YA Ch 6

Ji-an seemed to be living in the home of a group member who was active as an idol but retired early. By Seung-joon’s standards, it was a villa in a run-down neighborhood that was no different from a slum. The thought that Ji-an was living in a space of about 49,6 m2 with only two rooms made him feel uneasy.

Ji-an, who was previously thought to be frugal by nature, has spent the past year lavishing on luxury, behaving as if he was about to spend all of Seung-joon’s wealth. It was a luxury that seemed determined to take revenge by someone with a financial grudge against Seung-joon.

Besides, he was once a superstar. Although most of his assets had to be disposed of as a penalty for retiring and marrying at the same time, Ji-an still had some money in his own hands.

But he had suddenly turned into a penniless person. Seung-joon expected Ji-an to reconsider the divorce and return home if his financial situation did not work out.

“For now, find a way to finance him.”

In the midst of such a situation, Seung-joon’s heart ached at the thought of paying Ji-an for fleeing from home in order to strengthen the divorce lawsuit paper he was attempting to settle.

However, because he didn’t know when he’d return to his original form, he needed a countermeasure. He had to provide enough living space and living expenses, no matter how difficult it was. Poverty was unheard of as long as Ji-an was still Woo Seung-joon’s wife. 

***

It seemed impossible to track Seung-joon’s actions on the day he was in chaos. The driver, who was on probation for ignoring the drunk Seung-joon, had no idea. There was also a limit to the range of nearby CCTV cameras.

As a result, Seung-joon decided to use a variety of problem-solving techniques. Instead of using logical reasoning to determine the cause, he developed a hypothesis from the scratch.

This means Seung-joon has read a lot of fantasy novels that fit the title “Second Life, Starts Now.” It was entertaining. He lost track of time while reading it. It was the first time Seung-joon had wasted such precious time.

On the other hand, he was thinking about new ways to look at things thanks to advances in science and medicine. The result was not good. It has only been demonstrated that mankind has ignored efforts to develop techniques to accelerate aging in pursuit of efforts to develop techniques to maintain youth.

Rather than clinging to problems for which there was no immediate solution, Seung-joon decided to tackle the urgent tasks one by one. All he had to do now was find clothes to fit his new body.

Seung-joon looked back at Secretary Jang, wearing a suit after the first fitting had been completed.

“How do I look?”

“It’s like a young servant.”

Seung-joon sighed in frustration as Secretary Jang continued to evaluate him relentlessly. He was even more angry when he looked in the mirror because he felt like an idiot who had just touched a penny in a venture business with no foundation in his own way of doing things. Seung-joon nervously took off his jacket.

The young body annoyed him in various ways. Seung-joon’s previous clothes did not fit him perfectly. Despite his age of thirty-six, he had no body fat, but all of his clothes were too big around the chest, waist, and thighs. His fingers were also thin and his wedding ring was loose.

Seung-joon appeared to be more concerned with his physical well-being than he was aware. Twenty-year-old Seung-joon enjoyed sports but did not exercise to bulk up, so despite his cool demeanor, he was sharp and slim. Furthermore, the style of suit that usually matched Seung-joon’s body clashed with his pretty face.

While he was already nervous, Seung-joon received a text message from Ji-an.

On Ji-an: Do you want a busy person to do unnecessary chores? At 2:23 pm

On Ji-an: The only money I’ll get from hyung is alimony. At 2:23 pm

Seung-joon knew he would come out like this from the moment he deposited the runaway money into Ji-an’s account.

It was better for Seung-joon to keep Ji-an away from home because he has magically become over ten years younger overnight. He couldn’t face his wife, who had asked for a divorce in this way.

He had no intention of taking more than a couple of months to regain his original age. So, in the meantime, he sent money to keep him from going hungry. Unsurprisingly, Ji-an got angry and confront him. Ji-an appeared to refuse even a few pennies from him.

Woo Seung-joon: You said you got married for my money At 2:24 pm

Woo Seung-joon: Just use it when I give you. At 2:24 pm

Woo Seung-joon: Don’t say you felt unfair later. At 2:25 pm

On Ji-an: Send your picture account. At 2:32 pm

Seung-joon was like a person who would have become an idol if he had been the youngest from the start. He had to recognize his old and present temper tantrums. There was still the fact that he had no idea his self-esteem was as high as the sky.

