Real Man

Chapter 114:

Chapter 114

Alcohol is the enemy.

Yoo-hyun blamed the awkward atmosphere on the alcohol.

That’s when Jin Sunmi, who was next to him, blinked her rabbit eyes and said.

“Wow, I didn’t know you had this side of you. You’re so manly. People would be surprised if they knew.”

“What are you talking about?”

Why do other people need to know?

He didn’t know why, but Jin Sunmi’s words stirred up something.

“Yoo-hyun, you were such a hard worker. No wonder…”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Kwon Sejung, who saw him every day, had a strange misunderstanding.

“I thought you were just relaxed, but you had a lot of effort. Well, that’s why you prepared German too.”

“German?”

“Didn’t you hear? He’s not only good at German, but also at English, and his work is above the level of most managers. It’s no wonder he passed the seminar in one go.”

“…”

Min Jeonghyuk even had a proud expression on his face.

That made the atmosphere go weird.

“Oh! That’s amazing.”

“Yoo-hyun is really awesome.”

“I have to work hard like that.”

“No, it’s not my story. I just heard it from someone.”

Yoo-hyun quickly corrected them.

That was not the direction he wanted to live in.

But they all looked at him with disbelief.

“Hey, what does it matter? I feel a little less wronged now. I thought you were just a genius.”

“He’s not just a genius, he’s a genius who works hard.”

“Stop saying that.”

Genius, what!

He didn’t want to be noticed like this.

“Brother, you’re really amazing.”

“Back off a bit.”

Jin Sunmi, don’t look at me like that.

That’s why Gong Hyunjun kept being sour.

He could tell by his glance that Gong Hyunjun had a big misunderstanding.

“Come on, Yoo-hyun got hit by the truth, so it hurts, but he also heard some good words. Right, Hyunjun?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Yeah. Come on, let’s have a drink together. It doesn’t matter what others think, we just have to do well. Who has time to blame others?”

Seo Changwoo, the leader, held out his glass.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The glasses clashed here and there.

Gong Hyunjun, who poured two drinks down his throat in a row, pushed his flushed face forward.

Then he glared at Yoo-hyun with a fiery look.

“I’ll show you. How I work hard and climb up.”

“Why do you have to show me?”

“Just wait and see. I’ll definitely do it.”

Is he saying this because Jin Sunmi said he was amazing?

It was such a sudden change of attitude that it was startling.

‘Is he not drunk?’

As Yoo-hyun looked at Gong Hyunjun with a doubtful eye, he saw something outside the window.

There was a girl with her hands cupping her eyes next to them, looking inside.

She met Yoo-hyun’s eyes at that moment.

“Huh?”

The girl opened her mouth wide and opened the door of the pub and came in.

Then she called Yoo-hyun with a bright smile on her face.

“Brother!”

It was such an unexpected shout that even Yoo-hyun was surprised.

The other classmates didn’t need to say anything.

They all looked at Jo Euna with a stunned expression.

Jo Euna smiled as if she had iron on her face.

“Euna, aren’t you supposed to be tutoring right now?”

“I came to go to the English academy. Oh, are these your coworkers? Nice to meet you.”

Jo Euna bowed her head and then words started popping out from everywhere.

“Ah, hello. I’m Yoo-hyun’s classmate Byeon Jaeseung.”

“I’m his best friend Kwon Sejung.”

“Haha, come sit here.”

Even Seo Changwoo moved his seat aside and gestured for her to sit down.

“Thank you. You’re all so cool.”

“Haha, thank you. You’re really beautiful.”

Jo Euna sat down lightly in that spot.

Everyone was interested in Jo Euna who suddenly joined them.

They seemed curious about many things but they had just met so they handed her a glass of alcohol first.

“Do you want a drink?”

“Of course, my future senior. Thank you very much.”

The girl who came to go to the English academy smiled brightly and took the glass.

She also created a good atmosphere.

“Hahaha, you must be a student.”

“Yes. I’m in the graduating class this year.”

“Oh, this is fate. Let’s have a drink.”

She really blended in with the group at a fast pace.

The eyes of the classmates were all sparkling.

Only Jin Sunmi’s expression was serious.

‘Could it be?’

She was the most worried about Yoo-hyun and Jo Euna’s relationship in this situation.

What if she was Yoo-hyun’s girlfriend?

Her role, which was to show her presence by spreading Yoo-hyun’s news at the female employees’ meeting, might be greatly reduced.

For the sake of the other female senior employees who liked Yoo-hyun, that couldn’t happen.

“I…”

She was about to ask a question with a doubtful mind.

Screech.

Yoo-hyun got up from his seat abruptly.

It was because of someone passing by outside the window.

“Guys, I’ll go ahead. Hyung, I’ll go first. Text me the bill. I’ll send it to you right away.”

“No. I’ll pay for it.”

Gong Hyunjun said with a determined expression and glanced at Jin Sunmi.

Jin Sunmi seemed to be paying attention to something else, but what did it matter?

He said he would pay for it.

Yoo-hyun gave him a thumbs up and quickly went outside.

“Brother, let’s go together!”

Jo Euna, who was sipping her beer, said when Yoo-hyun had already left.

Yoo-hyun walked fast.

