Chapter 15 — 7.7 Billion Won

“……Haa. Let’s do our best… Son…”

But what else could he do?

They were still family.

Chairman Kim Kang-jin headed toward his study, leaving behind the habitual tongue-clicking sound that had practically become his trademark.

“Father, aren’t you going to have your tea? I just poured it…”

The steaming cup of tea sat there alone.

“I’m not drinking it. Ahem…”

“Yes. Understood.”

Kim Soo-hyuk gave a short reply.

As soon as he confirmed that his father had entered the study, he immediately began berating the housekeeper.

“What are you doing?! Ma’am! Father!!! Said he’s not drinking ittt!!!”

He, too, could feel the sting of being ignored by his father.

And he took that frustration out on the housekeeper.

“Yes… I’m sorry…”

How many people could ever become accustomed to being screamed at?

Even though it was an everyday occurrence, her hands trembled as she cleared away the teacup.

And then—

Crash!

The expensive-looking teacup fell to the floor and shattered.

“Hey, ma’am. Do you know how much this teacup costs?”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“It’s your entire monthly salary!!! Are you not going to do your job properly?! Huh?!??”

The poor maid had no choice.

All she could do was quietly bow her head and submit to the injustice.

And Choi Mi-ok once again engraved it into her heart that this was simply her lot in life, rationalizing the situation.

This was what she was being paid for, after all.

“Ma’am. Get everyone together in my room. Starting with Mr. Hwang. All the employees.”

“Oh, young master… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry…”

“Forget the apologies and bring everyone here. And you—bring the manual. The manual!!!”

And so the enormous household went into a state of emergency.

“Hey, Mr. Hwang. I see there are still people who haven’t memorized the manual?”

The Daewoo Family Butler Manual.

It was a creation born from Kim Soo-hyuk’s bizarre hobby.

It contained the rules of conduct that employees of the Daewoo family were expected to follow.

He glared at Mr. Hwang, while the employees could not bring themselves to look Kim Soo-hyuk directly in the eye.

“Everyone, get on your knees… You’re not getting up until you’ve come to your senses and memorized it. Read it aloud.”

The employees all looked much older than him.

But their leashes were money, and they had been conditioned to believe that reporting anything happening within the household to the outside world would be like throwing an egg at a rock.

Bound by those leashes, they could not even dream of rebellion.

“Louder. Clearly. Do you understand??”

The study and every other room in the house were well soundproofed.

That prevented Chairman Kim from hearing about Kim Soo-hyuk’s foolish behavior.

That was why Kim Soo-hyuk was able to continue indulging in this peculiar hobby of his.

“This is all because of that Choi Mi-ok ma’am. Read every single character clearly.”

The bizarre scene was unpleasant to watch.

Kim Soo-hyuk looked almost hysterical, as though he were suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

“Ahh, honestly, there really aren’t many sane people in this world.”

Kim Anna spoke as she scrolled through the news on her smartphone.

“Why? What happened?”

“Another story about workplace bullying came up.”

“So? What news story? Geez, young people these days really don’t understand hints, do they?”

Today’s business trip involved driving themselves.

Kim Anna, who had not yet obtained her driver’s license, was comfortably sitting in the passenger seat.

Unfortunately, that meant she had to endure an unpleasant ride.

Because the driver was Choi Moon-young, who had come in place of Lee Jin-ho, who was on sick leave.

“Hehe, you’re so impatient. It’s about a branch manager at an insurance sales office abusing his authority. Apparently, the branch manager threatened a female employee who had reported sexual harassment internally.”

“Hm… What did he threaten her with? People work together, and sometimes you can make dirty jokes or even fall for each other at company dinners. Are you really going to make an internal report over something like that? What a shameless woman. Tsk.”

“Ah… I-is that really something that can happen at work…?”

“Why are you trailing off, Anna? Am I wrong? Are you the kind of person who makes internal reports and stuff too?”

Kim Anna felt extremely uncomfortable.

It was like sitting next to a talking trash can.

And for good reason.

Her previous leader had been Lee Jin-ho, while Choi Moon-young was his complete opposite.

To her, he was the worst of the worst.

Even calling him utterly repulsive was not enough.

“Oh, and Anna. You seem to be speaking way too casually. Do you have any idea how much seniority there is between you and me? This isn’t a joke. Eh? Ehh~~~? When you’re talking to a senior, are you supposed to add little interjections like that? Huh?”

Her head was spinning from the confusion.

“Sorry, sir.”

It was a quick apology that came from nowhere near her heart, but it successfully shut Choi Moon-young up.

