Chapter 15: How much could it have gone up to cause such a commotion?
‘Aaah, why was I even talking about tuna? I should have gone with something friendlier like squid.’
Just as I was about to pull my hair out, feeling like I’d made a fool of myself by mentioning tuna for no reason, the mood took a completely different turn.
“Hahaha, what’s up with this guy? He’s so funny.”
“It’s even funnier that he’s the only one who’s serious about the world. Hahaha.”
“He looked so cold and intimidating, but he’s actually a complete turnaround. Hahaha.”
Contrary to my concerns, laughter erupted all around me, leaving me dumbfounded.
The atmosphere at the drinking session suddenly became cheerful.
‘What’s going on?’
Scratching my head with a puzzled expression, I quietly returned to my seat.
Min Chan-gi, who had been covering his mouth with his hand, quietly gave me a thumbs up.
“Pffft. Dae-woon hyung. I didn’t know you had that kind of character.”
“Me? What kind of character?”
“To be honest… When I first saw you, I thought if you asked for money, I’d have to give you all the money I had. But you have this subtle charming clumsiness. Where did the dolphin thing come from anyway?”
I felt unjustly accused.
Sometimes, when the ship was docked, wild dolphins would appear, and we’d actually play together if they weren’t in heat. They were quite friendly to humans as long as we avoided mating season.
“But… Did you really work on an ocean fishing ship?”
A woman who had been sending me uncomfortable glances from the side suddenly sparkled with curiosity and asked.
Suddenly, all eyes around me focused on me.
Taking a sip of beer, I nodded my head.
“Yes. I was in the South Pacific for four years.”
“Wow… That’s fascinating. There really are people who work on ocean fishing ships.”
The woman looked at me with wonder and then offered me her beer glass.
“I’m Kim Joo-hee. I’m twenty-three, so can I call you ‘oppa’? You can talk comfortably too, oppa.”
“Sure, Joo-hee.”
With large, round eyes and overall delicate features, she was a cute and petite girl with short hair and a headband style.
Joo-hee was very sociable, and she seemed quite curious about me, probing me with questions.
It seemed like our conversation was entertaining to others around us, as they kept peeking in to join.
“I heard that you make a lot of money if you work on an ocean fishing ship. Is that true?”
“Well… it depends. Usually, the basic salary isn’t that high. Instead, there’s a bonus system where you get paid proportionally based on the amount of fish you catch. If you catch a lot, you earn more.”
Joo-hee’s eyes widened.
“Wow. That’s fascinating. Did oppa’s ship catch a lot?”
“Oh, we caught a ton. When it comes to tuna alone, the amount is overwhelming.”
“How many did you catch, exactly?”
“Tuna boats don’t measure in numbers; they measure in tons. Usually, on one trip… at least 100 tons? If it’s a good haul, maybe around 200 tons?”
“Wow… Amazing! 100 tons?”
The weight of 100 tons seemed unimaginable to Kim Joo-hee, who took a deep breath in astonishment.
The bespectacled man next to her naturally joined the conversation.
“I heard working on an ocean fishing ship is really tough, so spending four years there is impressive, hyung.”
“Well… I didn’t have much of a choice if I wanted to make a living.”
“Oh! I’m twenty-five. My name is Lee Ga-haeng. Please feel free to call me by my name. Nice to meet you, Dae-woon hyung.”
I nodded and offered a glass to Lee Ga-haeng.
“Ne, Ga-haeng. Didn’t you say you finished your second year and transferred to KAIST?”
“Oh? You remember that. Hahaha. I prepared on the side while attending school, and luckily it worked out this time.”
“That shows how hard you worked. It’s my first time in college, so if there’s anything I don’t know, I’ll ask.”
“I’m in the same boat. Whatever it is, feel free to reach out if you need help.”
Despite his gruff appearance, he was quite polite and kind. Somehow, I had a feeling I would become friends with him.
“But where did you go in the South Pacific while working on the ocean fishing ship?”
“I went to various places. Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Argentina, and so on.”
Then the barrage of questions from my colleagues began.
“Oh! I’ve been to Argentina once on a trip. How long does it take by ship?”
“At a speed of 10 knots, it took about 60 days running 24 hours a day.”
“Heol. You have to spend two months just on the ship? In the vast ocean? Wow. I could never do that.”
One of my colleagues stuck out his tongue.
“But if you went from Korea to the South Pacific, you must have crossed the equator, right?”
“Uh… the equator? Don’t even mention it. I still can’t forget the heat there. What about the equator in Africa? It’s just pleasantly warm compared to there.”
“Oppa, did you have any interesting stories while working on the ocean fishing ship? Since it’s the ocean, there must have been all sorts of things happening.”
“That’s right! Just tell us one. We’ll go anywhere to listen.”
All my colleagues looked at me eagerly, making me feel like I was being pressured to tell scary stories to my younger siblings at an orphanage.
“Um… There was this one interesting incident.”
With pursed lips, I pondered, then gradually began to unfold the story.
“I don’t know if this is fun or not, but… the hardest thing when you first get on a boat is seasickness, right? It’s so painful that it feels like sharp pebbles are rolling around inside my head and hundreds of bugs are crawling around in my stomach. I thought I was going to die trying to adapt to this at first.”
The vivid description made my colleagues shudder as well.
“Is it really that bad?”
“You have no idea. I’m not prone to seasickness, so I didn’t even worry about it when I went on the ship. But it was like an endless overtime shift. Eventually, I had nothing left to throw up, so all that came out was water.”
“Ugh… I can imagine.”
The gaze of my fully immersed colleagues was solely focused on me.
