Acquisition and Exploitation (1)

"Taewoong…… What—what is this?"

"What?"

"……In this bank account……"

Friday. The moment class ended and I stepped out of the classroom, Jiwoong was waiting for me. His face had gone completely pale. He thrust his smartphone straight in front of my face.

"Five hundred million just got deposited into the account?"

"……D-did you put that in?"

"Me? Hahaha. I'm a Sabaeja. Where would I get money like that?"

"Then…… who's Jo Huijeong?"

"Oh Seora's mom."

"Oh Seora??"

Jiwoong's expression was pure incomprehension.

After regular classes ended, I checked my own account—five hundred million had been deposited there as well. Sensing that things were about to blow, I'd secured Jiwoong's grandmother's account toward the end of lunch period.

"It's your grandmother's account, right?"

"Yeah. She's elderly, so I keep it. This phone is under her name too."

Attorney Kim Jeongryul worked with astonishing speed. I'd asked him to process the deposit quickly, and the money was confirmed the moment class ended. I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even commissioned him to resolve the tax issues on top of the settlement agreement.

"That year you put up with everything. Consider it your compensation."

"What are you talking about……"

"Oh Seora is going to stay quiet from now on. So after midterms, let's go look at a place in Sillim-dong."

"Sillim-dong?"

"You're getting into Seoguk University."

I said it as if it were already decided.

"Me?"

"Trust me. Living right in front of campus is the best."

"O-okay."

"You can do mobile banking?"

"Yeah. The certificate's installed."

"What's the limit?"

"I unlocked it…… up to a billion."

"I'll send you the account. Lend me that money for just a week."

"Huh??"

The request to borrow it for a week threw Jiwoong completely. Of course it did—five hundred million had just landed in my account too. Asking to borrow money on top of that would naturally seem strange.

"You don't trust me?"

Park Jiwoong looked at me steadily, expressionless. If he refused here, his own path to recovery would end right about now. Five hundred million wasn't a small sum. But as seed money for becoming a good prosecutor someday, it was nowhere near enough.

A clean, upright prosecutor?

To hell with that.

You needed money to withstand every kind of temptation! And the opportunity to secure that capital was excellent right now. Our circumstances weren't the same, but this was a chance to multiply it several times over.

"A-alright. I don't need this much money anyway."

Jiwoong repaid me with trust. The scale of the goodwill he showed so readily was no small thing. No wonder he'd gone on to become the gang boss who represented the MZ generation.

"Leave five million and send the rest. Buy some beef for you and your grandmother. Hanwoo."

"R-really?"

At the word Hanwoo, Jiwoong's eyes sparkled. Looking at him now, the kid was something else. I'd told him to leave only five million out of five hundred, and he was happy about it.

"Keep trusting this hyung of yours. I'll make sure your road ahead is rock solid."

"Mm, I will!"

A single day. That was all the time it took to become friends with Jiwoong. We were both second-years, so early admission was impossible for either of us. But I already knew every question on the CSAT by heart.

"Still, I don't get it. Why would Oh Seora's mom send me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this much money? I thought she was going to sue."

Jiwoong was worried too. He'd steeled himself to some degree. After dumping food all over Oh Seora's head, it was only natural to be concerned.

"We're the ones who should be feeding them the lawsuit. You just focus on studying and forget about it."

"Taewoong……"

"From now on, you're going to live in a different world. A different life."

I patted Jiwoong's shoulder. The vicious crimes that had shaken the Republic of Korea right before my regression—Park Jiwoong, the boss who had led the MZ gang that made people's blood run cold. Now he was as gentle as a lamb.

"Yeah…… I'll study hard and become a prosecutor."

Jiwoong's eyes shone clear and bright. A distinctly changed, brighter wave of energy radiated from him.

"A prosecutor? A thug like you?"

A voice thick with venom cut in from behind. It was Oh Seora. She had changed out of her uniform into PE clothes. Lasers might as well have been shooting from her eyes. From the look of things, she still hadn't met her mother.