“Hm. Hm. Take care of yourself. Do I really have to point out such trivial things?”

“Yes, understood, sir.”

“See? Isn’t that much better? Answering obediently like that. It’s refreshing, and you look blessed.”

Apparently, she had not succeeded yet.

“Then how about we have pufferfish today? Sounds good, right?”

Kim Anna remembered the pufferfish dish that had made her sick not long ago.

‘I hope the pufferfish makes your tongue go completely numb.’

“Ahem. You’re mumbling your answer again? Are you going to make me keep nagging you?”

“N-no. I eat pufferfish just fine.”

She was worried about Lee Jin-ho, who was absent.

He wasn’t answering his phone, and now he was on sick leave.

She couldn’t stop thinking that perhaps something serious had happened to him.

“Excuse me, but…”

“What?”

He kept his eyes on the road with both hands on the wheel.

He didn’t even glance sideways.

Considering that until recently he hadn’t even acknowledged her greetings, this was a major improvement.

But it was hardly pleasant.

“Are you, by any chance…”

“What?”

“Do you happen to… still keep in touch with Mr. Lee Jin-ho separately? By any chance. I mean, just in case. Just in case of a possibility.”

“‘Just in case’ what? You’re not trying to joke around with me right now, are you? What’s your intention?”

His foot suddenly pressed hard on the accelerator, causing Kim Anna’s body to be thrown backward into the seat.

“My intention? There’s no such thing! I’m just worried about Mr. Lee Jin-ho…”

“Heh heh. Well, judging from the fact that he took sick leave at such an important time, it must be something pretty serious. For me, though, it’s practically like having a piece of good news in the stock market that only I know about.”

As soon as he mentioned Lee Jin-ho’s sick leave, Choi Moon-young’s driving became noticeably more relaxed.

“But… worried? You should be worrying about your own future, Anna. Your difficult days are practically guaranteed from here on out. Well, if you happen to switch sides, I suppose I could graciously accept you.”

His sly smile made him look as though he was already certain of victory.

Kim Anna, meanwhile, pretended not to understand.

She put on the innocent face of a new employee who knew nothing.

“Switch sides? What do you mean by that?”

“Ha, you sly little fox. Whatever. We’re almost there, so when we get out, carry my luggage too and follow me.”

Screech—

Choi Moon-young’s nagging continued, and soon they arrived once again at Peter Pan Industries, which they had visited before.

“Hello. You’ve brought someone different today.”

“Yes. Something came up with our employee, so I came in her place today.”

The accounting manager and Choi Moon-young exchanged small talk.

Meanwhile, Kim Anna struggled behind them, carrying a laptop and piles of documents in both hands.

She even had to use her knees because she didn’t have enough hands to close the car door.

Kim Anna was already missing Lee Jin-ho.

The small talk dragged on.

And the office was still a long, long walk away.

During the journey, the accounting manager offered several times to carry some of Kim Anna’s luggage, but she stubbornly replied that she could handle it herself.

Choi Moon-young’s gaze sharpened as he watched her.

‘Wow, what a cold look. Seriously. Ah… that annoying old-timer… It’s so disgusting that I’ll just do it myself.’

Eventually, they reached an office where documents were piled high.

Kim Anna set down the piles of paperwork and laptop she had been carrying like a traveling merchant.

The amount was clearly at least twice as much as what she had carried when she visited with Mr. Lee Jin-ho last time.

“Yes. We’ve prepared all the documents you requested over the phone. But is something going on? You suddenly requested so many additional items.”

“I suppose everyone has their own style. We really appreciate your cooperation.”

“Not at all. Cooperating is only natural.”

In truth, the reason Peter Pan Industries was so cooperative was largely thanks to Lee Jin-ho.

His advice had been enough to earn their trust, because he only addressed the parts that needed attention and managed to scratch exactly where it itched.

“All right, then. We’ll call you if anything comes up. Please get back to work, Manager.”

“Yes. Please take care.”

The accounting manager closed his door and left the office.

Then Choi Moon-young began giving orders.

“Anna, so… check whether the manufacturing-to-sales ratio is appropriate, whether the depreciation periods are appropriate, and, uh, if there’s a high level of completed depreciation or too many assets, check whether the useful lives are appropriate as well. Also check the completeness of the tangible fixed assets. Check all the accounts payable and prepaid expenses schedules too. And…”

Kim Anna’s mind went blank for a moment.

It felt as though her soul had left her body.

“You want me to do all of this? None of those tasks are assigned to me. Where did all these assignments even come from?”

