The Congressman Bows Low

Cha Jae-rim’s short stay in Seoul came to an end.

He hurried to pack for his trip down to Jeongju.

Even though he didn’t own much, moving was always a monumental task.

Cha Jae-rim began packing away his sparse belongings into boxes and wrapping cloths.

Goo Young-jin, who was watching him silently, clicked his tongue.

[Don’t you know that hiring movers is a great option?]

“I do,” Cha Jae-rim replied. “It’s a great option that costs a lot of money.”

[Tch, but even so. You’re not a professional, so why waste your time and energy? It’s better to shell out a little extra and let the experts handle it.]

“Oh, is that right?”

[Yeah, it is.]

Goo Young-jin gave a sarcastic reply.

He knew that hiring movers was a good choice, but he didn’t realize that provoking Cha Jae-rim was a bad choice.

Cha Jae-rim glared at Goo Young-jin.

“I’ve tolerated it this whole time.”

[Huh? What?]

“When are you going to help me make money?”

[…]

Goo Young-jin discreetly averted Cha Jae-rim’s gaze.

But this time, Cha Jae-rim was not going to let him get away with it.

“I want to make money quickly.”

[Why is it so urgent?]

“Because I want to hire movers. Help me make enough for it quickly.”

[Are you really that materialistic?]

“Why would it be materialistic if I’m asking for the money you promised me? The one who’s not being true to his word is being a snob.”

[Why is it so urgent? I’ll be by your side from now on. It doesn’t have to be right now…]

“I want movers! Movers!”

Goo Young-jin grumbled.

[I’m not a genie who can produce a fortune out of thin air.]

“Even so, if I could get a lump sum of money soon, I could break my savings and hire movers.”

[Disappointing. How could you be like this as soon as you’ve left that Kang guy?]

“Thanks to that guy, I’ve already wasted so much time. But why are you so upset? It’s not like you’re losing anything.”

Goo Young-jin let out a groan.

He was loath to give Cha Jae-rim any money.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see him live well and eat well.

‘People always want to settle down once they get comfortable.’

Goo Young-jin had only just managed to steer Cha Jae-rim onto the path towards politics.

Therefore, his current determination was not self-motivated but rather imposed on him.

Even self-motivated determination can be easily broken and wither away.

Not to mention a determination that was spoon-fed to him by someone else.

Even Goo Young-jin himself couldn’t be sure how long this determination would last.

However, if he suddenly got a taste of wealth, he might start thinking of himself as a goose that lays golden eggs and become completely complacent.

Goo Young-jin couldn’t shake this feeling of unease.

Just moments ago, there had been several ways to give Cha Jae-rim money.

After all, Goo Young-jin knew the future ten years from 1998.

It would be a piece of cake for him to bring Cha Jae-rim great wealth.

But because of this unease, Goo Young-jin was reluctant to give Cha Jae-rim any money.

‘Besides, if he gets a taste of wealth, there’s no reason for him to keep this noisy old man around.’

Goo Young-jin had a high opinion of Cha Jae-rim’s character.

However, that character could change drastically depending on his circumstances.

‘If I were Cha Jae-rim and I got rich enough that my wallet couldn’t hold it all, I wouldn’t keep this old ghost around for a second longer.’

Goo Young-jin remained silent, his mouth shut tight, consumed by unease.

Cha Jae-rim prompted him for an answer.

“Old man, are you sleeping?”

[…]

“I’ve done everything you’ve told me to do so far. Are you really going to be this uncooperative?”

Unaware of Goo Young-jin’s inner turmoil, Cha Jae-rim glared at him with a sullen expression.

Goo Young-jin remained silent for a while despite Cha Jae-rim’s prodding, but finally came to a decision and opened his mouth.

[Pungchang Inc.]

“Yes?”

[Gather up every penny you can and invest it all in that stock. Except for the money you need for movers, of course.]

“Is it a growth stock?”

Goo Young-jin nodded.

[Yes, it will grow. Exponentially. In a short period of time.]

“If that’s the case, it doesn’t sound like a legitimate company.”

Goo Young-jin nodded.

