Jackpot Euphoria and Father's Fury
Next time, it's the shin you're getting.
The mother smacking the back of her husband, who'd bought five tickets with the same numbers. It wasn't hard to understand her. Back then, lotteries felt like something one person would hog all to themselves, not shared among many winners. So no one in their right mind bought multiple tickets with the same numbers. And even the extras were all approximations of the numbers I'd called out.
"They say it came from the grave."
"...What did?"
"If it's really our ancestors...?"
"Ha...!"
Good call telling Dad. He believed me, but Mom apparently didn't. Sometimes superstitions carry more weight...
Out of the numbers he could pick five from, Dad had jotted them down with slight variations around the ones I'd given him.
-"Yes, now we begin the drawing for the 10th Lotto round!"
-"Accumulated jackpot: 83.5 billion won! Who will be the lucky winner?"
I pretended not to know, shoving a bite of Mom's pork rind stir-fry with kochujang into my mouth alongside some rice. Min-ji, still clumsy with chopsticks, reached for a piece, so I picked one up and placed it on her rice for her. She flashed a big grin.
"Tasty?"
"Yeah!"
I smiled back at her.
-"First ball, blue: number 12. Number 12."
Silence. Not even one ball out yet, but the house was dead quiet. Dad cranked up the TV volume and stared holes into the screen. Even Mom, who was feeding Min-ji, froze.
-"Next blue ball: number 10. Number 10."
Min-ji wrinkled her nose at the blaring TV but was too timid to complain, so she just covered her ears. Tension gripped the room. Min-ji tilted her head at her parents' reactions.
-"Now the third ball. Gray ball: number 38. Number 38."
Thud. Only three balls in, but Mom and Dad gaped blankly at the TV, mouths hanging open.
-"Fourth ball coming up. Blue ball: number 15. Number 15."
Clatter. Mom and Dad dropped their chopsticks in unison. Min-ji, sensing something off, toddled over to Mom, but Mom scooped her up with trembling hands without even looking.
-"Fifth ball. Blue: number 16. Number 16."
"Eek!!!"
Mom toppled backward, and Dad looked one breath away from foaming at the mouth. True to form as the family head, he glared at the TV with bloodshot eyes, holding it together. His face had turned purple—he wasn't even breathing.
"Mommy!!!"
"What's wrong with Mommy!?"
I rushed over too, just like Min-ji.
-"Sixth ball. Red: number 26. Number 26."
"Guh... guhgh..."
Dad finally foamed and collapsed, turning Min-ji's whimpers into full sobs. She couldn't make sense of her parents' meltdown. No need for the bonus ball. I left Mom lying there and headed back to the table. She'd hugged Min-ji on the way down, so she was fine. I chewed on the free pork rinds Mom had scored.
Wonder how much we'll take home after taxes...? This'll shatter records—no one's soloed 40 billion since then. The 10th round first prize was 7.03413 billion after taxes originally. Thanks to me, it jumped to 4.34139 billion. Our household winnings: first place 21.76968615 billion won, second place 163.2536 million won, third place 3.4256 million won. Total: 21.873647815 billion won.
This was bound to hit the headlines. Probably the papers too. And lottery winners getting murdered wasn't unheard of. Dad seemed clueless, but Mom, dead serious, rattled off all the risks. Like always, she outshone Dad in wisdom. And so Mom laid out the perfect plan...
In the end, Dad took leave and stepped out, wired with tension, to claim the prize. He dressed like he was off to rob a bank, gripping Mom's hand tight and nodding solemnly. Anyone would think he was a soldier shipping out.
"Seon-hwa-ya..."
"Yeah? Don't shake."
"I-I'm off. Then we visit the ancestors."
"Of course. We will."
...Watching them steel themselves, I could already picture annual grave visits. Gonna get annoying fast. Should've called it the Golden Pig instead of a grave. Now we're stuck visiting some long-dead relative.
Dad came back after two hours, looking wrecked like he hadn't slept.
"They yapped about donations, investments, all sorts... Didn't understand a word."
"And...?"
"Said if I blow it like my company and pay off debts first, they'd release it."
I eavesdropped and nodded. IMF was five years back. Korea's economic scars lingered everywhere. A guy like that winning big? They'd hesitate to cling. Look at Dad's getup—utterly broken, like a suicidal wreck. And sweating buckets in early spring...?
Mom broached it carefully.
"Honey."
"Yeah...?"
"After paying debts... Young-sun, Hong-yeon, Chan-hee..."
"Stop... It's obvious."
Mom trailed off, guilty. Those were names of friends from his failed business. Eyes wet, Dad wiped them tenderly.
"But first, we sort ourselves, then talk."
"Thanks..."
As the storm passed, they finally thanked me too. Still tens of billions in the bank. Plenty even if we splurged. And it was in Mom's account, so she chewed Dad out.
"You said you'd manage it all."
"Exactly. I've planned how we use it, so listen up."
"How?"
Mom grabbed a marker and scrawled numbers on the wall without hesitation.
"First, your pocket money: 2 million a month."
"Th-that much?"
"Not much. Even if you blow through it till you die, it's 14 billion. I'll deposit it. Here's the account and card. From now on, what you earn, you spend."
"!!! Th-then..."
"Play soccer. That's my dream. You're hottest when you're playing sports..."
Mom's face flushed girlishly—a smile I'd never seen. Dad jumped up and hugged her.
"Seon-hwa-ya!!!"
"Shh!"
To me, it looked like she was giving him 1/10th, but he beamed anyway. Mom explained she'd set up a joint account with him too. And one for me and Min-ji. But just 1 million a month for us.
"The rest?"
"Move house, buy a car, trips, dinners. Strictly! For family only."
"....."
I wanted to say buy buildings instead. Land's about to skyrocket. But after her massive failure, I couldn't push Mom like that. She wouldn't chase ventures anyway. Min-ji stared blankly at the wall, clueless. I handed her crayons.
"Wanna doodle?"
"C-can I...?"
"Mom did it too?"
"Then I will!"
I doodled on the wall with Min-ji. Felt like we'd move tomorrow anyway... Whatever. Moving wasn't instant; we'd stick in the cramped place a bit longer.
Next day, the foreign luxury car with those two thugs showed up again. Debts paid, but here they were. Except... Dad was home. He'd quit to train for pro soccer. They bumped into my parents heading out to shop. I watched from behind the wall.
Mom spotted them and yelped, ducking behind Dad. The two, windows down, eyed them.
"Hubby, huh?"
Dad's face hardened at Mom's reaction. Never knew his dopey mug could turn that feral.
"Ahh, so you're the fuckers my son mentioned...?"
"...??"
Shit-talk on first meet—pure charisma. Guess I take after Dad. Wait, was that a curse?
The thugs bristled at his casual tone.
"We were creditors till yesterday, and now you're half-assing us..."
BAM!!!
"Kyaaak!"
Mom clutched Dad at the explosion. From afar, I learned for the first time a human kick could shove a car. Dad's footprint stamped clear on the door. The thugs gawked, jaws on the floor like me.
"What'd you say...?"
"N-nothing."
They paled at the print. Dad pulled a 1,000-won bill from his wallet.
"Repair fee... Enough?"
"Y-yes..."
"Show your faces again. Next time, it's the shin."
"....."
Holy shit... A shin kick like that would drop Wolverine. The luxury car peeled out silently down the alley. I flashed back to giving Dad those lotto numbers. Good thing no one spat in his face—we'd have ghosts visiting.