One More Drink, Shall We?
“Hyung-nim, I think Jun-ho is a bit startled. Well, I was shocked too when I first heard you were a third-generation heir to the Kangho Group.”
The coach was right. While the Kangho Group wasn’t one of the top ten massive conglomerates in Korea, it was still a formidable mid-sized enterprise with assets well over five trillion won. Anyone would treat a third-generation heir of such a company like royalty, and it was only natural to be surprised when meeting one in person.
“Ugh, stop saying stuff like that. I’m just a cast-off who got pushed out of the succession line anyway. It’s a relief I at least got the food and resort divisions. If not for that, I wouldn’t even be able to sponsor you guys.”
“Hmm. It’s certainly a misfortune for you, Baek-ho, but it’s a godsend for us.”
“What? Hey, this hyung is really something. With the resort already going under because of COVID, do you want me to cut your sponsorship right now?”
“Aigoo~ Why is our Kang Baek-ho, the pride of the Kangho Group, the pride of our gym, and my personal pride, acting like this again? Come on, you’re here after such a long time, why don’t you hit the mitts? I’ll hold them for you.”
As the head coach mimicked holding mitts and took a stance, Kang Baek-ho chuckled.
“Forget it. I came for the year-end party anyway, so let’s go get something to eat. Let’s see, have the quarantine rules loosened up a bit? How many people are allowed these days?”
At Kang Baek-ho’s question, a young woman among his suited attendants answered calmly.
“Up to eight people are allowed in one room. How many people will be going?”
“Hyung, how many are going? Oh, Jun-ho-ssi, you should come too. I’m not the type of person who shows up every day. You’re lucky today, Jun-ho-ssi.”
“Yes? Oh, yes. Thank you.”
Jun-ho nodded, caught off guard. But inwardly, he thought, ‘This is actually good.’ Whether it was a twist of fate or not, it was a situation with no downsides. In fact, it was a golden opportunity.
‘If you just cross the river from Namyangju, you’re right in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do. Kang Baek-ho is the man who leads the largest survivor faction there.’
And it wasn’t just a ‘group’—it was an understatement to call it that. He was a man who had led thousands of people. Maybe even tens of thousands. In other words, he was a ‘ruler’ who possessed everything needed for a large number of people to survive in the apocalypse: food, water, electricity, equipment, and facilities.
For Jun-ho, who was planning to build a shelter in Namyangju, he had to learn more about this man at any cost. At the very least, it was best to figure out what kind of person he was.
“Alright, let’s go. My treat for once.”
Although he clearly exuded the elegance of a third-generation chaebol, he wasn’t the arrogant, cold-hearted tycoon often seen in movies or dramas. Jun-ho quietly followed Kang Baek-ho, who had a clean-cut impression and a refreshingly easygoing personality.
“Let’s see. A whole Hanwoo cow? What is this?”
“It’s a collection of 200 grams of every cut. It’s 1.2 kilograms in total.”
The owner of the Hanwoo barbecue restaurant greeted Kang Baek-ho with a bright face. It was no wonder she was happy; a group of over ten well-built men had taken two private rooms in a restaurant that had been quiet due to the pandemic.
“Is that so? Then put four of these in each room for now. As for alcohol… everyone has to train tomorrow, so just give us two bottles of soju and beer for this room only. And meals and drinks for everyone else.”
“Yes, understood. I’ll have it ready right away.”
As the first order exceeded a million won, the owner’s mouth curled up to her ears. Seeing this, the head coach said with an apologetic expression.
“Representative Kang, this place is a bit expensive, we could have just gone to the pork galbi place we always go to. That place is good too.”
“Forget it. I haven’t been here in a while, so I should at least feed you guys some Hanwoo. Even if I am a cast-off, I’m still a third-generation chaebol. I ate Hanwoo yesterday too! Huh? And I went to a hotel sauna!”
As Kang Baek-ho playfully mimicked a famous movie line, his girlfriend giggled and tapped his shoulder.
“Puh-hit! Oh, oppa, you’re really crazy.”
“Calling your boyfriend crazy? Our Young-mi, you’ve grown up quite a bit…”
“I told you to call me Somi. There are people around.”
“Your real name is on Wikipedia. I’m sure all of Korea knows it.”
“Tsk.”
She, who was pouting, was an actress who used to be a fairly successful girl group member. She was a well-known celebrity—Jun-ho had even seen her on TV a few times—but unlike her glamorous appearance, she was easygoing and unpretentious, blending in easily with the people at the gym.
