Chapter 226: Open for Business (1)

Chapter 226: Open for Business (1)

That would be when Kang Jin-Ho stopped questioning himself. But then, a little while later...

“Jin-Ho...”

Hey, you. Didn't you say something earlier about reaching out to weaker people than you? I think I replied that you're already that kind of a person, to begin with. But, uh... Maybe I should revise that statement a bit?

Park Yu-Min was covered in a layer of cold sweat while staring at Kang Jin-Ho, who was gripping his mouse hard with his eyes ablaze.

From Park Yu-Min's perspective, his friend was a superman capable of doing anything he wanted. Whether in sports or academics, Kang Jin-Ho could do everything quite well. Unfortunately, though...

No matter how good he was in everything, it wouldn't necessarily translate into a good result all the time.

[DEFEAT]

Kang Jin-Ho shuddered at the little word floating up on the computer monitor. “But, why?!”

Park Yu-Min clamped his mouth shut.

“Why am I losing?!”

“...”

“Yu-Min, explain!”

“W-wait, even if you ask me for an explanation...!” Park Yu-Min groaned loudly when Kang Jin-Ho stared at him with a face of a man who couldn't understand nor accept this outcome. “Jin-Ho, you know this is a team-based game, don’t you?”

“Mm. Yes, I know that.”

“In that case, you should be helping out your team. You can't win just because you got stronger than your allies, you know!”

“Why not?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Isn't it fine for me to become stronger than anyone else and quickly kill the opposition?”

That was... not wrong. Yes, that was not exactly wrong, but...

“No matter how strong you are, what's the point if the opposition is stronger than your allies? You think you can win against all five opponents?” Park Yu-Min groaned loudly again.

Kang Jin-Ho replied in a confused voice, “...But, can't I solve that problem by becoming strong enough to fight all five?”

This was hopeless. This guy... he was definitely hopeless!

If this were a game of soccer, Kang Jin-Ho would be the type to hog the ball, dribble it to the opposition's net all by himself, and score a goal. If this were a game of baseball instead, then well... He would be the type to go for a scenario of shutting out all nine innings by himself and then hitting a winning home run to win the game by 1:0.

However, when Park Yu-Min thought about it...

'...Hasn't Jin-Ho been doing that all this time?'

That realization left Park Yu-Min in shock, his eyes twitching non-stop. It didn't matter whether it was soccer or baseball, Kang Jin-Ho found it only obvious that he should deal with everything by himself and win. In that case, maybe the issue was not with how he played computer games, but... But, his view on life itself had to be changed first!

Park Yu-Min faltered at that thought, then pointed at the computer monitor. “J-Jin-Ho, listen, okay...? L-let's think about this first.”

“Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head.

“Look closely, okay? Your allies are weak, right?”

“Mm...”

“And you're supposed to help the weak, right? Right?”

Kang Jin-Ho's eyes quaked powerfully just then. He looked confused and uncertain.

Park Yu-Min quickly landed the finishing blow. “Look closely. This is like a... Like democracy, okay? It doesn't matter whether you do your lone wolf thing or not; there's no point if all your team members get wiped out.”

“Hmm...”

“Remember when one of your team members was in danger of getting killed right next to your position, but you were nonchalantly farming away? You shouldn't do that. You were supposed to revive your team member.”

“Hmmmm...” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head some more, and his expression remained confused. He seemed to be trying hard to understand, though. But then... “Let me ask you something...”

Park Yu-Min replied in uncertainty, “Yeah?”

“This game's ultimate aim is to win, right?”

“Yeah, that's right.”

“In that case, am I not helping by getting strong enough to win by myself?”

“...And how will you win against five opponents?”

“Oh...”

“So, he tried to weasel out of working part-time in the cafe, but him not showing up for a few days saw the revenue falling off the cliff, so our dad forced him to come back to work in the last few days. Although, I would say people stopped showing up after his fifteen minutes of fame was over, but whatever.”

