*Ring!*
I reluctantly opened my eyes at the sound of the ringing bell and grabbed my phone.
I answered the phone half-asleep.
“Hello.”
A woman’s voice came through the phone, sending chills down my spine.
“[Jinhoo senior!]”
“······?”
I checked the screen to see that it was Shin Yuri.
Rubbing my eyes, I asked, “Oh, Yuri. What’s up?”
“[Senior, you mentioned you were returning to school this semester, right?]”
“Yeah.”
It’s already been three years since my leave of absence, so I really plan to return to school this year.
“Have you applied for re-enrollment?”
“I should start soon.”
Yuri urgently said, “[The deadline is today.]”
“What? Since when did time fly by like this?”
“[Come to the school right away. Meet me in front of the student hall by 4:30. Got it?]”
“Okay. Got it.”
The call ended.
Looking at the time, it was 3:20 PM. It would be quite tight to make it by 4:30.
I quickly showered, grabbed some clothes, and got ready. Taekgyu looked at me scrambling around and asked, ”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the school to apply for re-enrollment.”
The guy seemed puzzled and asked, “Didn’t you drop out of school?”
“······.”
I haven’t dropped out yet.
***
When I arrived in front of the student hall, I saw a blond girl.
She had a moderate height, slender figure, and a small face. Her golden hair was tied up in a bun, and she wore a black choker around her exposed neck.
Even though it’s been a while since I last saw her, she still looked as beautiful as ever.
“Hurry up, senior.”
“I got it.”
With Yuri, I entered the student hall. Thanks to our rush, we were able to submit the application form without any issues.
Yuri scolded me, saying, “What would you have done if I hadn’t called you? You know you need me to take care of you.”
Submitting the application is not the end. The most important step of paying the tuition fee is still ahead.
I checked the tuition bill and was surprised.
“340,000 won?”
I briefly questioned if I had seen it wrong.
Before I went to the military, it was around 200,000 won, right? When did it increase so much?
I heard that the tuition fees had gone up, but I didn’t know it had increased this much. If a public university is charging this much, what about private universities?
This amount is a significant burden for middle-class families, as it almost reaches 7 million won a year.
“I, too, used to worry about tuition fees until I was discharged two years ago. It doesn’t really matter now.
“Did you apply today, too?” Yuri said, shaking her head.
“I took a one-year leave from the beginning, so I don’t need to apply separately.”
Did you come to school just because of me?
As I was about to thank her, this thought crossed my mind.
“Can’t we do this online?”
In this day and age, do we really need to come to school to submit a re-enrollment form? Just enter the school website, enter your student ID, and click a few times.
Yuri looked taken aback at my words.
“W-Well…”
But soon she chuckled and said, “Ah, what’s the big deal? It’s important that we successfully completed the re-enrollment process, right?”
“That’s true.”
Anyway, if she hadn’t called me today, my leave of absence would have been extended forcibly.
“You haven’t eaten, have you? Let’s go get some food, senior.”
“I’ll treat you today.”
Pointing to the Central Library building, I asked, “Campus cafeteria?”
To which Yuri looked serious.
“What are you talking about? If you’re going to eat, you should eat properly. How about some beef?”
“Huh?”
What does a student on leave have money for?
Yuri playfully laughed at my expression.
“I’m kidding. Since I’m paying, let’s go eat something really delicious. Shall we take a taxi?”
“I came by car.”
I hurried out and came by car.
I took out my car key and pressed the button.
Beep!
The light came on from the blue sports car parked there.
Yuri widened her eyes in surprise.
“It’s an i8. Senior, did you buy this car?”
I shook my head.
“No, it’s not my car, it belongs to a friend I live with.”
The car alone costs almost 200 million won. It’s not a car that an ordinary college student would drive.
“But can you still drive it, senior? I heard even close friends don’t easily lend their cars.”
“It’s okay. He rarely goes out of the house anyway.”
***
I drove the car towards Dosan Park as instructed. Meanwhile, Yuri made a reservation over the phone.
We arrived at a sushi restaurant.
Looking at the menu board outside, the price for the dinner omakase was 180,000 won per person.
This person sure goes out to eat fancy dishes.
We sat side by side at a table and ordered the omakase.
“Start with a beer, please.”
“I have to drive.”
“We can call a designated driver.”
“Should we?”
As it was starting to get closer to dinner time, not long after we entered, the place began to fill up quickly. Soon, not only our table but even the private rooms were packed.
If you didn’t make a reservation in advance, you wouldn’t have been able to come at all.
We clinked our beer glasses. The cold beer went down my throat smoothly.
“When the new semester starts, we’ll be in the same 2nd year.”
Yuri took a leave of absence last year and went to the US for language study. Since both of them didn’t spend much time in Korea, they hardly had the chance to meet.
But Yuri would occasionally contact me if there was something worth remembering.
At first, I thought she might have a crush on me, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It felt more like a human interest rather than romantic interest. However, it’s not like there is no romantic interest at all.
Anyway, we’re still maintaining a good senior-junior relationship.
“Is it okay to profit from such an expensive thing?”
“Of course. Thanks to you, I’ve made a lot of money.”
“Oh? What money?”
Yuri said with a mischievous smile.
“Didn’t Seosung Electronics rise a lot?”
“Oh.”
After the L6 discontinuation incident, there were talks of withdrawal from the smartphone market.
However, Seosung Electronics worked to enhance safety to regain consumer trust and released the premium model L7 as planned one year later.
