The Cousin Couple Storms Gangnam
"Mr. Kim, did you get home safely?"
"Yes, I did. Though I have to ask — what brings a call at this hour? Weren't we supposed to meet next Thursday?"
"That was the plan, but… an important guest is arriving from China next Wednesday, and it seems they have an interest in Five Girls. I'd like to move the meeting up a bit, to around Tuesday next week. Would that be possible?"
"I don't have anything scheduled for Tuesday, so if that works for you, I'll make myself available. President Lee Jae-man should come along as well, shouldn't he?"
"I'll speak with President Lee about it myself."
"Then please send me the time and place. Evening would be preferable, if possible. I'm busy, so I'll leave it there."
Hye-yoon was fuming at his attitude.
Did he simply have no interest in her? He always treated her with the same brisk, businesslike tone, and the more he did, the more her pride as a woman took a bruising. Today was no different. She wanted to keep the conversation going a little longer, but something was apparently so urgent that he'd hung up before she could get another word in.
Oh, so he thinks I'm the one with time to spare? If anything, she was the busier one of the two. Always playing the busy man.
Still, the thought of seeing his face next Tuesday offered her some small consolation.
Young-hoon, for his part, wasn't in a comfortable position either. He'd submitted the bid results report and hoped to finally catch his breath — but having lost money two days ago, he was now under orders to mount a rematch, with the Chairman demanding he hurry over, starting an hour ago.
For all that he'd never noticed before, Chairman Choi apparently held a grudge like no one's business.
Deep down, Young-hoon wanted nothing more than to hand the 40,000 won he'd taken off the old man right back to him. But the world of competition is a merciless place. And so it was decided: a rematch at the freshwater spicy fish stew restaurant where they'd had lunch two days earlier, at one o'clock in the afternoon.
His teammates invited him to grab lunch together, but he pleaded a prior engagement and bolted for the stew house near Paldang Dam. Not long after he arrived, the two chairmen appeared — and, somewhat surprisingly, Director Park stepped out of the car with them.
"Director Park, are you playing as well?"
Before the Director could answer, Chairman Choi jumped in. "The three of us tried it the other day and it didn't work out. So I brought in a ringer."
"Wait — the Director knows how to play Go-Stop?"
"Don't even ask. The man's a genuine card shark. You'll find out soon enough."
"No way. Doctors are busy enough as it is — when would he have had time to learn Go-Stop?"
They ordered a large freshwater spicy fish stew for the table, and the four of them dove straight into battle. Today's stakes for the meal: over 50,000 won.
A blood-spattering war broke out between the players. They broke for thirty minutes to eat, then plunged into the second half. Director Park played at nearly professional-shark level, and the game ran until four in the afternoon — at which point, once again, Chairman Choi was the one stuck paying for the meal.
The hand that reached for the bill was trembling. Watching a man worth over five trillion won shake over a mere 50,000-won tab, Young-hoon figured the old man must have been seriously stung. This was the moment to keep his mouth shut, for the sake of his own well-being.
Chairman Choi declared he'd be honing his skills and proposed a return match early next week. Young-hoon supposed he had no choice but to oblige. It was just 50,000 won — he could afford to lose it, so why was it so impossible to lose it graciously at a Go-Stop table? Tsk.
By the time Young-hoon got back to the office, it was pushing five. The team members were bustling about, preparing documents for the Supply Audit. Park Dae-ri, looking mysteriously sour about something, came over to needle him.
"Hey, Assistant Manager Kim. You must have it easy, huh? Ran off on a field trip and everything."
"Me? I've only got three cases. I'd say I'm freer than you. Weren't you complaining you didn't have many either?"
"I've only got nine over 100 million won — but a few more with high discount rates, so sixteen total. And you're sitting there with three?"
"Two with Namseoul Distribution, one with Seoul Distribution. For one of them, the university install, I went out to the site myself. Got photos of everything. The other's a military base installation, and the Seoul Distribution one is a resort install up in Pyeongchang, Gangwon. Simple, right?"
