I Have Too Many Money-Making Talents - Chapter 122

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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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Too Much Profitable Talent Chapter 122
After the awards ceremony ended, I returned to my room and sat on the bed for a moment, eyes closed.
The afterglow of victory.
The lingering afterimages of that grueling Game 2.
My mind was more exhausted than my body.
I’d kept my physical stamina in good shape, but my head still felt heavy.
A moment later, my phone rang.
It was Jung Soo-yeon, the director.
“Yes, Soo-yeon. I’m returning home? The day after tomorrow, yes—an afternoon flight. Understood. I’ll stop by the office right when I get back. See you then.”
I ended the call and breathed out slowly.
According to the original schedule, I should have returned today.
The Nichirenhai series was finished, and there was no reason to stay longer.
But I’d decided to spend one more day in Japan.
My first time abroad in my life.
Part of me wanted to see a bit more of the country.
But more than anything, I had an important promise to keep.
“I should head down now.”
I stood in front of the mirror.
I put on slacks with a lightly pressed shirt, and draped a single-breasted coat over it.
I didn’t want to look overdressed, but I also wanted to avoid looking too casual.
Still, thanks to consistent exercise, the fit wasn’t bad.
I left the room, took the elevator down, and headed for the lobby.
Most of the reporters had already left, so the ryokan was quiet.
The air was still.
The peculiar Kyoto evening air shimmered beyond the glass doors.
As I stepped outside quietly, the road in front of the ryokan opened up before me.
A moment later, a white compact car pulled up silently in front of me.
The passenger window rolled down smoothly.
From inside, a familiar face smiled and spoke.
“Get in.”
It was Yu Jeuh-ha.
I opened the door and got into the passenger seat.
The car smelled of subtle fragrance.
She handled the wheel with practiced ease, pulling out of the parking area.
The car carrying two people cut through the quiet streets of Kyoto and under the old streetlights.
“You drive pretty well.”
“I did it often back in Korea. I was never good at parking, but driving? I was pretty decent at that.”
Yu Jeuh-ha’s eyes crinkled slightly as she smiled.
The familiar playful tone.
That same smile from before.
I’d been worried, but I was glad to see she seemed to have regained her laughter.
“Thanks for the tea earlier, by the way. It must have been rough waking up that early—but because of you, I won.”
I meant it sincerely.
That cup of tea lingered unusually deep in my mind, and I knew I’d keep thinking about it before my matches.
“I’m really glad.”
Yu Jeuh-ha smiled, as if with a quiet sense of relief.
As I looked at her, I turned my gaze toward the window and asked carefully.
“But am I really okay to go? I mean, I was invited, but I don’t want to be a burden or anything.”
Yu Jeuh-ha’s invitation.
It was a dinner with her family.
A gathering with her mother, and her father, who was still in rehabilitation after his recent discharge.
It felt different from when I’d visited O Su’s home.
There might be cultural differences, but judging by the current atmosphere alone, it was like—
‘It feels like I’m going to pay my respects.’
Yu Jeuh-ha laughed lightly and spoke.
“There’s no need to worry! I mean, you helped me a lot when I was in Korea.”
“I got more help from you than anything.”
The advice you’d given me during my amateur days.
Your recommendation to the Gisung Research Group.
Even now, I realized how grateful I was for Yu Jeuh-ha during that period of my life.
“And she said I was the only person like me, so she wanted to treat me to a meal.”
“……Only?”
I asked the question without thinking, and Yu Jeuh-ha nodded quite naturally.
“Yes, you’re the only person like that to me!”
Only.
I wondered if that was really the right word for this moment.
For an instant, the weight of those words brushed past me.
It seemed like a phrase that could be misunderstood……but I didn’t press the matter.
I let it slide.
Then Yu Jeuh-ha spoke quietly.
“We’re here, oppa.”
In front of a traditional Japanese wooden house.
I parked the car in a lot where a modest garden came into view, and Yu Jeuh-ha rang the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
As the door opened, a woman with a graceful smile came to greet us.
“Welcome. Please do come in.”
“Hello.”
I was bowing in greeting when I suddenly lost my words.
