You Are in Finite Competition, I Am in Infinite Competition (1)
‘A Daewoo Record Royale?’
Choi Yoon-gi, who had once worked as a laborer in a junkyard, felt his hazy memories sharpen as he recognized the car parked at the school gate. By the standards of the mid-70s, it was a vehicle equivalent to a modern 2010s Hyundai Genesis G80. It sat there, planted firmly at the entrance. In terms of simple price comparison, it was equivalent to a base-model Hyundai costing 50 million won today, but considering the per capita national income of the 70s, it was an astronomical sum. Even the door wasn't opened by the person who had to get out; the driver had stepped out of the seat to open it for him.
Then, a young child appeared. His fashion was surprisingly similar to Choi Yoon-gi’s. Although his shorts weren't simple black but a dark brown checkered pattern, and he lacked a bowtie, everything else matched. Well, the specific brand and the shoes were a little different, but still.
‘I don’t think I need to pay any mind to this, do I? He’s not even in my class.’
It had caught his eye for a moment, but that was all. Judging by the memories of yesterday’s entrance ceremony, they weren't in the same class. He was about to head into the school gate, but his eyes briefly locked with the other boy’s in mid-air. The child, who had been looking around, soon let out a scoff at Choi Yoon-gi. Even though they were both dressed up, he was ‘mistakenly’ believing there was a clear gap between himself, who had arrived by car, and Choi Yoon-gi, who had not.
Pfft.
This time, it was Choi Yoon-gi who scoffed at the kid as he stepped inside the school gate.
‘There’s no profit in dealing with a brat in front of the school gate.’
It was a judgment made because he had no intention of lowering the prestige of his grandfather or parents by fighting with some other kid at the gate.
Rattle!
As soon as he opened the classroom door, a familiar voice rang out.
“Yoon-gi!”
Kim Jin-su. The connection that had started at Hana Kindergarten was continuing to this day.
‘Of course it is.’
The reason Kim Jin-su was here was because he was the son of the housemaid who had suffered burns in place of Park Yeon-ji. Under normal circumstances, she would have left the Choi family after South Korea’s industrialization to find work at a factory, but after the burn incident, Park Yeon-ji had been employing her as a domestic helper, paying her a proper—no, a generous—wage. Choi Yoon-gi, having heard about what happened, had begun to treat Kim Jin-su, the son of Mrs. Oh, specially, and Choi Cheol-ho and Park Yeon-ji, knowing this, had pulled strings to ensure Kim Jin-su could attend the same school. Of course, to avoid drawing strange lines in the children’s friendship, Kim Jin-su knew nothing of this, but it was by no means a coincidence that he was in the same class.
“Hello.”
At Choi Yoon-gi’s words, Kim Jin-su put both hands on his waist, arched his back like a bowstring, and laughed loudly as if he were thrilled.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! I said it yesterday, but what a coincidence! I think we’re friends destined by the heavens!”
Watching Kim Jin-su, who looked like he could be a comedian, Choi Deok-bae chuckled.
‘I’m the one who’s the heavens, actually.’
Although it was an internal thought and wouldn't be conveyed, Choi Deok-bae floated around, giggling as if to say, ‘I know exactly what you’re thinking,’ just by his expression.
“Can I sit next to you?”
“Yeah.”
Though they appeared to be the same age, the reality was a difference in mental age of over 30 years. Consequently, the relationship between Yoon-gi and Jin-su was closer to that of an older and younger brother than friends. Of course, Yoon-gi quite liked Jin-su’s personality, as he followed him well like a subordinate without feeling any sense of incongruity.
“Don’t you have a school bag?”
“Yeah! Mom says there’s no money at home.”
Seeing Jin-su speak so confidently without a hint of shame, Yoon-gi wondered, ‘What kind of person will this guy become?’
‘Come to think of it, he said there was a lot of debt at home, right? Paying it off all at once would cross the line of our relationship, so I’ve been paying the salary generously, but it probably isn't easy to pay off.’
Still, he didn't want to see Jin-su going to school with a wrapping cloth, so Yoon-gi decided to tell a white lie.
“After school, come to my house with me. I’ll give you the bag my cousin used when he was little.”
“Really?!”
At Jin-su’s reaction, jumping up as he pushed his chair back in excitement, Yoon-gi nodded quietly again.
“Wow! Yoon-gi is the best, as expected!”
It was a noisy atmosphere, all thanks to Jin-su. The other children in the class watched Jin-su’s sudden windfall with great envy. Yoon-gi, who looked wealthy, and Jin-su, who approached him without hesitation. He hadn't intended it, but thanks to his mother yesterday and Jin-su today, he was receiving the spotlight quite appropriately.
Just then, the classroom door opened, and the spotlight that had been on Yoon-gi shifted to the door.
“Oh?”
The child who opened the door reacted with confusion. It was only natural, as the one who had opened the door and walked in was the child who had arrived in the Daewoo Record Royale earlier. If there had been more time, he might have approached Yoon-gi or shown some additional reaction, but since he appeared with the homeroom teacher, Park Seon-ja, he had to stand next to the teacher’s desk with Park Seon-ja’s hand resting on his shoulder.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
At the teacher’s low but imposing words, the first-graders who had just entered school sat down in their respective seats. The imposing school atmosphere of the 70s was enough to make even the children who had just entered school instinctively realize they needed to behave.
