Chapter 128: First Time Feeling Happiness
Chapter 128: First Time Feeling Happiness
I slept like a log for the first time in ages, just like back when I was crashing in that basement room.
1 PM.
When I finally woke up, memories of last night started flooding back.
With Jo Soo-ah's permission, I'd gone into her room.
"You still up?"
"Yeah, I am."
The room had soft lighting, and the atmosphere felt a bit awkward and distant at first.
We weren't total strangers—she'd joined the company right after college, and I'd trained her as a new hire, teaching her the ropes.
I'd known her from her fresh-faced rookie days all the way through to now, in her late twenties.
The awkwardness didn't last long.
We sat side by side on the bed and talked about everything under the sun.
"You must like it here in America."
"I was worried you'd feel burdened once you actually got here."
"Why would I feel burdened?"
"Just... a lot of reasons. I was planning to wait by the beach and text Lee Jong-yeop when you arrived."
Spotting Jo Soo-ah walking on the sand had been pure coincidence.
But the moment I saw her, a wave of joy and longing hit me—that much was true.
Expressing emotions to a woman felt awkward.
After the divorce, I'd gotten into the habit of overthinking every worry and concern, always planning way ahead.
Still, the words slipped out from the heart.
"I missed you too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Good thing you didn't go to San Francisco."
"I would've ended up there, though?"
"Oh Myeong-woo might've gotten in the way. Better to meet quietly here like this."
We shared all the stories I'd kept bottled up.
From the moment I saw her as a new hire at Arcor, I'd been drawn to her—but I thought she was out of my league.
"Better to learn to let go than cling to things a dirt-poor kid like me could never have."
"You idiot."
"It hurts when you get hurt. Better to avoid the wounds altogether."
"You could've still liked me, though. Didn't you notice I was into you?"
"A little, yeah."
"Then why?"
"I thought you shouldn't like someone like me. You've got more money than I do, and you deserve a better guy."
As a kid, I'd looked down on rich kids with money.
They seemed lazy, not making the most of their privileged lives.
But as I grew up, I realized the truth was different.
Kids raised in truly good environments, showered with parental love, usually turned out with great personalities.
Prosperity made them patient, not quick to anger.
With their talents blooming in so many ways, they had a much higher shot at success.
"You still think that now?"
"Now? It'd be fine to like me. The whole world might be another story, but in Korea, no one has more money than me."
At some point, I was holding Jo Soo-ah's hand.
I undressed her, felt her soft skin.
Every moment of lovemaking until morning was etched clearly in my memory.
* * *
I got up in the afternoon and left the room.
Down on the first floor, Jo Soo-ah was cooking in shorts and a T-shirt.
"Soo-ah, making food?"
"You're awake? I brought some ingredients from Korea."
I almost mentioned the two chefs on staff because I wanted her cooking—but I held back.
Come to think of it, the mansion felt empty and quiet without anyone around.
Usually, bodyguards or Lee Jong-yeop stayed here too.
―Kim Shin: Where are you?
I texted Lee Jong-yeop, and he replied right away.
―Lee Jong-yeop: Gave you two some alone time. Bodyguards are guarding the perimeter. I'll be crashing at a hotel nearby starting today.
―Lee Jong-yeop: You'll cover the hotel bill for me and the guards, right, hyung?
The mansion had plenty of spare rooms for Lee Jong-yeop and the guards. But...
―Kim Shin: Make it a nice hotel.
―Lee Jong-yeop: Yes, hyung.
I didn't want to miss this chance to be alone with Jo Soo-ah.
The spicy aroma from the kitchen smelled like dakbokkeumtang.
Chicken, bulgogi, or spicy pork rice bowls—you could get those in America too.
Dakbokkeumtang? Chefs could probably make it, but it had been ages since I'd had some.
"The potatoes are huge."
"You like potatoes."
"You remembered."
Dakbokkeumtang with big chunks of potato in a mildly spicy broth.
Eating with Jo Soo-ah made me say it tasted amazing without thinking.
"This is really good."
"Good. I was worried it wouldn't taste right. I practiced a ton. Want seconds?"
"Yeah, I'll take more."
New York hotel life.
My taste buds had been trained on burgers, steaks, pizza, pasta—dakbokkeumtang was pure healing.
* * *
An Myeong-guk read *A Year of Married Life* in a coffee shop.
*Tears are blurring my vision.*
He thought he'd made a ton of money, and his wife had changed.
They fought every day over her decision to go to Hawaii and raise the kid there.
*At home, the husband ranks below even the pet dog.*
Before marriage, she'd been such a great woman.
But after becoming his wife and having a kid, she started belittling him and nagging nonstop.
"Hawaii. What should I do?"
"What do you mean? Block it. Being a goose dad won't end well."
Even venting to Seo Jong-gi, his team leader at Arcor, didn't help.
Honestly, raising the kid had driven it home multiple times.
*This kid's got no head for studying!*
It was disappointing but something he had to accept—yet his wife's ambition knew no bounds.
Seoul National University was the goal. If grades slipped, she'd say the academy wasn't good enough.
She'd say it like a mantra.
