The Former Chaebol Heir Excels as President

Chapter 20: Let’s Make Some Money (5)

Fortunately, Mom listened to me.

Though she couldn’t shake off the shock of losing 500,000 won easily, time healed her.

Mom came to the office and learned the job from the neighborhood unni, and after a week, she got skilled enough to handle it on her own.

The first day of school.

The three musketeers gathered at the convent bus stop after a long while.

Seeing each other in school uniforms after seeing each other every day at the office felt new.

Yang Seok‑gu had the look of someone who had it all.

“I told you I’d succeed! Your idea was perfect!”

Yang Seok‑gu worked deliveries all winter break and earned over 500,000 won.

On top of that, he held a 20% stake in our area, so he also received dividends.

So, it was only natural for Yang Seok‑gu to be beaming.

Ji Jeongseok, despite holding a 40% stake, wasn’t interested in money.

He only helped with deliveries because he was busy and wanted to exercise.

That made me curious.

“Jeongseok, what are you going to do with the money?”

“I bought a Walkman and some records.”

“You’re not coming out on weekends anymore, right?”

“We’re in our second year of high school now. I need to study.”

Yang Seok‑gu cut in.

“Cheonmyeong, don’t worry. I’m not going to college, so I’ll cover Jeongseok’s share too.”

“Do that.”

“Thanks. Oh, and Daemyung’s clothes looked pretty nice. Money really is the best.”

“I heard there’s a rumor they’re rounding up vagrants.”

“Oh yeah, I heard that too. They’re supposedly taking in people who sleep on the streets.”

Ji Jeongseok, listening to the conversation, burst out with a curse.

“Those ignorant bastards! Do they think people disappear if they vanish from sight? According to Article 12 of the Constitution, all citizens have the right to personal freedom. No one can be arrested, detained, searched, interrogated, punished, or forced into labor without due legal process.”

Yang Seok‑gu was impressed.

“You memorized that? Sounds like something we learned in social studies.”

“That’s the problem with display governance. They’re putting citizens through pain just to look good for foreigners.”

“Oh? The bus is coming.”

Because it was the first day back, school started later.

So the bus was empty.

Ji Jeongseok.

I was even more curious what kind of person he would become.

We sat side by side in the very back row.

Yang Seok‑gu, who sat in the middle, asked me,

“Have you met up with Ah‑mi?”

“She’s busy with abacus and bookkeeping classes.”

“At least see her face once in a while. If you don’t, you’ll break up.”

“It’s not like we’re even dating.”

Woo Ah‑mi.

Since I was so busy, I couldn’t pay her any attention.

Yeonhwa told me Woo Ah‑mi had called our house, but I didn’t answer.

That’s how intense my winter break had been.

Since it was a quiet hour, the bus sped along.

Maybe because of the Olympics, the roads had been neatly maintained.

Yang Seok‑gu asked curiously,

“Do you think our country will place in the top 10 this time? Since it's hosted here, we’ll probably get favorable calls.”

“We’ll come in 4th.”

Yang Seok‑gu looked at me like I was talking nonsense.

“That’s ridiculous. The Soviet Union, the U.S., East Germany, and West Germany alone make four. Plus, there’s Europe, China, and Japan too.”

“We’ll see.”

Ji Jeongseok also gave a wry smile.

“Cheonmyeong is smart, but this time he’s completely wrong. Even with home advantage, 4th place is a stretch.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Hey! I’ll bet my entire fortune!”

“How much fortune do you even have?”

“Anyway! If I lose, I’ll grant you one wish. Anything!”

Yang Seok‑gu was full of confidence.

“If I lose, I’ll buy you a motorcycle.”

“What? Seriously? No backing out!”

“I mean it!”

“Jeongseok, you heard Cheonmyeong, right?”

“I heard. Congratulations in advance—you’ve already won.”

Yang Seok‑gu and Ji Jeongseok probably thought I was dreaming, but that’s what happened.

In the 1988 Olympics, our country ranked 4th in the medal count after the Soviet Union, East Germany, and the United States.

As the bus neared the school, Ji Jeongseok asked,

“Cheonmyeong, did your hyung have a trial?”

“He’s getting released soon and going into the army in a few days.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know the details either.”

I didn’t know the details either.

Because Mom said so.

Ji Jeongseok got angry like it was his own matter.

“They’re real bastards. They classified him as a discipline target and sent him to the army.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re trying to stop him from protesting. How’s that any different from North Korea? Sending him to the military to brainwash him.”

No matter how I looked at it, Ji Jeongseok had a lot of complaints about the world.

Was he seriously dreaming of becoming an anarchist?

“We’re here. Let’s get off.”

Yang Seok‑gu stood up first.

I could see the school through the window. There were so many students going up to the school gate, they looked like a swarm of ants.

Infinite competition.

Same in my past life or this one.

As soon as I entered the classroom, friends swarmed me.

It seemed the delivery agency business had become a rumor.

“Cheonmyeong, can I work part-time on the weekend? I even know how to ride a motorcycle.”

“I’ll do it in summer break. I want to buy a Walkman.”

The one who begged me most desperately was Hong Guk‑tae.

This guy used to buy so-called ‘red books’, porn photo albums, from the Seum Shopping Center and rent them to friends for 200 won each.

He got caught by the homeroom teacher at the end of last year and got beaten until a ship left Gimpo Airport, and since then he hadn’t run the rental business.

I disliked this guy.

Hong Guk‑tae charged double for friends who were weaker than him if they returned late by even one day, and gave free extensions to those stronger than him.

I had seen plenty of hyena types like him in my past life.

These kinds of guys would stab their master in the back if it benefited them, so it was best to keep a distance.

“The business rights were handed over to someone else. So I have no power now.”

