1. My Mother-in-Law's Eldest Daughter, Reunion with My First Love Classmate.
1. My Mother-in-Law's Eldest Daughter, Reunion with My First Love Classmate.
'I haven't believed in God until now, but I am praying desperately at the top of my lungs...'
I didn't think God was a particularly trustworthy entity in my life.
No, it would be more accurate to say I lived without even having time to be conscious of God.
'If I could just save that person, I would do anything... So please...'
However, in the face of desperation that outweighed life itself, I had no choice but to seek God.
I hoped that God existed.
Because there is nothing I can do right now.
Because unless it's something transcendental, I can't reverse a medical probability that is effectively 0 percent.
[Your wish has been granted.]
Ding-a-ling!------
And I received an answer from God.
"Tae-yang, my father praises you a lot. Says you're really diligent. Doesn't seem like someone your age."
I, currently working a 5-day work week, was sitting in a cafe on a Saturday, the start of my rest, with Myeong-ho-hyung, who is four years my senior.
Yu Myeong-ho, not only my army comrade but also the son of the president of Sejin Logistics, where I work.
For reference, I am 23 years old.
"I'm glad to hear he said that. I got in using a 'friend-chance' (nepotism), so I worked hard in my own way to make sure I didn't get cursed at."
Currently, I am working as a warehouse management assistant at Sejin Logistics.
Naturally, Myeong-ho-hyung got me this job by asking his father directly.
"Maybe because it was my pick, he seemed really distrustful. Like, why would you doubt your own eldest son? Am I that unreliable of a guy?"
"I should hold my tongue since you're right in front of me."
"You little shit."
Sejin Logistics is a solid small-to-medium enterprise with a company value of around 20 billion won, and an annual revenue of 26 billion won.
Furthermore, the president, Yu Jeong-tae, has a personal net worth of 19 billion won, and Myeong-ho-hyung grew up being called 'young master.'
"I never do anything that results in a loss, you know. And my eye for people is incredibly accurate. That's why after experiencing you in the army, I thought, 'I must see this guy when we get out into society.'"
Not all 'young masters' are like that, but due to his upbringing and basic personality, Myeong-ho-hyung lacks social awareness and often acts arrogant.
He also likes to use people around him to feel a sense of superiority.
So, how do you think his army life went? I, who was a top-tier soldier in my own right, covered for him well.
It was because even though he had a significant tendency to be a pain in the ass, I didn't consider him a bad person.
Then, after discharge, he contacted me first, and when I confessed half-jokingly that I couldn't find a job, he asked his father and arranged work for me.
"The landlord asked when you'd like to have a drink with him sometime? He was kind of nudging me to pass that message along."
"His goal is to meet my father, obviously."
That's not all. Thanks to Myeong-ho-hyung, I was able to come up to Seoul alone without hesitation, having lived in the countryside.
Seoul is a place where even a semi-basement usually requires a 25 million won deposit and 400,000 won in monthly rent, right?
Myeong-ho-hyung made it so I could get the deposit down to 5 million won.
It's because the building owner owes Myeong-ho-hyung's father a lot of favors.
"I stayed there for a bit, and fuck, I felt like it was no place for a human to live."
"You can live anywhere if you have to."
In other words, he could be called a great benefactor to me.
However, as felt by that thoughtless remark he just blurted out, it can't be called a favor enjoyed for free.
Myeong-ho-hyung usually enjoys mocking me, while indulging in his lack of social awareness, freedom, and a sense of superiority.
"Anyway, what happened with you and Seon-a? Didn't work out, right?"
"How can you say that after being the one to introduce us?"
"I got it, just tell me what happened."
The main reason he calls me out every Saturday; Myeong-ho-hyung was revving up to feel a sense of superiority.
"It didn't work out. She asked me to understand her."
"Honestly, not having your own car is too much. If anything, Seon-a deliberated longer than I thought she would."
"It did seem that way."
"Heh-heh-heh! So that's why you used your vacation days to go to an orphanage? Because you had no one to meet during your vacation?"
"That has nothing to do with it. Going to the orphanage was a scheduled plan."
Min Seon-a is the same age as me and is Myeong-ho-hyung's junior.
She is the daughter of an executive at a mid-sized logistics company, and that logistics company is in a business relationship with Sejin Logistics.
According to Myeong-ho-hyung, Min Seon-a's father's net worth is 6 billion won?
But the daughter of such a house asked to be introduced to this Geum Tae-yang first.
"Having a big cock and being handsome is useless."
"Uh-huh... We're in a cafe, hyung."
"Looks just need to be decent, and in the end, it's money. Seon-a realized that for sure this time. She was still young, that girl."
Myeong-ho-hyung emphasized the importance of money while spinning his Mercedes key around.
How did the rich girl Min Seon-a find out about my existence? She found a photo taken with me while looking at hyung's social media.
"I'm actually more at ease now that it turned out this way. Whenever the three of us met, you kept digging up my flaws."