The L7 gained immense popularity and washed away the nightmare of the previous year. The company also expanded into the semiconductor and home appliance sectors, and its stock price rose to over 1.9 million won, surpassing its previous high.
There was a prevailing sentiment in the securities market that it would soon exceed 2 million won.
“You said you had 20 shares?”
To my question, Yuri smiled and shook her head.
“No.”
“You sold them during that time?”
“No. In fact, I bought 30 more shares separately afterwards. So now I have a total of 50 shares.”
“······.”
This is almost 100 million won.
Well, considering the house I live in is worth over 2 billion won, is investing 100 million won a big deal?
“I should follow the advice of seniors when it comes to investing in the future.”
I chuckled.
“I’m not any kind of expert.”
“No, in my opinion, seniors seem to have a sharp sense when it comes to investments. If you work in that field after graduation, you’ll do well.”
“······.”
He seemed to have a keen sense to notice that.
The chef kindly explained each piece as he served us sushi, saying, “Here is akami, here is otoro.”
We sipped beer and savored the sushi.
“This tastes good, right?”
“It sure does.”
After tasting it, I could understand why people are willing to pay a lot of money to come to a place like this.
Whether it’s cheap or expensive is a relative concept. If the taste and service seem decent compared to what you’ve paid, it’s enough even if it costs 200,000 won. On the other hand, if you eat something for 5,000 won and find it disappointing, it’s a waste.
“Are you going to the senior OT event?”
“No.”
It would be awkward to go there as a returnee student. Somehow, if it were Kyeongil, he would definitely attend.
“Then what about the freshman welcome party?”
I don’t think I can make it to that either.
“Why not?”
I have plans to go to Hong Kong around that time.
“Hong Kong? What’s the occasion?”
“Just going to hang out with a friend, that’s all. My friend’s older sister works there.”
“Oh, I heard about that before.”
As we chatted, my glass was empty. I ordered two more beers.
“Sounds nice. I also want to go to Hong Kong.”
“You had a good time in the U.S., didn’t you?”
Upon hearing that, Yuri got annoyed.
“What are you talking about? I just focused on my studies.”
“Got it. I believe you.”
“Ha.”
Yuri pursed her lips and said, “So, what were you up to for a year, senior?”
I chuckled while sipping my beer.
“Oh, you know, this and that.”
***
Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok International Airport.
I disembarked the plane with Taekgyu. Hyunjoo and Ellie were there to greet us at the immigration area.
Hyunjoo wore a high-waisted skirt with a blouse, while Ellie was in a women’s suit. Perhaps it was her short haircut that gave off a sophisticated vibe.
Ellie waved at us as she saw us approaching.
“Welcome to Hong Kong!”
Hyunjoo said.
“Thanks for coming.”
“It’s no trouble. First class is pretty comfortable.”
Taekgyu nodded in agreement.
Going from home to the airport was more of a hassle.
I first learned that you could lie down on an airplane. They even provided pajamas inside.
It’s not like a long-distance route to the U.S. or Europe. Coming to Hong Kong, which is just a few hours away, in first class is excessive wastefulness.
Taking just the business class would have been enough, but we didn’t pay for first class because we wanted to save money.
Ellie came forward and held out her hand to me.
“Long time no see, Jinhoo. How have you been all this time?”
I took her hand.
“I’ve been good. And you, Ellie?”
It had been almost 3 months since we last met. We had met once altogether when we stopped by Hong Kong for a day on the way back from Australia.
Ellie jokingly said, “I’m thinking of fleeing to Korea because I’m so busy.”
Hyunjoo Noona asked, “Is your mother doing well?”
“Yes, she’s fine. Taek-gyu and I went down a few days ago.”
We headed to the parking lot while asking about each other’s well-being.
Beep!
When Ellie pressed the remote control, the lights came on in a huge luxury sedan. It was an S-Class Maybach.
“What car is this?”
“It’s a company car. They offered to pick me up comfortably.”
We loaded our luggage into the trunk and sat in the back seat. There was enough space to stretch our legs.
Hyunjoo Noona sat in the front passenger seat, while Ellie took the wheel. Due to British influence, the driver’s seat and the direction of the road were opposite to Korea.
The car, once out of the airport, sped on the highway towards the city center.
“There seems to be construction, so we may need to turn back.”
On both sides of the road, dozens of high-rise buildings towered densely. Numerous signs, extending towards the road like branches of a tree, made a striking sight.
As I had felt before, Hong Kong presented a peculiar landscape with newly completed buildings mixing with old ones that seemed on the verge of collapse.
Crossing the sea to Hong Kong Island, a different scene unfolded. Glass-adorned high-rise buildings lined the view, reminiscent of Teheran Road in Seoul.
This was none other than Central, the heart of Hong Kong and the financial hub of Asia.
The car stopped at the entrance of a giant building around 60 floors high. As we stepped out, a staff member at the entrance received the keys from Ellie for parking.
Above the huge revolving door, the words “Golden Gate Building” could be seen.
Taekgyu exclaimed, “So this is where my sister works.”
“Let’s go in.”
We followed Hyunjoo inside the building. Ellie spoke to the receptionist at the front desk, who then guided us to an elevator inside.
The elevator swiftly ascended to the top floor, the 58th floor. In the reception hall, overlooking Victoria Harbor, stood a tall, white-haired Caucasian man.
As we entered, he greeted us in awkward Korean, saying, “Welcome. Welcome to Golden Gate.”
He was Chase Southwell, the office director in charge of Golden Gate’s Asia branch.