"Must be nice. I can't even confirm which sites half my sixteen are installed at. If you've got nothing to do, how about giving me a hand?"
"Ooh~ no. Never. But hey… is Deputy General Manager Cho out on field duty?"
"He had lunch with Managing Director Kim, came back, dozed off for a bit, and headed out again. He told Manager Kim he was off to his training — I'd bet he's calling it a day out in the field."
"Hmm. Maybe I'll try leaving on time today myself."
"Assistant Manager Kim! Team 2 wants a 4-on-4 billiards match — you in? We'll head out around six thirty."
"Really? Then I'll just finish the supply documents by then. If I wrap everything up today, what am I supposed to do next week? Muahaha!"
"Ugh, what an insufferable human being."
Past six, the players began hurriedly packing up to leave. At six thirty sharp, Teams 2 and 3 gathered their things and headed to the billiard hall near the office. They ordered jajangmyeon with sweet and sour pork on the side and played until ten. Thanks once again to Jinman, Team 3's ace, Team 2 got stuck covering both the food and the table fees — their second straight defeat, following the one two weeks ago.
Team 2 went home grinding their teeth, while Team 3 split off after a quick round of draft beer at a nearby bar.
When Young-hoon walked in, he found Soo-jin sprawled across the living room sofa with the TV still on. She must have dozed off from sheer exhaustion.
"Hey, Kim Soo-jin. If you're tired, go to bed in your room. Don't lie there."
Soo-jin mumbled a reply in a half-asleep voice. "I was gonna go in when you got home. You're here now, so I'm going to bed. Night, oppa."
"Fine. You working tomorrow?"
"Nope. Why? Oh right — Hee-joo unni's moving in tomorrow."
"Right, so stay home. Don't go anywhere."
"Okay, okay. I'm off to bed."
Once Soo-jin headed to her room, Young-hoon washed up quickly and went into the study, booting up his PC.
Whatever happens this week, I have to transcribe the drama script through episode 20. Tonight I'll finish through episode 16 before I sleep.
Young-hoon focused his mind and copied down the drama script left behind by the Archmage Hains onto his PC. By the time he reached his target of episode 16, it was somehow already one in the morning. He went back to his room and collapsed onto his bed.
And just like that, another day is gone.
Young-hoon woke to Soo-jin's voice calling from outside his door.
"Big oppa, get up. I said get up!"
He sat up and checked his phone. Amazingly, the clock read eleven. He'd finally had a proper night's sleep for the first time in ages.
He opened his door and stepped into the living room, and Soo-jin delivered her verdict. "Who on earth sleeps until eleven? What are you, a sloth?"
"I always sleep in on weekends. Why are you waking me up in a panic?"
"Hee-joo unni says they'll be here any minute. You have to come down."
"Really? Why is unni moving in so early, anyway? I couldn't even sleep."
You're the abnormal one, big oppa. Just go wash your face."
Young-hoon had barely finished washing up when the call came — Hee-joo's family had arrived. Heading down to the third floor, he found the movers bustling about in full swing. It was a fully furnished villa, so they'd supposedly thrown out all their household goods before coming, but there was still a considerable amount of stuff. Perhaps caught up in the chaos, the kids greeted their uncle and aunt with more enthusiasm than they showed their own parents.
"Brother-in-law, that's quite a bit of luggage you've got there."
"Well, we weeded out most of it, but there's still plenty. Mostly books and clothes. Should be done in an hour. When we finish, let's order jajangmyeon."
"Anything else, brother-in-law? I had jajangmyeon just last night."
At that, his brother-in-law flashed a sly smile and asked, ever so subtly, "Shall I tell your sister to grill up some meat, then? With a glass of wine to go with it?"
"Has it worn off already?"
"Not at all. I'm still a fortress of stamina. Ask your sister if you don't believe me."
"Then I can just pick up wine at the supermarket?"
