Too Many Money-Making Talents: Chapter 40
A familiar and welcoming voice greeted me.
“Son!”
After finishing the third round of the integrated preliminary, the place I came to was my mother’s shop, Original Inha Snack Bar—the first time I had visited since the official opening.
My mother, who had been stirring the tteokbokki, set down the spatula and came over.
“How did you get here?”
“Because Mom wouldn’t let you come. I came secretly.”
I smiled faintly.
“That’s right, I did it because I was worried about you… But In-ha. Did you really win?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my, well done. Our son!”
My mother hugged me and was overjoyed like a child.
“Have you eaten? Did you eat?”
“I ate. After the game.”
“Still, eat more. Since my son came, I have to give you something.”
Mom hurried into the kitchen.
The familiar sound of the spatula. The sound of oil bubbling. The delicious smell filled my mouth with saliva.
Meanwhile, I briefly looked around the shop.
Unlike the chaotic opening day, the atmosphere was clean.
And most of all, the laughter of female high school students chatting. The mom washing tteokbokki with water and giving it to the child. The uncle eating oden outside.
“Good thing there are customers.”
I felt a bit relieved.
I hadn’t expected success, but I hoped my mom would feel rewarded in this small new shop.
A while later, steaming tteokbokki, oden, and fried items. A line of my mom’s gimbap was placed in front of me.
“Is this one serving?”
“Then. It’s like one serving for three. Eat a lot. Go is something that uses your head, right? You’ll get hungry soon.”
“Yes. I’ll eat it all and go.”
I put a bite of tteokbokki in my mouth.
Spicy, sweet, warm. The mom’s gimbap I’d tasted for the first time in a long time was delicious too.
“Ah, right. A few days ago, I tried jajang tteokbokki.”
“Jajang ttebokki? Is there such a thing?”
Mom tilted her head.
“Yes. It wasn’t bad, surprisingly. The sweet and salty flavor went well with the soybean base.”
“Really? I’d like to try it once.”
“I’ll buy it next time. Let’s eat together.”
While I chatted with mom for a bit when she was free, another customer came in.
“Welcome. Eat slowly.”
I drank water and stood up.
“I ate it all. I have to prepare for tomorrow’s game too, so I’ll go first.”
“Okay. Go slowly. See you at home.”
After greeting mom, I opened the shop door and went out into the alley.
The way to the subway station. I passed in front of the building where Inha Snack Bar used to be.
“No customers.”
Despite the neat sign and interior, the inside was empty. Through the glass window, the cash register was visible. Someone was yawning in front of it. A familiar face—the daughter-in-law of the building auntie. She said she was good at cooking. She took over the entire Inha Snack Bar and was guarding that spot.
“I don’t want to associate with her.”
I averted my gaze and walked the alley.
The main road. Although the distance to the station was a bit far, there were quite a few people. As I passed there, I saw an empty store—the place where a franchise bakery used to be. There, a man in a suit. And a familiar middle-aged woman followed out.
“Building auntie?”
I muttered quietly.
From a distance, it was clear. The permed hair with bubbles. All over her body, dangling gold jewelry and luxury bags. The two stood on the roadside talking, then greeted each other. The man in a suit got into the car parked on the roadside. The door closed quietly. Then the engine started immediately. The car slowly passed by my side.
At that moment, on the side door of the car, a clearly printed text caught my eye.
“……Tteokmidang?”
-Dedicate your soul to tteokbokki.
Neat logo. Red printed brand slogan. My heart tightened a bit.
That name. Where did I see it? YouTube, ads, street signs… Sometime, the name that passed by several times. Somehow, an indescribable unease.
The empty store on the main road. Tteokbokki franchise. And the smile of the building auntie who didn’t hide her ill will. All these scenes interlocked like a puzzle piece. Overlapped unnaturally.
“Is it possible?”
My steps heading towards the station slowed down on their own. It made me constantly look back. The car slowly receding in the back didn’t leave my mind.
Tteokmidang. It could have been passed by casually. The three letters of the franchise name… Somehow kept sticking uncomfortably in the center of my chest.
The scenery flowing outside the subway window. Everyone was at work. I was looking at my smartphone, heading to the Korea Baduk Association.
The fourth round of the integrated preliminary. To fight for the final of the Ciel Bank Cup World Masters.
[Yeon-hui: I have to win no matter what. Did you see the expressions of Section Chief Ha and the staff that day? My heart was so refreshed, you know.]
Pfft.
The corners of my mouth lifted.
A message typical of Yeon-hui.
[In-ha: Are you not working? No customers?]
[Yeon-hui: It’s my menstrual leave.]
Somehow. That’s why it looked so relaxed and free.
But. “Normally, wouldn’t they say it so openly?”
Usually, they would be embarrassed to say it. But that’s Yeon-hui. Without pretense, honest, making me laugh.
[Yeon-hui: Are you not coming to cheer on your day off? Should I come now?]
[In-ha: It’s fine.]
[Yeon-hui: Tsk. I was going to come if you said so. By the way, did you receive the contact? Public recruitment.]
[In-ha: Yeah. The documents passed.]
I recalled the text message received the other day. Double K Bank additional recruitment. First round document screening passed. The content included notifying the interview schedule.
[Yeon-hui: Congratulations, sunbae! Interview… will you be attending?]
The fingers on the smartphone stopped.
I slightly turned my gaze and looked out the window for a moment. The Han River flowing beyond the bridge. The waves shimmering in the sunlight. Until just a moment ago, “Joining a big company” was my life’s goal and the standard of success.