That’s how I refused the requests of my classmates.

I checked the front left seat.

The seat of Wang Dohun, the model student.

There’s no way he wouldn’t be at school by this time.

My question was answered by the fork devil, Pyun Dalsik.

That guy was loudly talking up front.

“Wang Dohun transferred to Gangnam. He tucked his tail between his legs because he kept losing to Cheonmyeong.”

“I didn’t like that bastard. He used to say, ‘Just because I’m from Gangnam doesn’t mean you should feel distant!’ pulling that kind of crap, and now he’s gone back.”

“Do you know why he transferred? He said the quality of the school’s teachers was below expectations. That dumb bastard!”

Wang Dohun.

He shouldn't have just left like that.

Could it be that I’m the one who pushed him to the dark side?

Soon, the homeroom teacher entered.

“Attention! Salute!”

“Hello!”

We greeted in sync with the class president’s command.

“You all studied hard over the break, right? Second year is the most important time that decides your future. Remember, depending on your score, your wife’s face will change.”

“Whoa~ Whoa~.”

Such a primitive motivator.

“Choose between liberal arts and sciences carefully. Once you decide, you can’t change.”

“Yes.”

“Today we’ll have brief one-on-one talks, so come down in number order in a bit.”

“Yes.”

After the teacher left, Yang Seok‑gu came over to my desk.

“You guys are both going into liberal arts, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too.”

Ji Jeongseok and I chose liberal arts.

I chose liberal arts because I aimed to major in economics, and Ji Jeongseok picked it because he hated math.

“Do I even need to choose if I’m not going to study anyway?”

“Just come with us. We might end up in the same class.”

“I think so too. I hope we end up in the same class.”

But contrary to our hopes, the three musketeers were split up.

Of course, we lived in the same neighborhood and saw each other every day, but it was still disappointing not being in the same classroom.

Not long after the new semester began, Big Brother was released.

The day before Big Brother enlisted.

He had been released from prison just two days before, so it was basically immediate conscription.

Just like Ji Jeongseok said, Big Brother was classified as a discipline target.

Someone who needed to be guided toward a right and good path.

Would sending him to the military really make him a right and good person?

Above all, I couldn’t agree with the idea that someone becomes a bad person just for joining the student movement.

Big Brother had a shaved head.

“They shaved it off in prison.”

Big Brother smiled shyly, but to me, he looked like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.

More than anything, I was worried because he had lost weight.

Father came home ahead of the eldest son's enlistment.

Dinner with the whole family gathered.

Mom prepared a lot of food—pork ribs, japchae, jeon, and braised mackerel.

“Taemyung, eat a lot. You all eat plenty too.”

“So this is where the saying ‘the table legs will break’ comes from. Mom, even a king’s royal table couldn’t compare to this.”

My exaggeration didn’t lift the gloomy mood.

Because Big Brother stupidly shed tears.

I had thought he was a really strong person, but with enlistment ahead, he must have had a lot on his mind.

“Let’s eat.”

Father picked up his spoon, and the meal began.

Kang Daemyung is serious when he eats. It’s not eating—it’s drinking food.

Mom scolded him when she saw it.

“Didn’t I tell you not to eat like that? No one’s going to steal your food, so chew slowly.”

“Okay. Hehe.”

The relationship between Big Brother and Father looked extremely awkward. They didn’t make eye contact and didn’t speak to each other.

When the meal ended, Father spoke to Big Brother.

“After the army, be a decent person. If the eldest goes wrong, the younger ones follow.”

“Yes.”

Mom also gave her advice.

“That’s right, Inseok. You lost precious time being in prison during your prime study years. The military is something you have to do anyway, so just go and come back healthy.”

“Yes.”

Father said he had to work early tomorrow morning and left early.

A sense of fear crept up instinctively. I spoke to Mom about this anxiety.

“Shouldn’t Father go to the hospital? He’s lost weight and his face looks darker.”

“He’s just really busy. That’s all.”

Big Brother, who heard me, was also concerned.

“Mom, like Cheonmyeong said, take him to the hospital. He doesn’t look well.”

“I told you it’s just fatigue. You don’t have to worry.”

“Mom, we have money to go to the hospital now. If you let the illness grow, you won’t be able to fix it later. I’ll pay for the hospital.”

“When he gets a day off this summer, he can go to the hospital then. Once this busy season ends, he’ll be fine.”

Mom wouldn’t listen to me.

Is there some reason?

By the end of this year, the delivery business will be at its peak. When that time comes, Father can take charge of a district too, so I followed Mom’s reasoning.

Yeonhwa looked at Big Brother and said,

“Big Oppa, come back safely from the army. I’ll write you letters. I’ll tell my friends to write too.”

“Alright.”

“Hyung-ah, how long will you be gone once you go to the army?”

“Three years.”

Kang Daemyung’s eyes welled up with tears as if he might cry any moment.

He probably thought of Big Brother like a father.

Thirty months.

Now that Big Brother was actually about to be gone, I felt uneasy too. I wasn’t originally a sentimental person, but my second life had changed many parts of me.

“Cheonmyeong.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry for many things. Look after the family while I’m gone. Father doesn’t seem well, so pay attention to him too.”

“Okay.”

“Earning money is important, but don’t neglect your studies.”

“Once the Olympics are over, I can make a lot of money. I’ll study hard too.”

Big Brother looked at me blankly for a moment, then lightly tapped my shoulder.

“With you here, I can go with peace of mind.”

“You listen well over there. Don’t rebel and make things hard for yourself.”

“Alright. Above all, I need to stay healthy.”

Those were the last words he said before enlisting.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, Big Brother was gone.

[I'll be back safe.]

He left a single memo on the table.