"My mom came to school, you know? Just you wait. Both of you are going to prison!"

Oh Seora ground her teeth with swaggering bravado. The poison in her overflowed past dripping. Reformation was clearly out of the question. She was the textbook type who remained beyond salvation until the day she died.

Click, click.

"Oh Seora……"

The sharp sound of high heels and a familiar voice called Oh Seora's name. Her mother, Jo Huijeong. A chilling cold radiated from her approaching figure.

"Mom!!"

Oh Seora called out to her mother with a bright, happy smile. And then—

"Mom, it's these guys. These Sabaeja bastards……"

CRAAACK!

"Aaaagh!"

In a split second Oh Seora's head whipped around. The powerful blow and the scream that burst from her tore down the hallway. Exactly what you'd expect from an uncultured ahjumma.

"Wh-what?"

"Isn't that Oh Seora's mom??"

Students who'd finished class crowded into the corridor, murmuring among themselves at the spectacle unfolding before their eyes.

"Come with me!!"

When Oh Seora's mother spotted me, she didn't even meet my eyes as she slapped her daughter's cheek. Then she seized Oh Seora's arm and spun around.

"……M-Mom……"

Still dazed with shock, Oh Seora was dragged away by her mother. She was so stunned she even forgot to cry. Her pale cheek was already swelling and turning red.

In the second-year hallway of Cheonghwa High School, a pure shot of satisfaction exploded. It was a legendary scene I almost wanted to save as a keepsake.

"What are you standing around for? Your mom said to follow her."

I drifted past the nearly-dragged Oh Seora and added helpfully.

"This is why home education matters. A rotten attitude that leaks at home is bound to leak outside. Tsk."

I even conveyed my sincere pity. But Oh Seora couldn't make a peep as she was hauled away.

"AAAAAAGH! AAAAAAAAH!"

A moment later, a scream that sounded like it would tear the air apart rang out from the end of the hallway.

What's with that guy?

Lee Hyoju had just grabbed her bag and was stepping out when she stopped. She watched everything unfold in the crowded hallway.

Everyone in their year knew Oh Seora had no manners. There had been rumors that her father was a successful real-estate nouveau riche who was also a gangster. Those rumors had circulated more than once. Even among the parents, people had been warned not to get involved with Oh Seora if they could help it.

And yet Ha Taewoong had gone and stirred up trouble. He had properly collided with the Oh Seora everyone else avoided. The Oh family was in a different weight class from Oh Gwangjun's—a father at the level of a senior prosecutor versus a father who was a well-known real-estate tycoon in Gangnam.

"Waaaaah……. Waaah."

Oh Seora ran out of the school crying like a child. The students who'd been watching stood there dumbfounded, unable to make sense of it.

The Sabaeja Ha Taewoong had completely lost it today!

"Didn't Ha Taewoong slap Oh Seora in the cafeteria?"

"Yeah. So why is Oh Seora's mom acting like that?"

"I don't get it……"

Students who'd heard the rumors clustered in twos and threes, whispering. Normally, if it was Oh Seora's mother, she should have been the one slapping Ha Taewoong. Instead her daughter Oh Seora had been hit by that same mother—right in the hallway, with students watching.

"There's something going on……"

Lee Hyoju couldn't understand the situation either. Cheonghwa High was a playground for the children of the upper class wearing the mask of a school. It was on a completely different level from the ordinary high school ordinary people imagined. Behind the students stood parents who controlled the distribution of wealth and power. They formed a parent association and exercised the same kind of influence they held in society through all sorts of schemes and political games.

And in a place like that, the Sabaeja Ha Taewoong had seized the upper hand. The Sabaeja everyone knew had gone on a rampage all day today. He'd turned the school upside down. During class he'd been called out by the PE teacher—the man students called the parent association's attack dog. From the atmosphere, a suspension had seemed like the minimum. But Ha Taewoong had returned to the classroom unscathed.

"Ha Taewoong…… What are you?"

