36. My brother studied better than you!
For a moment, a strange atmosphere fell over the parlor.
I was about to say, “I’m sorry, but—” when the beads suddenly reacted and cut me off, and Mr. Strauss hung his head in despair.
But what the hell is this?
Why is the bead glowing?
It’s a PMC, a PMC!
The PMC, the Private Military Company.
The CEO’s ideas are unique, and unlike a typical PMC, they don’t seem to be in business for money, but for the sake of saving their comrades-in-arms, but they are definitely mercenaries who are paid to carry out military activities.
And you want me to invest in a company like that? I mean, the way things are going right now, I think I’m going to have to take it over 100%, but if it’s shiny, what the hell do you want me to do?
“Mr. Strauss!”
“Yes?”
“How much?”
“What?”
“How much do you owe?”
“Currently over $17 million.”
Damn, that’s $20 million, which would pay off 100% of our debt and leave us with $3 million.
I can use the remaining $3 million to fund operations.
Twenty million dollars?
Now, that’s not a lot of money to me, but I didn’t want to get a headache over this “small” amount of money that the prayer beads could divine.
In a way, it’s a good thing, because if I had just sent it back, I would have been stuck with it for a while.
I thought it was a good thing.
“So, for $20 million, I can buy Aegis?”
“Well, yes, but would you be interested in buying it?”
“Yes, I would buy it.”
“Uh, uh, are you sure?”
“Well, do you want me to lie to you?”
“No, that’s not it, thank you, thank you so much!”
Strauss, his face flushed with excitement, repeatedly shouted his gratitude.
“But there is a condition.”
“What? A condition? Tell me, I’ll accept any condition.”
“I’m buying Aegis from you, Mr. Strauss.”
Actually, I’m buying it because the beads are glowing, but what the hell.
I can say this much.
It’s not a complete lie.
“So I’m the CEO until Mr. Strauss tells me to step down. Of course, I’ll have to have my accounting and such audited on a regular basis.”
“hahahahaha, so you want me to bury my bones in Aegis? Okay, I’ll be happy to serve.”
“No, you keep saying strange things, why do you want to serve? Shouldn’t you be a priest or pastor for that?”
“What?”
“Because I’m going to treat you as you deserve, just so you know.”
“Go, thank you, boss!”
An overwhelmed Strauss casually called me boss.
“You can call me Alex, and I’ll call you Henry.”
“hahahaha! Okay, Alex!”
“Wait a minute, George! George!”
At my shout, George came into the parlor.
“Did you call him, Alex?”
“It’s George.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m taking over Aegis.”
“What? You’re taking over Aegis? You?”
“Yes, I’m taking over.”
“Why you?”
“Because I have good friends. Why?”
Anyway, it’s because of this George guy.
Somehow, George seemed to take that as a sign that I was thinking of him.
“Brother—.”
“What, what’s that look in your eyes?”
“I love you!”
“Is this crazy, don’t talk nonsense, I’ll call Jeffrey, and you and I will take over Aegis on Monday, and if you need anything, let me know.”
“Okay! hahahahaha!”
“Come on, asshole, we’re done here, so why don’t we have some soju?”
“Action!”
Yeah, let’s get drunk.
There must be a reason why the beads glowed at such an unexpected time.
For now, PMCs are irrelevant to me, but one day I’ll need them.
Or maybe not.
“Kya! That’s good!”
Sinchon in May was filled with the enthusiasm of young people.
College students who seemed to be struggling with their youth.
I envied them.
I really envied them.
I wish I had a time like that—. I didn’t.
It was impossible.
My early to mid-twenties were spent either sleeping off the coast of the Red Sea, or playing fictionalized day jobs with dirty, smelly Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, or chewing grains of sand in the hot desert of the United Arab Emirates.
It’s one of the reasons my dad still can’t get over me.
He took college out of my life, even though I was a pretty good student, never out of the top three in my class, and maybe even top of the class a couple times.
I didn’t understand the conversations of my friends who happened to be on vacation.
How would I know what they were talking about, like MT or transcription?
I didn’t realize how much it hurt at the time.
Most of them weren’t much better than me.
So I lost touch with all of them except for a few really close friends.
What’s the point of seeing them when their worlds had already started to change?
Some of them even had an inferiority complex about me, who was a good student in high school, tall, good-looking, and athletic, and some of them would purposely bring up college at gatherings.
Well. It’s like this.
No matter how good you used to be, the water is different now.
It was all so childish and ridiculous in hindsight.
The reason why I was so devoted and loyal to Daesung Apparel was because I was a high school graduate.
No matter how good Daesung was as a company, and when I joined, there were less than ten employees, Mr. Hong didn’t care if I had a college diploma or not.
