Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 94

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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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94. The bridge must be closed immediately!

Friday, October 21st, 1994.
In the thick darkness of early dawn, a worn taxi glided across Seongsu Bridge with its headlights blazing brightly.

“If they’re someone you must forget anyway… turn away and don’t cry, wipe your tears. Tomorrow will come… tomorrow a new wind will blow again.”

The Taxi Driver, who appeared to be in his mid-forties, hummed along to the trot song emanating from the radio as he crossed from Gangnam toward Seongdong-gu. His face was etched with exhaustion, but working nights like this meant he earned surge pricing—better income than during the day.
Though fatigue clung to his features, the night shift’s premium rates made the work worthwhile.

“My throat’s parched from all that singing.”

While driving, the Taxi Driver reached for a bottle of Bacchus he’d placed on the console box and twisted off the cap.
Just as he brought the bottle to his lips with one hand still gripping the steering wheel—
The taxi suddenly lurched violently, as though he’d driven over something.

“Ugh!”

Startled, the Taxi Driver realized too late that he’d spilled the entire bottle of Bacchus down his shirt front, and irritation welled up inside him.

“Damn it, what was that?”

The Taxi Driver immediately pressed the brake and brought the vehicle to a stop.
Fortunately, it was early morning with almost no traffic, so stopping in the middle of the bridge posed no real danger.

“Please tell me I didn’t hit someone…”

Gripped by sudden dread, the Taxi Driver rolled down his window and craned his neck to look behind him.
At the expansion joint of the bridge deck he’d just crossed, a wide steel plate lay stretched across the surface—nothing more. No bodies, human or animal, were visible.
His eyes darting about as he surveyed the scene, he finally exhaled a breath of relief.

“Phew. That took ten years off my life.”

Confirming he hadn’t caused an accident, the Taxi Driver grumbled loudly, as though his earlier panic had never existed.

“Who the hell leaves something like that on a bridge? Damn, I really dodged a bullet there.”

With no one around to hear him, the Taxi Driver shouted loudly before pulling his head back inside and immediately driving away from the spot.
After that, whenever other drivers crossed the bridge and felt the severe impact from passing over the gap in the deck joints, they called the relevant department at Seoul City Hall to file multiple complaints.
Unfortunately, they had only taken temporary measures by covering the opened deck joints with steel plates, and dismissed the matter by saying they would conduct repairs once the weather improved.

* * *

6:40 AM, Hannam-dong, Seoul.
Seok-won stood by the window of his room, gazing out at the world now fully illuminated by the risen sun, and muttered to himself.

“Dawn has finally broken.”

His voice was hoarse, as if he had been chewing sand.
His eyes were bloodshot and his face slightly haggard—he hadn’t slept a wink all night and had been awake the entire time.
It was unavoidable, because today was the very day when the catastrophic collapse of Seongsu Bridge would occur.
It was such a shocking event that had turned the entire nation upside down that Seok-won remembered the details of what would happen today with crystal clarity.
Raising one arm to check the watch on his wrist, Seok-won let out a low sigh.

“Less than an hour left now.”

The bridge would collapse during the morning hours when traffic was heaviest, precisely when people were commuting to work or heading to school, which would result in even greater loss of life.
Seok-won splashed his face with dry hands and pressed hard against his tired eyes.
Spreading word that the bridge would collapse would only get him labeled a madman, and no one would believe him anyway.
Moreover, after the accident actually happened, he might face interrogation about how he knew about it.
So he had tried to alert people to the dangerous condition of Seongsu Bridge and other Han River bridges without revealing himself, but all his efforts had been in vain.
Yet knowing that a tragic disaster would occur soon, Seok-won had spent the entire night wrestling with whether he should simply pretend not to know.
But now there was no more time to hesitate.
After standing with a grim expression for a long while, Seok-won bit his lower lip firmly and made his decision.

“I’ll worry about the consequences later. First, I need to save people.”

With his resolve hardened, Seok-won picked up the car keys from his desk and immediately left his room.
As he bounded down the stairs with rapid footsteps, the Gunsan Housekeeper appeared from the kitchen, wearing an apron.

