A Chairman Who Has No Regrets - Chapter 34



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The Chairman Who Doesn’t Regret Episode 34 – The One Who Will Win (3)

His family watched as Jeon Kang left for the competition in a luxury sedan.

“Oh my, I have to take a good look at it.”

In response to Jeon Kang’s mother, In-sook’s words, his older sister, Hye-rin, tells him not to worry.

“The river will do well, Mom.”

“yes?”

“Then, whose younger sibling are you?”

“Oh my – that guy is just so quiet, how can he talk about such a big thing so early in the morning?”

Her younger sister Hye-ri laughs at her words.

“When is it okay for a man to be heavy?”

“Swish- You can’t speak? You can’t speak.”

Choi Soo-young, who is caught between the two.

“Hey, don’t worry, Mom. Our husband will do well.”

“so?”

“The kids who always get first place always get first place.”

Sooyoung looks at Hye-ri as if she is getting angry while talking to In-sook. And in between them, Sooyoung’s father, Deok-soo Choi, suddenly intervenes.

“Since when has Kang-i been my son-in-law?”

In-sook laughs awkwardly at his words.

The moment Hye-ri pokes Soo-young’s side.

“Oh my, it’s a shame to lose Kang-i.”

Suyeong shouts at the landlady’s words.

“mom!”

“No, right? You study hard, you’re handsome, you’re kind.”

“Adventure.”

Choi Deok-su coughs in discomfort, and the landlady Hong Myeong-ja holds In-sook’s hand tightly.

“Oh my, little sister. Please take good care of our lacking daughter. No, from today on, are we going to be in-laws?”

“Oh my – Hyung, you’re lacking in swimming skills.”

Hye-ri quickly raises her hand.

“I oppose this marriage!”

Choi Deok-su also quickly raises his hand.

“Me too! I oppose this marriage!”

Hye-ri glances at the landlord, Choi Deok-su.

Choi Deok-su also looks at Hye-ri as if he will not give up.

“Oh my! Why are you like this when you’re not even kids?”

Swimming comes in between.

“Dad! No matter how much I feel sorry for you! Why are you trying to fight with Hye-ri?”

Choi Deok-su said with his eyes wide open.

“What are you talking about! Who is fighting!”

“No matter how much I miss my daughter, I can’t say that.”

“What do you care about? It’s our Kang-i!”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, Hye-ri. This old man will make sure that Soo-young doesn’t get caught in the river.”

“Thank you, sir. I believed in you!”

“then!”

“Gyaaaaaaah!”

Suyeong chases her father, making strange noises like a cat, and Choi Deoksu laughs and runs away into the house.

The hostesses Hong Myeong-ja and In-sook, who shook their heads at the sight, soon became absorbed in gossip and went inside the house, while Hye-rin approached Hye-ri.

“Why is my little brother’s expression like that again?”

“Huh? Oh, no.”

“Why are you worried about the river?”

Hye-ri shakes her head.

“What are you worried about? She knows how to do it.”

“okay?”

“Oh, no, sis.”

Hye-ri said with a bright smile as if she had never been worried. Hye-rin hesitated briefly and then spoke normally as if it was nothing.

“It’s cold, let’s go in.”

“huh.”

Suddenly, the door to the owner’s house opened and Sooyoung shouted.

“Sister! Hye-ri! Let’s take the scholarship quiz!”

Hyelin shook her head and headed towards her house, and Hye-ri thought for a moment and then went inside the owner’s house.

Hye-ri sits on the sofa.

A scholarship quiz that airs on TV.

[ This person, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952, did not lose his spirit of philanthropy even in the harsh African environment··· ]

“Dad, who is that?”

Choi Deok-su, who was scratching his stomach at the question about swimming, licks his lips.

“Uh, um, that’s what it is, uh, oh, I don’t remember?”

Suyeong smiles and puts her arm around Hye-ri’s shoulder.

“You know?”

“Yeah, he’s famous.”

“Who is it?”

“Schweitzer. A German doctor who even built a patient village with his Nobel Prize money.”

[The answer is! Albert Schweitzer!]

“Oh! As expected, my friend!”

Choi Deok-su speaks quickly.

“Oh right, that’s the name, I remember now.”

“Hey, Dad, you didn’t know.”

