Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 283

283. Where Do You Live?

“Do you want to know what that candy is?”

With a gentle tone, Go Seung-gyu was like a fallen snake tempting the innocent Seo Jun-woo.

“Should I tell you?”

“What? Is it a special candy? What is it?”

“It is very special.”

Go Seung-gyu, giving an ambiguous answer, smiled at Seo Jun-woo and took out his phone to make a call.

– Hello.

“Hello, teacher, it’s Seung-gyu.”

– I know. My Seung-gyu.

The person who answered the phone was one of the many private tutors for the club members, the one in charge of today’s class.

– Seung-gyu is calling the teacher, what’s the matter? You took the mock exam today, right? I saw the news earlier, and it said it was very difficult this time. Was everyone okay?

“Excuse me, teacher. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have something to tell you.”

– Don’t say sorry. What is it? Tell me, Seung-gyu.

“Actually, something urgent came up, so it will be difficult to have the tutoring session today.”

Clearly, he came to the officetel [a building with both office and residential spaces] to take the test for tutoring, but he can’t have the class. Seo Jun-woo couldn’t understand what Go Seung-gyu was saying.

However, unlike the bewildered Jun-woo, the other kids seemed used to this situation and were calm.

“We were supposed to have an important interview with the kids for a performance evaluation, but the interview was suddenly scheduled for today.”

– Is that so? If something like that happened, there’s nothing we can do. A performance evaluation is very important. And if Seung-gyu’s group called directly, it must be urgent.

The tutor on the other end of the phone was showing Go Seung-gyu infinite trust, making it unclear who was the teacher and who was the student.

The kids, except for Seo Jun-woo, seemed to find this situation funny and were laughing silently.

“Thank you for understanding, teacher, even though you must be busy.”

– Don’t mention it. My work is your work. Feel free to talk to me anytime. Did everyone do well on the mock exam?

“I think it was similar to last time. I’ll tell the kids to upload the wrong answer notes to the group chat later.”

– Okay, thank you, Seung-gyu. Then, let’s make up for today’s class next time.

“Yes, teacher. Thank you always. And my mom said to tell you that she sent some good meat to your house.”

– You didn’t have to do that. Please tell her I always appreciate it.

“Yes, goodbye.”

“As expected, when Seung-gyu calls, the tutor just gives a free pass.”

“Did everyone hear?”

As soon as Go Seung-gyu spoke after hanging up, the kids started packing their bags and getting up from their seats as if they had been waiting for it.

Clatter-

“Jun-woo, what are you doing?”

Among the kids who were getting up and heading to the entrance, the bewildered Seo Jun-woo stood there blankly. Then, Go Seung-gyu put his hand on his shoulder and continued.

“Let’s go.”

“Go? Where are we going? Aren’t we having tutoring?”

“We ditched tutoring just now. We have to go solve the mystery.”

“Mystery?”

“Don’t just stand there, follow me. I’ll show you a new world.”

“…….”

In a situation where he couldn’t understand what was going on, Seo Jun-woo had no choice but to follow Go Seung-gyu.

The kids who came out of the officetel took two taxis and got off 10 minutes away.

“Wait a minute!”

Go Seung-gyu, who got out of the taxi, called Lee Seon-i and took out a small envelope from his bag and handed it to her.

“Seon-i? This.”

“Okay. It’s my turn today, right? I’ll be back.”

Lee Seon-i, who received the envelope, went into the building without hesitation and quickly changed her clothes and came out.

Instead of a school uniform, she wore common sweatpants, a hat, sunglasses, and a mask to completely cover her face.

– Ding-dong, ding-dong

Soon after, as if waiting for it, the voice intercom rang, and Go Seung-gyu answered the phone with a phone he had never seen before. He even talked with the voice changer button pressed.

“Hello? Is this Mr. Blue Path of OO High School? Yes, I’ll be there soon, so please wait there.”

“Did they arrive?”

“Yeah. Check their ID and give it to them.”

“Of course. Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”

Lee Seon-i, who was perfectly disguised, took the envelope Go Seung-gyu handed her and went into the nearby subway station and soon returned. And she handed the envelope she had taken back to Go Seung-gyu.

“Good job. Let’s go.”

As Seo Jun-woo’s curiosity grew with the kids’ unknown actions, they all entered a building together.

The interior, which was on the highest floor and entered through the front door lock, was more luxurious than the officetel where they tutored.

The interior boasted expensive game consoles, a high-end projector for watching videos, and a bar-style table on one side. In addition, there were sneakers worth 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD], which are no longer available, neatly placed on the floor.

“Welcome to our hideout.”

Go Seung-gyu said with a smile, looking at the bewildered Seo Jun-woo.

“How is it? Awesome, right?”

“What is this place?”

“It’s literally our hideout and office, you could say.”

“O-Office?”

“Yeah. Actually, our club members are running a small business.”

“You guys are doing business?”

“Don’t be so surprised and come this way.”

Go Seung-gyu, looking at Seo Jun-woo, who couldn’t understand even though they were speaking the same Korean, took him to a locker in one corner.

Tti-tti-tti-tti-

“Do you know what this is?”

“Isn’t that the envelope Seon-i took earlier?”

“That’s right.”

“……!”

