#143. Chaos. 3
So it's 2am.
Woojin, sitting across from Lee Hye-rim in a coffee shop, took a fork to the cake.
“Oh my… … ”
Hye-rim Lee looked at Woo-jin quietly with her chin resting on her hand.
Of course, there was a gentle smile on his lips.
"delicious?"
Woojin, who was discharged from the military wearing his uniform, had not changed at all.
“Say what~”
“Congratulations on your discharge once again. You must have had a hard time.”
“I tried dopamine fasting and it was a good experience.”
“Dopamine fasting?”
Woojin nodded and brought the sweet drink to his lips.
When most people join the military, they experience physical changes.
Fat people lose weight, and thin people gain weight.
Food is not stimulating, the internet is restricted, games, shopping, thrills, gambling, etc. are all restricted, so dopamine does not surge as much as when you are in society.
In short, the military was an environment where one could escape addiction from various social temptations.
However, fasting from excessive dopamine is not good.
It could also interfere with motivation, enjoyment of achievement, and learning.
Dopamine, we need to be aware of this hormone and learn to use it naturally.
“But is it okay if I don’t go into the house?”
This was the first time Hye-rim Lee had met Woo-jin at this time.
It was the same for Woojin.
“If you eat all of this, you’ll have to go to sleep.”
“What else do you want to eat? Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Home cooking.”
Lee Hye-rim nodded slowly.
There were many times when I envied Woojin.
Woojin had someone to welcome him back when he returned.
But now he has someone to welcome him.
Now that Woojin is back.
Woojin said, having quickly finished the cake.
“Hye-rim, when construction begins, relics will be discovered. The relics taken from the site that SH Construction received the contract for are buried in the GH Construction site.”
I buried it while keeping a large distance.
So that relics can continue to be discovered.
Lee Hye-rim nodded her head slowly.
“Have you been doing well while I was away?”
“Then, how debaucherous was that?”
We went to clubs and had huge parties.
But that was just for show to others.
A move to turn the table over in one go.
“Well done.”
Lee Hye-rim let out a laugh without realizing it.
My older siblings' harsh words became more severe, and I even heard my father tell me to behave properly.
Such a debaucherous life.
It wouldn't have been strange if anyone had pointed a finger at him, but only Woojin, who knew his inner self, smiled.
But hey?
Woojin is smiling?
He really did show a faint smile.
I've seen faint smiles a few times, but this was the first time I've seen one like that.
“Are you happy to be discharged from the military? You smile a lot.”
"I?"
"uh."
“Was it so?”
"uh."
Woojin turned his head to the window and looked at his face reflected in it.
And I smiled.
It was an expression created with even subtle expressions in mind.
“Oh. Like that.”
Woojin looked at his face once again.
Come to think of it, I was laughing just a moment ago.
So, it is a phenomenon that appears unconsciously.
It was also the brain's reaction to the action of hormones.
Most people live like that.
I guess I'm just accepting it naturally now.
Now me too… …
Woojin turned his head and looked at Lee Hye-rim.
“Hye-rim.”
"huh?"
Woojin smiled faintly again.
“I think I’m becoming ordinary.”
“Woojin… … ”
"huh?"
"you……"
Lee Hye-rim wanted to say this.
'It's not ordinary… … '
But I couldn't say that to Woojin, who was pursuing ordinariness.
“It’s ordinary. And it’s very ordinary.”
Woojin said after seeing her subtle expressions and gestures.
“Can you consider this a white lie?”
“I told you it’s true?”
“Okay, let’s say it’s true.”
“It’s true!”
“Yeah, okay.”
Woojin turned his gaze to the window again.
You just have to avoid being eaten by the unconscious.
Woojin felt slightly better at seeing himself reacting like other people react to hormones.
Woojin quietly felt the secretion of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.
——————————————-
The next morning.
Woojin, who was looking at the table, said in surprise.
“Bomi. Are your legs okay!?”
"leg?"
“I feel like my legs are going to break.”
Bomi's face turned blank as she hugged Woojin who came home at dawn.
Bomi, who was watching Woojin checking his thighs, suddenly remembered the story she had shared with her brother during their 100-day vacation.
'I got a lot of compliments. People said I was good at digging.'
'spadework?'
"huh.'
'Praise for shoveling… … '
Bomi asked, thinking, “If I had become a sergeant and had more free time, wouldn’t I have done the gag from earlier?”
“Oppa, after you became a sergeant, did you tell many interesting stories to your juniors?”
“No, I ran away from the police station. That’s what everyone does when they become sergeants.”
"escape?"
“Yeah, just normally.”
Then my mother brought the stew and said,
“What are you two doing standing there? Let’s eat.”
A feast of delicacies unfolded before Woojin's eyes as he sat down.
Galbi, japchae, scrambled eggs, homemade kimchi, grilled fish, pumpkin pancakes, and various vegetables.
"thank you for this food."
Woojin was so surprised that he started eating everything.
After all, home cooking is the best.
—————————————–
Lee Si-young, who came into the restaurant with Woo-jin, was in a good mood recently to the point where her mouth was about to tear.