"Why bother buying? Remember that bottle you stashed away for me? Let's crack it open."
"Brother-in-law, you know exactly how much a bottle of that costs. And you still want to open it?"
"Hmm, hearing it put that way does give me pause. If we sold it to a VVIP, they'd be naming their price."
While the two of them traded jabs, the move finished up. Once the movers cleared out, Hee-joo came over to ask about the menu.
"Young-hoon, what do you want for lunch? The move's done, so jajangmyeon it is, right?"
"Honey, our brother-in-law here says he's sick of jajangmyeon — had it last night. So how about grilling some meat?"
"Really?! If Young-hoon wants it, I'll grill. Sounds like we're drinking too, then?"
"Unni, is brother-in-law really not up to snuff these days?"
"It's not that, it's just that the time keeps getting shorter. In the beginning he'd go five hours without a wobble, but these days it's more like two or three. When it's over, I can't help feeling a little unsatisfied."
"Isn't two or three hours already a lot? You trying to kill my brother-in-law?"
"Kill him? If he died, I'd be the one dead. Enough chatter — are you drinking or not?"
"Whew, fine. You win. I'll open a bottle."
"Hey, who's one bottle for? Soo-jin's here too — we need at least two."
"Brother-in-law, say something. Tell her how much a bottle of this wine costs."
"Even if I told her, your sister would never believe it. So you'll just have to be the generous one."
Soo-jin, who'd been playing with the kids, wandered over. "Why are you grilling meat instead of ordering jajangmyeon for lunch? Can't we just have jajangmyeon?"
"Sweetie, your oppa says he doesn't want noodles. He's absolutely dying for meat, apparently."
"Unni, when did I ever say that! That's you and brother-in-law who want it. And let's be honest — the meat isn't really the point, is it?"
Soo-jin stared at the couple and Young-hoon, clearly failing to see the point. Hee-joo, giddy about something or other, started humming as she fired up the grill, while Young-hoon stopped by his own apartment and came back down with two bottles of wine.
They stuffed the kids full of grilled meat first and sent them off to their room, and then the four of them launched into a full-blown drinking session disguised as lunch.
One sip in, Soo-jin nearly fell off her chair. It was the most delicious wine she'd had in her entire life. The other three, already well acquainted with its charms, could only watch with mild amusement.
"Ahh~ so that's why unni wanted to grill meat! But big oppa, where did you get alcohol this incredible?"
"Don't ask. It upsets my stomach. If you knew what this bottle's worth, you'd be too scared to drink it. So don't ask — just drink."
"That's right, Soo-jin. Don't go ruffling your brother-in-law's feathers. Just enjoy the wine."
"Exactly, Soo-jin. Let's just drink."
"Hmph, you're all ganging up on me. What did I say that was so wrong?"
Perhaps feeling an odd swell of frustration, Soo-jin started gulping the wine down in great swigs, and the rest of them matched her drink for drink. In no time, both bottles were empty, and brother-in-law hauled out two bottles of whiskey he'd been keeping in reserve.
The boozy session rolled on, and eventually Young-hoon hauled the wine-drunk Soo-jin back to their apartment. Having deposited his sister on her bed with all the grace of a sack of laundry, he staggered to his own room and crashed.
Hee-joo and her husband would be sneaking off for some boom-chika-wow-wow the moment the kids' eyes were elsewhere. Must be nice, he thought idly — and with that, PD Shin Hye-yoon's face drifted into his mind.
She'd been so frosty with him lately, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why.
By the time he woke from his deep nap, it was the middle of the night. Soo-jin was nowhere to be seen. Wandering out to the living room, he found a memo: she'd gone in for her night shift.
Seriously, this kid's heading to work after drinking that much? I guess the taste for liquor runs in the family.
Young-hoon made do with the side dishes Soo-jin had left out, then threw himself into the script with everything he had. Just a little more and episode 20 would be complete. He was sure he could finish it by tomorrow at the latest.
Young-hoon went to bed with an easy mind.