Landing a Big Catch
He didn't drink.
He had hard work waiting for him from eight in the morning the next day, after all.
They had a solid dinner at a restaurant, and Min-hyeok, who must have been ravenous, put away two full bowls. After the meal and a cup of coffee, they headed back up to their room on the fifth floor of the motel.
Once they had eaten and climbed into bed, their bodies grew heavy with fatigue. After a hard day's work, lying down made the exhaustion hit all at once.
But thanks to his Physicality stat, Seong-min's condition still wasn't bad at all.
"Hyung, you asleep?"
"Not yet."
The lights in the room were off; they were already lying in bed.
"We already made a million won just today, right?"
"Pretty much."
"And you made one-fifty... haha..."
Just as Min-hyeok said, Seong-min hadn't made a hundred—he'd made a hundred and fifty. A hundred and fifty thousand won for a single day's work. It was the biggest payday of his life.
"Hyung, you know by now... back when I was dealing Vitamin, the daily take was way juicier than you'd think. There were days I made a lot more than what we got today."
Probably true. And at the end, Min-hyeok had received a bonus, sold it off, and cleared the rest of his debt.
"But... that wasn't money I earned with my head held high. I only got into it because of the debt. Right now feels way more rewarding and better than back then."
"Keep working hard. Stick with it like this and you won't just move into a two-room place—something even better might be waiting."
"That's why I'm not quitting even when Gombang Work is tough...! I'm gonna work hard and make a ton of money...!"
The resolve in Min-hyeok's voice was clear.
"By the way, hyung, you were texting someone again today. Who is it?"
"Nothing special."
"Haha... not the kind of thing you can just say, huh?"
"Just go to sleep."
"Got it~ I won't ask. Hahaha..."
Listening to Min-hyeok snicker beside him, Seong-min drifted off.
About an hour later, Seong-min's gaze shifted sideways.
Snooore~ Phewuuu... Snooore~~! ...Phewuuuu....
"......"
Min-hyeok was deep in sleep, snoring loud enough to shake the room.
Hyung, do you snore a lot? Good thing~ I'm a light sleeper, so if someone snores I can't sleep at all. Hahaha...
The guy who'd claimed in the car to be a light sleeper was now sawing logs like a chainsaw.
For a second Seong-min considered giving him a good smack, then held back. How tired must he be to snore like that?
Even so.
He's snoring way too loud...
Seong-min got up, tore off some tissue, rolled it into plugs, and stuffed them in his ears before going back to sleep.
The next morning.
"Ahh~ I slept great."
Min-hyeok stretched as he woke. Just then the bathroom door opened and Seong-min stepped out.
"Sleep well?"
"Yeah~ hyung. I was out cold the second I hit the bed. How about you?"
"Me? Someone kept me up half the night."
"Kept you up? Why?"
"You really don't know?"
"I really don't?"
"......"
Seong-min walked over, plugged in the hair dryer, and started drying his hair.
"Hyung, why couldn't you sleep? Was the bed that bad?"
"The guy who said he was a light sleeper somehow can't hear his own snoring?"
"Huh? I snored?"
"You didn't even know?"
"I had no idea."
"......"
"Weird? I'm not usually a snorer... Must've been because I was exhausted."
"That's why I didn't wake you."
"Sorry..."
Seeing Min-hyeok's apologetic face, Seong-min finished styling his hair lightly and stood up.
"No need to apologize. You worked that hard—that's all it was."
"See, hyung, that's why your consideration is next-level~!! With that same consideration as fuel, I'm gonna go all-out again today...!!!"
Seong-min snorted at Min-hyeok's full-throttle energy.
"You go wash up and get ready too."
"I'll dash off and wash with the same consideration you showed me~!!!"
Just watching him head straight for the bathroom, his condition didn't look bad at all.
Once Min-hyeok had washed and gotten ready, they headed down to the first-floor lobby. The rest of the team was already there.
They gathered for breakfast, had a cup of coffee, stopped by a convenience store for cold drinks and bottled water, then piled into the cars and headed for the site.
"Let's go hard again today~!"
Fired up, they jumped back into Gombang Work.
