[The Arrogance of the Chosen]
"Ah, I don't like fried eggs." Won-hee shrugged, intending to head toward the spot where his other friends were waiting. However, Kim Son-hwan grabbed his arm.
"No, I mean, why are you giving a fried egg to this person?" To Son-hwan, Won-hee was clearly a senior. Yet, Son-hwan ignored that social hierarchy entirely, keeping his grip on Won-hee's arm.
"I told you, I don't like fried eggs." As Won-hee shrugged again, a vein bulged on Son-hwan's temple.
"No, you son of a..." Just as he was about to unleash a truly crossing-the-line profanity, one of his followers called out to him.
"Son-hwan."
"Yeah?" Son-hwan turned his head toward the voice. He saw his follower stuffing the fried egg into his mouth, chewing away. The expression on his face, as if to say, 'Did I do a good job?', looked exactly like a dog rolling over and exposing its belly.
"Oh, I see. If you gave it away because you didn't like it, it doesn't matter who eats it, right?" Son-hwan looked at Won-hee with a triumphant smirk. Won-hee sighed, looking at Son-hwan with a gaze of utter pity.
"Is that how you want to live?" Won-hee was genuinely grateful to Yoon-gi. If he hadn't been 'corrected' by Yoon-gi, there was no guarantee he wouldn't have turned out just like Kim Son-hwan. From his current perspective, Son-hwan's behavior was so repulsive that he didn't even want to breathe the same air.
"The hell, what did you just say?" During the freshman orientation, Son-hwan had tried to get close to Won-hee, thinking he was a connection worth building. But Won-hee had avoided him ever since, and Son-hwan, displeased, had started avoiding him in return. However, it was a different story when Won-hee openly interfered like this. He already had a group of followers; he couldn't afford to look defeated in front of them. Of course, if Son-hwan had been in his 40s or 50s, he might have been more wary of the Yoon-gi standing behind Won-hee, but Son-hwan was too young and too sheltered, having grown up without a single lack, which heavily influenced his current behavior. Just looking at how he treated Seo Gyu-young, it was behavior no ordinary person would ever dare to display.
"I said you're pathetic, you idiot." Won-hee's words were the final nail in the coffin. Son-hwan jumped up from his seat. Or rather, he tried to, but couldn't. Because Seo Gyu-young had jumped up first.
"Don't get involved with me!" Seo Gyu-young's eyes were brimming with tears.
"Uh... uh...?" Won-hee was genuinely shocked. Seo Gyu-young, not Son-hwan, was angry at him. This was completely outside his expectations, and Won-hee instinctively took two steps back.
"I'm by Son-hwan's side because I like him. So stop bothering him and just get lost!" Won-hee sensed that the 'sincerity' in Gyu-young's voice wasn't real. The tone was uneven, and there was something awkward about it. But Son-hwan, oblivious, just giggled.
"Sigh, our pathetic senior. You stuck your nose in and didn't even get anything out of it, did you?" Won-hee glared at Son-hwan with an incredulous expression.
"Didn't you hear? Gyu-young told you to get lost." In the end, Won-hee sighed and headed to where he was supposed to be. Tap, tap. The sound of someone patting the back of his head followed him. To Won-hee, that sound felt more horrific than ever before.
"You were in the wrong."
"Me?" When Won-hee told him about the situation with Seo Gyu-young, he immediately asked back in confusion.
"Yes." Yoon-gi was firm.
"Why?" Won-hee had no choice but to ask immediately. No matter how he looked at it, the one in the wrong was Kim Son-hwan, not him.
"You should have acted like you did when you bought the Coke from the vending machine in the student cafeteria."
"...?" Won-hee tilted his head, unable to understand Yoon-gi's answer. Yoon-gi didn't elaborate, intentionally keeping him in suspense. How much time passed like that?
"Ah!" Won-hee finally realized his mistake.
"Understand now?"
"Ah... damn it. So that was the problem." Hearing Won-hee's lament, Yoon-gi smiled faintly.
"What you did in the cafeteria was, strictly speaking, an act of egoism. Because in that situation, the only person who felt better was you."
"Yeah... I guess so..." Won-hee sighed. Honestly, until just a moment ago, he had thought he had caused that scene in the cafeteria to help Seo Gyu-young. But thinking it over, it wasn't true. His actions were purely because he didn't like Kim Son-hwan and felt sorry for Seo Gyu-young. Since Kim Son-hwan would only take his frustrations out on Gyu-young even more after that, Won-hee was filled with regret over his own foolishness.
"When helping someone who isn't under external pressure, temporary help is enough. But to help someone who is under external pressure, you have to remove that pressure. That's where you missed the mark."
"Haaa... That's true... My thinking is still so shallow. When will I become as deep as you?"
"You've improved a lot compared to the past, though. Shall we go eat some cream bread?"
"Hey, how long are you going to keep milking that story?" Won-hee blushed in embarrassment.
"I'm going to tell your kids, too. 'Hey, your dad once...'"
"Ah, stop it!"
"Oh, I guess I don't have to."
"Huh?" Won-hee, who was about to get angry, tilted his head in confusion.
"Jin-su will blab about it all anyway."
"Ah, that chatterbox... No, it's fine. I'll just tell everyone all of Jin-su's weaknesses, too."
"Did Jin-su have any weaknesses?" At Yoon-gi's puzzled question, Won-hee wore a wicked grin.
"All the times he confessed and got rejected. I'll just tell his future wife everything later."
