IWSF – Ch 224

There’s a saying that success breeds friends.

Ever since I became successful, I was overwhelmed with people seeking me out. Not just business people and politicians, but even guys claiming to be kindergarten and elementary school classmates I didn’t recognize came to the company.

Wouldn’t it be fair to say there are thousands of people in Korea alone claiming to be my close friends?

Lost in these thoughts, I arrived at the meeting place and got out of the car.

I was dressed like a student, in jeans and a padded jacket, and I wore a baseball cap pulled low, worried someone might recognize me. The indoor pocha (Korean pub) near the university, which I hadn’t visited in ages, was quiet.

As I stepped inside, Min-young and Kyeongil, who had arrived earlier, waved their hands.

“Over here!”

Min-young looked much the same as he did in university, and Kyeongil was wearing a hat, perhaps to hide his short hair.

“How’s everyone been?”

My friends greeted me warmly.

“It’s been too long!”

“We thought you’d forgotten all about friends and everything after becoming successful.”

“Of course not.”

“You changed your number all the time, too.”

“Ah, right.”

I had changed my phone several times. Come to think of it, Yuri is the only person from university whose number I have. They probably both figured I didn’t want to be contacted.

“I thought about visiting you at the company, but I figured just showing up wouldn’t be right. You get a lot of those people, don’t you?”

“Plenty.”

As the saying goes, those with good intentions don’t seek you out, and those who do rarely have good intentions.

That’s why I came to meet my real friends, who haven’t sought me out during all this time.

“How have you guys been lately?”

“How have we been? I work for a defense contractor, and he’s in the military.”

Unless you hold foreign citizenship, men have to resolve their military service issue. (Though, if you have money and connections, you can usually find a way out.)

Min-young got a job at a defense contractor for his alternative service, and Kyeongil enlisted in KATUSA (Korean Augmentation To the United States Army).

“I’m jealous of you, having finished your military service early.”

“What are you talking about? It’s a hundred times better to go late than to go active duty.”

“Seriously, do you know how shocked I was when I saw the news? The guy who cleaned up in the UK during Brexit was my friend. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Yeah, how come you didn’t say a word all this time?”

I laughed and apologized.

“Sorry. I was originally trying to keep it a secret during university, but things just turned out this way.”

If Taek-gyu hadn’t been arrested, I probably wouldn’t have revealed my identity. It’s all because of Park Si-hyung.

“Anyway, it’s amazing that the world’s best investor is my friend. It’s surreal.”

“World’s best? Warren Buffett is still alive and kicking.”

“Ah, that’s right. You even met Warren Buffett in person, didn’t you? He had lunch at your place, right?”

“Wow! That’s unbelievable.”

We clinked our glasses and caught up on old times.

As expected, talking to old friends makes the conversation flow easily.

“Do you go to department stores and just buy whatever luxury items you want? Waving your VVIP card around, with the branch manager coming down to greet you?”

“That has happened a few times.”

But neither Taek-gyu nor I are particularly interested in shopping or luxury goods.

Among the super-rich, there are those who live in a way unimaginable to ordinary people, while others, like Warren Buffett, drive old cars, live in old houses, and enjoy donating to charity.

I guess it’s just a difference in personality.

I asked Kyeongil, “How’s KATUSA? Is military life bearable there?”

“Don’t even mention it. I almost died because of you.”

“Huh?”

When he first joined KATUSA, the senior soldiers, knowing he was in the business department at Korea University, asked him about me. At the time, the atmosphere was positive, so Kyeongil showed them pictures of us together, bragging about his friendship with the CEO of OTK Company, and they were all impressed.

But then, when I stirred up the controversy by claiming Big One was coming, public opinion among Americans turned very negative.

This sentiment was shared by the US military in Korea.

The arrows of anger were directed at the KATUSAs in the unit. The American soldiers openly harassed the Korean soldiers, and Kyeongil, who had been bragging about Kang Jin-hoo being his friend, started having a seriously difficult time in the military, getting harassed by both the American and Korean senior soldiers.

“During the day, the American soldiers were on my case, and at night, the senior soldiers were on my case. It was so hard I even thought about deserting. Actually, a few guys went out on leave and didn’t come back, and the whole base was turned upside down.”

