Chapter 4: The Luck to Succeed at Anything
The luck to succeed at anything.
Having a meal with Jo Soo-ah's parents wasn't difficult.
The bigger concern was...
'Hmm. The clothes are nice, but.'
I declined Jo Soo-ah's offer to buy me clothes and wandered through the department store alone.
The menswear sections.
To eyes accustomed only to heavily discounted clothes from outlet malls, the department store garments looked incredibly luxurious.
'Expensive.'
I had over 30 billion won in assets.
The valuation was changing by thousands, sometimes hundreds of millions, every second.
Before I had this much money, I used to think it was simple.
'A rich person can probably buy most things without a second thought. Someone with 10 billion won wouldn't fret about spending money.'
But now that I was experiencing it, that wasn't me.
Perhaps because a poor man's mentality was ingrained to my very bones from childhood, ten thousand won felt the same to me now as it did back when I was poor.
I had grown accustomed to seeing my crypto assets jump by 100 million won.
But spending 500,000 or a million won on clothes felt like an incredible waste.
'This much money could cover living expenses for months... Ah. Can I afford to live more comfortably now?'
After much hesitation, I eventually picked out a few casual outfits that fit me well.
They were from high-end brands I had always wanted to try, and they felt as good as I'd imagined.
I spent over two hours wandering the department store.
These were clothes I had chosen after a great deal of deliberation.
"How many months would you like to pay over?"
"Twelve months. No. I'll pay in full, please."
"Yes, sir."
My life of installment plans was over.
From now on, it was a life of paying upfront.
* * *
Busan Myeong Eye Clinic.
"The patient response has been great. They're spreading the word on social media about the new surgical method, saying there's less pain and recovery is immediate. Our booking calls have more than doubled."
"Are there any difficulties in handling it?"
"It requires a bit more hands-on work after the laser, but if the patients are happy, that's a small price to pay. We just have to deal with it."
As I spoke with the doctors, they all expressed satisfaction with the new surgical machine.
We live in an age where patients research the latest surgical techniques before even coming in.
As a cutting-edge product proven in Germany, its only drawback was the high price.
"Dong-hoon, you're going to get a hefty incentive this year."
"You think I did it alone? We all did it together. How about we go out for Japanese food sometime?"
"Sounds great. Somewhere not too expensive."
The Busan team was celebrating their success.
Just a week ago, I too would have considered that incentive incredibly important.
'Do people change this quickly?'
It felt like the frugal life I had lived since birth was changing in a matter of days.
And yet, I was still quite timid in the department store.
In the afternoon, Jo Soo-ah approached me.
"I've scheduled dinner with my parents for tonight. Are you free, Assistant Manager?"
"What time?"
"Seven o'clock."
Playing the part of her boyfriend in front of her parents.
We weren't getting married; we were just a new couple.
I had nothing else to do in Busan besides work anyway. She said it wasn't a big deal, so I shouldn't feel pressured.
"Is there anything I need to prepare?"
"I've made a reservation at a restaurant. Is there any food you can't eat?"
"I eat pretty much everything."
* * *
"Soo-ah might seem smart, but she's actually quite clumsy. You should have seen how stubborn she was as a child."
"Mom!"
We had dinner with Jo Soo-ah's parents at a high-end restaurant near Haeundae Beach.
Both her father and mother were dressed in elegant clothes, and Jo Soo-ah played the part of a doting daughter, acting a little spoiled.
I couldn't be more thankful that I had worn the clothes I bought at the department store yesterday.
"You work at the same company as Soo-ah?"
"Yes, sir."
"How did you and my daughter become close?"
"Well..."
It was a question I should have expected.
"When Soo-ah first joined the company, I got to know her while teaching her the ropes."
The boyfriend part was a lie, but that was indeed how I first met her.
I had shown her the basics of the job when she was fresh out of college, full of youthful energy.
"I see. Please, eat up."
"Yes. Thank you for the meal."
I ate a delicious steak in a fairly comfortable atmosphere.
Meeting Jo Soo-ah's parents inevitably brought back memories from last spring.
'Chae-won and her parents.'
My ex-wife and her parents.
I had been a nervous wreck, as it was my first time formally meeting a girlfriend's parents.
I had booked an expensive traditional Korean restaurant to suit their tastes and went to meet them.
"What do your parents do for a living?"
"...They have both passed away."
"Oh, dear. Does that mean you were raised by your grandmother, or in an orphanage?"
"No. My father was alive until I was in college."
"I see. And you live alone in an apartment?"
"Pardon?"
"Didn't your parents leave you a house? Or did your siblings get it?"
"We... never owned a house."
"You didn't have a house? But I heard your salary at the company is quite good. How much is your incentive?"
The look of undisguised disappointment on their faces when they learned I had no inheritance.
"You know Chae-won gives us an allowance, right?"
"What? This is the first I'm hearing of it."
"We'd like her to continue sending 500,000 won every month after you're married."
"Ah. Of course, we'll do that. I'll treat you like my own parents."
I tried to get on their good side after the wedding, but it was impossible.
I remembered all the times I had to swallow my pride whenever I visited my in-laws because I had nothing.
Jo Soo-ah's mother spoke.
"Is the food not to your liking?"
"It's great. It's truly delicious."
We were nearly finished with our meal.
