Real Man

Chapter 123:

Chapter 123

Clang.

As I finished my meal and walked past her, Lee Aerin dropped her spoon on the floor.

She met my eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.

The other female employees followed her and surrounded her, frozen in place.

Their reactions were all the same.

It was lucky that she didn’t spill her plate.

Whispers.

I could guess what they were talking about even if I couldn’t hear them.

This was going to be a big problem.

“Let go of it already.”

“Why? Let’s stay like this for a bit longer.”

“I’m so grateful. So grateful.”

Screech.

I quickly turned my body and got up from my seat.

Then I grabbed my plate and moved away.

I had to get rid of these guys first.

“I’ll go ahead.”

“Come with me, Lucky!”

“Mentee!”

Two voices echoed behind my back.

I ignored the sounds and walked fast.

I was so embarrassed that I wanted to die.

That’s why I moved to the opposite side of the cafeteria, where I didn’t know anyone.

As I walked quickly, I heard conversations from various tables in the cafeteria.

Among them, there were some sounds that caught my ears.

“Are those Miracle guys scammers?”

“Do you watch Miracle’s paid broadcast? Kim Hyungjin may be young, but he has a good sense. He’s been right about many things.”

“He’s probably lying about things that have already gone up. If I did that, I would say I made several times more money.”

Was it because of the Semun Electronics news?

There were talks about Miracle Invest everywhere.

My steps slowed down.

“Our team leader said he made 20% because of Miracle’s pick.”

“I heard that too. He just recommended it, not forced us to invest. Kim Hyungjin is a specialist in investing in unlisted companies.”

“Well, if he can predict even the listed stocks, he would be a god.”

Miracle Invest had picked Semun Electronics, which was delisted.

But people still praised Miracle Invest.

This cognitive dissonance was common in the stock market.

They were blinded by the illusion created by money.

That was the moment.

“I wish DNTech would go public soon.”

‘DNTech?’

I heard a name that was strongly engraved in my brain.

“Oh, isn’t that the company that’s going to be our partner?”

“Yeah. Miracle’s Kim Hyungjin said it’s 100% sure. He’s openly saying it on his paid broadcast.”

‘No way…’

I paused and recalled the news that was vividly remembered in my memory.

-The president of DNTech, Yeo Kyungchul, a partner of Hansung Electronics, was arrested and indicted today. The prosecution plans to urgently investigate the senior executives of Hansung Electronics’ LCD division on charges of leaking LCD-based technology to China through DNTech.

About a year later.

The news that I first learned from TV.

A huge scandal where the entire LCD division was investigated by the prosecution.

And.

-I’m Shin Kyungwook, the head of the investigation team who came to the mobile division. I will take over the work while the mobile group leader is vacant. Please focus on your work, everyone.

The incident that led me to meet Shin Kyungwook, my mentor and senior executive.

Was this the beginning?

“…”

Even after I put my plate on the rest area, even after I left the cafeteria door, even after I joined the late part-timers.

I reminisced about the past.

Maybe there was something big hidden behind what I remembered superficially?

My intuition told me so.

I was still lost in thought on the bench in front of the store.

Park Seungwoo, who was next to me, spoke up.

“What are you doing? Your ice cream is going to melt. Do you want me to get you another one?”

“No. I’m fine.”

Right. Let’s focus on reality for now.

It hasn’t happened yet.

Even if I miss something, I can fix it later.

“You don’t like ice cream, do you? Yoo-hyun, drink my coffee. Here, I didn’t touch it with my mouth.”

“Manager Kim, Yoo-hyun likes ice cream. Right?”

“…”

What are they doing?

I looked at Park Seungwoo and Kim Hyunmin, who were sitting on both sides of me.

Their eyes sparkled as if they had tails to waggle any moment.

Choi Minhee, who was watching them, pulled them away.

“What are you doing since earlier? Don’t bother Yoo-hyun.”

“What? We’re taking care of our part-timer.”

“Bothering? We’re taking care of our mentee.”

The two men responded and Choi Minhee sighed deeply.

“Sigh…”

That afternoon, another news shook the company.

-KOSDAQ, KOSPI plummet. Sidecar triggered, followed by breaker!

Starting with the bankruptcy of Woosang Construction, the foreign selling pressure exploded and the stock prices shook.

As some loan companies went bankrupt due to the aftermath of the US subprime crisis, the Nasdaq futures index plunged.

The domestic stock market was a mess at the end of the day.

Normal trading was not possible, and eventually trading was temporarily suspended.

“I’m going crazy!”

“Ha, I shouldn’t have gone in.”

That’s why there were more people smoking on the outdoor terrace on the first floor.

They all had worried faces.

Park Seungwoo rubbed his chest.

He was still shaky, even as he smoked.

“Just tell me. I’ll buy you a meal.”

“You haven’t paid for the last one yet.”

“I wrote it down in the ledger. I’ll take care of you until you get into the coffin.”

“Okay. I’ll charge you interest too.”

There were a lot of people buying meals these days.

