Real Man

Chapter 108

Even Lee So-hyun, who was already sitting next to me, had her eyes stolen by Lee Yong-oh, and he was very unhappy.

I smiled and said the next words.

“He’s trying to gather investment money. Watch him.”

“I’ll watch him until my eyes fall out.”

As soon as I smirked, Lee Yong-oh walked towards the podium.

He had a wine glass in his hand.

“Nice to meet you, friends. Come on, let’s fill up our glasses.”

“Nice to see you, Yong-oh.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

When Lee Yong-oh raised his glass, all the kids sitting down raised their glasses.

It was going on like a prepared event, but they all thought it was natural.

They were all drawn to the show-off that Lee Yong-oh showed them.

“Cheers.”

Clang.

The kids who drank wine for the first time exclaimed here and there.

Taking advantage of the atmosphere, Lee Yong-oh did some under-the-table business.

“If you ask me how to make money…”

It might have looked impressive to the young workers who had their eyes rolled back.

But in my eyes, he looked nothing but a scammer.

The magic of compound interest?

He guarantees a 50% return in a year?

If what he said was true, the principal would grow at least seven times in five years.

That was impossible.

Even a passing dog would laugh at that.

Yet the naive kids agreed with his words one after another.

“Wow, can I do it too? I have some money.”

“It’s better not to do it with small money. The operating cost is high.”

“Oh…”

“But you guys are friends, so I’ll do it for you up to 10 million won. Oh, of course you don’t have to. It’s your freedom.”

“Hey, this is the time to go for it. I got a BMW thanks to Yong-oh.”

“Wow, Han-joon, you too?”

Huh?

Even the flatterers?

I thought it wouldn’t be an ordinary reunion, but I didn’t expect him to sell so blatantly.

“Just drink, drink.”

The mood that moved once didn’t come back easily.

While Lee Yong-oh was playing hard to get and easing the mood, the kids were all talking about stocks and funds.

The problem was the kids who picked up some nonsense from here and there.

“Yong-oh is really amazing. I think I’ve seen someone like him on TV.”

“I think I’ve heard of Miracle Invest too.”

Look at his business card. 

A proper businessman.

Then I remembered a company with the same name.

In my vague memory, it was a group of scammers.

‘The CEO there was arrested for a big scam, right?’

I don’t know when it was, but it must have been a big accident since it stayed in my memory.

Or maybe there were some people in the company who got scammed.

Actually, it wasn’t something I cared about.

There weren’t only scammers like Lee Yong-oh in the world.

Even if I stop him now, it would be hard to convince the kids I don’t have much friendship with, and I don’t have any reason to take care of the aftermath.

It would be enough if Kang Jun-ki did well as I came here for.

But Kang Jun-ki’s expression was not good.

He was moving his eyes restlessly and looked nervous.

“Yoo-hyun, what do we do? If I tell So-hyun that he’s a scammer, she’ll think I’m weird. Is he really a scammer?”

“What can you do if you say that?”

“I’m angry…”

“…”

Things are getting tangled up.

I had no choice but to point out one by one to Kang Jun-ki.

“What’s wrong with this is…”

“Oh. You’re right.”

“Jun-ki, opportunity is here. Just watch for now. It’s important. Got it?”

“I got it. Don’t worry.”

I said one more time with a worried heart.

I knew his temper well.

Then Lee Yong-oh came to the table where I was sitting.

Some of them responded to his greeting.

“Nice to see you. It’s been a long time.”

“Yong-oh is here. This place is really good.”

“Yeah. Eat a lot.”

He looked at the people sitting at the table with a relaxed look.

He already had the results of the sucker survey in his head.

“So-hyun, you passed the civil service exam. That’s amazing.”

“Huh? Oh. Thank you.”

He targeted So-hyun because he thought she was the easiest and most likely one.

“But you know it’s impossible to buy an apartment in Seoul with a rat’s tail salary, right?”

“Yeah, well.”

“I knew you were smart enough to know that. Right, Jae-woo?”

“I would still be living in a basement if it wasn’t for Yong-oh.”

Even the flatterers added to it, and So-hyun flinched more and more.

Not only the table, but also the tempting kids at the next table were looking at So-hyun.

The friends around also said they wanted to do it, so it was a dilemma for her.

Lee Yong-oh poured oil on it.

“If you miss the opportunity, you’ll be a loser. The choice is yours, So-hyun. You don’t have much time. You know that, right?”

“Yeah…”

He was rude.

He spoke arrogantly, but this space was already dominated by Lee Yong-oh.

They were friends who were intoxicated by the false words that they could become rich.

Now they would accept whatever Lee Yong-oh said.

Of course, I wasn’t.

‘Wait.’

I gave Kang Jun-ki, who was clenching his fist, a sign.

I understood his feelings for So-hyun, but now was not the time to burst.

If he stepped up now when everyone’s eyes were on him, it would look like jealousy of Lee Yong-oh.

It wouldn’t be a way to get closer to So-hyun no matter how he ended it.

It would be better to persuade So-hyun separately after the mood changed.

I asked him to do that.

‘Wait a little…’

And I tried to give him another sign.

That was the moment.

Screech.

“Hey, Lee Yong-oh! Did you come here to do business? Why are you forcing her?”

“…”

Kang Jun-ki jumped up and shouted.

