Chapter 12

So, although Yoon Hyun was in class, his mind was not on the lessons all morning.

－Come over for lunch, and we’ll have some Korean barbecue.

Before the class was over, Yoon Hyun received a text message from Jeon Bora.

Yoon Hyun had not mentioned to anyone about the encounter with the owner of the Korean barbecue restaurant, which was probably run by Kang Ho-dong, and he had quietly kept the autograph with a teasing signature.

Since Yoon Hyun lived far from the barbecue restaurant, when he arrived, Jeon Bora, Lee Ji-hyeon, and the not-so-familiar Ham Eun-jeong were already waiting for him.

"The meat is already ordered," Jeon Bora said with a lot of resentment.

"Unnie Yoon Ji-hye has work, so she can't come," Ham Eun-jeong, who seemed a bit shy and quiet, said. However, Yoon Hyun knew this was probably just because they hadn't seen each other in a while, and she would not be like this for long.

"Was your morning class tiring?" Lee Ji-hyeon asked with a lot of gentleness.

After hearing Jeon Bora's words and then Lee Ji-hyeon's question, Yoon Hyun felt his bones turn to jelly. Sigh, what a spineless otaku! But... why did he have no feelings for Jeon Bora at all, yet was so defenseless against Lee Ji-hyeon?

Could it be that he was really into mature women?

"I'm fine. How was your interview this morning, Bora?" Yoon Hyun nodded to Lee Ji-hyeon in thanks and then asked Jeon Bora.

"Hey, how could I focus on the interview after getting your call! Not only did I lose focus, but Eun-jeong's mood and performance were also affected," Jeon Bora said angrily.

"We were all very sad for Unnie Ji-hyeon," Ham Eun-jeong said without exaggeration, but the resentment was still obvious. The little devil inside her was starting to show its tail.

"Hey! You two!" Lee Ji-hyeon blushed, "I've already told you it's not like that, what are you trying to do!"

"Xiaoxian, can you tell me what's going on?" Yoon Hyun suppressed his excitement and said with a serious face.

"There's nothing going on!" Lee Ji-hyeon said with a red face, but her eyes were clear. "It's just that although I don't like those sappy and seemingly reasonable words, I felt that what you said to me was very meaningful, so I praised you a bit in front of Bora and Eun-jeong, and they misunderstood."

"Oh..." Yoon Hyun felt a bit disappointed, "It's fine then."

"Unnie Ji-hye, are you sure you're telling the truth?" Ham Eun-jeong still didn't believe it, and since she was more familiar with Lee Ji-hyeon, she was more relaxed, "Then why did I hear you say Yoon Hyun-xi's name in your sleep?"

"Hey! How could that be!" Lee Ji-hyeon was taken aback, her eyes full of surprise and confusion.

"Eun-jeong, I told you that wouldn't work," Jeon Bora shook her head, seeing that Lee Ji-hyeon wasn't fooled, "Ji-hye didn't fall for it."

"Ham Eun-jeong!" Lee Ji-hyeon shouted, a bit angry.

Ham Eun-jeong, however, was quite obedient. Seeing her plan fail, she immediately put on a pitiful face to beg for mercy, making it hard for Lee Ji-hyeon to be angry.

Yoon Hyun, watching from the side, was completely petrified. He knew that Jeon Bora and Ham Eun-jeong were good friends because Ham Eun-jeong was close to Park Ji-yeon. As for why Ham Eun-jeong and Park Ji-yeon were close, it was probably because they had similar levels in taekwondo and admired each other...

It was a chilling thought!

However, once they started eating, the more relaxed Ham Eun-jeong showed a straightforward personality that Yoon Hyun greatly appreciated. Although they were both taekwondo girls, compared to the fierce Park Ji-yeon, Ham Eun-jeong was much more three-dimensional.

After the meal, they parted ways, and Yoon Hyun returned to school to continue his classes.

In the midst of his intense studies, the summer of 2006 arrived, marking the end of another semester for Yoon Hyun.

When the final exam results were announced, Yoon Hyun set a record by completing all the credits required for graduation in just one and a half years.

And he even had some extra credits.

This made Yoon Hyun's name well-known throughout the Seoul National University alumni circle.

Even Kim Tae-hee, who was filming at the time, proudly said in an interview, "The student who graduated from Seoul National University in just one and a half years is my very close younger brother!"