He just told me that as long as I worked hard and gave him my full loyalty, I would be fine, and I was touched by his words.
I thought, “Oh, the world is still good!
But then I became a real deer.
That’s what he said, but I didn’t know if I would become a real head.
I suddenly want to have pupa soup and soju with Mr. Hong.
You’re probably still screaming.
After a moment of reverie, I snapped out of it and picked up my phone.
Turrr! Turrr!
– Oh, Oravang?
“Somi, where are you?”
– I’m in school. Are you in Korea? It’s a Korean number.
“Hey! Did I say I’m coming in today or not?”
– Heh! I forgot.
“aaah! Just this?”
Today is May 26th.
I came to Korea to attend the dedication ceremony for the new children’s shelter in Parkdal-dong, which was completed sooner than I thought.
I also came to see Somi because I was sorry that I couldn’t attend the ceremony even though she was accepted into the English department at Yangseo University in Sinchon and has been a college student since March.
However, when I came home in the morning, my mom told me that Somi had gone to school.
She was worried that it was a college festival and that she was always drinking and coming home late.
So, after sleeping for a while, I called her, but she didn’t answer the phone, which is why I came to Sinchon.
From New Town, Gajaeul, Namgaju-dong, where my house is, to Sinchon, it’s just a short distance to where my nose would touch if I fell down.
– hehehehe! Oops! Sorry!
“Where are you, Hae-gan? I heard you’ve been drinking and coming home late lately.”
– You’ve been saying weird things, but I’ve been coming home before 12:00, ah, maybe 2:00 once.
“Shut up, you slut! Good job, good job! Where are you? I’m in front of your school!”
– What? My school?
“Yes! Dad’s coming home early today, too, so let’s go home.”
– I’m at a bar.
“A bar? Outside the school?”
– No, not that kind of bar, but the kind of bar we have inside the school for festivals.
“Oh, like that?”
hahahaha, I didn’t go to college, I wouldn’t know.
I’ve heard of it.
– Well, where is this place—.
When I went to the place Somi described, there were a lot of tents and students gathering and drinking.
I found a bar with a sign that said Business Administration, and there she was, sitting with four or five other girls, surrounded by boys.
I hadn’t seen Somi in a long time, and she was beautiful.
In high school, I’d always seen her in her uniform, but now that she was in college, she’d dressed up a bit and was showing off some serious looks.
Honestly, I thought my sister was prettier than most celebrities.
Also, the girls with Somi were all pretty, as if to prove that they were hanging out with each other.
All of a sudden, a bunch of males swarmed around her.
“Somi!”
“It’s my brother! It’s my brother!”
Somi rushed in and hugged me.
He was already a little drunk.
“Hey! Aren’t you going to fall off? You’re a big girl, why do you keep hugging me?”
“hehehe! I love you the most in the world!”
“Shut up!”
“Aang!”
“Shut up, let’s go home.”
“Aang, let’s play a little longer, huh? Sit here, big brother!”
“Hey, hey!”
Somehow, I was dragged by Somi into the tavern tent, and her friends’ eyes widened when they saw me.
My physique is in top shape now, almost military-grade.
I work out at least two hours a day.
I’ve always been told that I’m 6’2″ and handsome with a manly face.
But then I was baptized with money.
There wasn’t a single thing on my body that wasn’t a luxury item.
It wasn’t that I was trying to be extravagant, it was just the way things were when you were in my position.
So when girls see me, they can’t help but swoon.
I had the physique and presence of a man in his early to mid-twenties that the boys around me didn’t have.
On the contrary, the younger males’ eyes were burning with jealousy.
I said I’d be careful this time, but I’m getting into trouble again.
I knew I had to get Somi home.
“Somi, let’s just go.”
“Ai, big brother. Say hello to these guys. This is my brother.”
“Oh my God, really? Are they Somi’s real brothers?”
“Oh my God! I don’t know!”
What don’t you know?
“Hi! I’m Gavin, Somi’s best friend!”
“Hey! Since when are you my best friend!”
“Hi! I’m actually Somi’s best friend Danbi, you’re so cool!”
“Don’t flirt!”
One by one, Somi’s friends greeted me, and they were all beautiful.
From the way they walked around, it seemed like they were from rich families.
“hahahaha, nice to meet you.”
“Where’s your brother? How old are you, and do you use respectful language, and they’re my friends?”
“Hey, I’m still new here.”
“Ho-ho-ho! Feel free to talk to me like I’m your brother!”
“Oh, yeah! If you’re Somi’s brother, you’re a brother to us too!”
“Well, I’m glad to see you, and if you want something to eat, I’ll buy it for you.”
“Oh my God! Are you serious?”
So it’s fake?
How much do kids sell pajeon naboorangi for?
“We’ll go for second round, okay?”