“Big, by the way, Kang-i is smart and our Hye-ri is smart too! Oh my, your mother must be really happy.”

Hye-ri nods her head.

“What, why are you reacting like this, tuna?”

“Huh? What?”

“What kind of lukewarm reaction are you giving? You’re the kid who would die when you praised your younger sibling.”

“Oh, I was too focused on TV.”

Suyeong, who was snickering, nodded her head as if to say that.

“By the way, what will happen to Kang-i?”

“huh?”

“No, you study so well, what could you become? A judge? A prosecutor? A doctor?”

Choi Deok-su nodded and said.

“Men are prosecutors!”

“Wouldn’t it be better to be a judge, Dad?”

“No! It’s the inspector!”

“okay?”

Crunch.

Did the landlady, Hong Myeong-ja, who opened the door and came in before anyone knew it, hear their conversation?

“Oh my, do public officials, whether prosecutors or judges, make a lot of money? Doctors make the most money.”

Hye-ri nods her head, and Soo-young asks her a question.

“How is it? Hye-ri?”

“huh?”

“Your brother, do you want to become a doctor?”

Hye-ri thought for a while and then said.

“What you want to do, what you want to be.”

“Hey, what is it? Then what about you?”

“Me? I… well, I’m fine.”

“What, what’s the answer?”

“Oh, I’m sleepy, sir, ma’am, I’ll go downstairs-”

So Hye-ri left the place.

**

Inside David’s car, driving on a not-at-all-smooth paved road.

“What are you here for?”

David snorts at my abrupt question.

“Is that what you just said in 10 minutes? You too, you too.”

I shrugged.

David, who had been shaking his head, opened his mouth.

“I thought you couldn’t call it an academy?”

“Yes, it was.”

“I’m going to correct my name according to the advice of the assistant instructor who gave me advice.”

David nods to the car’s glove box. He opens it with a thought and finds a yellow envelope inside.

I took it out and glanced at David. He nodded and I opened the envelope to check the contents.

“It’s a business registration certificate.”

“Oh, the New York English Academy closed down yesterday.”

Maybe it’s because he’s young, but he acts quickly.

“Global talent training center?”

“I heard that you like words like global, industrial force, trading company, etc. These days, if you have a government office with a name like that, you get a free pass.”

Pick I burst out laughing.

Free pass. It may not be an easy word to hear these days, but when you’re with David, you definitely feel a bit forward-looking.

“Yesterday was Saturday, how did it go?”

“The mayor is my father’s classmate.”

“aha.”

“By the way, with all that support, what if you fail in the competition? Did you study at all?”

He shook his head.

“Do I need to study it? I don’t know about math or physics.”

“So you don’t have a bag?”

“Oh, that came out in a hurry.”

“Is there a pencil case over there?”

David points to the open glove box. There must have been a black pencil case underneath the envelope.

“Yes, there is.”

“Take care of it, but you still need a pen.”

“Oh.”

I saw the pencil case and it’s new.

I opened the zipper and looked inside. The mechanical pencil, pen, and computer marker were all brand new, unused.

“I will use it well.”

David snorts.

“Hey, even if I die, I won’t say thank you.”

“My gratitude is quite expensive.”

He chuckled and nodded his head.

“If that’s what our Global Talent Development Center Ace says, then so be it. I got a call from Taewoong yesterday.”

“why?”

“The scholarship quiz is in about 3 weeks, so I told you to prepare.”

“Oh, really?”

“Oh, and he said he had more to say, but he wanted to say it himself.”

He nodded and broke the hard taffy into pieces and put it in his mouth.

“Don’t you know what tension is?”

Let’s see, it’s tense.

When was the last time I did something like that?

I don’t even remember.

“Would you like some candy?”

“Hey.”

David shakes his head.

And yet, he reaches out and takes the broken piece of candy I have given him to his mouth.

“It’s delicious because I’m eating it after a long time. It’s been about 10 years since I last ate it.”

It’s been a really long time since I’ve had taffy, too.

I eat too much taffy to get sick of it, but this taffy is probably about thirty or forty years old. The oily sweetness that is characteristic of taffy is not bad.

“In the old days, we used to collect old bottles and exchange them for a lot of food.”

“There were a lot of kids like that. I also got in trouble a lot for drinking candy with my mom’s favorite kettle.”