Lee Hyoju stared blankly at Ha Taewoong as he disappeared with his back straight and confident. That tall, somewhat lean back looked incredibly solid. The thought that he seemed like a giant for some reason crossed her mind.

"……"

School life, which had felt so tedious, suddenly seemed different. An unreadable smile faintly curved Lee Hyoju's lips.

"Perfect!"

It was the hour when students poured out of school all at once. The campus in early spring was beautiful. Thick old trees ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as aged as the school itself added to the spring atmosphere—ginkgo, cherry, and various deciduous species. It was hard to believe such a nature-friendly space existed in the heart of Seoul.

Crunch, crunch.

For the first time, I walked the campus at a leisurely pace. In the past, the moment class ended I used to flee the school as if running for my life. Even the benefits of abundant nature weren't granted to the likes of a Sabaeja. Instead I always had to feel cowed by this school atmosphere. Today, at least, I straightened my shoulders and savored the natural beauty I'd never been allowed to enjoy.

Jiwoong had gone home first.

"Nobody's going to mess with me from now on."

It was a historic day that had set off a huge storm. The ones who'd ignored me because they had backing, I'd handled with my fists. The ones who'd looked down on me as a Sabaeja because of wealth and power—I'd leveraged Grandpa a little.

"I'm not putting up with anything anymore. If they get in my way…… I'll plow straight through them all!"

The past years of being toyed with by the haves who made up the mainstream flashed by like a panorama. I didn't want to live like that anymore.

"Full ownership, no exceptions!"

I was going to own everything I wanted. I refused the life that had been satisfied with fried chicken and a can of beer on payday.

Thwack!

Just then, the crisp sound of a golf ball being struck reached my ears.

"Golf's nice!"

I remembered when I'd first joined the company. I'd been chewed out for a long time over golf. Not just the executives, directors, and section chiefs—even the assistant managers knew how to play. They held golf-course gatherings every weekend and bonded over screen golf after work on weekdays. Meanwhile I, who didn't even own a cheap set of clubs, had become their favorite topic of conversation.

"A golf practice range at school? Does that make any sense?"

For Cheonghwa students, golf was a required part of PE. After school, the Cheonghwa High golf range was popular with teachers and parents. With twenty bays it was small, but it was one of the few outdoor ranges in Gangnam. There was an indoor screen practice facility underground as well. The Cheonghwa Group had established it as a talent-development support case.

I turned my steps toward the golf range. With exams next week, no students were in sight. Instead—

Thwack!

A tall, slender woman sent a swing through the air with that crisp sound. Her golf skirt flared just right with the powerful motion.

Beautiful!

"Pro An Hyeonju……"

She had once been expected to compete proudly on the LPGA Tour—a representative Korean beauty of the pro golf world. An ugly scandal had brought her down. After that she'd come to Cheonghwa High as a golf instructor. That was this year.

Thwaaack!

It looked light, but anger was laced through the swing. The aura radiating from her body was a deep red. It seemed to be the color of rage piled up inside her.

"Teacher!"

I called out to her.

"……??"

Pro An Hyeonju, mid-setup for a swing, turned to look at me. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"……!!"

Looking at her again…… she was an absolutely stunning beauty of a golfer. Even in a golf world judged by skill, her looks were top-tier. Well over 170 centimeters, with a firm, lithe build forged by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠training. A small face, a high straight nose, large eyes…… Her hair was pulled into a ponytail that reached about her shoulders. The way she stood was a work of art.

A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek and dripped from her chin.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Ha Taewoong, second year."

I answered energetically and walked toward her.

"What is it?"

Her voice had a mature quality the female students lacked. It felt like it was clearing out my ears all on its own.

"I'm a huge fan of yours, Pro."

I meant it. In a few years from now she would overcome her slump and conquer the LPGA. With her undiminished beauty and recognized skill, she would make a successful comeback and become a top celebrity.

I politely offered both hands for a handshake.

"R-right."

Slightly flustered, Pro An Hyeonju took off her glove and took my hand. A bare handshake with her. That soft touch was simply……

Huh??

Acquire? Exploit??