Real Man

A short while later, Yoo-hyun arrived home with his father and explained everything to his mother.

As Yoo-hyun gave a brief summary, his father looked at his mother with a tense expression.

His mother, who was sitting on the living room floor, let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha! These people are now making up all kinds of excuses because they don’t want to get scolded for drinking and coming home late.”

“It’s not like that. It was Yoo-hyun who brought the alcohol.”

“You just stay quiet. Didn’t I tell you to be careful with drinking when you have a health checkup coming up soon, huh?”

“Well…”

His mother’s charisma made his father lower his tail.

Yoo-hyun did not give in and spoke again.

“Why are you telling me that? Just do it then.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

The atmosphere was flowing strangely, so his father intervened.

“It’s not something you can just do. It takes a lot of money.”

“How much does it take?”

“At least 30 billion.”

“Didn’t you say you could get most of it from investors?”

“Well, yes, but we still need to spend a lot of our own money to buy the equipment and build the building in advance.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

His mother said it easily, so his father straightened his posture.

Then he spat out saliva and ranted about why it was impossible.

“No, you don’t seem to understand, if we make even a slight mistake, not only our house but also your side dish shop could be collateralized.”

“Then they have to collateralize it to lend us money, do you think the bank will give it to us for free?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then why? It sounds like you can do it if you want to.”

“Don’t you feel anxious? This is a really big deal.”

His father looked very worried, but his mother rather clicked her tongue.

“Tsk. A businessman with a liver as small as a bean. If you can’t do it, just hand over the company to Yoo-hyun.”

“Mother, that’s not it.”

As Yoo-hyun raised his hand to stop the words that came in abruptly, his mother picked a fight.

“Then when are you going to get a job?”

“Why are you changing the subject again?”

Yoo-hyun was dumbfounded.

His mother’s reaction was unbelievable, so his father came closer.

His father, whose face was flushed from the alcohol, said in a serious voice.

“Honey, are you really okay?”

“Look at this guy. Why are you pushing your face that smells like alcohol?”

“If something goes wrong, we could lose everything we’ve built up so far, are you okay with that?”

“What’s not okay about that? If it doesn’t work out, we can just give up the building of the side dish shop.”

“You worked so hard to get that. You couldn’t sleep properly, you couldn’t rest, you couldn’t go hiking as much as you like. And you’re still okay?”

His father couldn’t understand his mother at all, but his mother was calm.

“We can just rent it out. There’s no one who can make as much sales as we do in that place, what’s there to worry about?”

“Honey…”

Bang.

“What’s this, why is he hugging me like crazy?”

His mother was startled and tried to free her arms, but his father hugged her tighter.

Then he said something ticklish.

“Didn’t I tell you? I love you.”

“Oh my! You’re crazy. What are you doing in front of Yoo-hyun!”

“Where’s Yoo-hyun?”

Yoo-hyun had already backed away from the moment his father’s eyes lit up.

Thud.

Through the gap of Yoo-hyun’s closed door, his parents’ voices faintly flowed in.

“Boy, really. Unbearable.”

“Let’s stop this and go to the room. Okay?”

“Ha! I told you not to do this after drinking.”

“I can’t do this when I’m sober.”

“This guy is really! I’ll spank you, spank you.”

Smack smack!

Yoo-hyun, who listened quietly and smiled, picked up the photo on his desk.

It contained the image of Jeong Da-hye, who was smiling brightly while riding a paraglider.

His mother’s permission was decisive.

His father, who had been agonizing for a long time, decided to seize the opportunity.

The most pleased one was An Se-hoon, the director who had led the sales from below.

A few days later, he received a call from him, who was also in charge of personnel affairs.

Tick.

Yoo-hyun, who was sitting on his desk chair, answered the phone, and An Se-hoon said right away.

-Yoo-hyun, thank you.

“Why? What’s going on?”

-What’s going on. It’s because of the two friends you introduced me to.

“Wonseok and Wonyoung?”

At Yoo-hyun’s question, An Se-hoon answered with an excited voice.

-Yeah. They both have so many qualifications. Wonseok, that friend, has a lot of practical experience. And Wonyoung, that friend, made a video of his self-introduction and sent it…

Yoo-hyun had told the two people about the job opening, but he didn’t know the details.

He only heard that An Se-hoon had received their documents.

It seemed that An Se-hoon had taken a liking to them.

Not only him.

-Yoo-hyun, thank you for introducing me to a good place. I found out that it’s a very solid company. The conditions are good, and I think I can work with Wonyoung too.

Park Wonseok, who had looked around several small and medium-sized companies, recognized the value of Yoo Jae Brick at once.

He also liked the opportunity to work with his younger brother.

Yoo-hyun recalled his friend’s words and asked.

“When is the interview?”

-We agreed to set a date for next week. I’m going to show them the accommodation when they come.

“What if you don’t like it?”

-There’s no way. I talked to them on the phone and I felt it right away. They also studied a lot about bricks. I don’t need to see anything else.

An Se-hoon’s voice was already confident.

“It would be nice to show them the accommodation.”

-Not only the accommodation, but I also have to show them that we’re expanding the factory. That way, they’ll think highly of our company.

Why was he so concerned about someone who wasn’t even an employee yet?

He understood his excited heart, but connecting it to the factory expansion was overkill.

Yoo-hyun didn’t bother to argue and asked what he was curious about.

“How is the contract going?”

