Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: My Little Sister's Boyfriend and Vietnam
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After that day, I kept in sporadic contact with Hyo-jin for a few days.
But I never gave her an inch.
Hyo-jin must have been pretty bruised in her pride,
because she was trying even harder,
but I drew a firm line, coldly, and gradually reduced the frequency of our messages.
I knew exactly how much she was regretting it.
She was probably tormenting herself with thoughts of how, if she'd just held out one more year,
she could have been living the high life by my side right now.
Honestly, Hyo-jin's feelings were all too transparent.
After all, I'd seen countless girls in the nightlife scene—
their true thoughts, their calculating minds spinning endlessly.
Maybe that's why every action and word from Hyo-jin was so easy to read.
I could feel Hyo-jin wearing down bit by bit.
Her messages were getting shorter and shorter,
and the gaps between them more obvious.
Then, at some point, the contact just stopped completely.
A firm conviction had already taken root in a corner of my heart.
Someone who leaves when times are tough will leave again when they get tough for me.
Once I realized that, I didn't waver anymore.
And just like that, I cleanly cut ties with Hyo-jin.
I'd loved her once, but now she was just part of my past.
A few days later, Jin-seong got a call from his little sister, Na-young.
She said she had someone she wanted to introduce him to.
Jin-seong was a bit puzzled but quickly set a date and invited her to his apartment.
It was a sleek new-build apartment he'd never had his parents or sister visit—
the one he used as an office.
"Hey, my little sister's coming over today."
"Your big sis is coming?"
Jin-seong chuckled.
"Nah, her boyfriend. Looks like they're thinking marriage.
She's finally introducing him."
He'd known for a while that his sister had a boyfriend,
but this was the first time meeting him, so he was quietly looking forward to it.
Hyun-sik's appearance crossed his mind briefly,
but seeing him in just underwear with tattoos covering his body, he shrugged it off.
'Whatever, it'll be fine.'
"When my sister gets here, run some errands for her."
"Got it, boss."
A little later, Na-young and her boyfriend Wan-cheol arrived.
Jin-seong opened the door at the buzzer.
Wan-cheol wasn't strikingly handsome, but he looked honest and kind.
Jin-seong thought to himself,
'It's Na-young's choice anyway. No reason for me to interfere.'
And he gave a light smile.
When Hyun-sik greeted them, Na-young and Wan-cheol brightly greeted him back.
Jin-seong sat on the sofa and chatted casually with Wan-cheol, whom his sister had introduced.
"Heard you've set a wedding date? Don't worry about me—just live well together."
Wan-cheol had seemed tense at first, but as Jin-seong spoke comfortably, the mood softened.
Jin-seong turned to Hyun-sik.
"Hey, order some coffee."
Hyun-sik dashed out from the office room.
"Yes, boss! What'll it be?"
Jin-seong picked the menu, and Hyun-sik smoothly placed the order.
Na-young was fascinated watching her brother at work for the first time
and wandered around, taking in the clean, spacious apartment.
Jin-seong kept chatting easily with Wan-cheol.
Once everything was wrapped up, Jin-seong personally saw Na-young and Wan-cheol off downstairs.
In the parking lot, car enthusiast Wan-cheol perked up at Jin-seong's talk of his rides.
Jin-seong actually had three cars.
The Granjer for everyday errands,
the Porsche Boxster for fun or meetings,
and even an Audi R8.
As Jin-seong showed off the sports cars,
"Hit me up anytime you wanna take 'em for a spin,"
Wan-cheol couldn't hide his excitement, eyes sparkling at the dream machines as he even fired up the engine.
Jin-seong smiled lightly at Wan-cheol's reaction.
It was my first time visiting my brother's place.
The apartment address he'd given me was way cleaner and more stylish than I'd imagined—a brand-new build.
When my brother opened the door and greeted us, I felt relieved inside.
I could tell Wan-cheol was nervous, but even that was cute to me.
Inside, a guy named Hyun-sik, who he called an employee, greeted us.
His body was covered in tattoos, which was a little scary at first,
but his polite greeting quickly put me at ease.
My brother seemed totally used to giving orders.
Watching him casually tell his employee to order coffee was intriguing.
I'd never known exactly what kind of work he did,
but it looked like he was running a pretty solid business.
Looking around, the 30-pyeong place was neatly organized, aside from the office room.
