You Seem to Know It
At my answer, Auntie Hye-jeong's mouth curled up in a subtle smile.
"Room to spare, huh…"
She set down her coffee cup and put on a deliberately worried expression.
"Minjun. I'm saying this because this auntie is genuinely concerned for you. Society isn't that simple. Just because you've made a little money right now doesn't mean that's everything."
"Pardon?"
"That's freelancing for you, isn't it? You might do well this month and starve the next. A big corporation, you can stay until retirement, and the benefits are good. Performance bonuses, even college tuition for your kids. You can't judge it by salary alone."
She wasn't wrong.
Stability.
That was the biggest reason the older generation preferred big companies.
Mother was sending me anxious looks from the side. Worried her son might lose face, or say something wrong, she quietly took hold of my arm.
I was about to laugh it off.
Explaining exactly how much I made would only come off as bragging anyway.
But then—
If I just let this slide after coming this far, Mom will keep getting looked down on.
Auntie Hye-jeong's way of talking was sly. On the surface it was advice, but underneath it was laced with a dig: Aren't you just an unstable contract worker?
If I let that pass, Mother would have to keep sitting through these gatherings, shrinking under everyone's worry about me.
I didn't want that.
"Of course. You're absolutely right, Auntie."
I nodded.
"Even I think being a web novel author is an unstable job. You never know when it might all fall apart. Comparing it one-to-one with a big-company salary is a bit off."
"Right? At least Minjun understands that. That puts my mind at ease a little."
Auntie Hye-jeong's face brightened. She seemed to think her logic had landed.
But I kept going.
"So I did a little math of my own."
"Math?"
"Yes. Since it's unstable, you have to factor in the risk cost, don't you? How much more I'd need to earn than someone at a big company to feel secure."
I took a sip of coffee and smiled lightly.
"I figure I'd need to make at least three times as much to feel safe."
"…Three times?"
Auntie's eyes went round.
"Yes. Say a friend at a big company makes a hundred million won a year. I'd need to make three hundred million before I could finally think, Ah, now I'm as stable as that friend."
Silence fell.
Beside us, Auntie Mi-suk's audible swallow was loud in the quiet.
"Th-three hundred million…?"
"Yes. You need to make at least that much so you can still eat if it all goes under later."
"Then…"
Auntie Hye-jeong's voice trembled.
"Are you… saying you make that much right now?"
The question came straight at me.
There was no need to lie here. Telling the truth was the strongest punch I could throw.
"I got lucky."
I didn't deny it.
"The response to the work I wrote this time has been pretty good, so I've comfortably cleared that bar."
"…"
A heavy silence settled over the café.
Three hundred million.
To ordinary people, it was a dream number. The kind of money you only touched once you made it to executive level at a major firm.
And yet the young man sitting right in front of them—the friend's son who'd been a source of worry until just a few days ago—was saying he made that much.
That he'd comfortably surpassed it.
"Uh…. Y-you must have incredible talent."
Auntie Mi-suk said, looking dazed.
"Y-Young-ja. I'm jealous…. Your son has real ability."
The atmosphere flipped.
Auntie Hye-jeong, who'd been subtly putting me down just moments ago, now wore a complicated, twisted expression. Envy, jealousy, and the suspicion that she couldn't quite believe it.
But my confident demeanor—and the Mercedes S-Class parked outside—lent weight to my words.
"By any chance…"
Auntie Hye-jeong carefully opened her mouth.
"That web novel thing…. Could our kid learn it too? He's been struggling with job hunting lately, and he likes writing."
The pivot was fast.
One minute she was tearing the job down as unstable; the next, the moment she heard it paid, she was interested.
I gave a bitter little smile.
"Well. It's not something you can just teach someone. You have to have the interest yourself to do it."
"I-is that so? Well, it is more of an art thing…"
"Shall we get going? Mom, we should go see Dad too."
I stood up.
Staying longer would only invite more empty questions. I'd already shown them everything I needed to.
"Huh? Oh, right. We should go."
Mother gathered her bag with a dazed look.
The sight of her friends frozen under her son's presence. It was the first time she'd ever experienced it, and she seemed flustered—and yet her shoulders were squaring up.
We left the café and headed for the car.
"Um, Minjun."
Auntie Mi-suk, trailing behind, asked hesitantly.
"Could you drop us off just at that intersection? Waiting for the bus takes forever."
"Oh, sure. Hop in."
