Chapter 16: Sweet Rewards After the Feast

“ugh…”

The booth was all packed up, and she was back in her normal clothes, waiting at the appointed place for Min Jungyun.

Every hour, every minute, every second Min Hayoon waited for Min Jungyun was pure joy.

Current balance: 21,687,329W

How could she not be happy.

The first digit of her bank balance was 2.

Not 20,000 won, not 200,000 won, not 2,000,000 won, but 20,000,000 won.

“This is it!”

How many sixteen-year-olds in the world could earn 20 million won?

Of course, even that sixteen was only a few days away, but still!

Min Hayoon couldn’t suppress the twitching corners of her mouth, and she fiddled with her phone, covering her mouth with one hand.

[much-talked-about booth review]

-The quality is beyond words.

The goods are just pretty, and the owner is even prettier.

-Damn… I should have gone to buy the goods…

!!!

-It’s that person from AGC, crazy;;

In just a few hours, she had regained her composure and entered the Girl’s War gallery, where many people were already praising Min Hayoon.

Compliments on her appearance, compliments on the goods, compliments on the service, all sorts of praises were being lavished on her.

[But it wasn’t for nothing that she made a cosplay pledge]

-She’s just a top-tier cool beauty;;

-Originally, really ugly girls have such low self-esteem that they can’t even make empty promises about cosplay pledges.

-Inferior girls don’t even get mentioned.

Especially the compliments about her appearance were more than Min Hayoon had imagined.

There were even posts saying that people were drawn in by her pictures and ended up buying goods out of embarrassment.

It felt like the correlation between goods and cosplay had been completely reversed…

“But either way, it put money in my pocket.”

Min Hayoon thought it was a good thing, and after browsing the community a bit more…

“Hayoon. Let’s go eat.”

“Yes! Let’s go!”

Min Jungyun, who came to pick her up at just the right time, and Min Hayoon headed back to Seoul together.

“Really? All that?”

“I told you.”

“Whoa…”

On the way back.

Min Jungyun was amazed by Min Hayoon’s business acumen.

“How much did you make?”

“Hey, you shouldn’t ask family about that.”

“Well, I guess that’s true.”

Min Hayoon subtly refused Min Jungyun’s question about the exact amount and didn’t reveal the precise figure.

She had already told him that her membership income was 1 million won per month…

‘20 million won is too much for a sixteen-year-old.’

There were so many places she needed to spend money on in the future, and she was worried that if she revealed the exact amount, her parents might say ‘Let us take care of it’ and take it away.

Min Jungyun might be okay, but Yoon Suhee, who had been increasingly interfering lately, was a concern.

In times like these, revealing all the money she had earned might not be the best move…

‘I should buy them some meat later and grill it for them.’

“What should we eat for dinner?”

“At first, I thought about eating out, but I think it’s better to eat at home.”

“Really?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to buy something from a place like Outback and bring it home? Mom should rest since it’s the weekend.”

“Yeah, let’s do that then.”

How could she reassure her parents with the money she had earned while also using it efficiently to prepare for the status window’s tyranny?

Min Hayoon was preoccupied with that thought.

“This is the first time I’m looking into a place like this…”

Right after returning home.

For the first time in her life, Min Hayoon started to make a reservation at a restaurant.

Perhaps it was because the process of making a reservation at a so-called Michelin-grade restaurant was complicated for a minor, and the prices were also quite high.

The options available to Min Hayoon, who was still only sixteen, were not many.

But…

“I-is it done…?”

Still, failure was not an option.

Min Hayoon dramatically succeeded in booking a dinner for December 31st.

The last day of 2019.

It was a restaurant attached to a well-known hotel in Seoul with good reviews, so she thought that even her parents, who had a refined palate, would give it a good review.

The problem now was how to get the two of them to the restaurant…

“I’m good with it.”

Min Jungyun readily agreed as if he had been secretly waiting for something like this.

“Hmm… A restaurant? Dinner? You?”

“Yes, I made a reservation?”

“Where did you get the money?”

Yoon Suhee was quite persistent, asking Min Hayoon about the source of the money…

“What are you asking? Are you complaining even though our child is being filial?”

“No, if you say it like that, what am I supposed to…”

“It did sound a bit off.”