Jo Soo-ah's parents stood up to leave early. I started to get up as well, worried I had made them uncomfortable.
"We'll be heading out first. You two have a good date."
"What?"
"Soo-ah. You don't have to come home tonight."
"..."
* * *
Haeundae.
After her parents left, Jo Soo-ah and I walked along the street at night.
"Thank you for playing the part of my boyfriend. Honestly, I realize now how thoughtless and wrong I was."
"About what?"
"Your expression."
"Ah..."
Jo Soo-ah's parents didn't know I was divorced, but she did.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong."
"I feel like I forced you to lie."
"I was just reminded of an old memory. Your parents seem like wonderful people."
We walked along the breezy Haeundae beach, following the crowd.
The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable, free of pressure.
"Want to get our fortunes told?"
"Our fortunes?"
An old woman was sitting on the stairs leading to the beach, telling fortunes.
I wasn't the type to believe in things like fate or destiny.
I didn't want to hear something bad by chance and spend the rest of my life worrying about it.
And if one's destiny was accurate, that was a problem in its own right.
Poor enough to starve as a child, with no family luck. Did I really need confirmation that I was born to live such a life?
But we were in Busan, and Jo Soo-ah seemed to like the idea, so I just went along with it.
"Grandma, we're here to get our fortunes told."
The grandmother's skin was so wrinkled it was hard to guess her age.
Soo-ah gave her a rough birth date and time, and her name.
The woman looked at her palm, then her face and eyes.
"Young lady, you have a bright and good energy."
"Really?"
"You have many talents. And you are loved by many people."
I felt like I could have said the same things.
For someone like Jo Soo-ah, who grew up comfortably without hardship, especially one so pretty and bright, you could tell just by looking at her.
"Good fortune will follow you your whole life. And you work hard to seize that luck yourself. But... you recently missed out on one piece of luck."
"I did?"
"I think you know it too. There was a piece of luck you failed to grasp because you lacked courage and only hesitated."
"Ah..."
Jo Soo-ah's eyes wavered significantly.
Did she miss the lottery by one number or something?
"But don't you worry. The luck that left has returned, and it's grown immensely."
"Really?"
"It's a very big fortune. But it might not be as easy to catch as before."
Watching from the side, I thought fortune-telling was not to be trusted.
As expected in the 21st century, she was just spouting a bunch of vague nonsense.
"You should get yours read, too, Assistant Manager."
"I'm fine."
"She's sitting out here so late. Let's at least help her make a sale."
I had a soft spot for grandmothers.
In the end, just like Jo Soo-ah, I gave her my name, date and time of birth, and other miscellaneous personal information.
She carefully examined my palm and even my eyes.
"You."
"Yes."
"I don't know how you've managed to live this long. You have the face of a beggar who should have starved to death."
"..."
I hadn't believed in fortune-telling, but now a little bit of trust was forming.
Or maybe I just looked that pathetic.
"As for talents... you're not particularly good at anything, are you?"
The grandmother asked, and honestly, I couldn't deny it.
Could I play an instrument? Could I draw well? Could I sing well?
In this day and age, it was rare to find someone with as few skills as me.
"But for someone born with this kind of fortune... well, I'm so envious I don't know what to say."
"Fortune?"
"Yes. From now on, live your life doing everything you want to do. Yours is a destiny where you'll be fine as long as you don't worry or hesitate for too long."
A life without worry or hesitation was difficult for me.
Perhaps because I grew up poor, even now, I would hesitate several times before buying a single pastry at a convenience store.
Even if there was something I wanted to eat, I'd look for something a little cheaper. I had lived my life satisfied as long as my stomach was full, even if the food was tasteless.
"It's good for you to stay in one place."
"Pardon?"
The grandmother's words were a bit strange.
Shouldn't she be saying it's bad to stay in one place?
"Even if you stay still, luck will find its way to you. But if you travel the world and experience many things... you will seize all the tremendous luck out there."
As I listened blankly, Jo Soo-ah, who was more curious, asked from the side.
"Tremendous luck? Is it bad if he seizes all that luck?"
"It's fine. He can live his life however he wants. Whatever he does now, he will succeed."
"That's amazing luck. What about his luck with women?"
Jo Soo-ah again asked the grandmother on my behalf.
Luck with women.
My married life had already been hell.
How many people could have had worse luck with women than me?
"As for luck with women, you'll be tripping over them on the street. Many. So many."
"Many?"
"Yes. Beautiful women will line up for him."
I nodded.
Looking at my life so far, I didn't want to say the grandmother was right or wrong.
I just thought of her as someone who said a lot of nice things to make a living.
After the fortune-telling, when it was time to pay...
"Two hundred thousand won?"
"Yes. And that's a really cheap price."
"..."
As I stood there, unable to pay, Jo Soo-ah took out her wallet and promptly paid the sum.
"It was my idea, so I'll pay."
It wasn't my money, but I couldn't believe how wasteful it felt.
We were walking along Haeundae beach again after the fortune-telling.
"Have you ever tried grilled eel?"
"No."
"I'm sorry for inviting you to such an uncomfortable dinner. You didn't get to eat much, did you?"
The steak had melted in my mouth, and I had eaten a ton.
"Let's go eat the grilled eel they sell at Haeundae Market."
Jo Soo-ah took my hand and led me away.