No reason to refuse.
I opened the rear door for them.
"Oh my goodness. The door closes by itself?"
"The seats are so soft. Better than our sofa at home."
The aunties burst into exclamations the moment they got in.
I settled Mother into the passenger seat.
"Mom, buckle up."
"Oh, right."
As Mother reached for her seatbelt, the shopping bags at her feet got in the way.
"What are these? I should move them."
"Ah, those."
I started the engine and said it casually.
"They're presents for you."
"Presents?"
"I stopped by the department store on the way. Figured you could use a new bag."
"Oh my."
Gasps erupted from the back seat.
"What is this? An orange box…"
Auntie Hye-jeong's eyes lit up.
"Don't tell me—Hermès?"
"Yes. That's right."
"Holy—"
The aunties couldn't close their mouths.
My salary talk was already beside the point. The physical object right in front of them hit harder.
"Isn't this a Birkin? Look at the logo. Good lord…"
"Young-ja, you're so lucky. Your son brings you things like this."
Mother didn't know much about luxury brands.
She was the kind of person who said a ten-thousand-won bag from the market was the most comfortable.
"Is this a good one? Is it expensive?"
When Mother asked, bewildered, Auntie Hye-jeong answered for her in a rush of excitement.
"Expensive doesn't even cover it! This is a model you can't get even if you have the money. I went to the department store, got a waiting number, and still couldn't buy one…"
Auntie Hye-jeong scanned the shopping bag as if reading a price tag.
"This…. At least ten million won. No—adding that one, it'd be over twenty million."
"Huk."
Mother nearly dropped the bag in shock.
"T-ten million won?! Are you crazy? Where did you get that kind of money!"
"You've worked hard."
I turned the wheel and looked at Mother in the rearview mirror.
"You've spent your whole life raising me. This much is the least I can do."
"No, even so…"
Mother's voice shook.
But she didn't seem to mind.
The way her hand stroked the luxury bags on the passenger seat. And the envious sighs drifting from the back seat.
For a mother who had spent her whole life only envying others, this was the first time she had ever become the object of envy herself.
The intersection.
I dropped Mother's friends off.
"Get home safe."
"Yes, you too. Drive carefully, Minjun."
"Young-ja, I'll call you later! Let me see that bag!"
Even as they got out, the aunties couldn't take their eyes off us.
In the rearview mirror I could see them still standing there, watching until the car was far away.
Mother was still so unsettled she kept pressing a hand to her chest.
"Minjun. Is all of this…. real?"
"I really did get lucky, just like I said."
"And what you said earlier—all of that was true too?"
"I understated it a bit, but…. yes, it's true. Once things are more settled, I'll explain properly. It hasn't been long yet."
"Alright…"
Mother didn't ask anything more.
She only gently stroked the back of my hand.
Before long the car pulled up in front of the commercial building where Father worked.
"We should go see Dad too."
I parked.
It was just quitting time. The security office door opened, and Father came out in civilian clothes.
I got out of the car to meet him.
"Dad!"
"Huh? Minjun?"
Surprise came before delight on Father's face.
Then he caught sight of the massive black car behind me and stopped short.
"What on earth is this car?"
"It's mine. From the company."
"What? The company gave you something like this?"
Father walked a full circle around the car as if he couldn't believe it. He even ran a hand over the Mercedes logo and lettering.
"Isn't this a Benz? This is insanely expensive, isn't it?"
"Get in, Dad. Let's go have dinner."
I opened the rear passenger door for him.
Father climbed in, still looking dazed.
"Wow, these seats are soft as hell."
"Nice, right? Buckle up."
"Yeah, yeah. But where are we eating? We should just eat at home. No point wasting money."
Father asked.
He had spent his whole life pinching every penny. Eating out meant pork belly or gukbap at best.
I met his eyes in the rearview mirror and smiled.
"Beef. I made a reservation for Korean hanwoo."
"Beef? That'll be expensive…"
"Don't worry about it. Your son's treating tonight, so eat until you burst."
"Hah, this kid. Looks like you made some real money up in Seoul."
Father scolded me halfheartedly, but he couldn't hide the smile spreading at the corners of his mouth.
Before dinner.
"When is Min-ji coming?"
Mother asked.
"I'm about to go pick her up. You said she's in front of the hospital?"
"Yes. I already called her. Told her her oppa was coming to get her."
I turned the car toward the general hospital where my little sister worked.