"Wow, you really are a child of Satan..." Though he was called a child of Satan by Yoon-gi, Won-hee began to contemplate specifically whether he truly wanted to help Seo Gyu-young.
There was no way. Won-hee realized his own helplessness with painful clarity. The eldest son of a mid-sized company. If he set his mind to it, he could have been the successor to his parents' company. But that was as far as it went. Ever since he had been scolded by Yoon-gi, Won-hee had learned restraint, and after his grandfather passed away, his parents' financial support had decreased significantly. Of course, it wasn't to the point where he couldn't buy what he wanted. He could buy anything befitting a student. He just couldn't go beyond that. And not being able to go beyond that meant he had no way to help Seo Gyu-young.
'Kim Son-hwan is providing Gyu-young with a studio apartment near the school, and even giving her a small allowance. He drags her around to feed her every time. On top of that, Gyu-young's father works at Kim Son-hwan's father's company.'
Since Won-hee could at least have someone investigated through his parents' company's secretarial office, he had been able to grasp the relationship between Son-hwan and Gyu-young through the secretaries.
'Kim Son-hwan's father is truly the epitome of a trash CEO.'
Son-hwan's father was exploiting Gyu-young's father by paying him half the salary of the industry standard. The reason was that he knew Gyu-young's father was at an age where it was difficult to change jobs. And since that salary was effectively open knowledge to other employees, the subordinates often looked down on Gyu-young's father. They frequently dismissed him as 'a guy who can't even earn as much as me.' But even though the CEO surely knew that, Gyu-young's father's salary had been frozen for a long time.
[Where else would you go if you left?]
That was probably his thinking. 'In reality, Kim Son-hwan is just like his father.'
Sure, Son-hwan provided Gyu-young with a room, an allowance, and meals, but that was merely sprinkling a fraction of the profits he gained by exploiting her father. If Gyu-young's father had realized sooner what kind of person Son-hwan's father was, he wouldn't have been exploited.
'Money is truly a filthy thing. To think that a family could become this miserable because of money.'
Won-hee sighed. But even so, all he could do was sigh. Asking his parents to hire Gyu-young's father would be a clear overreach, and hiring Gyu-young herself was impossible. She was still a student.
'Gyu-young is probably thinking the same, just to endure until graduation.'
The moment Gyu-young graduated, her family would be able to escape the Kim Son-hwan family. In the late 80s, companies were already scouting students in their 3rd or 4th year of university. And if she was in the Department of Business Administration at Seoul National University, it went without saying. Since large corporations would snatch her up with high salaries, escaping the Kim Son-hwan family was a destined future. The problem was the next four years—or seven, if you counted military service. That was why Won-hee was pacing back and forth.
'Should I ask Yoon-gi for help?'
If it were Yoon-gi, he would surely grant his request. But for some reason, he felt sorry to ask him that.
'What should I do...'
Won-hee looked at Yoon-gi, who was standing in front of the podium. Yoon-gi was in the Department of Law. Won-hee was in Business Administration. Yet, they were in the same lecture hall. Was it because it was a liberal arts course? No. If that were the case, there would be no reason for Yoon-gi to be standing alone on the podium. Right now, this time was Yoon-gi's 'guest lecture.' Seoul National University had requested a lecture from Yoon-gi, and he had accepted, leading to this lecture in the main hall.
'He's my friend, but he's truly amazing. We're the same age, so how can we be so different?'
They were absolutely not the same age, but there was no way Won-hee could know that. And so, Won-hee sighed at his own helplessness and watched Yoon-gi.
"Hello. I'm Choi Yoon-gi, class of '88, Department of Law." Yoon-gi introduced himself to everyone with a grin.
"And at the same time, I am the head of the YK Group."
Everyone in the main lecture hall, which could seat hundreds, looked at Yoon-gi with envious eyes.
"Oh, and one more thing. If you're going to show off your money, you have to spend it. So, I'll be spending money today as well. From now on, write your student ID, name, and desired color and size on the paper I'm handing out. Then, you'll receive a pair of sneakers supplied to YK Department Store."
The students' eyes went wide. And simultaneously, cheers erupted.
[[[[[Wooooooah!!]]]]]
"Oh, just in case, I'll mention that I'll be collecting the papers in the middle of the lecture. So, even if what I say is boring or you don't want to hear it, you must listen until the middle. I get your attention, and you get sneakers. How about that? Isn't that a fair trade?"
As Yoon-gi winked, everyone laughed and nodded.
'His way with words is truly amazing, as expected.'
Won-hee envied the eloquence that made his wealth stand out even more.
"Now, then, let's start with the topic of today's lecture."
Yoon-gi began to write a sentence on the blackboard.
[The life stories of successful people ruin the lives of others.]
As he placed the period, Yoon-gi intentionally snapped the chalk with a loud crack!
"Everyone. Honestly speaking, I don't think life lectures have much meaning. Because humans are creatures that are too heavily influenced by their surrounding environment."
In fact, Yoon-gi was the living proof of that. Once a 43-year-old laborer, and now a 20-year-old conglomerate head. The person was the same, but because of the surrounding environment, so much had changed. However, someone raised their hand as if to directly refute Yoon-gi's words. It was none other than Kim Son-hwan. Son-hwan had also participated to hear this lecture, and Yoon-gi's words were a direct negation of Son-hwan's life philosophy.
"That's nonsense. People who are meant to succeed will succeed no matter where they are. Rather, what you are saying right now is a pathetic remark that belittles the achievements of successful people."
The moment he heard that, Won-hee realized one crucial fact.
'He's crossing the line.'