Soon he lifted his head and saw a tall building.

It was a famous English academy in this area.

Yoo-hyun ignored Jo Euna’s words and walked through the crowd that filled the hallway.

There was a timetable on the front of the office on the first floor hallway.

‘The night class for working adults is on the fifth floor.’

The current time was 9 p.m.

It was impossible to attend an academy at this late hour unless you had a strong determination.

If you take a two-hour class and go home, it will be well past midnight.

Looking at the timetable, he had to come at least three times a week, which was not easy at all.

Swoosh.

He got off the elevator on the fifth floor and saw people lingering in the hallway.

From middle-aged men to young women with fresh faces.

The class had not started yet, so they were going into their classrooms.

Yoo-hyun looked around the classes and quickly scanned the people.

He saw him enter this building.

But that didn’t guarantee that he attended the academy.

Could he be here?

He must have been hoping for it inside.

“He really attends here.”

He smiled when he saw Kim Younggil, who was sitting in the front row of the classroom.

Working adult intermediate C night class.

In there, Kim Younggil was confidently talking to the foreign teacher in front of him.

He looked very familiar with joking with the teacher before the class started.

He must have invested a lot of time in this academy.

Yoo-hyun understood why Kim Younggil came to the academy.

He didn’t want to show his weakness in front of those who were good at it.

Instead of hiding his shame, he was honing himself from behind.

That was good. He didn’t see it wrong.

The five years he spent with him.

As Yoo-hyun saw, he was always a hard-working person.

A person who acknowledged his lack and knew how to fill it up.

He just didn’t know how to overcome it.

And that was something Yoo-hyun could help him with.

Yoo-hyun’s smile reflected on the glass window.

Click.

When Yoo-hyun came home and turned on the switch, the small space lit up brightly.

It was a really humble house compared to the past.

But why did it feel so cozy?

Yoo-hyun put down his bag and hung his jacket on the chair at the table and boiled some water in the coffee pot.

Honey that his mother sent him was perfect for hangovers.

Yoo-hyun poured hot water over thick honey in a cup and sat down on a chair.

A faint drunkenness rose up with the sweet scent.

He pressed the button on the CD player in the corner of the table and a gentle piano melody filled the air.

Yoo-hyun leaned back on his chair and enjoyed his honey tea while listening to the music.

His expensive coffee turned into honey tea, his pricey audio equipment turned into a cheap CD player, his soft sofa turned into a hard dining chair.

But his habit of calming his mind with a serene atmosphere was the same.

He felt like his head was lighter as he pondered in the quiet mood.

“This is nice.”

He liked this moment, then and now.

It was like wrapping up his day.

It didn’t look much different from the past, but there was something added to his daily life.

It was checking his phone messages.

Yoo-hyun took out his phone from his bag.

When he opened the window, dozens of unread messages popped up on the small screen.

Since it wasn’t a smartphone, it was hard to see all the messages at once.

But it was fun to check them one by one, remembering the previous conversations.

Beep.

The vibration rang at that moment.

-Are you having fun with your classmates? Drink until you pass out. Don’t be left out for no reason.

Park Seungwoo said something he didn’t mean.

He replied briefly and moved on to the previous messages.

-There was a big match at the gym today. Wow. Taesoo hyung was flying. You should have been there. Don’t miss it tomorrow and come with us.

It wasn’t just Park Young-hoon, his senior from the army.

-Aren’t you skipping too often these days? I’m bored without you.

Kang Dong-shik, who he became close with at the gym, always sent him a message like this when he skipped the gym.

Men have nothing to do.

But he had to reply.

Especially if he didn’t reply to Kang Dong-shik, he would hear some useless nagging at the gym tomorrow.

-Did you get home well? We finished soon after you left. Don’t take Hyunjun’s words to heart today. He’s already having trouble with human relations.

He could have talked about it at work tomorrow, but Kwon Sejung always sent him a message like this.

-Thanks for the good time. Rest well and see you tomorrow. Fighting.

Seo Changwoo, the leader of the classmate meeting, who always took care of him from behind, was the same.

-Brother, did you get home well? Can I tell people what you told me today? It was such a good story.

What part of it was good?

Who are you going to tell?

He couldn’t figure out Jin Sunmi at all.

Yoo-hyun snorted and sent a reply to each one of them.

He received dozens of messages today alone.

Family, friends, coworkers.

There was nothing special. They were just asking how he was doing.

What would Yoo-hyun in the past think if he saw this?

Wouldn’t he think they were all useless?

They were not helpful for success or had any chance of gaining anything from them.

Rather, they would have felt annoying in the midst of his busy schedule.

“What a foolish life I lived.”

Yoo-hyun smiled with self-mockery.

Why was his vision so narrow back then?

There were people right next to him who could make his life richer, but why didn’t he know that?

He acted like he knew everything, but he was a half-wit who knew nothing about life.

The messages that filled the screen.

Each line contained the feelings of people who cared about Yoo-hyun.

Could he think of this as a report card for his changed life?

You did well.

Maybe not enough to stamp it with approval, but at least he felt confident that he was on the right path.

Yoo-hyun pressed the button and looked at the messages that came before.

He felt like he was reading his diary again as he remembered the emotions and situations in each word.