Young-hoon's Arrival in Gangnam (2)
Though his temper had flared up a little, Young-hoon decided to take the high road and carry the boxes for her.
As it turned out, the box was surprisingly light.
"Huh, this isn't as heavy as I thought? What's in here, anyway?"
"Oh, just clothes and shoes."
Wait a second. Did this girl blow her entire paycheck on clothes and shoes? What was she, Imelda Marcos? (The wife of former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, who famously owned over 12,000 pairs of shoes — the poster child for luxury excess.) When he carried the box into Su-jin's room for her, she promptly shooed him out, declaring that she would tidy her own room, thank you very much.
Well, obviously you should clean your own room — were you planning to make someone else do it?
He resolved that while she was living under his roof, he was going to have to seriously rewire this girl's brain.
Once he confirmed that Su-jin had finished unpacking, Young-hoon took her out to scout the neighborhood. First things first: they needed to find where the supermarket was and which restaurants in the area actually served good food. After a modest grocery run at the nearby market, the two of them returned home and got started on dinner in earnest.
Su-jin had inherited her mother's touch in the kitchen, and years of living on her own had honed her skills considerably — she was actually a pretty decent cook. Even if she got married someday, he doubted any husband would kick her out for being hopeless in the kitchen.
The moment the dishes were done, his little sister darted off to meet her friends. Left all alone in the sprawling house, Young-hoon pulled up the real-time music chart for After Farewell.
No surprises, as expected. Number one was After Farewell, and number two was A Loving Heart.
A little while later, apparently finished with their department store event, the Five Girls members began flooding his KakaoTalk.
Ga-eun's and Su-min's texts were practically identical every single day. Hye-in always checked in on how he was doing, while Joo-yeon and Ha-yeon varied from day to day.
Once the KakaoTalk marathon with Five Girls was over, Young-hoon sank deep into thought in a chair in his study. An incredible amount had happened in just the past month or two.
First, he had received the full transfer of knowledge from the Archmage Hains and written songs for Five Girls. Thanks to that, the group had transformed from a forgotten, failing act into one running at the very top of the popularity charts, and Young-hoon had somehow stumbled into becoming the largest shareholder of Girin Entertainment. Along the way, he had also brewed and sold the Magic Additive, turning himself into a man worth well over a hundred billion won.
He even had the VVIPs he'd met back then — all of them thriving now — applying pressure that was pressure in name only, practically demanding he quit LK Electronics on the spot.
The truth was, Young-hoon had never had any intention, ever, of burying his bones at LK Electronics. His bank account already held the staggering sum of 1.3 trillion won. That money alone would keep him fed and housed for the rest of his life.
And yet he carried a responsibility — a duty, inherited in service of the Archmage Hains's legacy, to make this world a more joyful and delightful place. Which meant it was time to start thinking seriously about what he would do once he actually quit the company.
Having sorted through his thoughts, Young-hoon began writing out a concrete plan for his future business ventures on a notepad.
There wasn't much to write. Less than ten minutes had passed.
Stuck wondering what to do next, he decided to transcribe the drama script. He copied it out through episode fifteen and checked the time — it was nearly midnight.
And Su-jin still wasn't home. He fired off a text ordering her to come home immediately. She replied that she'd be right there, but really — was this a brother's heart or a father's heart? Coming home late at night on her very first day after moving in. His resolve to rewire that girl's brain hardened all over again.
Only after confirming that Su-jin had made it home did he finally lie down for the night. Perhaps because it was his first night in the new house, sleep wouldn't come easily. Thinking about living in this big house set his heart racing with excitement. At some point, his eyes drifted shut.
And just like that, another day had passed.
Sunday.
Still unaccustomed to the new place, Young-hoon woke early. Sunday was supposed to be for sleeping in, but when he glanced at the clock, it was just past seven. No matter how he tried, sleep wouldn't return.
He opened his door and stepped out into the living room, where Su-jin was already up and about.
"Hey there, sister. What's this? You, up this early on a Sunday?"
"Look who's talking, sleepypants. And on a Sunday holiday, no less."
The instant he heard Su-jin's sarcastic jab, Young-hoon fell into grave deliberation. Did I adopt the wrong sister here? At this rate, I'm going to end up with a boss instead of a little sister……
"Hey, when have I ever slept that much? Anyway, where are you off to this early?"
"Nurses don't get proper days off. Three rotating shifts. Today's a workday for me. But honestly? Not bad. Slept in a nice house on a nice bed, and my body feels great."
"Glad to hear it. So when do you get off?"
"Early tomorrow morning. Don't wait up — just go to sleep first. I'll let myself in."
"Me? Wait up for you at dawn? You don't know your brother at all. Not even a little."
That remark seemed to have stung her, because Su-jin looked a little sulky.
"Fine, fine, I get it! I'm heading to work now. You go back to sleep, you sleepyhead. Bleh!"
Su-jin flung open the door and darted out like a runaway.
"Aigoo, that little —! Are you a child or what?!"
With Su-jin gone to work, the entire house fell into dead silence.