“Did it…”

Min Jungyun cut in immediately, winking at her.

This was clearly him taking Min Hayoon’s side, and Min Hayoon was momentarily grateful for having such a strong ally in Min Jungyun.

“Since it’s a restaurant in Hongdae, if we get ready now, we’ll make it in time for dinner. Let’s get ready quickly.”

“Okay. I’ll get ready quickly.”

Min Jungyun quickly finished the traffic control, pushed Yoon Suhee into the bathroom, and then approached Min Hayoon with a grin.

“You must have made a killing in Ilsan this time? To even arrange a dinner like this?”

“Yes, well… I think I earned enough to be filial.”

“Yeah, yeah, filial piety is good. I’m happy that our daughter seems to be ready to be independent. Hehe…”

Perhaps it was because Min Jungyun was the type to like family, friends, and money in that order.

Min Jungyun’s smile reached his ears, as if he never expected to be treated to a restaurant dinner by his sixteen-year-old daughter.

Min Hayoon responded with a bright smile, and so, as Min Jungyun also entered the bathroom where Yoon Suhee was washing up, a commotion arose.

“Huu, haa…”

Min Hayoon took a deep breath and mentally organized what she was going to say at the restaurant.

She was planning to settle things today.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Whatever tricks the status window was playing.

She wasn’t afraid.

#

2019.12.31.

PM: 10:30

The restaurant Min Hayoon had reserved was for the last dinner time of the day, the last of 2019.

Min Jungyun in a semi-formal suit, Yoon Suhee in a two-piece suit, and Min Hayoon, who only changed her school uniform vest, were guided to their seats by the waiter…

“I will introduce the menu. The dish that will be served this time is an appetizer from our restaurant that is good for stimulating the appetite…”

When the first dish arrived, an experienced waiter skillfully introduced the dish.

Of course, Min Hayoon, who was in a place like this for the first time, just looked confused…

“Mmmmm.”

“Hmmm…”

Min Jungyun and Yoon Suhee just nodded with a knowing look and enjoyed the waiter’s guidance.

It seemed that the two, who were quite well-off, had often visited places like this together without Min Hayoon knowing.

‘Seriously, this is ridiculous…’

It’s nice that they maintain the sweetness of a young couple even during their married life, but shouldn’t they pay a little attention to their child?

“Don’t rush, eat slowly.”

“In a place like this, you should enjoy the taste rather than feeling like you’re filling your stomach.”

Min Hayoon, who didn’t know how to eat in a place like this, was grateful for her parents’ occasional advice…

It was a strange situation.

And so, as time passed, the full course was coming to an end, and midnight was approaching.

With only the last dessert remaining, Min Hayoon, who had been quietly eating, finally spoke.

“Um…”

“What?”

Yoon Suhee, who was slightly tipsy, looked at Min Hayoon with a prim expression.

She seemed a bit drunk after a few glasses of wine.

“I earned some money this time?”

“Money? How?”

“By selling my drawings.”

“Drawings? Ah, illustrations? Illustrations…”

“Yes, illustrations.”

Yoon Suhee, with a more upbeat voice than usual, repeatedly asked Min Hayoon questions and answered them herself.

“So, I was thinking of using this money, would that be okay?”

“Really…? Is that okay…?”

It felt a bit sly to get an answer from a drunk Yoon Suhee like this…

“Wouldn’t it be okay? It’s money our daughter earned herself. It’s like her first paycheck.”

“First paycheck… that’s important…”

But Min Jungyun was also helping out a lot from the side.

“Use it as you please!”

“Thank you, Mom!”

“Hehe, sure…”

Wouldn’t it be okay to get an answer like this?

‘Alright, now I can buy a 4 million won LCD tablet without being asked how much it costs…!’

Min Hayoon had overcome a big hurdle.

“Hey, hey, look, there are fireworks.”

“Fireworks..”

And then Min Hayoon…

-You, Min Hayoon!

-You have perfectly completed the mission.

-As a result, a bonus reward will be applied, and the roulette will spin twice!

She was finally about to receive something from this darn status window.

-The roulette is warming up.

She didn’t know what it was going to give her…

But something, something was about to happen.