“Oh my, if it’s a kettle, I deserve to get in trouble.”

“yes?”

David’s smile somehow seemed bitter. Was there a story behind it? But I didn’t bother to ask. Who in the world doesn’t have a story? If I were to wonder about all the stories, I’d only end up getting tired. We’re not even close enough to know each other’s stories.

“Get down.”

As I got out of the car, I saw students coming up the hill. Are these the guys I’m competing with today? But why are all the schools in Korea on hills? What a peculiar commonality. I didn’t feel nervous or competitive, to the point where I had the vain thought of looking for a school with a downhill road.

“I have a computer marker, pencil, and ballpoint pen-”

When I turned my head to the familiar voice, I was able to see Hong Tae-su, who was selling pens in his hand to students on the hill road.

“What are you looking at? Do you know that guy?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“You punk, that kid is working hard.”

David’s words make me nod my head. And on the other hand, it’s bitter. It’s not a word that has any malicious intent, but it can be interpreted differently depending on who hears it.

“Let’s go.”

“Aren’t you going to say hello?”

“Do I look like that kind of person?”

David shakes his head.

“Well, I think you would probably just go.”

“You saw it correctly.”

As we were walking towards the school building, smiling, a hand was suddenly extended towards us.

“There is nothing that students don’t have, whether it be a pen or a pencil.”

Hands that turned white from the cold.

The owner of that hand was someone I knew.

“Oh, hello, ma’am.”

“Huh? Oh my! You’re Taesu’s friend?”

“yes.”

“Did you come here today to take a test?”

“Yes, because there is a contest.”

“Wait a minute, Taesu is over there?”

“no···”

I wanted to dissuade her, but Taesu’s mother was faster than me.

“Taesu!”

I made eye contact with the guy who suddenly turned his head.

Even from afar, I could see the quivering pupils of the guy. He turned his head again and began to go down the hill while soliciting more customers.

“Oh my, didn’t that guy hear that···”

“It’s okay, ma’am. You must be busy.”

“Okay, Taesu. Do well on your test today, and here’s a gift from the lady to cheer you on.”

She hands me a handful of the pens she had in her hand.

“Oh, that’s fine.”

“No, I said that because I was grateful to you, ma’am. I said that because I was grateful.”

I stubbornly refused, taking out only one mechanical pencil among them and saying:

“Then please give me just this one. It’s the mechanical pencil I wanted.”

“Oh my? So?”

“yes.”

I glance at David and see that he is about to take out his wallet.

“Oh, it’s okay, Taesu is my friend.”

The old woman persistently tried to stop David. I took out the broken piece of candy from my pocket to whet my appetite again.

“This is candy. It’s cold, so eat it while you’re at it.”

“Oh my, Taesu will like it.”

“Madam, enjoy your meal too.”

“Okay, I’ll definitely tell Taesu that his friend gave it to him.”

As I entered the school building, leaving Taesu’s mother behind, who was telling him to do well on his exams, David was looking at me with strange eyes.

“Is that you?”

“What?”

He tilts his head.

“Is there a button or something? A button that makes you lose your shit just by talking to me. Isn’t it so different from when you talk to that lady? The temperature difference is obvious.”

He shrugged his shoulders and glanced at Hong Tae-soo, who was soliciting customers with a very pale face.

“Are you a friend?”

“Well, maybe?”

“What kind of answer is that?”

David also looked at Hong Tae-soo and spoke quietly.

“I guess that guy is sold.”

“Because it’s a very sensitive time.”

“You are different?”

I smiled and nodded.

“It’s different.”

“What’s different?”

“I’ve already fought the world.”

“What are you saying?”

“He’s fighting right now.”

“Do you go to another academy besides ours? The kind that makes it hard to speak.”

I think I lost.

Did that guy Hong Tae-soo win?

Looking at the interview photos of the guy, it seems like he won. I think I saw him smiling brightly a few times. Unlike my articles that always portrayed him as being charismatic.

This time, I have to win too.

He should be remembered by the world with a bright smile like in the interview photo.

Let’s go, we already know who will win.

“Let’s go, to win.”

“What, why are you suddenly so serious again?”

“What about the spleen?”

“Hey, isn’t it that he’s avoiding you not because he’s a loser, but because he’s unlucky? That kind of rational thought suddenly occurred to me.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Ah!”