I Am the Luxury
“Huh? You’re going to help me?” Yoon-gi reacted, his tone laced with slight surprise.
“Yes, I said I could help. Have you forgotten what I’ve been doing lately?”
“Modeling……?”
“Exactly. I told you I was working as a model. When it comes to luxury goods, I can definitely help.”
“No, the work I’m planning right now involves signing a contract with an ultra-high-end luxury brand, so……”
Merrill’s energy was so high that even Yoon-gi was taken aback.
“So I’m telling you, I can help!”
“You can help with a contract? Can a model really do something like that?”
At Yoon-gi’s question, Merrill stood up from the sofa and struck a pose, just like a professional model.
“So, who did you say I was again?”
“I know you’re a model, but I just don’t have a sense of whether a model has that kind of influence.”
Yoon-gi could see Merrill’s expression shifting into a mask of playful mischief.
“Is there a bookstore around here?”
“Bookstores are common enough.”
“Lead the way!”
With a vibrant voice, Merrill dragged Yoon-gi out of the house. As soon as they stepped past the gate, she subtly grabbed his sleeve, her demeanor shifting into her public-facing persona.
Back when Yoon-gi was a laborer, bookstores were either massive chains in prime locations or online shops; local neighborhood bookstores were on the verge of extinction. However, in the 80s, small local bookstores were everywhere. Not long after leaving the house, Yoon-gi and Merrill stepped into a small, cozy shop.
It was a dimly lit 80s bookstore, smelling of old paper. The thin, bespectacled owner, who usually stared at the open door with little interest, widened his eyes the moment he saw the appearance of Yoon-gi and Merrill, his gaze locking onto them.
Yoon-gi was used to this kind of attention and didn’t pay it much mind, but Merrill burrowed even closer to his side. Thanks to that, Yoon-gi felt even better.
When he rubbed the jujube in his pocket at Choi Deok-bae’s prompting, a scream-like shout echoed in his ear. But since there are no ghosts in front of a jujube, Choi Deok-bae kept his mouth shut and hovered nearby, while Yoon-gi wandered around the small bookstore with Merrill.
A moment later, Merrill tugged on his sleeve, and Yoon-gi turned his head.
“Can’t find what you’re looking for?”
As he watched Merrill nod, the bookstore owner approached them.
“Student, what are you looking for? If you need something, tell me. I’ll find it for you.”
At the sudden appearance of the owner, Merrill hid behind Yoon-gi’s back like a shy child. Yoon-gi was forced to interpret her actions and handle the conversation.
“Do you happen to have any fashion magazines here?”
“Fashion magazines? They’re right over there.”
There was a section displaying Korean fashion magazines filled with that distinct retro vibe, but that wasn’t what Merrill was looking for.
“No, not Korean ones. Do you have any foreign ones?”
At Yoon-gi’s words, the owner’s expression suddenly turned gloomy.
“Oh, student. You have a girlfriend, and you’re looking for *that*? Of course I have them.”
The owner glanced at Merrill and pulled a box from under the counter.
And inside that box were……
“Ah……!”
The items that drew an exclamation from Yoon-gi were none other than 80s American pornographic magazines. Although regulations were very strict in the 80s, in some ways, they were looser than today, so selling adult magazines to minors was one of the bookstore owners’ side incomes. Of course, the same went for selling them to adults.
“How about it? This is what you were looking for, right?”
As the owner pulled out one of the magazines packed tightly in the box, a ‘very American-style cover’ stared back at them. Yoon-gi was reminded of the masculine passion he had long forgotten.
“This……, Ouch!”
Yoon-gi, who had been about to reach out and say, ‘This is exactly it!’, screamed as his back was pinched with all his might. Turning around, he saw Merrill glaring at him with eyes like daggers.
“Ahem! That’s not what I’m looking for. I’m just looking for a fashion magazine. Don’t you have any normal foreign fashion magazines?”
“Why would a bookstore like this have those? Why would hot-blooded male students want to look at women who are fully clothed?”
At the owner’s response, as if asking why he was even asking such an obvious question, Yoon-gi couldn’t help but offer a bitter smile.
‘Well, I guess I understand the owner’s point 100 percent.’
After all, Yoon-gi himself had been one of those hot-blooded male students in the 80s. Of course, he was still a hot-blooded male student now.
“Do you happen to know any other places around here that sell those kinds of magazines?”
“As far as I know, none. You know how bookstores around schools are. Go downtown to a big bookstore. They’ll probably have them there.”
“Thank you. We’ll head there.”
Following Merrill, who was pulling on his back, Yoon-gi opened the bookstore door. From further behind, the owner’s voice drifted out.
“Come alone next time. You’re at the prime age, too.”
Yoon-gi chuckled despite himself, only to have his back pinched ruthlessly by Merrill once again.
They had only intended to go to a bookstore, but somehow, Yoon-gi and Merrill ended up on something like a date. At the large downtown bookstore where many people gathered, Yoon-gi looked over at Merrill, worried she might be uncomfortable, as people’s gazes were fixed on their rare combination of a mixed-race girl and a white man.
‘She’s enjoying it.’
While it was true that she was afraid of the surrounding gazes, it was clear that Merrill was showing off the man she was walking with to everyone around them.
‘I haven’t been on a date in almost 60 years.’
Back when he lived the life of a laborer, he couldn’t even dream of dating, and after his regression, he had been running so busily that he had no time to meet anyone. Or rather, to be more precise, it was hard to take an interest in the opposite sex. From the perspective of Yoon-gi, whose mind was that of a middle-aged man, what could possibly be attractive about ten-year-old girls? Furthermore, Korean female students, whose physical development was relatively slower than those in the West, were even less of a concern for him.