"How is that digging up flaws! It's facts and truth. If a man and woman are going to meet, they need to know each other, right? And I was complimenting you?"
Seeing Min Seon-a react to my face, it seems Myeong-ho-hyung's feelings were hurt.
So, although it's passive for him usually, he struggled to feel a sense of superiority especially when the three of us met with Min Seon-a.
For instance, he would expose my poverty by disguising it with words like frugal, simple, and realistic.
As a result, Min Seon-a came to know my situation inside out without even dating me, and as the rose-colored glasses of my looks fell off, she hesitated for about a month before effectively telling me she couldn't date me.
"Yeah, it can be heartless. Even though I'm a hyung who helped you a lot, you might think I'm being too harsh, right?"
Thus, today is the day Myeong-ho-hyung, who had scratches on his heart from losing the looks competition, enjoys the pleasure of healing his wounds with wealth in front of me.
Judging that he had enjoyed it enough, Myeong-ho-hyung began gaslighting me in a tone that suggested he was trying to smooth things over.
I know full well it's gaslighting, but what can I do? Thanks to him, I'm earning money on Seoul soil and living in a semi-basement. Am I going to flip the table?
"But looking at the big picture, you and I are in the same boat. In this undeniable class society."
"Is the lecture starting?"
Seriously, Myeong-ho-hyung's gaslighting mouth and facial acting are top-notch.
"I'll explain it more specifically. Look over there."
Myeong-ho-hyung pointed with his chin to a window seat where the sunset was slightly casting its light.
"The window seat?"
I turned my head that way, and,
"Yeah, that woman."
A female customer was sitting in the window seat.
"She's incredibly pretty."
A black-haired woman. In the window seat, a black-haired woman wearing a beige knit sweater was sitting with her legs crossed, reading a book while drinking coffee.
Her long, slightly wavy black hair flowed down naturally, and on the table sat a tablet along with two thick books, including the one she was currently reading.
"Pretty is the baseline."
Myeong-ho-hyung chuckled at my reaction.
"That's not just a pretty woman."
Then he crossed his arms as if admiring a work of art.
"If she's not just a pretty woman, is there something else?"
Naturally, I didn't understand what he meant, and,
"I mean she's a woman who has the scent of money from birth, starting with her vibe."
Myeong-ho-hyung lowered his voice as if imparting incredible information, then leaned slightly toward me and whispered.
'Scent of money from birth...?'
I couldn't deny that it was a very catchy remark.
So my focus, which I initially thought was just the start of the weekly event, started to rise.
"First, look at her clothes. It's a form-fitting knit, but it doesn't look cheap at all, right?"
As the atmosphere became engaging, Myeong-ho-hyung began to spin his full-blown analysis.
"Hmm... To my eyes, it just looks like a knit..."
To the eyes of semi-basement dweller Geum Tae-yang, it was just a knit worn by a pretty woman with an amazing body.
"That's why you couldn't even get with Seon-a."
Myeong-ho-hyung closed his eyes slightly and shook his head as if I were pathetic.
"Things like that have a different fabric cost. That's why the fit doesn't collapse even when it clings to the body like that. It's the fit of women who have truly spent money like money."
Afterward, he pointed out details with his hand, explaining why that wasn't just a knit and what it signified.
"Look at the accessories too. She's only wearing a necklace and a bracelet."
"It's simple."
"People who are truly well-off are like that. They don't plaster logos everywhere. Because they don't need to show off. Or to be precise, the thought of showing off doesn't even cross their minds."
"Ooh..."
Myeong-ho-hyung's finger pointed toward the window-seat woman's wrist and neckline.
Listening to hyung, it was clearly high-end jewelry at a glance, but it didn't give off a cluttered feeling at all.
There was zero purpose of showing off.
"And do you know what the most important thing is?"
Just as I, finally convinced, naturally nodded slightly, the black-haired woman suddenly looked out the floor-to-ceiling window and slowly stirred her coffee with a straw.
And Myeong-ho-hyung, who watched that scene with me, wore a meaningful smile.
"What is it?"
What on earth is he trying to say to act so cocky?
"Gaze direction."
No, why does just looking out the window matter?
"Why is that? Can't she just look outside like that? I did that a little while ago too."
It was so high-level that, honestly, I reacted by thinking, 'Isn't this hyung overdoing it?'
"Usually, pretty girls know they're pretty, so they are conscious of other people's gazes. They enjoy it. But she doesn't even care about people at all."
It must have been a difficult concept. According to Myeong-ho-hyung's usual lecture style, he should be looking at me as if I'm pathetic.
However, he very kindly continued to leak the secrets of heaven while keeping his gaze fixed on the woman by the window.
"That's a reaction shown by kids who have received attention as a passive trait since they were young. Receiving attention is just life for them. You can see it as them not reacting consciously because other people's gazes are so familiar, they feel like air."
