Chapter 1618: Opening (3)

“Here’s your beer, Yeong-Gi.”

“…You insane bastards.” Ju Yeong-Gi stared at Kang Jin-Ho and Park Yu-Min like a man whose soul had abandoned him. “Are you crazy?! If you wanted to hang out and get piss-drunk, you could've called me a day earlier or something to warn me! Now you resort to kidnapping people?! And you call yourselves law-abiding citizens? Ah?! You are not even humans!”

“Mm, sure.”

“Come on, drink. Drink already.”

Ju Yeong-Gi roughly scratched his head. “Yup, I’m the crazy one for calling you two idiots my friends. Yes, I see that now. No one to blame but me, I guess.”

“Mm, you’re right.”

“Come on, drink already.”

“Kah-aaahk!” Ju Yeong-Gi hissed like an angry beast before snatching up the beer mug and emptying it in one go. “Keuh-uhhhh! Fine! Blooming hell, let’s get totally wasted today!”

Kang Jin-Ho expertly filled Ju Yeong-Gi’s empty mug.

Ju Yeong-Gi curiously asked while watching his mug get filled. “But what’s the occasion?”

“No occasion. Just wanted to hang out.”

“…?”

“…?”

Kang Jin-Ho looked up and met Ju Yeong-Gi’s flabbergasted gaze.

Ju Yeong-Gi asked again. “In that case, why the heck did you drag me out here? I thought there was an emergency!”

“I figured we wouldn’t get another chance to hang out unless it’s today. If we asked nicely, you would have told us to wait until the pizzeria’s closing time, right?”

“…? That was your reason?”

“Mm.”

Ju Yeong-Gi suddenly broke into a bright grin.

Yup, they are more insane than I have bargained for!

What could he do about it now, though? When they had already come this far?

Park Yu-Min asked Ju Yeong-Gi while picking up his beer mug. “How’s the business going, though?”

“Don't even bring that up, dude. Thanks to this guy over here, I barely have any breathing room these days.”

“Huh? Why?”

When Park Yu-Min tilted his head in confusion, Ju Yeong-Gi growled unhappily while gripping his beer mug tightly.

“It's all because this idiot suddenly wanted to open a pizzeria franchise and whatnot…! And now, I get employees from his company showing up at my place several times a day! And they aren't just visiting either. No! They cling to me like desperate babies and ask all sorts of questions. Especially when I'm so busy that I can't even think straight!”

Park Yu-Min asked weirdly. “But… Isn’t opening a franchise a good thing?”

“Sure. But it’s a good thing for this idiot, not me!”

“Aren’t you going to become the president of the franchise?”

“President? Gimme a break!” Ju Yeong-Gi scoffed loudly. “That franchise and my pizzeria will be two separate things.”

“…? Huh? Why?”

“Because, I don't have what it takes to run that thing,” said Ju Yeong-Gi firmly. “I'm the type who must gradually increase the number of things he can do, okay? I can't just expand like crazy overnight and cope with the consequences. I know, for damn sure, that if I open a fifth pizzeria, I will go bankrupt in no time at all. But you expect me to manage a whole franchise?”

Ju Yeong-Gi scoffed again, this time even more derisively.

“Leave me out of it. I’m not interested.”

“But what about all the money you stand to lose?”

Ju Yeong-Gi grinned brightly again before reaching out and patting Park Yu-Min on the head. "Aww~ you cute little puppy, you.”

“…? That was an insult, right?”

“Nah. I was genuinely moved by your cuteness, okay? You little puppy. I still remember how scared you were when you dropped a five-hundred-won coin on the ground, yet here you are, no longer scared by the prospect of losing money! Is it because you've won that global tournament thingy and got your hands on a few hundred million won?”

“Hey, that's not true! I just thought you'd obviously become the director, knowing how good you've been with managing the pizzeria until now!”

“You think running a franchise is child's play? You dumbass. Do you have any idea how many well-known diners went under while trying to become franchises and expand like crazy? And even bankrupt the main store in the process? I will never do that. Over my dead body!”

“Well, if you’re so averse to the idea, there’s no helping it, then.”

Ju Yeong-Gi firmly put his foot down. “I ain't doing it. Never. Even the franchise's name will be different from my pizzeria's. So that even if the franchise goes under, it won't affect my stores.”

“Hey, man! Watch what you’re saying. The franchise hasn’t even opened its doors yet.”

Ju Yeong-Gi tutted loudly. “You honestly think this idiot will go bankrupt? I can imagine the United States of America going down the drain, but not this guy.”

Kang Jin-Ho smiled wryly and chimed in. “That’s why I told you to accept the shares of the franchise, Yeong-Gi. Or take my shares of the pizzeria if you’re not interested in receiving royalty.”

“Gimme a break, you dumbass!” Ju Yeong-Gi yelled unhappily. “The pizza recipe was your idea. I’m merely profiting from that, so why should I get your shares in the store, man! You want to use your recipe in your franchise, so why should I ask for royalties? Are you out of your mind or something?”

Ju Yeong-Gi growled loudly next.

