(First published: March 11th, 2023)

Back to the present...

Ha-neul is the only one seated in Daekim Bank's Managerial Cabin, his face a blank slate while a million thoughts race through the deep creases of his mind. He brushes off the wrinkles in his coat, glancing at his equally baffled schoolmates and then at the woman seated behind the oval desk. How is she here?

The green hoodie enigma, Na Eun-kyung, drums her fingers on her chair arm, her legs crossed and placed on the edge of the manager's desk. She sighs, "Guys, sit down. I'll explain-"

Jae-seong shakes his head, his glossy hair now ruffled all over, "No, answer this first. Weren't you supposed to be in jail for like forever? "

"For the hundredth time," Young-ja snaps, digging her fingers onto the plush couch on her right, stern gaze locked on the actor. "She was released last year, through the former President's Special Amnesty list."

"I was released two months ago," Eun-kyung cuts in, taking a sharp inhale to cool down her boiling blood. "And guys, calm down. Let's sit and-"

"Really?" Jae-seong scoffs, gaze on Young-ja. He points a finger toward the manager's oval desk, "Her?"

"You think she can't get pardoned?" Seol-hee asks, her brow arched. Her wheelchair rattles as she approaches the person who called her ajumma. 

"She killed three people!" Jae-seong replies, turning to her when the sunlight streaming from the window falls on his face. "And all of them were our classmates."

Ha-neul exhales slowly, shifting slowly in his seat. His lingering gaze on Eun-kyung drops to the wood-paneled floor.

"As if you know their names," Seol-hee says, crossing her arms. "You couldn't even recognize your own friends."

"I did know them okay," Jae-seong protests. He extends his hand, counting as he says," Lee Hyuk, Gong Se-hun and Yoo Man-su."

Dae-ho shakes his head, rubbing his crinkled forehead as he approaches Eun-kyung, the rising bicker between his friends dimming as he frames what he's about to say.

"I don't know what's going on, but I need to get my loan issue resolved." He places his hand carefully on the manager's desk, beside the navy nameplate. "They'll freeze my account if I don't clear this in half an hour."

Eun-kyung turns from the riled-up pair to Dae-ho who shifts in his stance every second. She removes her legs from the table, placing her arms on it. She leans forward, "You loans are cleared."

Dae-ho widens his eyes, "What?"

Young-ja glances over her shoulder, upon hearing her old friend's voice zap through the heated argument between Jae-seong and Seol-hee. Ha-neul remains in his pose, for the couch he's seated in is closest to the manager's desk. 

"It was just a reason to get you here," Eun-kyung mutters to Dae-ho. "You did clear off your debts last Monday."

"So my bank account won't be frozen?" Dae-ho asks, his pale face brightening.

Eun-kyung nods, leaning back in her chair as her gaze shifts to the gang. "Will you guys just SIT DOWN?"

Being the closest, Dae-ho stumbles back, almost collapsing on the couch facing Ha-neul's. Jae-seong and Seol-hee flinch, the former softening his scrunched face upon meeting the ex-convict's fiery glare. 

Young-ja takes in a deep breath as she sits on the couch beside Dae-ho's, catching a glimpse of the silent hotel chain owner. How's he still here?  Doesn't HGS Corp. need their invaluable director?

"Thank you," Eun-kyung says, gaze on Jae-seong who takes a seat beside Ha-neul. Her best friend Seol-hee, is just a few steps away from the desk. "See, if we all calm down, I can explain everything."

"How did you do this?" Dae-ho realizes. "You know, I almost got a heart attack when the bank notified me of my 90 million won debt." He covers his mouth the next second, biting his tongue, why did I say it out loud?

Jae-seong's jaw drops, "90 million won?"  He leans forward, "Ya, how many kids do you have?"

"I don't have any," Dae-ho mumbles, glancing down at his shoes. One sick brother is enough.

"Sorry Dae-ho," Seol-hee says, casting a weak smile. "There was no other way to call you guys."

"Hang on," Young-ja cuts in. "So the Officers' Scheme-"

"Hasn't been implemented yet," Eun-kyung answers, interlacing her fingers. "I've spoken to the Bank President about this. It'll come into effect by the end of this year."

Young-ja looks away, stuttering on her half-framed question.

"You know Daekim Bank's President?" Ha-neul asks, his gaze stern on the ex-convict.

"Isn't it obvious?" Eun-kyung says, indicating her place in the sun-lit room. "Anyways, I wanted to talk to you guys about-"

"Then what about Imo?" Jae-seong stammers, his last chat with the elderly restaurant owner flashing in his mind. His eyes widen, "Did you-"

"YEAH YEAH," Eun-kyung bellows, slamming her hand on the oval desk. She glares at her four classmates, "Now let me speak. I haven't done so in TWENTY years."

A creaking silence prevails in the managerial cabin.

Eun-kyung clears her throat, "Yes, Jae-seong. On the day of my release, Yoo-na ajummoni invited me to her diner, and there I asked her to call you." 

