When I Gave Up, Life Got Easier

Maybe the signs had been coming all along.

Back in elementary school, when I was unusually small—

When I finally landed one clean hit on the pig who had tormented me so mercilessly.

"Stop it! You fat pig bastard!!!"

Wham!!

I threw a punch. Straight at the pig who'd been bullying me without mercy.

The second I hit him, the fear hit me harder. What was going to happen to me now? How much worse would the bullying get? Everything I'd shrugged off when I swung that fist came crashing over me in waves of dread.

And then—

"Squeeeeeal!!!! Squeeeeeal!!!!"

The pig went down. He was wailing like a hog with its throat cut, tears pouring out of him. Blood from his nose streamed down both of those well-fattened cheeks.

"E-Eunho won!!!"

"Wooooah!!!"

"Eunho!!"

"Holy crap!!"

"......"

My friends erupted in cheers. Everyone had been waiting for that pig's downfall. But my joy ended right there.

Slap!!!!

The pig's mother stormed into the school and slapped me across the face. It hurt. Tears pricked at my eyes. But I didn't cry. I hadn't done anything wrong.

"How dare you glare at me like that—!"

"Ma'am, please! Calm down! Eunho's father will be here any minute…"

"Ugh…!!!"

The pig's mother twisted her fat, wrinkled face into a snarl. God, she was ugly. So that was where the pig got it from.

"Eunho's father is here!"

I was still staring at that ugly sow of a mother when Dad arrived at the school.

"......"

"Dad…"

Was he angry about my swollen cheek? His face went dark as he strode straight toward the pig's mother.

"Wh-what do you want?!"

"I'll cover the medical bills, and I'll throw in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a settlement on top. Let's wrap this up reasonably."

"…How much of a settlement are we talking…?"

Why wasn't he angry? I'd been hit. I'd been the one getting bullied.

Dad spoke with her for a moment, then led me out to the playground.

"You're going to your grandmother's."

"Grandma's…?"

"You'll be living there from now on."

"We're moving…?"

"No. Just you."

"What…?"

"Your father is dead. Think of it that way, and don't come looking for me."

"Dad…"

What the hell was he talking about? A perfectly living father declaring himself dead. It made no sense. But whether I understood or not didn't matter.

He took me home. My things had already been shipped to Grandma's place in a provincial city. And I, too, climbed into his silent car and rode down to her house without a word.

"You rotten bastard…!!"

"I'll be going now."

"Get the hell out of here! You piece of trash!! I don't even need to curse your mother—you're the same kind of scum she is!!"

"......"

"A bastard who abandons his own kid…!! Don't you ever show your face around this child again!"

"That would be ideal."

"Why, you…!!!"

"......"

Dad turned and left without so much as a glance at my face. Grandma went inside, filled a bowl with salt, and flung it all over his car. Then she turned to me with a bright smile and pulled me into her arms.

"Oh, my little puppy~ You must be exhausted from the trip~~"

"......"

Honestly, I was scared. Watching her face flip in an instant had terrified me. But I'd been wrong. Grandma was the warmest, most loving person in the entire world.

Dad dumped me on Grandma when I was ten. Mom ran off with another man when I was four.

The only person who ever loved a kid abandoned by both parents. My only family left in this world.

Grandma.

"Eunho, your grandmother has gone somewhere better. So don't cry too hard."

"......"

Even Grandma left me. It hurt so much I didn't eat for days—just cried and cried. Eventually even the tears dried up.

"I'm going to step out for some air… Could you watch over things here for a bit?"

"Of course, of course~ Go on~"

Whenever I stepped away, the neighborhood elders kept vigil by Grandma's side. Dad never showed. And Mom—whose face I couldn't even remember—obviously wasn't coming either.

"Haa…."

I let out a long breath and inhaled. Cigarette smoke drifting in front of the funeral hall pulled into my lungs. Grandma had smoked a lot too. That was what killed her.

"Haa…."

I sighed once more and got to my feet. I couldn't leave the hall empty for too long.

Then, for a second, I felt it—the sense that Dad was about to step out of that gleaming foreign car.

Clunk—

It was real. The man climbing out of the driver's seat was Dad. So he came on the last day after all. But he wasn't alone.

"Serin, look at Mommy. There we go. Our daughter's so pretty~"

"Hehe~ Are we going to see Grandma?"

"Yes. But no laughing and chattering, okay? Understood?"

"Okay! Serin will be quiet!"

I already knew. Drunk Grandma had mentioned it now and then—he'd fallen for a woman twenty years younger and left me behind. That pretty woman was probably his new wife. That kid was his daughter.

But wasn't she a little too old? She looked about ten. Dad had dumped me on Grandma eight years ago. So he'd already had another family before that.

"Ha…"

Unbelievable.

"Where is she?"

"Go on in."

"......"

I stayed outside a little longer—maybe ten seconds. I didn't want to walk in with them.

"As Mother wished, I won't touch the inheritance. So rest easy and don't worry."