“Talking back again.”

“I’m not talking back… This is way too much work…”

“Again! Again!! Again!!! Talking back!!!”

Choi Moon-young’s expression began to fill with venom.

“Anna. Director Ma Seung-cheol isn’t here right now. And I’m your direct supervisor in place of Mr. Lee Jin-ho. If I tell you to do it, you do it. If it can’t be done, make it possible. Don’t you know that saying? Are you going to keep making me nag you?”

“But there’s physically not enough time…”

Her logical, science-oriented brain had kicked in.

And that only made Choi Moon-young even angrier.

“Hey! If I tell you to do it, then do it. If it can’t be done, fake it and produce a result. Got it? You know what I mean by fake it, right?”

The reason such an excessive workload had been dumped on her was simple.

Choi Moon-young had even handed his own work over to Kim Anna.

And the reason his eyes gleamed with malice was because he wanted to find flaws in the work Lee Jin-ho had been responsible for.

“Do you think I’m playing around? I’m busy too. I’ve got to play spot-the-difference. Let’s play.”

But Kim Anna did not understand his intentions.

She had no choice but to begin working through the mountain of assignments.

‘Mr. Lee Jin-ho… Where on earth are you…?’

Anna desperately missed Lee Jin-ho, who had rolled up his sleeves to help her whenever she was struggling.

“What’s that guy behind you?”

It was the same hotel as last time.

Park Na-young was facing Lee Jin-ho.

And behind her stood a tall man.

“Oh, he’s a messenger delivering my father’s message. Think of him as a dove of peace.”

“For a dove, he looks rather hostile. Isn’t he a huge crow?”

“Well, I suppose the two of you will have to talk and decide that for yourselves. I’ll come back once you’re finished talking.”

Park Na-young left the tall man, whose forehead was covered with gauze, alone with Lee Jin-ho and walked away.

“What’s the business?”

“Let’s get straight to the point. Neither of us looks like we has much free time, do we?”

“Yes. Let’s do that. I’ll keep it brief. Mr. Lee Jin-ho. Your family. Your father and your brothers. Which would you choose between their safety and the money you’re demanding? You cannot have both.”

The last trace of warmth left in Lee Jin-ho’s blood made him hesitate to answer.

Kim Min-soo noticed the opening and asked again.

It was less a question than a threat.

“You don’t really know what kind of person Miss Na-young’s father is, do you?”

“I didn’t want to know, but I had a rough idea. And your threat just made everything clear. He’s not merely some self-made nouveau riche.”

“So, what’s your answer?”

Kim Min-soo straightened his neck and looked down at Lee Jin-ho.

He clearly felt that he had gained the upper hand in the negotiation.

“……”

“Please answer. I need a definite answer.”

“Haa… You people really have been underestimating me.”

“What?”

Being threatened actually cleared Lee Jin-ho’s mind.

With that came a sense of ease, and the opponent who had initially seemed formidable began to look rather small.

He was now able to look down on him psychologically.

“Listen. If you were going to threaten me, you should have put my life on the line, not my family’s.”

“……?”

“If you can’t shut my mouth, my father-in-law gains nothing anyway. My father and brothers may not have enough loyalty or affection for me to risk their lives for me, but if something happened to them, do you think I’d be able to sleep peacefully?

“Just try it.

“I’ll make sure you, the great in-law family you’re about to become connected to, and the great man you serve are separated forever. Be sure to deliver my words exactly as I said them.

“If you want to gain something, threatening me is the fastest way to lose it.”

“And if we were to ruin you completely?”

“Do you think you can threaten me? I’m already a successful man, you know. I’m not some homeless nobody. Unless you’re prepared to kill me, it would be better not to touch me.”

The tall man, Kim Min-soo, Park Pan-soo’s trusted subordinate, stared at Lee Jin-ho for a moment.

Perhaps Park Na-young’s father had simply found it too difficult to hand over such a large amount of money for nothing.

He had intended to blackmail Lee Jin-ho somehow.

But he had picked the wrong opponent.

“Understood. I’ll deliver your message exactly as it is.”

“No, let me revise that. My father? My brothers? Do whatever you want. Come to think of it, I’d actually appreciate it if you got rid of them.”

Kim Min-soo looked momentarily flustered.

He called Park Na-young.

Not long afterward, Na-young returned to the room and sat down with an aloof expression.

“The first round of negotiations ended in a stalemate?”

“Yeah. Now let’s start round two. Just how insignificant did you and your father think I was?”

“I suppose so. As expected, Oppa really is quite the impressive trophy.”

