Chapter 425 |
I got a call from Professor Kim Myoung-jun.
[If you have time, come visit the school during the festival. The kids are going crazy, asking if you’re coming.]
“Really?”
My popularity is on another level.
“Actually, Gi-hong-sunbae said he was going, so I was already planning to go with him.”
[That’s perfect. I’d better not tell the kids, then.]
“Why not?”
[It’s no fun if they know beforehand. Are you coming on the last day?]
“Yes. How about we grab a drink together?”
Since it had come to this, I figured I might as well meet up with my friends while I was at it.
When I called Min-young, he answered excitedly.
[I was hoping to go, this is great. Let's gooo!]
This guy always loved to have fun. He was the only one on fire during festivals and sports days.
“Alright. See you then.”
[Ah! By any chance, is Yuri coming?]
“Why do you ask?”
[Well, you know, it’d be nice to see her after so long.]
Yeah. Yuri’s not interested in you.
Next, I called Kim Minyoung. Unlike Kyeongil, who had served in KATUSA, Minyoung was doing his alternative military service at a defense industry company after graduating.
As soon as he picked up the phone, Minyoung started to complain.
[They call it alternative service, but it’s basically modern-day slavery.]
Whether you’re on active duty, public service, or alternative service, it’s always your own job that feels the hardest.
“Anything is better than being in the army. Think of the soldiers suffering in this heat and work hard.”
[So, what’s up?]
“I’m planning to go to the school festival and wanted to see if you’d come with. Kyeongil is coming too.”
[I want to go, but I’m here in Chungnam Province. Considering the travel time, I’d have to take a day off, but I’m swamped until the end of the month.]
“If it doesn’t work out, we’ll see each other next time.”
[I’ll try asking, at least.]
“Okay. Don’t push yourself.”
A short while later, Minyoung called me back.
[Hey! They said I can go!]
“Didn’t you say it was impossible?”
[That’s what I thought, but when I said I had plans with Kang Jinhoo, they told me to go right away. I guess they were worried you’d buy the whole company and fire everyone.]
“……”
***
At dinner, when Hyunjoo-noona heard the story from Ellie, her reaction was one of disbelief.
“You want to go to the Hankuk University festival?”
“Yes. It’ll be fun.”
Hyunjoo-noona massaged her forehead as if she had a headache.
“You might not know this, but our school festival is famous for being boring.”
Hearing her say that, it seemed to have been consistently boring for the last ten years. That’s not an easy feat.
Is having a lame festival also a matter of history and tradition?
Fortunately, that tradition was recently broken.
“I heard it’s gotten a lot more fun these days,” Ellie said.
Hyunjoo-noona shook her head firmly.
“I’m not going.”
“Didn’t you say you have to give out wedding invitations?”
“Why would I hand out wedding invitations at a festival? We already decided to arrange a separate dinner.”
I had expected her to react this way. That’s why I had recruited Henry in advance.
Henry smiled and said, “How about we go for a date? I’d really like to see it. I’m curious to look around the school where you studied, Hyunjoo.”
“O-Oh, really?”
Ellie quickly chimed in.
“It would be nice for all of us to go out together. A lot of people from Golden Gate are saying they’ll go.”
“Come on, still… What would we even do there?”
“What do you mean? We need to promote Golden Gate to the juniors. I heard OTK Company’s PR team leader is going to be there to recruit. What if they snatch up all the talented students?”
Our Head of the Legal Team is overflowing with company loyalty.
Under the continued persuasion of the two, Hyunjoo-noona nodded as if she had no choice.
“Fine, I’ll go. Happy now? But I’m telling you, we’re just showing our faces and leaving. Hah, I never thought I’d be going to a school festival at my age.”
“Same here. They say my student ID number makes me a fossil.”
If you add ten years to that, isn’t that practically an ammonite?
Taekgyu nodded his head for no reason.
“Well, my sister’s student ID number is from the Cambrian era. Isn’t she older than some of the professors?”
Hyunjoo-noona’s expression instantly soured.
“Shut up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
This guy always has to take the joke one step too far and make his sister mad.
Does he do this because he wants to get yelled at?
***
Ellie left work early and rushed home to get ready.
“We’re just going to hang out, you don’t need to dress up.”
“What are you talking about? They’re all college students, so they’ll be young, right? And Jinhoo’s friends are coming, so I have to look my best.”
Ellie wore skinny jeans and a white sleeveless shirt. Her long legs and toned, curvy figure were on full display.
Even with only basic makeup and eye makeup, she gave off a model-like vibe.
“How do I look?”
I gave her a thumbs-up.
“Like a college student.”
“Heehee, thank you.”
