Ch.5151. What Can’t Money Buy?

“By the way, Siwoo, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“Where are we going now?”

Seemingly bored with her hands, Hwa Nabi fidgeted with our intertwined fingers as she looked at me. Judging by the curve of her lips, she seemed quietly excited.

I gave her the answer I had prepared in advance.

“Well, we’re in Seogwipo, right? So I looked up a few places worth visiting.”

This might be a sudden confession, but I’ve never been to Jeju Island before. So to plan today’s itinerary, I relied on collective intelligence. You know, answers from knowledgeable people or reviews from those who’ve actually visited Jeju.

I added attractive tourist spots to our course and eliminated places that seemed impossible due to time constraints. After drafting a rough itinerary, I cross-verified it by referencing multiple reviews.

Some might ask if I’m overdoing it just for a day out together, but that’s just how my personality is. If I’m going to do something, I do it thoroughly. That’s my motto.

“Really? When did you research all that?”

“Just did it briefly whenever I had some free time.”

In reality, I spent a whole day on it, but I answered that way. Men are naturally inclined to show off in front of women… it’s a sad tribal instinct.

“…Anyway, don’t you know Jeju tourist spots better than I do, Nabi?”

It occurred to me belatedly—am I doing something unnecessary? It doesn’t matter where we go since everywhere is new to me, but that might not be the case for Nabi. What if the places I’m planning to take her are spots she’s already visited with her family? That would make them less exciting.

That concern suddenly came to mind, but Nabi’s answer was unexpected.

“Oh, not really. When I came with my family, we just stayed near the hotel. We never went far.”

“Really? That’s a shame. Why was that?”

“I know, right? I’d like to ask my dad about that too.”

“Why, what did your father say?”

“No, it’s not what he said. Every time we came to Jeju, he kept saying he was tired and just stayed in the hotel room. I’d ask why we even came to Jeju and suggest going out sightseeing, but he’d just lie there like a zombie… sigh. I couldn’t go alone, so I naturally ended up staying at the hotel too.”

“Ah…”

Nabi muttered that she couldn’t understand why her father acted that way, but I felt like I knew exactly why.

Simply put, he chose definite relaxation over half-hearted tourism. He must have been quite exhausted in his daily life to make such a choice.

“…The weight of being the head of a household.”

Aside from everyone’s individual burdens, as a fellow man, I could understand.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

“You’re so bland… Anyway, that’s how it is. I’m really looking forward to this! Actually, Jeju is practically new to me too.”

“Yeah, I told you to look forward to it, didn’t I? So you can expect great things.”

“Oh… Such confidence. What kind of course have you prepared to be this confident?”

“I have some photos. Want to see them directly?”

Just telling her the names wouldn’t mean much. So I showed her the photos I had prepared in advance. These were tourist spots I had my eye on for a while, also famous as essential dating courses for couples.

The scenery was visibly spectacular. As I swiped through various locations on the screen, Nabi’s eyes sparkled.

“Wow… Wait, Siwoo, this place looks really pretty.”

“Which one, this?”

“Yes, this place with all the cherry blossoms.”

The place Nabi pointed to was a cherry blossom road in Seogwipo. What made it a bit unique was that there was no sidewalk around it. So people couldn’t walk through it—it was essentially a road exclusively for vehicles.

“This is a road only vehicles can pass through.”

“Oh, I see. Then we can’t go there.”

“Why do you think we can’t go?”

“…Don’t tell me we’re taking a taxi?”

“No, why would we take a taxi?”

This is a rare day when we can be alone together, and taking a taxi would kill the mood. As I smiled confidently, a strange question began to form in Nabi’s eyes.

“Why are you smiling…? Siwoo, what are you planning? We don’t even have licenses.”

As Nabi said, minors under 17 in Korea have no way to obtain a driver’s license.

But that’s only for regular Class 1 and 2 licenses.

“Who said I don’t have a license?”

“…What?”

*

Moving to a new location, outside the hotel.

With Nabi following behind me, I arrived at the “meeting place” and looked around. An empty lot with few people around—perfect for a secret rendezvous.

“Siwoo, there’s nothing here.”

“Yeah, I know.”

That’s exactly why I came here.

“…What are you planning to do here?”

“Just wait a bit. It should be arriving soon.”

“What’s coming…”

I didn’t need to answer Nabi’s almost sulky question. Right on cue, a porter truck carrying the “item” I ordered was approaching us from the distance.

“Huh? That…”

Nabi seemed to sense something was up, looking back and forth between me standing with folded arms and the approaching truck.

-Screech.

The truck stopped at the entrance of the empty lot. Soon, the driver’s door opened, revealing a middle-aged man with a rough appearance.

He approached us, his bald head reflecting the light.

“…Siwoo, that person. He’s coming toward us.”

When the intimidating bald man took a step, Nabi’s body flinched.

Then with a “-hic,” she let out a shrill scream and quickly hid behind my back.

Well… that guy did look a bit threatening. If I didn’t know what was going on, I might have run away too.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.”

“F-fine? It doesn’t seem fine at all…! He’s frowning at us.”