But more importantly.

How was Hyunsoo doing?

-It’s okay, buddy. It’s not a big deal and I haven’t lost anything yet. I decided to do it, so I want to try it once.

I decided to trust Kim Hyunsoo, but I was worried.

If he invested in put options, he should have sold them today.

If he got greedy and waited until the expiration date, he could lose a lot of money if the stock went up.

The stock price was bound to go up again.

I fiddled with my phone, wondering whether to call or not.

That’s when it happened.

Beep.

-50 million won deposited to Han Yoo-hyun’s account at Seoul Bank.

It was a message left on my phone.

‘What?’

Before I could even blink, the phone rang.

It was Park Young Hoon’s call.

He blurted out in a frantic voice.

-Hey! Yoo-hyun! You hit the jackpot!

“What are you talking about? Did you send me money?”

-Yeah. Did you get it? Go to the bank and check it out.

“No, what is this money? And why is it so much?”

I didn’t entrust much money to Park Young Hoon.

The stock market was unstable, so I invested in safe assets like gold and dollars. I didn’t even make a sell reservation.

There was no way this much money would come in.

But Park Young Hoon’s answer was outrageous.

-I sold Hyun Soo’s stuff today.

“Kim Hyun Soo?”

-Yeah. Awesome. I sold everything at the peak. The return rate was a whopping 300%. 300%. I achieved twice the target return rate.

“What does that mean?”

-I wanted to take more, but Hyun Soo said to just sell it. Wow. He has a gambler’s spirit.

“…”

I was stunned by Park Young Hoon’s excited chatter.

300%? How did he do that?

Does the money come in right away if he sells it today?

No, there was something more puzzling.

“Why are you giving it to me?”

-It’s the money I borrowed from you.

“…Bro, I got it. Let’s talk later.”

-Yoo-hyun…

I hung up the phone for now.

I lent Kim Hyun Soo 30 million won.

It was a lot of money, but compared to the debt he owed me, it was rather petty cash.

But.

That money came back as 50 million won after a little over a month.

Does that make sense?

I couldn’t believe it.

The next day.

I was in Seoul Bank near Hansung Tower.

I met Eun Jong Ho, the bank clerk who lent me money last time.

“Oh, I remember. You’re the one who borrowed money last month. Did you say you were lending money to a friend?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Haha, nice to meet you. What brings you here today?”

Eun Jong Ho’s nosiness and smug smile were still there.

When he becomes a branch manager in the future, he will have arrogance added to his personality.

Well, he has some skills though.

I chuckled as I recalled the past memory and answered him.

“I’m here to pay back the money.”

“Already? It doesn’t seem like a month has passed… Well, okay.”

Eun Jong Ho took my ID card and a paper with my account number and muttered to himself.

“Your friend must have paid you back already…”

“He did.”

“Oh, really? You have a good friend.”

“Yes. A very good friend.”

“It’s none of my business, but did you charge interest? Even between friends, transactions should be thorough.”

Eun Jong Ho smiled slyly at me as he entered my account number on the computer.

-If I may say so, it’s better not to lend money between friends. You might lose both your friend and your money. Is your friend worth that much?

That was his attitude when he lectured me when I borrowed money last time.

His biased view was clearly embedded in his casual remark.

“I did.”

“Oh, how much?”

When I held up two fingers, he nodded as if he understood.

“20 means 0.66% interest per month for 30 million, 8% annual interest. Well, that’s not bad.”

His mental arithmetic skill was still there.

But his standard was wrong.

I shook my head as if it wasn’t him and he corrected himself.

“Oh, 200? That’s a bit too much, wait a minute…”

His eyes shook greatly as he checked my account information through the monitor screen.

“50,000? Is this the money you received with interest?”

“Yes. It just happened.”

“Gasp! Ha, 66% interest per month? How on earth…”

What did he mean by that?

Even loan sharks don’t charge that much.

How did he get that much money by trading?

Something like that?

Of course, I agreed with him.

So I confronted Kim Hyun Soo.

-Come on, if you’re going to pay me back, just pay me back what you borrowed. Where did you get this?

-I borrowed it because you wanted to, so I’m paying it back because I want to.

-Hey, you don’t have to do that. Anyway, I’m not taking it.

I refused to take it, saying I wouldn’t.

Then the words I spat out came back to me.

-Then throw it away.

-…

I lost my words at that.

I had no choice but to do as Kim Hyun Soo wanted.

Because his feelings were clearly conveyed to me.

“What kind of friend is he?”

“A good friend.”

“No, that… Can I borrow some money from you?”

At that moment, Eun Jong Ho uttered an absurd remark from his mouth.

I could feel his sincerity from his anxious expression.

I snorted and answered him.

“Of course not.”

“Then how do you pay back the money…”

“I don’t know. If I knew, I would have done it myself.”

“Ha…”

Eun Jong Ho sighed deeply, forgetting his duty.

Then he tapped the keyboard with a hollow expression.

“I guess I can’t do it…”

He also muttered some useless words.