But then, the real earthquake happened, and the situation reversed.

The American soldiers once again treated the KATUSAs with love and appreciation, and Kyeongil’s status within the unit skyrocketed simply because he was in the same department as me and was my friend.

“From then on, military life became incredibly easy.”

“…….”

Hmm, all that happened because of me?

“Want to come visit sometime? There are a lot of American soldiers who want to see you.”

“I’ll think about the visiting part.”

I don’t even want to get close to the military.

I asked Min-young, “What are your plans for the future?”

“I need to think about it after this is over. Whether to get a job or go abroad to study. Since I’m going to study anyway, I’d like to do an MBA program.”

“It’s good to learn while you have the opportunity.”

Working made me realize I regret not studying more.

Min-young’s family is quite wealthy, so going abroad to study wouldn’t be a problem for him.

I looked around the pocha and said, “Drinking soju here brings back memories.”

Kyeongil nodded.

“Totally. We used to deliberately leave our student IDs out when we were trying to pick up girls.”

The idea was to show off that we were students from a prestigious university to try and attract women. But it wasn’t a very good strategy.

If you want to brag about being a Korea University student, you should do it somewhere else, not in a bar right in front of Korea University. (Half the people who come here are Korea University students.)

“Do you ever get approached by women on the street now?”

I chuckled.

“What are the chances of that? They wouldn’t even recognize me.”

But no sooner had I finished speaking than two women approached our table. They looked to be in their early twenties, maybe a year or two younger than us.

Both were pretty with tall, slender figures. One had short hair, and the other had long, straight hair.

The one with short hair asked cautiously, “Excuse me… we’ve been watching from that table, but are you by any chance CEO Kang Jin-hoo?”

I looked at the table she pointed to, and there were two more women sitting there. They were staring intently at us.

Before I could deny it, Kyeongil quickly said, “That’s right. He’s Kang Jin-hoo.”

At his words, the two women gasped in surprise.

“Eek! What do we do?”

“It’s really Kang Jin-hoo!”

“I couldn’t believe it…”

Without being asked, Kyeongil helpfully explained, “We’re his classmates from the business department at Korea University. We were just having a drink after a long time.”

“Oh, I see. Hello. We’re from the Department of Airline Services at Se-in University.”

Se-in University is a vocational college across the street from Korea University.

They sometimes have meet-ups with Korea University students, and the Department of Airline Services is particularly famous among male students. That’s because there are a lot of beautiful women there.

“Oh! Flight attendants in the making.”

The women giggled at that.

“Not yet.”

“Come on, you’ll all be flight attendants after you graduate.”

That’s not necessarily true.

Just like not everyone who graduates with a business degree goes into business, not everyone who graduates from the Department of Airline Services becomes a flight attendant.

The woman with short hair said, “Would you mind joining our friends and having a drink with us?”

Kyeongil looked overjoyed and said, “Of course!”

If this were in the past, I might have welcomed it with open arms, but now I have a girlfriend.

I looked at Min-young, hinting that he should try to stop Kyeongil. But Min-young had already moved the adjacent table over and was diligently setting out cutlery and glasses.

“Please, sit over here.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The two women who had approached us and the two at their original table first moved their belongings to our side and then all headed to the restroom together.

I said to Kyeongil, “Why the sudden merge? I have a girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend? Who?”

“Well…”

Before I could answer, Min-young said, “Then you just sit tight. We’ll take care of the rest.”

“Huh?”

“It’s time for me to get a girlfriend too.”

What’s up with him?

Min-young had a strict dating rule after breaking up with his senior in college: never date someone from the same university. So, dating a Se-in University student is acceptable.

“I’ll pay the bill and leave, so you guys can drink on your own.”

Kyeongil grabbed my arm, stopping me from getting up.

“Think about it, man. If you leave, do you think they’ll stick around? That girl with the long, straight hair is exactly my type. You know I like long, straight hair, right?”

“…….”

Doesn’t every guy like that? And for him, any pretty girl is his type. (Though, what guy isn’t like that?)

“Just stay until I get their numbers.”

“I’m leaving. I’ll contact you later.”

Finally, Kyeongil resorted to his last resort.

“Are you really going to do this? I’m a soldier on leave. I have to go back to the base after the weekend!”