But Merrill was different. Because her appearance made her look several years older than her actual age, she looked like a beautiful adult, which was enough to stimulate Yoon-gi’s masculine heart.
“Did you find it?”
When he asked Merrill, who was rummaging through the section where foreign magazines were gathered, she held up a palm as if to say ‘wait a moment’ and began laying out several magazines. She opened each one to a specific page, and there, photos of Merrill wearing various outfits were featured.
“Oh……”
An exclamation escaped him naturally. Merrill’s appearance in casual clothes without any special styling was pretty, but her appearance when she was fully styled was enough to make even Yoon-gi gasp.
Satisfied with his reaction, Merrill stood beside him with a proud expression, then pointed to a section of the magazine with her finger.
“Hmm?”
The part her slender finger pointed to. It was the description of the brands for the clothes Merrill was wearing.
“Ah!”
Yoon-gi hugged Merrill without realizing it.
“Eek!”
A short scream from Merrill. But her mouth was stretched wide in a smile, and Yoon-gi was, in a different sense, grinning from ear to ear as well.
Hermès. Louis Vuitton. Chanel. Armani. Dolce.
Merrill was a model for ultra-high-end brands.
In the first-class cabin of the passenger plane heading to France, Merrill was enjoying the flight, buried deep in her cushion.
“Ha……, first class is just so good. It feels like I haven’t ridden in one in such a long time.”
“You haven’t ridden in first class in a long time?”
At Yoon-gi’s words, Merrill nodded.
“Isn’t that obvious? My family isn’t rich like yours.”
“Wasn’t General Guster rich?”
Merrill shook her head.
“He said that unlike the Korean military, it’s hard for the US military to commit corruption. My grandfather is a respected soldier in the US, but he always says, ‘If I wanted to make money, I would have become an entrepreneur.’”
“That’s unexpected……. Weren’t there many people trying to grab onto his connections?”
“You?”
“No, not me.”
At Yoon-gi’s bitter smile, Merrill shrugged.
“Well, he did help his children get jobs here and there through his connections. But that’s it. I don’t know about the police or the CIA, but the US military can’t just fight wars for money, can they?”
At Merrill’s simple but clear explanation, Yoon-gi was able to understand Guster’s actions, which had led him to join hands with him, more clearly.
‘From Guster’s perspective, he must have thought it was a gain if he could become in-laws with a Korean conglomerate in exchange for sending one son as a director. Even if I were to fail, Guster would be able to place his children elsewhere as long as he was alive.’
They might not have as much money as a conglomerate, but their influence is greater. Yoon-gi concluded that this was the significance of Guster’s existence.
“Still, if you retire as a General in the US military, isn’t the treatment good? I’d imagine it’s incredible.”
Merrill shook her head.
“It was incredibly good while he was on active duty, but after retiring? Not really. My grandfather even misses the past sometimes.”
“How good was the treatment while he was active?”
“It’s very good. They give you a private jet with a bed, free rental of a personal jet, and a luxurious mansion. On top of that, a driver is standard, plus a chef, a housekeeper, and a personal secretary. It’s truly a level that doesn’t envy a king.”
“That’s amazing……”
Yoon-gi, who had thought it would be just a bit better than a General in the Korean military, widened his eyes at the treatment that exceeded his imagination.
“Because of that, the annual salary actually feels somewhat ambiguous. Since he retired, he’s been receiving the same amount as his annual salary as a pension.”
“How much is it?”
“How much is it, you ask…….”
After hearing Merrill’s words, Yoon-gi understood immediately. Based on 2019 standards, it was an amount just under 300 million won.
‘With that money, you could never maintain a personal jet, a luxury mansion, and a personal secretary.’
Yoon-gi asked one thing he was curious about.
“Doesn’t Guster work for a military supply company?”
Merrill shook her head.
“He said it’s hard because there are so many soldiers in the family. Instead, he still has a huge influence on the military.”
“So there are pros and cons to everything.”
“That’s right. Anyway, I came here in business class, so riding in first class like this is so comfortable. Ha, to be able to stretch my legs out like this.”
Watching Merrill’s smooth legs, Yoon-gi smiled and whispered.
“Shall I make it so you only ever ride in first class for the rest of your life?”
Merrill’s face turned bright red as she playfully tapped his shoulder. The time of their pleasant flight was already drawing to a close.
“Are you feeling alright?”
At Yoon-gi’s words, Jo Cheong-woo nodded.
“Yes, I’m perfectly grateful for business class.”
Jo Cheong-woo had no complaints about being the only one in business class. Originally, one shouldn’t have complaints even if riding in third class, but since there are many people in the world who complain about things not being fair, Yoon-gi always carefully monitored the expressions of his close aides. Because those who have complaints beyond their capabilities must be cut off without mercy. In that respect, Jo Cheong-woo was someone who understood his place well.
“Then, shall we go?”
Of course, the schedule wasn’t just for Jo Cheong-woo. The three people absolutely necessary for this work. Originally, he had tried to find them in Korea, but thanks to Merrill, these three people who joined them in France were essential for this task.
“We don’t have much time until the appointment, so let’s leave immediately.”
Yoon-gi’s party began their schedule as soon as they checked into the hotel for their hard-won meeting with the Hermès headquarters, and they were able to arrive in front of the headquarters 3 hours before the appointment.
A long time of 3 hours. However, due to the preparation process, Yoon-gi was only able to enter the Hermès headquarters at the nail-biting time of 10 minutes before.
When they entered the reception room, Laurent, the manager of the overseas business division at Hermès headquarters, was already waiting. Before he even saw Yoon-gi, Laurent spoke in an irritated voice.
“I told you that a contract would be difficult…… Huh……?”