In front of the hospital main gate.
Among the people heading home after their shifts, a familiar face appeared. My sister Min-ji.
But she wasn't alone.
A man in a white coat stood beside her.
The two of them looked rather close.
"Huh? She's with her boyfriend."
When I muttered that, Mother looked out the window.
"Oh my, it's Jae-hun. Looks like they're just saying goodbye."
I pulled the car up in front of them.
When I rolled down the window, Min-ji startled and came over.
"Oppa? You got a new car?"
"Yeah. Get in."
"Ah, just a second. Let me introduce you."
Min-ji shot a look at the man beside her.
He fidgeted, then bowed at the waist.
"Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Jae-hun."
A wholesome-looking face. Behind his glasses, his eyes looked quite nervous.
"Hello."
I gave a light nod in return.
I'd originally planned to just send him off.
But once I saw his face, I couldn't quite do it. If this was someone my sister liked, treating him to a meal seemed reasonable enough.
More than anything, I had room to spare now.
"Hey—Jae-hun, was it?"
"Ah, yes!"
"If you haven't had dinner, why don't you come with us? We're heading out for a family meal."
"What? Oh, no! How could I possibly join a family dinner…"
The man waved his hands in refusal.
Min-ji looked at me, flustered too.
"Oppa, are you sure? You used to find this kind of thing awkward."
That was true.
Back when Min-ji first mentioned her doctor boyfriend, I'd been pretty lukewarm about it.
Inferiority complex. I worked at a mid-sized company, and my little sister's boyfriend was a doctor. I'd avoided it for fear of being compared.
There'd been a victim mentality too—that nothing good would come of meeting him.
But not anymore.
"That was then."
I gave a short laugh.
"Not now. If you're free, please join us. It's on me."
"Ah…. Then, if you'll forgive the imposition…"
The boyfriend climbed into the back seat, half-reluctant, half-pleased.
And just like that, our party of five headed for the most expensive beef restaurant in the area.
"Whoa, look at that marbling."
In the private room we'd reserved, top-grade hanwoo went onto the charcoal grill.
The sizzle of meat and the rich aroma filled the room.
"Eat plenty. Order more if it's not enough."
When I urged them, Father and Mother picked up their chopsticks with warm, contented faces.
Jae-hun, the boyfriend, sat stiffly, still tense.
"Please, make yourself comfortable. You too, Jae-hun."
"Ah, yes! Thank you, Hyeong-nim."
He diligently grilled the meat and refilled Father's glass. His manners passed with flying colors.
But Min-ji still looked a little withdrawn.
She was probably fretting alone, comparing our family's circumstances to her boyfriend's.
"Oppa… you quit your job, right?"
Min-ji asked, as if trying to change the subject.
"Yeah. Quit and started writing."
"Writing? Web novels, right…?"
Min-ji let the sentence trail off.
In front of her doctor boyfriend, admitting her older brother wrote web novels seemed a little embarrassing.
But then—
"Oh, really?"
Jae-hun's eyes lit up.
"I read web novels a lot on night duty myself. These days it's pretty much the only way I decompress."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. When you're living the intern life, there are a lot of times you just want to empty your head. Fantasy, martial arts stuff—time flies when you read those."
Pure curiosity.
Not mockery or dismissal, but the genuine pleasure of finding common ground.
"What genre do you write? I might even know you."
I put a piece of meat in my mouth and answered.
"Hunter stories. Mixed with regression."
"Ah, that's the big trend right now. Would it be alright if I asked the title? I've read most of the major ones."
Min-ji's and our parents' eyes all turned to me.
Everyone was waiting for my answer.
They'd heard their son was trying something new, but none of them really even knew what a web novel was.
And now that the doctor intern dating their daughter was showing interest, their curiosity had been piqued.
I took a sip of water and said it evenly.
"I'm writing a work called The Regressed Hunter is Merciless."
In that instant—
Clink.
The chopsticks fell from Jae-hun's hand.
He stared at me blankly. His mouth hung open and wouldn't close.
"What…?"
His voice shook.
"Just now…. What did you say?"
"The Regressed Hunter is Merciless."
"Huh…"
Jae-hun clutched his head as if he couldn't believe it.
"D-don't tell me…. Is your pen name RottenWater?"
"Yes. You seem to know it."
I smiled lightly as I looked at him.
His pupils were shaking violently, as if an earthquake had hit them.
And the family watching his reaction—