New Investment (9)
I picked up the car from the dealership with Sung Yoon-ah.
The dealer took care of the registration and insurance paperwork for me. A thorough inspection by the Mini owner confirmed that the car was spotless, with nothing wrong at all. All I had to do now was hand it over to my younger sister, and the day’s work would be done.
I called Sena.
“Yeah, oppa!”
There was quite a bit of noise around her.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m at a karaoke place near Hongdae with some friends. We’re hanging out right now.”
…
My sister absolutely never studied. So why had she gone to college at all? Did she just go because everybody else did?
“Let’s grab dinner.”
“I’m with a friend. Can my friend eat with us too?”
“Fine by me.”
“Okay. Are you coming this way, oppa?”
“Should I?”
After hanging up, I turned to Sung Yoon-ah.
“I’m going to meet my younger sister now…”
Before I could even finish, she said, “Would it be all right if I came too?”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. I haven’t eaten dinner yet, so I’m starving.”
Well, if she didn’t mind, there was no reason not to.
“Tell me what you want to eat. You worked hard today, so this one’s on me.”
Sung Yoon-ah brightened immediately.
“Really? Then let’s open the top and drive.”
For a car this tiny, it felt a little too much like showing off, but… in any case, we lowered the soft top and headed for Hongdae, the street of youth.
Driving into Hongdae on a Friday night was a stupid idea.
Sung Yoon-ah looked out over the streets in obvious shock.
“There are so many people.”
The entire district was packed shoulder to shoulder. It was a true sea of people.
If you measured population density per square foot, this place would hold its own against anywhere in the world.
I somehow managed to find a public parking lot and squeeze the car into a space.
When we got out, Sung Yoon-ah looked around with open curiosity.
“You’ve never been to Hongdae?”
“I have, sometimes. But I’ve never seen it this crowded before.”
This was what people called a proper Friday night.
Despite the chilly weather, some people were dressed as if they’d left half their clothes at home. Not even the cold could beat the heat of youth.
After getting out of the car, I called my sister and told her where we were.
A little while later, Sena appeared with her friend. Fortunately, her clothes were neat and decent. Apparently, she hadn’t been planning to sneak off to a club without Mom knowing.
Beside Sena was a cute girl with her hair tied in a ponytail.
She bowed her head politely toward me.
“Hello, oppa.”
Her face looked oddly familiar.
I felt like I’d seen her before. Who was she again?
“Oh, you… you’re Sojin, right?”
At my words, her face lit up.
“That’s right! Oppa, you remembered me.”
“Of course. You used to come over to our house all the time. It’s been ages.”
“Yes. I think it’s been about three years.”
To her, three years was like thirteen to me.
The reason I still remembered her was because she’d been Sena’s friend since elementary school and had often come to our house to hang out. Back in middle school, I’d even taught her a little, kind of like a private tutor.
“You’ve grown a lot since I last saw you. Are you a student too?”
“Yes. I’m majoring in business administration at Gangseo University.”
“So that’s why you met up around here.”
Come to think of it, she had probably been a better student than my sister.
“How have you been, oppa?”
“I’m doing fine. Just working.”
“Sena told me. She said you’ve been doing really well lately and making a lot of money.”
“Haha, it’s not that much.”
It was actually more than that. Much more.
Sena glanced at the woman beside me and asked, “Who is she?”
How should I introduce her?
Granddaughter of the DA Financial Group chairman? My colleague from onboarding?
While I was still thinking it over, Sena answered for me first.
“Oh! Wait, is she your girlfriend?”
That made Sung Yoon-ah fluster just a little as she said, “I’m Miru-ssi’s colleague from onboarding. My name is Sung Yoon-ah.”
“Ah, I knew it. She’s so pretty, there’s no way she’d be dating our oppa.”
…
What the hell, kid?
Sena bowed politely.
“Hello, I’m Han Sena.”
After the introductions were out of the way, Sena leaned in and said in a small voice, “Why are there so many pretty female friends around you, oppa?”
“Huh? I introduced you to one person. How is that ‘so many’?”
Then Sena looked embarrassed and said, “Ah! R-right. I was mistaken.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
She was muttering to herself about secrets and whatnot, so it seemed like she was hiding something, but I wasn’t particularly curious.
Because I wasn’t interested.
“What do you want for dinner?”
