Countless scenes flashed through his mind and disappeared.
They were all moments that had filled Lee Hyun-woo’s life with happiness.
Birth, first steps, first words, prodigy, genius, top entrance to a Korean university, employment, promotion, meeting someone, marriage, son and daughter…
Just looking at this, it seemed that people really liked a “happy virus.”
That’s why he didn’t know how regretful he felt when the scene, like the late afternoon sunlight, was about to fade away.
How desperate must he have been to call out internally?
‘No….’
Not only that, but Lee Hyun-woo also reached out to grasp those glorious times.
At that moment, his blurry vision gradually became clear.
And objects started to come into view.
“Huh?”
Lee Hyun-woo realized that what he was holding in his hand was not the glorious times, but a piece of paper.
The content automatically came into his view.
Title: Employment Acceptance Notice
Date: March 6, 1996
Content: Hello, Mr. Lee Hyun-woo. This is Son Jong-hyun from the HR Department of 【Deokseong Trading Company】. Thank you for applying for our first half of the year’s new employee recruitment at 【Deokseong Trading Company】. You have passed the document screening, the first interview, and the second interview, and you have also passed the final interview, which was the last stage on February 7th, and you have been finally accepted. I am happy to deliver such joyful news… (omitted)… Also, we have attached the list of necessary documents for your employment and the future schedule, so if you have any inquiries, please contact the HR Department.
Lee Hyun-woo, who had unknowingly read to the end.
‘I’ve really come back.’
Only now did he lift his head and look around.
In fact, he knew this place so well that such confirmation was hardly necessary.
He remembered it clearly.
It was just in front of his house, and he had opened the mail from 【Deokseong Trading Company】 right after seeing it in the mailbox.
‘This is it.’
Could it be that he was dreaming now?
Lee Hyun-woo shook his head.
The vivid realism was undeniable.
The fact that he had really gone back to the past.
And he was 27 years old, in 1996 again.
Holding the acceptance notice in his hand was quite ironic.
When looking back on his life before he died, it seemed like ‘that man’ had sent him to this point of choice to ask whether entering 【Deokseong】 had truly been a happy life.
‘【Deokseong】 shared my joys and sorrows. Of course, it was a happy life. But…’
Would he want to enter 【Deokseong】 again if he were to?
He shook his head firmly.
At this moment.
He decided to accept the advice of ‘that man’ to end his life without overworking himself to death.
At the same time, he had this thought.
‘I can live happily while making a lot of money without necessarily entering 【Deokseong】.’
He had no intention of not working.
No, he had to face the reality of needing to work soon.
‘That man’ had sent him to this period out of goodwill, but soon the foreign exchange crisis would occur.
His father’s dye factory business would end, and his family would rely entirely on him.
‘That’s when I started becoming addicted to work.’
If he could make money easily and comfortably, he felt he could live a successful life without overworking himself like in his previous life.
Indeed, workaholics are people for whom work itself is life, but underneath it all, there lies success and ambition.
Lee Hyun-woo was no different.
As the embodiment of ambition, he wasn’t going to live his second life just smoothly and peacefully.
‘Since I’ve come back to the past, I might as well venture into something big. And I should quickly make money.’
At the same time, the psychology of wanting to enjoy life began to subtly settle within him.
There was no reason he couldn’t achieve the ‘work-life balance’ he hadn’t enjoyed in his previous life this time.
After roughly planning his life up to this point, Lee Hyun-woo was surprised as soon as he entered his house.
Because his parents, who had died in a car accident, were sitting on the sofa.
His father’s gentle eyes, proving without a doubt that they were of the same blood.
And his mother’s face, who had aged gracefully, though she didn’t adorn herself, and used to say she made many men cry in her youth.
Overcome with sudden emotion, Lee Hyun-woo bowed his head as his eyes welled up.
“Hey, what’s wrong? What’s that in your hand?”
Hearing his mother’s question, Lee Hyun-woo snapped back to his senses and made a mistake.
“I didn’t get accepted to 【Deokseong Trading Company】.”
“……”
“……”
When he looked up again, contrary to his relaxed expression, his parents’ eyes were wavering.
Unintentionally, he had disappointed them at this first meeting.
‘I’ll make you proud soon.’
His parents, who had died too early in a car accident, had not witnessed their child’s success.
It would be different in this life.
He intended to make money quickly and succeed to bring them joy.
That was Lee Hyun-woo’s resolve.
Unaware of his feelings, his parents quickly took action, worried their son might be disappointed.
His father cleared his throat once, saying nonchalantly,
“You can get into another place.”
His mother approached and clasped Lee Hyun-woo’s hand, which was holding the employment notice, and spoke warmly.
“【Deokseong Trading Company】 failed to recognize a talent.”
Lee Hyun-woo replied in a bright voice.
“Right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Keep your chin up, you brat. You need to pull yourself together and get into another place. Show them.”
“Yes, father.”
“By the way, I was planning to grill pork today, but I didn’t get it. I’ll go buy some.”
“Oh, mom. I’ll go buy it.”
