Real Man

After asking for permission from Deputy Kwon Se-jung, Yoo-hyun came out of the building.

Park Won-seok, who was as tall as a giant, was standing at the place where he had seen him before.

His face looked brighter than before.

“Yoo-hyun.”

He waved his hand and Yoo-hyun approached him.

“Why aren’t you inside?”

“I just feel like I get good energy when I see you.”

“You’re talking nonsense. Do you want some coffee? Oh, can you drink it?”

“It’s okay. Coffee is fine.”

Park Won-seok, who showed his thick dimples, shrugged his shoulders.

Yoo-hyun headed to the park near the company with Park Won-seok, holding a takeout coffee.

It was quiet around because it was a weekday afternoon.

The sun was good and the weather was cool, so it was nice to walk and talk.

“I have set the date for the surgery…”

He told him various trivial things that had happened.

Park Won-seok, who had been talking, sat down on the bench first.

His eyes were still dark, but his eyes sparkled more than ever.

“Yoo-hyun, I told you before, right? I have something I want to tell you.”

“You did. What is it?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“It’s a bit long, but will you listen?”

“Of course. I have plenty of time, so tell me as much as you want.”

“Haha. Okay.”

He smiled and fiddled with the coffee cup, then soon put on a serious expression.

Then he spilled the story he had hidden so far.

“Actually, until now…”

It started with his parents’ story.

Park Won-seok’s parents, who had moved to Seoul, were scammed and got into a huge debt.

Eventually, they couldn’t stand it and ran away, leaving their son and daughter behind.

Park Won-seok and his sister, who had no one to rely on at the time, had to go through all kinds of hardships to survive.

They had done everything they could.

Was it because of the difficult situation where they had to endure everything alone?

Yoo-hyun thought of Jeong Da-hye’s face as he listened to his sincere friend’s story.

She also had a hard childhood that was no less than Park Won-seok’s.

Yoo-hyun didn’t know that in the past.

Before he knew it, Park Won-seok’s story moved on to his adult years.

There was no company that suited him, who couldn’t even graduate from high school properly.

He looked angry as he was immersed in his past story.

“I worked hard while being exploited and took the GED test late. I got all kinds of certificates. I worked really hard to survive in the company I got into.”

“It must have been hard.”

“But I had hope then. I wanted to show the world that I could do it without any help. And finally, I got to the position I wanted.”

“I see.”

It was a strange feeling.

He kept seeing Jeong Da-hye in Park Won-seok’s appearance.

She also tried to survive alone in a foreign land like Park Won-seok and tried to get recognition.

She wanted to prove that she could do it without anyone’s help.

Yoo-hyun hoped she would do what she wanted.

He let her go when she got to the manager position.

That was why.

He was lost in thought for a moment, and Park Won-seok confided his true feelings.

“But you know, when I think about it, that was the hardest time for me.”

“More than when you found out you were sick?”

“Yeah. It was a situation where I had to do everything. I was in charge at a young age, and the pressure was too much. Especially since the company was shaky at the time, the stress was even worse.”

-I thought everything would be fine when I got to the manager position, but it wasn’t. There was still a higher place to go, and there were more restrictions. I had to ignore the people who were hurt for my goal, and I turned a blind eye to the corruption.

He suddenly remembered her saying something weak that was unlike Jeong Da-hye.

Maybe she was in the same situation?

Yoo-hyun guessed that she was having a hard time, but he couldn’t see through her.

Now he felt her heart that he couldn’t express before.

“It must have been hard.”

“It’s too late to say this, but… I was so lonely.”

“…”

“It felt like there was no one around me. I resented them so much, but I missed my parents. I guess that’s what happens when you have no one to rely on.”

Suddenly, Yoo-hyun’s hand holding the coffee cup tightened.

Squeeze.

He suppressed his chest that was shaking slightly and asked.

“Why didn’t you tell your sister? You said you cared for her.”

“I didn’t want to show her my weakness because I cared for her.”

“But, she might have been your strength.”

“That’s how I felt then. My sister was the reason I could endure, but I couldn’t disappoint her.”

Park Won-seok’s words reminded him of Jeong Da-hye’s bright smile.

-Thanks to you, I was able to dream for real. Looking back, you were the stepping stone of my life. Thank you.

Just like Park Won-seok cared for his sister, Jeong Da-hye liked Yoo-hyun.

That’s why she didn’t want to show him her weakness.

Yoo-hyun felt a surge of emotion.

“So you should have told her more.”

“Can’t you see that I was too weird?”

It wasn’t something to say to Park Won-seok, so Yoo-hyun calmed himself down.

“No… No. So you haven’t told your sister yet?”

“I’ve told her everything now.”

“What did she say?”

“She cried a lot. She said she would pay off my debt with the money she had saved up.”

“Debt?”

At Yoo-hyun’s question, Park Won-seok waved his hand.

“I’ve cleared most of the other debts. The only ones left are the ones I owe to my friends. Especially the one I owe you is big.”

“You can pay me back slowly. I have that much leeway.”

