Chapter 569. Persuading (4)

“Cheers!”

Ju Yeong-Gi energetically raised his beer mug in the air. Beer mugs roughly clanged with each other, and foams splashed all over the place.

Park Yu-Min frowned unhappily. “Yeong-Gi... Can't you be, I don't know, gentler?”

“What are you on about! Today's the day our Yu-Min is handing in his unemployed bum card, so we should celebrate, right!”

“...I wasn't an unemployed bum, though?”

“Oh? And what makes you think that?”

“Uhm..” Park Yu-Min faltered, his voice inaudible murmur. When he thought about it, he really was an unemployed bum. Not just any bum, either—he was a game addict who did nothing but play video games day in, day out!

“See? I told you!” Ju Yeong-Gi cackled loudly.

“Holy cow. I don't have any excuses...”

Ju Yeong-Gi gulped the beer down and put the empty mug down on the table with a loud thud. He then wiped the corners of his eyes to rid the imaginary tears pooling there. “Keuh~! To think that my freeloader friend who didn't want to work and played video games the whole day has finally grown up and got himself a job...!”

“W-what?! My situation wasn't that pathetic, you know! Didn't I also work in Jin-Ho's pizzeria?”

“Come on, dude. When did you quit the pizzeria, again? And you've been lounging around since then, haven't you?”

“...”

“In this day and age, one of the biggest problems plaguing our society is youth unemployment, Yu-Min.” Ju Yeong-Gi straightened up as if he was a university lecturer in the middle of his class. “With the situation like that, seeing a brat who hasn't even graduated college wasting his life away while not attending school was eating me alive inside. Can't you imagine how anxious I've been all this time? This big bro of yours couldn't get a decent night's sleep because of my anxiety about you!”

“Ohhh? Not because your shop hasn't been doing well?”

“Nonsense! Our store is making a killing lately! And we're extending like crazy, too! And our revenue is through multiple roofs!”

“Sure, sure,” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled and briefly raised his mug. “In any case, congratulations, Yu-Min.”

Park Yu-Min nodded while also raising his mug. “Yeah, thanks. I owe you a lot.”

Ju Yeong-Gi pouted unhappily. “What the hell? Are you implying I haven't done anything for you? I see, I see. How stupid of me to feed the starving brat plenty of delicious pizza, eh?”

“...Don't say that. I'm also grateful.”

“Whatever, man! I don't want empty gratitude.” Ju Yeong-Gi unhappily yelled back despite failing to hide the grin etched on his face. Obviously, he knew how hard Park Yu-Min worked to get this far.

Even after finishing work for the day, Park Yu-Min would delve straight into polishing his gaming skills. And now, he was finally being acknowledged for all the time and effort he poured in to his craft. Of course Ju Yeong-Gi was unimaginably happy about this situation.

“Oh, right. This means you'll have to stay in the team residence now, doesn't it?”

Park Yu-Min nodded. “Yeah.”

“Huh. I guess we won't see each other often from now on.”

“But I heard that's no longer the case.”

“Eh?”

Park Yu-Min shrugged and explained further. “The team policy has changed to allow player autonomy, so we can do what we like outside of practice hours.”

“Hmm...” Ju Yeong-Gi nodded in relief. “That sounds like a good thing, dude.”

“Even so...” Park Yu-Min scratched his head.

“Mm?”

“Well, I... I have a favor to ask you both. Even if we're free to leave the residence, it's not gonna be as simple as it sounds.”

“Well, yeah.”

It'd be difficult to avoid scrutiny if Park Yu-Min kept leaving the team residence, especially considering his status. Unlike other newbie trainees, he needed to set a good example. The team director probably also wanted that.

“I gotta stay in the residence for the time being,” said Park Yu-Min. “It's not like I'm going there to have a party, anyway. That's why... Can I ask you guys to look after the orphanage while I'm not around?”

“You don't even have to ask us that, you dummy,” Ju Yeong-Gi tutted.

