Dependable
I launched a full-scale promotion campaign.
A straight 30 percent discount, guaranteed, compared to the gyms nearby.
Thanks to that, new customers who’d been out of sight for a while suddenly started showing up in droves.
And I didn’t stop there.
“If we want to draw them in even harder, we need a bold condition.”
“..”
“If they lose a certain amount of weight, we give them half their money back. If their InBody results go beyond that, we refund the whole thing.”
“That’s a loss..”
“So what? They’re spending a little money on a hobby.”
“.. Yes, sir.”
I pushed the terms even further.
By then, I’d done everything I possibly could; there was no point in talking about discounts anymore.
As long as they kept showing up and working out hard, it was practically free.
I figured the owner of Neo Gym must think he’d been dragged into a chicken game.
Not even knowing how long it would last.
Well.
I intended to go all the way until the Neo Gym owner gave up.
Even then, I still wouldn’t be losing ten hundred million won.
Compared to that, my current profits—now, a little over a week after returning from Jeju Island—were...
Four hundred billion won, huh..
As I was realizing profits, I’d received a report from DE Investment.
This investment alone had earned me four hundred billion won.
It was the result of a special case, bolstered by extreme, edge-of-the-cliff investing.
No wonder every domestic investment company was in shock, and there were so many broadcasters trying to poach DE Investment’s staff that you couldn’t even count them.
Fortunately, they hadn’t come after me.
There was an old saying in this world:
the best kind of rich person was one who had money and wasn’t known.
I agreed completely.
The way I spent money was definitely not the sort of thing the public would welcome.
I had no desire to become famous.
“Nice.”
I’d thought they wouldn’t come.
Even when I was racking up enormous profits.
A unit like trillions was an amount so huge I couldn’t even wrap my head around it.
Now, little by little, it was coming into view.
A fortune in the trillions.
If something like this happened just one more time, I’d probably be able to reach that level.
It’s weird.
Me, a man with trillions to his name.
That was the kind of scale only a conglomerate chairman should be thinking about.
Of course, the actual value of the companies they owned would be much greater than that...
But that was money they couldn’t just spend however they pleased.
By the time things had reached this point, I’d grown fairly certain about my own investment skill.
“It can’t just be luck.”
If luck repeats enough times, then it’s skill.
My investments had been consistently successful more than a few times now.
At this point, calling it skill wasn’t an exaggeration.
And that made me think...
“Do I really need to keep hiding it?”
I started wondering whether I really had to keep hiding the fact that I was rich from my family.
They already knew I’d succeeded to some degree.
But compared to reality, that was nothing but a speck of dust.
Because my actual assets were far greater.
At first, I’d assumed the fortune I had back then was just luck, and that later on things might get difficult, so I’d only reveal an amount I could comfortably handle.
I was worried my spending might spiral out of control later.
But now...
“So what if it does.”
Even if my family’s spending increased, it didn’t look like anything I couldn’t handle.
No matter how much it was.
Besides, my family weren’t the type to blow money wildly to begin with.
I came to a conclusion.
There was no real reason to keep hiding it.
Honestly, I wanted to brag a little, too.
That their son had become successful beyond imagination.
I should stop by my parents’ house again soon.
For now...
“An hour from now?”
My appointment with Aunt came first.
Recently, she’d contacted me to ask if she could look at the place before deciding.
Of course I’d said yes, and in an hour I’d be touring the house with her.
I prayed she’d give me a positive answer.
I was going to pick Aunt up.
In the Rolls-Royce, with the chauffeur driving.
***
I arrived at Aunt’s place.
Even from the Rolls-Royce, it definitely looked old.
I got out of the car.
Aunt, who’d been waiting in front of the house, looked at me with a stunned expression.
Maybe this was the first time she’d ever seen me in a Rolls-Royce.
“Aunt! Over here!”
“.. Doyun.”
“Please get in the back seat.”
“..”
She was different from her usual self. It was as if she’d been completely overwhelmed.
For me, that felt great.
Family was family, of course, and I wanted to show them how successful I’d become.
But I especially wanted to show Aunt.
She’d been the one who helped me the most after I moved to Seoul.
Aunt sat down beside me.
There was a partition between us, but still.
She sat there neatly, looking dazed.
Somehow, that made her seem cute.
Wow, she really is something.
Watching Aunt sit beside me, I couldn’t help thinking that.
