Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Poolside Reflections
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People often say that money is a good thing. But to truly know whether money is good or not, you have to spend it frequently.
One thing is clear: judging from this current experience, everything prepared for people with a lot of money boasts an incredible price tag.
"Jjambbong's 38,000 won."
I checked the menu and put on an impressed expression.
I have no idea what they do to jjambbong to think of slapping a 38,000-won price tag on it. To be honest, selling jjambbong at that price feels like a crime.
The cabana Han Sang-ah had mentioned was indeed extravagant. Inside the cabana, there was air conditioning, a large waterproof bed, a Dolby surround sound system, and a massive TV.
Right in front of the cabana was a private swimming pool reserved exclusively for cabana guests. The pool water even had a faint fragrance, as if something special had been added.
"Ugh, my head's spinning. Thinking about the prices makes me feel like there's a hole in my stomach."
I nodded at Jeong Oh-hoon's words. Of course, Han Sang-ah, who had suggested this cabana rental, casually walked to the fridge in her rash guard.
"There's a reason for spending a lot. You think people will just leave us alone if they see us in the pool?"
Han Sang-ah pulled out a beer from the fridge and filled a glass to the brim. She wasn't wrong. I guarantee we wouldn't get a single moment's rest from that point until we left the pool.
"Looks like your grandfather headed back to Seoul."
"He's busy."
Han Sang-cheol had returned to Seoul. Lee Se-eun also had to head straight back to Zanabi headquarters for a meeting due to contact from the government regarding the Gonsalok.
"How's it taste?"
Han Sang-ah took a bite of the lobster from the food laid out on the table before answering.
"Not worth what we paid. Spicy canned tuna and rice would be more efficient."
"Come on, you're comparing it to tuna from a can?"
Han Sang-ah shook her head at Jeong Oh-hoon's remark.
"Of course this tastes better. But the price is different. With expensive food, your expectations get higher."
I watched the two of them for a moment before turning to Jeong Oh-hoon.
"By the way, most people who go through what you did end up as shut-ins from guilt."
Jeong Oh-hoon gave a simple reply to my words.
"What I want is my ex-wife's happiness, not my own misery. No reason to live a painful life just because I think I deserve punishment."
"How about looking her up and having a talk?"
Jeong Oh-hoon shook his head at my suggestion.
"My ex-wife is happy right now. She met a good guy and decided to spend her life with him, and their lifestyle is comfortable."
Jeong Oh-hoon filled his glass to the brim with beer, downed it in one go, and wiped the foam from his mouth with his hand.
"Showing up in her face now would just be me being selfish and cruel. Alright, enough of that topic."
Jeong Oh-hoon picked up a shashlik skewer from the plate, pulled off the meat, and offered me a glass filled with golden beer.
I clinked glasses with Jeong Oh-hoon.
"What's she doing?"
Han Sang-ah, who had plopped down on the floor, was rummaging through something. A tube? She immediately put her mouth to the air valve of the deflated tube.
"You're gonna inflate that huge tube by mouth?"
But thanks to a hunter's immense lung capacity, the tube puffed up in no time.
"...A shark?"
Han Sang-ah tossed the fully inflated massive shark-shaped tube into the pool with a flick.
She came back inside the cabana and watched the shark tube bobbing on the pool surface.
"What was the point of inflating the tube?"
"To look at it."
Han Sang-ah sipped her beer while admiring the floating shark tube, as if it were some kind of drinking snack.
"Once I retire, maybe I'll open up a shop. Help me out a bit."
Jeong Oh-hoon said that to Han Sang-ah, who replied immediately.
"I don't think there's anything I can help with."
"Why not? Didn't you get heir training for Geumyang Group?"
Han Sang-ah nodded and continued.
"That won't help. If you suddenly became president of Geumyang Group, you wouldn't know what to do."
"True."
Han Sang-ah picked at her food as she went on.
"If I tried running a small shop instead of a massive organization like Geumyang Group, I wouldn't know how either. Never learned it, no experience."
It felt like the difference between Zhuge Liang and Lü Bu. Fighting well and commanding well are different realms.
After that, we spent quite a while chatting about all sorts of trivial nonsense.
Then, with some music playing, we sprawled out like wet laundry—no one needed to go first.
What we needed wasn't thrilling new experiences.
We needed time doing absolutely nothing.
After a while, Han Sang-ah, who had been sitting on the cabana bed solving a Rubik's Cube, picked up the cabana phone and ordered something.
I, dozing on the bed, saw her and asked.
"What'd you do?"
"Asked them to change the pool water to hot spring water."