It’s not like that—he’s just squinting to see who we are. The guy has poor eyesight.

While we were having this little back-and-forth, the intimidating bald man had already approached us. I casually raised my hand to signal him.

“Over here.”

“Are you Han Siwoo who contacted us?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“May I check your ID?”

“Is a driver’s license okay?”

The intimidating bald man nodded, and I took out my motorcycle license from my wallet and handed it to him.

“Hmm…”

The bald man squinted hard as he examined the license, and then…

“Oh my, you are indeed our customer. I apologize for doubting you. The world is so dangerous these days.”

His attitude completely changed to one of extreme friendliness. Surprised by the gap, Nabi made an “Eh…?” sound from behind my back.

“Yes, should I make the payment now?”

“Oh, no. You can do it after checking the item.”

“Well, I don’t think I need to check it.”

Since he’s not the type to play tricks with this kind of thing, I just coolly transferred the money.

“Oh my, you could have taken your time…”

“Let me see the item.”

“Of course you should. Please wait a moment. I’ll bring it over.”

The intimidating—no, now friendly—bald man ran off as if his feet were on fire. Nabi, who had been blankly watching him leave, finally turned her gaze to me.

“S-Siwoo? What is all this about?”

“What do you mean? I’m renting a motorcycle.”

“M-motorcycle rental?”

“Yes. Rental.”

“Wait… rental? But do they really rent to minors?”

“Most places don’t. But…”

Insurance is expensive for those under 21.

“But what?”

“…In this world, nothing is impossible with money.”

“I-is that what you should be saying…? How much did you pay?”

“How much do you think? Try to guess.”

“Um… I don’t really know about these things…”

“I’ll give you a hint.”

I held up one index finger. Nabi’s emerald eyes gleamed with curiosity.

“Um… 100,000 won? That’s not as expensive as I thought…”

“It’s not 100,000 won.”

“…Then how much is it?”

“Add another zero at the end.”

“Another zero…?”

Nabi didn’t seem to understand right away and stared at me with blank eyes for a moment.

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, her eyes widened as big as saucers, and her mouth fell open.

“O-one million won? Siwoo, you spent a million won to rent this?”

The conversation ended there because the friendly bald man returned, pulling a black bike toward us.

“You really have good taste, sir. This model is so popular you can’t even get it these days. Despite being only 125cc, the specs are truly amazing…”

“For return, I just leave it around here, right?”

“Ah, yes. Just mark the location, and we’ll take care of the pickup.”

Offering pickup for a rental motorcycle return is an extremely generous service for a one-day rental. Indeed, nothing is impossible with money.

“Alright, thank you for your help.”

“Yes, yes. Please drive safely, and I wish you a wonderful day.”

I thought he was being excessively deferential for dealing with a minor, but I figured that was just his natural disposition.

The bald man gave me one final greeting before getting into his truck and disappearing.

“Hmm.”

I looked at the front of the bike the bald man had left behind. The sleek black-painted body, large silver exhaust pipe, and a profile that was both classic and sharp.

A design sufficient to tickle any man’s heart. I nodded with satisfaction. In the original work, they said money could buy anything, so I decided to try it out, and I’m quite satisfied with the result.

“This is exactly what I wanted.”

“What do you mean ‘exactly’… Siwoo, you know how to ride a motorcycle too?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I learned before.”

I answered without thinking much when she asked, but somehow Nabi looked at me with a strange gaze.

She had a face that suggested she was misunderstanding something.

“Just to be clear, it’s not what you’re thinking.”

“What am I thinking?”

That’s obvious. When a minor says they know how to ride a bike, most Koreans typically label them as either a delinquent or a future Chinese restaurant delivery person.

“I didn’t learn it to show off. I learned it directly from my brother.”

“…You learned from your brother, Siwoo?”

“Yeah, why?”

“That’s strange. I never heard that you had an older brother.”

Nabi muttered with a puzzled face, and only then did I realize I had misspoken. I must have gotten confused for a moment. I corrected myself belatedly.

“…No, not a real brother. More like someone who’s like a brother to me. Anyway, are you done with your questions?”

Continuing the conversation would only increase suspicion. Without further ado, I got on the driver’s seat of the bike.

I turned the key the bald man had left in the ignition and pulled the throttle hard once.

-VROOOM!

“Ah…! That startled me.”

A powerful engine sound that was hard to believe came from a 125cc class bike. Nabi looked at me, startled.

“T-the sound is really loud.”

“It’s expensive, after all.”

I didn’t mention it to avoid shocking her, but this motorcycle I’m riding is a model that easily exceeds 10 million won for a new one. There’s a reason the rental fee alone was around a million won.

“Just how expensive is this thing you rented…”

Nabi seemed like she wanted to probe further, but I cut her off preemptively.

“Shh.”

The very gesture Nabi had made to me yesterday.

Now the situation is reversed. I placed my index finger on my lips, signaling her not to say more, and stared at her.

Then, with a mischievous smile, I pointed to the seat behind me with my thumb.

“Get on. Let’s go on our date.”