Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 128

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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128. I’m not particularly fond of women who like peanuts.

A BMW sedan glided smoothly to a stop in front of the Seoul Walkerhill Hotel Convention Center.
Seok-won, dressed in a navy suit, quickly approached and handed a tip to the hotel attendant opening the driver’s door before handing over his car.

“Thank you.”

Seok-won looked up at the hotel attendant’s greeting, lifting his gaze toward the entrance.
There, a massive banner stretched across the Convention Center’s entrance wall proclaimed a special Andy Warhol exhibition, featuring a Marilyn Monroe print with wavy blonde hair, crimson lips, and deep green eyes.

“It’s not often you get the chance to see Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn in person.”

When my mother, Jo Deok-rye, had asked me to attend the exhibition opening in her place due to an urgent matter, I’d been reluctant. But hearing it was an Andy Warhol exhibition changed my mind.
Though I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about art, I did know Andy Warhol, the master of pop art, and I genuinely loved his work.
Before my regression, the pieces were far too expensive to own originals, but I’d been fond enough of them to hang reproductions in my home.
When I learned that the Marilyn series—my favorite among all of Warhol’s works—would be on display, I couldn’t possibly skip it.
With anticipation quickening my steps toward the entrance, a neatly dressed usher standing at the door asked me a question.

“Excuse me, but may I see your invitation?”

Today was a VIP event where distinguished guests were invited to view the displayed works first, so entry without an invitation was impossible.
I produced my invitation from my inner pocket, and the usher verified it before politely returning it to me.

“Please go in.”

Passing the usher and entering the exhibition hall, I found a spacious area with a stage set up and rows of chairs arranged neatly in front of it.
The invited guests were mostly women, and already about half the seats were filled.
I checked the number on my invitation and made my way to my assigned seat in the middle of the second row.
Glancing at my wristwatch, I had about ten minutes before the event would begin.
While I waited for the event to start, reading through the pamphlet I’d received at the entrance, I sensed someone sitting down in the empty seat beside me.
Catching a strong whiff of perfume, I turned my head instinctively and saw a young woman in a black turtleneck and long skirt, carrying an Hermès Birkin bag.
She had an overall air of refined beauty, though I found myself tilting my head in puzzlement.

‘I’ve never seen her before, yet something about her feels strangely familiar. Where have I seen her?’

Just then, the woman turned her head and our eyes met directly.
Not wanting to be misunderstood, I quickly redirected my gaze toward the stage, but unexpectedly, the woman spoke to me first.

“Park Seok-won, right? It’s nice to meet you.”
“…I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t quite remember you… Do we know each other?”
“Oh my. I thought my face was at least memorable enough not to be forgotten anywhere, but to have no recollection of me is rather disappointing.”
“I’m truly sorry.”

As Seok-won apologized, the woman covered her mouth with one hand and laughed softly.

“I apologize. Your reaction was so amusing that I was just teasing you.”
“Pardon?”
“We’re meeting for the first time today, so it’s only natural you wouldn’t know me.”

As Seok-won, still unable to grasp the situation, furrowed his brow slightly, the woman promptly introduced herself.

“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I’m Go Ah-hyun. By the way, Chairman Go Gap-jin of Hojin Group is my father.”

Then she smiled with her eyes as she observed Seok-won’s bewildered expression.

“And you’re the second son of Daheung Group, aren’t you?”

At that, Seok-won, somehow catching on to the situation, let out a hollow laugh.

“Is this perhaps a formal matchmaking meeting?”
“Formal matchmaking sounds too old-fashioned, so let’s call it a blind date arranged by our parents.”

Go Ah-hyun said, sweeping her long hair back over her shoulder.

“I see.”

So that was why he’d been asked to attend the exhibition in someone else’s place—there was another agenda entirely. And now Seok-won understood why Go Ah-hyun’s face had seemed familiar.
He could immediately piece together who she was.

“Are you perhaps Chairman Go’s eldest daughter?”
“That’s right. I’m currently studying hotel management at Cornell University, and since I’m on break, I came back to Korea for a while. I heard you graduated from Harvard University?”
“Ah, yes.”