Although Yoon Hyun felt a bit light-headed, he didn't get carried away. As soon as he had enough credits, he immediately applied for graduation and also applied for a graduate position in the Philosophy Department.

This was actually part of the deal with the department head to support his early graduation.

The main goal was to get his Ph.D. as quickly as possible.

That summer, the blood of a pseudo-fan from his previous life began to boil again, and he made a plan to go to Germany for the World Cup and make some money. Especially with the high odds on Italian football, which had been hit by various negative news, the odds were unrealistically high for a traditional powerhouse.

However, sometimes plans don't keep up with changes.

Just like how Yoon Ji-hye's unexpected pregnancy last year, this year Yoon Hyun had another surprise: due to his sun-like performance at school, he was honorably selected as a school representative to participate in many formal and informal political activities...

Yoon Hyun initially wanted to find an excuse to avoid it, but when he heard that he could visit the United Nations headquarters in the United States and meet one of Seoul National University's most famous graduates, Ban Ki-moon, he immediately agreed. Although the current Secretary-General of the United Nations was Kofi Annan, Yoon Hyun, with his memories from his previous life, knew that this person would soon become one of the most famous figures in Korean history.

After more than a week of intensive training, Yoon Hyun and nine other students boarded the plane to New York.

Stepping out of the New York airport, although Yoon Hyun had a solid foundation in English from reading papers and taking exams in his previous life, this was his first time in an English-speaking country, so he was a bit nervous and excited.

In this life, Yoon Hyun had long wanted to visit the United States, partly due to the otaku's obsession with the idea that there was a pre-9/11 America and a post-9/11 America. He really wanted to visit New York before 9/11 to see the Twin Towers of the Empire State Building.

But it was already 2006, and the Twin Towers had long since become history.

Yoon Hyun had no interest in visiting the ruins for American-style patriotic education.

Before visiting the United Nations headquarters, there was some free time. The other students chose to visit various famous places like Wall Street and the Statue of Liberty, and Yoon Hyun had no choice but to go along.

The Statue of Liberty, like the Christ the Redeemer in São Paulo, the Great Wall in China, and the Pyramids in Egypt, is a symbol of a country. So, coming to the United States and New York without visiting the Statue of Liberty is almost the same as not coming at all.

Since it was summer, the place was packed with tourists.

So, it was just a matter of queuing up for a visit and taking photos. Yoon Ji-hye knew Yoon Hyun was going to the United States to "do something big" and was very excited, so she designed six different outfits for him. With his well-built figure and casual but not sloppy hairstyle, Yoon Hyun stood out in the crowd.

Even some Chinese tourists in the queue were secretly taking photos of him with their phones.

Yoon Hyun quite enjoyed this feeling and smiled as he approached a girl taking his photo, saying, "I'm Korean, not a celebrity! Taking my photo won't do you any good!" in fluent Beijing dialect.

The girl was completely stunned by Yoon Hyun's accent and even forgot to press the shutter.

Yoon Hyun turned around gracefully and returned to his classmates.

"Yoon Hyun-xi, what did you say to her?" a classmate asked.

"Mandarin," Yoon Hyun said with a hint of melancholy.

"Yoon Hyun-xi can speak Mandarin?" the classmate was surprised.

"Korean, Mandarin, English, French, and a bit of Japanese," Yoon Hyun said, trying to sound casual.

"Yoon Hyun-xi could try to become a diplomat in the future!" another classmate said with a sigh.

Yoon Hyun smiled awkwardly, thinking to himself that he had no such desire.

Leaving the Statue of Liberty, they headed to Wall Street, the heart of the world's financial industry.

Wall Street was actually the place Yoon Hyun was most interested in visiting. With nearly ten million dollars in cash deposits in the bank, he thought it would be better to look for some undiscovered companies that would shock the world in the future, like Facebook, rather than let the money sit in the bank.

This was a kind of otaku's perverse interest. It wasn't about making money, but about the sense of participating in history, or as a pretentious English phrase would put it, "Be part of something big."

But he also knew that such opportunities were unlikely to appear on Wall Street. It would be more realistic to try his luck in Silicon Valley.

However, as a philosophy student, he believed in cause and effect. Although he wanted to join the game, he was concerned that his presence might change some factors and alter someone's fate, which would be a heavy burden.

