Abong
In the college alumni gathering of Ah Bong Shin Jaewoo, the one playing the alpha role was Han Taeho. He had a handsome face to boot. And in that state, Han Taeho had money.
"...I've already covered the bill, so eat and drink up comfortably."
"Hey, hey. I'll handle the taxi fare. Drink more."
An obnoxious guy. But he was definitely the money man. Still, it wasn't easy to just call him a pushover. He enjoyed his rights as much as he spent his money. Everyone watched his mood.
That was the vibe of the gathering. In that atmosphere, with Shin Jaewoo absent, Han Taeho badmouthed him.
"Jaewoo? I'm just humoring him. You guys know that, right? If I didn't play along, that gutless guy wouldn't even show up to these meetups."
"He's just a pretty boy freeloader. Orphan, from what I hear. I looked out for him. Even when we fought last time, I kinda felt like he couldn't even cover the damages..."
Han Taeho was the one subtly tearing Shin Jaewoo down. So the alumni couldn't adjust. It started with someone bringing it up in the group chat.
Apparently someone had spotted them. And those who saw the chat immediately perked up.
KakaoTalk messages piling up one after another. Han Taeho's face hardened as he scrolled through them.
Of course, Shin Jaewoo wasn't in this group chat. But that didn't make it okay to trash him.
What if Shin Jaewoo saw this chat? Han Taeho paled and jumped in to shut it down.
Han Taeho thought he'd been pretty firm. But his friends lacked tact.
Someone just questioned his attitude, while
Others clowned around cluelessly. The moment Han Taeho heard that, his eyes rolled back.
This wasn't cutting it. Han Taeho straight-up left the group chat.
'Hang with these idiots and I'll get dragged down too.'
Of course, he had no real intention of ditching them. He couldn't risk ending up playing little brother to them instead of Kim Taeksu. He was just putting on a strong front. They'd come crawling back on their own.
Kim Ju-hyung immediately apologized in a private chat. Thinking about it, he was the worst offender.
'This guy's high school buddies with Jaewoo too.'
Originally, it was Shin Jaewoo, Kim Taeksu, and Kim Ju-hyung as a trio. But Kim Ju-hyung chose Han Taeho over Shin Jaewoo or Kim Taeksu. Figured it was more beneficial for him.
"...I'm in no position to judge others, but this fucker's an idiot too."
Who could've known Shin Jaewoo would hit the jackpot like this? But Han Taeho was even angrier at Kim Ju-hyung.
'Asshole. Come to think of it, this prick's the one who told me he was a penniless orphan.'
That was the biggest reason he'd started looking down on Shin Jaewoo—Kim Ju-hyung spilling that he had no background.
"I can never treat a punk like you as a bro."
Han Taeho cursed at his phone. Then he headed toward where Shin Jaewoo and Kim Taeksu still were.
He overheard their conversation at the table. On the way, he caught Kim Taeksu's words.
"Fuck. Were you a gold digger or what?"
Kim Taeksu, full of betrayal.
"Hey. You cover the bill today?"
When Kim Taeksu demanded that of Shin Jaewoo, Han Taeho locked eyes with him.
"...Nah, someone else is covering it."
Shin Jaewoo's response. From that alone, Han Taeho could guess who was footing it.
'Fuck. More money than me and still...'
Even so, he didn't have the guts to challenge him over pocket change.
"Hahaha. Bros, just enjoy yourselves. I'll handle the whole bill."
Han Taeho, groveling again. Even as he spoke, his insides burned. But today's leash wasn't off.
"Taeho."
"Yes, hyungnim."
"Your mom's in real estate, right?"
"Yeah, she is, but..."
Han Taeho trailed off. Why bring this up?
"I wanna buy a building."
It was the same line from the Baekje Hotel party. Shin Jaewoo brought up what had seemed like bullshit then.
"Can you introduce me?"
Shin Jaewoo's eyes gleamed as he spoke.
"Just no sketchy properties, of course."
He had a new hobby. Well, not exactly new. More like one he'd forgotten about for a while.
'Nah, it wasn't even a hobby back then.'
Web novels. He'd started trying to write a new one. Or rather, he tried, but it wasn't going well.
"Hoo."
Shin Jaewoo sighed. The laptop he'd bought to write his novel. The Hangul program open now showed under 500 characters.
'Can't even get started.'
When he actually tried, no stories came to mind. Putting the fantasies he'd occasionally imagined into words was tough.
"...Let's quit."
Shin Jaewoo closed what he'd written. Instead, he fired up his actual new hobby.
AsiaTV. It had become a habit in just a few days.
'Honestly... it is fun.'
Naturally, the recent party came to mind. No grand events as expected. The so-called highlights were mostly personal connections.
Shin Jaewoo hadn't expected to run into Han Taeho, Kim Hyeju, Kim Minseo, and Lee Haein there.
"Still wild thinking about it."
That's why those two popped up now. Kim Dongsu, using the nickname Kim Daemul. And one he truly hadn't anticipated.
'No way the PD watches AsiaTV.'
Lee Haein. She'd said she was Kim Minseo's broadcast chairwoman. And Kim Minseo was streaming right now.
"Like I said last Saturday, I was going somewhere with the chairwoman. But I had zero clue. Guess who I ran into there?"
Perfect timing—Kim Minseo talking about him.
"It was a spot for kinda rich folks."
Kim Minseo chattered on.
"And there I meet my oppa."
"Yup. That oppa. Jaewoo oppa. I was so shocked seeing him... Still don't get how he was there. What the hell's he been up to lately?"
Kim Minseo, blabbing about him everywhere.
"Gotta do something about her."
She clearly needed some education. Just pondering the method.
Meanwhile, Kim Minseo kept going.
"But guess what's even more shocking?"
"Oppa and the chairwoman know each other. Wild."
Now everyone tuned in. Her rarely visiting broadcast chairwoman Hera lately, and Jaewoos who once dropped in for big laughs. The two knowing each other? Worth the hype.
'Is it true?'
Kim Minseo continued amid the buzz.
"I didn't know either. Seems unnie and oppa knew each other before. Nothing big—just her line of work. Oppa said he used to do that too. So yeah, they know each other."
"Yeah. No clue at all. And... huh?"
Chattering away, Kim Minseo's eyes widened.
"Oppa logged in?"
Viewers checked the viewer list at her words. Her stream wasn't pulling hundreds or thousands anyway. Easy to spot Jaewoos.
Excited chat exploding.
The chat reactions to Shin Jaewoo were friendly. Kim Minseo's eyes narrowed.
"I had a ton to say to my oppa anyway...!"
She raised her voice right away. Meanwhile, Shin Jaewoo checked the menu on the streamer's screen.
There it was.
44 Abong 15 seconds
'Oh. This exists.'
Kim Minseo, always chatty and prone to slip-ups. Perfect reaction for her.
Jaewoos sent 44 Star Balloons
"Huh?"
Kim Minseo blurted in surprise at the sudden Star Balloons. Her face froze. She shut her mouth.