A Vacation in the Sky
"The private jet was put up for sale by a Russian crypto magnate, Nikodim Viktorov. He had it listed the moment the interior work was finished and the plane was handed over, so it’s practically brand-new."
The purchase went through without a hitch.
I took Taylor’s call while everything was being arranged.
According to him, the jet had been ordered with a negative-option purchase, which meant the buyer started with the aircraft itself and then customized the interior afterward to suit personal taste and practical needs. In some cases, people spent several times the price of the plane just on the interior alone. Of course, when it came time to sell, no one could expect to recover all of that cost.
Just from the photos he sent, I could tell it was exactly the kind of jet I wanted.
It was a Gulfstream G650ER.
The interior was elegant, clean, and restrained—no unnecessary extravagance.
This sort of listing is hard to come by. If I had the money, I’d want to buy it myself.
“……”
Hearing a line that sounded like it came straight from a used-car dealer made my trust in him plummet a little, but I decided to believe him anyway and go through with the purchase.
“Then I’ll buy this one for my personal use.”
I expected to use it for private matters as well, so I planned to buy one as my own and two more for the company.
“Ha ha, that’s the right idea. I’ll see if I can get you the best price possible.”
“Can I use it right away?”
“Of course. If you don’t purchase it, you only need to pay the usage fee.”
“Then please send it straight to Korea.”
I had the jet sent to Gimpo Airport and also requested a flight attendant who could speak Korean, for my sister’s sake since she didn’t know English.
Who would have thought that the first private jet I ever bought would be used by my younger sister before I did?
It would be about two more days before Sena arrived.
In the meantime, I enjoyed some time to myself and made sure to exercise.
The resort had a walking path along the beach, plus tennis and basketball courts. The fitness center was also fully equipped with the latest machines, and a trainer was always on standby.
I even got a personal training session for the first time in a while.
“All right, one more!”
“Urrgh!”
I really felt like I was about to throw up.
I wiped the sweat from my face with the towel I’d been handed.
“Excellent work.”
When I tried to get up, my legs were shaking.
It struck me that I had neglected exercise far too much while I’d been busy making money.
When I thought about it, health was the most important thing of all.
Investment firms were performance-driven places, which meant the stress level on the job was no joke.
Even famous hedge fund managers sometimes ruined their health and retired in their forties.
No matter how much money you made, it was worthless if you lost your health. If I wanted to keep doing this work well, I needed to take better care of myself.
When you’re in your twenties, it’s easy to think your stamina is endless, but by your mid-thirties, it starts dropping fast.
I knew that better than anyone, because I’d already lived through my late thirties once before.
It was clear I should start exercising seriously from now on. I wasn’t planning to shoot a body-profile session or anything, but a little muscle wouldn’t hurt.
After a light meal, I went for a walk along the beach.
I saw children running around and playing, while what looked like their parents watched from behind them.
Then again, that was only natural for a vacation resort. Families and couples were the usual guests.
Someone like me, arriving alone, was the rare one.
The happiness on those families’ faces was obvious.
Well, it wasn’t exactly easy to stay unhappy after coming to a resort that cost $100,000 a night.
“A family, huh……”
For some reason, I found myself thinking back to the time I’d visited Chris’s home.
Making a lot of money was important, but building a happy family was just as important. I had failed at both in my first life, so this time, I intended to do both well.
Maybe someday I’d get married too, and spend happy days with my wife and children.
Han Sena and her friends gathered at Gimpo Airport.
Finally, Jung Sojin arrived.
Sena gasped in surprise. “Wow! Your outfit is so pretty. Did you do something with your hair too?”
The other girls chimed in one after another.
“Hey! Sojin, why are you so pretty today?”
“Seriously. Why did you dress up so much? Anyone would think you were going on a blind date.”
Jung Sojin shook her head.
“Ah, no. It’s just……”
“Just? Please. You dressed up because you wanted your photos to come out pretty, didn’t you? Right?”
“Y-yeah. That’s right.”
Thinking about their overseas trip, everyone had packed their bags to the brim, and their faces were shining with excitement.
“We just need dollars, right?”
“Are we really going overseas?”
“But what about the plane tickets? We only need our passports, right?”
Han Sena nodded. “Yep. My brother said all we had to do was wait here.”
