Chapter 144. What Did We Just See? (2)

Weekly Chapter 3/3

Before she went to her own room, she turned off the bright lights in the living room, and then headed out to the balcony. She had intended to just close the open window, but she stood there, enjoying the breeze.

She looked at the cute little potted plants on the balcony. The pink sorrels, though quaint, were pretty and bloomed all year round as long as they received enough sun. It reminded her that the day they bought those pots at the flower market was the first time something happened in Lee-Seob’s apartment. Her mood sank rapidly.

Her phone buzzed in her shorts pocket. Under a notification of a deposit received of 100,000 won, there was a concise message.

• T/N: Approximately $70

—— Big sister, buy yourself something tasty. From Min-Hwan and Min-jun. ——

Minkyung immediately dialed Min-Hwan.

— Hey, big sister.

“Where is this money from?”

— Hehe. It comes from the financial support received as a result of our admission to the Taereung National Training Center. Half Min-Jun’s and half mine.

He spoke casually, but pride filled his words. The twins had recently moved into the training center they had always dreamed of.

“Why give it to me?”

“We gave some to mom, dad and our little sister too. That’s why it’s not much. We’ll soon add three more ‘zeros’ to it, just wait a bit.”

“How much do you think that is?”

— Ten million won.

• T/N: It’s approximately $7,000, but three more zeros is actually 100 million won, or about $70,000.

Minkyung laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth with her arm.

“What’s so funny? Do you think I can’t give you ten million won? Wow, you’re really underestimating me. Hit the record button.”

Clearing his throat, Min-Hwan lowered his voice and spoke in a news anchor tone.

— I, Kang Min-Hwan, will give my big sister ten million won. Thanks to her, I became a national athlete and got into the Taereung Training Center. All that’s left for me to do is win an Olympic gold medal.

“Min-Hwan.”

— Touching, right? Makes you want to cry, doesn’t it? Your voice is shaking.

‘Yeah, it is. Trying not to laugh…’

Minkyung pressed her stiff lips with her fist and said,

“I recorded it. Now you owe me 100 million won.”

There was a brief silence.

“What? Three more zeros is… It can’t be. One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million… I bent a finger for every additional zero, but I started from hundred thousand. I counted ten million with three fingers bent.”

“One hundred thousand multiplied by one thousand is one hundred million.”

— I know. I just got confused for a moment counting on my fingers. Just use your mind. Train hard from tomorrow. My Min-Hwan has to earn ten million quickly.

“Next time, don’t count on your fingers. Just use your mind. Train hard from tomorrow. My Min-Hwan has to earn a hundred million quickly.”

She heard Min-Hwan’s loud chatter over the phone.

Even after hanging up, Minkyung laughed for a long time. Before her laughter faded, her phone buzzed again. This time, it was him. Lee-Seob had accompanied the chairman to a difficult dinner meeting and returned to his family home.

“Yes, Director.”

She automatically straightened her posture as she answered.

— Hmm.

‘Who calls someone and then says ‘hmm’?’

She wanted to ask if something was wrong, but decided to wait in silence.

— You were on the phone.

“I was talking to my brother.”

— Brother?

‘He knows that I have twin brothers.’

She thought, but didn’t say.

“Yes, my brother Min-Hwan. The one at the Taereung National Training Center with my other brother. They gave me part of the financial support for their training to use as I wished.”

— How much?

After a brief hesitation, she answered.

“One hundred thousand won.”

— Hmm…

Again with the’ hmm’. He didn’t say anything more.

“If I wait a bit, he said he’d give me a hundred million won.”

— I see.

That wasn’t much different from ‘hmm’ either. To him, a hundred million might seem like a reasonable amount for a national athlete to give to his sister. She added more detail.

“He boasted he’d add three more zeros. But he thought that would make it ten million. He made a mistake counting on his fingers.”

Hearing Lee-Seob laugh through the phone tickled her ears. She laughed along.