Chapter 35:Money and Talent Pour In

 Chapter 35: Donjjul (3)

It was Friday.

Ryu Seong arrived at Dae-guk High School’s staff room right on time.

“You’re here?”

“Yes.”

“The weather is really nice. It’s the day my student is treating his juniors to something delicious, and there’s not a speck of fine dust. Even the sky seems to be praising you for doing a good deed.”

“Oh? I didn’t notice, but you’re right.”

For some reason, his mood improved even more.

This kind of attentiveness—catching even the smallest details and pointing them out—felt more touching now than it had during his school days.

“The food is supposed to arrive by 12, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“When they call, we’ll have to gather the kids and move.”

“They’ll be happy, won’t they?”

“They’ll be so excited they might die.”

Just then, the restaurant he had ordered from called.

“Ah, the chicken has arrived.”

“Let’s go.”

Mr. Kim Chang-ho stood up and immediately made an announcement over the school broadcast.

[Attention, attention. Mic test, mic test. All class presidents, vice presidents, and students on duty from every class, please come to the main gate right now. We need to pick up the chicken, so hurry up.]

About four students per class should be enough to carry everything.

“Oooh, chicken! It’s chicken!”

“Looks delicious!”

Students with bright expressions came out, grabbed the chicken and drinks with both hands, and headed back to their classrooms. Ryu Seong and Mr. Kim Chang-ho did the same, each carrying a large load of food.

“We’re here too!”

“Over here as well!”

Chicken from the other restaurants arrived one after another.

“Wow, it smells amazing.”

“Chicken is always the truth.”

With the weather being perfect too, it couldn’t get any better.

“Oh, another call.”

“Haha, where’s this one from?”

“It’s pizza.”

“Oh dear, I’ll have to make another announcement.”

“I’ll head over first.”

“Go ahead.”

Ryu Seong quickly set down the chicken and drinks in the staff room and headed back to the main gate. When he arrived, a massive pile of pizza boxes was already stacked up. It looked like three pizza places had arrived almost at the same time. Two had delivery workers, while one seemed to have the owner himself come.

“Are you the one who placed the order?”

“Yes, that’s me. Are you the owner?”

“I am.”

“It must have been tough delivering so much.”

“Oh no, not at all. With an order this big, it’s tiring but still enjoyable.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

“Wow, looks like you ordered chicken too.”

“Yes, the kids eat a lot.”

“They’ll love it. Huh? These chicken places… I know all of them.”

“Really?”

“Yes. What a strange coincidence.”

Soon after, the last order—Chinese food—also arrived.

“Oh, this place…”

“You know this one too, I see.”

“Yes. It’s a bit far, but I’m quite close with the owner.”

“Wow, that’s interesting.”

Although he said that, Ryu Seong had roughly expected it. Since these were all restaurants that had put up the “Good Influence Sticker,” they seemed to communicate with one another. Because every delivery place had the sticker, the intention behind the orders was easy to guess.

Not only the pizza shop owner, but also the Chinese restaurant owner who arrived late, noticed this and looked at Ryu Seong with meaningful eyes.

“It’s been a really long time since we had such a large order.”

“Indeed.”

“And it’s been a while since I felt this good about one.”

The shop owners looked at each other and smiled.

The Good Influence Sticker.

They had clearly realized that orders had only gone to restaurants with that sticker attached.

“Thank you so much.”

The owners expressed their gratitude, but they were so polite that it almost felt burdensome.

Ryu Seong waved his hands vigorously.

“What are you talking about? I just bought the kids one meal.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s all it is.”

“I see. Understood.”

Even as they said they understood, the mysterious smiles on their faces made Ryu Seong eventually avert his gaze.

*

All the food had been delivered. Ryu Seong walked around the nearby classrooms, taking in the sight of the children happily eating chicken, pizza, and Chinese dishes.

“Wow, this is so good!”

“Pizza, chicken, and sweet and sour pork… this is insane!”

“Let’s eat until we burst!”

“Hey, quiet down and just eat.”