Choi Yeon-Ha believed that all humans possessed a desire to be noticed by others around them, so Kang Jin-Ho's mindset was completely incomprehensible to her. “B-but I'm sure his mind will change after working as an actor for a while. Forget about getting people's attention for a moment, he's gonna make lots of money making movies, after all! He's simply acting that way because he doesn't know how much he could earn by becoming the next face of the Korean Wave. With his looks, Mister Jin-Ho will make a killing in China and Japan, too. No, wait. I think he'll also be mega-popular in those territories, you know? More than at home, I think.”

“Money, you say?” Kang Eun-Yeong replied with a hint of mockery in her tone. Choi Yeon-Ha didn't miss that, and her expression froze stiff. “Senior. Even if you keep making movies and pocketing the paychecks for the rest of your life, it still won't even be half of what's sitting in my oppa's bank account right now.”

Choi Yeon-Ha was left speechless by that. Did this girl even know how much she makes per production?

'...She probably knows.'

This little girl was craftier than she looked on the surface. Kang Eun-Yeong had to have already analyzed such things before saying all these put-downs.

Kang Eun-Yeong smirked and continued, “I honestly believe I'm making pretty good money these days, but it's nothing more than chump change for my oppa, you see?”

“...I'm not sure what to believe here.” Choi Yeon-Ha slowly shook her head. Considering how much top-ranked idols in the country took home... There couldn't be all that many people in Korea qualified enough to call that amount of money 'chump change.'

“The bigger problem is... My oppa is the kind of person who doesn't need money.”

“Ng?”

“Even though he has so much money, the only things he buys are cigarettes and stopping by at a PC Room occasionally! He eats his meals at home, and our mom has to buy him new clothes! And I have never, ever seen him go out on a date before, too!”

“Hang on, isn't that like... a bum?”

“Well, technically...”

‘But that's the lifestyle of a generic penniless bum, isn't it?’

Choi Yeon-Ha blinked her eyes in confusion.

Kang Eun-Yeong smirked softly at that. “I guess you've never met a type like that, senior. My oppa's a rare breed of a person, after all. Let me repeat that he's totally, utterly, genuinely uninterested in the entertainment industry. He didn't even know who you were, senior.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup. He really had no idea about you, senior. He only found out about you on that day at the filming location.”

“...!” Choi Yeon-Ha's jaw slowly fell. Her eyes twitched after receiving a pretty substantial mental damage.

How could anyone not know about her in this day and age? Sure, she may have been more selective with her projects lately in an effort to cement her image as a proper actress. And she had stopped shooting commercials, too, so she wouldn’t wear out her welcome in the public's eye. That naturally led to a decrease in exposure. Even so, she used to be everywhere only three years ago. Back then, she had never lost the top spot of the most beloved actress in the country in various surveys for three years in a row!

Quite literally, she used to dominate the position of people's favorite actress, but Kang Jin-Ho actually had no idea who she was—could he be a spy from the North?

Kang Eun-Yeong cruelly landed another blow. “And my oppa doesn't even watch TV.”

“Ah?!”

“If you want my orabi to remember you, you better forget about the entertainment section in the news and appear in the current affairs columns instead.”

“...I'll have to decline.”

“In any case, I'll try to talk to him about it, but please don't get your hopes up. We'll get flatly rejected, anyway.”

'This... is a matter of pride!'

Choi Yeon-Ha's expression stiffened. She coughed to clear her throat first, then held her head high. “Listen, Miss Se-Ah.”

“Yes?”

“Let's not beat around the bush, and can you deliver a message to your oppa? Tell him that I'd like to speak to him personally.”

“Mm? But he'll definitely say no since he can't be bothered?”

“...Just pass along the message, please. No, wait! Please do whatever it takes to set up that meeting. I'll take over from there.”

“Hmm. It won't be that easy, though...” Kang Eun-Yeong frowned deeply but nodded away in the end. “It will be tough, but I think I can make it happen if I try.”

“Thank you.”

“Only verbally, though?”

“...I'm sorry?”

Kang Eun-Yeong smirked deeply. “Well, all the cards are on the table now, so it's time to negotiate, don't you agree?”

“Negotiate?”

“Yes, negotiate. If I set up that meeting between my oppa and you, senior, what will you do for me?”

Choi Yeon-Ha stared at Kang Eun-Yeong staring back at her without a hint of shame and thought that maybe Kang Jin-Ho wasn't the only one with a peculiar personality in the Kang family.