Chapter 56: Graduation (6)

Chapter 56: Graduation (6)

Fwhoooosh-!

After achieving the miraculous feat of traveling a distance of 30 minutes by car in less than 10 minutes by bicycle, Kang Jin-Ho smartly parked his bike by a shady corner and secured it with his trusty lock.

If some random passerby recognized the bike's brand, that person might try to break the lock by any means possible and steal the bicycle. However, Kang Jin-Ho was not bothered by that possibility. Getting worked up about such things would mean he would eventually become a slave to the bicycle.

He wasn't an idiot incapable of getting his priorities straight. A bicycle was nothing more than a means of transport for him. No matter how expensive it was, treating a bicycle like royalty would eventually make it more valuable than actual people. Kang Jin-Ho had witnessed enough similar cases in the past and tried his best to avoid experiencing it himself.

Of course, most normal people would never dare to park a bicycle so carelessly on the side of the road when it cost over ten million won. Kang Jin-Ho's aim was to live as ordinarily as possible, even with all that wealth at his disposal, but he still hadn't figured out that his current attitude was a long way off from what people considered 'ordinary.’

“You're here!” Park Yu-Min waved at his friend.

Kang Jin-Ho walked up to him and asked, “Don't you have tournaments or something today?”

"No one holds tournaments on new year's eve! Broadcasters need their breaks too, you know."

“How unprofessional,” said Kang Jin-Ho with a tut.

Park Yu-Min made a tearful face. “Spare me, will you? Please?”

Kang Jin-Ho smirked at that. Despite his criticism, he knew that Park Yu-Min was skipping sleep to practice as much as possible.

That was why Kang Jin-Ho wished Park Yu-Min to be rewarded for his efforts. Sadly, this world didn't always reward you for your hard work. It was especially more pronounced in the world Park Yu-Min had occupied—'effort' didn't necessarily equate to 'skill,’ after all. Moreover, Kang Jin-Ho had already experienced the emptiness of such a world before.

However, you also couldn't succeed if you didn't put in the required effort. A world where your efforts might never get rewarded, but you still need to work hard if you want to succeed...

What a cruel and harsh world this was...

“Hmm? The team director wants you to stay in the dorms?” Kang Jin-Ho asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Park Yu-Min replied while nodding, “Yeah. Now that I've graduated from high school, he wants me to stop wasting time and quickly join the rest of the crew.”

“What will you do?”

"I would've said yes, but... Thanks to you, I'm not so sure anymore."

“Because of me?” Kang Jin-Ho replied, not understanding why he was to blame here.

Park Yu-Min stared at his friend with a slight pout. Did he already forget about it? “The university application, remember?”

“...Ah.”

Park Yu-Min couldn't win against Kang Jin-Ho's relentless pressure and ended up submitting his application papers to Jaegyeong University. He tried to decline, saying that there was no way he would get accepted in the first place. Besides, going to a university didn't seem like a good idea either. However, Kang Jin-Ho threatened and coerced his friend in a 'gentle' voice until he made Park Yu-Min sign the application papers.

"What will I gain by going to a university, anyway " Park Yu-Min asked with a groan. Nêww chapters will be fully updated at novelhall.com

“You will need the qualifications later in your life.”

“Besides, if I go there, I...” Park Yu-Min couldn't finish the rest of his sentence. He must have been worried about trying to blend in with a new group of people.

Kang Jin-Ho spoke in an unconcerned voice, "You will be fine."

“How?”

“And your major will be business management.”

Business management? Park Yu-Min suddenly felt dizzy. He thought his major would be related to computers, so what was going on here

“Huh? Business management? Why?”

"Because I chose it."

"Heol..." Park Yu-Min was rendered speechless at Kang Jin-Ho's boldness in choosing majors without asking for the opinion of the person in question. "I thought my major would be engineering-related, though?!"

Kang Jin-Ho tutted as if he was stating the obvious, "Yu-Min, you're a pro gamer."

“O-okay?”

“Not a programmer...”

“...Oh.”

"Can you survive the engineering course where math formulas and all kinds of weird symbols run amok "

Park Yu-Min firmly shook his head. There was no need to think about this too hard, since he knew that was a total impossibility. Even before he had a chance to worry about blending in with his peers, he would have to drop out of the course altogether if he failed to get good grades.