To have or not to have, that is the question.

At that moment, he didn't seem like a philosopher but more like a superstitious old woman.

The New York Stock Exchange was not a good place for sightseeing. It was crowded, noisy, and more headache-inducing than a market.

So, the group decided to leave after a brief look.

Then it was time for shopping. Among the group, there was only one girl, who naturally received a lot of attention from the other boys, and many offered to accompany her. Yoon Hyun didn't join in, and with a slightly disappointed look from the girl, he began to wander the streets of New York on his own.

After all, this was the heart of New York, and there was always something to see.

After walking for two blocks, Yoon Hyun was a bit tired, so he ordered a cup of black coffee at a café and sat at an outdoor table, watching the busy New Yorkers pass by.

New York might not be the busiest city in the world, but it was definitely one of them. Almost all bustling cities in the world were modeled after New York. In the crowd just two blocks from Wall Street, many people would stop at this café for a coffee to refresh themselves, but now he was the only customer.

Suddenly, Yoon Hyun thought of his father, who was still struggling in Beijing with his graying hair, of Jeon Bora, who occasionally had red eyes but still smiled and went to interviews every day, and of his sister, who often held a piece of bread in her mouth while rubbing her feet in the dance studio.

At that moment, he felt a bit lost.

He knew why he was lost, but he didn't want to think about it.

In the bustling street, Yoon Hyun sat quietly.

It was a scene straight out of his favorite movie from his previous life.

It had a strange and eerie beauty.

The next morning, the group was ready. Today was the day they were scheduled to visit the United Nations headquarters, and they would meet with Ban Ki-moon, a famous senior from Seoul National University and the Korean ambassador to the United Nations.

All the arrangements were made by the ambassador himself, and Seoul National University's special status in Korea was evident. The students, who were outstanding in their respective departments, behaved like children, bowing politely to every staff member they passed.

This behavior naturally earned the praise of the two seniors.

After the tour, it was time for a luncheon, which was essentially a discussion over lunch.

Facing the two seniors, the students performed exceptionally well, speaking confidently and humbly, engaging in intelligent conversations that made the luncheon very harmonious and pleasant.

Yoon Hyun, however, maintained a confident smile but didn't say much.

This caught Ban Ki-moon's interest.

"Are you Yoon Hyun-xi?" Ban Ki-moon greeted Yoon Hyun.

Yoon Hyun was a bit flattered, "Yes."

"Yes, I saw your name in the alumni newsletter recently, and it left a deep impression!" Ban Ki-moon said with a smile.

"Thank you, senior. I still have a lot to learn from you," Yoon Hyun said, a bit excited.

"I heard you've already applied for graduation? You can learn more related subjects at school, like languages, which will be very useful in the future," Ban Ki-moon offered some friendly advice.

"Senior, Yoon Hyun-xi speaks several foreign languages," the classmate who was shocked at the Statue of Liberty spoke up for Yoon Hyun.

"Oh? Several foreign languages?" The ambassador also showed interest. He wasn't a Seoul National University graduate, so he wasn't aware of Yoon Hyun's achievement of graduating in one and a half years.

"Fluent in Mandarin, no problem with English reading and writing, but speaking and listening are a bit weaker, can read and write French, and can have simple conversations in Japanese," Yoon Hyun said after some thought, giving a relatively objective introduction.

"Oh? That's quite impressive!" The ambassador's eyes lit up.

"I've been learning since I was young, and my father even hit me for speaking better Mandarin than Korean," Yoon Hyun joked.

Everyone laughed.

With this interlude, Yoon Hyun naturally joined the conversation. It had to be said that these diplomatic professionals had the ability to make everyone feel at ease.

And Yoon Hyun, who was clearly preoccupied, felt this especially strongly.

The luncheon soon came to an end, and it was time for the usual group photo and autograph session.

"Yoon Hyun-xi, what would you like me to write?" Ban Ki-moon asked Yoon Hyun with a smile.

Yoon Hyun thought for a moment and said, "Could you write: To the one seeking dreams?"

Ban Ki-moon paused with his pen, thought for a moment, and then said to Yoon Hyun, "Dreams are not hard to find; just ask yourself. I think this message might be more meaningful for your future."

Then, he wrote on the autograph for Yoon Hyun: To the one who persists in their dreams.