Chapter 43:Money and Talent Pour In

 Chapter 43: Actor (1)

They soon arrived at the university.

*She should be coming out around now.*

While waiting inside the car, Ryu Seong spotted Ryu Hyeon-a walking toward them from not too far away. Her two friends flanked her on either side, chatting animatedly with her at the center.

Glance after glance—

The male students around them were staring so obviously.

“…Was she always this popular?”

He got out of the car and took a good look at her.

That was when it happened.

A male student quickly approached her. They were too far away to hear the conversation, but the situation was easy to guess.

Ryu Hyeon-a made an awkward, troubled gesture, and the boy retreated with an embarrassed expression. Anyone could tell—he had asked for her number and been turned down.

“Wow, seriously?”

It was a side of her he could never have imagined back at home.

*The world really has gone mad.*

Right then, their eyes met. Ryu Hyeon-a grinned brightly and walked over.

“Did you see? Did you see that?”

“Yeah.”

“Heh, so this is the kind of woman I am.”

“What kind?”

“You saw it!”

He had seen it, but he wasn’t about to admit it easily.

“I saw. That guy was asking you where the bathroom is.”

“What nonsense! He asked for my phone number!”

“Hmm, I didn’t hear anything.”

“I’m telling the truth!”

“Yeah, you were too far away. Couldn’t hear a thing.”

“Guys, say something!”

“Um… it’s true, though…”

“You can’t just cover for her because she’s your friend.”

“Ah, well…”

While her friend trailed off, Ryu Seong pointed toward the boy.

“Look for yourself. He’s running off like he’s about to wet himself.”

“Aish! It’s not like that!”

“Looks exactly like that to me.”

“Argh, seriously!”

After teasing his little sister to his heart’s content, Ryu Seong finally turned to her friends and greeted them properly.

“Anyway, it’s been a while.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Hello!”

He had seen them a few times before, so it wasn’t too awkward. He was just a little surprised that they still hung out with Hyeon-a.

*That kid’s personality isn’t exactly easy to deal with…*

“Must be pretty tiring hanging out with Hyeon-a all the time…”

“Huh? No, not at all!”

“Oppa!”

“I’m joking, kid. By the way, where’s Hwan?”

“I don’t know, he’ll come down soon!”

“Hmm, but what do we do? The car’s kinda small.”

“You mean the back?”

“Yeah.”

“Oooh!”

Hyeon-a scanned the car with envious eyes.

“Must be nice…”

“You don’t even have a license.”

“Still!”

She climbed into the back seat and nodded, seemingly satisfied.

“It’s a bit tight, but it should be fine, right?”

“Think so?”

“Yeah. The three of us can sit in the back, and Hwan can take the front.”

“Alright. It’s not that far anyway.”

Just then, Ryu Hwan appeared in the distance.

When Ryu Seong waved, the boy came running.

“Whoa!”

He dashed right past Ryu Seong and stopped in front of the car, stomping his feet excitedly.

“Holy shit, it’s so pretty!”

He kept gasping in admiration as he stared at the BMW.

It was total chaos.

Since they couldn’t stand there forever, Ryu Seong patted the boy’s shoulder as he walked past.

“You can drive it yourself later, so calm down and get in the passenger seat.”

“For real? Really?!”

“Yeah, really, you idiot.”

“You promised!”

“I got it.”

After confirming Hwan was getting in, Ryu Seong turned back to Hyeon-a’s friends.

“It’ll be a little cramped. Sorry about that.”

“We’re fine!”

“Thank you for giving us a ride!”

They were very polite kids.

Everyone got into the car.

“Hehe, the weather is amazing!”

“Right? Right!”

The three girls in the back kept looking at each other and laughing brightly. Even the falling leaves seemed to make them happy. Just because the weather was nice, they were smiling like that.

They were full of energy. Just being around them made the corners of Ryu Seong’s mouth lift unconsciously. He checked the rearview mirror and asked again.

“Is everyone okay back there?”

“Yeah, it’s fine! How about you guys? Not too tight?”

Hyeon-a asked her friends.

“Super roomy!”

“It’s perfect!”

Thankfully, her friends were small, so even with three people in the back of the famously cramped BMW 1 Series, it didn’t look too bad.

“Then let’s goooo!”

With Hyeon-a’s dramatic shout, he started the engine.

*Vrooooom!*

Enjoying the signature ride of the BMW 135i, he headed toward the restaurant he had looked up earlier.

*

It had been a while since he properly cut into a steak.

*Slice, slice.*

He cut a thick piece of tenderloin steak and put it in his mouth. The burst of juicy flavor and the rich, savory taste made him sigh in admiration.

“Mmm, this is delicious.”

“It’s seriously the best! But oppa, aren’t you overdoing it?”

“Not really.”

“Oooh! Then can we order more?”

“Eat as much as you want, you little pig.”

“Yes!”

She immediately ordered a T-bone steak.

“We’ll share it between the three of us!”

“…Sure. Eat well, piggy.”

“What the hell, you idiot.”

Ryu Hwan, sitting next to him, made a disgusted face at the dad joke.

“Hyung, that wasn’t funny.”

“Ahem.”

But it wasn’t a complete failure.

“Pffft.”

“Cough…!”

Hyeon-a’s two friends couldn’t hold back their laughter.

Not a bad success rate.

While they were enjoying the meal, Ryu Seong asked a few questions about how his sister was doing at school. That’s when one of Hyeon-a’s friends said something unexpected.

“She’s insanely popular at school, you know.”