“Mm...!” Kang Jin-Ho weightily nodded. “Don't worry about that, Yu-Min.”

“Back when I started my esports career, Sister Yi was still with us, you see? So I wasn't worried about anything, but now... I'm kinda nervous about leaving the kids alone.” Park Yu-Min stared straight at Kang Jin-Ho. “I'll trust you on this one, okay?”

“I told you, don't worry,” said Kang Jin-Ho without too much concern. “You're too worrisome, Yu-Min. Those kids know how to take care of themselves.”

“Even then...”

“I know what you're trying to say,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded again. Of course he knew what Park Yu-Min was worried about.

The Seongsim Orphanage kids were tough. Growing up without parents instilled the discipline of always looking after themselves in the orphans. Broadly speaking, they were all mature beyond their years. On the other hand, though... They could be very frail, too.

Kids starving for affection would always be severely impacted when someone caring for them was no longer around for some reason. Until now, Park Yu-Min put so much strain on himself to protect the orphans' surroundings, but he wouldn't be able to do that soon. And he was entrusting that role to Kang Jin-Ho.

Kang Jin-Ho quietly muttered, “It's time to change, though.”

“Hmm?” Park Yu-Min tilted his head.

“Whether it's you or someone else doing that job... It's no good when you think about it. So, it's time to change.”

“...Change? What?”

Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded. “Yes. You, Sister Yi... Both of you sacrificed so much for the sake of the orphans. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, though. However, when you look at the bigger picture, you can't say it's a good thing, either.”

“...”

“It's not right for just one or two people to carry such a weighty burden. It should be shared among many. And sacrificing yourself shouldn't be a prerequisite in giving the kids a good life. This is good timing, actually. Things on my end are about to begin for good, anyway.”

“I'm... honestly worried, Jin-Ho. It feels like this thing is ballooning into something out of our control.”

“Don't be. This is nothing more than a slightly larger-scale version of what we've been doing until now.”

Park Yu-Min wordlessly nodded at that. A business operation doubling in size didn't mean the workload would double in quantity. No, the increase would be more like ‘exponential’ in nature. And Kang Jin-Ho should be well aware of this, too.

Kang Jin-Ho drank his beer and put the mug down before glancing at Park Yu-Min. “When are you thinking of moving into the team residence?”

“I'm thinking of moving in... around a week's time?”

“Huh? Why the delay?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“...Can't you cut me some slack? I'm about to enter a cramped house full of guys, you know?”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow in a clear display of dissatisfaction and stared at his friend. Park Yu-Min flinched at that rebuking gaze and sneakily turned his head away.

Kang Jin-Ho tutted softly. “Don't get distracted and keep giving it your all after you settle down there, okay?”

“Yeah, I know. Don't worry.”

Kang Jin-Ho saw the determination on his friend's face and chuckled loudly. Indeed, there was no need to worry about Park Yu-Min. He'd obviously take good care of his business regardless of where he was.

“Alright, then! Time for another round!” Ju Yeong-Gi raised his beer mug in the air again.

“What's the rush, dude?” Park Yu-Min frowned slightly.

“You seriously asking me that? You know I can no longer knock a couple of cold ones whenever I want to nowadays, don't you? What with all that intense monitoring and all...!”

“Monitoring?” Park Yu-Min and Kang Jin-Ho tilted their heads.

“That's right, monitoring! I... I can't even drink beer whenever I want...”

“Huh? Who's monitoring you?”

“What do you mean, who?” Ju Yeong-Gi suddenly looked depressed.

That was when a lightbulb went off inside Park Yu-Min's head, and he began smirking suspiciously. “Oh... You mean, Miss Su-Yeon?”

“...Yup.”

"Aha. So, she got you totally whipped, eh? So, that's how it is?"

“Eiii... Dammit.” Ju Yeong-Gi hurriedly chugged his beer down.

