Chapter LXV – Summer Plans
After exiting the grocery store Arthur and Irene slowly made their way toward Don’s place, as their classmates and Sophie were already there. They didn’t buy much since Don had already gone shopping, but Irene didn’t want to show up empty-handed.
On their way there Irene noticed that Arthur was being quieter than usual. He looked outright confused and lost in thoughts. Irene pinched his sleeve while walking side by side, managing to grab his attention. He stopped before giving her a confused look.
“You okay?” she asked, smiling affectionately. “You’ve been awfully quiet today.”
“Oh, sorry. . .” Arthur averted his gaze. “I’ll try and engage more.”
She tugged on his sleeve again and shook her head. “Nah, that’s not the point. You can be as quiet as you want, I don’t mind. However, I can tell something’s bothering you.”
He could see genuine worry showing on her face before glancing at her hand that still held onto his sleeve. Arthur helplessly let out a chuckle.
“I’ll be honest, the last day or two have been confusing. I’m having a hard time putting it into words.”
“Well, whatever it is I’m sure you’ll figure it out and when you do I’ll gladly hear you out. If I’m able to help and you want it, you need only ask.” Arthur stayed quiet listening to her words, as a faint smile appeared on his face. She approached him closer and let go of his sleeve before running her fingers through his hair which he hadn’t cut in a while. He couldn’t resist looking her in the eyes. “You should get a haircut,” she chuckled. “Though you look cute regardless.”
Arthur desperately wanted to say something but the sudden compliment left him flustered. Her fingers still played with his hair as she blushed. He couldn’t help but smile as she openly flirted with him.
“Thanks,” he closed his eyes for a moment, focusing only on her touch.
“Good,” she pushed her fingers further through his hair past the ear before gliding them down his neck and resting her hand on his chest. “I have a surprise announcement for everyone. However, if you have any complaints about what I suggest, would you mind discussing it with me in private tomorrow? I want to go shopping for a swimsuit anyway, so I’d love your help.”
“Sure, sounds fun,” he agreed but was left wondering what a swimsuit was.
She smiled brightly before grabbing his hand and proceeding towards Don’s place.
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Entering Don’s apartment was a lot more entertaining than they expected as Tjay’s loud yelling reached all the way to the elevator.
“Stop doing that!” he yelled out frustrated. “Like holy shit, how can you be so bad?”
“Don’t blame me cuz you suck,” Sophie teased while smiling smugly.
Walking into the room, Arthur saw Tjay and Sophie holding PS5 controllers. Nabi sat on the couch facepalming in disbelief while Don just awkwardly observed next to her. Max on the other hand was in between the two as if they were gonna throw hands at any moment.
“Alright, chill dude,” Max defended Sophie. “Yeah, she beat you three times in a row, but there’s no need to yell.”
To Arthur, it sounded as if he was trying to rub it in even more.
“Of course there is! She just spams the same move over and over again,” he couldn’t accept that even she beat him. “Spammer. . .”
“Spammer?!” Sophie took offense crossing her arms. “Maybe you should learn how to block noob.”
“You don’t even know what that means!”
“Want me to define it for you? It’s easy,” she grinned pointing a finger at him. “Though, if you want I could apologize. . .”
“Youuu. . .” he growled before letting out a defeated sigh, finally lowering his voice.
Everyone burst into laughter as Sophie tapped Tjay’s shoulder. Once everyone finally settled down, Irene cleared her throat.
“Alright everyone,” Irene poured herself a drink. “If I may have your attention, I have a surprise announcement.” She suspiciously looked at everyone, especially Tjay, but was surprised to find herself uninterrupted by a dumb joke. “Hmmm, interesting. . . Anyway, Amelia and I have discussed this for a while now in order to set everything up and I’m happy to announce that we officially have access to our beach house near Yeonggwang. I was hoping that we could all go together and enjoy ourselves. The house is pretty big and if we are smart about the sleeping arrangement, I’m sure we could fit easily at least fifteen people.”
Everyone responded enthusiastically to the announcement and Arthur finally understood what she meant by discussing it tomorrow with her in private. She was worried he’d bring up money and refuse on the spot.
“I’ve talked to the girls already about potentially going somewhere this summer. Can I invite them as well?” Sophie asked.
“Of course!” Irene smiled. “I just couldn’t gather all of you at once, so it’s up to you to invite anyone else. Nabi, I assume you’ll be inviting your boyfriend as well.”
“I could invite him, but are you sure it’s okay?” she looked worried that others might disapprove.
“Let’s put it to a vote then, I think that’s fair. All in favor of Nabi bringing her boyfriend raise your hand,” Irene raised her hand first.
Nabi was relieved to see everyone including Tjay in agreement. Had anyone said no, she wouldn’t have invited him.
“I’ll finally get the chance to properly meet him,” Tjay chuckled, genuinely fine with the idea.
Nabi nodded happily before taking out her phone to send him a message.
“I’ll invite Iseul then,” Max said.
“Amelia is with her right now so she’ll explain everything.”
“So. . .” Max began to count on his fingers. “If I’m not wrong, there’ll be twelve of us.”