Seo Jun-woo, who was about to ask what kind of business it was, why Lee Seon-i suddenly disguised herself, and why Go Seung-gyu even changed his voice when he answered the phone, froze for a moment when he saw the open locker.

“Surprised? Everyone shows that kind of reaction at first.”

Because the locker was filled with stacks of 10,000 won bills [Korean currency, approximately $7.50 USD per bill]. At a glance, you could feel that the amount was enormous.

“It’s the money we made from our business item. Seon-i gave the item to the customer earlier and received the payment.”

“What are you selling?”

“This?”

The business item Go Seung-gyu presented was the candy and transparent sticker that Seo Jun-woo had been curious about.

“What the heck is that?”

“Well, to put it simply, it’s a kind of magic we give to customers who are tired of studying.”

“Explain it so I can understand.”

“Jun-woo, have you ever been stressed out while studying? Sometimes you get annoyed by everything and want to run away, or your chest feels stuffy, or you just hate everything and everything is annoying, don’t you ever feel like that?”

Yes. Of course, he had.

Whether you study well or not, regardless of grades, all high school students in Korea will be stressed.

Especially Seo Jun-woo was more so.

On the outside, he was a good and proud son who listened better than anyone else, but in fact, unlike his parents’ expectations, Seo Jun-woo had no desire to go to medical school.

What he really wanted to be was a clothing designer. But since his parents had been pouring everything into making him a doctor since he was young, he couldn’t tell them this fact.

Every time he saw himself walking towards medical school, he was filled with worries and frustrations about whether this was the right life, and he wanted to run away.

“Yes.”

“Of course, you do. Not only me and you, but everyone here, as well as the so-called rich kids who study around here, are all similar. So, we need an outlet, right?”

“…….”

“Frankly, can we run away from our parents? Or could we play comfortably? We can’t just quit studying and live recklessly, right? That’s when we do this.”

“What happens when you do that?”

“It relieves stress and makes you feel like you’re walking on clouds. To put it simply, it’s like a magic item given by a healer in a game.”

“What?”

“Doesn’t it sound like a joke?”

“It’s real.”

“I feel like I’m flying in the sky.”

“I feel like I’m walking in a dream. In short, it feels good. Hehehe!”

Behind Seo Jun-woo’s words that he couldn’t believe it, the club members, including Lee Seon-i, added a word each.

“So, it’s not an ordinary candy and sticker.”

“That’s right. It’s not easy to get and it’s a kind of limited edition. We sell this to our peers in the surrounding schools and get paid. But not everyone who wants it can buy it. We only sell it to those who have a solid family and are at a similar level to us.”

“Why?”

“Because that way, there won’t be any problems. If we give it to just anyone, problems will definitely arise. You saw Seon-i disguising herself earlier, right? We can know who the buyers are, but the buyers don’t even know who we are.”

Go Seung-gyu, who had a strong image as a model student and was trusted by teachers, was like a different person. His image from school could not be found here.

“Transactions are always made in cash, and the money we earn is used to buy what we want and sometimes to play. And our rule is that when the target amount is reached, we divide it equally. For reference, the price is 3 million won for the sticker and 1 million won for the candy [approximately $2,250 and $750 USD respectively].”

“What?! That doesn’t make sense. How can a candy and sticker be so expensive!”

Seo Jun-woo’s voice naturally rose at the outrageous amount.

“That’s why I said it was a magic item that makes you feel like you’re walking on clouds earlier.”

“But you guys aren’t short on money, so why are you doing this?”

Seo Jun-woo suddenly wondered why these kids, who didn’t seem to lack anything, were doing this.

“You’re saying something too naive. It’s not like the tycoons in our country are doing business because they don’t have money, right?”

“…….”

“Just kidding. That’s just to look cool, and the truth is, what we get in our hands isn’t money. It’s freedom. Jun-woo, do you get an allowance from your parents?”

“No. I use a card.”

“Me too. Everyone uses the cards their parents give them. But no matter how unlimited the card is, there’s nothing we can buy or eat comfortably. Our parents manage everything about me, even the things I don’t have. There’s nothing free.”

Seo Jun-woo’s situation was similar.

Even if he buys a drink he wants, his mom gets an alert right away. And a phone call comes.

‘Jun-woo, did you buy that xx drink again? I told you not to eat that because the ingredients are bad, right? It makes you dumber.’

‘Jun-woo? School’s over, why aren’t you home? Where did you go? You know you have tennis lessons tomorrow, right? Come home quickly.’

Since everything he eats, wears, and does is reported to his parents in real time, he couldn’t buy or eat what he wanted.

“We’re living the way our parents want us to, so we need a breathing hole, right? That’s what this is. Stickers and candies are such things to us.”

“Seung-gyu is right. It’s like blowing away the stress that’s filling your head all at once.”

Seo Jun-woo, who was listening to Go Seung-gyu and the kids, wondered if it was possible to get rid of stress.

“You have an expression that you can’t believe it?”

“Huh? To be honest, it’s a bit like that. I still don’t really understand what you and the kids are saying.”

“That’s possible. Everyone had the same reaction as you at first. Here! Take it.”

Go Seung-gyu handed Seo Jun-woo an envelope containing candy and stickers.