[There was a guy who used to work for me, made a killing off the stock market using Pungchang Inc. stocks.]

“Insider trading, was it something like that?”

[Something like that. It was around this time. It was a good time to do it because all the other stocks were skyrocketing, so this one didn’t attract much attention.]

Cha Jae-rim looked at Goo Young-jin with narrowed eyes.

“You must have had some fun too, old man?”

[If you’re honest in politics, you’re guaranteed to lose money. I have to eat to survive, you know. I was able to make good use of that washing machine several times.]

“Wow, you’re shameless.”

Goo Young-jin replied calmly, as if it were nothing.

[You’re only just realizing I’m shameless now? Just know that if you enjoy the benefits of this, you’re no different from me.]

“I haven’t said I’ll do it yet.”

[But you will. Won’t you?]

“I try to avoid stabbing people in the back if I can.”

Goo Young-jin snorted.

[Let’s see how long you can keep playing Confucius.]

“…”

Goo Young-jin glanced at Cha Jae-rim, who hesitated to reply, and said:

[So what are you going to do? Are you going to refuse to pick up the money lying in the street? Are you going to save the ants that are about to fall into the antlion’s pit? Do you think those people will give a damn if you try to stop them? Those people aren’t ants, they’re moths. Their minds are already made up.]

“…”

[They know full well that this stock isn’t legitimate. They’re all hoping to make as much money as they can before running away, leaving the people who come after them to deal with the consequences. In that sense, those moths are no different from me.]

“But they’re not committing crimes like you, old man.”

Goo Young-jin chuckled.

[I don’t know if I committed a crime back then, but isn’t what you’re doing now a crime?]

“It’s close to a crime.”

[Like hell it’s close to a crime! Buying some stock that a ghost told you to buy and making a profit off of it, how is that even close to being a crime? Even if your great-grandmother came to you in a dream and gave you the winning lottery numbers, would that be a crime?]

“What’s a lottery?”

The lottery didn’t exist until 2002, so it wasn’t a word in Cha Jae-rim’s vocabulary, who was living in 1998.

As if to say, ‘What an naive fool,’ Goo Young-jin snapped at Cha Jae-rim:

[It’s just a matter of getting in and out at the right time. It doesn’t matter if you put in a few thousand or not. Whoever’s going to get hurt is going to get hurt. The only difference is whether you continue to live like a beggar or whether you can at least afford to eat.]

“And then there’s the matter of a guilty conscience.”

[A guilty conscience that you’ll lose anyway if you go into politics. Might as well lose it sooner rather than later.]

Cha Jae-rim let out a hollow laugh.

“If I could live like you, old man, I wouldn’t have to worry about the world.”

[I have so many things to worry about that I don’t even consider trivial things like this to be worries in the first place.]

“Ah, yes.”

[If you understand, then stop nagging and go break your savings account.]

Cha Jae-rim didn’t think about it for long.

He wasn’t so upright or foolish that he would starve to death if his rice bin was empty.

Cha Jae-rim scraped together every penny he had.

It wasn’t much, but as a civil servant, the bank was happy to give him a loan.

By using every means at his disposal, he managed to gather a small fortune of 30 million won.

When Goo Young-jin saw this, he burst out laughing.

[You couldn’t even afford a decent meal, and now you’ve taken out a loan?]

“Once I say I’m going to do something, I like to do it properly.”

[Yes, that’s true. But what if I’m wrong?]

“After making me take out a loan, are you suddenly going to chicken out?”

[No, well… Just because I’ve come back to the past doesn’t mean everything will happen exactly the same way again.]

Cha Jae-rim glared at Goo Young-jin for his irresponsible words, but didn’t protest any further.

“It’s okay. Even if it doesn’t work out the way you said it would.”

[What do you mean, it’s okay? You’ll end up drowning in debt.]

“This isn’t the only card you have up your sleeve.”

[What?]

Cha Jae-rim smiled.

“Even if this doesn’t work out, I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to make money that you know of.”

[What makes you so sure? Aren’t you overestimating me?]