I also swapped my suit for jeans and a linen shirt. Now it really felt like we were going to a festival.
Just as we were finishing up, Yuri came over to our place.
Yuri was wearing a light-blue striped dress with a thin white cardigan over it. She had let down the blonde hair she usually wore neatly tied up at work and given it a light perm.
“You look like a college student too.”
“Of course. It hasn’t been that long since I graduated.”
Taekgyu was wearing jeans and a T-shirt with a huge cartoon character on it.
“You’re going in that?”
“What else do I need?”
I nodded.
“Yeah. Go change into a different shirt before I rip that character off it.”
Once we were all ready, we set off for Hankuk University.
The festival was a three-day event.
The peak, of course, was the last day. That’s when most of the alumni show up.
This year, the lineup of performers was even more spectacular. Usually, getting five or six acts for a university festival is a lot, but Hankuk University had a whopping nine.
This was all thanks to the growth of Edm Enter.
The lineup was star-studded, including several groups that could be called Hallyu stars. With so many performers, the concerts were spread over two days.
Amazingly, the front gate was already swarming with people.
I clicked my tongue at the sight.
“Looking at this, you’d think there was a festival going on or something.”
Ellie said, “There is a festival going on.”
“I know. It’s just that a key feature of our school was that it looked like a festival wasn’t happening, even when it was.”
They even used to hold regular classes, so some students didn’t even know the festival was on.
This would have been unimaginable back in the day. The Hankuk University festival has really come a long way.
The parking lot was already full, causing severe traffic jams. Fortunately, our car had been pre-registered as an Edm Enter affiliate vehicle.
“Is that even allowed?”
“Of course. Who’s more of an affiliate than us?”
Taekgyu was planning to go to the College of Engineering’s stall where Anneke was anyway. He wouldn’t have to worry about being recognized if he wasn't with us.
“Are you going alone?”
“Hana is supposed to come later.”
“What about Min Hayoung?”
“She was crying that she hadn’t finished her manuscript yet. She said she was going to ditch it and come, but I told her not to even think about it until she was done.”
“Can’t she just push the deadline back a day?”
Taekgyu shook his head firmly.
“What are you talking about? No matter how fun the festival is, the deadline comes first. A deadline is a promise to the readers. Any writer who thinks of having fun when they can’t even meet their deadline needs to do some serious self-reflection.”
“……”
Min Hayoung would cry again if she heard that.
Yuri looked at her phone and said, “Gi-hong-sunbae and Hyunjung-sunbae just arrived.”
“Tell them we’re on our way.”
***
The students of Hankuk University’s Business Administration department were all wearing department T-shirts, like a uniform, as they enthusiastically tried to draw in customers.
The returning students who saw this were dumbfounded.
“Wow! Since when was our department this unified?”
“Back in our day, the seniors had to force us to do anything.”
“Isn’t it all thanks to Kang Jinhoo-sunbaenim?”
Kang Jinhoo, the world's greatest investor and wealthiest man, was an alumnus of their department. And OTK Company, the company he founded, was the largest investment firm in the world, with some even saying it was effectively number one in global market capitalization.
As such, the students’ pride in their school and department was on a different level.
“I heard the freshmen these days wear their department T-shirts not just to and from school, but even on blind dates.”
“Haha, those crazy bastards.”
The returning students saying this were also wearing their department T-shirts.
On stage, a program was underway. This year’s host, like last year, was MC Ttaengdong.
Amidst the bustling stalls, each trying to attract customers, two alumni appeared at the Business Administration stall.
“Hey, everyone. Long time no see.”
It was Jung Gi-hong and Joo Hyunjung. The freshmen who spotted them bowed their heads politely.
“Hello, sunbaenim!”
The more seasoned upperclassmen, however, said jokingly, “Sunbaenim, you’re here again?”
“What do you mean, long time no see? Aren’t you here a little too often?”
“People might think you still go to school here.”
Even though they spoke that way, the atmosphere was welcoming.
And for good reason. Jung Gi-hong was the PR Team Leader at OTK Company. Moreover, he was famous for being a good senior, having frequently treated his juniors to expensive meals.
Jung Gi-hong looked at the juniors and said, “I knew you wouldn’t be happy to see just me, so I brought a special guest today.”
“Really?”
“Who is it?”
“They should be here any second.”
A moment later, a man in jeans and a shirt appeared. Beside him was a woman with the aura of a model.
The Business Administration students shouted in surprise.
“Kang Jinhoo-sunbaenim!”
***
Freshmen and upperclassmen alike stood in a line and bowed deeply toward me.
“Hello, sunbaenim!”
“Uh, yeah. Hi. Nice to see you all.”
