Chapter 79: The 80% Worry

[Summer Break Period: July XX, 2002 ~ August XX, 2002.]  

A few days later, the school held the closing ceremony for the summer break.  

“This summer break could be the most important period of your lives. So, just for this once, endure it and prepare hard for the CSAT.”  

With the homeroom teacher’s words emphasizing the importance of the approaching CSAT and urging us to study hard even during break, my own special summer vacation began.  

As I stepped outside, the scorching sunlight sparkled brilliantly, as if heralding the start of summer.  

“I’m home.”  

When I entered the house, I saw Dad’s shoes at the entrance. On the floor, Dahye’s and Mom’s shoes were neatly lined up side by side.  

“Son, you’re hot, right? Come have some hwachae.”  

Mom was making watermelon punch in the living room. Dad and Dahye were cooling off with a bowl each.  

“Yes, I’ll go wash up first.”  

In those days, schools didn’t have air conditioning, so just a little movement would soak your uniform in sweat.  

I quickly took off my uniform and let the cool water wash away the heat.  

The scent of soap wafted from my now soft and dry skin.  

Satisfied, I walked into the living room and accepted the bowl of hwachae that Mom had already prepared.  

“Mom, Dad. I have something to tell you. I decided to stay at an acquaintance’s place during summer break. Is that okay?”  

I finally brought up what I had been putting off for a while, choosing my words carefully.  

Of course, I couldn’t bring myself to mention that I’d be meeting one of the LN Group’s heirs.  

So, I just called him “an acquaintance.”  

“An acquaintance? Who?”  

Mom asked.  

“He’s a senior in the field. When I told him I was struggling to come up with new ideas for my writing, he said he’d help out. Give me feedback and all. I think it’ll be a great help to my writing career.”  

I wondered how best to describe him, and decided that calling him a “senior writer” was the most convincing.  

“A senior writer? What’s his pen name?”  

Dad showed interest.  

“You know him too, Dad. But, uh, he asked me to keep it secret. So I’d rather not say.”  

I mixed in just a pinch of the truth.  

“Well, I suppose so. Writers tend to be reserved.”  
“Haha, yes.”  
“If it’s helpful for you, go ahead.”  

In the end, Dad gave his permission.  

It must have been quite sudden for them, but I was just grateful.  

“Thank you. When I come back, I’ll write even more interesting stories.”  

That part was absolutely true.  

I didn’t want to betray my parents’ trust, but it was also a promise I made to myself.  

“Write interesting stories if you must. But don’t overdo it and hurt yourself.”  
“Okay.”  

I beamed and nodded energetically.  

“But somehow, I feel like you have something to tell me? You look like you’re itching to say something.”  

After finishing my conversation with Dad, I glanced at Dahye, who kept sneaking looks my way.  

“Honestly, I wonder who you take after to be like this. Tsk tsk.”  

Mom glanced at Dahye and clicked her tongue with an exasperated look.  

“Who else? She takes after you.”  

Dad followed up.  

“Why me? She’s Seunghyun’s dad’s daughter.”  

Listening to their affectionate bickering, I gave Dahye a signal to hurry up and say what she wanted.  

“Hehe, so... I told you I was filming a refrigerator commercial, right? So I met Jiseung oppa this time. Ta-da! Jiseung oppa gave me an autograph. On the very uniform he wore in the match!”  

She pulled out a white jersey from who-knows-where and spread it wide in the air.  

Beneath the number 21, a stylish signature was scrawled in black marker.  

“Wow, is this really, the jersey that Park Jiseung wore?”  

I was less interested in Park Jiseung’s autograph than in the number 21 jersey he wore during the Korea-Japan World Cup.  

If someone uploaded that online, there’d be plenty of drooling buyers.  

It would probably sell for an outrageous price.  

“Ahem, that’s how it is.”  

She straightened her back, brought her clenched hand to her lips, and cleared her throat.  

Looking at that “How do you like my connections?” expression, I couldn’t help but feel... strangely annoyed.  

Jiseung oppa, Jiseung oppa.  

Those words kept ringing in my ears.  

I felt like my little sister had been stolen from me.  

“Here, this is for you, oppa.”  

Then, Dahye held out the jersey to me.  

“Huh? What did you just say?”  
“You like soccer, right? You were cheering for Park Jiseung all through the World Cup. So I begged and got his autograph for you.”  
“You...”  

Honestly, I don’t even like soccer that much.  

I was just supporting Park Jiseung as a fellow Korean, and as someone who knew the future.  

But Dahye must have misunderstood, thinking I was a die-hard fan.  

More than that, though, what struck me most was why she got Park Jiseung’s autograph for me.  

“How is it? Touched, right? This is a gift apart from what I’ll give you after my agency’s payment comes in. So just accept it.”  

She emphasized that this was a different present from the one she’d promised to give me once her payment cleared, and pushed the jersey into my arms.  

“Thank you, Dahye.”  

I hadn’t expected to receive such a valuable gift from her.  

I scolded myself for my petty thoughts just moments before.  

“I’ll treasure it.”  

Smiling happily, I gently stroked Dahye’s head.  

She was just too adorable not to love.  

---  

The next morning, as I was tidying my room after breakfast, my phone vibrated with a new text message.  