Lee Hyun-woo quickly turned around, uncomfortable watching his parents pretend to be nonchalant.
Anyway, he had to adapt and make plans while coming and going.
‘I need some time to think. And time to adapt.’
As he stepped outside, the neighborhood he used to live in unfolded before his eyes, continuously reminding him of past memories.
Although it seemed there might be some inconvenience coming back from the era he had lived in, he could feel with his senses that this era was full of opportunities.
‘The foreign exchange crisis will hit soon, right?’
That incident was both a crisis and an opportunity for Lee Hyun-woo.
Thinking deeper, it seemed that Lee Hyun-woo had become a workaholic since the foreign exchange crisis of 1997.
People’s acceptances were canceled everywhere, and those already employed retired.
The anxiety of not knowing when he might be kicked out if he didn’t prove himself started to germinate in his mind.
He endured and persevered, gaining recognition, and gradually standing out until he was eventually assigned to the Planning and Coordination Office, the group’s “control tower.”
The elevator to success was what he gained during this process, but what he lost was his health.
That led to his death, so he needed to find the easiest and most enjoyable way to make money.
In that sense, he needed to establish a big premise.
‘I hate employment.’
A determination not to attempt to get employed anywhere, let alone 【Deokseong Trading Company】.
In the end, he had to start a business.
Then what kind of business should he do?
First of all, the export that fed South Korea in 1996 was semiconductors.
This year, it brought in about 16 billion dollars.
Since the first thing he did after entering 【Deokseong Trading Company】 was to investigate Korea’s top 10 export items, the memory was vividly imprinted in Lee Hyun-woo’s mind.
For reference, the second was automobiles, about 10 billion dollars.
Although semiconductors belong to the IT industry, strictly speaking, both are manufacturing industries.
It means infrastructure is immediately needed.
In the end, a business that doesn’t require facilities or equipment is one where you take the middle margin.
It seemed wise to involve himself in intermediate distribution for initial funds.
‘Come to think of it, combining IT and distribution, the 【Amazoness】 model isn’t bad either.’
Suddenly, his heart swelled with excitement.
In the Planning and Coordination Office, he only thought about surpassing the person blocking his way, but he had never dreamed of such grandiose dreams.
It was because he was faithful to the life of a ‘subordinate.’
From now on, he had to gradually get used to the life of a ‘boss.’
Only then could he run a business.
With a rough plan in mind, Lee Hyun-woo returned home with the meat from the butcher shop, now with a smile blooming on his face.
His expression was far from that of someone who had failed to get a job, so it was hard to manage his expression.
Still, he felt he should tell his parents about the direction of his future life by the time he emptied his bowl of rice with the pork bulgogi.
“I’m thinking of starting a business.”
“……”
“……”
He seemed to see cold sweat running down his parents’ foreheads for a moment.
It didn’t seem like the pork bulgogi was too spicy.
Lee Hyun-woo looked at them steadily and spoke in a slightly calmer voice.
“I really think I can do well.”
Thinking it was too dangerous, his mother tried to dissuade him gently.
“Isn’t it… a bit risky? It seems a bit rash to just jump into it.”
His father immediately shared his own experiences.
“As you know, I’ve run a business before, and it’s really not easy. It’s the most convenient to live off someone else’s money.”
Before starting his business, his father had worked in an ordinary job.
The problem was that his parents’ words didn’t work on Lee Hyun-woo, who had experienced the future.
“I know. But I want to give it a try. I think I’ll regret it later if I don’t do it now.”
“……”
“……”
Although he could handle it quietly by himself, the reason he was informing his parents was that he inevitably needed money.
In fact, what money would Lee Hyun-woo, who had done nothing after graduating from university, have?
Although he was filled with an immense sense of guilt, Lee Hyun-woo decided not to hesitate.
‘Anyway, the only way out is through this.’
That was his parents’ pockets.
And there was a clear reason he had to do this.
His father invested all the money he had saved into running the factory, and naturally, he faced the full brunt of the IMF crisis, ending up in debt instead of breaking even.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
Once he set a goal, Lee Hyun-woo’s characteristic was to push through, even if it was somewhat reckless.
Because he had succeeded in everything except predicting the SPA before he died, he had risen to the position of the youngest deputy director of the planning office.
With a low yet confident voice, he said,
“Sorry, but can I get some investment from you, Dad?”
To be honest, he didn’t want to miss the timing.
Did his parents think he was out of his mind because he failed to get the job he was confident about?
His father’s voice, which leaked out of his mouth, was slightly cracked.
“In… investment?”
“Hey, you’re being too hasty. Let’s take some time to think about it. Prepare for another job.”
“No, I’m not saying this because I failed to get the job. My dream has always been to start a business.”
“Business isn’t that easy.”
Following his mother, his father also threw out a negative comment.
It was expected, so Lee Hyun-woo went a bit more boldly.
“I know. But trust me and invest. I’ll show you success within this year.”
“……”
“……”
Lee Hyun-woo kept his parents silent again today.
However, he was also determined to amaze them later with repeated success.
Lee Hyun-woo showed his firm resolve by looking his parents straight in the eyes.