“Second round? No, what about these guys?”
I pointed to the boys in front of me, who had become squid at my sudden appearance.
They must have been working all this time, but even though I was Somi, it took me a while as a man to take all their friends with me.
Then, one of them, who still looked a year or two older than the others, greeted me cheerfully, as if he had gained courage.
“Hello, senior! I’m Namjin Park, a 14th-year business major.”
“Oh, yes, it’s nice to meet you, but I’m not your senior.”
“What? hahahahaha! You look like you’re a lot older, but you’re not my senior in life, are you?”
You’ve been around for a while, and you’re really good at emphasis.
“Oh, well, I’m glad you think so.”
“By the way, what do you do for a living? Shouldn’t you still be at work?”
He seems horribly unhappy that I’m here at this hour, before 6:00.
“Oh, I have a small business in the U.S., and I just found the time to come here this morning.”
“Oh, a business in America? You’re still young, have you made it big?”
“No, it’s just a small business.”
“How many employees do you have?”
Why do you keep asking me these questions? Are you annoying me?
Hang in there, hang in there.
“Uh, not even ten yet.”
“No, you’re over 100 with Aegis?
And AMD, where I own almost half of the stock, which is practically my company?
AMD has what, 7,000, 8,000 full-time employees?
Oh, I’m just the largest shareholder.
“hahahahaha, that must be a really small business, because my house is a hemp construction company, and we have over 1,000 employees?”
“…”
“…”
Wow! I lost!
This is how people brag about their homes in the 21st century?
They say they’re drunk, but they’re still bragging like this.
I felt embarrassed, and even the kids next to me were looking at me in disbelief.
Oh no, let’s get out of here.
“That’s right. Great! Great!”
I shrugged and ran my left hand through my hair, and the guy next to my hemp construction son Nami’s eyes widened.
“A Patek Philippe, a grand complication?”
“Huh? Oh, this one?”
He was looking at my watch.
It was a watch that took me months to get before I came to Korea.
I bought it because Jeffrey, who is a watch enthusiast, wanted me to get rid of the exact same watch, and the guy’s watch was worth over a million dollars.
And this kid recognizes it?
Is he a watch guy?
“Hey, do you mind if I take a look at that watch?”
“Huh? Sure.”
I held my left hand out in front of the watch enthusiast, and his eyes got even bigger.
“Ugh, this is a Patek Philippe 175th anniversary edition, this thing must be worth at least a billion.”
“You’re still a student, how do you know, I gave you 1.1 million dollars in the US?”
“…”
“…”
The mood immediately changed.
Anyone who wears a watch on their wrist that’s worth over a billion is probably not a business owner, no matter what you think.
And hemp construction?
Maybe the owner, but it wasn’t a watch for a second-generation contractor.
“Hey, isn’t that a fake?”
“Nam-jin, there aren’t many fakes of Patek Philippe, and even if there are, you can tell. That’s a real fake. You know my hobbies, right?”
“Oh, yeah?”
Oh, no, it’s not my place to brag about watches.
Somi! Come on, let’s go!
“So, where did you go to school?”
hahahaha.
I can’t afford it, so now I’m bragging about my education?
“I’m a high school graduate. I didn’t go to college.”
“You must have worked out a lot, because if you didn’t study, how can you say you’re a high school graduate in a world where every dog and cow goes to college?”
“…”
This guy seemed very crooked.
I don’t know what’s so disgusting about him.
Anyway, I’m not old enough to be offended by this, and I’m not in a position to be a douchebag at a university.
Now that I have an excuse, let’s go home.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it, but it’s not my place to say that. Have fun and surprise everyone. Somi, let’s go home!”
“Ugh! Big brother!”
I could hear him squirming behind us as we left.
“Eh! We were having a good time, but then this weird guy came and—.”
hahahaha, let’s go.
But Somi couldn’t stand it.
“Brother, wait!”
“Huh?”
Somi turned around and walked over to him.
And then,
Bam!
“Curb!”
Boom!
Somi’s powerful fist connected with his face, sending him sprawling to the ground.
“You bastard! My brother studied better than you! He sacrificed himself for the family because his dad’s business failed a long time ago, you bastard!”
“Uh, uh—.”
And the final blow.
Thwack!
“Crack!”
Oh, no!
I stepped on a man’s precious spot.
Somi came to me, looking a little more cheerful.
“Big brother, let’s go!”
“Huh? Come on, wait—.”
I must finish the job.
I went over to him, writhing in pain from below.
I pulled cash out of my wallet and sprinkled it on him.
“It’s a little over a million won. Take this, and if it’s not enough, tell me and I’ll give you more.”
“…”
“Let’s go, Somi!”
“Ugh! Big brother!”
Somi grabbed my arm.
Somi is my sister after all.