A Lesson on the Express Bus
March arrived.
The fierce cold was retreating, and the season of budding sprouts was returning. As the days grew longer, people began shedding their heavy coats for lighter clothes.
The Gukmidang shares I had bought continued their steady climb right alongside the warming weather. Word of mouth about the brand as “K-traditional liquor” was spreading across the United States, and short videos showcasing the bottle design were going viral on TikTok. Among the MZ generation the phrase “This isn’t just alcohol—it’s a culture” was catching on, and offline pop-up stores sold out day after day.
Once the results from a market far larger than Korea’s began to show up in hard numbers, investor communities started buzzing that this one had truly exploded. Checking the stock chart every morning had become one of my small pleasures.
This wasn’t mere gut feeling. It was the result of calculated prediction and perfect timing. The 77,000 shares I had bought at 5,200 won had now broken past 18,000. Even a simple calculation put the expected profit at well over a billion won. My projected total assets sat at 1.4 billion.
I had originally entered looking only for a short-term rebound amid shaky international conditions, but as time passed it had turned into a value investment—a bet on the brand’s growth itself. Selling now would still lock in a handsome profit, yet I felt the story was far from over. Gukmidang had only just begun establishing its foothold in the American market. I had already obtained information that a non-alcoholic lineup launch, collaborations with famous chefs, and product placement in a Hollywood drama were all scheduled for the second half of the year.
It’ll hit at least 20,000. Looking further out, 30,000 isn’t a dream either.
Far from taking profits, I was even planning to add a little more through scaled buying. Jumping into a bull run was risky, but conviction and confidence were what moved me.
The crypto side was growing by the day as well. Assets that had once been 400 million had already surpassed 800 million. My approach remained much the same, yet the returns had surged. Part of it was my occasional participation, but Junseok’s scalping skill was improving steadily. Whether it was growing trust in the lists I gave him or something else, he had started trading more aggressively and developed a knack for spotting anything off immediately. Purely in terms of “feel,” he was already better than me.
Combined, my stock and crypto holdings now exceeded 2.2 billion. The timing to buy a building back in my hometown was drawing near. I wasn’t going to purchase one this instant, but it was time to start looking. That was why I planned to head down over the weekend and inspect places in person. Checking online and judging with your own eyes were two very different things. If time allowed, I should also stop by and see Mother for a bit.
Meanwhile, work at the company was progressing smoothly. The moment filming wrapped, Han Yojung headed straight back to the United States. Her schedule had slipped, so she left without even a proper farewell. Fortunately, this time she said nothing to me.
The Home AI project was fully prepared; only commercialization remained. And the pre-launch Home AI commercial had been a massive hit. Contrary to some executives’ worries that it would lean too heavily on Han Yojung’s name value, the moment the ad dropped, reactions exploded across every broadcast medium, every SNS platform, and every online community.
The concept—“A home that understands me”—was both deeply emotional and practical, and Han Yojung’s natural everyday acting delivered the message perfectly. Among the flood of comments were lines like these:
Similar remarks stretched on and on. Viral marketing hit 100 percent conversion a full month ahead of schedule. The pre-order site crashed on day one, and even before the department-store launch a long VIP advance-order list had already formed. The atmosphere inside the company was electric. Everyone could feel this project was headed for massive success.
Then payday arrived. When I opened the pay stub I almost doubted my eyes. Base salary plus performance bonus—total deposit: 10.3 million won. All of it the result of results… no, of skill. After holding on and pushing through, the outcomes were finally showing. Stocks, crypto, and the job—everything was drawing an upward curve in the same direction, and the speed at which money was stacking up was growing steeper by the day.
Saturday morning. I left the house early to head home. I didn’t bother telling my younger sibling. If I mentioned it they would definitely insist on tagging along, and on a rare day off it seemed better to let them rest properly.
On the way to the terminal I kept trading messages with Bitna.
That was the last message from me. No reply after that. Left on read, no less.
“Sigh.”
A sigh slipped out before I knew it. I hadn’t realized she could be this stubborn. Once she decided she wanted something, she wouldn’t rest until she got it. Not that I disliked it—I just worried.
“Guess it’s time to go.”
Trading messages had eaten up the time; departure was almost here. I was about to board when I noticed people standing still, no longer moving forward.
Something happening inside?
I stepped up onto the bus platform and looked in.
“Could you pull the seatback up just a little, please?”
The driver standing at the entrance spoke politely. Looking closer, a woman seated roughly in the middle of the second row had reclined her seat as far as it would go, practically lying flat. She was fairly large, so the space was completely filled. The elderly man behind her couldn’t move an inch.
Anyone could see it was pure inconvenience. Yet she looked completely unbothered.
“No. I can’t. Just because the person behind me is uncomfortable doesn’t mean I have to be uncomfortable instead~”
“Ma’am, the elder is uncomfortable. You can’t do this.”
