Chapter 6

6. New School Term Begins (2)

For most college freshmen, March is a time when similar routines of drinking and meetings repeat. It's quite natural for many to spend their days immersed in alcohol.

During this period, the core of freshman life is meeting seniors. Through departmental, alumni, and club welcome parties, freshmen meet seniors and gradually integrate into the university culture.

Yuseojun was no exception.

Around the second week of March, he met a senior from his high school alumni association. Having graduated from a rural boys' high school in Gangwon Province, he had no seniors from the year above him. There was only one senior, two years his senior.

While famous high schools in Seoul sent over twenty students to Seoul National University each year, his school sent only one every few years. Since there were only two of them, there was no real alumni association, but this made their bond quite strong.

Yuseojun's senior, Han Seokhyeon, was a business administration major. The first time they met, Yuseojun thought it would have been nice if he had also majored in business administration and become his junior. On the day he met Han Seokhyeon, he drank all the alcohol his senior offered.

When the alcohol started to affect him and his mind became hazy, Han Seokhyeon asked him,

"Seojun, are you interested in tutoring?"

Private tutoring for middle and high school students was officially banned when the Fifth Republic began. Initially, no one dared to tutor due to the severe crackdown. Over time, however, in-home tutoring started and eventually evolved into regular home visits. Currently, while commoners still feared the authorities and couldn't tutor, it was rumored that the powerful and wealthy secretly hired tutors. College students referred to this as "secret part-time work."

"Secret part-time work?"

"Yep, it's a place I used to work at, but I've been busy lately and want to pass it on to someone else. I think you'd be a good fit."

Under normal circumstances, Yuseojun wouldn't have dared to consider tutoring. He was too naive to think about breaking the law, even though the law was outdated.

Suddenly, today's diary entry came to mind.

*

March 13, 1987, Friday. Met a senior from the alumni association. He's two years my senior. While drinking, he asked if I was interested in tutoring. I hesitated because I had heard that the government was cracking down on tutoring. I declined for now.

*

According to the diary, he eventually started tutoring after the midterm exams. The money he earned from tutoring became his seed money for entering the stock market.

Judging by the timing, it was highly likely that this tutoring was different from what his senior was now offering. For a moment, he pondered. What if he made a different choice? Would the future change?

He recalled his first major class. By answering the professor's question, the report disappeared, indicating a change in the future.

This was a very sensitive issue. If the future changed, how much could it change?

He thought of the popular chaos theory. The theory that a butterfly flapping its wings in Beijing, China, could cause a storm in New York, USA. This theory, also known as the butterfly effect, suggests that a small initial condition can gradually amplify and eventually lead to significant changes.

According to this theory, a small change in his current decision could lead to enormous changes in the future.

Should he try to minimize his impact on the future, or should he change many aspects? What did the future Go Inhyuk, who sent him the diary, really want? He couldn't tell yet.

The alcohol he had just consumed made him bold. More than anything, he wanted to test the diary's effectiveness and see how it could change the future.

"Please give me that tutoring position. I'm a bit short on pocket money..."

It was true that he was short on pocket money. His parents sent him a monthly dorm fee and a small allowance, but that barely covered his food expenses. As a poor student from the provinces, it was difficult to even have a cup of coffee or a drink with friends. While it was hard to earn enough to cover tuition, he wanted to reduce the burden on his parents by at least covering his pocket money and dorm expenses. Of course, his senior knew this, which was why he was recommending it.

"How much do they pay per month?"

Although it was a sensitive question, Yuseojun asked directly.

Han Seokhyeon patted his head and laughed.

"Right, right. That's the most important part. The family is well-off. The father is a fund manager at National Investment Trust."

"Fund manager..."

Yuseojun didn't know what a fund manager was or what National Investment Trust did. At the time, financial companies in Korea were clearly divided by sector. Only three investment trust companies—Korea Investment Trust, Daehan Investment Trust, and National Investment Trust—were allowed to manage investment trusts.

With the stock market booming since 1986, fund managers, who managed customer funds by buying and selling stocks, became quite popular and familiar. Naturally, their salaries were beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

"So, the tutoring fee is a bit high. It's 250,000 won per month."

Considering that the monthly dorm fee was around 100,000 won and Seoul National University's tuition was less than 1,000,000 won, 250,000 won was not a small amount.

His senior playfully hit him on the back of the head as he gaped.

"Hey, there's something more important."

As he winced in pain, his senior continued.

"The student is a second-year high school student in the humanities and is very pretty."

"A girl?"

"She's also a good student."

"Really?"

He hadn't expected it to be a girl. It was rare for a male college student to be asked to tutor a high school girl.

"Wouldn't it be nice to tutor a pretty girl? You never know what might happen later."

While Yuseojun couldn't deny having some ulterior motives, it wasn't something he was thinking about at this stage.