"As such, all you have to do is stick close to me. I shall explain things that you don't get during the lectures," said Kang Jin-Ho.

"Jin-Ho, it's still not a done deal yet, you know "

“Not a done deal? For who? You or me?”

Park Yu-Min frowned deeply. They might be friends, but Kang Jin-Ho could be so annoying sometimes. "They'll obviously accept you, Jin-Ho!"

Kang Jin-Ho nodded confidently. "You'll also get accepted, so no need to worry."

“How do you know that? I haven't even done an interview with the university yet.”

“I just know.”

“How?”

"Does it matter " Kang Jin-Ho tried to brush the inquiry aside.

“It's nothing important.” Kang Jin-Ho shook his head, thinking that he shouldn't say what he was thinking out loud. It would be akin to labeling everyone here as morons, after all. So, he slightly redirected the flow of conversation. “Do we really have to do this, though?”

“What do you mean? The striking of the bell?”

“No, not that. I'm talking about us coming here to witness the ceremony.”

“Why not? Don't you think it's fun?”

Kang Jin-Ho asked with a tut, "What's so fun about it "

"I mean... It's the new year, right? People usually wish for something special and joyous to happen in the new year, don't they? That's why they come here, you know. And then, they make their wishes. Wishing for happiness and good fortune in the future. And for their worries and hardships to disappear. Something like that."

“Mmhmm...” Kang Jin-Ho nodded again, recalling that he used to think that way in the past, too.

'I guess humans don't really change no matter how long has it been.'

He couldn't remember when it had happened, but from a certain point in time, Kang Jin-Ho had stopped praying or making wishes to God or other supernatural entities. He believed that praying wouldn't solve any of his problems. Still, there were times he dearly wished for a helping hand from a greater force than himself—even though he knew that praying was a waste of time and wouldn't help him in any way, shape, or form.

'Maybe... Maybe they are searching for something to comfort them.'

Perhaps the modern era was a lonelier place to live than the ancient times.

Park Yu-Min cried out. "It's starting! Hurry, make your wish!"

“Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven...”

“Come on, make your wish!”

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. "My wish, is it "

“Yeah! You make it as the bell is struck!”

‘My wish... Do I have any? Not sure if it qualifies as one, but there is something I do want, so that should suffice.’

“Three! Two! One!”

Riiiiing~!

The loud reverberation of the ringing bell rocked the landscape. Kang Jin-Ho made his wish at the same time. A 'wish' about something he had always been craving for.

'Let me live an ordinary life.'

Just like now...

It might get bothersome, and irritating things might keep cropping up, but... As long as he could live like a normal human by laughing, crying, enjoying, wallowing, and...

The ringing of the bell continued to echo throughout the land. For some reason, Kang Jin-Ho felt his heart at ease.

'This isn't so bad.'

Judging something he had no experience in was a totally different matter from having an opinion on things he already knew. So, for the first time in ages, Kang Jin-Ho changed his mind.

Han Se-Yeon walked up to him. “Did you make your wish?”

“I did.”

“What did you wish for?”

“Nothing complicated. Just for things to continue they are.”

Han Se-Yeon sounded surprised. "Eh What kind of a wish is that? That's not even a wish, you know "

Kang Jin-Ho crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What about you, then "

“You're not supposed to tell others about your wish.”

"Mmhm Why did you ask me for mine, then "

“I was just starting a conversation, you know. But you just went on your own and told me.”

Kang Jin-Ho clicked his tongue in disbelief. Why did it feel like she was always running laps around him

He grumbled unhappily, "Just come out and say it, will you "

“Nope. I'll never tell you. Not you, Jin-Ho!”

“Why not?!”

“Heh. Let's go!”

Kang Jin-Ho could only pout while watching Han Se-Yeon trot away from him. After groaning, he walked up to his waiting friends.

Friends, peaceful days... Those were things he had desperately wanted to acquire. Things he dreamed of having one day. And Kang Jin-Ho had them now. Yes, it wasn't perfect. He still had plenty of things to get used to, and he still had many more things to acquire.

Even so...

'Just like this...'

A faint grin crept up on Kang Jin-Ho's lips.

A year had come to an end, and a new one was welcoming him with open arms.

1. 'T/O' is an abbreviation for the table of organization.