Sena answered instantly.
“Chicken and beer. That’s why we met up today.”
I asked Sung Yoon-ah, “Is that okay with you?”
“Of course. I like chicken.”
Korea had chicken joints everywhere, so there was no need to wander around looking for one.
But the place Sena chose was Hanjeong Chicken.
That damned Hanjeong Chicken…
Every time I saw it, I was reminded of my days as a chicken-shop owner. If it hadn’t been for Ju Hyeon-jin’s abuse, the business might have done well. Then maybe I never would have had to regress at all.
“Why here, of all places?”
“Why? Oppa, you love Hanjeong Chicken. You used to order from here all the time.”
That had been true once.
In any case, we went inside.
When I saw Sena about to order two chickens and beer, I stopped her.
“Order cola instead of beer.”
“Huh? Why? We came here to drink.”
Because you’d be driving later.
I gave her the sensible explanation.
“Alcohol only makes the body heavy.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
I had just felt like spouting nonsense, that was all.
“You have to drive later.”
“Then I can still drink.”
…
You’re the one who has to drive later.
Once the chicken came out, we clinked our cola glasses lightly in a toast.
After taking a bite, I offered my review as a former Hanjeong Chicken franchise owner.
“This isn’t how you fry chicken. Maybe the temperature was off, but it’s not crispy enough. And the seasoning isn’t evenly coated. That won’t do.”
Sena stared at me in disbelief.
“Listening to you, anyone would think you’ve actually fried chicken before.”
“Hmph.”
By now, hadn’t I fried tens of thousands of chickens?
Though, to be fair, back in my day the machines handled most of the cooking.
Just as a factory-produced knife, pressed and stamped by a machine, can perform better than one hand-forged by a craftsman hammering away at it, food often tastes better when prepared with the precision of a recipe-following machine rather than with so-called human touch.
It wasn’t exactly semiconductors, but there was a reason the corporate headquarters of a chicken chain could post an operating margin above 30 percent.
Much to my surprise, Sung Yoon-ah and Sena’s friend Sojin became friendly almost immediately, despite my expectation that things would be awkward.
“Unnie, you’re so pretty.”
It wasn’t just a polite compliment; there was genuine admiration and envy in it.
“Thank you. You two are young and pretty as well. I liked my college days too.”
Was this a praise battle?
I asked Sojin, “If you’re majoring in business administration, have you decided what you want to do after graduation?”
“Yes. I want to work for a financial company. Maybe a securities firm or a private equity fund.”
“Oh, really?”
So another seedling for the financial world was growing nicely.
Sena tore into a chicken thigh and asked, “By the way, oppa, what kind of work are you doing?”
“I work in private equity.”
“Then do you get to meet chaebol people all the time?”
“Well… sometimes when it’s business.”
And the person sitting next to me right now was a chaebol too. Not that we were meeting for business.
“Oh, right! Here. I got you something.”
Sena rummaged through her bag and pulled something out, holding it toward me.
“What is this?”
“A gift full of your little sister’s feelings.”
“Huh?”
Why was she suddenly doing something like this?
When I opened it, I found a keychain.
“Hang it on your car keys and carry it around.”
“Why would I?”
I looked back and forth between the keychain and Sena’s face.
“Are you feeling sick or something?”
“No, I’m perfectly fine.”
…
Then why was she acting so unlike herself?
Sena stared at me with wide eyes.
It was the kind of look that clearly wanted something from me.
Seeing those eyes, I suddenly realized something.
“Why are your eyes different? Are you wearing circle lenses?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? I’ve been wearing them all the time.”
Why hadn’t I noticed?
Still, her trying to take care of her older brother was a little touching. For a second, she even seemed kind of cute.
“Touched, huh?”
“Touched, my ass.”
We finished the chicken and got up from our seats.
As we walked toward the public parking lot, I said to Sena, “I have something for you too.”
“What is it?”
“Hold out your hand.”
I placed the car key in her palm.
Sena jumped in surprise.
“What’s this?”
“Press the button once.”
Beep.
When she pressed it, the car parked beside us lit up.
Seeing the Mini Cooper, Sena let out a shriek.
“Woooah! It’s a Mini Cooper! Wait—does the roof actually open too?”
“Yeah. It does.”
“It’s mine? You’re really giving it to me?”