“Still, I never figured it'd happen to you, Yeong-Gi...”

“Don't remind me, okay! In the beginning, she was an angel, you know? A real angel! But now? She's like a bloody tiger, dude! You should see it for yourself. Whenever I tell her that I'm hanging out with you guys, these scary flames light up in her eyes, you know?! Holy sh*t... I swear, I've never seen flames as bright as those in my entire life. At least we might save on electricity bills after we get married, which is a good thing, I guess? I mean, we won't be needing an aircon or lightbulbs at home!”

Park Yu-Min smirked deeply. “Seeing how you even brought up marriage... I guess you're thinking about it, eh?”

“I'm saying it hypothetically, okay!”

“This is good, actually. You need to be reined in, you know?”

“What the hell? How can a man be under the thumb of his woman! That's nonsense!”

“...But, you already are?”

Ju Yeong-Gi's shoulders drooped in despair once more. “I, uh, I'm just biding my time, okay? You just wait and see! I'll reclaim my manhood soon enough!”

“Ohh, I see. Looks like a little brat is dreaming of big things.”

“Tsk...”

Park Yu-Min chuckled while watching the frustrated Ju Yeong-Gi chug even more beer down his throat.

'It's crazy how things turned out...'

Not too long ago, when this trio got together to share some booze and shoot some breezes... Park Yu-Min had to retire from being a pro gamer and spent time doing sundry chores at the orphanage. Meanwhile, Kang Jin-Ho and Ju Yeong-Gi had only finished serving in the military. In other words, they were practically unemployed bums with nothing better to do with their time.

But now, all three had found what they wanted to do. Park Yu-Min found this change a little... rueful. Even so, it was still a good change.

Ju Yeong-Gi put his empty beer mug down. “This means we won't get to hang out and drink like this for a while, huh...”

“Yeah, it seems that way.”

“Well, that kinda sucks,” Ju Yeong-Gi ruefully licked his lips.

Kang Jin-Ho calmly rebutted his friend. “If you want to see Yu-Min, you can always attend one of his matches.”

“You dummy, where would I find the time to do that? I gotta man my store, dude!”

“You know, I've been getting this weird feeling lately. Yeong-Gi, haven't you become strangely diligent nowadays? You weren't like this back in the army, so what gives?”

“The army didn't pay me enough!” Ju Yeong-Gi proudly pounded his chest. “In modern capitalist society, you get paid according to how much you work. But that's not the case in the army, so why should I go out of my way to work my butt off? I get compensated for the amount of work I do these days, so I'm gonna try my best like there's no freaking tomorrow. Isn't that obvious? Besides, didn't I tell you this already? I'm gonna be rich one day.”

Park Yu-Min nodded weightily. “Meanwhile, Jin-Ho is getting super rich while sucking on his thumb?”

“...Hey, stop it. You're giving me serious heartburn.” Ju Yeong-Gi jokingly waved his hand.

Park Yu-Min broke into a loud peal of laughter. Kang Jin-Ho watching the duo also chuckled loudly. It felt like too much time had passed since their last feel-good get-together.

“Yu-Min, you gotta win, okay?”

“...Hang on, I'm still a reserve.”

“No one said a reserve is forbidden from winning tournaments.”

“Let's be realistic here, okay?”

“We are being realistic,” Ju Yeong-Gi testily replied.

Park Yu-Min sighed at length. Words sometimes couldn't get through to his friends.

“We wouldn't have cared if you didn't start this journey, but now that you are doing it, you better become the best in the world. Got that?”

“Mm...!”

Still, Park Yu-Min appreciated the determination of his friends, at the very least!

'Right. It's always been like this.'

Park Yu-Min used to think he fulfilled his life's goal by becoming a pro gamer. But Kang Jin-Ho relentlessly pushed him to reach for even greater heights. Kang Jin-Ho's personality of seeing things till the end had greatly influenced Park Yu-Min to become who he was now.

