Seo Hyun-sook's True Colors
I headed to the Hanju-man club room on Wednesday. The atmosphere in the club was incredibly upbeat. It seemed the stock tips I'd given them had paid off nicely.
"Oh~ President, you're here?"
Seniors older than me, peers—everyone came over to greet me, no matter their year. They were fully treating me like the president now.
"President, that bio stock this week was killer, right?"
The people who'd gotten my group text on Monday had bought into the suggested sectors, and most had seen solid returns. Of course, some were a bit underwhelming.
"President~ Can't you give us specific picks next time?"
A pretty senior with a cute face sidled up, putting on her best aegyo. Damn... she's an option too... But Soo-min shut that down quick.
"Hey! Scram~ Scram~ You think this is some fortune-teller's shrine? We're here to discuss, study, pool info, and boost our returns!!"
She shooed away the clingy flies buzzing around me with a shoo-shoo.
"Exactly. Senior, why not study on your own instead of leeching? Right?"
"Ahaha... yeah, no way with just talk~"
Soo-min was the biggest fly of all—that was our little secret.
"Aha~ So as long as it's not just talk?"
"Tsk~ Our president, you wanna get scolded?"
"Heh. Think you can handle the VP?"
"Eek.. that's not what I~"
In the end, Soo-min had no choice but to back off with her tail between her legs. Thanks to my insane tips, their capital had nearly doubled in just two weeks. They had no choice but to obey me now.
"Alright~ Attention everyone. Eyes up here."
I got their focus and addressed the group. The chatter about individual stocks died down as they turned to me.
"Today, I've got a special event for all you members."
A murmur rippled through the room at my words.
"The event? It's your chance to invest in me."
"Invest? How does that work?"
Already hooked on my skills, the members were itching to jump in.
"Amount doesn't matter. Here's my offer: I'll give you 30% profit on whatever you invest. In nine months. Not annual interest—30% in nine months."
"Whoa!!!"
Cheers erupted. Savings accounts barely hit 8% a year, and here I was guaranteeing 30% in nine months. An insane deal for them—though for me, it was barely a day's profit.
"Me too! How do I sign up???"
They swarmed forward. Soo-min stepped up front and handed out pre-made contracts.
They read them over—no poison clauses. None of the usual fine print like "losses possible" or "principal not guaranteed."
Just: "Nine months from now, Party A (Cha Hyun-su) will pay Party B (investor) the principal plus 30% profit."
Sure, if I ran off with the cash... but that wasn't even on their minds.
"Once you've read it, fill it out and transfer to the account up there. There might be duplicate names, so write the amount in Korean before your name when sending."
My clean explanation had them scribbling contracts in no time, rushing to banks or dialing telebanking. The 40-odd members ponied up a total of 400 million won. My capital now hit 700 million.
Small potatoes still, but enough foundation for an investment firm. Compared to just 1 million won three weeks ago, it was explosive growth.
After lunch with Ye-rin and Soo-min, we headed to intermediate English class. As we sat chatting in the lecture hall, someone approached.
It was Seo Hyun-sook.
"Oh my~ Senior? You're here? Hey, Hyun-su."
She came over all friendly, greeting us both.
"Oh~ Hyun-sook? You know Hyun-su?"
"Of course~ He's my customer~"
"Ran into her shop by chance and bought a laptop," I explained.
"Senior, mind if I sit?"
"Huh? Oh, sure. Yeah, go ahead."
So there I was, sandwiched—Soo-min on my left, Hyun-sook on my right—drawing jealous glares from the other guys.
I ignored them. Soo-min and Hyun-sook seemed to compete for my attention.
Class flew by. Hyun-sook said goodbye with a wave.
"Hyun-su~ Class was fun again today~ See you next time~"
She blew me a kiss and winked—damn alluring.
Watching her go, Soo-min spoke up.
"Hey, Hyun-su. I'm not one to gossip, but... be careful with her. Bad rumors in our department."
"Rumors? Like what?"
"She's a promising judo athlete. But she's ruined more than one or two guys."
"Ruined?"
"Yeah. Heard she didn't release a hold on an opponent she'd already beaten in a match—left some crippled. Anyway, bad rep in the department."
Soo-min was in Korea University's PE department, majoring in taekwondo. Hyun-sook majored in judo.
"Got it. I'll keep that in mind."
"Cool. Have a good rest of class, Hyun-su~ Catch you later~"
On Thursday, I met Ye-rin at Yongsan Station to buy her a laptop. Soo-min had badmouthed Hyun-sook, but she'd been nice to me, and we clicked well enough. Figured I'd give her shop another shot.
"Welcome~ Oh? Hyun-su? And...?"
Hyun-sook greeted me warmly, then frowned at Ye-rin trailing behind.
"Hanging with Soo-min Senior yesterday, now another girl? Casanova much?"
"Just a friend. Looking for a laptop."
"Ah, gotcha~ What model?"
"Something like mine."
She showed us around.
"Hyun-su, this one's pretty and solid. I'll take it."
Ye-rin picked hers and went to pay.
"Ring this up."
I handed over my card to cover it.
"Whoa! Hyun-su, it's pricey—I can pay."
"Nah, Ye-rin. Been wanting to get you something since I dragged you here~"
I waved off her protest and gave the card to Hyun-sook.
"Hyun-sook sis, process it."
"Whoa~ This ain't cheap. Gift too much?"
She took the card with a teasing grin.
"Ye-rin's done tons for me. Haha."
"Must've laid it on thick, huh?"
"Huh? What'd you say?"
Ye-rin, who'd been listening, looked baffled and called her out.
"I mean, with that face, how'd you score a gift this pricey~"
"Excuse me? That's rude to a customer."
Ye-rin was pissed. She'd seemed off since we walked in, and Hyun-sook's attitude made it worse.
"Hey, what's this? Give the card back. We're out."
I got mad too and confronted her.
"Hyun-su... you're yelling at me over her?"
She looked flustered by my tone.
"You're the one crossing lines. How well do you know me to judge if I'm chasing tail with Ye-rin?"
"Wow. Thought we clicked, but you're just a sucker? Drooling over a girl like that?"
"No words? Hand over the card."
Our spat drew the manager for mediation. I got my card and stormed out.
"Ye-rin, sorry. Didn't know she was like that... We'll buy elsewhere."
"No, I'm grateful you took my side."
Hyun-sook glared daggers as Ye-rin and I left arm-in-arm.
"Hyun-sook, what the hell? To customers? You covering this?"
"Ah... fuck off, you old prick."
She turned her glare on the manager.
"What? You little bitch?"
Furious, the manager swung at her cheek. Hyun-sook caught his hand mid-air, flipped him over her shoulder with an ippon seoi-nage.
Thud!
She slammed him onto the hard store floor and stormed out. By then, Hyun-su and Ye-rin had bought elsewhere and gone home. She searched but couldn't find them.
"Haa... lost control outta nowhere. Just you wait, you two."