Park Na-young returned to her seat.

Kim Min-soo stood up and positioned himself behind her.

“Hey. Aren’t you going to get rid of that guy?”

“No. Don’t worry about him. From now on, he’s just a security camera.”

“A security camera?”

“Yeah. A portable camcorder reporting our conversation and everything that happens between us to my father. That’s probably better.”

The tall man, Kim Min-soo, did not sit beside Park Na-young.

He stood rigidly behind her.

He really did look like a camera mounted on top of a utility pole.

“Fine. Whatever. So what are we doing for round two? Are you going to accept my conditions?”

“That’s right. You won.”

Na-young finished speaking with a faint smile.

Then she took a settlement agreement out of her bag.

“Here. Read it.”

“Hm…”

I carefully read the words on the paper she handed me.

I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

Who knew what kind of trick they might have slipped into it?

“All right…”

The contents were the same as what I had demanded.

And now all that remained was to sever my connection with the woman sitting before me.

“Wait.”

“Why? Is there something you don’t like?”

The last line of the settlement agreement.

“‘All contact with Min-hee is prohibited’?”

“Yes. You can’t see your daughter anymore. Well, she isn’t your daughter anyway.”

“Right. She isn’t my daughter. But I raised her for ten years. When you were running around on business trips and whatever else, I was the one putting her to bed, feeding her breakfast, and sending her to school. You think I wouldn’t have grown attached to her?”

What was I to Min-hee now?

Had I become nothing more than some uncle-like figure who was almost a friend?

“Are memories really that important? Blood is what matters. I’ll explain everything to the child.”

“Ha. That precious bloodline of yours. Good for you. You’re marrying into such a great family.”

“Isn’t it time you stopped being sarcastic? If you were in the same situation as me, you would have abandoned me too. Try being honest with yourself. By ordinary standards, Oppa is a ten-point man. But by my family’s standards, you’re a seven. An average man who isn’t particularly good or bad. A seven-point man.”

Park Na-young was even brazen now.

But at the same time, her words made me think.

If our positions had been reversed, would I have abandoned Park Na-young to become a son-in-law of a chaebol family?

“Did I ever call myself a ten-point man? You were the one who said that.”

“Don’t nitpick, Oppa. And think about it rationally. A little while ago, you beat up a man in front of Min-hee, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. So what?”

“That man is my man.”

Right.

That bastard had definitely said Min-hee’s name.

“Oppa, you’re smart, so you’ve already figured out what that means, right? If we take action from this side, you won’t be able to approach Min-hee anyway.”

A man who had committed an assault in front of the child.

No matter how much he fought it, the punishment awaiting him was practically predetermined.

“Did that bastard deliberately show up in front of me to provoke me?”

“I don’t know about that. What I do know is that he went there to see you and the child.”

Even if I filed a lawsuit and fought desperately to damage their reputation, I could no longer see Min-hee.

A dangerous man who had used violence in front of a child.

And the background of her new man was so overwhelmingly superior to mine that there was no comparison.

“So I’m accepting your demands, aren’t I? Let’s settle this here. Then we can each go live our new lives.”

“……”

“Please…”

For a moment, the white noise of the hotel café seemed to become louder.

Perhaps because neither she nor I said anything.

“Your mango bingsu is here.”

I watched Park Na-young casually smile and scoop up a spoonful of mango.

She even looked happy.

Fine.

I couldn’t lose.

“Hey.”

“Hm? Have you made up your mind?”

“Yeah. Let’s sign it and split everything up. You handle everything that comes after this.”

“Okay. I hope you’ll be happy too, Oppa. From now on.”

I signed the paper and let the anger boiling inside me explode.

“Fuck… Fuck!!!”

That shout contained everything at once:

the sense of victory from getting my demands accepted,

the bitterness of having lost everything,

and the sadness that came with it.

“Do you know something? Those curses you just shouted were the most memorable expression of our entire marriage.”

She reacted to the profanity I had spat out.

“Did you ever love me?”

“Let’s stop with the sentimental talk. And let’s wish each other well from now on.”

Right.

There was no point in sentimental talk anymore.

It was over.

“Hey.”

“What now?”

“Close your mouth. Water’s coming in.”

“Again?”

Park Na-young’s eyes, nose, and mouth instantly scrunched toward the center of her face.

Was that a conditioned response from repeated exposure to external stimuli?

Splash!

Once was better than nothing, twice was better than once, and three times was better than twice.

The water that had been sitting in the transparent glass struck Park Na-young squarely across the bridge of her nose like a Waterbomb.

The impact felt great.