“Everyone, a friend who couldn't attend the entrance ceremony yesterday due to a family event has arrived. His name is Lee Won-hee. You should all get along well, okay?”
Ending her words, the homeroom teacher nudged Won-hee to take a step forward and patted his shoulder. It meant he should introduce himself.
“I’m Lee Won-hee. My grandfather is the president of Jeil Textile, and my dad works at Daewoo.”
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a situation where an ‘Ooh’ would have come out, but the children just stared with wide eyes, looking back and forth between Won-hee and Yoon-gi. And as time passed, the children’s gazes gradually focused on Yoon-gi. It wasn't easy for children to judge the luxury of the items one possessed, but at the very least, appearance was a field children could judge most accurately. Yoon-gi, who was handsome by anyone’s standards. Won-hee, who was a circle by anyone’s standards. Won-hee was somewhat overweight, making his face an oval shape, and his well-dressed attire also spread out to the sides, making him look quite dull. That was why the children, who were more honest than anyone else, couldn't give much attention to Won-hee’s first appearance.
Perhaps noticing this, Won-hee puffed out his cheeks and looked at the homeroom teacher. But what could the teacher do? She had received an envelope from Won-hee’s parents, but the thickness and the denomination of the bills were different.
“Won-hee, sit wherever you’d like.”
Perhaps it was an unexpected reaction from the teacher, but Won-hee, who had flinched for a moment, walked with a somewhat irritable gait to the back of the classroom where there was an empty seat.
Thud!
A somewhat heavy sound came from the chair when he sat down. Hearing that sound, Park Seon-ja felt a headache coming on for some reason.
It was by no means easy for children who had been running around and playing excitedly outside to endure 40 minutes in a suddenly stiff atmosphere. So, as soon as the break time arrived, the children created a noisy atmosphere in the classroom like horses unbridled. Choi Yoon-gi, who was laughing inwardly at Choi Deok-bae’s appropriate expression, heard a rustling sound in his ears. It was the sound of Won-hee taking a cream bread out of his bag.
It was 1975, the beginning of industrialization, but it wasn't a time when the food for the common people had become that abundant. Therefore, most of the children in the class began to lick their lips uncontrollably while looking at Won-hee’s cream bread.
‘That’s why he’s fat.’
As Yoon-gi was watching with a pathetic thought, Won-hee looked toward Yoon-gi and spoke to his desk mate. A girl with bobbed hair and chapped skin on her face. Her face was slightly long, giving her a horse-like appearance, but perhaps because of her innocent impression, she didn't look that bad.
“You don’t have anything like this at your house, do you?”
“U-uh….”
“Do you want to eat it?”
The girl’s eyes sparkled at the feeling that he might give it to her.
“Will you give it to me?”
Won-hee nodded with an expression as if he were doing her a favor.
“Since you’re my desk mate, I’ll give you some specially.”
Won-hee, who had torn a little bit of his cream bread with his fingers, handed over an amount that was about one bite to his desk mate.
“Th-thank you!”
Watching his desk mate smile brightly, Won-hee, who had a triumphant smile, took a few more cream breads out of his bag. Then, the other children who had been looking at his desk mate with envious eyes began to show their appetite for the cream bread again. Even his desk mate was the same.
“Who wants to eat cream bread right now?”
At Won-hee’s words, the children in the class went wild, rushing around Won-hee’s desk and waving their hands frantically. Then, Won-hee spread both hands wide, made a gesture to be quiet, and said softly.
“Who will carry my bag when I go home?”
In the midst of the intense competition, Won-hee chose a child who looked dim-witted but was large in stature.
“You carry my school bag later. Then, when we arrive home, I’ll give you a cream bread.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Watching the child bow repeatedly as if he had received a great favor, Won-hee smiled triumphantly.
“Won-hee! I’ll sharpen your pencils!”
At another child’s words, Won-hee hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Won-hee, I’ll do your cleaning for you instead!”
Watching Won-hee’s popularity explode, Yoon-gi muttered in a monologue full of annoyance.
‘Where did a little brat like that learn such nasty things…’
Yoon-gi shouted inwardly at Choi Deok-bae, who was giggling.
‘It’s noisy! No, what are you, a ghost? Can you read people’s minds?’
‘Anyway, be quiet. I’m starting to get annoyed now.’
Seeing his own past self in the children who were acting servile toward something that wasn't even there, Yoon-gi stood up from his seat with a very uncomfortable feeling.
“Yoon-gi, where are you going?”
“Stay here.”
At the instruction to stay put, Jin-su didn't ask again and sat quietly in his seat waiting. And Yoon-gi headed straight for the faculty office.
“Oh my, Yoon-gi. What’s the matter?”
Park Seon-ja welcomed Yoon-gi and asked, as if treating him like her own son—no, even more than that.
“Teacher, can I make one phone call?”
“Of course. Go ahead and use it.”
If it were any other kid, they would have been slapped, but Park Seon-ja gave Yoon-gi the best special treatment.
“Thank you.”
Yoon-gi immediately called the place where his driver was supposed to be waiting.
At the driver’s response, Yoon-gi spoke quietly.
“Sir, please get me 500 cream breads by the next break time.”