"Son of a bitch."

"......"

Ah. That was supposed to stay in my head. But how was I supposed to not curse? He shows up after eight years and the first thing out of his mouth isn't an apology—it's that. He never once visited her in the hospital, and now that she's gone he drops by just to soothe his own conscience. The sight of it made the words impossible to hold back.

"Contact me at this number. I'll handle the various arrangements."

"No need. Take the inheritance. You're her child, after all."

"If you don't need it, go donate it somewhere."

"......"

With that, Dad left the funeral hall, leaving behind a single lawyer's business card. His woman and daughter left with him. And so I kept the wake alone and sent Grandma off.

I'd never done any of this before, and handling it alone hit a wall, so I ended up needing a lawyer's help. Of course I'd already thrown away the card Dad left, so I found a local attorney instead.

"Eunho, are you sure you don't need this money? You're really going to donate it?"

The lawyer eyed me with pure greed, looking like it was his own cash he was reluctant to part with.

Grandma's inheritance. The share that bastard of a father was supposed to receive. And I was supposed to take it? It made me sick. Not the inheritance itself—the idea of that man sleeping easy, telling himself he'd done his duty by leaving it to me. That was what disgusted me.

"Then how about I manage the money and look into some places to donate?"

"No. I'll handle it myself."

"E-Eunho!!"

I walked out of the lawyer's office with the bankbook in hand.

141,000,000 won. For ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an eighteen-year-old, that was an enormous sum. And so the greed crept in. With this money I could cover university tuition—maybe even get a small jeonse apartment in Seoul and live on my own.

It scared me. The way I was already wavering over money I'd called disgusting. I needed to get it out of my hands as fast as possible.

Should I actually donate it? But if you donate wrong, you end up paying a fortune in taxes…

"Huh?"

Cryptocurrency, huh… Adults always said that stuff was a scam…

Eh. Just park it there. If I leave it in the bank account, I'll actually spend it. And they say there's no tax on this, so nothing to worry about. Perfect.

I studied myself half to death as a test-prep student while working part-time jobs to cover tuition. Even after starting university it was the same—classes and side jobs. Then the military.

That one really pissed me off. I was basically an orphan—why the hell did I have to serve? I couldn't make sense of it. But complaining wouldn't change anything, so I enlisted.

After discharge I went right back to juggling school and part-time work. I graduated, landed a job immediately, and at twenty-six I was a proper working adult. It wasn't a great company by most people's standards, but I was satisfied. It was the payoff for a life spent running without a single break. I really had been content.

At first, anyway.

"Hey! Yoo Eunho!!"

That pig of a man who barked people's names like he owned them was the manager of our department. He only did it to me. Even juniors who'd joined after me got a polite "Mr. So-and-so"—but my name he just flung around however he pleased. Still, smiling and answering was part of being an office worker.

"Yes, Manager!"

"Get over here already!"

"Coming!"

I hurried over and stood in front of his desk. He crooked a finger, beckoning me closer.

"Yes, Manager. What is it?"

"What is it?"

He twisted that ugly face into a nasty scowl, grabbed my belt, and started jostling me around, thumping my stomach like he was punching it.

"Hey, why didn't you pick up yesterday? I told you to answer your phone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even in the evening!"

"I'm sorry. I was so exhausted I fell asleep."

"Sleep? While the rest of us are killing ourselves entertaining clients late into the night, you're sleeping easy at home??"

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, you little shit!!!! Sorry fixes everything?!!"

Client entertainment, my ass. They just drank on the company card. After stuffing themselves with expensive booze and good food, they called me so they wouldn't have to pay for a designated driver. And once I showed up, the manager would brag to the department heads and directors—said I drove like a dream, that I'd get them home in perfect comfort. If you're going to use me as a free chauffeur, at least throw me some cash. He never even bought me a single coffee, and he called me at all hours of the night and early morning…!!

"From now on, you answer the phone the second it rings. When I call, you come running. Got it?!"

"Yes, Manager."

"Brat, that attitude…! Get back to work!"

"Yes!"

I returned to my desk. Pretending to work, I tapped at the keyboard and messaged my fellow new hires.

My fellow new hires—stuck in the same hell—were the only reason I was still hanging on. But I had no idea how much longer I could last.

The Dart Coin I'd dumped all of Grandma's inheritance into had been delisted. That taught me a hard lesson, and I worked even harder. Besides, it had never been an investment meant to make money in the first place.

Manager Oh invested? That cheapskate Manager Oh? The guy who wouldn't buy a single cup of coffee with his own money—investing?

There was no way that man put money into anything without rock-solid information.

Retto Coin… Retto Coin…

Should I take a look?

Clack-clack-clack-clack—

I even unlocked my dormant account and logged into the exchange for the first time in ages.

And then—what the hell was this?

"Ah… I slept plenty last night, though…."

I scrubbed at my eyes and face like I was washing them, then checked the monitor again. It was still there. Something that had no business being there.

"Is this… real…?"