A Sudden Vacation, A Sudden Opportunity
Just in time. Perfect.
I headed to the Signiel super penthouse for work.
Seated in the investment room, I studied the charts.
“Nice.”
There was nothing else to check. Things were going better than I’d expected—better, and faster, too.
While I was looking at the charts, I also searched the internet for key areas in Seoul.
Gangnam, Yongsan, Mapo, and so on.
I was looking for another decent building to buy.
At this rate, I figured I’d be able to close on one soon.
After all, if you made money, you should lock it up in real estate.
The safest and best asset in South Korea was property.
“Is this really how it’s supposed to work?”
Sometimes I got to the point where I wondered that. Could making money really be this easy?
My sense of money was completely broken. And yet I didn’t feel much in the way of alarm.
That was because, even with my wrecked financial sense, the speed at which I was spending and watching assets disappear was being outpaced several times over by the profits from my investments.
I’d expected Bitcoin to hit around eleven thousand dollars.
It had precisely touched eleven thousand dollars and then, without even climbing another three percent, had started plunging downward.
I had a feeling this investment might end up being my biggest win ever.
For one thing, the scale of my leveraged position was the largest I’d ever taken. About thirty billion won.
And that wasn’t all.
Besides Bitcoin, the heaviest of the bunch, I’d also put money into lighter coins like Ethereum and Ripple.
Those two moved even more violently than Bitcoin did.
Since I’d called the drop correctly, they’d fallen even harder than Bitcoin.
Before long, I figured I’d blow past ten billion won with room to spare.
“Since I already bought Yeouido, maybe Gangnam would be the next move.”
That was when, amid my pleasant little dilemma, my phone rang. It was our Si-hyun.
I answered at once.
“Yeah, Si-hyun. What’s up?”
“Uh... oppa, where are you right now?”
“I’m over in Jamsil. Why?”
“I was just wondering when you’d be heading in...”
I straightened up and, before anything else, shut down my computer.
“Probably soon. Why?”
“If it’s not too much trouble, could I get a ride...? My friends are with me too...”
“Of course. What trouble? Text me the address.”
“Thank you.”
Now then. What should I take? The Porsche would be a little cramped with a bunch of people.
I grabbed the Bentley keys.
***
“Luckily, the timing worked out, so he said he’d come pick us up.”
“Really? Yes! I get to ride in a Porsche!”
Her friends cheered when they heard her brother was coming to get them.
And, along with them, she found herself feeling happy too.
It felt like she was helping her friends out.
“Your brother’s giving us a lift again?”
“Yeah. I asked carefully since he said he’d be here soon, and he said okay.”
“...You must be really close.”
“Well, our families know each other too, so...”
Sooh-o looked at her with an awkward expression as he asked his question.
That was weird. If someone gave you a ride, wasn’t the normal response to be grateful?
“I’m gonna run to the bathroom for a sec.”
“Okay.”
While Sooh-o was gone, her friends watched him disappear into the distance. The moment he was out of sight, they pounced on her with questions.
“Hey, you really are interested in that guy, right?”
“Huh? Why are you asking all of a sudden?”
“Because it sure doesn’t seem like it, you idiot.”
“...Honestly, I’m not sure either. Like you guys know, I’ve never actually dated anyone.”
To be honest, even she herself was confused. What she felt toward Sooh-o—was it affection, interest, or just goodwill?
You couldn’t really know without experience.
“Sooh-o’s handsome, and he’s tall, too. He’s smart, he’s got a good personality. So of course I thought, wow, he’s a really nice guy.”
“The way you say it, he’s basically the textbook all-around perfect guy. You know that, right?”
“What?”
“When you look at Sooh-o, you don’t show much expression, but when you were on the phone with your brother just now, your face was changing in real time.”
“...Oh, come on.”
“Huh? When you heard your brother was coming to get us, you were so happy I thought you had a boyfriend picking you up.”
“...”
It would be a lie to say she’d never thought about it at all.
But whenever the thought came up, she’d shake her head and try to brush it away.
How could she and oppa...?
He’d lived in the same house with her, and he’d known her since she was a minor. He was her brother.
Somehow, it felt like those kinds of feelings just weren’t right for him.
Ugh, seriously.
Now that they were saying it, it was getting under her skin.
Me, and oppa...?
No way. There was no chance.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“What’s ridiculous? Sooh-o was good-looking and all, but Doyun oppa is better.”
“Huh?”
“Think about it. There are plenty of handsome guys out there. Besides, with a face like yours, Si-hyun, whoever you date would have to be good-looking. But look at Doyun oppa. Who your age is driving around in a Porsche?”
“...”
Put that way, she really had nothing to say.
It wasn’t like she thought oppa was lacking. She’d never thought that.
It was just...
Something about it felt off.
The very fact that she was having those kinds of thoughts felt wrong.
Before she could talk any more with her friends, Sooh-o came back from the bathroom.
If only he’d stayed away a little longer.
“When’s your brother getting here?”
“Hold on.”
She handed over her phone. Texting while driving would be a problem.
The answer came back that he was almost there.
About five minutes passed after she heard that.
Strange. He should have been visible by now.
But there was no sign of oppa’s car nearby.
Instead, another car came to a stop in front of them.
What the—?
The passenger-side window rolled down.