‘Ah…… I finally see who Yu Jeuh-ha takes after.’
An air so refined and elegant, as if time had passed her by.
Though she had aged, there was something graceful and noble in her appearance.
If Yu Jeuh-ha were to grow old, I imagined she would age just like this woman—the resemblance was that strong.
“This is my mother, Saeki Yurihia.”
“I’m Kim In-ha.”
A brief greeting.
She smiled softly in return.
“Please, come inside.”
“Make yourself comfortable.”
Saeki Yurihia guided us inside with a quiet, measured tone.
The interior held the atmosphere of a traditional Japanese home that I’d only ever seen in photographs.
Minimal furnishings beneath warm, cream-colored lighting; ceramic ornaments arranged neatly on the shelves.
The only notable difference was that a sofa occupied the center of the living room instead of a traditional low table.
And.
A middle-aged man sitting in a wheelchair by the window.
Yu Jeuh-ha turned slightly to position me so we could face each other.
“This is my father, Saeki Takayuki.”
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Kim In-ha.”
I bowed respectfully in greeting.
He had passed the critical phase, but I’d heard his body hadn’t fully recovered yet.
Perhaps because he was still in rehabilitation, his breathing grew slightly labored with each word he spoke.
Yet his gaze remained clear as he looked at me.
A faint but unwavering look.
After a moment, he parted his lips with effort and spoke.
“……Welcome to this humble home. Though I’m in this condition, I’ve always been looking forward to watching your Baduk. Always.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed again.
Though the greeting was brief, I could feel the sincerity behind it.
Yu Jeuh-ha smoothly took charge of the mood.
“Let’s not stand around like this. Let’s eat and talk a bit more.”
A small, neat dining table in the inner part of the living room.
On the already-prepared table sat dishes that were clean and meticulously arranged.
Japanese home cooking.
Though I was tasting these dishes for the first time in my life, each one was delicious enough to make my eyes widen.
“Mother’s asking if the food suits your palate.”
“Yes. It’s delicious.”
I meant it sincerely.
It tasted far more heartfelt and refined than the set meal I’d had at the Ryokan.
Each bite, each spoonful felt distinctly different.
Then Saeki Yurihia gestured toward Yu Jeuh-ha, a warm smile in her eyes.
“Yu Jeuh-ha prepared all of this with great care.”
“Oh, Mom!”
Yu Jeuh-ha’s face flushed crimson.
Though I didn’t speak Japanese, I could guess well enough what was being said.
It must have been a comment that Yu Jeuh-ha had prepared this dish herself.
“It’s delicious. They say you cook well, and it’s true?”
I met her eyes and smiled.
Yu Jeuh-ha, flustered and at a loss, nodded her head shyly.
In that atmosphere, Saeki Takayuki, who had been eating the food Saeki Yurihia served him, spoke with obvious effort.
Yu Jeuh-ha translated his words.
“……Father says that the Fujisaki your brother defeated…… was his own disciple.”
“Really?”
I asked, taken aback.
“Yes. He’s from our Dojo…… a student who came up through Father’s lineage.”
Now that she mentioned it, I recalled hearing something like that before.
That he ran a Dojo in Kyoto and had produced several professional Go players.
I never imagined that Fujisaki, a 9-dan player and one of Japan’s very best, was also his student.
“Today’s defeat…… he says it will be a great lesson for Fujisaki too. As his teacher…… he’s truly grateful to you.”
He moved his ailing body with difficulty and bowed slightly.
An unexpected gesture of respect.
The victor receiving gratitude instead.
It was a bit strange, yet at the same time, somehow moving.
It might have been a cultural difference, but it truly felt like words born from affection for his student.
“I, too…… learned a great deal.”
I bowed deeply once more.
The application of Saseki.
The day my Baduk advanced another level.
A precious experience that had created the flow leading even to Checkmate.
In truth, it was I who had learned.
Looking at me, Saeki Takayuki smiled.
That quiet smile spoke volumes.
Soon after, Yu Jeuh-ha rose quietly from her seat.
“I’ll see Father to his room and come back.”
She carefully grasped the wheelchair handles and, supporting her father, disappeared into the room.