-No big problem. We have a pretty close relationship with Ami Construction. You know, they handle most of our supplies.

“I know, but I think you should still be careful. I saw the sales report and there was a lot of unpaid balance.”

-That’s the industry practice. If you try to collect it too greedily, you might lose more than you gain. It takes some time, but we’ll get it eventually.

“It’s because there’s a lot of money involved, right?”

Yoo-hyun put a brake on his excitement, knowing that he could miss something important if he ran too fast.

Then, Director Ahn Se-hoon spoke with confidence.

-Don’t worry. Ami Construction is not a shady company. We’ll make sure to specify the investment part in the contract.

“That’s good to hear.”

-Yeah. I’ll take care of it, so you just come and get some food later.

“I’ll join you when Wonseok comes down. Make sure to fill your pockets.”

-It’s the company’s money, what do I care.

“Haha! Okay. See you then.”

Yoo-hyun hung up the phone with a smile.

To be honest, he was not completely worry-free.

There was no such thing as a 100% safe contract, so he had to be cautious.

But he didn’t want to interfere with every detail, since he was not an employee.

Yoo-hyun decided to help out later if things went wrong, and backed off.

Thud.

He put down his phone and looked at the monitor.

On the screen, there was an online cafe with an apartment background.

Yoo-hyun’s mouse stopped at the ‘Apartment Resident Introduction’ page.

He typed in the search word, and the post he was looking for popped up.

-I will serve the apartment residents with kind and sincere service. Please take care of me.

Jung Minkyo, security guard of Gangnam Central Village.

Why did the security guard post an introduction on the resident page?

He felt more glad than curious.

It was because of the young father-in-law’s appearance from the past, rather than Yoo-hyun’s memory.

In the attached photo, he was wearing a security guard hat and smiling awkwardly.

“I wonder how he’s doing.”

In the past, Yoo-hyun had no interest in his wife’s family affairs.

He didn’t bother to meet them, nor did he take care of them.

It was the same for Jeong Da-hye.

She kept her distance from her father even after marriage.

He thought she hated him back then, but it could have been a misunderstanding.

-Amelia misses her grandfather. I’m sure she does.

Maybe Jeong Da-hye also longed for her father deep in her heart.

Yoo-hyun wanted to help her take a step closer.

‘I should meet him soon.’

It was a necessary thing for Yoo-hyun’s happiness, too.

It had been quite a while since Yoo-hyun came down to his hometown.

During the hot summer, Yoo-hyun spent his time leisurely.

He went to Kim Hyun-soo’s car center with Kang Jun-ki and Ha Jun-seok, who took a vacation and came down, and grilled some meat. They also went on a trip together.

He also visited his old school, and read some books quietly.

He thought of his inner passion during his own time, and set a clear direction.

His mother seemed to have given up, and didn’t bring up the job issue anymore.

Instead, she enjoyed chatting with Yoo-hyun after work.

She also stopped by the house from time to time during work.

Today, too, she came by the house for a while on her way to deliver food to her regular customers.

She sat on the floor and laughed loudly as she ate the watermelon that Yoo-hyun gave her.

“Hohoho! Really, you know. Sora completely changes in front of her boyfriend.”

“Really? I thought she had a strong personality.”

“Strong, my foot. She’s so coquettish.”

She waved her hand and explained the funny situation that happened at the market today.

Her bright voice echoed for a while.

“Oh my, look at the crumbs, they’re everywhere.”

She heard a nagging voice and turned around, and Han Jaehui was standing at the entrance.

Yoo-hyun raised his hand and greeted his sister.

“Come here and have some watermelon.”

“What are you so comfortable for?”

His mother asked as Han Jaehui walked over.

“Jaehui, did you come empty-handed?”

“Mom, is that what you say to your daughter who barely took a vacation after working hard at the company?”

“Why are you so rude? I can’t even ask?”

“Ugh! Fine, fine. Here.”

She sighed and handed over a small bag.

His mother quickly opened it and brightened up.

“Oh, this is the cosmetics that was on the home shopping before.”

“You said you couldn’t buy it because it was sold out. I saw it at the department store and bought it for you.”

“Oh my! My pretty daughter. You must have worked hard at the company. There, there!”

She ran out in her socks and hugged Han Jaehui, patting her back.

Han Jaehui shivered in her arms.

“Why are you so over the top?”

“It’s because I’m happy, happy. That’s why children should work at good companies.”

Why does she have to give me a hint?

Yoo-hyun, who was fully adapted by now, let it go in one ear and out the other.

Crunch.

The watermelon was sweet and tasty.

His mother prepared some jerky and rice cakes on a small table, and then went back to work.

Han Jaehui changed into comfortable clothes and came out, and sighed heavily.

“Haah!”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Just. Seeing you so relaxed makes me sigh.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

Yoo-hyun was puzzled, and Han Jaehui smirked.

“Never mind, let’s have a drink.”

“A drink in the daytime?”

“Sometimes you need a drink when you’re upset.”

“Wait a little bit and we’ll have a drink with dad. He’s got something he’s been saving for when you come.”

“I don’t care, I’ll just have some soju by myself.”

“Where’s the soju?”

“It’s here.”

Han Jaehui went to the back warehouse and came back with two bottles of soju.

When did she stash those away?

As Yoo-hyun blinked his eyes, his sister put some ice from the freezer into a glass and poured some soju.

Chirp.

Then she stirred it with chopsticks, and gulped it down in one breath.