A moment later, a middle-aged woman approached them.
“Are you Han Sena and the others?”
“Yes, that’s us.”
“You’re all bound for Barbados, correct?”
“Yes, yes.”
She introduced herself. “My name is Ellen Lee. It’s an honor to be serving you all.”
“Oh, hello. I’m Han Sena.”
“Jung Sojin.”
Everyone bowed their heads and introduced themselves in turn.
“Please follow me. I’ll show you the way.”
The four of them trailed after her in a neat line.
“So what are we flying on?”
“I don’t think there’s a direct flight. Are we transferring somewhere?”
Han Sena thought it over in her head.
No way it’s a private jet, right? Come on, that can’t be it. Private jets aren’t something just anyone rides. There’s no way something like that would actually happen……
Right then, Jung Sojin spoke up beside her.
“Sena, isn’t that a private jet?”
“……”
But the impossible was actually happening!
The plane waiting on the runway was the kind you only ever saw in movies.
All four girls looked like they were about to faint.
“This is insane.”
“We’re not dreaming, are we?”
“We’re really going to fly on a private jet?”
The four of them climbed the stairs and boarded.
The interior was completely different from any airplane they had ever been on before. Four seats were arranged in two rows, and in the back there were two long sofas facing a table.
Han Sena blinked in surprise. “Are there other people flying with us?”
Ellen smiled as she explained. “No, just the four of you.”
Park Seyeon, who had been looking around the back, suddenly shouted, “Hey, look at this! There’s a bedroom!”
“Wow!”
“Wooooow!”
For a while, all they could manage were gasps of amazement.
“The seats fully recline flat. I guess you can sleep lying down.”
“Is this what first-class seats are like?”
“Let’s take pictures first.”
Without waiting for anyone else, they all pulled out their smartphones.
Han Sena, just like her friends, looked around excitedly and took pictures too.
She’d known her brother was doing well and was on good terms with chaebols, but this was beyond anything she’d imagined.
How much does it cost to rent something like this?
There was no way this was something a salaried worker could afford.
She never even imagined he might have bought the plane.
“Our flight is about to enter the runway. We’ll be taking off shortly, so please take your seats and fasten your seat belts.”
“Okay!”
Everyone sat down and buckled up.
The private jet began to roll down the runway.
For some reason, her heart started pounding.
Han Sena looked at her friends. “Everyone ready?”
“Yes! Ready!”
Han Sena shouted with all her might. “Let’s go, girls!”
“Oooooh!”
The plane flew for more than ten hours before finally landing in Barbados.
The time spent on the aircraft had been nothing short of blissful. They’d taken drinks and champagne from the refrigerator, laughed, chatted, and had a wonderful time.
To their astonishment, they could even use the internet and make phone calls.
Whenever they got sleepy, they could recline the seats all the way back or just sleep on the sofa or in the bed.
“Ugh, I don’t want to get off.”
“I want to live here forever.”
When the four of them stepped off the plane, they were stunned.
“Wow! What is this weather?”
“This is crazy.”
Ellen guided them to the waiting limousine.
Once they got into the limousine prepared at the airport and set off, Blackwood Barbados Island soon came into view.
I had looked it up before coming, but seeing it with my own eyes filled me with a sense of awe that words couldn’t begin to capture.
All of them looked as though they might burst into tears.
“Does a place like this really exist in the world?”
“I’m so glad I’ve lived long enough to see this.”
“Sena, we’re so proud of you.”
“……”
Han Sena couldn’t say a word.
In truth, of the four of them, she was the one who had been the most shocked.
Why is this place so amazing?!
It was one unbelievable thing after another.
By then, a strange uneasiness had begun to creep in.
What if I came to the wrong place? What if my brother isn’t here?
As that thought crossed her mind, a man walked toward them.
“You made it?”
Han Sena called out brightly, “Oppa!”
When I saw Sena’s face, I let out a quiet sigh of relief inside.
Even with her traveling on the private jet, I’d still felt uneasy for some reason, but seeing that she’d arrived safely finally put my mind at ease.
Her friends bowed politely.
“Hello.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Thank you so much for inviting us.”
I greeted them too.
“You all must have had a long trip. Thanks for coming.”
Sojin said, “You can speak casually with us, oppa.”