“I'm Ju Yeong-Gi, okay? I'm a man! A man whose pride is everything! So don't give me that bullcrap. You might have gotten filthy rich, but I ain't interested in handouts, okay? I'm gonna get rich with my own two hands!”

Park Yu-Min replied flatly. “But you’ve already asked for a handout, haven’t you?”

“Hey! That was an investment, okay? Investment! In any case, let's get drunk, gents!”

Ju Yeong-Gi urgently picked up his mug and raised it high. Kang Jin-Ho and Park Yu-Min could only chuckle at this sight. Their friend sure was an outgoing man, wasn’t he?

Ju Yeong-Gi took a long swig of the chilled beer, then wiped his mouth.

“Now that we’ve come this far, I think it’s safe to say this. Maaaan, life can be so unpredictable, don’t you think? Only a few years ago, we were snot-nosed kids freshly discharged from the military, getting drunk out of our minds while talking about the unfairness of the world, but now? One of us is a world-famous pro gamer, and…”

Park Yu-Min tutted. “I’ve been famous way before that, though?”

“I’m talking about the world, man! The entire world! Besides, you weren’t famous enough to shoot commercials and stuff back then, right? And you even retired from that scene, too.”

“Well, yeah. That’s true.”

Ju Yeong-Gi shot a stern glare at his friends as if to say they shouldn’t interrupt him mid-speech.

“As for me, I evolved from a bum with nothing to his name but a pair of balls to a manager of a respectable pizzeria.”

Park Yu-Min chimed in. “Managing three pizzerias, no less.”

“It’s four, you dumbass!”

“Ohh! You’ve opened another one?”

“Fufufufu~!” Ju Yeong-Gi cackled gleefully as if the mere mention of his stores delighted him. “And as for this dummy here…”

The smile on Ju Yeong-Gi’s face instantly morphed into a scowl when he looked at Kang Jin-Ho.

“…I mean, seriously? Don’t you think this dummy has crossed the line?”

Park Yu-Min sagely nodded. “Yep, I think so, too.”

“Doesn't he know what 'doing it in moderation' even means?"

“…?” Kang Jin-Ho looked at his friends weirdly. “What’s the matter?”

“What the hell, dude! People your age should be setting up a tiny-ass company and going around asking venture capital firms to invest or something! How dare you set up some weird-ass super corporation and act like a chairman in the middle of Gangnam!”

Park Yu-Min sagely nodded again. “Yep, that was a bit too much. Yep.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s jaw fell slightly. He didn’t know what to say to that.

“Listen, dude. You’re being too successful, okay? Stop creating disharmony here, okay?”

Park Yu-Min grinned brightly. “But I always knew Jin-Ho would become a successful man someday. It’s just that it happened a lot sooner than I thought.”

“Hah? You traitor! How dare you change your tune now?”

“I’m not changing my tune, but… I’m being serious.”

Ju Yeong-Gi groaned loudly after noticing how bright Park Yu-Min’s grin was. “You bastard…”

However, it seemed he was far from being unhappy right now, judging from his failure to prevent a grin from breaking out on his face.

“Fine, fine! Drink, fellas. Drink! Since you’ve dragged me into this, I’ll make sure you two drown in booze tonight!”

***

While sharing a few rounds of booze, the trio chatted about this and that. The contents couldn’t be called important, however.

No, they were catching up on recent events in their lives, such as their romantic statuses and various complaints. In other words, things ordinary people talked about while sharing food and booze.

They switched venues a few times, smoked a few cigarettes, and… And…

Kang Jin-Ho found all these little moments inexplicably enjoyable.

“Uh-woo… Uh…”

“Hey, Yeong-Gi? Yeong-Gi, are you okay?”

“N-no, I… Imma… drink some more…”

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t hide his flabbergast at the sight of Ju Yeong-Gi sagging in his chair. “Isn’t it too early for him to get knocked out like this?”

Park Yu-Min replied with a cramped smile on his face. “I’m sure he was exhausted. You know that baking pizzas day in, day out is not a cakewalk.”

“…”

“Oh, uh… I guess it was a cakewalk for you.”

“My bad." Kang Jin-Ho grimaced. Unfortunately, he couldn't empathize with his friend on this one.

“For now, let’s take care of Yeong-Gi first.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

Kang Jin-Ho picked Ju Yeong-Gi up on his back, then paid for the drinks before exiting the pub.

Park Yu-Min hailed a taxi, allowing Kang Jin-Ho to carefully fold Ju Yeong-Gi into the back seat. Park Yu-Min asked the taxi driver to hold on for a minute, then pulled out his phone to call someone.

“…Sister-in-law? Hi, it's me, Yu-Min. I'm sending Yeong-Gi home in a taxi right now, so he should get home pretty soon. Yes, I'm sorry about this.”[1]

—No, it’s fine. Nothing to apologize for. We all need to let our hair down once in a while, after all.

“Thank you for saying that. Then, I’ll leave it up to you. I’ll come around soon to say hi. With a gift, of course.”

After ending the call, Park Yu-Min let the taxi depart, a wry grin still etched on his face. He and Kang Jin-Ho watched the taxi glide down the road.