They had already moved cement bags from the eighth floor all the way down to the first, so they knew the intensity. The work was every bit as brutal as the pay suggested. Even the veteran uncles who'd been doing Gombang Work for over ten years were groaning.
"Hah!... Haaah!... Hah....!"
Min-hyeok, too, was hauling tiles while gasping out hot, ragged breaths.
But one person was different.
Seong-min kept the exact same pace from morning into the afternoon, steadily carrying tiles alone from the fifth floor up to the eighth, seventh, and sixth floors in the required numbers.
All the experience and the level-up from working all day yesterday had gone straight into his Physicality stat.
That was why, even though Min-hyeok's snoring had cost him some sleep, Seong-min's condition was the best of the entire crew.
The higher the Physicality stat, the faster fatigue recovered. The fatigue other people shook off with an hour of sleep was nothing like what Seong-min shook off with the same hour.
The massive Gombang Work project that had started on Monday was brutal enough to wear out even Min-hyeok with his peak twenties stamina, and the seasoned veterans who'd spent more than a decade building experience and grit at this work.
With this volume, finishing by next Wednesday instead of Saturday wouldn't have been strange. Having to move it all by Saturday was killing them.
Yet the whole team could still grit their teeth and push through with real drive—because of Seong-min.
Watching him quietly move more material than any of them by himself and keep working without flagging even into the afternoon made them fire themselves up right alongside him. It was pure will not to look like they were lagging behind.
So while Seong-min's boosted efficiency from Physicality and Martial Power certainly helped, the real peak efficiency came from the team catching his energy and pouring their own effort into matching it.
After work they returned to the motel, showered, ate dinner together, and collapsed almost immediately—that was how exhausted they were.
But no one complained. Day by day they told each other the summit was getting closer, boosting one another's spirits and pumping themselves up.
That way, without a single person dropping out, they gritted their teeth through Saturday, pain patches stuck all over their bodies, and finished the job.
"This is the last of it...!"
Together they moved the final massive stone blocks, and at last the work was done.
"Huuuuh...!"
"We finally finished...!"
"I thought I was gonna die for real...!"
"Hah!.... Haaah!... It's... really over, right?"
"It's over."
"In my whole life I never want to do another Gombang job like this one."
Mr. Lee sprawled flat on the floor as he said it. Everyone looked just as spent.
A short while later, Team Leader Jeong and the site managers came down floor by floor from the eighth, checking the materials.
After inspecting all the way to the first floor, the managers approached the team, clapped them on the back, and thanked them for their hard work.
They had every reason to. The time they finished was 5:10 p.m.
The managers had hoped, if possible, to wrap by five, but they knew full well how unrealistic that was. Finishing at 5:10 earned the applause.
Once the managers left, Team Leader Jeong came back, clapped lightly to gather everyone's attention, and brightened the mood.
"Great work, everyone..! I was worried about this job, but you pulled it off!"
"Hyung-nim, if it had gone into tomorrow instead of today, I wouldn't have made it. Even if you ordered me, I couldn't have done more."
"Hahaha...! I'm not asking you to move anything else."
"When we get back to Seoul, are we drinking soju?"
At Min-hyeok's question everyone stared at him like he was insane.
"You think you'll still be able to drink once we get up there?"
"Must be the twenties—look how fresh he still is..?"
"Min-hyeok, looking at you, I bet you could work tomorrow too."
"If you put me on it, sure~!!"
"Hyung-nim, Min-hyeok says he can keep going—how about asking the managers for one more day?"
"Should we?"
"W-we still have to go back together! I don't even have a car..."
"Kid... no need to panic. Just kidding."
"Hahaha...!"
The team laughed lightly; Min-hyeok grinned right along with them, and Seong-min snorted.
"Alright~ then let's head to the motel, wash up, and pack...!"
They got up, cleaned the site, and all headed for the motel.
After showers they gathered in front of the motel, decided to stop at a rest area for dinner together, and then part ways without getting off in Seoul.
Seong-min and Min-hyeok rode back in Team Leader Jeong's car.
"Any Gombang Work next week?"
Seong-min asked from the passenger seat. Team Leader Jeong shook his head.
