Suddenly, I Am Rich

”So what do I do now?”

Gray lay down on his bed. His one arm was behind his head, while the other one was resting on his stomach.

Their condo unit was quiet now.

Lily had already gone to sleep after dinner. They also played some games when she arrived home and watched a movie, so she was very tired after eating. He made sure to tuck her in, but unlike her, he wasn’t sleepy anymore.

His body felt fine, but his head... it just wouldn’t stop running. Thoughts circulated in his mind in an endless cycle.

”Make A Name To The Public.”

Gray reached over to the nightstand and grabbed his phone. The screen lit up his dark room, providing light. At the very top of his notification, his social media app showed him something that made his chest tighten.

178 follow requests.

He stared at it for a long time and sighed.

His account was still private. He hadn’t accepted anyone yet. He didn’t even know why he was hesitating. Maybe it was because he wasn’t used to this. Or maybe it was because letting people in his account felt like a huge step that he wasn’t ready yet.

Still, he tapped into the notifications.

In there, more notifications greeted him. People were mentioning him in posts and comments. He found himself reading some of them out of curiosity.

”His profile pic is so old, lol. Who still uses pictures like that?”

”Hahaha but it’s kind of cute though. It makes him look approachable.”

”Please don’t change that tree background soon.”

”Pft and his replies with the comments are so real. You can tell it’s actually him, not some PR team.”

”I say respect. Not many people reply like this anymore.”

”He’s quite funny lmao.”

Gray let out a small laugh. He couldn’t even remember the last time people had talked about him this way. It’s like he was just casually talking with the people on the internet. It was so new to him, yet so amusing.

”Should I...”

His thumb hovered over the accept button. He didn’t press it. His hand froze.

”Should I really do this...?” he muttered. ”Do I really want all these people looking at me? I don’t even have posts. I don’t even know what I’d put out there.”

The thought of it made him uneasy.

But then he thought back to the event earlier. He thought about the cameras flashing, the questions, the way he had to pretend like he was in control even though he was nervous.

Somehow, despite all that new experience, he got through it. Aside from that, the posts regarding the partnership and about him were gaining positive comments.

If he could survive that, maybe he could survive this, too.

Gray closed his eyes for a moment, his phone heavy in his hand. He breathed out slowly, then opened them again.

”Screw it,” he whispered before shrugging his shoulders. His finger moved, and this time, he didn’t pull back.

[Do you want to set your account to Public?]

[Yes] [No]

Gray clicked the [Yes] button. A small sound effect played. Just like that, all the follow requests on his profile immediately got accepted. Anyone could see him now.

Gray dropped the phone onto his chest and stared at the ceiling, his lips twisting into a half-smile, half-grimace.

”Damn. I really did it.” He knew there was no going back now.

”I’m doomed,” he muttered, covering his face with his hand.

But deep inside, even with the nerves twisting in his stomach, there was something else.

There was a spark.

After doing that, Gray readied himself for bed. He eventually drifted off to sleep with his hand still half-covering his face.

When he opened his eyes again, the morning sun was already reflecting through the curtains of his room.

For the first time in days, he felt... light. His body was loose, and his breathing was calm. The exhaustion from yesterday had finally disappeared completely.

Gray stretched his arms above his head and let out a low groan. He stayed there for a while, simply enjoying the calm morning. It was a rare morning for him. There was no rush to go to the office.

Just the thought of not running against the clock made him smile.

Dragging himself up, he sat at the edge of his bed. He yawned and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He glanced to the side and saw his phone which was lying on the nightstand.

Half-asleep, Gray reached for it and unlocked the screen.

At first, he only wanted to check if there were any work-related messages or email. Maybe there was something from Mara, or from the side of Conrad.

However, the moment his screen lit up, his brows furrowed.

His notifications were stacked. Not just stacked but flooded!

The app icon for his socials blinked with a red circle that showed a number so ridiculous he had to squint his eyes and pinch himself if he was only dreaming.

”What the fuck?”

There were 412 notifications.

Gray froze.

His half-asleep brain couldn’t process it at first. He tapped into the app, thinking maybe it was some kind of glitch. Or maybe just people tagging him or mentioning him.

But nope.

Most of them were follow notifications.

From less than fifty in the morning, 100 by night, and now fucking 500?

”The fuck is happening?” His eyes widened in total disbelief. His sluggish movements disappeared all at once.

”What the—” Gray’s voice cracked again. He had to put down his phone and looked in the air with his jaw dropped.

His heart pounded hard against his chest, every trace of sleepiness blown away in an instant. The fog in his head cleared so fast it was almost dizzying.

He scrolled down, and it just kept coming. Likes. Comments. Mentions. People were following him in real time, the number climbing up each time he refreshed.

Gray blinked at the glowing screen, his mouth slightly open.

”No way... this can’t be real.”

He quickly brought the phone back to his face. His fingers hovered uncertainly above the it as if even touching it wrong would make the numbers high again.

The sudden rush of adrenaline made him sit up straighter, his body tense. He was quickly wide awake now.

”Five hundred?” His voice came out almost like a whisper, shaking with disbelief. ”Overnight?!”

It felt surreal. It was as if there was a hidden camera somewhere pranking home.

But no. He knew this was real.

Gray rubbed his face with both hands, then stared back down at the numbers again.

”...What the hell did I just get myself into?”

Gray slumped back against the headboard of his room. His phone was still glowing in his hand. His pulse quickened, and he could feel the lingering excitement in his veins.

”Alright... what the hell do I do now?” he muttered, dragging a palm down his face.

The notifications weren’t slowing down. If anything, they just kept stacking, the numbers rising every few minutes.

He scrolled a little, peeked at a few mentions, then shut his eyes tight and groaned.

This was too much.

Still, a small thought crept into his head.

’If they’re following me... maybe I should say something?’

The idea alone made his stomach twist. His thumb hovered over the little ”+” icon to make a story. He hesitated for a long while, staring at his own reflection in the darkened phone screen.

He looked rough with messy hair and faint bags under his eyes. He had no filters or setups. Just him.

”Ugh... screw it,” Gray whispered, almost laughing at himself. He turned on the camera, angled it lazily at his face, and hit record.

”Uh... hey,” he started, voice awkward, but he kept going anyway. ”I just woke up and saw... uh... this. Honestly, I don’t even know what to say, but... I guess thanks for following me?”

He let out a small laugh and scratched his cheek with his finger.

”Yeah. That’s it. Thanks, I guess. I’ll... figure this out.”

He tapped the post before he could talk himself out of it.

A second later, the story was up.

Gray tossed his phone onto the bed and exhaled loudly, sinking deeper into the pillows.

”God. That was lame,” he muttered, covering his eyes.

But then...

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

And then another. And another.

He grabbed the phone again. In just a few minutes, his story already had dozens of views, the number climbing faster than he thought possible. People were reacting to it. Laughing emojis. Clapping emojis. Comments.

”Bro just woke up and still managed to look cool.”

”This is so real, I’m dying 😂.”

”Respect. He doesn’t act fake at all.”

”This is why people like you, man. You don’t even try.”

Some even went straight to his DMs.

”Yo, Gray! You’re so chill. Keep it up.”

”Please don’t change. We need more real people online.”

”Not gonna lie, your awkwardness is kinda refreshing lol.”

Gray stared at the flood of replies, his lips parting in disbelief. His thumb scrolled up and down as messages poured in like a broken faucet.

”Are you guys serious right now?” Gray shook his head.

Strange....

He was still overwhelmed, but... it didn’t feel bad.

Not at all.