After a whirlwind of tears passed by.
I explained to my mother about everything that had happened. I told her that Taekgyu and I had invested in cryptocurrency with the money we earned, a story of making money.
“How much did you earn?”
Being honest might make her faint with shock. So, I reduced it to less than 1/100th and said, “About 30 billion won.”
Just that made my mother’s eyes widen.
“Th-thirty billion? I-is that really true?”
Indeed, even in a middle-class family, 30 billion won is a staggering amount.
Hmm, should I have reduced it even more?
I also talked about my future plans.
“I’m thinking of postponing my return to school, living with Taekgyu, and trying out some investment projects.”
My mother looked worried.
“Investing is not easy. There are many people looking to take advantage of others’ money. Your father used to say that those who claim to have exclusive information are all scammers.”
“…”.
The one claiming to have exclusive information is none other than her son.
Parents typically prefer their children to have stable jobs rather than making big money. It’s natural for a mother to worry when her early twenties son wants to start an investment business with friends.
“Don’t worry. We won’t incur debts; we’ll only use the money we have. If things don’t work out, we’ll stop immediately.”
Hearing this, my mother nodded reluctantly. Still feeling uneasy, she looked at Taekgyu and said, “But I’m grateful that Taekgyu is with you.”
Taekgyu nodded vigorously.
“Yes, ma’am. I will take care of Jinhoo.”
“…”.
Who’s going to take care of whom?
The mother continued to wander around the house, touching things here and there with her hands. It still didn’t feel quite real to her.
“There are a lot of things worn out here and there.”
With over 20 years old, there are more than a few places that need attention. The wooden floor and wallpaper need to be redone, and waterproofing needs to be done on the roof. Boiler and plumbing inspections are also necessary.
“I’ve already booked a construction company. They will come tomorrow morning for an estimate and start the work. I’ll give you their contact information, so just let me know what you need.”
“It won’t be cheap.”
To do it properly, it will likely cost millions of won. That’s why the previous owner, unable to muster the courage for repairs, just lived in it and then hastily sold and left.
Since there’s enough money anyway, the plan is to completely repair it to the extent of building a new house.
“Don’t worry about the money. The construction will take some time to finish, so you can stay in the house for now and move later.”
The mother smiled and nodded.
“Okay, son.”
***
Back in our rented house in Seoul, we bought a cake, lit candles, and shared champagne. Although my mother rarely drinks alcohol, she didn’t refuse today.
It was a joyful Christmas we celebrated together after many years.
Taek Gyu slept in my room. The next day, after having breakfast prepared by my mother, we left.
I loaded my belongings into the car with Taek Gyu. Even though it was a compact car, surprisingly, everything fit when I reclined and pushed the back seat down.
As my mother followed us to the first floor, she held my hand tightly and said,
“Always take care of yourself and be wary of people.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Call me often. If you’re busy, I’ll come to you.”
“Got it.”
Taekgyu started the car.
My mother stayed in place until the car was no longer visible.
I asked Taekgyu, “Is it the closing day today?”
“Yes. I just received a call, it will be delivered soon.”
While I was buying back the old house, Taekgyu also purchased a single-family house to start investing in earnest, reasoning that you need a base to invest properly.
I thought it should be called a headquarters rather than a base, but there was no disagreement about the fact that the current house was too small for two people to live together.
“How much did you buy it for?”
“Modestly, 4.2 billion Korean won.”
“······.”
It’s fortunate it was modest. If not, he would have bought a mansion for 10 billion won.
I haven’t visited yet, but the location is said to be in front of Samseong Park, so it’s approximately a few kilometers away from our current home.
A little later, the moving company arrived at Taekgyu’s house. The staff took out boxes and started packing comic books first.
“Please handle the action figures and plastic models with care. They must not break.”
The belongings from the studio apartment filled the truck so much it was unbelievable that so many things came out of this small house.
Was this why the house was always a mess?
Despite throwing away the old furniture, the moving truck was still full.
Moving from Yeoksam-dong to Samseong-dong, the car quickly arrived at the new house.
As Taekgyu gave instructions and the staff moved the belongings, I looked around the new house. It was a two-story single-family house with a small yard and a garage.
On the first floor, there was a living room, kitchen, bathroom, a small room with a bathroom, and a large room. On the second floor, there was a small living room, a makeshift kitchen, a bathroom, a large room, and a small room. There was also a basement and an attic.
This size was more than enough even for a large family to live comfortably.
“1st floor is for you, 2nd floor will be for me. How about decorating the basement as a study room?”