Even the chicken shop owner, who I don’t know when he came in, was quietly listening in.
“But isn’t it amazing? Humans are really adaptable creatures. Before I knew it, I found myself at one with the rhythm of the waves and the vastness of the sea.”
“Wow. I guess you’ve completely adapted. That’s incredible.”
“You know, sometimes when you’re doing your business and a really big wave hits… it’s a real disaster, right? But in my case, I’ve reached a point where I can ride the waves and even find a smooth rhythm.”
“Hahaha. What is that supposed to mean?”
“Ugh! I imagine it. If you miss the timing, it’s a catastrophe!”
I was expecting them to be impressed, but instead they burst out laughing, leaving me puzzled.
“Do you know how amazing that skill is? One day, a foreign sailor came looking for me. He said he wanted to learn my mysterious ‘bathroom groove’. This is a true story.”
“Pfft. Oh man. ‘Bathroom groove’?”
“Hyung, you absolutely can’t use that groove in the school bathroom. If you do, you’ll end up on the school poster. Be careful.”
“Hahahaha”
“You guys don’t know… the exhilarating feeling of doing your business on the railing of a ship in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean.”
The entire chicken shop was transformed into a sea of laughter in an instant.
But why is the owner over there shaking his shoulders in the corner?
As the drinking party got into full swing, my colleagues started to move around and really start to get to know each other.
So many colleagues came and went from my seat that I could barely remember their faces and names.
Nevertheless, I desperately tried to cram the faces and names of each of my colleagues into my head.
“Hahaha, are you crazy?”
“Giggle, that’s cute.”
Before I knew it, my tipsy colleagues were babbling nonsense and even playing childish pranks on each other.
I sat at the end of the table and watched them with a content smile.
Seeing me like that, Min Chan-gi, whose eyes were slightly open, softly asked me.
“Hyung, what are you thinking about?”
“Huh? Hahahaha. Did I look a little strange? It’s nothing much… I just really like this moment. It’s like a simple dream for me. It’s the first time I’ve had university colleagues.”
It felt different from growing up in the nursery with my childhood friends.
These people came from completely different backgrounds and lived completely different lives.
That’s why it was both fascinating and fun.
“I think I get it. You said that college life itself is a first for you. From what I’ve seen, the freshmen this year all seem to have great personalities. I don’t see any mean ones.”
For a moment, my eyes met Min Chan-gi as he glanced sideways.
“I’m not a mean person, you know.”
“Hehe, sorry. I thought you were the meanest one, but I didn’t know you were the easiest one to get along with. Anyway, let’s get along well from now on. Let’s hang out like this occasionally too.”
“No, thank you. I need to look good to you seniors.”
“What do you mean ‘good to you seniors’? I am just a volunteer.”
And so, the freshman welcome party ended with that last drink with Min Chan-gi.”
It was a wild drinking party, but there was a lively conversation about college students that made me feel good.
And that’s how my first and last college orientation came to an end.
***
Time flowed like a river, and the cherry blossoms that had painted the campus pink fell away as the weather changed closer to early summer.
Fully adapted to college life, I had reached a point where I could find any building without asking for directions, and I had pursued my university studies more diligently than anyone else.
In the lobby of the central library, unlike the hushed reading rooms, there was a lively hubbub of students chatting.
Sitting at a table in one corner of the lobby, I watched my passing classmates absentmindedly.
Some were busy running around with their major textbooks, some were sharing mundane daily life stories with laughter, and others were diligently studying with earphones plugged in.
The tranquil scent of aged paper permeating the library was also delightful.
The past two months of university life have been pure joy for me.
Surprisingly, the study of business management was incredibly interesting and aligned well with my aptitude.
I discovered for the first time how fulfilling it was to study what I truly wanted.
Of course, I faced the pressure of exams and assignments, but that in itself was a different kind of joy.
Although it might sound sentimental, whenever I walked alone on campus, I still felt a flutter in my chest, reminding me that I was also a member of this university.
“Why aren’t those who said they’d join us for lunch right after class coming yet?”
I had plans for lunch with my classmates, but my class ended earlier, leaving me to whither away the time.
As I enjoyed the ambiance of the library and absentmindedly watched people, my phone vibrated roughly on the table.
[Mr. Kim Seon-gi of Daehan Bank]
“Yes, Mr. Kim.”
[This is Kim Seon-gi from Daehan Bank. Song Sajanimeun, how have you been?]
TL Note: This phrase introduces the person being addressed, which is President Song.
At some point, Kim Seon-gi started calling me Song Sajanimeun.
“I’m doing well, but I’m busy with exams and all.”
[Hahaha. Still, I envy you. I always dreamed of being a wealthy college student when I was young… Oh, but that’s not important. Have you checked the recent gold prices by any chance?]
“Gold? I checked about two to three weeks ago and didn’t see anything. It was steadily rising, though, wasn’t it?”
[The gold prices are skyrocketing right now. Please check it quickly.]
“What? Suddenly?”
I was speechless for a moment at Kim Seon-gi’s trembling voice.
I knew that the gold price, which had been moving sideways since I bought 8 billion won of gold through the KRX gold exchange, was steadily trending upwards.
The nearly 9% profit in just under two months had injected even more vitality into my enjoyable college life.
[A war has broken out in the Middle East, which is causing a surge of money into safe assets like gold. Please check your account for now. I have to hang up for now as I have an urgent meeting.]
“How much has it gone up exactly that it’s making such a commotion?”
Scratching my head, I opened the KRX exchange app on my smartphone. And then…
“What…?”
A single word of bewilderment escaped my lips as I stared at the screen.