With nothing to do, Young-hoon turned on the TV. Honestly, aside from sports, he'd never cared much for television — his old one-room apartment hadn't even owned one, after all. But whether it was some lingering influence of the Archmage Hains, these days he found himself craving dramas and music.
He watched a cable drama for a good long while. Boring. He flipped the channel to a music program. The singer couldn't sing. He flipped again to sports.
Oh, now this was good? It was a rebroadcast of last night's Premier League match — Tottenham versus Arsenal. And Tottenham had Young-hoon's hometown little brother, Song Heung-min, playing for them. In form as he'd been lately, he was in the starting lineup.
Thrilling moment after thrilling moment unfolded on screen, and Young-hoon became so absorbed in the broadcast that he lost all track of time. Near the end of the first half, Song Heung-min took a pass from Dele Alli and buried it in the net. One to nothing.
Yes! Yes! About ten minutes into the second half, Heung-min collected a pass from Harry Kane and connected again. Another goal — a multi-goal performance! Two to nil, and they were cruising.
Then, about twenty minutes into the second half, that manager went and subbed Song Heung-min out. Young-hoon couldn't for the life of him understand why the man kept yanking Heung-min off the pitch. On the form he'd shown today, a hat trick had been well within reach. He suddenly hated that bulldog-faced manager with a passion.
Arsenal pulled one back, and the match ended two to one. Song Heung-min was going to be Man of the Match today, no question about it.
Young-hoon sat back, satisfied, having watched a genuinely exciting match for the first time in ages. Rebroadcast or not, it had been full of thrills — and with Heung-min scoring twice, his spirits were all the higher.
Then, out of nowhere, he found himself curious about Song Heung-min's weekly wage. He looked it up online: depending on the source, it came to roughly 100 million won a week. Which worked out to over 5 billion won a year.
What an absolute monster. Among players from Korea, that was the highest figure anywhere, apart from Major League Baseball's Choo Shin-soo. And the kicker was — the kid wasn't even old.
When the fervent TV-watching session finally ended, crushing fatigue swept over him. He had nothing to do anyway, so he figured he'd just get some more sleep. Shuffling to the bedroom like a zombie, he climbed into bed and closed his eyes. Before long, Young-hoon had drifted off.
Chairman Jang woke late yet again at Ji-hye's place. Yesterday, of course, had been another fiercely contested match. Ji-hye's stamina had improved so much lately that she could now hold out through extra time — though the penalty shootout was still beyond her. Utterly wrecked, she lay sprawled across the bed, completely out cold.
Perhaps I ought to feed her another round of herbal tonics, he mused. And since he thought of those tonics as being for his own benefit rather than Ji-hye's, they hardly felt like a waste of money. Of course, that didn't mean he had any intention of giving her the Elixir — not at 2 billion won a bottle. That Elixir was for him alone; the very thought of sharing it with anyone else never once crossed his mind.
Suddenly, he grew curious about whether Young-hoon had settled into the new house well. But at his age, making the first phone call was downright embarrassing. If Secretary Byun were around, he'd have ordered the man to make the call for him — but even that fellow deserved his days off.
Left with no choice, he decided he'd have to sweet-talk that Choi fellow instead.
Chairman Choi, too, rose late at his young lover's home. Another ferocious match had unfolded the night before. He himself hadn't broken a sweat, but the young lover's stamina apparently couldn't keep up — she kept collapsing midway through the bout. And even then, she threw a tantrum the moment he so much as mentioned seeing another lover, absolutely refusing to allow it.
Well, it's not as if I haven't considered looking for another one. He'd handed her some pocket money a few days ago to go shopping at the department store, and that seemed to have done the trick. And perhaps because he watered her so often, her beauty had bloomed considerably of late. Is this another effect of the Elixir too? Yes! I've just discovered yet another benefit. Young-hoon ought to compliment me for this. Hehehehe~
Just then, his phone rang — Chairman Jang's number on the screen. Talking to that Jang character demanded his full attention; he'd been burned by this man before, caught off guard mid-"Huh?" more than once. And a call on a holiday like today demanded double the caution.
"What's this, calling me on a Sunday?"
"What's with the formalities? Since when have we had Sundays? Anyway, where are you? Home?"
"Are you at home? Ask a real question, you rascal!"
"Fair enough. Someone has to verify the Elixir's effects, after all."
"Cut the nonsense. What do you want?"
"Nothing in particular. Just figured if you were bored, we could grab lunch with our benefactor."
"I do happen to have something special scheduled, but if it's a meal with our benefactor, everything else gets set aside, obviously."
"That 'something special' of yours can wait until evening, can't it?"
"Fine, fine. I'll schedule it for evening. Where do I go?"
"Call Young-hoon yourself and bring him to my place."
"Why your place of all spots? Can't we go to mine?"
Chairman Choi snapped up Chairman Jang's bait without a second thought.
"Oh? Well then, no helping it. Your place it is. Twelve o'clock work for you? You call Young-hoon."
"Huh? …I get the distinct feeling I've been played again… No helping it, I suppose. I'll make the call."
And so, time and time again, Chairman Choi found himself on the losing end against Chairman Jang.