“I am eating!”

“Hey, pass me a drink!”

“Here.”

“Thanks!”

Regardless of gender, most students were in a festive mood, as if they were at a school festival.

It was perfectly understandable.

“This really is the most fun time.”

Eating with close friends was always far more enjoyable and happier than eating alone at home. Even if they didn’t say it out loud, these kids instinctively knew that. At their age, friends were the most precious thing.

*Growl.*

Ryu Seong’s stomach rumbled.

Oh, I’m hungry too.

He turned around and returned to the staff room, where he ate the delivered food together with the teacher.

“Want to eat together?”

“Yes, sir.”

When he was a student, dealing with teachers had always felt difficult. But now that he was almost in his thirties, it was much more comfortable and pleasant.

“Oh, right. We’ve been using the donation money well.”

“Ah, you saw the statement.”

“Yes. During this vacation, we gave meal coupons to several students.”

“That’s nice.”

“It really is a good thing. There are kids who can’t even get proper meals at home during vacation. At least they won’t have to go hungry.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

Hearing it directly like this made it feel much more real.

Vacation wasn’t short at all.

Over a period of more than a month, there were bound to be students somewhere struggling with poverty and unable to eat properly. Thinking that he had helped those kids made a sense of pride swell up in him again.

“I’ll have to work hard to earn money.”

“You mean money?”

“Yes. More money is always better.”

It was an undeniable truth in the capitalist era.

Money makes life more abundant.

He didn’t think of it as a way to help even more people. He simply felt the need to earn more money than now in order to properly pursue the quests that would continue. That way, he would be able to feel this kind of satisfaction steadily.

“Why do you want to earn so much?”

“Because I want to spend a lot, like today.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Earn a lot and spend a lot.”

“I will. Definitely.”

Today alone proved it.

Just feeding his high school juniors one lunch had cost him over ten million won.

The only reason he couldn’t spend more was because he didn’t have enough.

If he wanted to spend, he could easily blow through thousands in a single day.

That was why it wasn’t enough.

He wanted to earn more money so he could spend even more.

That was why he was looking forward to this month.

August was going to be the month of harvesting the fruits.

Movie and bio stock investments.

It would be the time when the results would be fully revealed.

*

On the way home.

He couldn’t hide his good mood.

“Hmm~”

A hum kept escaping from his lips.

Maybe I should listen to some music.

As he was thinking that, his smartphone vibrated.

Fart Girl: Oppa! On your way back, buy me some tteokbokki!

It was a message from Ryu Hyun-ah.

Ah, how annoying.

He thought about ignoring it, but then he spotted a familiar food stall in the distance.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll be generous today.”

He sent a reply meaning “okay.”

Ryu Seong: ㅇㅇ

Fart Girl: Oh? What’s up with you? Hurry up and come! Hwan is here too, so come on!

He put his phone back in his pocket and headed toward the food stall.

Whoa, that smells good.

Even though his stomach was already full, the smell of tteokbokki strangely stimulated his appetite. The sweet and spicy aroma kept poking at his nose, but it wasn’t unpleasant at all.

“Thank you, ma’am!”

“Sure, come again next time. Share some with the kids too!”

“Yes!”

“Go on now.”

Three children came out of the stall, each holding a big armful of food.

“Let’s go quickly!”

“Yeah!”

“Hehe, everyone’s going to love this, right?”

“Of course! But… your director seemed scary. Won’t she scold us?”

“Our director mom isn’t scary at all!”

“Then can I go there and eat too?”

“No, you can’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because we’ll get in trouble if we get caught!”

“You just said she isn’t scary!”

“Still, she scolds us if we eat anything other than proper meals.”

“Then we can just eat secretly!”

“Ugh…”

“Hurry up!”

Younger siblings… and director mom.

Just those words were enough to understand the situation.

They must be from an orphanage.

There seemed to be an orphanage nearby.

“Welcome.”

“Ah, yes. By the way… are those kids from the orphanage?”

At those words, the lady gave him a slightly wary look.