Seeing Yuseojun's lack of reaction, his senior added,

"The goal is to get into Yonsei University. Kids from Gangnam are good at English, right? You don't need to worry about English, just focus on math. If you have time, you can also help with Korean and social studies. With a little effort, getting into Yonsei University should be possible."

As a student from the countryside, Yuseojun was relatively better at math than English. It didn't seem like a difficult task for him.

"When can I start?"

Seeing Yuseojun's enthusiasm, Han Seokhyeon smiled.

"Seems like you're interested because it's a pretty girl, huh?"

"No, that's not it."

"The sooner you take over, the better for me. I need to get out of it."

For Yuseojun, starting soon was also beneficial.

The idea of experimenting with economic-related investments piqued his interest. According to the diary, his life seemed closely tied to stock investments. By using the money earned from tutoring for stock investments, he could find a way to effectively use the diary. This could change his life and the country's fate, if the letter from the diary was correct.

**

The family that requested tutoring lived in Eunma Apartment in Gangnam's Daechi-dong, a symbol of the Gangnam 8 school districts. It was a neighborhood known for its high concentration of relatively well-off middle-class families and its strong emphasis on education.

When Yuseojun arrived at the address, he was somewhat intimidated. Unlike his home in the countryside, the apartment's interior was quite luxurious and decorated with impressive ornaments. The spacious living room, which felt like a sports field, was decorated with plants that added a refreshing touch.

He was greeted by a woman in her late 40s. She wore glasses and had a somewhat sharp appearance, but she must have been quite beautiful in her youth.

Yuseojun sat on the sofa she showed him.

The woman, who brought him a drink, asked,

"I've heard a lot about you. You're Yuseojun, right?"

"Yes, that's me."

She scrutinized him carefully. At first glance, Yuseojun looked like a bandit, mainly due to his build. However, upon closer inspection, he appeared to be a simple, honest young man from the countryside, far from being a sharp genius or a handsome star.

"From your appearance, you seem very kind. This is your first time tutoring, right? Since you just started college..."

"Yes, it's my first time tutoring."

Yuseojun answered, trying to shake off his nervousness. He had often been told he looked simple, but he wasn't sure if he was actually that simple.

The woman began to explain the tutoring details. Most of what she said was similar to what his senior had told him. The most important subjects he needed to teach were Korean and math. The student was weak in math but very good at English, so he didn't need to worry about English. Since Korean and math were subjects he was good at, he felt no pressure.

"Actually, my daughter is very sensitive to the teacher's personality. If you praise her, she gets excited and works hard, but if you criticize her, she won't do anything. I hope you can motivate her well. If you two get along, it won't be as much work as you think."

Yuseojun liked how the woman explained things calmly. She didn't seem like someone who would make unreasonable demands.

The woman took out a white envelope from her wallet and handed it to Yuseojun.

"As agreed, here's the 250,000 won advance. I'll give you the same amount on the same day every month. If her grades improve, I'm willing to give you a bonus."

The payment was straightforward. Maybe it was because they were well-off.

He smiled as he received the money. Yuseojun thanked her repeatedly and put the envelope in his bag. This money would serve as the initial capital for his stock investments.

"Your student will be here soon. She said she would come early today and only do half of her night study."

The woman brought out some snacks and offered them to him.

He ate the fruit comfortably while waiting for the student.

Around 8:00 PM, the doorbell rang, and a girl entered.

Before Yuseojun could stand up, the girl approached and bowed. She seemed to have a bright personality, as she appeared a bit clumsy.

When the girl lifted her head, Yuseojun was pleasantly surprised. As he had heard, she resembled her mother and had a beautiful face. She was on the shorter side with a slightly chubby face, making her look very cute. If she were to wear a bit of makeup in the future, she would definitely be a beauty.

Before Yuseojun could introduce himself, the woman did it for him.

"From today, this is the teacher who will help with your studies. You've already heard about him, right?"

The girl sat opposite him and looked at him carefully. At first, she seemed a bit scared by his bandit-like appearance, but soon she smiled.

"My name is Song Yeeun."

Yuseojun was struck by a shock. Song Yeeun. He had heard that name before. It was the person mentioned in the letter from the future, the one who would join the international speculative capital firm LTCM and play a significant role in destroying Korea's capital.

"It can't be."

He muttered to himself. There were many people with the same name in the world. The innocent-looking girl in front of him didn't seem like someone who would do such a significant thing.

Seeing his stunned expression, the girl tilted her head.

He quickly regained his composure and asked,

"How are your school studies? What math problems are you working on?"

They had a brief conversation about her studies. Most of the details had already been discussed with her mother, and the student was aware of what she needed to do, so there was nothing special.

On the first day, they ended with a simple test of Song Yeeun's abilities. Her bright personality was what he liked most. Overall, she wasn't a bad student to tutor, as he had expected.