Seung-joon furrowed his brows as he read the message. Just because he predicted Ji-an’s reaction ahead of time didn’t mean his ego wasn’t hurt.

Woo Seung-joon: Am I someone who would memorize account numbers? At 2:34 pm

Woo Seung-joon: Yeah, return it back to me as soon as you can. At 2:34 pm

Seung-joon frowned and tossed the phone at the tailor, who was standing next to him. When he was thirty-six years old, he was the type of person who was not easily agitated, even when he was angry, but now he couldn’t hold back his nerve.

He felt sharpened in all of his senses, both physically and psychologically.

Even insignificant stimuli rushed adrenaline and dopamine. These changes made Seung-joon sometimes nervous, generally cheerful, and energetic all the time. Seung-joon had not only changed in appearance, but he had really became a 20-year-old young man.

Seung-joon took a deep breath and focused on what he was doing.

He couldn’t remember what he was wearing when he was 20 years old. Secretary Jang advised at the right time.

“Oh, Director Woo. These days, kids from chaebol families don’t wear luxury goods.”

As a result, Seung-joon went to the department store and purchased mid- and low-priced brands.

Ordinary ready-made clothing was not as bad as he had imagined. In comparison to previous casual wear, the fit was not bad, and his movement surprisingly became a little better.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, the quality was absurdly high. Just because Seung-joon had a lot of money, didn’t mean he didn’t calculate cost-effectiveness.  Wealth was a natural law that followed people who could balance their finances well.

Seung-joon smiled contentedly, his pale face gleaming as if it had been reborn. He looked around him as he walked down the hallway of the department store, perplexed. Seung-joon’s eyes were filled with indifference.

“Ki-do hyung. Why are so many people staring at me?”

It wasn’t just a feeling. With each step Seung-joon took, the number of people looking at him increased.

As soon as a photo was uploaded to his social media, a flood of ‘Likes’ from other people poured in without even a single face being shown. He sat and watched whether the person in front of him looked back or tilted their upper body from the side to look at him. Some people even gave Seung-joon a smile. He was upset.

Seung-joon spent his whole life exhibiting a part of his life to the public. Even if it wasn’t for external activities, he was used to getting attention in private.

However, the gaze of others toward Seung-joon was always distant. They usually stopped at the glimmering line and even turned their head away when they made eye contact with Seung-joon. It was the basic courtesy of awe and obedience to Seung-joon. Since Seung-joon was born as the TK group’s heir, he has never received such obvious attention as he is now.

“Aren’t you dressing me up to make me look stupid?”

Secretary Jang was determined to dress Seung-joon in a manner reminiscent of ‘Kids these days’ as soon as he entered the department store. Seung-joon was skeptical of Secretary Jang’s fashion sense. He was always wearing flashy suits that were both bright and saturated.

They finally found a compromise with the length of the light blue jeans, leaving his ankles exposed. It was so humiliating that his ankle became cold. Seung-joon also wore an unsuitable light pastel-colored shirt, as if he were only going to live today. The sneakers were plain white.

“Seung-joon-ah.”

Secretary Jang called Seung-joon with a faint smile for some reason. He pointed to one of the stores that were lined up in a row. Seung-joon involuntarily followed Secretary Jang’s fingertips and shifted his gaze, looking at himself in the clothing store window.

“Do you really think people are staring at you because you look like a loser?”

There stood a purely handsome unknown man without any status.

A tall person with a large frame and a slender body. His shoulders were stretched wide on both sides, and his back was straight. Even though he has a sad expression on his face, he appears to be cheerful. He liked it.

Seung-joon looked at himself blankly for a moment, then muttered as if judging someone else.

“…You’re handsome.”

It was sincere. Twenty-year-old Seung-joon, who had risen to the position of the sole heir of the TK group, was a tall young man. Seung-joon thought this with unforeseen circumstances as he looked at the man’s left hand in the show window.

‘I want to show it to Ji-an.’

He imagined Ji-an standing next to the man in the window.

This type of man would undoubtedly suit Ji-an. Young, attractive, and ordinary. An ordinary man whose most valuable possession was a loose wedding ring on his left hand’s ring finger. Seung-joon closed his eyes and calmed his racing heart.

Seung-joon’s true identity was not 20 years old young man, and he was far from ordinary. The man reflected in the show window was not a real person, but one who would be gone soon.

Therefore, he couldn’t meet Ji-an even more in this mirage-like appearance.