Kang Jin-Ho curiously asked, “Is Miss Su-Yeon living in Yeong-Gi's place now?”

“Of course. They’ve been living together for a long time, after all.”

“…Seriously?”

“Yeah. And it sounds like they are about to tie the knot, too.”

“…?! So soon?”

“They haven’t nailed the date down yet with how busy they have been, but from what I hear, they already think of themselves as a married couple now. That’s why I couldn’t dare call her by her name anymore.”

Kang Jin-Ho was left utterly speechless.

Hang on, I think someone has already told me about this sometime ago…?

Why hadn’t he remembered it until now?

Kang Jin-Ho roughly scratched his head in confusion, prompting the smiling Park Yu-Min to provide a plausible explanation for his friend. “You probably forgot about it from how busy you were, Jin-Ho.”

“Uh, well…”

“It’s fine. As long as you remember it from now on.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Kang Jin-Ho gently chuckled. This was why he always felt at ease while hanging out with Park Yu-Min.

He asked while scanning their vicinity. “What do you want to do now? Go for one more round?”

Park Yu-Min shook his head. “Nah. Let’s call it a day here. I was thinking of staying the night in the orphanage tonight.”

“Mm?”

“I mean, we’re going to move to another building soon, right?”

“Yeah.”

“That means everyone will have their own rooms, and I won’t get to sleep together with them anymore. Before that happens, I was thinking of staying there as much as possible.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. That didn’t sound like a bad idea. “You want to grab a taxi?”

“Let’s walk home, Jin-Ho. It’s been a while, after all.”

Kang Jin-Ho noticed Park Yu-Min’s expression and nodded. “Got it. Let’s do that.”

“We used to ride on your bike all the time, though.”

“Yeah, we did that, didn’t we?”

They walked in silence for a while before Park Yu-Min finally said something.

“You know, in the past…?”

“Yeah?”

“When you first gave me a ride on your bicycle…”

“Yeah?”

“Did you do that because you felt bad about my limp?”

“No, I didn’t.” Kang Jin-Ho firmly shook his head.

“I see.”

Park Yu-Min didn’t ask any further, but that prompted Kang Jin-Ho to ask a question instead.

“Why are you asking me about that now?”

“It's because… You're walking beside me, that's why.”

“Mm?”

Park Yu-Min grinned softly. “My limp hasn't gone anywhere, right? In the past, you'd tried to get me into a car as much as possible, but now? You're walking beside me.”

“…”

“Doesn't that mean you don't see me as someone you must protect?”

“That’s an exaggeration…” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled sheepishly.

Park Yu-Min seemed satisfied about something as he looked up at the night sky.

“You’ve always been this way, Jin-Ho. You look so cold and detached on the outside, but you’re always thinking about your surroundings. And you act like you’d never help out anyone, yet you’re always looking for ways to help behind the scenes.”

“…”

“Jin-Ho?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“…”

Kang Jin-Ho cautiously glanced at Park Yu-Min. That was when he spotted an indescribable expression etched on his friend’s face.

“I know you're my friend, but… I'm so, so proud of you. You've done something for these kids that I couldn't do. I almost cried when I saw the new orphanage building today. Keeping a straight face was tough, man.”

“…You don’t have to say such things.”

“Sister Yi would’ve been proud of you, for sure.”

Kang Jin-Ho deeply furrowed his brow. “All I've done is open a few orphanages using a little bit of money I had lying around, that's all. Don't make it sound grander than it is.”

“But that's the point, though,” said Park Yu-Min with a gentle grin. He glanced at Kang Jin-Ho. “I'm also in a pretty good financial position, you know? Even then, I couldn't even think about starting something nice for the kids, like you have. I could have improved their lives with only a little bit of my own money, but… But I guess I just didn't want to spend my money like that.”

“You’re just being silly.”

“No, I’m serious. I…” Park Yu-Min looked up at the sky again. “I think she’d be really proud of you.”

“…”

“This whole thing might not mean much to you, but to these kids, I'm sure it means so much. Even I… If you hadn't called out to me first, if you hadn't reached out to me back then, things would've been so much harder for me.”

Kang Jin-Ho reflexively clamped his mouth shut.

“All the new kids joining the orphanage will become a little happier, thanks to your small act of mercy, Jin-Ho. Thank you. Really.”

Kang Jin-Ho couldn't say anything but look up at the sky in awkward silence.

He had reached out to Park Yu-Min first. And then, Sister Yi reached out to him in return. And then…

And then, Kang Jin-Ho was about to reach out to the other kids.

That’s how the chain continues on, isn’t it?

The chain of human connections, the human heart—this was how one’s will continued to be passed on.

Kang Jin-Ho reached out and grabbed Park Yu-Min’s shoulder.

Park Yu-Min tilted his head. “Eh?”

“Come on, let’s go to the orphanage.”

Park Yu-Min stared at his friend as a gentle smile filled his face. “Yeah, let’s.”

Let’s walk together. Even if we still have a long way to go.

Two men silently and leisurely strolled on the street blanketed in the darkness of the night. So that they could reach the distant warmth that was not visible yet.

1. The “sister-in-law” bit is from the raw.