“Anything else?”
“You and your brother are doing well on your own. The world is buzzing about your company every day. And our family is healthy, so what more could I want?”
“Yeah, wanting more would be greedy, just greedy.”
Listening to them, it made sense.
Both sons are doing well, and the world acknowledges them.
It meant they had fulfilled both wealth and honor.
Lee Hyun-woo, as if he had no choice, opened his mouth again.
“I’ll do my best. But I can’t prepare it by Parents’ Day.”
“Enough, you rascal. We know that too. We’re not asking you to bring a daughter-in-law right away, just don’t work all the time and start dating.”
“I don’t have any expectations for a daughter-in-law anymore. It means I don’t care what family she comes from. Even a celebrity is fine. That singer from the scandal last time is okay too. Got it?”
“Haha…”
Lee Hyun-woo awkwardly laughed and stood up.
If the conversation continued, who knew what kind of imagination would flow out.
He went into his room and thought deeply.
‘Maybe it’s because both of them are together?’
If he asked separately, he might get a clear answer.
Or even better, he could ask his father what his mother wanted, and his mother what his father wanted.
Within five minutes of entering his room, he came back out, and only his mother was watching TV.
“Oh? Where’s Dad?”
“He went out to work.”
“What? Again?”
“Yeah. He should be resting a bit, but you know your father’s personality. Once he starts, he has to see it through.”
“I know…”
It was nine o’clock at night.
The fact that he went out to work at this hour meant real work-life balance education was needed for his father.
‘Since I’m coming home late because of secret dates with the band, I don’t know how often Dad works at night.’
Reflecting on whether he had been indifferent to his parents, he asked his mother.
“Does Dad go out often?”
“These days, he works late almost every day. After buying the car, going out after dinner has become routine. Today, he stayed longer because you came home early.”
“Oh…”
“If you’re worried about what Dad does, don’t. Things are really going well these days.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and he thinks he has to earn now so he won’t be a burden to you later, so he works even harder.”
“He doesn’t have to. We earn well.”
“I know you earn well. But that’s your money, not ours. I think the same as your father. So, the money you give us, we put it straight into the bank. If you ever need money, just tell us. Okay?”
“That won’t happen.”
“You can never predict life. Your father wasn’t always doing well. There were tough times, and he always regretted not having extra money. So, whenever he had a little money, he would habitually save it.”
“Yes…”
There was nothing more to argue about.
In fact, wasn’t it that saved money that funded Jungle’s initial business?
Thinking about how they readily helped with such a reckless request just because it was for their child, his nose tingled with emotion.
Meanwhile, his mother continued.
“Anyway, thanks to your help, we’ve paid off all our debts. We’ve moved to a spacious apartment. What more gift do we need? If you really want, let’s just go out for a meal. Okay?”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Suppressing his emotions, he concluded.
The true gift would be spending time with his parents.
The next day was May 5th, Children’s Day.
Even though they weren’t children, since it was a holiday, Lee Hyun-woo and his brother Lee Jung-woo should have rested at home.
“Are you going out today too?”
Lee Hyun-woo asked Lee Jung-woo, who was preparing to go out in casual clothes while eating breakfast.
“Yeah, I have work to do.”
“Hey, take a break today.”
“I can’t. This is something I have to finish.”
“But our parents are home; let’s spend some time together for once…”
“I’m going to work too.”
Before Lee Hyun-woo could finish, their father spoke up.
And then.
“I’m going to help out at your father’s company today.”
This time, it was their mother.
Their expressions naturally turned to astonishment.
‘Turns out, our whole family has a workaholic DNA.’
He knew his mother sometimes helped with his father’s work, but he never imagined both of them would leave the house on a holiday.
But it seemed it was the opposite for them.
“On holidays, we always thought you’d both… everyone would go out. It seems Hyun-woo is staying home…”
“Yes, haha…”
“Then I’ll come back and make lunch later.”
“No, Mom. Don’t worry! I’ll take care of it.”
When Lee Hyun-woo waved his hand, his mother insisted a few more times.
In the end, as if he just remembered,
“Oh, right. I have an appointment.”
he said, making his parents’ eyes sparkle.
“An appointment?”
“With whom?”
Seeing their expressions, still hoping for Lee Hyun-woo to date, he had no choice but to give a hint.
“Just a bit…”
Gulp.
Gulp.
“… anyway, something like that. I’ll leave it at that. I think you can guess.”
It wasn’t a definite answer, but he gave enough clues for them to catch on.
Thinking it was his filial duty.
Fortunately, his parents’ faces lit up.
“Oh, oh… I see. But tell us more details later.”