Jae-seong takes a sharp inhale, about to react when he's stopped by a firm grip. His eyes meet Ha-neul's cold ones. He shudders as he withdraws his hand, that guy never fails to scare me.

"And about your MoU*," Eun-kyung says, shifting her gaze to Ha-neul while handing a black file to Seol-hee. "Manager Park has signed this, the rectified version."

Ha-neul stares at the file, the one thing that can separate Cheongguk Hotels and Resorts Ltd from the sinking HGS Corporation, slowly approach him. He nods without looking at Seol-hee when she hands the file, this was going to take weeks. He opens the file, flipping through its few pages, his eyes scanning every word, he did make the changes.

Ha-neul flits his gaze to Eun-kyung, how did you do this?

The ex-convict returns her classmate's astonished gaze with a small smile, "I'm the major shareholder of a few companies, Daekim Bank included." She turns to the detective, "That's how I'm here." 

A stunned Young-ja takes the blue file handed by Dae-ho, who in turn got this handed over by Seol-hee. Her brows crinkle as she reads the reports, "You owe 70% of Daekim Bank?" She re-reads the report, sighing when she sees the authentic logos and watermarks.

Numerous headlines flash before Ha-neul's eyes as he leans back. A pricking sensation in his head causes the answer to appear. "You're Mycroft Investments."

"Mycroft?" Jae-seong asks, brows furrowed. "What, like Sherlock Holmes' brother?" He laughs, stopping when he sees Ha-neul's unwavering gaze on the ex-convict.

"The one who owes ten major companies?" Young-ja says, raising her gaze from the file.

"Bingo," Eun-kyung replies. "Don't forget that I'm also the owner of twenty mid-cap and small-cap companies."

Ha-neul now widens his eyes, "How did you-"

"She had some help," Seol-hee cuts in. "I managed her shares while she was in jail."

Eun-kyung nods, rubbing her hands, "Okay, now that everything's settled, I wanted to talk about..." She trails off, clenching her jaw. She flits her gaze to the fidgeting software engineer, "Do you want to use the restroom, Dae-ho?"

Everyone turns to Dae-ho, who's found tapping his shoe vigorously on the floor. He freezes, "Um..." He turns to a glaring Eun-kyung, "N-no. I-I just..." He gets up from the couch, his phone held tight in his hand. "Sorry, but I need to go. I have an emergency meeting to attend in thirty minutes."

Young-ja is the next to stand up, "Yeah, I too have work to do." She checks her watch, Beom-ju might've brought Assemblyman Song by now.

Jae-seong clears his throat, watching Ha-neul button his coat while getting up. He waves off the hair that's stuck on his cheeks, "Um." His forehead creases; the excuse of leaving the room not popping up in his head as it normally should. "I-I need to go to- yeah, I've got an ad shoot to go to." 

Eun-kyung rubs her aching forehead, these people. She clenches her palms into fist, about to unleash her buried wrath when her gaze falls on her best friend. Seol-hee shakes her head with a small frown. 

Calm down, Eun-kyung. She tells to herself. Remember the close pod of whales.

Seol-hee takes in a deep breath, watching her friend do the same. She turns to the gang. "At least listen to what she has to say!"

Eun-kyung flinches, along with the rest who turn back, surprised by the youngest's outburst.

"It'll take five minutes only," Seol-hee pleads, her wheelchair rattling as she heads to the door. She stops right in front of it, barricading her old friends who stand just a few meters away. "Please, huh?" She latches on to the door handles.

"What is there to say?" Ha-neul asks, taking a step forward. Young-ja, Dae-ho and Jae-seong look at him.

"What?" Seol-hee replies, stunned. Her grip on the door handle loosens.

"I don't see a point why you both have assembled us all here," Ha-neul says. "And if it's about the Club." He shakes his head, "You're wasting everyone's time here, including yours."

Seol-hee sighs, not finding a word to refute him. Waste of time?

A nervous Dae-ho begins to approach the door, "Seol-hee, just open the door. If you want, we can meet during the weekend."

"Yeah," Young-ja says, now standing beside Dae-ho. "You should've told us about this before. We would have come."

Jae-seong looks down when he sees Seol-hee's stunned reaction, we would've never met.

Seol-hee exhales slowly when she finds her best friend's calm gaze, "Okay." She moves to the side, sliding the door open. "You can leave," she mutters, glancing down.

Ha-neul nods, beginning to walk out of the room. The rest follow him, Jae-seong's brows lowered as he catches a glimpse of his disappointed friend.

"Won Da-rae," a voice calls. 

The four friends stop; Ha-neul's breath shaky, Young-ja's parted lips, Dae-ho's widened eyes and Jae-seong's crinkled forehead. Won Da-rae? They all turn back, finding Eun-kyung approaching them, her hands at the back.

"Won Da-rae wants to meet us," Eun-kyung says. She casts a restricted grin, "As the Daydreamers Club."

*MoU or Memorandum of Understanding is a formal agreement between two or more parties (departments, companies, organizations), to take common action, conduct business transactions or develop partnerships. An example of this non-binding agreement is between the grassroots organizations and the South African municipalities to improve land and housing for the urban poor.