Myeong-ho-hyung, muttering away, seemed slightly impressed by the woman at the window.
Because he himself has a strong arrogant tendency. I'd call it a sense of awe at seeing a being of a higher dimension than himself.
"Look at that art book too, it's not a domestic book. It's an English original."
"How can you tell that?"
"You can tell by the cover design."
"Whoa... Hyung, you're like a detective."
Myeong-ho-hyung, filled with awe, pointed at the black-haired knit woman's table with a crazed look in his eyes.
Honestly, at first, I wondered how great the information he would tell me could be, but one by one, they carried no small amount of persuasiveness, so I was secretly surprised.
I'm also the type to admit things quickly.
"Just looking at her, she gives off a 'studied abroad' vibe. Seems like an art major, and she must have stayed in London or New York for a while, right?"
Perhaps liking my compliment, Myeong-ho-hyung continued his detective game, leaning back on the chair with his arms crossed.
"Anyway, those kinds of kids are the scariest. The type that isn't conscious of being pretty. Not that they don't know, but they aren't conscious of it."
Myeong-ho-hyung, who stopped talking for about 5 seconds, added in a low voice.
"Like you said, hyung, she does seem amazing, but is it to the point of feeling fear?"
Honestly, this part felt like Myeong-ho-hyung was adding too much MSG (exaggerating).
"It means her class is different from birth. To exaggerate, she's a different species."
What I understood from Myeong-ho-hyung's words just now was, 'Myeong-ho-hyung's words, maybe they aren't an exaggeration...' It felt like she had gone beyond the realm of superiority and was on a different dimension.
I accepted it. Honestly, when I reunited with Myeong-ho-hyung in society, and when I first saw Min Seon-a, I experienced a huge gap that I couldn't reach at a glance.
"Do you get it? Even if it's not the difference between you and Seon-a, a woman of that level isn't easy for me to approach either. Because she doesn't even allow that common accidental eye contact."
Swooosh...!
My gaze right now must have definitely felt like I had accepted Myeong-ho-hyung's words.
Myeong-ho-hyung, satisfied with that look, got up from his seat, perhaps to go to the bathroom.
'To me, even Myeong-ho-hyung is a person who belongs to a different world, but if she's above that, then wow.'
I glanced back and forth between the other people in the cafe and the woman by the window.
Like Myeong-ho-hyung said, she was a woman with such an amazing aura that she didn't allow any room for approach.
However, there is just one thing that is different from what Myeong-ho-hyung said.
'It must have just been accidental eye contact, right? She's not a racehorse; she can't just keep looking straight ahead, right?'
In fact, before Myeong-ho-hyung entered the cafe, I had made eye contact with the black-haired woman by the window several times.
'What is it? Why is she looking here? Did she get offended because Myeong-ho-hyung and I were staring too blatantly a while ago?'
Furthermore, right now, while Myeong-ho-hyung has disappeared to the bathroom, her blatant gaze is piercing the side of my head.
Then eventually,
"Oh...! That woman is coming this way...?"
After Myeong-ho-hyung returned from the bathroom, she, who had been looking out the window again, suddenly started approaching our table.
It's definitely our way. Look at how even Myeong-ho-hyung can't hide his excitement through ventriloquism.
"What I said earlier, it's generally all correct, but sometimes there are exceptions. That's the spice of life. That's why there are dramatic class shifts."
"Are you saying that woman is coming because of you?"
"Then do you think she's coming because of you?"
The excited Myeong-ho-hyung gave me additional teachings.
It seems that in hyung's view, he was convinced that this out-of-spec woman was walking over for an unusual purpose.
"Excuse me,"
And actually, the top predator woman in this cafe came to our table and spoke.
"Ah, yes, what is it?"
Then Myeong-ho-hyung, who had already set his Mercedes key to be appropriately appealing, responded to her presence with a voice completely different from when he talked to me.
"No,"
However,
"Not you, this person here."
The person the top predator woman's gaze finally rested on was me.
"H-him???"
It was a clear gaze. Enough that there was no room for doubt.
Because of that, Myeong-ho-hyung was so flustered that his voice cracked.
"Me...???"
I, who had been wondering what kind of conversation would pass between Myeong-ho-hyung and the predator woman, was also wide-eyed.
But 3 seconds later, a situation occurred that would make me even wider-eyed than before.
"You're Geum Tae-yang, right? Tae-yang, don't you remember me?"
Because the predator woman said my name exactly and asked if I didn't know her.
"Well... um? I don't know...?"
I've only been in Seoul for a little over half a year without any connections, so there's no way there'd be anyone I could guess.
My answer was natural, and,
"Really? Have I changed that much?"
The predator woman, unbothered, crossed her arms as if she were about to drop a bombshell.
"It's me, Mi-na. Seo Mi-na. Don't you remember Seo Mi-na?"
It made sense.
'Seo Mi-na?????'
Seo Mi-na is,
'Ah...!!!'
Because she is my first love from high school.