Chapter Text
“11831? Who booked this? 11831?”
“Me, sir,” Jiwoong said, raising his hand and standing up. A fast-paced, upbeat instrumental track began playing in the background.
♫ Marriage is insanity (Yes, I mean it) ♪
As he sang, his colleagues transformed into a backup choir, bobbing their heads. The noraebang room started to heat up with the tinkling sound of the tambourine and the flashing lights. Jiwoong ran his hand through his hair like a magazine cover model and downed his beer in an instant. The department head laughed out loud and asked, "So, you really don’t wanna get married, eh?”
Jiwoong simply smiled in response. Because, yes, marriage is insanity.
**
"Marry me," Ricky said.
…Wait, what? Jiwoong’s jaw dropped so hard it almost hit the floor by Ricky's sudden proposal, the first time they had spoken in years.
"Huh?" he mumbled again — unsure if he heard right. "I… Huh?"
Jiwoong only remembered Ricky as his way far junior from university. Despite being a late-returning student, Jiwoong got along well with the juniors, but his relationship with Ricky, the only foreign student, was always a bit… distant. After graduation, they lost touch, and Jiwoong hadn't heard from Ricky in years. He felt sorry for Ricky having to contact even him, a distant senior. He must be in a desperate situation.
“Sunbae, do you know anything about the S Group?”
Jiwoong noticed that Ricky had become quite fluent in Korean since their college days when he spoke a bit of broken Korean. Anyways, after a long pause, that’s what Ricky finally said, setting down his drink. S Group. It's a super huge trading company based in China. Because it’s just enormous, if you want to boycott them, that just means you have to be homeless and own nothing. It's that huge. No one NOT knows about S Group. Jiwoong stared at Ricky, intrigued but confused.
“Who doesn’t?”
Ricky sighed.
“That's my grandfather's company.”
“Huh?”
Jiwoong's mouth hung open. Again. “Sunbae, please marry me,” Ricky said, abruptly taking Jiwoong's hand. Jiwoong was at a loss for words, his mind racing as he looked down at their hands and back up to Ricky’s face. Uh, what? Marry me. Huh? Marry. Me. Huh? After what felt like an eternity of “huhs” and “whats,” Jiwoong finally snapped out of his trance and decided to end the meaningless conversation.
“Where did you say you work?” Ricky asked, changing the subject.
Jiwoong fumbled in his inside pocket and pulled out his business card, giving it to Ricky. He was proud of his job as a banker, but in that moment, he felt a twinge of insecurity for his business card. I mean, how do you compete with “I'm the grandson of a billionaire”?
**
Jiwoong flopped down on the bed as soon as he got home. How did he even end up here? He barely remembered turning down Ricky's offer of a ride home and taking the subway like a regular plebeian. On the way back, he missed two stops from the station he was supposed to get off at, so he had to walk back too. Exercise, you know. Of course, he couldn't think of anything else while walking but something like this: Ricky, you were always a bit of an oddball, but you were not a bullshitter… I mean, Chaebol? Ricky the Chaebol grandson?
Jiwoong woke up from bed and searched S Group on Naver. He clicked on the first article he found and read the first line: ‘The 82 years old chairman of S Group appears in a wheelchair - Could not be investigated due to deteriorating health.’
Even with his sunken face, his eyes looked quite similar to Ricky’s.
**
The next day, on his way home from work, Jiwoong's eyes landed on a car so fancy it looked like it’s made with a purpose of making others feel inferior. Everyone who passed by couldn't help but glance, and Jiwoong was no exception. Like, whoa, that’s sick. I wonder how much that costs. Wait, the silhouette leaning against the car was vaguely familiar. Just when Jiwoong squinted to get a closer look, his mobile rang in his pocket.
“Hello?”
“Sunbae, over here.”
Ricky lifted his hand from where he was leaning… on the car. Jiwoong locked eyes with Ricky. He almost let the phone slip from his hand, but managed to remember how long he had left on his payment contract and held on tight.
“I've been waiting, get on. Dinner’s yet, right?” Ricky said.
**
His black exotic car stopped in front of a high-end Korean restaurant in the center of a busy street in Seoul. A hanbok-clad waiter greeted them. Ricky casually handed over the car keys to the waiter and waved at Jiwoong to follow. Jiwoong looked around and walked along at the same time.
The waiter escorted them to a private room and left. Jiwoong bowed to his back. “Have a seat,” Ricky said. Jiwoong awkwardly set his bag down across from Ricky.
