n

n

nThe street was very noisy with the sound of car engines, honking and the chattering of those walking on the road, but Kyungsu could not hear or see anything. He saw and heard something, but he could not recognize what it was at all. It was as if he was thrown into a hell he could not survive. When he got out of the office, he could not move even one step.

nHaaa. what should I do from now on?

nHe felt sad and clueless. He felt lonely and scared. He felt as if his brain activity stopped along with his body. Suddenly, the images of his family came to his mind. They called him honey and daddy with big smiles. Then, some faces came to his mind. It looked like he could trust only his friends in a desperate situation like this.

nHe called Doyun among them. Doyun was his closest friend who called him from time to time proposing business. Doyun picked up his phone gladly, but Kyungsu’s voice was gloomy like a flat balloon.

n“Hey, I was fired, man! I’m jobless now.”

nThen, Doyun encouraged him, saying it’s a good thing he was fired, “Haven’t you heard opportunities are found in times of crisis? Stop moping and try to turn evils into blessings, dude. I think it’s a good thing you were fired. Let’s focus on doing our business from now on.”

nKyungsu didn’t feel up to it. If things went alright, it could be rags to riches or turn evils into blessings, as Doyun said. But the rate of success was too low.

nDoyun kept persuading him as he felt this was the right opportunity to do so. He said he would pay for all the expenses necessary to run the company.

nKyungsu knew why he was full of confidence like that. It was because he trusted Sanggu Maeng’s storyboarding talent. This was a very important talent. Especially in the world of webtoon. The fun of the same story can be quite different, depending on how you make a storyboard.

nIt was almost the same for videos. Video is a series of key frames centered around the storyboard. Once one grasps the core of the storyboard, one can make the keyframes much better.

nAfter all, Kyungsu nodded his head and said, “Okay, then. Let’s give it a try.”

nHyunwoo entered a shabby restaurant. It specialized in grilled beef entrails. Though it looked shabby, it was a power restaurant with 30 years of history doing business in the same place. There were not many regular customers, but they had great trust in this restaurant and its menu.

nHyunwoo looked around inside the restaurant. Kyungsu, sitting in a corner table, called him, waving his hand.

n“Hey, I’m here!”

nHyunwoo approached him quickly and said, “You must have waited for me very long.”

n“Not really. I just got here.”

nOf course, it was a lie. He must have waited for Hyunwoo very long, given that half a soju bottle was already empty.

nAnd Kyungsu didn’t look good. Though he was trying to smile, it was only a smile to hide his loneliness. Hyunwoo felt today’s topic would be heavy.

nBut he didn’t ask because Kyungsu would bring it up anyway at an appropriate time.

nAfter talking about some trifle things, he brought up the main topic, after all.

n“Don’t you want to invest in a business?”

nHyunwoo recalled what he had experienced inside a bus one week ago. He heard Kyungsu talking to someone who pressed on him to do business.

nAt that time, Kyungsu seemed very hesitant, but it seemed that he finally made up his mind.

nOf course, Hyunwoo was not interested in anything like that at all. Above all, he had no knowledge of animation and knew no experts in that field.

n“Hahaha, brother, I’m not interested in it at all.”

n“It could be a big hit if everything goes well.”

nThat was something that could be applied to any business, but the key factor was the rate of success.

nWhen Hyunwoo thought about it, Kyungsu’s business had not much chance of success.

nHe found the reason when he saw Kyungsu talking to his friend on the bus. He wasn’t that confident. Chances of failure were high even for those starting business with optimistic thinking.Then how could he who lacked confidence succeed in business?

nAnd his business method was wrong.

nRecalling Kyungsu’s call at the time, Hyunwoo felt some of Kyungsu’s close friends met to start business. They could hire some talented men, but the main staff were his friends.

nCan they be competitive enough? If Hyunwoo started business, he will try to hire talented men first just like Dohyuk Kim’s Castor Dream Team.

n“I just want to lead an ordinary life like now,” said Hyunwoo.

n“Don’t say that, man. Just invest about 30 million won. I want to do it but have no money. I think you can afford to do it.”

nHyunwoo felt he was put on the spot at the moment. Kyungsu was making a request, not a suggestion. He couldn’t say he had no money. He didn’t want to lie about it, and he was giving Kyungsu a monthly salary for his talent donation.

nStill Hyunwoo could not lend Kyungsu money just because of their warm bond. He might feel hurt if Hyunwoo rejected, but they could fall out later when things went badly.

nIf Hyunwoo had to reject Kyunsu’s request, he needed to express it clearly.

n“If you want me to lend you some money, I can give 10 million won with an IOU, but I don’t want to invest. So, stop talking about investment. I feel uncomfortable sitting here with you.”

nKyungsu scratched his head. Though he seemed hurt, he didn’t say anything offensive to Hyunwoo.

nThe atmosphere turned rather awkward at the moment. It looked like it was the first time Hyunwoo felt like this since he met Kyungsu.