Anyone watching would think I’m drilling them like a drill sergeant.
I saw many familiar faces from Gi-hong-sunbae’s wedding, but even more that I didn’t know. After the greetings, a flurry of photos followed. In this day and age, proof shots are a must, aren’t they?
The female juniors approached Ellie.
“Hello! We loved your commercial.”
“You really look like a model.”
Ellie’s commercial was more than just a little famous.
I muttered from the side, “P-chip, p-chip.”
In response, Ellie poked me in the ribs with a smile on her face and whispered, “One more word and I’ll kill you.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
I quickly shut my mouth to save my own life.
“You’re even prettier in person!”
“I bought a Bester rash guard after seeing your ad!”
“Can we get a picture with you?”
Ellie happily took pictures with them.
A stage was set up at the end of the field, with stalls lined up on both sides. It looked similar to how it used to, but unlike back then, the place was now packed with people.
“Hey! You made it!”
“How’ve you been?”
Kyeongil and Minyoung were already there, drinking by themselves. We pulled our tables together. We were served beer, soju, and makgeolli, with side dishes like pajeon and spicy sea snail salad.
“This looks delicious,” Ellie commented.
I shook my head.
“It only looks the part.”
You can’t expect good taste from a student-run stall.
Ellie tore off a piece of the pajeon and put it in her mouth. Then she looked at me and said, “It is delicious.”
“Huh?”
I tried the pajeon and was stunned. I hadn’t expected anything, but surprisingly, it was edible. No, it was good. This was good enough to be sold in a restaurant.
“Did a freshman whose family runs a restaurant enroll or something?”
Gi-hong-sunbae shook his head.
“It’s all thanks to HMR.”
HMR (Home Meal Replacement), an evolution of instant food.
“These days, even the batter comes pre-made, so all you have to do is pour it onto the frying pan.”
To think that the advancement of ready-made meals meant we could now eat proper food at a department stall. The advancement of technology truly enriches our lives.
Ellie asked me, “How does it feel to be back at school after so long?”
“It’s nice. Brings back old memories.”
“See? I told you it was a good idea to come.”
I looked around at the juniors.
They all looked like college students. Not just the freshmen, but even the third and fourth-years looked like kids.
I guess I’ve really gotten old.
Naturally, there was no one among the current students who could be called my senior. And even if there were, they wouldn’t come to a place like this.
So this is what it feels like to have a fossil of a student ID number.
“I was fresh-faced like that back in the day, too.”
At my words, Kyeongil made a sour face.
“What are you talking about? The first time I saw you, I thought you were a returning upperclassman.”
“Yeah, yeah. Shut up and drink.”
We clinked our glasses.
The rumor that I had arrived spread through the entire campus in an instant, and a commotion arose outside.
“Hey! Kang Jinhoo is here!”
“Whoa! For real?”
“He’s at the Business Administration stall with his girlfriend!”
“What? Where did you say?”
People swarmed over as if to see a celebrity. Among them were people holding smartphones and gimbals, shooting videos. It seemed they were live-streaming the festival on the internet.
Fortunately, the juniors took it upon themselves to form a human barricade, blocking anyone from entering the stall.
“From this point on, only customers are allowed entry.”
“We’re here to buy drinks, too.”
“Two beers, please.”
With all the other stalls around, the reason they insisted on coming here was obviously me, right? They could probably attract more subscribers by showing my face.
“Then please leave your smartphones and gimbals with us. We’ll return them when you leave.”
“Ah, no, couldn’t we just say a quick hello?”
“No!”
“Just for one second.”
“No, you can’t! Our sunbaenim doesn’t do collaborations.”
Faced with the juniors’ iron-clad defense, they had no choice but to turn back.
Ellie asked curiously, “Who are those people?”
“I don’t know. They look like CapriaTV BJs.”
At my words, Ellie’s face turned red and she jumped in surprise.
“BJ? How can you say something like that at a school?”
I waved my hands.
“Ah, no, it’s not what you’re thinking, Ellie.”
Then, Ellie gave a meaningful smile.
“What was I thinking? Go on, tell me.”
“Here?”
All the juniors are watching, how could I possibly say it?
Don’t tell me this is her revenge for earlier.
As I stood there, unable to say a word, Ellie spoke.
“I was thinking of ‘Broadcast Jockey.’ What else is there for BJ besides Broadcast Jockey?”
“Ah, yes. Well, of course.”
Then why did I think of something else? Am I the only one with a dirty mind?
Seeing my expression, Ellie burst out laughing and then whispered in my ear.
“Actually, you were right. That’s what I was thinking.”
“……”
I really am no match for her.
As I drank with my friends, the sun slowly began to set. The festival was about to truly begin.