“Not a study room, how about a comic book store?”
“That’s a good idea.”
The place seemed to have been empty for a while, with a lot of dust accumulated inside. The landlord had put it up for sale a few months ago before moving abroad, and it had just been sold.
Fortunately, the moving service included a cleaning service.
I entered the room, unpacked and organized my belongings. Looking at the business management textbooks I used in my first year, it brought back memories. I hadn’t learned much from them, really.
After finishing organizing roughly, Taek-gyu said, “Let’s go shopping.”
***
Seosung Digital Plaza located in Yeoksam-dong.
This place is a store that sells electronic products released by Seosung Electronics. In the past, the best-selling items in electronic stores were home appliances like TVs and computers.
But currently, the unbeaten top seller is none other than smartphones. Priced at up to 1 million won each, people buy one for themselves, even replacing with a new model every two years.
When the L6 was first launched, the atmosphere in the store was excellent. With reservation quantities exceeding 600,000, the products were selling like hotcakes as soon as they hit the shelves. Some colors were out of stock, requiring customers to wait.
Due to a recall, sales slowed down for a while, but the response post-recall was not bad. However, it ultimately faced the tragic fate of discontinuation.
The staff cleared the shelves where the L6 was displayed and replaced them with the latest models, L5 and NT5. The L6 advertisements decorating the walls were removed and replaced with exchange and refund notices.
Before the store opened, the manager managing the store said, “Everyone knows the current atmosphere of the company. Please do your best to assist customers without inconvenience and report any issues immediately.”
It had been nearly ten days since the discontinuation announcement, but the store was still in chaos with exchanges and refunds for the L6. In the morning, it was a bit slow, but come lunchtime, nearby office workers flocked to return their L6 devices, stacking them by color.
New employee Jeonghaejun savored it while looking at it.
How much will the total amount be if you combine all of that?
Within the company, there were rumblings that the IM division would find it difficult to avoid losses this quarter. The executives decided to voluntarily return 10 percent of their salaries.
“It seems hard to expect a year-end bonus.”
A somewhat comforting factor is that the exchange rate is overwhelmingly higher than refunds. This highlights the status of Soseong Electronics in the smartphone market.
After lunchtime, the store quieted down again.
Just as I was about to take a break, a car stopped in front of the store. It was a small red car with a cute girl character drawn on it.
“What’s this? A game promotional vehicle?”
Surely no one would stick something like that on their car just for fun, right?
Two young men in their early twenties got out of the car. One was a chubby young man wearing loose sportswear and glasses, while the other wore jeans and a padded jacket.
They entered the store. The young man in sportswear held an L6 in his hand.
“Another L6 return?”
Jeonghaejun approached them.
“Hello, customers. We will assist you with exchanges and refunds over here.”
The young man with glasses shook his head.
“No, we’re not returning this. We want to keep it as a memento.”
“However, for your safety, it is better to consider exchanging or refunding it.”
To prevent any potential explosions, they had limited the charging rate to 20 percent and planned to discuss suspending usage with the telecom company next month.
The young man smiled and said, “It’s okay. Something good happened because of this.”
From the manufacturer’s perspective, they wanted to collect them all quickly, but if the customer refused to return it, they had no way to force them.
“I’m moving this time and planning to buy some home appliances.”
“Then I will guide you to the upstairs.”
On the second floor of the store, home appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners were displayed. A newlywed couple was browsing through items for their new home.
“Are you looking for any specific products?”
“Just looking around.”
From their response, it seemed they were just browsing without a specific purchase in mind.
The two young men stopped in front of the TV section.
“Wow! What kind of TV is this?”
The massive TV on the wall displayed vibrant colors with each screen change. A price tag of 3,460,000 Korean won was attached to it.
Jeong-hae explained, “This is the recently released Seosung Electronics OLED TV. This model is 95 inches with 4K support. We have one on display in our store. Customers usually prefer the 65-inch models in the 500,000 won price range over there.”
“Is that so?”
After hearing the explanation, the young man nodded and said, “Then I’ll take this one for now.”
“Excuse me?”
For a moment, Jeong-hae thought he had misheard.
“Can’t I buy the display item?”
“Oh, no. That’s not the issue, but…”
He wants to buy it? The 3,460,000 won TV?
‘Did he mistake 346,000 won for the price?’
Confused, the young man gestured around the store and said, “And please give me the most expensive items from here to there, one by one. Oh, and do you offer delivery?”
“…?”
