black to Play, White to Die. Whoever finds the clever sequence to capture White’s large group, raise your hand!”
An intermediate-level Life and Death problem.
The younger participants all threw their hands up at once.
“You there—come on up!”
A student chosen by Jang Yu-na bounded up onto the platform.
He grabbed a magnetic stone and placed it on the large board.
‘The answer’s one space over.’
The student who’d gotten it wrong trudged back down, looking disappointed.
The Clever Move Explanation event continued in much the same fashion.
Jang Yu-na kept things flowing smoothly, while Kang Hyeok anchored the whole thing with gravitas.
“Now, today’s final problem! I hear the prize is something special—what is it?”
“A premium wooden go board and jade baduk stones.”
My eyes naturally drifted toward the prize display.
High-end baduk equipment—clearly expensive at first glance.
‘Those look nice, actually.’
Suddenly I felt the pull of desire.
Even if the internet is king these days, shouldn’t a person have at least one proper baduk board at home?
“It’s so refined I’m tempted to keep it for myself! Offering something like this as a prize… the difficulty must be pretty high then?”
“It is. And this problem will only be shown for exactly three minutes. We’re doing that to prevent cheating. Also, answers need to be written on an Entry Form and submitted over there.”
“Three minutes? That’s awfully tight. When will the winner be announced?”
“Just before the Finals. If there are multiple correct entries, the prize goes to whoever solved it first.”
“I see. Then let me reveal the problem.”
Jang Yu-na pulled back the cloth covering the large board.
In that moment, a complex, intricately woven Life and Death problem unfolded before me.
Black to Play, White to Die.
‘This one’s tough.’
My eyes swept rapidly across the board.
All the conventional vital points—none of them worked.
The shape had been twisted twice over, not just once.
In a case like this, I couldn’t afford to fixate solely on destroying the opponent’s territory shape.
Rather, I had to turn that very form to my advantage.
‘I need to aim for a self-atari.’
Force White into a desperate struggle for life, only to have it strangle itself and collapse—that was the point.
The heart of this Clever Move Explanation.
I approached the staff member quietly and received an Entry Form.
The printed sheet had a Life and Death problem on it.
Scratch, scratch.
I marked the answer without hesitation, filling in the optimal sequence as well.
“Should I submit it here?”
“Hm? Oh, yes.”
It hadn’t even taken a minute.
As I handed in the Entry Form, I felt the weight of nearby eyes on me.
I kept my head down and hurried away from the spot.
The branch manager might notice me.
While I was hiding in a corner, an announcement echoed through the Gymnasium.
-All divisions’ Quarterfinals will begin shortly. Participants, please follow the directions….
I walked slowly toward the game area, steadying my breath.
Once I took my seat at the board, I could see the faces of the other Quarterfinals competitors.
The atmosphere was unmistakably different from my earlier opponents.
Tension. Focus. And….
‘I can feel their resolve.’
Their will to win the tournament was evident.
I turned my head to look at my opponent.
He looked to be in his early forties—a man with a warm, bear-like presence and an affable expression.
Click.
The match began with his opening move, having drawn Black in the stone selection.
Lower-left Small Point.
A clean, safe opening move.
The opening that followed was less about thickness than about building a solid foundation.
‘A player with a clear style.’
The early moves flowed quietly.
It felt less like competition and more like an exchange.
Yet he offered no careless openings to exploit.
‘Not quite 4-dan or 5-dan level.’
At least 6-dan by Samgukji Baduk standards.
And frankly, the actual strength I sensed was even more solid than that.
I responded calmly to his moves.
To the untrained eye, my sequence seemed ever so slightly behind the beat.
But from his perspective, that would only feel like mounting pressure.
As if two sharp fangs were pressing against the back of his neck.
‘He’s starting to waver.’
The one being chased always feels more psychological strain than the one doing the chasing.
And the narrower that gap, the heavier the burden becomes.
As we entered the middlegame, the momentum began to shift toward me.
Like clothes soaking in fine rain, the territory gap accumulated and widened.
A low groan escaped his lips.
Fine wrinkles creased his face—his game wasn’t flowing the way he wanted.
His pace of placing stones slowed.
He used his thinking time, deliberating repeatedly, but couldn’t find a move to reverse the board.
“I resign.”
Before we could even reach the counting, he saw there was no path to victory and conceded.
“Well played.”
I bowed politely in return.
“You play really well. You’re 6-dan, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m 5-dan.”
“5-dan? With this level of play?”
The bear-faced man blinked his large, round eyes.
He looked quite surprised.
“…I just don’t have the games logged yet. I only play in spare time after work.”

“That’s what I thought. Judging by skill alone, you ought to be competing in the National Strongest Division, not here.”
The man gestured with his chin toward the National Strongest Division section.
The amateur elite tier.
A few stones above this level, where the play was dense and cutthroat.
“I’m planning to move up soon.”
I smiled as I spoke.
It wouldn’t take long.
Once today was over, I’d have earned the right to compete at their level too.
