The Sixty-Year-Old’s School Trip (3)
“Ah, now that I think about it, that was an option.”
In the 2010s, land prices in Jeju Island skyrocketed due to real estate speculation by the Chinese. While some Koreans might have become wealthy as a result, the ultimate outcome was that countless ordinary Koreans suffered due to the overheated real estate market. That was precisely why Yoon-gi had already preemptively secured land in Jeju.
However, it was also true that he had been oblivious to one thing that could only be done because it was Jeju. That was the domestic trend of traveling to Tsushima Island. Eighty to ninety percent of the tourists visiting Tsushima were Koreans, and as of 2017, the amount of money they spent there reached a staggering 90 billion won per year. The problem, however, was that Tsushima despised Korean tourists. They loved the money, but the island had been subjecting tourists to all sorts of discrimination and hatred. Once the boycott movement began, Tsushima took a massive hit. Of course, that was a story from the original world—and the future, at that.
‘That’s a fair point. I should start some construction in Jeju soon. If I create a definitively Japanese-style street, I can make it so there’s no reason to even go to Japan, right?’
The idea of preventing Tsushima-bound travelers by building a “Korean-style street” in Jeju was a truly idiotic plan. People who went to Tsushima in the first place were going to feel the “foreign sentiment,” not the “Korean atmosphere.” Would marketing based on the concept of Shintobuli (local produce for local people) work on such people? Absolutely not.
That was why Yoon-gi decided to create a perfectly Japanese-esque location in a corner of Jeju. A place that was cheaper than going to Tsushima, had a lower cost of living, and didn’t even require a passport.
‘If people ask about it later, I’ll just say it’s a place to keep the foreign currency that would have otherwise flowed into Japan, right?’
Yoon-gi smiled at Choi Deok-bae, who was nodding his head repeatedly as if satisfied.
“Yoon-gi! Come eat!”
At Jin-su’s shout from behind, the conversation between Yoon-gi and Choi Deok-bae ended, and Yoon-gi headed to the dormitory cafeteria with his friends.
“Man, we came all the way to Jeju, and we have to eat this?”
Jin-su touched his spoon to the cafeteria tray, took a spoonful of soup, and put it back in its original place. It was beef radish soup where the cow seemed to have just walked by wearing boots, radish salad where the chili powder seemed to be on a diet, and stir-fried pork that was supposedly made with black pork but had meat so finely minced it looked like ground meat. Nevertheless, the kids smacked their lips in bitterness but began to eat out of necessity.
However, Yoon-gi put down his spoon and asked Jin-su, “Did you have other plans for today?”
“No, we’re staying at the dorm all day today, and we’re supposed to go around a bit tomorrow.”
“Alright, everyone get up.”
At Yoon-gi’s words, all eleven people assigned to the same room looked at him.
“Do we really have to eat this stuff after coming all the way to Jeju? Let’s sneak out and eat somewhere else. My treat.”
“What if we get caught?”
At the words of Won-hee, the closest thing to a model student here, Jin-su frowned.
“Again, again, again. You’re such a buzzkill.”
“No, that’s not what I meant……”
Won-hee carefully looked around. Then, he saw eyes filled with anticipation.
“Well, if you guys want to eat here, then just eat here.”
At Yoon-gi’s words, everyone picked up their trays and rose from their seats.
“Let’s go. We just have to not get caught, right?”
As the saying goes, anything is only fun if you’re told not to do it.
Yoon-gi had a truly enjoyable school trip. Of course, when they snuck out to eat and returned, they were caught by their homeroom teacher and scolded. They even had to walk back to their rooms in a duck-walk as punishment. But Yoon-gi thought of that as a memory of the school trip, too. For the original Yoon-gi, a school trip had meant waiting blankly in an empty classroom until dismissal time while all the other kids were away.
When it was mealtime, he snuck out with the kids to eat, and at night, they shared intense critiques on math, logic, and art using cards with flower drawings on them. Some kids even managed to get their hands on alcohol; Yoon-gi didn’t drink, but he could definitely feel the atmosphere of the kids who had.
It was a fun two nights and three days. Yoon-gi satisfied his desire to know what a school trip was like, and the kids felt Yoon-gi’s easygoing yet bold nature. And so, the last day of the school trip arrived. Since they had already arrived at Gimpo Airport, the school trip would truly be over once they took the bus back to school. Perhaps the moment they returned, a busy daily life would be waiting for them.
“Guys!”
At the souvenir shop in the airport, Yoon-gi shouted loudly to his classmates. The kids were struggling to choose souvenirs for their families. During the trip, some kids had blown all their pocket money while having deep discussions about art, and others had been cleaned out by the claw machine operators around the dormitory. As those kids looked at the ones buying gifts with envious eyes, Yoon-gi suddenly shouted loudly.
“Pick as much as you can carry from this shop! My treat!”
At Yoon-gi’s booming shout, the kids fell into silence for a moment. But three seconds later.
The kids ran toward Yoon-gi at incredible speed and simultaneously hugged him tightly. They even performed a celebratory toss indoors. The excited kids began to pick out as many gifts as they could possibly carry from the souvenir shop.
“Y, Yoon-gi. Can I pick that one?”
What one classmate pointed to was a wooden souvenir almost the size of a statue.
“Pick as much as you want, as long as you can carry it. I’m paying for everything in this shop, unlimited.”
“Thank you!”
The classmate pointed to the wooden statue to the shop owner, and the owner nodded with a grin stretching from ear to ear.