“What, is age some kind of rank…? Ridiculous…”
She clicked her tongue as if the whole thing were absurd. The driver was left speechless. A passenger who had been watching finally couldn’t hold back and stepped in.
“Miss, the person behind you is uncomfortable. Please raise the seatback.”
“Why? It’s made to recline this far, so what’s the problem?”
“Ha…”
When she snapped back sharply, the passenger grimaced and shook his head. The driver tried again, speaking calmly.
“You’re inconveniencing others, so please show a little consideration. Freedom only counts as freedom when it doesn’t harm someone else.”
“If I do that, then I’m the one being inconvenienced.”
“Would you like me to switch seats for you? You look a bit uncomfortable yourself.”
“Why should I? I’m not the one who’s uncomfortable—the person behind me is.”
She didn’t yield a single word. The driver’s voice began to rise; he was clearly getting angry.
“Why don’t you try sitting behind for a second? See how uncomfortable it is. Put yourself in their shoes.”
“Why should I put myself in anyone’s shoes? Why do I have to?”
“Is this a bed? Is this your bedroom? This is too much. Seriously.”
The grandmother sitting beside the elderly man finally exploded at the woman’s brazenness. Still the woman refused to back down.
“If it’s that uncomfortable, take a taxi.”
“You take one.”
“Hilarious. You take one.”
When the angry grandmother switched to informal speech, the woman fired right back in the same register. At last the grandfather who had been enduring everything in silence spoke up.
“Hey, young lady. Keep your voice down. You’ve done nothing right.”
“Why don’t you control your wife instead?”
“What? You little…”
The grandfather’s face flushed red; the corners of his eyes trembled.
“What are you gonna do about it?”
“Sir, please hold back. I’ll switch seats for you. Miss, even so, the informal speech…”
The driver quickly stepped between them. The woman kept firing off rude remarks.
“She started the informal speech first~”
“Don’t you have parents?”
“Do you?”
She snapped back at the grandmother again.
“Ha! Unbelievable.”
The grandmother shook her head in disbelief. The woman simply reclined even further, put on her headset as if declaring the conversation over, and ignored everyone. In the end the elderly couple, with the driver’s help, managed to squeeze out of their seats and move to the back.
Only then did I board and check my seat. Front row. Directly behind me sat the problem woman. I sat down at once and reclined my own seat as far as it would go.
Rrrrrrk—
“Kyaa!”
She let out a short scream of surprise. The seat had dropped completely, pinning her so she couldn’t even sit up.
“Are you kidding me right now? You scared me! Raise the seatback right now!”
She yanked off her headset and shrieked. I just stared at her and answered flatly.
“Where’s that dog barking from?”
Talking to a piece of work like this was pure energy waste. Nothing would get through anyway.
“Wh-what did you just say?”
I ignored her and settled comfortably against the reclined backrest. Her muttering continued afterward, but I tuned it out cleanly. She couldn’t protest too loudly either—after all, she had started this mess herself. A simple apology would have ended everything, yet she had dug in her heels to the bitter end.
The bus finally pulled out. After nearly two quiet hours it stopped briefly at a rest area. And that was where the real problem appeared.
The entitled woman’s face had gone paper-white. She was shifting her feet, looking desperate. Apparently she needed the restroom, but her size made it impossible to climb out of the seat.
“Ugh…”
Rest stop time was fifteen minutes. Five had already passed. Unable to hold it any longer, she finally spoke to me.
“Excuse me… I really need the bathroom… Could you raise the seatback, please?”
I deliberately rose slowly and turned to look at her. Cold sweat beaded on her face; her expression was pure misery.
“I’ll raise it—if you make me one promise.”
“What?”
“When you come back, admit you were wrong, go to that elderly couple, and apologize properly. Then I’ll raise it.”
“…”
At my words she hung her head and said nothing. She bit her lip, squeezed her eyes shut, then lifted her face again.
“…Okay. I’ll apologize. I was already feeling bad about it anyway.”
“Then do that.”
I raised the seatback. Looking as if she had been given a second chance at life, she grabbed her handbag and bolted off the bus. She must have been truly desperate.
A short while later she returned, approached the elderly couple in the back, hesitated for a long moment, then finally stepped forward carefully and bowed her head.
“Um… I’m sorry about earlier. I think I overreacted. I’d been having a rough morning… and once I was the one stuck, it really was uncomfortable.”
She kept her head lowered for a long time. The earlier arrogance was nowhere to be found. The grandmother and grandfather glanced at each other, then quietly nodded.
“It’s fine. Young people can be like that. Just show a little more consideration next time.”
“It’s all right. Go on now. And take care of your health.”
The grandmother spoke calmly; the grandfather waved a hand lightly.
“Yes. Thank you so much for understanding. I’m really sorry. Truly.”
She let out a breath of relief and returned to her seat. Then she glanced at me and raised her own seatback. I didn’t look at her again. I simply gazed out the window, lost in various thoughts.
Buzz. Buzz-buzz. Buzzzz!
Just then my phone started vibrating one after another.