“Dad!”
A little girl came running over and nestled into the bear-faced man’s arms.
“Dad, did you win?”
“Lost. This mister plays really well.”
The bear-faced man finished clearing the last stones and hoisted his daughter up, cradling her.
Regardless of the outcome, he was beaming as if he owned the world.
“Can we stop playing go now? Will you play with me?”
“Of course. Let’s play.”
The man carried his daughter and left the tournament hall with his wife, who had been standing at a distance.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from their retreating figures.
It was beautiful.
That was all I could think to call it.
I found myself wanting to build a family like that someday.
‘I’d have to make it, though.’
I gathered up the stones and rose quietly from my seat.
After reporting my result to the organizers, my name appeared on the tournament bracket in the Semifinals.
Just two more wins and……
I could get my Official 5-dan Certificate, the credential to compete in the National Strongest Division.
And.
‘The championship prize is three million won.’
Since it was a provincial-level tournament, the purse was substantial.
It was 1.5 times my monthly salary.
Plus regional specialty rice and baduk equipment on top of that.
‘……It might actually be better money than my day job.’
The corners of my mouth lifted slightly.
Unlike when I was a bank security guard, I didn’t hate what I was becoming now.
I turned away.
I was going to use the restroom for a moment to catch my breath, then head back to the playing board.
Yes, that was the plan.
Except.
“……Kim?”
A familiar voice.
Even more familiar than that—the way he said my name.
‘Damn.’
My whole body went rigid. If I wasn’t careful, my face would betray everything.
Slowly.
I turned my head around deliberately.
Sure enough, the branch manager was standing right behind me.
“What are you doing here?”
The words were tossed out without inflection.
I was left speechless. I didn’t know what to say, and my mouth wouldn’t open.
Looking at me, the branch manager’s face was as expressionless as always.
Like someone observing something peculiar.
He was studying me intently, silently.
“Don’t tell me, Kim.”
“Well, sir, what happened was……”
Before I could even finish forming the words, my mind was tangling into knots.
I had no idea where to even begin explaining.
Just then.
“Ay, come on, Park. Upset about losing? I thought you’d thrown in the towel, but looks like he pulled off a comeback on you, huh?”
A man with thinning hair in the center came over and patted the branch manager on the shoulder with a smirk.
More taunting than sympathetic, the gesture had an edge of mockery to it.
If my memory serves me right, that man is Do Min-gyu, the branch manager of the Seongdong Branch.
He and our manager must be fairly close.
“Count yourself lucky. If I hadn’t made that mistake, you’d never have beaten me.”
“I know, I know. Everyone slips up now and then.”
Manager Do laughed good-naturedly, brushing off the remark with easy charm.
I could piece together what had happened well enough.
The two of them, both casual baduk players, had faced off in a casual match, and it seemed our manager had lost.
“Oh, and by the way—our Lee made it to the Gyeonggi Strongest Division semifinals. I feel a bit bad, honestly. Between our branch’s results and now baduk too, we seem to be pulling ahead of you on every front.”
His words said sorry, but his face said nothing of the sort.
Anyone could hear the needling tone.
‘Looks like he really got under his skin……’
Our manager’s expression was not good.
Though he was trying to maintain composure, his pride had clearly been wounded—his face was flushed with irritation.
I was beginning to worry that some of that anger might spill onto me.
“Let’s see. My semifinal opponent in the senior division is someone named Lee Hwan-jong.”
Manager Do pushed his glasses up and peered at the tournament bracket.
“And your Lee faces off against Kim In-ha. It’d be nice if you both made it to the finals amicably. Ha.”
“Kim In-ha?”
At the sound of my name, our manager’s eyebrows twitched.
“You don’t mean… Kim?”
He turned to look at me slowly, his eyes widening in surprise.
I couldn’t say a word in front of him.
Noticing the sudden awkwardness in the air, Manager Do smoothly stepped in.
“Kim? Your face does look familiar. Are you one of Park’s employees?”
“……Yes, that’s correct.”
Even as I answered, I could feel our manager’s stare boring into me—like I might disappear under the weight of it.
Just from his expression, I could feel how much he had to say.
“Kim, let’s talk for a moment.”
A private conversation with the manager.
And right before the semifinals, of all times.
It was the worst possible timing.
‘This… this is exactly why I didn’t want to run into him.’
Stress crashed down on me, and my head began to throb.
Then.
Like a bell of salvation, the gymnasium’s announcement system crackled to life.
-All semifinals will commence shortly. Participants, please report to the playing area.
“I’m sorry, Manager, but I think I need to head to the playing area since my match is about to start……”
I seized the moment and asked carefully for his understanding.
Our manager still looked like he had plenty to say, but given the circumstances, he didn’t try to stop me.
Instead, he leaned in close and spoke in a low, gravelly voice that only I could hear.
“……Kim, you’d better win. No matter what.”
I lifted my head at the unexpected words.
His eyes burned with fierce determination.
“Lee, crush him.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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