[Welcome to the Summer Chaebol Experience Program. To commemorate the start of your summer chaebol experience, I’ve assigned you your own chauffeur from today. As soon as the car arrives, you’ll depart.]  

It was a message from Min Doyoon.  

“...Did I make the right choice?”  

I hoped nothing out of the ordinary would happen, but for some reason, I felt uneasy.  

His message, filled with a playful tone, pounded at my heart.  

Half expectation, half worry.  

No, make that 20% expectation, 80% worry.  

“You’re leaving today, right?”  

Mom approached and asked.  

“Yes.”  
“Dahye will be staying in the dorm provided by her agency for a while. It’ll be quiet for a month.”  

During summer break, Dahye would be staying at an officetel in Seoul for her ads and other projects.  

With both of us gone, Mom seemed to feel lonely.  

A touch of sadness shadowed her face.  

“I’ll call often. It’s just a month, anyway.”  

Mom was full of affection, and tears came easily to her.  

As with all mothers, she cherished her children above all else.  

With her kids leaving home, her heart must be in turmoil.  

“Okay, don’t be picky about food, eat well, and listen to your hyung.”  
“Yes.”  

If it had been my younger self from my previous life, I would have cut her off, saying, “Okay, I get it! Stop nagging. I’m not a kid, you know?”  

But now, I listened to everything she said and answered with a smile.  

That’s what parents are like, aren’t they?  

Even when they’re sleeping, they worry about their children; even while eating, their minds are on their kids.  

All I could do for my mom was one thing: give her laughter and trust.  

I spent enough time with her to comfort her heart.  

Ding dong!  

Some time later, the doorbell rang and the flash of a luxurious car gleamed outside the window.  

“Who could it be?”  

Mom poked her head out and rose from the sofa.  

“It’s probably the car coming to pick me up.”  

Recalling Min Doyoon’s message, I told Mom who I guessed was at the door.  

“Someone came to pick you up?”  
“Yes, not him, but probably an acquaintance he asked as a favor?!”  

I couldn’t bring myself to say “chauffeur.”  

“That hyung of yours must be a really good person, to go to all this trouble for you.”  

Maybe because she saw how Min Doyoon looked after me, Mom’s face, which had been so full of worry, softened just a little.  

“Yes, he’s a good person.”  

Probably.....  

“Alright, he must be waiting outside. It’s hot out.”  
“Yes, I’ll call when I get there.”  

I grabbed my bag from my room and walked to the front door.  

The car visible through the window was a luxury sedan you’d never see in our neighborhood.  

‘Heh, hehehe. What, is that a car worth hundreds of millions... Is he messing with me?’  

The trident badge on the hood caught my eye.  

My head throbbed for a moment.  

“Are you Yoo Seunghyun? Let me assist you with boarding.”  

The chauffeur, dressed in a black suit, bowed and greeted me.  

“Wow, writers really do make a lot of money these days. Sending a fancy car and even a chauffeur. Have a good trip, son.”  

Mom muttered loud enough for me to hear and waved both hands.  

“Listen well.”  

She reminded me repeatedly to do as Min Doyoon said.  

“Yes...”  

Forcing a smile, I answered briefly and got in the car.  

The ride in a luxury car was something else entirely.  

The chauffeur closed the door for me and moved to the driver’s seat. Mom watched the whole process from beginning to end.  

Our family could afford such a car and a chauffeur, but having lived as ordinary people all our lives, this must have been a new and strange experience for her.  

“We’ll depart now.”  

The chauffeur reported to me before slowly pulling the car away.  

‘Mom, I’m off.’  

I turned around to quietly watch my mom grow smaller in the distance.  

She kept waving her hands until the car disappeared from view.  

I, too, watched until she was out of sight, then finally turned my gaze forward.  

‘Since I’m going, I shouldn’t waste a moment. I’ll observe and absorb everything.’  

Closing my eyes, I steeled myself for the month ahead and the studies I would undertake.  

The car glided smoothly along the road.  

Familiar neighborhoods slipped away, one by one, through the window. Apartment complexes, old shopping centers, kids riding bikes—all faded into the distance.  

[Goodbye.]  

The sign showing we’d left Ansan receded behind us, and the car entered the heart of Seoul.  

Luxury apartments, office buildings, skyscrapers—one after another they appeared.  

Before long, the car entered a quiet alley in Hannam-dong. Passing by mansions built like castles, the car stopped in front of a house marked with the “LN” emblem.  

‘A chaebol is truly a chaebol. This is beyond words. Living here for a month?’  

It still didn’t feel real.  

I’d only met Min Doyoon once, at a hotel, and after that we’d exchanged a few texts and calls.  

The fact that I was going to live here, thanks to his consideration, still hadn’t sunk in.  

I opened the door, set my feet on the ground, and looked up at the mansion.  

“Amazing.”  

What kinds of thoughts do people living in houses like this have when starting their day?  

Taking a deep breath, I slowly walked toward the front door.  

But my feet stopped short before I reached it.  

“I came out to see who arrived, and it seems you’re the writer Doyoon mentioned.”  

An elderly man with neatly combed white hair and sharp eyes stood in front of me.  

“Gasp...”  

Standing before me was none other than Min Doyoon’s father, the third chairman of the LN Group.  

Frozen, I couldn’t say a word.  

And so, my summer experience began, with Min Doyoon quietly smiling in the background.