IMCT 25

Chapter 25

“Boss Choi! The rent is due on the 20th! The 20th!”

“Come on, sir. There are still two days left until the rent is due. And when have I ever been late with the rent?”

“Don’t you remember? You were two days late last time.”

“Oh, come on, sir. I told you in advance that it was because of the weekend and that I would send it as soon as the weekdays came.”

“Whatever. Anyway, it’s the 20th. Pack up two chickens for me.”

“Yes, just wait a moment.”

The old man seemed to be the landlord. His eyes were sharp, and judging from the way he moved and carried himself, he seemed like someone who had lived a very tough and hardworking life.

“He must be the landlord.”

“Yes. He’s a tough old man. Still, whenever he comes, he always takes two chickens home.”

“Is he buying them for his family?”

“I don’t really know either. All I know is that he always takes two chickens. He’s very strict about collecting the rent, though.”

The landlord collecting rent might have felt like a gangster extorting money, but everyone had their own story. There was no way to know what kind of life that old man had lived or how he had managed to buy the building.

Not long after the old man left with his two chickens, a girl who looked to be around middle-school age entered the shop.

She stood inside the store, looking at the menu and hesitating, unable to say anything. Seeing her, Boss Choi gave her his usual bright smile.

“What do you need?”

“Well…”

Thanks to the owner asking first, she managed to open her mouth, but she still could not speak properly.

“I’m really sorry, but… could I buy just 3,000 won worth of chicken?”

Between the 3,000 won worth of chicken and the absurd request from a young girl, Choi Deuk-soo continued to treat her with a smile.

“It rained today, so I think I’ll have some ingredients left over from what I prepared in advance. I’ll give you a whole chicken for 3,000 won, so take it.”

Boss Choi calmly went into the kitchen, quickly fried a chicken, and handed it to the girl.

She was old enough to know that this was the owner’s kindness. Her eyes became red as she bowed her head deeply, then she took the chicken and left the store.

“Boss, you said business isn’t even going that well. If you keep giving things away like that, how are you going to make a living?”

“Well, I still eat and live somehow, don’t I? So I think I can at least do this much.”

Wasn’t this what it meant to be a person who brightened the world around them?

Kim Si-min quietly nodded. Then he took out two 50,000-won bills from his pocket, placed them on the table with a short note, and left the store.

[Thanks to you, Boss, I’m ending my day feeling really warm. I want to contribute this toward the cost of chicken for that young girl and for the many people who may receive help from you, even if this isn’t enough. The beer was great, too.]

Boss Choi felt strange as he looked at the two 50,000-won bills and the note on the table.

The man had given him a strange feeling from the beginning, and even until the very end, Boss Choi could not shake that subtle feeling.

“What kind of person is he?”

One thing was certain. He was not an ordinary person.

His eyes, the way he spoke, and the way he acted all seemed to say so. Strangely, while talking to the young man, Boss Choi had felt at ease. That made him want to talk with him a little longer, so he felt a little disappointed when the man left. But that was how relationships between people sometimes went.

Still, for some reason, he had a feeling that he would see the man who had just left quite often.

There was definitely something about that man that gave off the feeling of a regular customer.

After leaving Boss Choi’s chicken shop, Kim Si-min looked at the pouring rain and only then realized that he did not have an umbrella.

“I’m screwed.”

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

As he stood there getting drenched by the heavy rain for the first time in a long while, he remembered his childhood.

Back then, even if they had umbrellas, he and his friends would deliberately run around in the rain, laughing together.

For some reason, Boss Choi’s refreshing laughter had reminded him of things he had lost.

Come to think of it, people often forgot many important things because they were too busy struggling to make a living.

The eyes of the girl who had learned gratitude for the world from a single chicken.

The children of his youth who had laughed happily with their friends in the rain.

And the warm smiles that could be made by helping someone else.

Because of that, Kim Si-min thought that standing in the rain for a while wasn’t so bad.

Just then, he spread both arms and raised his head toward the sky, letting the falling rain hit him as he became absorbed in the mood.

“What are you doing?”

A somewhat stiff voice came from somewhere nearby.

There was nothing wrong with getting sentimental and standing in the rain alone.

But having someone see him like that—especially a coworker—was an entirely different matter.

Kim Si-min awkwardly smiled after making eye contact with Im Dong-su.

“If you’re having a hard time, it might be okay to look for another job. I heard working under Old Man Park Won-jung isn’t exactly easy.”

His attempt at being considerate only made Kim Si-min want to crawl into a hole even more.

“I’ll give you a ride.”

“L-Let’s… go.”

Even after getting completely soaked by the rain on his first day, Kim Si-min visited the chicken shop every day.

It was a little awkward to go back the next day after even leaving a note behind, but he did not care about such small things.

By around his third visit, he had already become like brothers with Boss Choi Deuk-soo.

“Si-min! There’s some pickled radish at that table!”

For some reason, on his third day, Kim Si-min was serving pickled radish to a nearby table.

How had this happened?

If there was a reason, it was probably because while they were talking, Choi Deuk-soo had naturally put his arm around Kim Si-min’s shoulders and started giving him orders.

And Kim Si-min had simply moved like a robot after receiving a command.

“Crispy Chicken, table three!”

The shop, which had clearly been fairly quiet, became packed with customers whenever Kim Si-min came by, as if his visits were a stamp of approval.

After finishing business that evening, Deuk-soo brought a 500cc glass of beer and a whole chicken and placed them in front of Kim Si-min, who felt strangely exhausted.

“Hey, thanks. What would I have done without you?”

“You should hire a part-timer.”

“Looking at you, you’re obviously unemployed, and it’s not like you’ve got anything to do. Just help your older brother out. I’ll pay you double the hourly wage.”