“You said you wanted me to buy you one.”
“Oppa, I love you!”
I stopped her before she could throw her arms around me.
“Calm down. Someone might think we’re actually close.”
“I’ll take good care of it, oppa.”
“Good. If you drive it without crashing, I’ll buy you an even better car later.”
“Really? What? A Ferrari?”
…
Why was she so obsessed with Ferraris?
Well, who wouldn’t like one?
Sojin couldn’t hide her envy.
“You’re so lucky, Sena. I wish I had an oppa like that too.”
Sena climbed into the car, looked it over from every angle, and opened the soft top.
“Wow! It really opens. This is amazing! Oppa, take some pictures of me.”
Sena handed me her phone.
As I took the pictures, I saw how brightly she was smiling. If I’d known she’d be this happy, I should have bought it for her ages ago.
Sena got in with her friend.
“Do you think you can drive okay?”
“Of course. I practiced a lot with Dad’s car. I even went to the supermarket with Mom a few times.”
Of course she meant she’d practiced in the ten-year-old midsize sedan her father used to drive, not a Mercedes S-Class Maybach.
Sojin bowed her head again.
“Thank you for dinner tonight, oppa.”
“It was just chicken. If you come by again later, I’ll buy you something actually delicious.”
“Really? I’ll look forward to it.”
Sena started the car and pulled away.
Sung Yoon-ah said to me, “You’re pretty popular.”
I shrugged.
“This is me.”
Sung Yoon-ah gave me a sideways glance.
“Do you like that?”
“Ah, no….”
Was I not allowed to like it?
Couldn’t I have a little popularity?
Once we’d handed over the car, we were suddenly on foot.
“What should we do now?”
“If Miru-ssi doesn’t mind, let’s hang out a little longer. This is my first time being in Hongdae at this hour.”
It had been a while for me too.
These days, I rarely ever left Gangnam.
“Then shall we walk around first?”
The night breeze blew in pleasantly.
We walked slowly through the streets of Hongdae.
“Looks like Sena ran into Unnie Areum at a department store.”
“What do you mean?”
“That bag she was carrying earlier was Hermès. People with lower status can’t just buy that kind of thing. And her sneakers were Gucci. Unnie Areum likes buying shoes for people she likes.”
At that, I gaped at her.
“What? Really?”
Designer bag and designer shoes?
I’d have to scold her when I got home.
“Oh! You didn’t know? I thought you were pretending not to notice.”
“Of course I didn’t know. How would I know that?”
Sung Yoon-ah looked genuinely baffled.
“How could you not know? Don’t men notice bags or shoes?”
…
Even if we did notice, how were we supposed to know? Unless it was a phone model change or a different set of car wheels, there was no way.
Even though it was past midnight, the streets were still overflowing with people.
Drunk people stumbling around, people throwing up, people laughing and shouting—it was all there.
Groups of guys who looked to be in their early twenties kept approaching girls walking down the street, trying to coax them into drinking with them.
“Damn it! How many rejections is that now?”
“Three girls are coming from over there. Go talk to them.”
“Nice! I’ll keep at it until something works!”
…
Did they really have to go that far just to drink with women? Couldn’t they just drink with other guys?
Sung Yoon-ah watched them and said, “They’re so passionate. Coming to Hongdae makes me feel weirdly old.”
“What are you talking about? You’re still young.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You’re basically a kid.”
Sung Yoon-ah let out a little laugh.
“Pfft! A kid, huh.”
Before I regressed, I’d been in my late thirties.
By that age, everyone in their twenties looked young.
“You somehow seem very mature, Miru-ssi.”
“I am mature.”
“Tch. We’re only two years apart.”
On one side of the street, a man and a woman were busking. They were singing “The Girl Who Finds Her Dream.”
“That song’s popular these days.”
“You’ve heard it?”
“Of course. It’s one of my favorite songs.”
“Should we stay and listen for a bit?”
We stopped walking and watched the performance.
I stole a glance at Sung Yoon-ah’s profile.
At that moment, someone said, “Oh! Snow.”
“It really is.”
I looked up at the sky.
Snow was falling for real.
Sung Yoon-ah smiled brightly at me.
“It’s the first snow of the year.”
“Time really flies.”
It was already that season again.
We stood there a little closer to each other than before, watching the snow drift down through the night air.