Chapter 118

“Teacher, you prefer black right?”“I like variety.”“Then I’ll buy something like citrus tea.”Ganghwan went inside the convenience store, then came back with a coffee and a citrus tea. He got in his car and handed the citrus tea to Junmin, who was sitting next to him.“It’s quite chilly.”“It’s because it’s winter. At least it’s not snowing. It’s cold enough, but if it snows on top of that, ugh.”“A young guy like you shouldn’t be complaining about the cold.”“Senior, just because I’m younger doesn’t mean I’m more resistant to the cold.”Ganghwan sipped on the coffee and looked at the clock. It had been 20 minutes since they left Moonjoong’s house.“Should we start heading back?”“Let’s wait for 10 more minutes.”Junmin crossed his arms and leaned on the seat. It looked like he would fall asleep as soon as he was left alone.“You can’t fall asleep.”“I won’t.”“Anyhow, it’s unexpected. I wonder why Teacher wanted to meet Maru.”“I didn’t tell you?”“What?”“It looks like Teacher will be taking in students again, like he did in the past.”Ganghwan’s eyes became round.“Is that true?”“Yeah. Not big kids like you, but it seems like he wants to pick and teach a kid with potential. I sent him the list of candidates earlier today, and for some reason, he chose Maru.”“I heard they met each other before, could it be because of that?”“He’s not a person who would arrange a meeting just because he met somebody by chance.”“That’s true, anyway, it looks like he favors Maru quite a bit.”“It’s because he’s talented, charming, and determined. There used to be times when he would be flustered, not knowing what to do, but it recently disappeared. He doesn’t have any flaws to pick at.”Ganghwan nodded at the fitting description.“Is there anybody that you wanted to be chosen personally? If you were the one who organized the list, then there must’ve been a few that you liked.”“I wonder. I have too many students that I’m already taking care of, for me to pay attention to others. If I had to choose one, it would have to be Maru, but even then, what I saw was only a possibility, not a guarantee.”“You become too strict when you start judging people. You just need to say that you want Maru to be chosen.”“I realize this whenever I work, but in this field, it’s important to draw a line between work and personal relationship. After all, my work is basically managing people. I’m bound to make a loss if I operate based on affection.”“Somebody like that donated 300 million won?”“That’s how investment works.”“Invest in me too please.”“Are you in need of money these days?”“It’s a joke.”Ganghwan knew that if he asked sincerely, Junmin would offer him an enormous sum of money without hesitation. However, Ganghwan had no thoughts of making a request like that. Even if he became penniless, he vowed to never ask others for a helping hand. Money was something that could be earned and lost, but the moment you lost a person, it ended there. Relationships were something that couldn’t be recovered. Instead, they had to be forgotten and started over from the beginning. A ripped piece of paper remains ripped even if it was pieced back together.He would live the same life regardless of whether he had money. Ganghwan saw countless people whose relationships had broken down because of money related problems. He’d learned enough lessons through them.“Senior.”“What?”“Please take care of me next year too.”“….It seems like next year will be tiresome as well.”