To his surprise, Ricky didn't launch into a marriage proposal right away. Jiwoong realized that he had not asked how Ricky had been doing yet. “So, uh, how have you been, Ricky?” Jiwoong asked, trying to lighten the mood. “I’ve been fine. What about you?”
They chatted comfortably, reminiscing about their college days. The door slid open. After a blink, the table was filled with small dishes. On top of each aesthetic plates was an amount of side dishes that could have been hidden by a… 3 week old kitten’s paw.
And then, a slightly larger plate was placed between them. Two fingernail-sized slices of abalone, neatly arranged. When the waiter had finished, he silently stepped back outside.
“I couldn’t guess what you'd like, so…”
Ricky mumbled. Jiwoong hesitated before picking up his chopsticks, following Ricky's lead. Ricky grinned. His face was always flawless. Jiwoong popped the abalone into his mouth.
It melted. Like butter on a hot summer day.
It didn't take long for the other food to follow. Just like the first time, the portions weren't huge, but the sheer number of them was enough to fill him up. As the meal continued, Jiwoong and Ricky made light conversation. It was a good time.
“You like it here?” Ricky asked.
“Dinner? It's perfect. I've never had this sort of expensive course meal before.”
Jiwoong replied. Ricky shook his head.
“No, here.”
“Oh, the decor? It's cozy and nice. Really, thanks for having me experience this.”
“You want me to buy you this place?”
“What?” Jiwoong's chopsticks froze in mid-air.
“If you marry me, I'll buy you a hundred more.” Ricky said, his gaze intense. His expression of expectation made Jiwoong feel flustered, but he tried not to show it. Oh, Ricky. Geez, Ricky. Marriage… it’s just not that simple.
**
Ricky didn't give up easily. “What about a hotel? A coffee shop?” He sang a different verse of Hush Little Baby, offering Jiwoong whatever he wants. Or doesn’t want. It was like a game of “Mama's Gonna Buy You a Diamond Ring,” except Ricky was the mama with deep pockets.
But then, Ricky disappeared for a few days. Jiwoong wondered if he’d found someone else. Hmm. He felt a bit lonely. Because despite the drama, Jiwoong was glad to see Ricky after all those years, and the places he took him to were luxurious, so all that weren't entirely unpleasant. Of course, he could not just take things from Ricky while keeping rejecting Ricky’s proposal, so he thought what should have happened happened. He thought a simple “I've found someone else” would have been nice, but oh well.
Jiwoong returned to his calm and normal life. “Thank you, sir, have a nice day.” Jiwoong flashed a salesman's smile and waved goodbye to the customer. Back to the daily grind. With a ding-dong sound, the lights renumbered and the next customer took his seat. Jiwoong looked up with a smile.
“Hello, sir. How may I help…”
It was Ricky.
“What do you want me to do to get you to marry me?”
“I’m not marrying you.”
Jiwoong answered firmly.
“But why? Why not?” Now Ricky began to have a tantrum like a toddler. People's gazes gathered. They seemed to think there was drama unfolding, on-air. Jiwoong forced him to sit up straight. “You know, let’s talk this through, like two grown men.” Ricky straightened up, smoothing his clothes.
“Sure, I’m all for talking. When you get off work.” Ricky said.
Jiwoong glanced at his wristwatch and nodded.
**
The chairman of the S Group, turning 82-year-old, had always had a soft spot for Ricky, his favourite grandchild. As the years went by, there was talk of inheritance. It was natural for him to want to pass on as much as he could to Ricky, who was (relatively) more polite and endearing than his other kids (that are basically pain in the ass). The ability. The ambition. The vision! (Or maybe he just played favourites.)
But the board's backlash wasn't so easy to stave off. After a long debate, the old director banged the table and shouted, “How can we trust him to protect the company when he doesn't even have a family to protect?”
Well. Little did he know, those words would set the chairman on a mission.
Ricky quietly opened the door to the chairman's study. "You wanted to see me, Grandfather?”
The chairman rose from his desk. “Have a seat.” Ricky followed his gesture and sat down on one side of the couch. Across from him, the chairman fiddled with the armrest and finally opened his mouth.
“Get married.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I've set the date.”
“I’m sorry?” Ricky repeated. The chairman promised Ricky that if he got married, he would make sure Ricky inherit everything he wants, just as he had said before. Ricky stared at him, dumbfounded, and then fell silent. Ricky knew his grandfather well enough to know that this was the only way if he insists. Ricky nodded, determined.
