Past one in the morning, the party's heat died down little by little.

The music that had played without a break now stopped here and there, and the drunker guests went back to their rooms one by one.

Those who'd stayed to the end moved to sofas and tables and carried on talking quietly.

Jang Jiyu, Kang Junu and Choi Harin were belatedly coming down from the drink and the excitement that had carried them away.

When they'd first walked into the party, everything had been a wonder.

European nobles and royals, world-class financiers and business leaders they'd only seen in magazines and international news were gathered right before their eyes.

These were people most would never meet in a lifetime. They'd greeted them in person and even clinked glasses with them.

They'd talked easily with heirs of noble houses around their own age, and traded personal contacts with the ones they clicked with.

In a single night, the three of them had saved a pile of unfamiliar names and numbers on their smartphones.

These were connections they could never have made in Korea, however much money and time they poured in.

One short conversation tonight could lead, down the line, to business and investments worth hundreds of billions of won.

"Did we just pull off something huge tonight?"

Kang Junu's eyes went wide as he checked the contacts saved on his smartphone.

"All these people saved my number."

His finger scrolled the screen up and down, full of excitement.

"They saved mine too, you know."

Jang Jiyu waved her smartphone as if she refused to be outdone.

"There's the son of a Swiss investment firm's chief, and the heir to a French luxury house. I even met a kid who invests in crypto."

Jang Jiyu's face was all smiles as she proudly showed off the names one by one.

"Planning to cause more trouble with that?"

Kang Junu looked at her suspiciously, teasing.

"It's not trouble, it's investing!"

Jang Jiyu bristled and pulled her smartphone to her chest.

"When you do it, it's mostly trouble. Heh-heh."

Kang Junu shrugged…