Aunt, who was in her mid-forties.
Seen from the side, she looked like she was in her early thirties.
And not just that—she looked well cared for, too.
How did she do that? It wasn’t like she’d been getting any special treatment, either.
I guess the power of medicine still can’t beat the power of genes.
“Oh my.. What is all this..”
“Running a company, I realized how important travel time is.”
That was a lie.
The only work I really did was look at charts and news.
I’d just bought it because it was a nice car.
Aunt wore a proud, pleased expression.
It made me happier than any praise ever could.
“I can’t believe Doyun’s already this successful.. What a good boy.”
“I only made it this far because you helped me so much, Aunt.”
“Oh, what did I even help with? I only cheered you on.”
“Getting that support made me work even harder.”
“That alone makes me glad to hear it.”
She smiled brightly and looked around the car interior.
Watching her like that, I felt a strange heat rising in me before I even realized it.
It wasn’t just because of her looks.
Her looks mattered, sure, but...
She’d helped me when I’d been at my lowest...
That thought only made Aunt seem more attractive.
After a long drive, we arrived at Afroli River Park.
I got out of the car.
“Hoo... So this is the apartment you were talking about, Doyun?”
“Yes. Once you see the place, you’ll understand why I said that.”
“It’s already a very nice place... but I think I’ll have to look inside before I know for sure.”
I led Aunt up to the penthouse.
Since I’d already finished the purchase and started the interior work, all she had to do was make up her mind.
I opened the front door.
After Aunt took off her shoes and stepped inside, she froze on the spot.
The size of the place hit her the moment she entered, and it was impossible to compare it to an ordinary apartment.
For Aunt, who’d been living in a villa, the difference must have felt even more dramatic.
Even I, who’d been staying in a Signiel Penthouse even larger than this, thought it was spacious enough.
“.. I can go in, right?”
“Of course.”
Aunt carefully took off her shoes and stepped inside.
I felt oddly happy, like I was giving her a completely new experience.
Aunt, amazed by everything, was cute too.
We started with the living room.
And the window view.
“Wow... It’s really huge. The living room is as big as our entire house.”
“Exactly. How is one person supposed to use all this?”
“.. And from the window, you can look down at the Han River. You can even see all of Seoul.”
“It’s nice to take a walk around the Han River outside and come back in sometimes.”
“..”
I didn’t stop with the subtle sales pitch, either.
That was how much I wanted to start a new life here with Aunt.
We looked at the rooms, too.
“How many rooms are there, anyway?.. And they’re this big, too..”
“Probably five. There are three bathrooms, so.. it’s great for everyone to use.”
“..”
“It’s almost like it’s split into two separate households, so you, my sister, and Sihyun won’t have any trouble at all.”
Before, she’d seemed reluctant.
Now, it felt like she was imagining the life I was describing.
What it would be like if Aunt’s family moved in and lived here.
“Sihyun’s university is close by, too. She could get there in less than an hour.”
“Well...”
“And my sister’s workplace is probably around here somewhere, too.”
“..”
She was almost there.
As I’d expected, it was more effective to bring up my sister and Sihyun than to try persuading Aunt directly.
After staring blankly for a long while, Aunt finally spoke as we were leaving.
“I’m really sorry... Could you give me just one more week, maybe?”
“Of course. Talk it over with my sister and Sihyun, too. If either of them is curious, they can visit anytime. I’ll give you the password.”
“..”
I gave her the password, too.
One week.
It sounded like a pleasant wait.
The outcome already felt promising.
It was like Aunt’s reason and emotions were fighting each other.
And emotions were clearly in the lead. Since my sister and Sihyun would be heavily affected by this too.
We left the house.
***
The driver took Aunt home, and I got into a car with a new chauffeur, heading back to Signiel.
Then, all of a sudden—
“Suhyuk?”
Suhyuk called me.
It was the first time he’d ever called after I gave him my number, so I was a little surprised.
Did something happen?
“Yeah, Suhyuk.”
“My help?”
“.. Is that so?”
“Okay, I’m counting on you. You’re really dependable, Suhyuk. I’ll bring you some pocket money.”
“Such a polite guy. Until then, take good care of Sihyun for me.”
“Yeah, I’ll cover the settlement money and the lawyer fees, so I’m counting on you.”
Anyone who laid a hand on Sihyun better be ready for the consequences.
Our Suhyuk.
He was dependable.