I Am the Luxury
“I… I memorized it all….”
Watching Jo Cheong-woo, whose dark circles had stretched all the way down to his lips, Yoon-gi clapped his hands in admiration. “That’s truly incredible. I only managed to get through a quarter of it myself.”
In truth, Yoon-gi hadn’t finished it because he was swamped with too many other tasks, but since he had hired Jo Cheong-woo specifically for this, he was extremely satisfied with the report.
“W-what, what do I do n-now?”
Seeing Jo Cheong-woo so exhausted he could barely string a sentence together, Yoon-gi offered a gentle smile. “First, go get some sleep on the living room sofa for about two hours. We can talk about work after that.”
“A-aren’t you going to ch-check?”
“I’m not. I trust you.”
No sooner had the words left his lips than Jo Cheong-woo collapsed onto the study table and fell fast asleep.
“If he sleeps sitting in that chair, his back is going to kill him later.”
“Uncle, could you move him for me?”
“If I try to move him, I’ll probably be the one who ends up face-planting….”
Indeed, Choi Cheol-kyu was on the smaller side, and he was as far from a physical powerhouse as one could get. With a wry smile, Yoon-gi stood up himself.
“Up we go!”
Jo Cheong-woo was carried in a bridal style, but he was so exhausted that he didn’t notice a thing and remained sound asleep.
‘If Merrill saw this, she’d throw a fit, wouldn’t she?’
Since their first meeting with Guster, Yoon-gi had met Merrill two more times. Each time, they would play the violin and share a few cups of tea, and that was it. But one thing was certain: with every meeting, Merrill’s tomboyish nature felt more pronounced. More so the second time than the first, and even more so the third.
‘Come to think of it, it’s about time for her to show up again, isn’t it?’
Just as he was about to lay Jo Cheong-woo down on the living room sofa, a strange sense of unease washed over him—and then, he locked eyes with Merrill, who was standing at the entrance.
“AAAHHH!!!!!”
It wasn’t Yoon-gi who screamed, but Merrill. Though she was an English speaker, a scream in this kind of situation was universal, wasn’t it? It was quite a loud shriek, but Jo Cheong-woo didn’t wake up, and thanks to that, Yoon-gi was able to set him down on the sofa safely.
“You’re here?”
Yoon-gi was internally flustered, but he didn’t show it at all; instead, he began to take the lead.
“That’s something I’ve never even received!”
The reason Merrill could make such a loud noise was that there was no one else in the house. It was summer, so the housekeepers were on vacation, and his parents were out. Choi Cheol-kyu was in the conference room, but he hadn’t come out yet, and since Jo Cheong-woo was asleep, he didn’t count. Merrill looked at Yoon-gi with teary eyes, as if asking, ‘How could you do that?’
Yoon-gi immediately took action.
“Up we go.”
“Eek!”
As Yoon-gi picked her up just as he had done with Jo Cheong-woo, Merrill let out a small gasp, her face turning bright red. At the same time, she tapped her hands against Yoon-gi’s chest and shouted again, a bit louder this time.
“Put me down! It’s embarrassing!”
However, Yoon-gi judged that Merrill’s expression was actually saying, ‘You’re not really going to put me down, are you? If you really do, I’ll be sulky!’ So, he simply added a sense of speed to his movements with an exaggerated flair.
“Kyaaaaah.”
Merrill’s soft squeals continued. She was clearly enjoying the situation. At least, until Choi Cheol-kyu walked out of the conference room.
……!
The moment Merrill locked eyes with Choi Cheol-kyu, she froze solid, and Yoon-gi realized it was time to put her down.
“Who is…?”
Choi Cheol-kyu had heard about Merrill but had never seen her in person, so he asked out of curiosity. Yoon-gi laid the frozen Merrill down vertically on a single-seater sofa and introduced her.
“I’ve mentioned her before, right? This is Merrill.”
“Ah, Guster’s granddaughter?”
“Yes, that Merrill.”
After observing Merrill for a moment, Choi Cheol-kyu nodded. “Well, that explains it. Now I know why you have no interest in girls. With a girl like that around, of course you wouldn’t.”
Yoon-gi thought, ‘That’s not it,’ but he didn’t bother saying it out loud. He did, however, notice Merrill’s eyes sparkle for a brief second.
‘Merrill will get close to my uncle pretty quickly. I wonder if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.’
Having met her only three times, Yoon-gi knew Merrill well enough by now to realize he should probably send Choi Cheol-kyu home.
“Uncle, I’m sorry, but could you take my brother-in-law home? I’ll carry him to the car.”
Choi Cheol-kyu, having caught on to why Yoon-gi was saying that, nodded. “Alright. Ms. Merrill, see you next time.”
While Merrill was still stiff, Jo Cheong-woo was carried back to the car by Yoon-gi, and Choi Cheol-kyu stepped on the accelerator with the absurd thought, ‘Yoon-gi is going to grow up to be a real man.’ Of course, shortly after, he gave himself a wry smile, thinking, ‘Right, Yoon-gi is still only in his first year of middle school.’
“Merrill?”
At Yoon-gi’s words after closing the front door, Merrill began to cautiously look around the house.
“There’s no one else home right now.”
Yoon-gi chuckled to himself, never having dreamed that he would be the one saying those words—a line he had once longed to hear back in his days as a laborer.
“Yoon!!!”
Certain that they were alone, Merrill lunged at Yoon-gi and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Did you come to listen to the violin?”