Huh? There was oppa.
“Si-hyun, get in.”
“O-oppa. What’s this car, then?”
“I’m just driving two of them at once.”
“...”
Just how successful was oppa, exactly?
And yet, even while saying something like that, he still acted as if it was nothing at all. That somehow made him feel different—far different.
Suddenly, her earlier conversation with Sooh-o came back to her.
About how a wallet over five hundred thousand won was a luxury item.
What the hell are you thinking?
“Whoa, hold on. This car is a Bentley?”
“Why? Is this one expensive too?”
“It’s even more expensive than a Porsche. Seriously, what kind of person are you, oppa?”
“...Really?”
“Yeah. Maintenance must be even pricier too. Just get in.”
It did look expensive, now that she thought about it.
It looked luxurious, and it wasn’t a car she saw often in everyday life.
But more expensive than a Porsche?
She calmed her pounding heart and climbed into the passenger seat.
If a friend sat in the passenger seat, oppa might feel awkward, after all.
And she herself got out last of all.
“Wow! Oppa! You know we met before, right? At the club last time.”
“Ah, yeah, I remember.”
“What is this car? It’s a Bentley, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What exactly do you do for a living?”
“Just got lucky.”
“I’m losing my mind. Did you save Admiral Yi Sun-sin in a past life or something?”
For once, she found herself agreeing with her friend.
Had he really?
***
I could see Si-hyun being surprised by the different car from before.
Just that alone made the Bentley worth it.
I’d wondered why I should bother driving the Bentley when I already had a Rolls-Royce, but now I understood. This was exactly why.
As expected, our chief secretary had good judgment.
Si-hyun and her friends were all shocked.
And as for the pretty-boy parasite—his face had gone sour as hell.
I didn’t care in the slightest. I was too busy paying attention to Si-hyun.
But then he tossed me a question.
“Wow... Your family must really be well-off, hyung. Just the insurance on this car alone must cost a fortune.”
“Hm?”
“I’m just surprised, that’s all. If you don’t mind my asking, what do your parents do? They seem like incredible people.”
“...”
Cute.
So he was indirectly trying to tell the others that this car hadn’t been bought with my own abilities, but because I came from a rich family?
Too bad.
I’d bought it with my own money. Hell, I even owned a building.
From that parasite’s point of view, it made sense to think that way.
I was twenty-three. I drove a Porsche and a Bentley. And when Si-hyun called, I came running right away.
He probably saw me less as a capable man and more as some rich kid with too much family money and nothing to do.
“Well. My parents are living it up. I’m giving them allowance.”
“...Seriously?”
“Yeah. It’s hard to say I’m from some amazing family or anything... This time I went down to my hometown and even bought my parents a house.”
“...That’s incredible.”
He didn’t even get to dent me.
With a stiff expression, he turned to stare out the window.
Apparently, he didn’t even want to keep talking.
Too bad. He could’ve kept going a little longer.
Instead of the parasite, only Si-hyun and her excited friends kept chatting.
“When should we go on our next trip?”
“A trip?”
“Honestly, this one was disappointing, wasn’t it? We went cheap, so the lodging was bad, and traveling around was a pain in the ass.”
“That’s true, but... if we’re saving money, wouldn’t we have to wait until summer break?”
“Yeah... Then it’ll be hard to hang out for a while. Our colleges are all different too.”
I could see Si-hyun looking disappointed.
That worked out nicely.
I’d been wanting to take a trip too.
“Do you guys have a lot of free time?”
“Well, until school starts again, we at least need to keep ourselves busy drinking, don’t we? Right, Si-hyun?”
“I-I’m kind of tired of drinking. I want to rest.”
“If you guys have time, how about we travel together? I’ve got some time on my hands too, and I kind of want to go on a trip... but everyone around me seems too busy.”
“We’d like to say yes a thousand times over. We just don’t have any money.”
“I’ll cover the plane tickets and lodging. Just bring your own spending money for souvenirs and things.”
“Huh? Seriously? Isn’t that way too much to ask?”
“For the record, I spent about ten million won at the club last time. So come with me on a trip, at least.”
“We really want to go. Si-hyun, let’s go. Please.”
“Well...”
She looked at me for cues.
“Could I ask you a favor? I’d like to see Japan myself.”
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”
“It’d be a little awkward if I were the only guy there... Sooh-o, you want to come too?”
“...Me?”
“If you’re busy, never mind.”
“I’d be grateful to be invited.”
It’d be weird to refuse, wouldn’t it?
If he backed out here, he might as well be giving up on his relationship with Si-hyun.
Guys understood each other’s intentions pretty well.
He’d probably figured out I was after Si-hyun too.
The atmosphere tilted toward going.
“...You’re really sure this is okay, oppa?”
“Really. I’d be the one asking for a favor if I were you.”
“Honestly, if it’s really not a burden, then I’ll go.”
“The others might get disappointed if they’re left out, so you can bring two more people.”
“Whoa. That’s amazing. Even thoughtful consideration. What is this guy?”
“How about we go next Monday?”
“Sounds good!”
“Absolutely.”
And just like that, we decided to go on a trip.
From here on out, I planned to shake things loose properly.
At the same time, I was going to make damn sure Si-hyun saw me in the best possible light.
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