"None. We went hard this week—next week we take it easy. You too, Seong-min, and Min-hyeok. Don't jump straight into delivery work on Monday. Rest up and shake off the fatigue from the whole week."
"I was planning to anyway. For real, like Mr. Kim said, if it had gone into tomorrow I think I'd be dead."
"Earlier you said you were fine?"
"That was just a joke. Haha..."
"You little..."
Once they hit the highway and picked up speed, Seong-min leaned back comfortably against the seat.
"We've still got a ways to the rest area, so rest a bit."
"Just a little..."
He must have been exhausted; not long after saying that, Min-hyeok fell asleep.
Snooore~ Phewuuu.... Snooore~! Phewuuu.....
"Seong-min."
"Yes?"
"That kid... does he snore like that every time he sleeps?"
"Apparently."
"You've really been through it, huh."
Seong-min barely held back the laugh that tried to burst out.
"Yeah, a bit."
Snooore~ Pheeewuuu...
"Didn't he say he was a light sleeper?"
"Hahaha...!"
This time he couldn't hold it; the laugh escaped.
"Even with you laughing he keeps sleeping."
Seong-min laughed again.
They kept driving and arrived at the rest area.
"Sleep well?"
Team Leader Jeong asked as Min-hyeok climbed out and stretched.
"I dozed off without realizing."
"Good. As long as you rested..."
Team Leader Jeong gave a wry smile and started walking.
"Let's go too."
Seong-min snorted and led Min-hyeok over to where the rest of the team was waiting.
They hit the restrooms together, then went to the rest-area restaurant for dinner.
Afterward they stopped at a café, ordered coffees, said their goodbyes as a group, and climbed back into the cars.
From here on, once they reached Seoul they wouldn't get out—they'd just head straight to their own homes.
"Min-hyeok, you not sleeping anymore?"
"I napped a little, so I'm fine now."
"Oh~ that so?"
Team Leader Jeong looked oddly pleased; Min-hyeok found it strange. Only Seong-min smiled quietly to himself.
On the way back, unlike the trip out, they dropped Seong-min off first.
"Hyung~ see you next time."
"Yeah."
"Great work, Seong-min."
"You too, Team Leader. Thanks for everything."
Watching Team Leader Jeong's Santa Fe pull away, Seong-min headed home.
"Welcome home, Seong-min~!"
The moment he opened the front door, Hye-suk came running and threw herself into his arms.
"Miss me a lot?"
"Mm~ I really, really missed you. Didn't you miss me?"
Seong-min set his bag down and wrapped his arms around Hye-suk's waist as she looked up at him.
"Of course I did."
"Mwah..."
She immediately tilted her face up and kissed him; they stayed like that for a long while, sharing a sweet, lingering kiss.
"I already drew a hot bath, so go soak and work out the fatigue..."
"Will do."
"Just leave the bag. I'll sort everything and put it away. Oh—and before you get in the tub, I'll fix you a cold glass of honey water. Honey water's great for recovery, you know~~"
Maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other in nearly a week. Watching Hye-suk bustle toward the kitchen looking so excited, Seong-min felt a smile rise on its own.
He drank the glass of cold honey water with ice that she mixed for him.
"Sweet and nice."
"Hehe... right? Change clothes and hop in the bath—soak those muscles~"
Seong-min went to the study, changed into comfortable clothes, handed the dirty ones to Hye-suk, and headed straight for the bathroom.
The tub was already filled with warm water.
He stripped completely, rinsed off lightly under the shower, then stepped in feet-first and sank back with a long, loose sigh.
This is good...
Leaning back comfortably in the hot water, it finally hit him that the job was truly over.
Nine million won...
He still couldn't quite believe he'd pulled in nine million in just one week.
From here on, it's a clear road.
This had been a real turning point—a big hurdle and a leap to the next level all at once.
If they hadn't finished this job successfully, the rising momentum of the Gombang Work could have stalled. But because they had wrapped it cleanly, word would spread even farther.
From here, the upward current would only get stronger. That much was certain.
The deposit would hit his account next Monday.
This month I'll easily clear ten million.
This month's earnings would be the first time in Seong-min's life that he crossed the ten-million-won mark.