Sunday Morning.

Woosung woke up with a groan.

“…I drank too much last night.”

He reached for the cup of warm honey water his mother left on the nightstand. Sitting up, he drank the whole thing. He could feel immediate relief right away.

“Phew, it’s good to be young.”

26 years old.

Simple honey water could cure his hangover. Woosung thought about what had happened last night.

1.5 billion dollars.

He couldn’t stop smiling. The only thing that worried him now was the amount of work he had to complete.

“Algorithm trading system and MQTT…So much to do.”

However, all of these hard work would all be worth it. He showered and sat down in front of his computer. He couldn’t waste a single day. He wanted to become the best developer in the world. He put his hands on the keyboard.

“Let’s get going.”

Woosung started his research.

“MQTT”

“MQTT release”

“MQTT source code”

He tried searching as much about it as possible, but there wasn’t much information available. MQTT was openly available in 2010 and became known worldwide in 2011 only after Facebook applied it to its massaging app.

“Hmm…so I need to start from scratch.”

Any developer could do it, especially someone like him with 10 years of IT knowledge and experience.

‘But how could I make it fast and perfect?’

Woosung thought carefully.

He couldn’t spend all his time on this one project. He had to finish the algorithm trading system by September. If he could find a reference code, things would go faster. Suddenly, Woosung remembered something.

“Apache ActiveMQ?”

Apache ActiveMQ.

Like MQTT, Apache ActiveMQ was also in publish-subscribe format. Pub/sub for short, it was a messaging pattern where all subscribers would immediately receive any communication published. A similar system was used for both Android and iPhone.

Not to mention, Apache ActiveMQ was available for free.

Woosung found the appropriate code on the internet and started creating the MQTT program.

Type.

Type.

Type.

The only sound in his room was his typing. Woosung told his parents not to disturb him until he came out of his room. He didn’t want to lose his concentration.

Buzz.

Buzz.

His cell phone vibrated but Woosung ignored it. After a few more hours, Woosung finally stretched his arms and stood up.

“Phew, I think I got a lot done…”

He checked his progress. It was only 3 pm and he completed about 30% of the work already. Things worked out faster than he expected. Apache ActiveMQ was a huge help, but most of all, Woosung’s fury and determination were great motivators.

“Ouch, my back…I need to get a gym membership and start working out.”

Woosung’s phone rang again. It was from Park Jonghyun. When he checked the call history, it looked like he missed 9 calls. It was from Park Jonghyun and Yoon Chanjong. Suddenly, it started to ring again.

“Yeoreum?”

***

Cha Yeoreum.

They were each other’s first love. They dated only for 6 months, but it was unforgettable. Woosung dated a few more women after her, but he never felt the same way with anyone else.

However, first love would never work out. It was time to let it go. They had good times, but they had painful times too. There was a reason why they broke up.

He let the phone ring till it stopped, but it immediately started to ring once more. It was from Park Jonghyun again. Woosung knew how persistent he could be.

As soon as he answered, Park Jonghyun yelled.

“Why didn’t you answer my call?” He continued quickly. “You said yesterday that you’ll buy us a meal at any time. So it’s going to be tonight.”

“Fine, fine.”

Woosung could hear Park Jonghyun talking to someone else nearby.

“He said ok.”

“Then ask him to come here.”

“Hurry up.”

“Ask him.”

“Do it!”

The group seemed to have come to an agreement. Park Jonghyun asked carefully.

“We are all together right now studying. Do you want to come where we are? You can give us some tips on how to study. Chanjong wants to know too. You owe him one, remember?”

“There is no way Chanjong would say I owe him. You’re making things up, aren’t you?”

“N…no way. Chanjong’s right here. Do you want to speak to him?”

“Don’t worry about it. Where are you?”

It was true Yoon Chanjong helped Woosung a lot in the past. Woosung turned off his computer and left the room.

His friends were somewhere near Gangnam station.

It was a Sunday afternoon and the streets were crowded. Woosung kept walking, trying to find where they are.

“I wish I had a smartphone now.”

Without GPS, it was not easy to find places. He kept looking around and tried to remember the directions Park Jonghyun gave.

“Around the corner of the supermarket, then to the end of the block…”

Finally, he found the place named Successful Studying’. In front of the main door was Yang Jungsuk smoking. Woosung didn’t know his name, so he ignored and walked past him, but Yang Jungsuk recognized Woosung and called him out.

“You.”

“Me?”

“Don’t even think about getting back together with Yeoreum.”

He was ridiculous. What’s wrong with this guy?

“What?”

Yang Jungsuk threw away his cigarette and replied. “Don’t make me say it again.”

Then he just walked upstairs to the study room like nothing happened. Woosung looked at him in disgust.

“What a psycho.”

Woosung followed quick and found seven people in the room. Some looked familiar. Woosung walked towards Cha Yeoreum on purpose.

“Haha, we meet again. I made a promise, so let’s go out for dinner. I remember Yeoreum likes steaks, so let’s go to a hotel in Itaewon. I went to a buffet there and it was good.”

Cha Yeoreum reddened.

“Oh…ok.”

Tap, tap.

Woosung tapped her arm in a cassual way. It seemed like a familiar gesture they would both often do, which made Yang Jungsuk furious. Woosung didn’t stop there though. He touched her ear.

“You have something on your ear.”

Both Yeoreum and Jungsuk reddened even more, but Woosung ignored them and greeted others around him. Then he turned to Yang Jungsuk and whispered to him.

“Don’t even think about asking Yeoreum out, you crazy bastard.”

Grab.

Yang Jungsuk couldn’t control his anger and grabbed Woosung.

“What did you just say?”

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

“Jungsuk!”

“What are you doing?”

Some people tried to stop him, but Park Jonghyun and Yoon Chanjong gave Yang Jungsuk a look of pity instead.

“I barely studied when I went to school, but there is one thing I was always good at…” Woosung said as he grabbed Yang Jungsuk’s hands. “It’s sports.”

“Ouch…!”

Yang Jungsuk moaned but Woosung didn’t stop. He pulled Yang Jungsuk’s hands away from him and squeezed.

“I trained so hard at the gym, people used to joke about how my brain must be made of pure muscles.”

Yang Jungsuk couldn’t hide his shock and embarrassment. He was sweating profusely. Woosung pushed Yang Jungsuk away, making him fall on the floor. He looked at him and murmured.

“You better watch it.”

Everyone could see Woosung meant it as a real threat. The room turned silent until Park Jonghyun tried lifting the mood.

“Woosung, don’t be like that. Let’s go.”

Yoon Chanjong added.

“Woosung…”

Woosung shrugged and replied.

“Ok, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to go for dinner tonight. Sorry.”

Woosung left the room, followed by Park Jonghyun, Yoon Chanjong, and Cha Yeoreum.