047 Asan Paradise Hotel & Spa

"Everyone is here. The students did a good job."

At the office building of the Samsung Display Asan Production Base, the person in charge led over the junior students who looked as though they had just entered a correctional camp.

In truth, this place practically was a camp. Anyone who had ever worked in an electronics factory knew just how massive Samsung's production bases typically were.

The younger students all wore looks of detached enlightenment, as if stripped of all worldly troubles. A mere month of education at an electronics factory proved more effective than any classroom lecture.

Yoon Yun-hui closely observed the performance of two specific groups, as they were the leading candidates for the next student union presidency.

The first group consisted of Junior Female Student Choi from the Russian Language Department of the Class of '18, paired with her partner, Junior Male Student Park from the Public Administration Department of the Class of '19.

The second group featured a seasoned, worldly veteran—Senior Student Yan from the Vocal Music Department of the Class of '13—paired with his partner, Junior Female Student Kwon from the Department of Theology of the Class of '17.

Yoon Yun-hui belonged to the Department of Theology of the Class of '16, making that particular female student his direct junior and a trusted staff member. Unfortunately, she had a penchant for celebrity fandom and tended to neglect her official duties.

She had no interest in the position of student union president, but she was intensely interested in the student union president himself.

*Huh?*

Could "Our Yoon Fan Club" possibly be the handiwork of this trickster?

Yoon Yun-hui harbored another suspicion: it might have been orchestrated by his partner, Student Xu from the Education Department of the Class of '16. However, she was entirely consumed by preparations to study abroad and rarely seen around campus, so she likely lacked the leisure time for such antics.

*Sigh.*

Yoon Yun-hui sighed inwardly.

Since neither of these front-running pairs showed any aptitude for street activism, he might well go down in history as Yonsei University's final student union president hailing from the activist circle.

Back when he was a student, the campus still possessed a vibrant activist atmosphere. Nowadays, however, everyone cared far more about how to enjoy themselves while in school and what kind of jobs they could land after graduation.

Who the hell goes out to protest these days? Only weirdos do that.

Besides, Yoon Yun-hui hadn't secured his position as student union president through activist credentials; he had won based on sheer personal charisma.

Although still young, Yoon Yun-hui nonetheless experienced a pervasive sense that the times had truly changed.

Mainly because after becoming an actor, his profession seemed to have little use for the knowledge acquired in university. It was better to simply focus on filming straightforwardly, and he couldn't be bothered to espouse grand philosophies—preferring to leave matters to the wisdom of future generations.

"Let's get moving. Do you all want to keep working part-time here?"

Yoon Yun-hui teased. Jolted awake by his words, the younger students immediately grabbed their suitcases and scrambled. Yoon Yun-hui had rented a large bus to haul them all off to the hot springs.

Asan City boasted three hot springs. The oldest offered a traditional neighborhood family atmosphere, while the newest featured a water park and massive modern facilities.

The third destination, Dogo Hot Springs, was where Yoon Yun-hui chose to take his juniors.

After suspending operations in 2011, Dogo Hot Springs had been taken over and operated by Incheon's Paradise Group—the very same conglomerate behind the famous Paradise City, the one running the casino.

Consequently, the Dogo Hot Springs Resort had undergone a complete transformation, becoming a premier destination for leisure.

Even Samcheonggak in Seoul operated a traditional restaurant inside its grounds that was managed by Paradise Group.

Yoon Yun-hui maintained a fairly decent relationship with the Jeon family of Paradise Group.

Jeon Rak-won, the founding patriarch of the group known as the "Gambling King," was the son of an ordinary Protestant pastor. His sphere of activity had been centered around Jongno and Jung-gu, which was how their family had originally forged ties with the old Yoon family.

The Jeon family was exceptionally pragmatic. Operating in a specialized industry characterized by abundant cash flow, they never hesitated to spend money to ensure peace of mind.

Because of the peculiar nature of their business, the family placed a heavy emphasis on their children's education and enthusiastically engaged in arts patronage and philanthropy.

As for Paradise Group's bid for land on Yeongjong Island in Incheon to build Paradise City, the old Yoon family had lent a helping hand as well.

Without a doubt, the old Yoon family was a local powerhouse in Incheon. Back in the day, it was the old Yoon family that led the retreat from Songdo to Incheon, and the vast majority of Songdo merchants who followed them ended up settling in Incheon.

Incheon's most prominent university was Songdo University, its finest hospital was the Songdo University Affiliated Hospital, and the largest corporate taxpayer was a biopharmaceutical company founded by graduates of the Songdo College of Pharmacy.