However, Jun-ho’s gaze remained fixed on Kang Baek-ho.
‘Kang Baek-ho. So far, he’s just… a decent guy?’
Jun-ho hadn’t known him well at all. He only knew that after the apocalypse, he had led one of the most prominent factions in Gwangju—no, in the entire capital region. He knew nothing about his personality or character. But the Kang Baek-ho he met in person today seemed much better than he had imagined.
He had the ease and boss-like quality of a third-generation chaebol, but he didn’t feel unpleasantly arrogant. He called himself a ‘cast-off,’ but that was only within the Kangho Group’s owner family; in the context of Korean society as a whole, he was clearly in the top 0.1% of the elite. The fact that such a person could naturally mingle with mixed martial arts fighters, regardless of being a sponsor, couldn’t be explained by money alone.
The young, hot-blooded fighters wouldn’t put up with a foul-tempered, arrogant person for years, even if he were a chaebol heir.
“Hyung, don’t push yourself too hard, just drink some juice. You’re not even a big drinker.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s not just anyone, it’s our Representative Kang… *hic*… it’s been a while, so let’s drink until we drop today.”
The head coach, who rarely touched alcohol, was already flushed from a single bottle of soju. Even then, as he reached to pour more into his glass, Kang Baek-ho waved his hand to stop him.
“Oh, this guy is doing it again. Coach Taeyong, take the head coach out for a bit.”
“Yes, Hyung-nim! Yu-chan hyung-nim, let’s go out and get some fresh air?”
“Oh, I’m fine… hey, hey…”
The head coach stood up, feigning resistance as he was helped out by the coach.
“I’ll just sober up and come right back, so Representative Kang, don’t go anywhere. You hear me?”
“I got it, I got it. Hurry up and sober up.”
As he said this, Kang Baek-ho signaled to the attendant who had been eating quietly at the end of the table. The calm-looking female attendant put down her chopsticks and followed the head coach and the coach. It seemed she was going to quietly send the drunken head coach home.
‘He’s a third-generation chaebol, but he’s also considerate…’
Jun-ho nodded inwardly. Kang Baek-ho was a pretty decent person the more he saw of him. Of course, it was too early to judge someone he had only known for an hour, but at least his impression so far was that he was a ‘decent person’ by any standard, regardless of Jun-ho’s personal preferences.
“Ah, now that the old man who retired is gone, there’s no one left to drink with me.”
As Kang Baek-ho looked around, the fighters gave awkward smiles. Since both were pro or semi-pro, they didn’t usually touch alcohol.
“Oppa, I’m sorry. If I didn’t have a shoot tomorrow, I’d drink with you.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. The shoot is important, why would an old boyfriend be important?”
“Oh, really, oppa~”
Kang Baek-ho, who patted the waist of Kim Young-mi, who was acting coy, suddenly turned his gaze to Jun-ho.
“Ah, Jun-ho-ssi, you’re okay with drinking, right? You’re okay, aren’t you, Jun-ho-ssi?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Good. Then let’s have a drink with me.”
As Kang Baek-ho stood up with his glass, Jun-ho quickly stood up first.
“No, I’ll come over there.”
It wasn’t because he was a third-generation chaebol. It was basic etiquette toward an elder; at around thirty-three, he was actually about ten years older than Jun-ho, in his late thirties. Jun-ho took the seat where the head coach had been sitting and picked up the soju bottle.
“Let me pour you a drink.”
“Thank you. Jun-ho-ssi, you have good manners.”
Kang Baek-ho smiled, looking at Jun-ho with meaningful eyes as he held out his glass. After receiving the soju, he poured some into Jun-ho’s glass in return.
“Cheers.”
Because of the pandemic, they didn’t clink glasses; they both raised them, toasted, and downed them in one go.
“Kuh. Nice. Soju really tastes best as soju. Here, have another one.”
“Yes.”
They filled their glasses again and continued the conversation.
“Did you eat plenty of meat?”
“Yes, thanks to you, I ate very well. Thank you.”
“I see. But you said you were an office worker? It must be hard to work and exercise at the same time.”
“I used to work at an advertising agency, but I quit a while ago. I’m taking a break right now.”
“Oh, really? Why? You’re at the age where you should be working hard.”