“That’s right. Since you’re Sena’s brother, you’re basically our oppa too.”
“Just think of us as younger sisters.”
They were my sister’s friends, so I supposed that would be fine.
“All right.”
Sena introduced them to me. “You already know Sojin. This is Park Yejin, and this is Jo Yukyung.”
Park Yejin had a bob cut and wore glasses, while Jo Yukyung had her hair braided into two pigtails.
They weren’t the kind of girls who stood out at first glance, but they were all pretty and cute. There was a fresh, youthful energy to them that only college students seemed to have.
“I’ll show you to your rooms first.”
Even though it wasn’t peak season, the resort was already fully booked.
But there was nothing to worry about.
Where I was staying was a villa with its own private grounds, costing $300,000 a night, and it even had a separate pool where you could swim while looking out at the ocean.
“It’s here.”
Sena and her friends let out cries of admiration.
“Wow!”
“Waaaah!”
Even if they’d traveled a lot, they probably had never seen a room this good before.
“There are three rooms, so you can split into pairs.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Understood.”
Sena and Jung Sojin took one room, while Park Yejin and Jo Yukyung took the other.
“Let’s head out quickly.”
“Should we put on swimsuits?”
“Yeah. Put them on and wear something over them, I guess.”
They unpacked their bags, changed clothes, and came back out.
After flying for over ten hours and crossing time zones, they somehow didn’t look tired at all.
Was that what youth looked like?
“Then go have fun.”
I was just about to lie down and rest after sending them off when Sojin said, “O-oppa, come with us too.”
“Me too?”
Sena added, “It’s our first time here, so you should show us around.”
As if I hadn’t come here only a few days earlier myself.
Still, the resort was so huge there really was a risk of getting lost inside. If we needed to, I could just ask a staff member to take us around in a cart.
So I led Sena and her friends around the resort.
“Wow! It’s an infinity pool!!”
“Wooooow! The beach is beautiful!”
It feels like I’m escorting a bunch of kindergarteners.
Seeing the pure white sand, the blue sky, and the even bluer sea, the girls ran around excitedly.
It really was the kind of natural scenery you could hardly see anywhere else.
After dipping her feet in the water for a moment, Sena came sprinting back toward me.
“I’m hungry, oppa.”
Right. What did nature matter? Filling our stomachs was what mattered.
“Let’s go eat.”
We sat down at a restaurant overlooking the beach and the sea.
Sena stared hard at the English menu, unable to read it, so I handed her the other one.
“This one has pictures.”
“Ah, thanks.”
For some reason, none of them ordered right away. They just kept glancing at one another.
“What’s wrong? Order whatever you want. The flying fish dishes here are famous.”
Then Jo Yukyung cautiously raised a hand and asked, “Um, the prices aren’t written here. About how much is it?”
Park Seyeon said, “This place looks expensive.”
Ah. That was the issue?
“Usually, one dish is around a hundred dollars.”
“Huh?!”
At that, all four of them went pale.
“W-we brought cup ramen with us.”
“Maybe we can skip one meal.”
“I’m not that hungry, so maybe we can just order one thing and share it.”
Their reactions were hilarious.
I laughed and said, “I was joking. Everything you use inside the resort is free, so if you need anything, just tell the staff.”
“E-everything?”
“Yep. Food, alcohol, and all kinds of services too.”
They still looked like they couldn’t believe it.
Usually, all-inclusive meant that food and drinks were covered, but here, every service was free.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t really free; it was all included in the lodging fee. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Sena still asked, as if she couldn’t believe it, “Then I can order everything from here to here?”
“If you can eat it all.”
“Cocktails are free too?”
“Yep. Just don’t drink too much.”
“Wow!”
Once they heard the word free, they excitedly started ordering everything in sight.
“I think I can eat everything here.”
“Sure. If we all put our strength together, there’s nothing we can’t do.”
“Let’s order cocktails too.”
“We should take photos, so maybe one of each kind?”
“……”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said it was free.
I had the distinct feeling I’d said something I really shouldn’t have.
The orders kept coming, and the staff moved briskly about.
Whenever the food arrived, Sena and her friends took pictures, ate, took more pictures, ate again, and repeated the whole cycle over and over.
……It was the first time I’d realized girls could eat that much.