Because of that, everyone’s eyes turned to Kang Jun-ki.

‘Oh boy…’

“Ha, did I force her? Oh, you’re the loser Kang Jun-ki? Puhaha. You’re still the same.”

“Kikikik.”

“Jun-ki, he didn’t force her.”

Lee Yong-oh’s flatterers laughed and even So-hyun stopped Kang Jun-ki.

Don’t step up when I told you not to, geez.

The water was already spilled.

I had nothing more to do for him.

The choice was Kang Jun-ki’s.

Lee Yong-oh sneered coldly and said one word.

“Hey, you’re not relevant here, so get out.”

“Don’t scam! Don’t trick innocent kids.”

“Scam? Are you jealous of Kang Jun-ki? That’s why you live like a beggar.”

Lee Yong-oh looked down at Kang Jun-ki with a sneer.

He overwhelmed him in size, appearance, and aura.

But Kang Jun-ki didn’t back down and glared at Lee Yong-oh.

-Yoo-hyun, what’s wrong with what you said? You stole their side dishes, you bastard!

Suddenly, I saw the scene of the classroom in middle school in my sight.

Kang Jun-ki, who was the smallest and thinnest among my friends, was confronting Lee Yong-oh, the bully.

His legs were shaking but he didn’t lower his head until the end.

He even pushed me back and stood in front of me.

‘I owed him.’

Yeah. 

I remembered now.

He looked weak but he was a guy who was full of justice.

“What a troublesome guy.”

I smiled with my eyes.

I pushed Kang Jun-ki back and blocked his front.

Then I stepped forward one step as Lee Yong-oh’s mouth was about to open.

“What are you…”

“Yong-oh, you’re a scammer.”

My unexpected action made him flinch.

My calm tone of voice gave the people who were watching a sense of trust.

But Lee Yong-oh wouldn’t back down easily.

“Ha! Are you defending him because he’s your friend? You losers are hopeless.”

Lee Yong-oh had limited options here.

He had 40 people’s eyes on him, who paid a lot of money to be here. 

He wouldn’t dare to throw a punch.

But he couldn’t just lower his tail either.

He would obviously try to humiliate me with words.

Let’s see how far he can go.

“You made 10 times the money by investing in real estate in China? How did you invest in real estate?”

“Tsk, tsk, you don’t know anything about real estate investing.”

“Yong-oh, be honest. China’s real estate is controlled by the Chinese government.”

“…”

“Then how did you invest? You have to match the front and back if you want to scam.”

I gestured with my hand and drew the attention of the people around me.

He couldn’t interrupt me because of my relaxed words.

He knew that.

If he got excited here, he would lose face.

“What do you mean by scam? There are more than one or two ways to invest, not directly, you know.”

“Then what kind of investment is it? You can’t even say that and you want to take their money?”

“Ha! Don’t mislead them by talking nonsense without any evidence. You’re just jealous because you’ve never made any money.”

He mixed in the word jealousy, which was a catch-all word, and responded emotionally.

“Hey, hey, stop it. There are many people who made money thanks to Yong-oh. Don’t be petty and look bad.”

He used the flatterers appropriately.

He smirked and shrugged his shoulders and looked around.

He knew he had to move the audience to win.

He was a guy who knew the basics of verbal fights.

But he made a mistake by mastering the advanced level earlier than him.

Shall we match our eye level from now on?

“Yong-oh, I admire your passion for buying food for your friends. Your dazzling smile is also impressive.”

“So what?”

“But you know what? If you want to scam, you have to dress properly.”

I dusted off Lee Yong-oh’s suit jacket and he snorted.

“Do you know how much this is? You wouldn’t know unless you wore a luxury brand.”

“It would be if it was genuine. But Yong-oh, the end of the L in Louis Vuitton logo is reversed. You should have chosen something without a logo.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the girls at the next table reacted.

“Huh? It looks like the end of the L is down.”

“Oh my, that’s so pathetic.”

Look at that.

Easy words work better than hard words.

Swish swish.

The kids’ eyes were on Lee Yong-oh.

They might have been proud of their eyes at first, but now their eyes became a ring of death.

There was no escape.

I was better than anyone at attacking the cornered opponent without a break.

“This…”

“Just look at the business card.”

His eyes blinked, his shoulders rose, and his throat moved at the same time, that is, just before Lee Yong-oh opened his mouth.

I quickly handed him my business card.

The visual information was disrupted and the topic changed before the accident was over, so Lee Yong-oh couldn’t continue his words.

It was important not to lose the initiative that I took away here.

“Vice President is vice president, not assistant director. What kind of company are you guys?”

“…”

It was natural that he was speechless by the punch that came from an unexpected place with a proper aggro mixed in.

His body reacted faster than he thought and his face turned red.

Let’s give him another punch.

“And look at this address. Do you have Miracle Invest in this building? I’ve never heard of it even though I work right next door. Why do you lie when you can find it with one search?”

“What did you say, you bastard?”

Are you staggering just by this?

You can’t fall yet.

I gave him a chance to breathe by slightly raising one corner of my mouth.

“This…”

And as soon as he tried to open his mouth with excitement, I threw a cross counter right away.

“Oh! By the way, Jun-ki’s uncle is in the investigation team.”

“…”

I saw Lee Yong-oh’s eyes shake violently for a moment.