“Yeah, seriously! Like, extremely!”

“And her personality is so good too.”

*Good personality?*

*No way.*

He figured they were just being nice because they were her friends.

“Really? She seems to be living a normal life outside, I guess.”

“It’s not normal at all! Guys from other schools come just to see Hyeon-a! And she wants to become a really famous actress! She even joined the acting club and does extra acting practice on her own… oops!”

“Hey, you…!”

Ryu Seong put down the fork in his hand and looked up.

*Clink.*

He turned his head toward Ryu Hyeon-a like a stiff robot.

“Actress?”

“Uh, um… that’s…”

He had simply assumed she was just fooling around at university without a care in the world. But it turned out she actually had a dream and a goal.

Now that he thought about it…

He didn’t even know what his little sister wanted to do with her life.

Hwan wanted to be a car designer.

But Hyeon-a…

Nothing came to mind. He was honestly shocked at how clueless he had been. He felt a little disappointed in himself.

More importantly, why did she look like that?

Ryu Hyeon-a was fidgeting as if she had been caught committing a crime.

“Well, um… so…”

“That’s great.”

“Huh…?”

“I was wondering what you wanted to do after growing up, but you actually have a goal.”

“Uhh?”

The stiff expression on Hyeon-a’s face slowly loosened.

“You’re… not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“I mean, being an actress isn’t easy…”

“There’s no easy job in this world.”

“Well… that’s true, but.”

“Anything is fine as long as you do it. Though with that face of yours, I’m not sure if acting is possible.”

“…Aish, seriously!”

Ryu Seong chuckled.

“Do your best. It’s a bit of a surprising career choice, but still.”

“Mm…”

As he started cutting his steak again, he heard a tiny voice, like a mosquito buzzing. It sounded a bit like “thank you,” but he thought he must have misheard it.

*That kid saying something like that?*

*No way in the world.*

Just imagining it gave him goosebumps.

“Mmm, that was good.”

“Thank you for the meal!”

“Ugh, I’m so full.”

After finishing dessert cleanly, they left the restaurant. Since the university wasn’t too far, he drove everyone back the same way they came.

“Study hard.”

“Got it.”

“Goodbye!”

“Oppa, see you next time!”

“Huh? Ah, yeah.”

When she called him “Oppa,” Ryu Seong looked slightly flustered. Ryu Hyeon-a burst out laughing.

*There she goes again.*

He couldn’t just let that slide.

“Hwan-ah.”

“Yeah?”

“You still have some allowance left, right?”

“Huh? I still have a lot.”

“A lot, my ass!”

He handed the boy 200,000 won.

“Whoa, thanks, hyung. I’ve got class so I’ll head off first.”

“Alright.”

“Oppa, what about me!”

As expected, Ryu Hyeon-a threw a fit. After teasing her for a while, he eventually slipped her another 200,000 won. She grinned brightly as she took the money and walked off with her friends. While watching them leave, he noticed a group of guys approaching her.

“Hmm, she really is popular.”

On the drive back home, he thought about her dream of becoming an actress.

“An actress, huh…”

If he used the talent ‘Eye for Scenarios,’ he might be able to help her.

Well, someday.

Of course, that would only be possible after she showed real effort and results without giving up.

Anyway.

It was a day when he learned a little more about his sister.

*

It was already mid-August.

Just as the information had predicted, a warm wind began blowing through the bio stocks.

[Bio companies finally on the move?]

[Bio stocks starting to stir!]

[Bio stocks rising for the first time in a while — currently sailing smoothly!]

[Bio companies opening their eyes!]

[Bio stocks awakening from long slumber! Which ones are hot?]

The long-awaited bio boom had finally arrived.

“It’s here.”

The articles were mostly positive.

Among them, one particular stock that was leading the current bio surge caught his eye.

[Jinsang Science’s Phase 2 trial plan smoothly approved!]

[Last night, Jinsang Science finally received FDA approval for its Phase 2 clinical trial plan. With all research results coming out positive, expectations are high that Phase 3 will also be approved smoothly, followed by global sales…]

When he clicked on it, even more detailed information unfolded.

Current time: 9:15 AM.

Even without checking the stock price yet, he could roughly guess how much it had risen.

[Jinsang Science off to a flying start!]

[Jinsang Science skyrocketing from the opening!]

[Jinsang Science up 11% during trading!]

[Bio stocks sailing smoothly!]

Thanks to all the internet articles hammering the information into his head, he opened the securities app to check the exact figures.

After his short-term trade, he had bought 150 million won worth of each stock. He was curious how much profit he had made.

[Logged in.]

He immediately went to the asset status menu.

Stock Name: Jinsang Science

Shares Held: 6,945

Purchase Amount: ₩150,012,000

Return Rate: +16.8%

Profit/Loss: +₩25,202,016

Total Valuation: ₩175,214,016

Just looking at the numbers made him feel ecstatic.

The profit… damn.

He had already made 25 million won on Jinsang Science alone. Metrion and Arang Life were also up 4% and 7% respectively, adding up to a considerable amount.

“Not a bad start at all.”

Satisfied, he lay down on the bed.

*Meow~*

While relaxing with Lucky, he occasionally checked the stock prices. Since the movement had slowed down, he quickly got bored. As he wondered what to do for fun, he remembered his YouTube channel.

*Subscriber count must have increased a bit by now.*

He wondered how many there were.

Filled with strong curiosity, he accessed the channel.

“Oh…!”

It seemed the talent ‘Chartist’s Eye’ had worked perfectly for promotion.

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