“At this rate, he’s going to carve that wooden statue into a coffin.”
Jin-su’s assessment. Indeed, the wooden statue, which was larger than a person, was incredibly heavy, so the friend who chose it was struggling and moving it with a desperate look on his face.
“Ah, no delivery service, okay?”
At Yoon-gi’s wickedly smiling expression, the friend, while struggling, moved the statue with the determination to die. It felt like a desperate soldier charging toward an enemy tank with a grenade in hand.
“Even if he takes that, his parents will just ask why he brought back trash……”
At Won-hee’s worried words, Jin-su nodded as if in agreement this time.
“Exactly. He should have been realistic like me.”
“Is that…… realistic?”
Won-hee looked at Jin-su with a dumbfounded expression. Jin-su, who had packed a whopping 10 boxes of Hallabong oranges, could no longer even be seen behind them. It wasn’t just Jin-su’s monster strength in lifting 10 boxes that was surprising, but the fact that they weren’t even wobbling was even more shocking.
“You look like you’re about to do squats with those Hallabongs. That must be at least 200kg, can you do a squat?”
At Won-hee’s words, Jin-su’s knees began to bend little by little. And then, his knees came back up.
“……That’s amazing.”
Leaving Won-hee, who was genuinely impressed, Jin-su disappeared for a moment. He had to move the luggage to the bus, after all.
“I’m worried about the bus on the way back.”
Since the kids were buying things with all their might, the bus was already packed to the brim with souvenirs. However, Yoon-gi was just watching the scene with warm eyes.
‘I wanted to try buying things in a cool way, but I also wanted to experience the kindness and luck that someone else bestows upon me at least once.’
He had already achieved too much to feel the latter. But at least he could do the former. That was why Yoon-gi chose the former. And though Yoon-gi didn’t notice it, this behavior was certain to bring him great benefits in the future.
Future chaebols who, even after evading trillions of won in taxes, would be evaluated as “common-folk-like” or “approachable” if they subtly spread photos of themselves eating hamburgers on the internet. The kindness Yoon-gi was bestowing now would surely act as a plus to his reputation in the future. Even this school trip. Especially the 11 friends who snuck out of the dorm with him to eat—even excluding Jin-su and Won-hee, the other 9 friends would say this later:
[Hey, did I tell you I was in the same room as the YK Group Chairman during our school trip back in the day?]
The higher the generation of the chaebol—2nd, 3rd, 4th—the more they stop treating ordinary commoners as the same people as themselves. In reality, if a rental apartment is built, people who own houses worth 300 to 400 million won will band together to block them from moving in. If so, isn’t it obvious how people with hundreds or thousands of billions of won would view people with 300 to 400 million won?
In that sense, Yoon-gi was a completely different existence from other chaebols.
“Won-hee, aren’t you picking anything?”
At Yoon-gi’s words, Won-hee gave a bitter smile.
“Yoon-gi, I’m rich too……”
However, Yoon-gi responded with a puzzled look.
“No, I’ve already picked mine out, but you aren’t going to buy travel gifts for your family? Are you a total unfilial son? I’m a firework of filial piety, you know.”
“What? You bought gifts?”
“Yeah. As soon as I came in, I asked the owner to prepare 20 chocolate souvenirs.”
“Ah, damn it! I have to buy gifts too!”
Won-hee, who had only been thinking about money, realized the meaning of “travel gifts” and began to move in a hurry. And finally, when everyone was about to board the bus.
“You crazy bastards, how are you planning to get on!”
Seeing the souvenirs filling the bus, the homeroom teacher was horrified and looked at his students.
Everyone insisted, but the homeroom teacher was having none of it.
“Hey! You’ll get into an accident like this! Go share some with the kids in other classes!”
And so, Yoon-gi unintentionally ended up performing the miracle of the loaves and fishes for the entire student body.
[In 1986, the Chairman of YK Group descended upon Gimpo Airport, and despite receiving nothing, he bestowed souvenirs upon the entire student body that filled 12 baskets and more.]
Problem) Among the following, choose the person who would be most distressed if Yoon-gi started a new business. (4 points)
1. Secretary Ryu, Yoon-gi’s closest aide
2. Secretary Kang, his closest aide in the Soviet Union
3. Choi Cheol-kyu, the most familiar among Yoon-gi’s relatives
4. Jo Cheong-woo, who was sleeping at home
Naturally, it’s number 4, Jo Cheong-woo.
“Wow, this chocolate is really delicious.”
Of course, Jo Cheong-woo wasn’t eating tangerine chocolate. The first appearance of Jeju tangerine chocolate was in 2001. Naturally, there was no tangerine chocolate in this era. Of course, even if there were, he wouldn’t have bought it. While tangerine chocolate in the 2010s had evolved into a fairly decent product, before that, it was a gift you’d get scolded for giving. Should I say it was a product that people would accept if given, but then forget about after shoving it into a cupboard?
What Jo Cheong-woo was eating was expensive, delicious chocolate sold at the airport.
“Eat plenty. I’ve set some aside for Aunt, too.”
Back in Korea after a long time, in Choi Ki-hyun’s study. There, Yoon-gi was enjoying chocolate with Jo Cheong-woo.
“I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve seen you like this, and so comfortably, at that. My heart feels so at ease today. You must be free these days, too, right?”
Jo Cheong-woo, thinking they would just eat chocolate, smiled repeatedly and enjoyed the sweetness. However.
“Hey, no way.”
Yoon-gi’s face wore a mischievous, rascal-like smile, just as it always did.