As Yoon-gi asked this, wrapping his arms around her waist, Merrill blushed slightly and shook her head.
“No, even though I told my grandfather that.”
Yoon-gi didn’t bother with mood-killing questions like, ‘Won’t you get in trouble with your grandfather?’ Instead, he chose to lead.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
It was a short sentence, but the words, delivered with a soft smile, were sweet enough to melt Merrill’s ears like candy.
‘If it weren’t for my grandfather, it would have been hard to grasp Merrill’s true nature.’
In truth, even Yoon-gi couldn’t figure everything out about a woman the moment he saw her. But Choi Deok-bae had been telling him about Merrill’s personality in other settings every time she visited, which allowed him to avoid being pushed around by her. Merrill, in turn, felt drawn to Yoon-gi because he treated her differently than the people who were always intimidated or flustered in front of her, and even after a few years, she still openly showed her affection for him.
The violin was just an excuse. Even if he had been talented as a child, his skills now were severely lacking compared to true prodigies.
“You didn’t find another girl while I was gone, did you?”
“Merrill, I’m only 14 in Korean age. 12—no, 13 in American age.”
“People date at that age in America, don’t they?”
“Then do you date in America?”
“What kind of person do you take me for!”
As Merrill started to get angry, Yoon-gi began to stroke her hair. “It’s the same for me. With you here, why would I look anywhere else?”
Merrill’s flushed expression was truly beautiful, enough for Yoon-gi to feel genuine attraction. If their first meeting felt like a sister and brother because Yoon-gi was only 10, their meeting now, four years later, looked like a romance between high schoolers.
‘Do Koreans grow up this fast?’
Merrill was surprised by Yoon-gi’s growth, but satisfied that they looked like a full-fledged couple when standing together, she sat down on the sofa.
“It’s hot, give me something cold!”
The heat and humidity of late August in Korea were enough to exhaust Merrill, and her clothes were indeed quite damp with sweat.
‘The white guys I worked with at construction sites used to smell terrible when they sweated, but Merrill doesn’t at all.’
Merrill, watching Yoon-gi sniff the air while lost in his past, realized the cause, blushed, and punched him in the stomach.
“Ugh!”
It didn’t hurt at all, and Merrill hadn’t hit him hard, but Yoon-gi deliberately slumped to the floor. Merrill, startled, leaned over toward him.
“A-are you okay? I didn’t hit you that hard… oh, seriously!”
Realizing that Yoon-gi’s nose was twitching against her shoulder, Merrill tapped his shoulder again. Yoon-gi chuckled, grabbed a Coke from the fridge, and brought it to her.
“You want me to drink Coke, the cause of belly fat?”
“Isn’t a cold Coke the best thing in summer?”
“That’s too much for me. Just give me green tea if you have it. With ice.”
“You live a hard life, too.”
“Modeling isn’t easy, you know.”
“Ah, come to think of it, you said you were doing modeling.”
“Sigh, why does my grandfather make me do things like this… It’s a problem when your grandfather has too many connections.”
“Maybe he thinks that if you get used to the public eye like that, you’ll be less shy in front of strangers?”
“I know that, but honestly, I don’t know if it’s working…”
“Still, I feel pretty good having a model as a girlfriend.”
At the clear use of the word ‘girlfriend,’ Merrill pretended to glare at him and shouted, “I don’t know! Just hurry up and bring me the green tea. I’m thirsty!”
“Alright, alright.”
Yoon-gi skillfully brewed a cup of cold green tea and brought it to her. Merrill gulped it down in one go, let out a refreshing “Ah,” and held out the cup again. “One more!”
“This time, I want to drink the green tea you make for me.”
“I’ve never made green tea before…”
“Shall we make it together?”
Before she could even answer, Yoon-gi pulled Merrill up and headed to the kitchen. Merrill resisted for a moment, but soon, seemingly happy to be with him, she hummed a tune as they finished making the cold green tea, then sat back down in the living room with a cup each.
“You’re not downing it in one shot this time?”
“I was just really thirsty before.”
As they each took a sip, Merrill pressed the cup, beaded with cold condensation, against her face and asked, “Are you busy these days?”
“Why?”
“I insisted to my grandfather that I come alone this time, but it’d be boring if I just went back. I can stay for a week this time.”
“Where are you planning to stay for a week?”
Merrill frowned at Yoon-gi, who was feigning ignorance. “Are you planning to make your girlfriend sleep on the street?”
“Hmm, so you’re saying you want to sleep in my room? You’re white on the outside but black on the inside, Merrill.”
“Hey!!!”
Yoon-gi chuckled at Merrill’s shriek, then opened his mouth again.
“Well, I’m all for it. But I don’t think I’ll be the one sleeping on the floor.”
“What? You don’t mean…”
At her response, Yoon-gi gave her forehead a light flick. “You’ve got Satan in your head! I don’t mean sleeping in the same bed; I have to be away for a while.”
“I knew that!”
As she replied, Merrill recalled his previous words and let out an “Ah!” with her eyes welling up slightly. “What is this? I came all this way, and you’re leaving?”
“I have some business to attend to in Europe and the States. About a week or two?”
“Why are you going there…”
At the clear disappointment in her voice, Yoon-gi replied with an apologetic tone. “I need to source luxury brands for the department store that’s opening soon. The ultra-high-end brands keep refusing to enter, so I’m planning to visit them myself. Would you like to come al…”
Before Yoon-gi could even finish his sentence, Merrill shouted, “What? Luxury brands? If that’s the case, I can help you!”