“How exactly do I look unemployed?”

“You look unemployed no matter how I look at you.”

Choi Deuk-soo had been born with an extremely outgoing personality. His friendliness was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

I should have kept some distance.

Kim Si-min, who was suddenly about to become a part-time worker at a chicken shop, grabbed his throbbing head.

“By the way, is something wrong? You kept sighing and looking at your phone even while you were busy earlier.”

“Ah… It’s… well… nothing.”

Although it was obvious that something was going on, Choi Deuk-soo smiled and brushed it aside.

Kim Si-min did not press him for his story.

The only thing he learned was that Deuk-soo had fallen behind on the rent that was due on the 20th, as he could tell from the landlord shouting at him.

He also learned that Deuk-soo was looking into some loan company or somewhere he could borrow money.

Kim Si-min often saw him on the phone, telling someone with tears in his eyes that everything would be okay and that everything would work out.

“Hyung… I’m sorry, but… I don’t think I can have chicken today.”

“Of course, you idiot! Don’t make that face. I know you’re having a hard time, too. I know that in the ten years you’ve been running this place, you’ve never once missed your chicken-sharing day.”

From that conversation with the man who had become like an older brother to him, Kim Si-min learned that Deuk-soo was no longer able to continue the charity he had maintained for ten years.

Even so, Kim Si-min remained silent until Deuk-soo himself talked about it.

There were always moments in life when you needed to step in and moments when you needed to simply watch over someone from a distance.

This was a time to take a step back and prepare to help.

And just like that, the week Im Dong-su had mentioned quickly came to an end.

When Kim Si-min opened the shop door and stepped outside, after briefly looking at Deuk-soo taking out a bottle of soju in the space behind the closed shutter, Im Dong-su was standing there.

Even with Im Dong-su standing beside him, Kim Si-min continued looking at Deuk-soo, who was drinking soju inside the shop.

“Deuk-soo hyung is a really good person. I guess his child is very sick. He must need a lot of money. And yet he’s still like that. He helps other people even though he’s struggling himself.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Im Dong-su did not say much, so Kim Si-min continued.

“This is a shop we should invest in.”

“Because Choi Deuk-soo’s child is sick?”

“No. Because Deuk-soo hyung is a good person.”

“There are many good people.”

“That’s true. There are many good people. But there aren’t many people who brighten the people around them, too.”

Im Dong-su did not add anything to Kim Si-min’s words. He remained silent, showing that he was willing to listen.

“The Investment Management Department isn’t a department that looks for places where we can make more money. But money is constantly being transferred on that electronic board in real time. That wasn’t money being earned. It was the amount of money being given to other people. The amount of money spent helping others because of that person. I don’t know the principle behind it, but that electronic board was measuring it as an amount of money.”

The explanation had become long, but Im Dong-su remained silent.

“Our company’s name is Lighthouse. A lighthouse helps ships avoid getting lost in fog or darkness when they can’t see anything. The people we invest in are like that. People who brighten the area around them. Deuk-soo hyung is exactly that kind of person. So… we have to invest.”

For the first time, a faint hint of a smile briefly passed over Im Dong-su’s expressionless face.

“Old Man Park seems to be very good at judging people. Are you going home?”

Kim Si-min shook his head, and Im Dong-su gave him a short nod before turning around.

Jingle. Jingle.

The sound of the wind chime that Kim Si-min had heard throughout the week rang out inside the shop.

“Hyung, the surgery and hospitalization costs for Jian are 50 million won, right?”

Choi Deuk-soo raised his head.

The wind chime was still ringing in his ears, and standing there was a person shining brightly.

For some reason, from the moment they first met, Kim Si-min had felt like a real younger brother to him.

“I’ve already paid the surgery costs. Make plenty of money and pay me back slowly.”

“…?”

Choi Deuk-soo’s eyes widened as much as they could.

“What do you mean? How could you possibly pay the hospital bill?”

“Hyung, I’m really not unemployed. I make pretty good money. You don’t need to worry about paying it back right away. Earn it slowly and pay me back. Today is my last day working here. I have to go back to my company now.”

“…”

Choi Deuk-soo felt as if he were dreaming.

“Oh, and our company is thinking about investing in your shop. The chicken is really good.”

For the past week, Kim Si-min had continued thinking about whether this chicken shop truly had potential.

Whenever he had lent money to a business, he had always visited the place, met the owner, and examined the business to see what kind of person the owner was.

After doing the same with Choi Deuk-soo’s chicken shop, he believed it had enough potential and vision to succeed.

He had no intention of making some huge investment from the beginning.

Even if the business failed, he thought it would be okay to lose an amount like that.

Choi Deuk-soo clasped his hands together and cried when he heard that his daughter’s surgery had gone safely.

Thank you. Thank you.

It was one miracle after another.

After watching Jian recover beside her hospital bed, he opened the shop the very next day.

He had to work harder and repay the money he had borrowed from Kim Si-min.

And now he also had a debt to the world that had given him such a miracle.

Choi Deuk-soo smiled more brightly and welcomed people with even more energy.

Then, a complete stranger suddenly came into the shop.

Without even ordering chicken, the person abruptly handed him a card.

“Please charge 100,000 won to this.”

“What?”

“Please charge 100,000 won.”

“What kind of chicken would you like? You have to order something for me to charge you…”

“If someone who’s hungry or having a hard time comes here, please use what I paid for to help them.”

“What?”

It was a strange thing to say.

While Choi Deuk-soo stood there with a dumbfounded expression, several more people came that day, made similar payments, and left without another word.

This incomprehensible thing happened again and again.

Only much later did he learn that the girl he had helped recently had posted about him on social media.

Miracles always came suddenly, at moments no one could ever expect.