It was because the stock price of GH Construction, as Woojin had told me, was soaring.
I gathered everything I could and purchased stocks in GH Construction.
He even sold all of his hotel shares to start GH Construction.
After making a profit, he planned to buy more shares in the hotel.
Soon the two of them sat down, and after they finished ordering, Woojin looked at her as if observing her and said.
“Shouldn’t I feel bad that the market cap of GH Construction, a competitor of SH Construction, is increasing?”
“SH Construction isn’t mine, so why should I feel bad?”
Her gesture was captured in Woojin's eyes as he nodded slightly.
He was rubbing his hands with a wet towel.
Rather than holding a towel and wiping your right and left hands separately, slowly rub your hands together as if rubbing them together.
This is an unconscious expression of satisfaction.
Woojin straightened his shoulders.
It was a display of confidence that allowed the viewer to see that he could carry a lot of weight on his shoulders.
Even in these unconscious conversations, Woojin always did the math in his head and acted accordingly.
“Is there anything you want? I’ll give you a gift in return.”
“I have everything I need.”
Lee Si-young picked it and laughed.
Well, Woojin didn't seem to have any regrets about money.
“You are in front of me too.”
“… … !”
Lee Si-young felt her face burn at Woo-jin's nonchalant remark.
“What, what are you saying?”
Her eyes, which were avoiding speaking, took in Woojin's sharp jawline.
Maybe it was because I served in the military, but I felt like I had become more masculine.
Despite all that, she never once called me older sister.
I couldn't help but logically list the many evils of Confucianism.
Not only that, he could speak five languages, and there was almost nothing he didn't know.
It got to the point where I started thinking that stocks were also just a part of it.
What would it feel like to stand by the window of a tall building with someone like that and look out?
So the food was placed on the table and Woojin opened his mouth.
“What are you thinking about?”
Lee Si-young spoke as if startled.
“What were you thinking? I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
Woojin checked her expression again as he held the wine glass with his long fingers.
And she told me what she was most interested in these days, what she wanted.
“GH stock, stop selling now. It’s too high. You have to consider variables too.”
“It seems like it’s going to go up more? We haven’t even started yet.”
“Sell it.”
Woojin answered briefly and brought the red wine to his mouth.
Because people are human, they always carry the burden of desire.
I want to use it and have it.
It is entirely up to you whether you become a slave to your desires or a person who can control them.
Among these two, Lee Si-young.
It could be said that it belongs to the former.
To be more specific, that's how it was made.
Even when I was in the military, he recommended stocks to me so that I could easily make money, and he also made me sell them several times so that the stock price would skyrocket even more.
What would Lee Si-young think as she watched that?
I wouldn't have thought much about it.
Just a little more next time.
Just a little more.
“You say so. Why don’t you sell it?”
“Is that the MG Club? I heard there was a woman there who threw money at people and had fun. Isn’t that your younger sister, Lee Hye-rim?”
Her brow furrowed.
“Who is my brother? Our blood flows differently, and our genealogy and roots are different from those of such a shallow person.”
Woojin nodded, looking at her strong hand.
I heard that when I was little, I used to cut Hye-rim's hair with my own hands just for fun.
“Let’s not talk about that kind of person and have a toast.”
Woojin lightly clinked his wine glass with the glass she offered him.
———————————————————-
After breaking up with Woojin, Lee Si-young began to look into GH Construction from various angles.
I heard one after another the stories of securities firm employees who were flying high and high.
And I could be sure.
'I am optimistic because there is still more good news left.'
'We predict that it will rise by more than 20 thousand won.'
'We still have a long way to go to reach the market cap we have in mind.'
Their words gave strength to Lee Si-young's worries.
There were also cases where the stocks that Woojin recommended went up even more when sold.
These comprehensive thoughts of hers made her move into action.
I was thinking of borrowing money from private lenders.
Just a little bit, just a little bit.
A month passed by so quickly.
In that short period of time, the flow of money due to construction moved into the hundreds of billions and trillions.
As money flowed in, construction sites became more lively.
The forklift also moved with a loud noise, no.
“Stop! Stop!”
The worker who was watching the forklift shouted.
The forklift operator asked the worker who was watching the pit with blinking eyes.
“Why? Did you find a gold nugget?”
“Isn’t this… a relic?”
"yes?"
The forklift operator descended to the ground and looked into the hole.
When the land was dug, broken pieces of pottery and museum-worthy earrings and hair ornaments were clearly visible.
It seemed as though the corner of the small display case was also visible.
“Hey, let me ask again!”
If this is a relic, it is a construction site and an all-stop.
“Bury it quickly. Quickly.”
The forklift started moving again.
However, there was a worker who took pictures of the whole scene on his cell phone as he passed by.
Pretending to touch my cell phone.
He muttered as he secretly saved the footage of the relics being discovered and reburied on his phone.
“What the hell is this for a month. Phew.”
I did odd jobs that I never had before for a month.
He was flipping through the videos when he suddenly took off his helmet.
His name was Choi Ki-bae, and his occupation was a reporter.
Choi Gi-bae left the construction site without any hesitation, as if he had no intention of giving a damn about the day's work.