Jun-ho, whose social awareness—which was already decent—had grown even more during his years in the workforce, immediately caught the nuance in Kang Baek-ho’s words. The nuance of, ‘A young guy quitting his job and playing around without any perseverance?’ Jun-ho naturally brought out the answer he had prepared in anticipation of such a situation. First, with a calm expression.
“My father passed away in an accident last year.”
“Ah…”
Not only Kang Baek-ho, but the eyes of Kim Young-mi next to him wavered for a moment. Jun-ho continued without giving him a chance to choose his words.
“That was the turning point that made me want to do what I really wanted to do. I spent the last year planning and preparing while working. I quit to make it more concrete now.”
“Ah… you went through a lot. It must have been hard.”
“Hing! I’m weak to things like this. But it’s cool, Jun-ho-ssi.”
As their expressions returned to normal, Jun-ho smiled slightly.
“Not really. It’s just a matter of timing; it’s something everyone goes through once. Right now, both my younger sibling and I are living our lives vigorously.”
“Kuh! You’re a man. Come on, let’s have a drink.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, I want to drink too!”
“What do you mean, you have a shoot early tomorrow morning that’s more important than your boyfriend. You should sleep early today, right? Somi, you go in first.”
“It’s not more important than my boyfriend. Yes, I should do that. Oppa, I’ll contact you when I get home. You’re busy because it’s the end of the year, so drink in moderation and go home, okay?”
“Alright.”
His girlfriend, Kim Young-mi, also left the room with the attendants, and Jun-ho and Kang Baek-ho continued to exchange drinks while having trivial conversations. About 30 minutes passed, and everyone looked full and drowsy.
“Representative, shall we call it a night?”
“Ah, shall we? Let’s get up for now.”
As everyone stood up and left the room, the group in the room right next door also finished their meal and came out.
“Representative, I’ll pay…”
“No, no. I’ll pay for this with my personal card. The company is having a hard time, so we shouldn’t use the corporate card recklessly.”
“Yes.”
Kang Baek-ho dismissed his attendants and took out his card from his wallet to pay himself. That scene was also impressive to Jun-ho.
“Representative, thank you for the meal today!”
“Thank you! COVID is almost over, so please come to the gym often!”
“Thank you for coming despite being busy!”
As the big guys from the gym shouted their greetings all at once, the surprised gazes of passersby gathered.
“Forget it, forget it. Don’t be a nuisance and get home safely. I’m a bit busy these days, but things will get better from next year, so I’ll make time to come often. Let’s eat at a better place next year. But anyone who fights without fighting spirit gets nothing! It’s okay to lose. But do it properly! Let’s be full of fighting spirit in the new year too! You know? Like our Kangho Resort that survives tenaciously! Okay?”
“Yes-!”
The gym members, who answered loudly, left in twos and threes. Usually, they would wait until the sponsor left first, but it was an atmosphere possible because they knew what kind of person Kang Baek-ho was. And that point was also important information for Jun-ho.
‘No sense of authority, a personality that makes people around him comfortable.’
Although it wasn’t certain yet, Jun-ho could roughly guess how Kang Baek-ho had led the survivor group in Gwangju. Leadership learned as a third-generation chaebol and a manager leading two companies. He was tolerant but firm when necessary, knew how to provide clear rewards, and had good sociability, enough to approach a new, unemployed member he had met for the first time today without hesitation.
‘The title of third-generation chaebol must have played a part, but the person himself lacked nothing to be a leader in the apocalypse.’
Leading so many survivors in that harsh and brutal apocalypse was not something anyone could do. Of course, there were not a few who ruled by violence. No, there were far more of them. But Jun-ho had seen many times what the end of such groups was like. Betrayed by an insider holding a grudge, or helplessly collapsing under external attacks because of members who were passive like slaves. Most groups and factions where not only the general members but even the close aides did not truly follow the leader were like that.
‘Good. We left a good impression on each other today. Even if we meet after the apocalypse breaks out, at least we won’t be at each other’s throats from the start.’
Today was a place he had come to by chance. Even if he was a gym sponsor, how often would he see Kang Baek-ho, who would be busy as a bee managing two companies? It was highly likely that today would be the first and last time. So Jun-ho was about to leave with the others.
“Huh? Where are you going? Jun-ho-ssi, you have to have one more drink with me.”
“······???”
Kang Baek-ho, who was still perfectly fine despite having drunk almost two bottles of soju, grabbed Jun-ho.