“Aaaah!!!!!!”

Her clear, ringing scream drew everyone’s attention.

Perhaps because of that, the giant utility pole focused on checking Park Na-young’s safety rather than attacking me.

“Miss, are you all right?”

Slap!

Na-young suddenly slapped Kim Min-soo across the cheek.

“Hey, couldn’t you even block that? Are you a scarecrow?!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ugh, you’re so useless…”

“Well… usually, isn’t the man supposed to take the water…?”

Perhaps because of the sting of the slap, or perhaps because of his humiliation, his cheek had turned bright red.

His flustered, dumbfounded response was almost comical, like a scene from a sitcom.

But I also found myself wondering why he was willing to endure such humiliation out of loyalty.

“Be happy too.”

Lee Jin-ho turned around and walked away.

Then he quietly muttered to himself.

“It’s not over just because it’s finished… Look forward to it.”

Several days passed.

My sick leave was now nearing its end.

My leisurely yet somehow not-so-leisurely hotel vacation was also coming to an end.

Even having time alone had barely been enough to sort through my thoughts.

To be honest, I couldn’t say I wasn’t curious about Min-hee’s biological father.

Or Park Na-young’s new husband.

Perhaps I was the person in the world who was most curious about that.

“This is the most fucked-up feeling I’ve had in a while.”

I regretted not asking about that bastard’s identity during our last meeting.

“Haa… I should’ve asked first and thrown the water afterward…”

Who exactly was Na-young’s lover?

Who was Min-hee’s biological father?

“Is he some high-ranking government official? Or maybe some chaebol?”

Even my Scrooge of a father-in-law wasn’t the sort of nouveau riche who could easily be looked down upon.

Yet that father-in-law was this anxious and was even willing to suffer a substantial financial loss.

“An old love… Come to think of it, I think she once mentioned an ex-boyfriend…”

I searched my memories carefully.

There had definitely been one time during our relationship when Park Na-young accidentally let something slip.

I remembered that the man had been such a big shot that I had even felt jealous without realizing it.

“Yeah… It definitely felt like… the heir to a chaebol family… Daewoo? Daewoo Electronics?!”

I barely managed to suppress the stream of curses that nearly burst from my mouth as the memory passed through my mind.

My father-in-law had also complained about something similar a few times while drunk.

That the man Na-young had dated before was the heir to a chaebol family.

“If that’s the case… then if they’re willing to take Park Na-young back now… it must be because they want Min-hee more than they want Park Na-young… Could that heir have some condition that makes it impossible for him to have a child?”

It was a humiliation the likes of which I would never experience twice.

But then I thought about the child’s future.

Perhaps living as the daughter of a chaebol family would make her life shine.

She was someone else’s child now, but I had grown attached to her.

I hoped she would be happy.

“That aside… they really haven’t contacted me even once…”

I had decided to cut ties with my family as well.

There was no need to dirty my mouth over it.

After their debts were forgiven, they had naturally drifted away from me.

“Just once… once would have been enough…”

My father.

And my brothers.

Not one of them had called to comfort me.

Not even a single word.

Not one phone call.

Not even a text message.

They only came looking for me whenever they were facing a crisis, and they always demanded that I sacrifice myself for them.

“Yeah… It’s really over now.”

I no longer wanted to live for their well-being.

There was no sadness.

I simply felt incredibly free.

A beautiful lotus was destined to bloom from a muddy swamp.

A small smile escaped my lips.

It was the excitement of filling my life with new things from now on.

‘Yeah. Money really is the best…’

For ordinary people waiting for a divorce, there was an obligatory waiting period and other one-sided delays.

But my case was different.

Perhaps it was the power of money.

Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.

According to the agreement between both parties, every condition had been settled.

A newly built apartment in Mayongseong, currently worth around five billion won.

The family’s debts had been forgiven.

Finally, compensation of one hundred million won per year, totaling a little over one billion won.

And my own savings, which I had barely needed to touch thanks to my generous in-laws.

After taxes, it would obviously be reduced, but by some strange coincidence, the total came to approximately 7.7 billion won.

A fortune that would require winning the lottery several times over to accumulate.

“Funny, considering it a coincidence. It really does feel contrived…”

I had suddenly acquired a level of wealth that an ordinary person could never obtain even by grinding away for their entire lifetime.

In my ex-wife’s words, I was a pathetic seven-point man.

I had never even been near a casino.

Yet somehow, my luck had struck in the strangest possible place.

I hummed quietly to myself, making sure only I could hear it.

This feeling was far too complicated to express aloud.