“Yeah, show us her face later. We’re really curious.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Preferably by this Parents’ Day.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Ha… I’ll do my best.”
After saying he’d do his best twice, he saw his parents’ satisfied smiles.
‘Come to think of it, in my past life, after I got a job, they started talking about marriage like this.’
When a child’s job starts to stabilize, the parents naturally think about marriage next.
He understood.
The problem was the other family was incredibly large.
‘If I reveal it now, it might make my parents uncomfortable.’
As he thought this far, he felt the piercing gaze from the side.
Of course, it was Lee Jung-woo’s.
He gestured with his chin to his room.
It meant he wanted to talk, and since he had already finished his rice bowl, they went into the room.
“Hyung, are you really going to reveal it?”
“No, not now.”
“Why? They seem so happy.”
“Just… it doesn’t feel right now.”
“You’re so confident and laid-back about everything, but why are you like this when it comes to women?”
“Am I?”
“Who cares if it’s Guseong? Honestly, I think you’ll do even better in the future, so it’s a waste.”
Smirk, indeed blood is thicker than water?
Lee Hyun-woo nodded with a smile.
“Yeah, I think I’ll do better too. But I have to consider our parents’ feelings. They might feel intimidated thinking they’re not as great as her family.”
“Ah… that’s true…”
“So don’t say anything for now. Got it?”
“Alright.”
“And one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Remember the game you mentioned last time? I’ve been thinking about it and I’ve been jotting down some game scenarios and characters. I’ll finish it up and email it to you, so take a look. Okay?”
“Why did you even bother with that? This game development is just a hobby.”
“I’m worried you’ll wither away if you keep treating everything as a hobby. Please, take it easy.”
“Ugh… got it.”
Lee Jung-woo reacted as if it was no big deal.
He probably thought, ‘What does my brother know about games?’
But the earlier conversation still bothered him.
What if they found out his brother’s girlfriend was the eldest daughter of Guseong Group?
‘Indeed, our parents might feel uncomfortable.’
But continuing a secret relationship was also not an option.
No, his brother might continue a secret relationship thinking of their parents.
And if Kim Ah-young eventually broke up out of frustration?
‘That can’t happen. Absolutely not.’
But there was no clear solution, so he let out a small sigh inwardly.
‘Sigh…’
Lee Jung-woo, being simple-minded, started thinking only about the game as soon as he did a few workout sets after arriving at the company.
If it weren’t for the mandatory exercises for overtime work, he would have sat at the computer right away…
“Alright, let’s get started.”
Finally sitting down, he immersed himself in finishing the game engine.
To make a game, a game engine was essential.
Lee Jung-woo, who always liked games, had been making them as a hobby, and now he could finally use them.
But it needed more refinement, so he had been spending time supplementing the game engine and today he could finally finish it.
At this point, he remembered what his brother had said.
“Well, I should at least look at it out of courtesy.”
He opened the email and downloaded the document his brother sent.
And when he clicked and opened it,
“What?”
He was amazed at the detailed scenario.
《Game Setting: Early 26th Century
Races: Earth Race, Bug Race, God’s Race
Characteristics of each race … (omitted) …》
There were also episodes, each stage surprisingly detailed.
Most importantly, it seemed really fun.
Naturally, Lee Jung-woo felt as if he was hit with a blunt object.
‘He’s my brother, but I’ve never seen such a monster.’
Seriously, a person who understands strategy simulation games?
He suddenly felt a surge of enthusiasm.
Originally, he planned to make the game casually (from Lee Jung-woo’s perspective) as a hobby, but now he wanted to dive into it seriously.
The problem was his work and studies.
‘Damn, I hate going to school. I really hate it!’
But his brother would oppose it, and his parents would cause a commotion, so he decided to endure for about a year and a half.
“But I should give up being a team leader.”
Lee Jung-woo was in charge of the online shopping division.
Since it was the first business Jungle ventured into, his brother and everyone else had a lot of affection for it, and it had symbolic importance, so the task was assigned to Lee Jung-woo.
But with his attention elsewhere, he couldn’t continue holding onto that role.
Fortunately, with several outsourcing companies recently joining, efficiency had been maximized.
At this level, he thought he could hand over his position to someone else, so he went to his brother’s room that evening.
“Hyung, I saw the email earlier, and it’s really no joke. I want to make that game right away.”
“It doesn’t seem bad.”
“It’s more than just not bad. It’s really attractive. It felt like you went into my mind and saw the scenarios I was trying to implement. The episodes too. It was like watching a movie or reading a sci-fi novel.”
“That’s enough. You’re making me feel dizzy with all the praise.”
“I’m serious. So, I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
“I want to step down from the team leader position. I think I need to focus on the game.”
“……!”