Seok-won nodded politely while internally groaning in exasperation.

‘Of all the women in the world, why did they have to pick this bombshell.’

From Seok-won’s perspective, Go Ah-hyun was someone he absolutely could not afford to become entangled with—a woman who would trigger a catastrophic scandal in the future.
Every instinct screamed at him to stand up that very moment and say, “I’m afraid you’re not quite my ideal type. I apologize,” but he swallowed his pride for his mother’s sake and, more importantly, for the sake of maintaining relations with Hojin Group.

‘Fine. Just get through today with your eyes closed and impeccable manners.’

Once he sent her home, he could simply decline by saying something like, “You’re a wonderful person, but I don’t think we’re meant to be together.”
As Seok-won steeled himself with this resolve, Go Ah-hyun continued to speak to him warmly from beside him.

“I heard you graduated top of your class from Harvard University. That’s truly impressive. Most people would boast about such an achievement, but you brush past it so naturally—it shows real humility.”
“Ha ha….”

Just as Seok-won was struggling with the uncomfortable conversation, the exhibition opening ceremony mercifully began, and Go Ah-hyun’s voice naturally fell silent.
Seok-won exhaled an inward sigh of relief, feeling as though he were sitting on pins and needles, and glanced sideways at Go Ah-hyun’s profile.

‘Why is she being so forward? Surely she doesn’t actually like me, does she?’

The moment Seok-won imagined himself standing at the altar with Go Ah-hyun on his arm, he broke into a cold sweat and shook his head vigorously.

“Insane. Even the thought of it is horrifying.”
“What did you say?”
“Oh, nothing.”

Seok-won quickly fixed his gaze on the stage as if concentrating on the opening ceremony.

‘Being born with a handsome face is its own kind of suffering.’

With good looks, an athletic build, and a solid family background, he was undoubtedly every woman’s ideal husband material.
For the first time since his regression, Seok-won lamented his own appearance—the handsome face and the solidly muscled physique that captivated women wherever he went.
As he brooded, Noh Sun-hwa, the director of Walkerhill Museum of Art and wife of Moon Byung-kwon, the chairman of ST Group who was overseeing the event, took the stage and delivered opening remarks, briefly explaining the purpose of the exhibition and the featured works for about ten minutes.

“I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has gathered here today. This Andy Warhol exhibition aims to showcase the footsteps of a great master who broke down the boundaries between popular art and fine art and pioneered the genre of pop art….”

Shortly after, as soft classical music played, the distinguished guests moved into the exhibition hall and began viewing Andy Warhol’s displayed works one by one, listening to explanations from the museum’s curator.
Seok-won, too, held a pamphlet in one hand and toured the works alongside Go Ah-hyun.

“The Shot Sage Blue Marilyn you’re viewing is a representative work from the ‘Shot Marilyn’ series created by Andy Warhol in 1964, two years after the death of Marilyn Monroe, who was the sex symbol of the era. It was created using silkscreen printing on a promotional photograph of Monroe from the 1953 film Niagara. Warhol first printed her face in black and white, then layered multiple colors—pink for the skin, yellow for the hair—to complete the work.”

The curator continued speaking as he observed the distinguished guests arranged in a semicircle, admiring the work hanging on the wall.

“Many of you likely know this already, but there’s a famous story connected to how this work came to be called ‘Shot Marilyn.'”

The curator pointed to the framed artwork with a white-gloved hand.

“This piece nearly became a victim of gunfire, true to its name. When Andy Warhol completed five Monroe portrait works in different colors, performance artist Dorothy Fordberg came to his studio, stacked the Monroe portraits on top of each other, and fired a revolver at them.”
“Oh my.”
“How could such a thing happen…?”

As the guests hearing the episode for the first time gasped in shock, the curator continued with a smile.

“Fortunately, three of the works here, including Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, escaped the bullets, but two others were penetrated and later restored. Together, they’re called the ‘Shot Marilyn’ series.”