“Guys, this is a team-based game, so I can't change the outcome by myself even if I try, okay? I will obviously do my best, but there's a limit to how much I can do to change the outcome.”

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged his shoulders. “Then, build a winning team for yourself.”

“You think that's even possible?”

“Why wouldn't it be!” Ju Yeong-Gi yelled with enough power to spit flames out of his mouth. “Listen here, you dumbass! Aren't your teammates also pro gamers?! Between me starting from the bottom and turning my pizzeria into Korea's top franchise and you nurturing a bunch of pro gamers to create a winning team, which do you think is harder? Ah?”

“...Yours.”

“Obviously! But I'm still doing it, aren't I!”

“...Excuse me, Mister Ju Yeong-Gi? May I remind you that you only have one store? You aren't even at the starting line to make your grand dream come true, you know?”

“Wroooong! Zero points for you! I'll have you know, we're opening our sister store pretty soon.”The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B1(j)n.

“Heol, really?”

Ju Yeong-Gi smirked deeply. “Last time we talked, it was only a vague outline of a plan. But we signed the contract not too long ago. We've even rented out the shop space, too.”

“Wowsers. That's fast.”

“I told you, didn't I? I'm going to become the owner of South Korea's greatest pizza franchise.”

Park Yu-Min weightily nodded again. “Meanwhile, Jin-Ho makes all the money, right?”

“I said, stop it! Stooop!”

Park Yu-Min chuckled as Ju Yeong-Gi desperately protested against the unfairness of this situation.

'Everyone is forging ahead with their lives, huh...'

Whether it was Ju Yeong-Gi or Kang Jin-Ho, they had found their places in the world and were doing their best to live their lives. As their friend, Park Yu-Min couldn't afford to fall behind them.

“Got it. I'll try to win something.”

Ju Yeong-Gi's eyes began shining dangerously. “You promised, okay?”

“However, you better not bully me if I fail.”

“Hah. Imma dunk you in a pot of booze if you fail, you dummy.”

Park Yu-Min shuddered grandly when he realized his friends were indeed fully capable of making good on their threat. “Go easy on me, okay? Please?”

The three men burst into another raucous laughter. And they continued to share booze and banter for a long while. Eventually, the early dawn arrived to herald the end of their get-together.

“Argh...” Ju Yeong-Gi groaned when his phone began ringing noisily. “Looks like it's time for me to get out of here, guys.”

Park Yu-Min's cheeks began twitching ominously. “Hang on a second. I gotta ask you to make sure, but... Are you, you know, with Miss Su-Yeon?”

“No, of course not! I, uh, I haven't done anything serious with her yet. Don't get the wrong idea, okay! Su-Yeon's unique personality means if I get home a tiny bit late, she throws a massive tantrum, you know? It's not like we live in the same house or something.”

“Mm...?” Park Yu-Min suspiciously glared at Ju Yeong-Gi.

However, Ju Yeong-Gi insisted as if nothing untoward was happening here. “This is nothing to be embarrassed about, so why would I try to hide it from you guys?”

“Well... If you say so.”

“In any case, I gotta go now. I'll pay, so you two, sit tight.”

“Nah, it's cool,” Park Yu-Min said while trying to stand up.

“Uh-huh! How dare a pair of paupers try to show off before me! I'm a CEO, you punks! A bloody CEO!”

“What the heck?”

Ju Yeong-Gi left behind his two bemused friends and staggered his way to the pub's counter before coughing up the cash.

Kang Jin-Ho and Park Yu-Min could only smile wryly at this scene while also getting up to leave.

Park Yu-Min winced a little. “Yeong-Gi's totally whipped, isn't he?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded, his expression one of pity. “Reminds me of my father, actually.”

Park Yu-Min squeezed his eyes shut at that revelation. When he suddenly thought that the same fate might be in store for him too... Park Yu-Min felt dread and sorrow threatening to wash over him.