Jeong Oh-hoon and I blinked at that.
"Hot spring water?"
"They pipe it straight from Gero Onsen in Nagoya."
Apparently, they transported the hot spring water from faraway Japan in specially made tanks to prevent sediment buildup, then reheated it here in Hongcheon for supply.
No matter how I thought about it, it sounded insane. Sure, you might import hot spring-based cosmetics, but pumping the actual water?
"That's gotta cost a fortune."
"Yeah," Han Sang-ah replied.
She pulled the shark tube out of the water.
"Why'd you take that out?"
"Sharks don't go with hot springs."
After a short wait, the pool drained, then refilled with steaming hot water.
"Now."
Han Sang-ah muttered, grabbed a large icebox from the fridge, filled it with ice, and packed it with beers.
She then brought over a wide, shallow bowl, set plates on it, and loaded it with food.
"Come on in."
Han Sang-ah floated the food bowl and beer icebox in the hot spring.
Jeong Oh-hoon let out a small exclamation at the sight.
"People born with money really know how to have fun even in situations like this."
I turned on some music with the remote and slipped into the hot spring.
Soaking in the steaming outdoor bath, sipping ice-cold beer.
"Ah, this is the life."
It almost brought tears to my eyes. A bit belated now, but Earth really is a great place.
Even on the brink of collapse, you can sauna in a hot spring while munching on food and beer. Of course, with the caveat that you need a ton of money...
"To have experiences like this, you'd have to be a king or something."
I was thinking of that other world. No matter how rich you were, enjoying something like this required one more condition there.
Class. Everything—food, clothing, shelter—was restricted by class.
Take commoners, for example. Except on designated days, they couldn't eat dairy like milk, butter, or cheese because it was needed to feed calves.
Pork from grain-fed pigs was banned. Chicken was limited to completely old hens past laying age.
Lamb only from old sheep too worn to shear—mutton. Beef went without saying.
As I reminisced about the old days, I asked Han Sang-ah.
"Oh, yeah— I don't know much about the leader of the Chinese provisional government right now."
Han Sang-ah might know something.
"The leader of the Chinese provisional government is Li O-jun. My grandfather's assessment of him was simple."
Coming from Han Sang-cheol, no less—that carried weight. I wondered what he'd said.
"He said, if you want to see how ridiculous the phrase 'What can one person do?' is, just look at Li O-jun."
"...That a compliment?"
Han Sang-ah shook her head at my question.
"Probably not. In my view, China had several chances to rise again. But Li O-jun ruined them all."
One man had utterly wrecked a massive nation spanning 9,597,000 square kilometers.
Definitely a solid counter to "What can one person do?" It proved one person could cause that much damage.
Jeong Oh-hoon, listening beside us, chimed in.
"From what my contacts say, he's living like a king in his stronghold. Recently, he selected 15 women."
"Women?"
According to Jeong Oh-hoon, the criteria were under 25, meeting specific physical standards.
"They even did virginity tests, from what I heard."
Good grief. From the sound of it, the current Chinese provisional government was basically just a big North Korea.
"How old is Li O-jun?"
"68."
I clicked my tongue at Han Sang-ah's answer. At an age where you worry if your spine can stay straight, what the hell is he doing?
It went beyond competence—this guy just seemed sleazy. Jeong Oh-hoon, listening, joked lightly.
"There's that saying about heroes and their lust, right?"
"Bullshit. What does liking women have to do with being a hero?"
Just slapping two unrelated words together. No need to attach any profound meaning to it.
After that, I heard all sorts of stories about Li O-jun from Jeong Oh-hoon and Han Sang-ah.
From Han Sang-ah, mostly about his leadership of a nation. From Jeong Oh-hoon, various rumors.
"Anyway, I get a rough sense of what kind of guy Li O-jun is now."
Korea right next door was run by gangsters, and the Chinese provisional leader seemed full of glaring flaws.
Like if the old Korean provisional president had been Lee Wan-yong. Horrifying thought.
"China's starting to look kinda pitiful at this point."
Country already ruined, and the guy in charge is like that? Hopeless combo.
"Once we take out the Gonsalok, won't China's situation improve a bit?"
Jeong Oh-hoon said that, and Han Sang-ah and I both stared at him. He grabbed a thick strip of bacon from the tray, shrugged.
"Can't I make a joke?"
Once the Gonsalok is gone, Korea will be salivating to strip Chinese territory bare. And sadly, China lacks the leadership to stop it.
No way their situation improves.
I haven't spent much time talking with President Jo Won-hoon, but that guy's the type to skin China down to the bone and roast the whole thing.