Seok-won, holding a pamphlet in one hand, gazed at the artwork before him and murmured softly.

“When Fordberg asked ‘Can I shoot you?’ Andy Warhol thought she was asking if she could take a photograph, so he said yes. Then Fordberg pulled out a revolver and shot the painting.”
“You seem to know quite a bit about art.”

Go Ah-hyun asked with sparkling eyes, and Seok-won shrugged.

“Not really. I just picked up this story because I’m fond of Andy Warhol’s work.”

Absorbed in the artwork, Seok-won quickly turned his head away from Go Ah-hyun’s admiring gaze.

‘Get a grip, Park Seok-won! One wrong move and you’ll step on a landmine!’

Whatever turmoil churned inside, he maintained impeccable courtesy on the surface.

“Well then, shall we move on to the next piece?”

After viewing the exhibition and sharing dinner at the Seoul Walkerhill Hotel Restaurant, Seok-won finally parted ways with Go Ah-hyun and returned home as evening fell.
Of course, he made no mention of an after-dinner engagement.
It had been an exhausting performance—flawless escort service while simultaneously conveying the complete absence of romantic interest.

‘If I did all that, she must have gotten the hint.’

Seok-won consoled himself that he’d done his best and released a relieved sigh.

* * *

The moment I stepped through the front door, Jo Deok-rye was waiting in the entryway to greet me.

“How did it go?”

Her expression was plainly eager to know how things had turned out.

“Sigh. You deliberately sent me to that exhibition instead, didn’t you?”

I shook my head wearily, and Jo Deok-rye’s expression turned slightly apologetic.

“If I’d told you to go meet a woman, you would have refused outright.”

She was right—I would have flatly declined if she’d called it a blind date.
I clicked my tongue and furrowed my brow.

“Still, please don’t do that again.”
“She’s such a well-mannered young lady that it seemed a shame to let her slip away.”

I found that reasoning absurd.
It struck me as odd to call Go Ah-hyun—who would later make headlines in such a negative way, not just in Korea but across the entire world—a well-mannered young lady.

“She’s been sharp-minded since childhood, attending Cornell University. Chairman Go treasures her as his eldest daughter. She’s studying Hotel Management, and there’s talk that once she graduates, she’ll oversee the hotel business under the airline, which he’ll eventually hand over to her.”
“So you’re hoping for a hotel as a dowry?”
“Well, it’s better to have something than nothing.”

Jo Deok-rye wasn’t the greedy type, but she figured that if my future wife’s family was well-established, it would strengthen my position too.

“I don’t expect that kind of thing from the woman I’m going to marry.”

I replied with obvious reluctance.

“If you want a hotel, I’ll buy you one.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not running a business, so what use would I have for that? I only want what’s best for you.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I still don’t like these kinds of meetings.”

Jo Deok-rye then probed carefully, watching my reaction.

“Didn’t the young lady appeal to you?”

I figured it was better to give a clear answer than to beat around the bush, so I nodded immediately.

“Yes.”
“My goodness. Why didn’t you like her?”

Jo Deok-rye asked, her expression openly disappointed.

“It’s her personality and various other things—we’re just not compatible. Most of all, I don’t care for women who like peanuts.”
“Peanuts? What on earth are you talking about?”

Jo Deok-rye blinked, clearly bewildered.
She had no way of knowing that Go Ah-hyun would one day make a name for herself around the world because of peanuts.

“It’s just something like that. I’m tired, so I’ll head upstairs now.”

I smiled bitterly before driving the point home once more, just to be sure.

“I have no intention of seeing her again, so please handle it tactfully.”

Then I climbed the stairs toward the second floor.
Watching my retreating figure, Jo Deok-rye furrowed her brow and muttered to herself.

“Peanuts, of all things… He must have really disliked her to come up with such an absurd excuse.”

Where in the world would you find a man who rejected a woman simply because she liked peanuts?

“He’s so stubborn about it—what am I supposed to tell Manager Oh?”

Jo Deok-rye wrinkled her delicate brow in frustration.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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