Irene looked up with one eye closed as she counted. “I believe you’re right. . . However, feel free to invite anyone else you might want. Like I said we can fit a few more people in.”
“How long can we stay there?” Sophie asked.
“Well. . . We’ll have the house to ourselves and nobody’s coming over, so as far as I’m concerned we can stay there all summer.”
Irene glanced worriedly toward Arthur as he hadn’t said a word.
Seeing that, he smiled and nodded approvingly, deciding to leave his worries behind and just focus on the present. Any issues they might come across he planned to deal with later and since Sophie wasn’t worried about it at all he figured it wasn’t such a big deal either.
“The only issue with might have is how we’re gonna get there. Obviously, we can’t all fit in a car and none of us can drive. Amelia has borrowed my uncle’s car, so that’s enough for a few of us.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“If Iseul is coming with us then she can borrow dad’s car. Since she’d be the one asking I doubt that’ll be a problem.”
“We could always take the bus,” Sophie suggested after googling it. “It’s about a three-hour drive anyway.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Tjay spoke up finally. “If anyone remains without a ride, I’ll just ask for my dad to lend us one of the company cars.”
Arthur sometimes forgot how rich some of his friends were. Considering that both travel expenses and housing were secured, he only needed to worry about food. Irene would probably kill him if he refused to go because of that which was obviously why she delayed their talk for tomorrow.
“There’s also a high chance that Ari’s dad gives us a ride,” Sophie mentioned.
“I’m gonna see if Hyun is going first before I decide how I travel, but we’ll get it sorted out. Still, I can’t stay the entire summer. . .” Nabi pointed out.
“I don’t think Iseul and I can either, but we’ll stay as long as possible.”
“As I said, we can stay as long as we want so we’ll figure it out as we go.”
“I have an air mattress at home if we need it,” Max offered.
“Hmm. . . There are two bedrooms fitted with large beds and three guest rooms with two separate ones. Also, someone could sleep on the couches downstairs or an air mattress that I think we have? I’m not entirely sure if my parents took it so I’ll have to ask. I do know that Amelia will likely want a bed of her own considering we share one at home every day,” Irene explained. “However, I don’t mind sharing mine.”
“Hyun just said he’s willing to go but he needs to check with his dad,” Nabi said as she put her phone down.
“I’m guessing you’ll want one of the bedrooms then?” Irene asked.
“No, no. . . I’d rather we get a guest room with separate beds. . .”
“Alright, that’s easy enough. If you wanna switch later just tell me and we’ll get it sorted.”
“Thanks.”
“Boys, you fine sleeping in the living room so that the girls can split the guestrooms?” Irene asked.
“It’d be lame if we let you sleep on the couch,” Max nodded in agreement before looking back at the boys. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out once we’re there.”
“Alright, then that settles it. We’ll discuss things further in the group chat once we know who’s going for sure,” Irene leaned back satisfied that everyone agreed.
“I’ll make us a separate group chat with everyone in it so we don’t get flooded with messages unrelated to the trip,” Don added. “Oh, and I can totally bring some of my games if we wanna play.”
“Do you have any board games?” Irene asked.
“Ha! Are you underestimating my collection? Let me show you,” he smiled before rushing off to his room.
Irene never knew what she signed up for when she dared ask such a question. However, she was more than willing to look through it as she enjoyed a good board game. Eventually, the group picked up a few they seemed to enjoy the most and ended up playing a game or two before everyone had to go home.
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Sitting home alone as Sophie went to Ari’s place, Arthur sat on the couch with his phone in hand.
Irene – I’m so hyped for the trip.
Me too. Hopefully everyone goes. – Arthur
Irene – Which reminds me, are we still going tomorrow?
Shopping? Yeah, why wouldn’t we? – Arthur
Irene – Cool! But before we go there, I was hoping we could drop by near the riverside and I could start teaching you how to ride a bike? I’m sure you’ll learn quickly and you said it was something you’d be interested in doing.
Should I call you Teacher? – Arthur
Irene – Should I dress up as one?
Irene – That was a joke... I’d die from heatstroke.
I’m guessing I should dress up as if I’m going running? – Arthur
Irene – Yeah but don’t wear black...
When do you wanna meet up? – Arthur
Irene – 9am?
Sure, I’ll pick you up. – Arthur
The front door opened as Ryung returned home.
Gotta go, Grandpa’s back – Arthur
Irene – Alright, ttyl <3
“Welcome home,” Arthur said to Ryung as he watched him come into the living room.
He was holding a plastic bag with dinner packed up.
“Where’s Sophie?”
“She’s at Ari’s place.”
“We hardly get to see her home these days,” he chuckled. “I’m surprised you’re here.”
“I was planning on staying at Don’s place but I had something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What is it?” he sat down next to Arthur.
“Hear me out first,” he prepared Ryung for a longer conversation. “Irene and her sister have invited us to their beach house somewhere near Yeonggwang for the summer. Now, before you say anything I’d like to point out that we don’t know how long we’d be staying there, but there’s no logging and travel cost so it’s a pretty good offer. Sophie is excited as well and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in going. Basically, I wanted to ask for your permission because we’d be leaving you alone pretty much. However, you don’t have to worry about financing our trip. We’ll work something out. Sophie mentioned her having a job online, and I’ll see what I can do as well.”