"Our kid's smart. Once he buckles down, he'll catch up quick."
"Yeah, sure."
"We're making him a doctor."
Competition with the neighborhood moms.
Academy teachers' sales pitches and lip service.
Living vicariously through the kid for her own unfulfilled dreams.
When she announced wanting to go to Hawaii, her dreams for the kid evolved further.
"We're sending him to Harvard or Johns Hopkins."
"College in America?"
"Yeah. We can afford that level of support. He becomes a doctor in the U.S., then gets hired at Biolife—your company—back in Korea. Starts at team leader, builds a career, becomes CEO. How perfect would that be?"
"..."
An Myeong-guk, meanwhile, felt like he'd entered a new world working at Biolife.
Equipment worth billions was standard. Entry-level researchers and assistants were top 1% from world-class universities.
Papers in top medical journals, experts in niche fields—they were the norm.
These people teamed up on AI research, pulling all-nighters for new drugs.
The white-haired doctor dozing on a luxury bed was Britain's top immunology authority.
*Our kid becomes a doctor and gets hired at Biolife?*
Sure, it'd be great if it happened—but what were the odds?
How to explain how incredible Biolife was, rocketing upward even now.
World-class scholars were flocking in.
Kim Shin's fame and money, K-Vaccine—the decisive factor was the performance of Surin, their medical AI.
Tasks that once needed racks of supercomputers now ran nonstop via Earth Resource, constantly improving.
Biolife evolved every moment.
Imagining it ten years from now was impossible—yet she dreamed of her kid getting hired there and becoming CEO.
Hell, becoming president of a big corp subsidiary would be faster by miles.
*Woman, your husband's already Senior Managing Director at Biolife—that's huge. Help me out here.*
They'd signed contracts with Isung Biologics and DK Biosciences via K-Vaccine.
Both companies had tasted Biolife's potential and were desperate for deeper ties.
Seo Jong-gi said over beer,
"Oh, right—Jo Soo-ah took sabbatical."
"Yeah?"
Jo Soo-ah had been a subordinate he'd grown close to months ago. Pretty, smart, aced her work and drove results.
"Rumor is she went to America."
"America?"
An Myeong-guk had a hunch.
At Arcor, she'd been an iron wall to other guys.
But with Kim Shin, she always showed interest, curiosity.
She hid it at work, but he knew as her boss.
―An Myeong-guk: Jong-yeop.
―Lee Jong-yeop: Yes.
―An Myeong-guk: Jo Soo-ah went to meet CEO Kim Shin?
―Lee Jong-yeop: Secret.
―An Myeong-guk: Secret means she did? Won't tell me?
―Lee Jong-yeop: I'd give you my bank PIN, team leader. But not this.
An Myeong-guk thought his old subordinate Lee Jong-yeop had really made it.
In company life, you had to pick the right line.
He'd latched onto Kim Shin's— the strongest backing in Korea. Same for An Myeong-guk himself.
A thought struck him.
Kim Shin wouldn't mind Jo Soo-ah flying out, and they'd make a great pair.
―An Myeong-guk: Say 'Jo Soo-ah.'
―Lee Jong-yeop: Can't.
―An Myeong-guk: The Jo Soo-ah we worked with—you can't say her name?
―Lee Jong-yeop: Nope.
―An Myeong-guk: Gotta call her 'sister-in-law' now?
―Lee Jong-yeop: Haha, you already knew? As expected from the team leader who lives by his instincts. Learn a lot from you.
―An Myeong-guk: Lol, good work.
―Lee Jong-yeop: Yes! You too!
An Myeong-guk pocketed his phone.
You don't see it when you're in love.
You meet on feelings, but who you end up with matters most in the long run.
*Jo Soo-ah won't turn into someone like my wife, even if she changes.*
* * *
Year-end brought a flood of lavish invites.
Venture capitalist gatherings in San Francisco, charity galas.
Politicians in Washington inviting him to their estates, Wall Street finance folks for year-end parties.
Assets holders, media, celebs—invites poured in from every high-profile event.
―Kim Shin: Politely decline them all.
―Lee Jong-yeop: Got it, hyung.
―Lee Jong-yeop: Reason: Planning next year's business and investments?
―Kim Shin: Yeah, that works.
I stayed at the Laguna Beach mansion.
I woke beside Jo Soo-ah, ate with her, and went on walks with her.
I knew Los Angeles had plenty of tourist attractions, but honestly, I just wanted to stay home with her.
*So this is what it feels like.*
Casual chats, meals, sleeping together—comfortable, happy.
A first for me.
Making insane money brought thrills—this was pure joy, what happiness feels like.
*No wonder Lee Jong-yeop's always dating.*
Regretted not meeting her back at Arcor.
"I'll cook from now on."
"I want to do it for you."
"I want to cook for you too."
We made tasty food together and ate with Jo Soo-ah.
Only time we went out was for groceries—sunglasses, masks, hitting nearby markets.
Bodyguards nearby, but linking arms, shopping—felt great.
A real vacation for the first time.
Mid-December, things started happening.
―Senior Managing Director An Myeong-guk: COVID variant spreading in the UK.