nFortunately, someone called Hyunwoo at the moment. He was a fellow classmate from high school Hyungsun Kim. Though Hyunwoo didn’t like Hyungsun, he had no reason to avoid another alumnus’ call.

n“Hey, Hyungsun. Long time, no see!”

nAfter exchanging some pleasantries, Hyungsun brought up the main top, which was about an alumni meeting in several days.

n“This is not yet the end of the year. Why are you guys suddenly having an alumni meeting?”

n“Well, I just want to see the friends. Don’t you think we need to meet more often?”

nHyunwoo tilted his head as Hyungsun was almost never present at such an alumni meeting in the past. Nonetheless, he couldn’t blame Hyungsun for that because he might have changed.

n“Got it. Just text me about the place and time of the alumni meeting.”

nHyunwoo hung up the phone. Kyungsu didn’t talk about business any more. They just drank quietly and then parted.

nThree months later, Hyunwoo got a call from Unhye Kim in Japan, representative of N&C Japan. As he communicated with her on the N&C Korea’s internet cafe, he hadn’t talked to her on the phone for a long time.

nUnhye’s voice was very cheerful. It looked like his Japanese tour arrangement for her parents, which he had prepared in time for their summer vacation, had finally been realized.

n“Thanks so much,” said Unhye.

n“Did they arrive alright?”asked Hyunwoo.

n“Yes, all of them were so happy to be here.”

n“Great. From now, make lots of money for their travel, okay? You have to be good to your parents during their lifetime.”

n“Of course. Thanks so much again.”

nAfter the call, he came out of his room. Though it was only 11 am, it was already so hot outside because of the scorching weather in August.

nHyunmin, who was playing with Wori, the house dog, bowed to him, “How are you, brother?”

nDressed up, Hyunmin looked like a different man. He used to look like a bandit, but today, he looked like one who turned over a new leaf in life.

nSoon, Hyunwoo’s mother, dressed in a Korean traditional jacket, came out. Hyunwoo, along with Hyunmin, escorted his father out of the main room, who was dressed in suit for the first time in a long time.

nThey got on board a van to head for the House of Happiness orphanage for the wedding ceremony for the couple who were graduates of the house.

nHyunwoo’s van pulled up. They had to wait at least one hour before the marriage ceremony at the orphanage, but it was already crowded with many people.

nThe busiest man out there was the director of the orphanage, of course. He was busy with greeting the guests but quickly approached Hyunwoo’s family members when he noticed them.

n“Oh, you’re here! What’s all this, by the way?”

n“Well, this is all I can give today, some side dishes,” said Hyunwoo’s mother.

n“Thanks so much for this.”

n“I hear the groom is such a sincere man,” she said.

n“Oh, yea. He is sincerity itself. You won’t find another sincere man like him.”

nLetting out a sigh, though, the director began to talk about the groom. He was sincere, but had no luck. He opened a chicken restaurant with his classmate, Sungrak Sohn, with the money he saved while working at a moving center and cleaning company, but failed.

n“He’s still commendable, though. Without getting frustrated, he’s doing his business again, and he is generous, too. Whenever he can find the time, he visits here to buy the kids something to eat or school supplies…”

nHearing what the director said, Hyunwoo thought he was really a good and sincere guy. The money he could make by working his fingers to the bone was around 3 million won per month at most, but it was almost one million he spent for the kids.

nSungrak Sohn, his business partner, was as good-hearted and sincere as him. They had no luck in business, to say the least, according to the director.

nThe bride was as good as the groom. She was dreaming about a rosy future with her fiance while doing odd jobs at a restaurant, but got pregnant unexpectedly. Because of her bad morning sickness, she couldn’t work for some time.

nShe has been already five months pregnant, so she couldn’t put off her wedding anymore. So, she decided to have the wedding ceremony as frugally as possible.

n“As you have come like this, why don’t you see the groom?” said the director.

nThe groom was small, about 160 cm, but looked like a man of firm character who could do any job very well.

nWhen the director introduced him to Hyunwoo’s family, he bowed to them and said, “My name is Jaegyong Kang. I’ve heard about you a lot. I really wanted to see you. I’m glad to meet you and introduce myself to you today.”

n“Congratulations! We hope everything will work out well for you, and you can be rich.”

nHyunwoo congratulated him, grasping his hands firmly.

nThen, Jaegyong suddenly approached a guy after noticing him, “Oh, my friend. Thanks for coming!”

nHyunwoo immediately realized that he was Jaegyong’s business partner Sungrak. Sungrak tried to get out of the wedding place as if he felt it burdensome to draw the guests’ attention.

n“Never mind, dude! Don’t go.”

nJaegyong took hold of his wrist and stopped him. Shaking off his hands, however, Sungrak left, saying repeatedly that he was sorry, “I’m sorry. Really sorry, man. I’ll come back when I get the money. I’m so sorry, friend.”

nThen, he ran out of the orphanage.

n