“Young Master Seok-won? Breakfast isn’t quite ready yet, so you’ll need to wait a bit if you’d like to eat.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m heading out right now.”

Watching Seok-won’s hurried figure as he rushed out through the front door, the Gunsan Housekeeper muttered with a puzzled expression.

“I wonder if something’s happened at the company.”

Seok-won descended into the garage in one swift motion and climbed into his BMW, parked in a spacious corner.
He inserted the key into the ignition box beside the steering wheel and started the engine.

Vroom, vroom.

As the rough engine roar echoed through the garage, the door slowly lifted upward.
Seok-won immediately released the handbrake and pressed the accelerator, driving the car out into the street.

* * *

7:25 AM, at the bus stop in front of Apgujeong Station.
During the congested morning rush hour, the bus stop was packed with students in uniforms and office workers.
The students at least wore bright, energetic expressions, but most of the office workers who had dragged themselves out of bed yawned with drowsy faces or stood listlessly in line, worn down by fatigue.

“Ta-da. Look at this.”

Hong Seong-mi, wearing her hair in a short bob and dressed in a school uniform skirt, pulled something from her bag and showed it off proudly.

“What! Isn’t that a bromide of Tae-ji oppa?”

Her friend, wearing a name tag that read Jo Su-ae on her chest, asked with sparkling eyes.

“It came as a supplement in a magazine that came out yesterday.”
“How did you get that? I rushed to the bookstore right away, but they were all sold out and there wasn’t a single one left!”
“Hehe, I bought the last one that was left at the bookstore in my neighborhood. You could say it was destiny sent from heaven.”

Hong Seong-mi wiped the tip of her nose and wore a smug expression.

“Isn’t my husband so cool?”
“Are you insane? Why is Tae-ji oppa your husband?”
“Because he’s going to marry me later!”

Hong Seong-mi threw her chin up and declared confidently.
Jo Su-ae gazed at her friend with pity for harboring such an impossible dream, then patted her shoulder gently to comfort her.

“Yeah, that’s right. Even if it’s a hope you can’t achieve, it’s better to dream big.”
“Hmph.”

Hong Seong-mi carefully rolled up the bromide and tucked it into her school bag, then spoke with a sulky expression.

“My brother just got new photo cards, and I didn’t even show you those.”
“Come on! After all the tteokbokki we shared, you’re sulking just because I teased you a little? Huh?”
“Hmph. Let’s see what you do.”
“Hey, are you really going to be petty like that?”
“Then forget it.”
“Ugh, fine. I’ll buy you a Banana Milk from the school store today. Deal?”
“Okay, deal.”

Hong Seong-mi, having secured a free Banana Milk, giggled and pointed ahead.

“Look. The bus is coming.”

As Jo Su-ae turned her head, the school bus was indeed approaching in the distance.

“Hey, what are you doing? Come on!”

The petite Hong Seong-mi grabbed Jo Su-ae’s hand and, reading the situation carefully, squeezed into the line forming among the people already positioning themselves.
Moments later, the bus doors opened at the stop, and people surged forward to board.
But because there were already so many passengers, the bus filled up instantly, leaving no more space to fit anyone else.

“Driver! Please open the back door!”
“Come on, move inside! Push! Push!”
“For heaven’s sake, stop letting people on. We’re going to suffocate in here.”

People on the verge of being late for school or work pushed and pulled at each other, cramming aboard like sprouts in a steamer.

“Su-ae! Hold the handle tight!”
“Okay!”

Hong Seong-mi and Jo Su-ae barely managed to squeeze onto the bus among the throng.

“The next bus will be here soon. That’s enough!”
“What are you talking about? Last time I heard that and got off, then I was late!”
“I’m serious this time!”
“Come on, just start driving!”

The Bus Driver shouted that no more people could board, but the passengers ignored him and continued struggling to wedge themselves inside.
Only after the entrance steps were completely packed did the doors finally close and the bus depart.

“Ugh. I can’t breathe.”

Hong Seong-mi furrowed her brow deeply in response to Jo Su-ae’s complaint.