“Yeah. I don’t think I can pay you back at once. But I’m going to pay back the other guys. I’d like to treat them to a meal if I can.”

They were the friends who lent him money when he suddenly appeared.

Gratitude was evident in his shining eyes.

“You can do that after the surgery is over.”

“No. I have to see them before that. My friends, they must have resented me a lot.”

“They would have been more glad than resentful. You got along well with your friends when you were young.”

“That’s a different story. Anyway, seeing my friends’ faces was on my bucket list.”

He seemed to have made up his mind, so Yoo-hyun had no reason to stop him.

It would be nice to get together at this time.

“Do as you please.”

“Okay. Let’s see each other then. I’ll treat you well.”

Park Won-seok smiled brightly and got up from his seat.

He looked much more refreshed after spilling his inner story.

Yoo-hyun, who got up, called Park Won-seok.

“Won-seok.”

“What?”

“Why were you so nice to me in middle school?”

He asked him what he had been curious about, and Park Won-seok tilted his head.

“I don’t know. Was I nice to you?”

“Yeah, very much.”

“Then the reason is obvious. Because we’re friends.”

He didn’t need any other reason.

The word friend explained everything.

“Right. You’re right.”

Yoo-hyun chuckled at his belated realization.

He smiled until the end and sent Park Won-seok off.

But his heart was not so bright.

He glimpsed Jeong Da-hye’s situation that he didn’t know from Park Won-seok’s words.

Wasn’t she lonely and hard in a foreign land where she had no one to rely on?

Did she suffer alone even though she was having a hard time because she didn’t want to show her weakness?

The thoughts that came to mind led to another.

Before he knew it, his head was tangled with all kinds of thoughts.

Rustle.

He shook his head and picked up his phone.

As long as he had a chance, he could check it out.

With that in mind, he called her.

Ring ring. Ring ring.

The call connection sound rang for a long time, but there was no response.

It was midnight in Texas, so she might have fallen asleep.

Just as he was about to give up, Jeong Da-hye answered the phone.

Click.

Before he could express his gladness, he heard a somewhat tired voice.

-Yoo-hyun, what’s up at this hour?

“I feel like I haven’t been in touch with you lately.”

-I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy.

He wanted to ask if she was having a hard time, if she was lonely, but he couldn’t say it.

He thought it might be more of a burden to her.

As he was wondering what to say, he heard a noise from the other side of the receiver.

Buzz.

There was also a sharp voice among them.

He narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Are you at work right now?”

-Yes. I have some work to do.

She was a consulting company employee, not a business partner.

There was no reason for her to stay at work and suffer at this time.

“What kind of work is it that you can’t leave even though it’s almost midnight?”

He asked as if he was scolding, and Jeong Da-hye drew a line.

-I’m sorry, but you don’t have to worry about me. It’s something I need to do, so I’m staying.

“No matter what, it’s not right. Your project is almost over.”

-That’s why. So don’t worry. I’ll do well.

“That’s not what I mean…”

-I’ll call you later. I’m sorry.

She hung up before he could ask more.

Click.

She said sorry three times in the short call.

She also said she would do well as always.

“I wasn’t trying to scold you.”

He suppressed his rising emotion and looked at the phone screen.

Her face and name disappeared and the screen darkened.

He hesitated for a moment.

Would she tell him if he asked her?

He didn’t think so.

She would tell him not to worry and that she would do well.

That was the Jeong Da-hye he knew.

“Huh.”

He took a breath and went into the company’s customer service room.

Then he accessed the internet through the computer and searched for information.

He looked into the project that Jeong Da-hye was in charge of.

There were many initial articles like any other project, but it was hard to find information about the progress.

There was no special information on the Sprint Company website either.

It only said that Jeong Da-hye was the shale oil project manager.

If it was hard to find direct information, it was also a way to look around.

Instead of looking for nonexistent information, he checked the recent situation of the shale oil market.

There were many related articles since it was the main industry in Texas.

Among them, there were some news that caught his eye.

The oil price, which had been maintained at $120, fell below $100 per barrel.

The problem was that the production cost was over $100, as the drilling technology was not yet developed.

There was a fear in the market that the shale oil industry could collapse if this continued.

But this was just a passing shower.

In a few years, shale oil will change the order of the world oil market itself.

The industry that was ignored and doomed to fail, made the United States the world’s top oil producer and supported the US economy.

This was the future that Yoo-hyun had experienced, and the fact that Jeong Da-hye was sure of.

-Shale oil industry will surely be recorded as an oil revolution. There are many problems now, but they will overcome everything and make the US economy more prosperous.

Who could say this with confidence two years ago, when pessimism was rampant about shale oil?

It was not easy unless it was Jeong Da-hye.

She had a great eye for that.

Click.

She also had the perseverance and insight to pull off a difficult contract.

Even Yoo-hyun, who knew her well, was surprised.

That’s why he saw Jeong Da-hye as omnipotent.

He thought it was like her to overcome any difficulties.

It was an excuse, but that’s why he didn’t look deeply into her troubles.