In that moment, the dining table was left with only Saeki Yurihia and me.
A brief silence.
In the slightly awkward air, she was the first to speak.
“That person…… it seems In-ha has taken quite a liking to her.”
“Pardon?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected words, I blinked.
Not fluent, but with clear enunciation.
That was unmistakably Korean.
“Korean, just a little…… from studying abroad in university.”
“For that, it’s…”
Both her accent and pronunciation were surprisingly natural.
Yu Jeuh-ha’s proficiency in Korean might have been influenced by her mother, after all.
She tilted her gaze slightly.
Following Yu Jeuh-ha’s retreating figure as she pushed the wheelchair and moved away from the kitchen.
It was a look that held something far more complex and profound than simple affection.
“A child who was…… spoiled in her younger days…… has recently become an adult.”
She smiled quietly.
A bittersweet smile, eyes glistening with tears.
Her husband’s illness.
It was the gaze of a mother, watching her daughter grow little by little through that ordeal.
“But in front of In-ha…… she seems just like before.”
I said nothing.
“It’s not a matter of whether she’s grown up or still a child…… it’s the desire to be a woman.”
Those words could not be brushed aside lightly.
They came from Yu Jeuh-ha’s own mother—no one else.
It was also a feeling I had been sensing dimly since coming to Japan.
‘How could I not understand?’
That her goodwill toward me stemmed not merely from regret in Korea.
That it wasn’t only my Baduk she admired.
And.
‘I…….’
Then, footsteps sounded from not far away.
It was Yu Jeuh-ha.
She approached the dining table cautiously, alternating her gaze between me and my mother before asking.
“……What were you two talking about?”
“Hm? We weren’t talking about anything.”
I feigned innocence with practiced ease.
Yu Jeuh-ha narrowed her eyes in disbelief.
“You’re lying. You know how mischievous our mother is…… tell me.”
“It’s a secret.”
At my playful reply, Saeki Yurihia chuckled softly and spoke in Japanese.
“Why don’t you two have some tea in the living room and chat at your leisure.”
She managed to slip in a wink behind her daughter’s back, turning the matter aside with practiced deftness.
Yu Jeuh-ha huffed in exasperation, pursing her lips before gesturing to me.
“Let’s go to the living room. I’ll make us some tea.”
We stood and headed toward the living room.
The framed photographs on the walls came into view—ones I hadn’t noticed before.
A group photo taken at the Dojo.
A scene from her Debut Ceremony, surrounded by her students.
Professional Go Player Yurihia during instruction.
And an interview article that had run in the local newspaper.
“Look, you’re here too.”
I pointed to one of them.
A young girl sitting in seiza before a Go Board.
Her gaze toward the camera was clear and bright.
Much younger and more delicate than she was now.
It was Yu Jeuh-ha as a child.
“You were cute.”
The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
“……Eh? What?”
Yu Jeuh-ha’s eyes went wide, her cheeks flushing crimson.
Her lips trembled as she stood there, flustered and at a loss.
I wondered if I’d made a mistake, yet at the same time a smile spread across my face.
Now that I thought about it, I’d never once told her she was beautiful or cute.
“……Is the Dojo still in operation?”
“Eh? Ah, yes.”
Yu Jeuh-ha continued quietly.
“That’s actually why I returned home early. My father’s health was a factor, but…… someone had to maintain the Dojo.”
I nodded quietly.
The responsibility she carried,
A weight that perhaps would have been too much for one person alone.
That resolve to preserve the Dojo.
It may well have been a burden too great for her to bear.
Yet she spoke of it with composure.
That desire to maintain the Dojo in her father’s stead.
That determination came through quietly but unmistakably.
As I looked at her, an emotion rose slowly within me that I could not easily put into words.
“Yu Jeuh-ha.”
I stopped her hand as she poured the tea.
I hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly.
“Tomorrow we were supposed to sightsee in Kyoto, remember? Would it be all right to postpone that?”
“……Eh?”
A flicker of confusion crossed her expression, which had been filled with eager anticipation.
I met her gaze and continued.
“Instead, could I visit your Dojo?”

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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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