“Taking the bus every morning is killing me. Seriously. I need to get into university already.”
“Are you confident you’ll pass the entrance exam?”
“It’ll work out somehow.”

Jo Su-ae chuckled at Hong Seong-mi’s carefree remark.
Through the rectangular window, the bus stop outside was still crowded with people waiting for the next bus.
Leaving those people behind, the bus departed toward Seongsu Bridge to cross the Han River.

* * *

7:30 AM in front of Seongsu Bridge.
During rush hour, countless vehicles converged on the road leading to the bridge, forming a long line and crawling forward at a snail’s pace.
The heavy traffic between the north and south sides of the river was exacerbated by the bridge having only four lanes in both directions combined.
The incessant honking of car horns echoed across the road, and drivers leaned their heads out of windows, peering ahead with expressions full of irritation.
Passengers packed tightly inside the bus wore tired, bored faces as they waited to cross the bridge as quickly as possible.
Among the congested vehicles, Seok-won’s BMW sedan was also caught in the traffic.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, Seok-won watched as vehicles continued to slowly enter the bridge and cross the river beyond the windshield, then his face contorted in frustration.

“You need to close the bridge immediately!”

Seok-won shouted loudly into the phone he held in one hand.

[I already told you that’s not possible.]
“Didn’t you hear that the bridge deck is separating and it’s dangerous!”

The City Hall Official who answered the phone replied in a tone that made his annoyance abundantly clear.

[You seem to be referring to a slight gap that has opened at the seam, but we’ve already implemented temporary measures for that.]
“You call covering it with a single steel plate a measure? What happens if the bridge collapses!”
[Really now. It’s not like the bridge was built with straw. It won’t collapse, so don’t worry. I’m ending this call.]

The irresponsible City Hall Official hung up the phone unilaterally without even listening to what Seok-won had to say.

“Wait! Hello!”

Seok-won cried out urgently, but there was no answer—only the hollow beeping of a disconnected line.

“Damn it all!”

Seok-won slammed the phone down roughly and cursed as he struck the steering wheel.
Throughout the drive, clinging to one last thread of hope, he had called Seoul City Hall multiple times to warn them of the danger, but all he received in return was dismissal and rebuke.
Seok-won frowned and reached for the phone again, then shook his head.

“They’ve ignored everything so far. There’s no way they’ll listen now.”

Even if they did listen, it was already far too late to control the bridge and prevent the disaster.
Seok-won raised his right arm to check his wristwatch and saw it was already past 7:35 in the morning, his lower lip trembling as he bit down on it.
If his memory was correct, the bridge deck would collapse in just a few minutes, and the catastrophe would unfold.
He lifted his gaze forward, and the Seongsu Bridge spanning the vast Han River came into view.
If he drove just fifty meters more, he would be on the bridge itself.
Glancing at the rearview mirror, he saw a bus packed with passengers following directly behind him.

“This is insane.”

There was truly no more time to hesitate.
If he could not prevent the tragedy from unfolding, then he had to save at least one life that would otherwise be lost—with this thought, Seok-won gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“If they won’t control traffic, then I’ll have to stop it this way.”

Seeing a white sedan traveling in the adjacent lane, Seok-won swallowed hard and licked his dry lips without thinking.
Then he pressed down on the accelerator and wrenched the steering wheel sharply to the side.

Vroooom. Crash!

A violent impact was followed by the loud sound of something shattering.
Gripping the steering wheel with both hands and looking ahead, Seok-won saw his car had smashed hard into the front fender of the sedan in the adjacent lane and come to a stop.

“Phew.”

Seok-won exhaled sharply, opened the car door, and stepped out.
From the driver’s seat of the vehicle he had deliberately hit, a man who appeared to be in his late thirties emerged, clutching the back of his neck with one hand.

“Hey! What on earth are you doing? How do you even drive?”

I heard the protesting man’s voice in one ear as I turned to look back.
The vehicles that had been following behind suddenly came to a complete stop because of the accident.

Honk, honk!
“What is it? An accident?”
“Damn it, I’m already in a rush. What rotten luck.”

Watching this unfold, I let out a small sigh of relief.

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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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