“Art-”
“Of course, if you need any help before we leave I’ll be glad to do so. Not that I wouldn’t do it regardless.”
“Art. . .-”
“And I-”
“Arthur!” he yelled out before he burst into laughter. “Calm down for a second.”
“Sorry. . .” Ryung could tell how excited Arthur was.
While it was weird asking for permission, he couldn’t handle the thought of not going.
“I never said you couldn’t go so stop worrying so much. Besides, I’ve been thinking about what you’ve said and I’ve decided it’s finally time to give you something. But only if you promise to be responsible.”
“Alright?” he looked confused.
Ryung got up and walked over to a nearby bookshelf before pulling out an old book called ‘The Art of War’. Inside the book, he took out an envelope that contained a credit card. Ryung sighed putting everything back before making his way back to the table. He handed Arthur the card and sat back down.
“What’s this?” Arthur asked.
“It’s a credit card.”
“I know that,” Arthur chuckled surprised. “I meant what’s it for?”
“That. . . That’s a difficult question to answer. However, I think it’s about time I let you in on a few things.”
“Okay?” he glanced over the card which he never assumed he’d hold.
“Arthur, I’ve failed you as a guardian. . .”
“Grandpa. . .” Arthur noticed Ryung was holding back from breaking down in front of him.
“Let me finish. . .” he took a deep breath. “Ever since your mother left and your father died, I haven’t been around as much. I’ve worked as hard as I could to make amends for the things I’ve done. In doing so, I only failed the two of you more. It’s a hard thing to admit, but I know the way we live isn’t ideal.”
“Grandpa, if you’re gonna tell me we could’ve lived better, don’t worry about it. Both Sophie and I are more than happy with what we have.”
“You’re being impossible,” he chuckled as a tear dropped down his cheek. “Listen, Art. . . We couldn’t afford a better life, but that doesn’t mean it’s as bad as it seems sometimes. The reason I said I failed you was because I could’ve accepted help, but I didn’t because I felt guilty. I allowed my guilt to influence your lives instead of swallowing my pride and allowing things to be different. Even now, while we don’t have to deal with having little to no money, I’m hardly ever home and you still couldn’t get everything a boy your age might want.”
“We’re all human and I wouldn’t change a thing. . .” Arthur said so, but the truth was he didn’t exactly understand what Ryung was so worried about.
There were times when stuff seemed unaffordable, but compared to what Arthur knew as true poverty, he felt like a king at times. However, based on the diary he read when he reincarnated, there were times when food was barely present and they lacked electricity as well. It was at its worse when Ryung lost his job and had to spend two months finding a new one.
“I know. . . Which is exactly why I’m giving this to you. On that card is money that your father left behind before his death. There is another card waiting for Sophie one day when I feel like she’s ready.”
“Why are you giving it to me then?”
“Because that money now belongs to you. I advise you to spend it carefully, but it should allow you to enjoy yourself until you find a job when you’re ready.”
“Just how much is on this card?”
“Fifteen million won. It should be more than enough to cover the expense of the trip as well and last you for a long time.”
“Excuse me, what! Fifteen million? Shouldn’t you take it since it would help you not have to work as much?”
“That money is for you. It’s what I deemed fitting. Sophie has the same amount waiting for her, but I’ll withdraw some to give her for the trip. Don’t worry, I’ve already taken a share beyond the thirty million which helped pay for any debts as well as covered our living expenses while I was dealing with unemployment.”
“Still. . .”
“Arthur, please accept that card and don’t think twice about it. Since I won’t be giving you an allowance from now on, I’ll already be having an easier time.”
Arthur knew that his allowance wouldn’t amount to that much in years which left him feeling guilty about taking it.
“At least let me pay for Sophie’s trip without you pulling the money from her account. It’s really not that much. . .”
“Alright, I can accept that.”
“I won’t ask you for details since you don’t seem ready to tell me, but there’s more isn’t it?” Arthur lowered his voice.
“Sometimes you’re too smart for your own good. . .” Ryung sighed.
He didn’t answer him directly and would refuse had Arthur kept prying, but Arthur got his answer regardless.
“Thank you. . . I’ll spend the money wisely. However, please lean on me if you ever need help. I don’t want you overworking yourself.”
“Just continue to study as you did thus far and I’ll be fine.”
“I promise that I will. . . I’ll get perfect scores next semester,” he smiled hugging his grandpa.
After their talk ended, Arthur returned to his room and kept looking at the card. He had no idea how to use it, but he planned on asking Irene about it. Arthur considered how he’d go about telling Sophie about the card and then remembered that a straightforward approach was always best for them. While he didn’t care for money, he was glad that such a restriction was partially lifted. Understanding what such money meant, Arthur finally had a goal in life and that was to help Ryung retire and enjoy an easy life.
Chapter End.
Thank you for reading.