Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: A Night Out
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Today's Friday, so I've worked for five days now. On Sunday, I just sat around to test the totem, and the owner gave me 100% of the profits from that too. So, in six days, I've earned... "Chang-woo, your incentive pay alone has been about 54 million won so far. Isn't that insane? I had no idea it would be this effective." "You said you used to have a friend who was a model. The one who opened a shop across the street." "Business was good when he was here, but not like this. Not even close. How should I put this?" The owner clinked our glasses together and chuckled. "If he was, say, a baron, then you're a crown prince. And not just any crown prince—the kind who's basically already the emperor because the real one is frail and out of it." "That's embarrassing." "And I guess that makes me a serf. Ah, ranking people by their faces is pretty fun, isn't it?" We were having a good time drinking, using the day's events at the cafe as our side dish. Suddenly, a woman's voice called out to us. "Excuse me... you're so much my type. If it's not too much trouble, could we exchange numbers?" The owner's eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. I understood. She was incredibly beautiful. I, for one, had gotten used to this sort of thing. "I'm sorry, but I have a girlfriend. I appreciate the thought, though." "I don't mind." "What?" "I don't care if you have a girlfriend, can't we just meet up a few times?" "Well... *I* mind. I'm sorry." "Let me know if you change your mind." The woman insisted on leaving a note on our table before she left. It seemed she had come with a female friend. Even after returning to her seat, she didn't avert her gaze and instead gave us a wink. The owner, looking like he was about to burst, sputtered and said. "Wow, that's insane. She just went for it even after you said you have a girlfriend. And a beauty like her, too." "It's not always a good thing." "Looks pretty damn good to me. At least, through my eyes." "Ah, hyung." After that, women continued to stop by our table periodically. The owner, who had initially laughed it off, grew serious after it happened for the fifth time. "I'm seriously feeling an incredible sense of deprivation right now. My entire perception of women is shattering." "What was your perception of women?" "This is the first time I've realized women are such aggressive creatures. They're coming on to you with the same level of intensity I had back in the day when I was desperately trying to get laid." I reviewed the past ten days I'd lived as New Chang-woo. My head nodded unconsciously. "You're right, hyung. Women are incredibly forward. And they live with their phones in their hands. They reply instantly to everything, which makes it stressful to even start a conversation." "Damn it." In the meantime, another pair of women came over and asked to join our table. "We'll pay for this, so would you like to join us?" "But our bill is already over half a million won." "That's fine!" They were both pretty. They looked to be in their mid-twenties, and their clothes and makeup were stylish. The owner suddenly chugged his full glass and slammed it down on the table with a thud. "Chang-woo. Let's do it." "Do what?" "Let's join them." "Hyung. What about Yeon-ju noona?" "Hey! Do you think a day will ever come again in my life when beautiful young women offer to pay a bill over half a million won just to sit with me? When I die and have to follow the grim reaper, I need at least one good story to tell!" "What's with this guy? He's hilarious." "You know I just burst out laughing, right? Your sense of humor is amazing." ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Gong Ji-cheol knew why the women were laughing like that.
It wasn't because his words were funny, but because just looking at Lee Chang-woo's face made them smile.
Those women knew it too.
They knew they had to win over Gong Ji-cheol to even have a chance of joining the table.
Gong Ji-cheol decided to gladly play along with their intentions.
It wasn't that he was dreaming of straying from his girlfriend.
He literally just wanted to create a story he could cherish and brag about for the rest of his life.
My god.
Pretty women who looked like they never had to pay for their own food or drinks were offering to cover a bill of over half a million won.
"Owner Kim, these ladies say they'll pay our bill, so hurry up and take their card."
"Look how decisive he is. Here, here's the card."
As if she'd been waiting, one of the women quickly offered her card and sat down next to Lee Chang-woo.
Her friend made a 'tch' sound and sat next to Gong Ji-cheol.
All the while, her eyes were fixed on Lee Chang-woo's face across the table.
"To be honest, I have a girlfriend."
When Gong Ji-cheol said this in a deliberately serious tone, the women looked at him with expressions that said, "What's that got to do with anything?"
Their faces clearly read, 'What does that have to do with us?'
"I not only have a girlfriend, but I'm also old and have some shame. So you two don't have to worry about who gets stuck with the old bomb. Let's just relax and have a drink."
"Oh my, this guy is surprisingly assertive. I think I'm starting to like him."
"Come on, your eyes are still glued to my friend over there. All I want is to be able to brag for the rest of my life that beautiful women like you bought me a drink, so let's all just relax. From now on, it's on me."
Gong Ji-cheol quickly scraped up the last of the raw fish and tossed it into his mouth.