I was dumbfounded. “You’re in KATUSA.”

“Isn’t KATUSA a part of the military? When I go back to the base, all I’ll see are burly burger guys. What are friends for? Please, just help me out this once. I need to get married too.”

“…….”

Is he already thinking about marriage with her?

There’s an unwritten rule among guys: you don’t have to grant the wishes of the dead, but you have to grant the wishes of a soldier on leave.

I had no choice but to sit back down.

“Only until you get their numbers.”

“Thank you. I won’t forget this kindness.”

While we were talking, the Se-in University students came back from the restroom and walked towards our table. They all looked even prettier than before. Did they all touch up their makeup in that short amount of time?

Min-young said in a low voice, “I heard that the Department of Airline Services at Se-in University doesn’t look at grades, just faces. I guess that wasn’t a joke.”

They are definitely all pretty.

The women sat down. Kyeongil and Min-young introduced themselves first, and the women took turns saying their names.

They were all sophomores in the Department of Airline Services at Se-in University, all 21 years old.

Kyeongil and Min-young quickly refilled the women’s glasses.

“Alright, let’s have a toast since we met like this. It’s fate!”

“Nice to meet you.”

We clinked our glasses.

Come to think of it, I’ve never really done any proper blind dates or pick-ups.

I was dating Seon-ah from the beginning of university, so I never had the chance to go to those kinds of gatherings, and after that, I went to the military, and then a lot of other things happened.

Min-young asked, “What brings you all out on a Saturday night?”

Then they all pointed to the girl with long, straight hair.

“It’s her birthday today. So, we got together for the first time in a while.”

Min-young clapped his hands and said, “Wow! It’s your birthday today. Happy birthday!”

He’s unusually proactive today.

Is it because he works for a defense contractor, a part of military service, that he’s so full of military spirit?

Suddenly, my own time in the military came to mind, and I felt a pang of sympathy. Yeah, when else are you going to support your friends if not now?

Kyeongil asked, “Do you all have boyfriends?”

“We don’t.”

The girl with short hair pointed to the friend next to her. “Ah! She has one.”

The woman who was pointed out waved her hands in denial. “Ah, no. I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Huh? But you’re seeing that guy, aren’t you?”

Another friend chimed in. “Yeah, that guy picked her up at school in a Benz just a few days ago.”

“We’ve just met a few times. He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Didn’t you go to Cebu together during the break?”

“Th-That was just because our schedules matched up.”

She looked at me and said, as if making excuses, “He’s really not my boyfriend. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“…….”

At that point, anyone could tell he was her boyfriend.

We continued to clink our glasses.

Being like this makes me feel like I’ve gone back to my university days. If I had stayed in school, would this be how I’d be spending my time? (Of course, if that were the case, the women probably wouldn’t have approached us first.)

As I was thinking that, the girl with long, straight hair, who had been checking her phone occasionally, suddenly screamed.

“Kyaa!”

Kyeongil asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I just uploaded the pictures we took to Facenote, and it already has over 300,000 likes.”

“What?!”

When did we take pictures?

I was startled and pulled out my phone. I opened the Facenote app, and it was right there without even having to search.

The girl with long, straight hair had taken a selfie with her friends, and I was small in the background.

Just in case people couldn’t tell it was me from the picture alone, they had kindly tagged me below so everyone would know.

#KangJinHoo #JinuKang #OTKCompany #CEO #President #Tycoon #Investor #Celebrity #Celeb #FamousPerson #KoreaUniversity #IndoorPocha #Drinks #Mingling #BurningSaturday #SatNight #SuperHot #KeepingItSecretWeAreDrinkingTogether #ItsMyBirthdayTodayNotASecret

“…….”

Are there no end to these hashtags?

Min-young said in a panic, “W-Wait a minute. Mike Goldenberg liked it.”

At those words, I was aghast.

“What?”

She blinked and asked, “Who’s Mike Goldenberg? Is he famous?”

None of them seemed to know.

Kyeongil explained, “He’s the founder and CEO of Facenote.”

Mike Goldenberg’s influence was immense. The number of likes quickly surpassed one million and was heading towards ten million.

The fact that I was out drinking with women was being broadcast to the entire world!