Yoon Yun-hui himself had attended school at his family's private institution in Incheon during his childhood.

Even Yonsei University's establishment of an international campus in Incheon was influenced by the old Yoon family's reach.

Word had it that Paradise Group's youngest daughter was childhood sweethearts with his own nominal father, though whether that was true remained a mystery. What Yoon Yun-hui did know, however, was that Auntie Jeon had remained unmarried to this day...

*Huh?*

Auntie Jeon was also a director of the Songdo Memorial Foundation.

Though Yoon Yun-hui suspected that Auntie Jeon merely used that title as an excuse to avoid marriage, likely feeling she hadn't finished enjoying her single life yet.

The younger students grew deeply fascinated by the container-style guesthouses. Yoon Yun-hui simply purchased all-access passes for them, deciding it wouldn't hurt to let them play for a couple of days before returning.

As for Yoon Yun-hui himself, he found a random spot in the bathhouse lobby to catch up on a midday nap. Visiting graves had a way of dragging one's mood right down into the gloom.

When he finally woke up, dusk was fast approaching. Checking his phone, Yoon Yun-hui was surprised to find that, quite unusually, not a single person had looked for him all afternoon.

Yoon Yun-hui felt completely dazed from sleep.

The bathhouse lobby of the hot spring hotel was bustling and quite noisy, yet somehow Yoon Yun-hui had managed to sleep soundly through it all.

He raised his wrist and glanced at the number on his key wristband, having entirely forgotten which room he had booked.

Yoon Yun-hui stared blankly for a moment.

He suddenly realized that while he constantly talked about having a child, all that empty chatter was utterly useless.

Yoon Yun-hui certainly wasn't inexperienced, and he never hesitated when intimacy beckoned, but he lacked a steady partner. He couldn't simply expect a fleeting romance to yield a child on the first try.

Should he go look for Liu Jimin?

*No.*

Deep down, Yoon Yun-hui regarded Liu Jimin as part of his own household—much like Xiren to Jia Baoyu; the chief maid simply had to be available for the master's bed.

Unless it was an absolute last resort, he refused to call upon her now. Doing so prematurely would be deeply embarrassing, making him look hopelessly incompetent.

With not a soul reaching out to him all afternoon, the groggy Yoon Yun-hui felt thoroughly miserable. *So I don't even have any friends, is that it?*

*No way, I need to go find a romance first.*

Thus, on his way back to his room, Yoon Yun-hui mentally sifted through the female acquaintances that came to mind.

First to be eliminated were women of a similar social standing to his own, or slightly above and below. Too much trouble, absolutely not—Yoon Yun-hui had no desire to get married yet.

Next to be eliminated were alumni networks and activist circles, as those belonged to the spheres of career and networking. Yoon Yun-hui preferred not to ruin his reputation.

*Well, and that's pretty much it.*

To his astonishment, Yoon Yun-hui realized that among the female friends of his age whom he knew, there really wasn't any casual company to be found. They all belonged to the type where getting involved meant taking full responsibility.

Well, perhaps not full responsibility, but at least he would have to weigh the consequences of reckless behavior.

He merely wanted to quickly father a child so the heir could shoulder the family's burdens; once the child was capable of shielding him, he could return to living freely. He had no intention of actually taking a wife.

Marching in the streets to protest—how was that not a form of living freely?

Living freely didn't exclusively mean indulging in decadent dissipation.

Sometimes Yoon Yun-hui genuinely felt that his family's history weighed far too heavily upon him.

His deliberate decision to change his name from [Yoon Taek-no] to [Yoon Yun-hui] was perhaps a reflection of this craving for freedom, yet he could never truly escape his family.

*Whatever.*

Yoon Yun-hui resumed pondering the matter of romance.

He thought of actress Shin Ye-eun or idol Kwon Eun-bi—women he could easily have seduced—and wondered if perhaps he was being a bit too conservative.

For the first time, he doubted whether his stance was truly as liberated as he thought.

It seemed he had always channeled his exceptional appearance strictly into political campaigns and activism, remaining completely oblivious to the devastating impact he possessed over young women.

Upon returning to Seoul, he decided he would try asking out the young cast members from *The Penthouse*.

Lost in a train of aimless thoughts, Yoon Yun-hui finally located his booked VIP suite. He pressed his key wristband against the smart lock, only for the door that clicked open to be the suite next door.

"Huh?"

Bae Suzy emerged halfway through the doorway, turned her head, and locked eyes with a face that was starting to grow familiar. Today marked their second encounter.

"Yun-hui?"

"Ha, good evening, Suzy-xi."