“How did you…”

“I just overheard them talking.”

Come to think of it, why hadn’t he thought of an orphanage?

He felt stupid.

Buying delicious food for his juniors was a proud thing, but realistically, the lives of orphanage children were probably much harder.

“Actually, I was thinking of buying some food to donate this time. But I was wondering where I should donate to. I was dumb and didn’t even think of an orphanage.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Fortunately, seeing it as a good deed, the lady’s expression softened.

“There’s one orphanage near here. The director is actually a really good person, but maybe because of that, they don’t get much support, and the kids struggle. That’s pretty much the situation.”

“Because the director is a good person, they don’t get much support…?”

Maybe it was a pointless question.

The lady smiled bitterly.

“You already know how the world works, don’t you?”

It was a single sentence that hit him right in the chest.

The simple phrase “that’s just how the world is” made him understand something he couldn’t quite grasp before.

Because she was a good person.

Because of that, she had to live an even harder life.

“I see.”

A brief silence fell.

Ryu Seong quickly regained his composure and placed his order first.

“I’ll have three servings of tteokbokki, one gimbap, and one order of sundae please. Also, add a good mix of fish cakes and fried items.”

“Got it, just a moment!”

Even though he ordered quite generously, the total didn’t even reach 20,000 won.

While waiting, Ryu Seong asked for the name of the orphanage.

“It’s called Haneul Orphanage. You’ll find it right away if you search.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Please buy the kids plenty of delicious food.”

“I will.”

He gave a firm reply, then took the black plastic bag containing the tteokbokki set.

“Have a good day!”

“You too, thank you!”

On the way home.

Ryu Seong searched for “Haneul Orphanage” on his smartphone.

Only one result came up.

“It really is in my neighborhood.”

And it wasn’t far away at all.

First, he went home.

Since it was already a little past lunchtime, he had plenty of time. About five minutes later, he arrived home and was greeted by Ryu Hyun-ah and Ryu Hwan, who looked at him with bright, expectant faces. Ryu Seong gave them a wry smile.

“You only welcome me when I have something in my hands, huh?”

“Of course!”

“That’s what siblings are for, hyung.”

“Ahem…”

It was an undeniable truth.

Meow~

However, Lucky always welcomed Ryu Seong warmly whether he had something in his hands or not. Even now, the cat was purring and rubbing its face against his ankle.

“Aigo, my Lucky.”

How could anyone not adore this cat? He squatted down and stroked Lucky’s belly.

So soft.

He even gently massaged the paw pads.

“Yeah, good boy. It’s always just you, Lucky.”

As he said that, he casually handed over the black plastic bag.

“Here, you two can eat this to your heart’s content.”

“What about you, hyung?”

“I already ate.”

“Then we can really eat all of it?”

“Go ahead.”

The two immediately sat down at the kitchen table and opened the food.

“Huh? There’s no Coolpis?”

Ryu Hyun-ah’s eyes widened.

Ryu Seong looked at her in disbelief.

“…Just drink water.”

“No way? Idiot, we have some at home!”

She took out a Coolpis from the refrigerator, looking as cheeky as ever. But there was one thing different from before—Ryu Seong now had money.

“Ryu Hyun-ah, you have no allowance.”

“Oppa, I’m sorry.”

She immediately dropped to her knees.

Ignoring her, Ryu Seong turned his attention to Ryu Hwan.

“You’re out of money these days, right?”

“Yeah, completely broke.”

“Here’s some allowance.”

“Whoa, for real?”

“It’s real, so take it quickly.”

“Thanks! I’ll use it well.”

At least Hwan knew how to show gratitude.

“If you run out, just tell me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Hehe, if I spend it all, I’ll tell you right away.”

His smile was exactly like his sister’s.

“Oppa, what about me!”

“You just eat your tteokbokki. I’m going out for a bit.”

“Oppaaaaa!”

Leaving behind Ryu Hyun-ah’s dramatic wail, he stepped out of the house.

Haneul Orphanage.

He planned to go there right now.

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