Na-young felt relieved deep down, proud of her successful brother.
And seeing Wan-cheol getting along well with him eased my mind even more.
The boss I met for the first time through Na-young was bigger and more intimidating than I'd expected.
At least 183cm and over 90kg, his build was overwhelming, and honestly, a bit scary.
Right away, there was another employee guy covered head to toe in tattoos,
constantly calling him "boss" and acting super deferential.
For a second, I wondered if he was in the shady side of things and tensed up,
but the boss treated me comfortably and kindly the whole time.
My tension slowly melted away.
Chatting on the sofa, he showed real businessman vibes.
His instructions to the employee were smooth and natural.
When the boss offered to see us off and followed us out,
I couldn't help bringing up cars.
I drive an SUV, but I love cars, so my jaw dropped at the ones he showed me.
A yellow Porsche Boxster and an Audi R8.
Cars I'd only dreamed of.
The roar of the engine when I started one made my heart race too.
The boss smiled and said,
"Wanna drive 'em? Just say the word anytime."
I grinned to myself, thinking I'd scored an awesome brother-in-law.
Jin-seong encouraged each of his hard-working subordinates one by one this week too.
Every month, he selected
'Top Inflow'
and
'Top Settlement'
from each office, distributing a total of 3 million won in office support funds.
The master agents under him used the money freely—for team dinners or personal expenses.
They competed passionately each month for it, and that competition showed in the results.
Just as Jin-seong intended.
It was great for the master agents too.
Earning money, growing, and snagging bonuses—a win-win everyone loved.
Jin-seong always spurred friendly rivalry among his subordinates,
yielding excellent outcomes.
Lately, Jin-seong was pushing a new plan.
Running a TM (telemarketing) team.
Headquarters had already approved.
He'd bought some burner phones and secured hacked DBs from other sites.
The main gig would be pulling in new members by phone,
especially needing female staff.
But hiring wasn't as easy as thought.
Once the team was set, he'd create a separate team code to delegate.
The Icos site under Jin-seong had grown massively in just a year,
earning major-league status in the industry.
Jin-seong's line was the biggest and main one,
but other lines' master agents used Icos a lot as a sub-site.
Just saying "SENES line uses Icos as main"
was enough for other master agents to jump on without hesitation.
Their criterion for picking HQ was 'trust,'
and Icos nailed it perfectly.
This dazzling growth was all thanks to Jin-seong's relentless effort.
Finally, headquarters decided it was time to meet him in person.
HQ reached out cautiously.
"Hani, don't you think it's time we met face-to-face?
How about a 4-night, 5-day trip to our Vietnam HQ?
We'll cover all costs."
Jin-seong hesitated for a moment.
Heading to an unfamiliar foreign country worried him a bit.
Though he'd worked with HQ over a year via Telegram, chatting often,
and bonded quickly with the main manager and boss—both his age—he'd never met them IRL.
After brief thought, Jin-seong replied.
"Yeah, sure. I'll think on the dates and get back."
Thus, Jin-seong's first face-to-face with HQ drew near.
After this week's settlements wrapped up,
Jin-seong began prepping in earnest for the Vietnam HQ visit.
Once he notified dates, HQ requested passport info and promptly booked his flight.
He wanted to bring Hyun-sik,
but needed someone reliable back home for emergencies, so he decided to go solo.
The night before departure, Jin-seong said seriously to Hyun-sik,
"Hyun-sik, if I go dark or something happens, report it right away."
Hyun-sik looked at his solo-bound boss with worry.
"Boss, you sure you're good going alone?"
Jin-seong laughed brightly to reassure him.
"Hey, it'll be fine. HQ doesn't seem shady—they're just inviting me to treat me right.
Still, better safe: me going alone means if shit hits, only I take it.
You just watch the fort here."
Hyun-sik still looked uneasy but nodded.
"Got it, boss. Keep in touch."
Next dawn, Jin-seong packed a single carry-on into the car.
It was still dark.
He quietly got in, started the engine.
Incheon Airport popped up on the nav, and tension hit.
First time flying solo abroad,
and meeting the folks behind illegal ops—honestly daunting.
But decision made, no more second-guessing.
"Should be fine... It'll go smooth."
Jin-seong soothed himself and drove into the dark highway toward Incheon Airport.