But then.
[In-ha: I don’t know. Whether to go or not.]
I answered honestly.
As a professional Go player. A destination I was earnestly pursuing appeared. And still. I hadn’t met the condition to maintain the talent.
[Yeon-hui: Don’t go to the interview, sunbae.]
It was an unexpected remark.
Until recently, the person who sent me a file organized to help with my interview. Without asking or pressing further, instead said as if concluding.
[Yeon-hui: If you go, your mind will be restless. A bank employee? Just a salary worker at best. But sunbae is…]
A message arrived after some time.
[Yeon-hui: Annual salary 2 billion!]
[In-ha: Hey. That’s too much.]
[Yeon-hui: Just kidding. Focus on Go. I liked the way you play Go so much.]
I couldn’t help but let out a faint laugh.
I answered with pretended arrogance.
[In-ha: Don’t take it seriously. I’m tired.]
[Yeon-hui: I’m not the type to act that tired lol]
Because of the nuance the characters gave, I felt an indescribable seriousness, but I just lightly brushed it off as usual.
[Yeon-hui: Anyway, win. Definitely!]
I quietly put my smartphone in my bag. I got off at Euljiro 3-ga Station and walked along Cheonggyecheon. The temperature was cool, and the wind blew lightly. The Korea Baduk Association building came into view, and one side of my chest calmed down. The bustling scene from the first round was quite different. The participants and staff were noticeably fewer, giving a desolate feeling.
As I passed the entrance and headed to the 3rd floor match room, “Excuse me!”
Someone from behind called me.
“Kim In-ha? I’m Koo, the reporter from Baduk News.”
“Yes, hello.”
I greeted awkwardly.
I had a face that seemed to have crossed paths somewhere, but I couldn’t recall it specifically.
The reporter Koo smiled gently and spoke.
“After today’s game, is there time?”
“Time?”
“Yes. I’d like to feature In-ha in a special for Baduk News. Interview request.”
“Me?”
A thought I didn’t expect caused my words to stick for a moment.
The reporter Koo nodded shortly.
“Yes. In this Go world without exceptions… In-ha seems like an exceptional person.”
The feeling of being dazed lasted a moment. That word lingered strangely long. Exceptional person. I wasn’t a research student either. I hadn’t systematically learned at a dojang or academy. Was this not the usual gaze?
At that moment, the reporter Koo smiled meaningfully and added.
“Will you show that exception today too?”
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
The reporter said. People know how to make others feel good.
“Winning.”
“Glad. If you win, it’s as promised.”
The reporter Koo extended his hand. No burden, no coercion. I lightly shook his hand. After releasing the hand, I tried to climb the stairs to the 3rd floor match room again.
At that moment, another voice caught me.
“Kim In-ha, please wait a moment.”
When I turned my head, a slim man with a strange smile was approaching. A badge hanging around his neck. China Baduk TV. A reporter belonging to China’s Go professional media.
“Sorry… I can’t do it now… Because I don’t think I can catch the interview appointment.”
A bit slurred pronunciation. An unfamiliar accent. Despite that, the Korean was quite fluent, so the meaning was conveyed.
“Me?”
Another. The second interview request after the reporter Koo. I didn’t expect even a Chinese reporter to come. It wasn’t even the finals yet.
“I heard that story yesterday.”
Mumyeong. Guessing, it wasn’t a source transmitted through Lu Yuan 6-dan.
“I really… ask. After the game. I want to confirm something.”
He seemed to have a somewhat urgent look. Clearly, there was a will to “confirm” something.
“If I win today, then interview.”
Same conditions as with the reporter Koo. Perhaps that was enough. The China Baduk TV reporter couldn’t hide his joy in his awkward pronunciation.
“Thank you. My name is Huiyun. I’ll see you then…”
He politely greeted and stepped back. Just like that, heading to the stairs to the 3rd floor. At the entrance, a shadow was cast.
“Oh, Woo-bin. Welcome.”
The reporter Koo raised his hand first and greeted happily.
Byun Woo-bin 5-dan. The man in neat suit with a relaxed smile approached.
“Nice to meet you, Reporter Koo.”
“How’s your condition?”
Byun Woo-bin’s gaze naturally shifted to me.
“Perfect.”
The reporter Koo smiled slyly and looked at me.
“How about you, In-ha?”
I briefly turned my gaze, then faced him again. Without changing my expression, I answered calmly.
“Same.”
A confident smile appeared at the corner of Byun Woo-bin’s mouth.
“Then, the one who loses today won’t have any excuse.”
A smile mixed at the end of the sentence, but that word immediately spread tension in the air. Instantly, silence. A strange rivalry formed between the two. At that moment. Click. Someone pressed the shutter. It was the reporter Koo.
“The two of you have gentle manners… but the rivalry is no joke.”
And to match, Click. The China reporter Huiyun also took our photo. The atmosphere was strange.
-Ding dong
Someone pressed the button, and the elevator arrived.
“Well, time’s up. Let’s go up, both of you.”
With the reporter Koo’s mediation, we boarded the elevator heading to the 3rd floor together. Narrow space. When the door closed, a flowing silence. Although four people were riding, only my and Byun Woo-bin’s breathing was faintly heard.
-Ding dong.
3rd floor. The door opened. The corridor leading to the preliminary match room. We walked silently. The sound of sneakers hitting the floor one after another. In the silence, only the footsteps paved the way. Soon. The fourth round of the integrated preliminary. A match to determine the finalists would begin.