“Because there’s no way that the great Congressman Goo Young-jin would have only one insider stock in his pocket.”

[Well, that’s…]

“Pungchang Inc. is probably one of the less valuable cards you have, isn’t it?”

[Who do you think you are, looking into my mind like that?]

“If you want to keep controlling me, you’re going to need more than one card up your sleeve, don’t you think?”

Cha Jae-rim had hit the nail on the head.

Goo Young-jin was inwardly annoyed that this wet-behind-the-ears kid had seen through him.

But at the same time, he was secretly pleased that the kid had good instincts.

“If this stock has been artificially inflated, it won’t last long.”

[You’ll need to sell it before the end of the year. But it’ll have gone up so much by then that you won’t regret it.]

“I can’t wait that long. I can’t keep using my entire salary to pay off the loan.”

Goo Young-jin nodded.

As he had predicted, the value of Pungchang Inc. skyrocketed after Cha Jae-rim bought a large amount of it.

There were many stocks that were soaring in that crazy market, but Pungchang Inc. was one of the best performers.

The 30 million won that Cha Jae-rim had invested grew exponentially, like a fattening hen in a poultry farm.

He gaped at the stock price as it shot up like a rocket.

“The world is a scary place.”

[You’re better at hiding your emotions than I thought.]

“I’m scared. I’m never investing in stocks again after this.”

Goo Young-jin crossed his arms and chuckled.

[Such a drama queen.]

“I’m not being dramatic. I just want to hold on tight to your hand and play it safe. I’ll be counting on you in the future too.”

Cha Jae-rim looked at Goo Young-jin with a wide grin.

Goo Young-jin groaned and discreetly avoided his gaze.

Cha Jae-rim’s time in Seoul ended with a ‘big win’ that left him feeling utterly exhausted.

***

“Okay, listen carefully. One, two, three.”

Cha Jae-rim lifted the two corners of the bed, as the mover instructed him to do.

Compared to the mover, who lifted it with ease, Cha Jae-rim’s efforts were pathetic.

“C’mon, do it properly.”

“…I understand.”

“I told you this takes two people, why do you keep saying one is enough…”

“I’m sorry, boss. I’m a little short on cash.”

Goo Young-jin grumbled at Cha Jae-rim, who was smiling sheepishly.

[Well, for heaven’s sake, I finally helped you make some money, so why aren’t you hiring movers and making a fuss about it?]

Cha Jae-rim ignored Goo Young-jin’s accusations.

His silence only irritated Goo Young-jin further.

[That’s why you need to know how to spend money as well as how to make it. You’re young now, so you can lift beds and carry refrigerators with ease, but just you wait. It all adds up and it’ll give you all sorts of problems down the road.]

Cha Jae-rim met Goo Young-jin’s endless grumbling with endless indifference.

In the end, Goo Young-jin gave up and only then did Cha Jae-rim’s ears find some peace.

[Dammit. If you’re not going to listen, just snap your fingers and make me fall asleep like before. How can you just ignore an old man until he’s utterly exhausted?]

In response to Goo Young-jin’s almost pleading protest, Cha Jae-rim simply smiled sweetly.

It took several hours of sweat to load everything into the one-ton truck.

The mover expertly tied down the refrigerator in the cargo area to prevent it from falling over, and then said to Cha Jae-rim:

“Get in. Let’s go.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work!”

“We’ve got a long way to go, so could you buy me a bowl of udon or something at a rest stop along the way? And if you could give us a few extra bills when we’re finished, that would be great.”

“Of course. I’ll do that.”

Even though Cha Jae-rim had already paid him their full wages, the mover made his request as if it were a matter of course.

Cha Jae-rim agreed cheerfully.

At that very moment, the money he had invested in Pungchang Inc. was growing exponentially, like popcorn.

He could have bought the movers a hundred bowls of udon, and he would have been willing to give them as much of a tip as they wanted.

‘Money really does make the world go round, it seems.’

Cha Jae-rim smiled wryly at the thought of how absurd such kindness would have seemed to him in the past.

He sat in the passenger seat of the rattling truck and left Seoul, heading for Jeongju.