"Owner Kim, reset the table for us from scratch."
"What's this, Owner Gong? You were complaining about business being dead, but it looks like you had a good day today."
"It was great. I made over ten million won today alone."
The women's eyes widened for a moment.
But their gazes quickly returned to Lee Chang-woo's face.
Lee Chang-woo seemed a bit troubled, but he resigned himself to the situation and enjoyed the drinks.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Ugh, so draining.
I vehemently refused their suggestion to go for a second round.
The owner also skillfully wrapped things up at the sushi restaurant.
The women had paid the bill that was over half a million won when they joined us.
But then the owner paid the next bill, which was over two million won. We only drank expensive liquor.
In the end, the women got a lot of free drinks, so they probably won't complain even though I didn't give them my number.
Thankfully, the owner never mentioned that we worked at a cafe.
"Hyung, are you okay? You spent so much money."
"Hey, I already said we were going to spend over a million won no matter what."
"Still, the bill was over two million."
"I got to witness a great experience. For that, this was a cheap price to pay."
The owner clapped me heartily on the shoulder.
"It's truly incredible. I knew that having a handsome male employee would boost sales, but today I finally understood the mechanism behind it."
"What do you mean?"
"With so many women flocking to you just for breathing, it would be impossible for sales *not* to go up."
The owner had a somewhat detached expression on his face.
"I'm so envious that the thought of envy itself doesn't even register. I'd love to live with your face for just one day, Chang-woo."
"Why are you saying that? You've lived a successful life, hyung."
"I thought so too, but watching you these past few days, I've realized that's not the case. A truly successful life is a life like yours."
Even if he was just drunk.
The self-loathing my boss was showing was, even to my eyes, deep and genuine.
I understood how he felt.
Can I really become a professor? Will a day come when I can work my slaves like my advisor does?
His eyes were those of a man facing an abyss he felt he could never cross.
I squeezed out the most comforting words I could think of.
"Still, your face is at least average, hyung, and Yeon-ju noona is young and pretty. Your kids will be beautiful."
"You saying my face is 'average' with a face like yours just sounds like a deception, man."
"You must have saved up a lot of assets from running a business in Gangnam for so long. I saw last time your car is a Mercedes S-Class. If someone like you says that, a lot of guys would feel a crushing sense of deprivation."
"If someone told me to choose between one trillion won and your face, I'd choose your face without a second thought."
"That's a bit much."
"Then would you take one trillion won and have my face, or give up the one trillion won and live as you are?"
Do I even need to think about this?
The answer is obvious, isn't it?
"I'd live as I am."
"Fuck. See? Then what about ten trillion won?"
"I'll live as I am."
"One hundred trillion won?"
"I'll live as I am."
"See? This proves that what you said to me earlier was a deception."
"No, hyung. I don't really need money. Just enough to get by is fine. Honestly, even if I only ever earned as much as I do at the cafe now for the rest of my life, I don't think I'd be greedy for more."
The owner chuckled and led me to an izakaya.
It was a bit disappointing that it was an open hall instead of private rooms.
It's hard to eat in peace like this.
I took out the 5,000-won 'Absolute Ring' and put it on my ring finger.
"What's that? That ring?"
"It's just a cheap thing I bought off the street. I have to wear at least this much to get hit on less."
"Now you're deceiving me as naturally as you breathe."
"I'm just doing what I normally do..."
"So your very existence is a deception. I'm getting a real good look at the daily life of an extremely handsome man today. Alright, let's see this through to the end."
It seemed the owner was getting some vicarious satisfaction from watching me now.
I used to have similar fantasies while watching my advisor command countless graduate student slaves with a single glance.
The owner was enjoying the gazes pouring onto our table, chuckling to himself.
"You're making between six and eight million won a day right now, right? At a private cafe, no less."
"Yes, why do you ask all of a sudden?"
"Do you know what this means?"
"That women are buying a lot?"
"It means that if you were a celebrity, you'd be earning tens of times more than you are now."
"..."
"If you get any casting offers later, let me know in advance. I need to prepare myself."
"Hyung, you really don't know me. I have no intention of becoming a celebrity."
"Because of the game?"
"Yes. If someone offered me tens of billions of won a year to quit this game, I'd just give up the money."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm extremely satisfied with my current life: working at the cafe on weekdays, then playing games and making good money at home on the weekends."
"Good grief. You must be really hooked on that game. What on earth is it?"
I died a virgin with zero experience, came back to life, and now I'm having fun sleeping with a supreme beauty like Jung Hye-na every day.
There's no way I'd trade that for the busy life of a celebrity earning a mere few tens or hundreds of billions a year.
If the owner were in my shoes, he would have made the same choice, right?