**
Ricky needed to find someone as soon as possible. But no matter how many profiles his secretary had brought him, none of them had caught his eye. Ricky sighed and wiped his face. No, not this one, not this one either… and just as he was putting the last profile on top of the stack of papers, someone popped up in his head.
Ricky jumped to his feet, pulled out his college yearbook, and slammed it down on his desk. Thud! Ricky quickly flipped through the pages. It didn't take him long to find the name he was looking for. There he was—Kim Jiwoong.
So, why him? As a college student studying abroad in Korea, Ricky was in Jiwoong's friend group. Ricky was always a bit of a stranger, but Jiwoong was willing to take him into his group and bring him around. So was it gratitude that made Ricky consider him as a potential spouse? No. Although he did not really seem so, Jiwoong was quite a hard worker if you get to know him. But was that the reason? No. He was responsible, hard-working, easy-going, and there were many good things about him… but… none of that was a reason to marry him anyway. There was only one reason Ricky thought of him. Jiwoong loved money.
You see, Jiwoong sincerely loved money. He always carried some cash around. People carry cash for different reasons. To get some Bungeoppang on the street, to use on vending machines, to go to coin-noraebang, etc. However, Jiwoong carried cash for a different reason. He just wanted to be with the money everywhere, anytime.
But was he a miserly Scrooge? No. When someone asks, “Anyone got cash? I only have a card,” Jiwoong would say, “I got you, here,” and handed over his cash. “Don’t you wanna carry it with you? You sure you wanna lend it to me?” If the person asked, he smiled and said, “Money truly shows its worth when it's in circulation.”
This was the kind of person Ricky was looking for. Someone who would maintain a good contractual-business-relationship with him and not ask for more from their side first. In short… someone to just take what is offered. This might make it sound like Ricky is some sort of jerk, but he just had bigger goals and ambitions. He couldn't be tied down by something like marriage now.
It didn't take long to find out what happened to Jiwoong: he became a banker, working with money, for money. Handling money all day was like his dream come true. Ricky grinned. Jiwoong was the one. Ricky believed — No, Ricky knew that if he waved a large enough sum of money in front of Jiwoong, he'd be hooked. Like a fish on a line.
**
Sitting in Jiwoong's living room, Ricky sipped his tea as he finished talking.
“…So that’s why…”
Ricky nodded silently. Jiwoong ran a hand through his hair in annoyance.
“Then you've got the wrong guy. You know, I’m not some idiot you can manipulate so easily.” Jiwoong said. “I don't care about your restaurants, hotels, or cafes. I know the money I make is a fraction of what you're offering, but I’m happy with my humble banker life. I’m proud of my hard-earned cash. Most importantly, money is not everything in the world.”
Jiwoong stood up and pointed towards the front door.
“Get out. Now. I don’t need goodbyes and all that, just leave.”
Ricky looked up at him with a frustrated expression, but Jiwoong pulled him out of his seat. Ricky, hugging his bag in his arms, got dragged to the front door.
“Sunbae, wait. Wait. Just let me ask you one last time.”
Jiwoong let out a long sigh.
“Ricky, I've told you a million times…”
“Shh.”
And Ricky opened his briefcase.
**
Ricky opened his briefcase and a stack of bills spilled out. The money tumbled into Jiwoong's arms, and when he couldn't hold any more, it spilled out and rained onto the floor. Unable to hide his voice shaking, Jiwoong asked Ricky.
“What’s… what’s all this?”
“You like money.”
Ricky, his gaze intense and dark, answered flatly. Jiwoong looked down at the stack of money in his arms, at his feet.
“You like this, don't you?”
Ricky threw another wad of money to the ground. “Why? Why won't you marry me? Tell me, you're crazy about money. Marry me, and I'll bury you in cash. Are you sure you don't want this?”
Ricky grabbed a wad of money and tapped Jiwoong on the shoulder with it. Jiwoong sucked in a deep breath. He closed his eyes tightly.
“Ricky, I’ve had enough.”
Jiwoong bit his lower lip. Ricky furrowed his brow. Jiwoong's shoulders shook. Ricky stared at him silently for a while, and turned his head away. “…Okay.” Ricky sighed. “Sorry, I won't come back.”
“Wait.”
Jiwoong called after him.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Let’s get married.”
Ricky looked up, and there he was. Jiwoong with money, reaching Nirvana. Ah, the thick, tight wads of money. Jiwoong hugged the stack of cash in his arms tightly. His face lit up with joy. Jiwoong closed his eyes and took another deep breath. The living room was filled with the scent of money.