Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: The Prodigy's Fake Payoff
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“Hello?”
Despite my greeting, Baek Jae-ha just stared at me silently. If a stranger had seen it, they might’ve wondered if he was deaf.
He was so quiet it was hard to believe he was at that prime age full of youthful vigor.
Compared to other kids his age who could never sit still, there was something downright eerie about him.
“I’m Song Woo-yeon.”
I knelt down to meet Baek Jae-ha’s eye level. The sunlight filtering through the cracks in the wall seemed like the only light permitted to him.
“What’s your name?”
Baek Jae-ha stared at me as if searching obsessively for something.
[He looks way too young.]
At a glance, he seemed barely middle-school age. With how huddled up he was, it was hard to judge, but his height looked about the same as mine or maybe a bit shorter.
“…….”
Baek Jae-ha stayed silent for a long time.
I rummaged in my pocket and pulled out some printouts I’d prepared in advance.
“Here. This is yours, right?”
“!”
“The blog was fun. Great ideas too.”
I grinned, and for the first time, Baek Jae-ha reacted.
He flinched in surprise, then scurried off to the side like a shot. He peeked his head out from beyond the annex.
It was like he’d realized I was a total outsider, someone he’d never seen before.
Fear toward the stranger mixed with surging curiosity, making his eyes sparkle.
“Ah, yeah. Especially this part. Using strawberries here was such a brilliant idea…….”
“Hey! Who’s there?!”
That was when it happened.
Before I could finish, someone bellowed. At the same time, Baek Jae-ha—who’d been creeping forward with interest—ducked back inside.
“What are you doing in front of someone else’s house?!”
I turned around slowly.
A balding middle-aged man stood side by side with a woman whose sharp, vicious eyes were narrowed.
They eyed the sudden intruder with suspicion.
So, it’s you two.
“Nice to meet you. Here’s who I am.”
Baek Jae-ha’s abusive foster parents. Subhuman scum worse than dogs.
I showed them my business card from The Song scout division.
“Huh?”
“What’s this? The Song?”
“Yes, that’s right. We found someone who perfectly matches the talent profile our company was seeking, so I took the liberty of coming here in person.”
Their expressions softened a bit. They didn’t know who I was, but they sniffed out the scent of money right away.
People like this always have a nose for cash.
“Talent? Who, you don’t mean our Woo-joon?”
“Oh my! Looks like it! How did you spot our Woo-joon all the way from the mainland…….”
“No.”
I cut them off flatly.
“I’m here for Baek Jae-ha.”
“……Jae-ha?”
The moment they heard Baek Jae-ha’s name, their faces stiffened. The enthusiasm deflated instantly.
“You must be mistaken. That kid doesn’t have anything special about him.”
“Yeah, if anything, he’s lacking.”
“He doesn’t even answer when you call him, no expressions at all. No idea what’s going through his head. Not cute in the slightest.”
They badmouthed him shamelessly, even with Baek Jae-ha right there listening. Before they could say worse, I showed them the materials I’d brought.
“Do you see this? It’s a blog run by Baek Jae-ha.”
“Huh? A blog?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s where you post your thoughts or creations online. Through this, we got a glimpse of Baek Jae-ha’s talent. As you can see, they’re recipes where he reinterprets foods from around the world—ones he’s never even tasted—based on photos, reconstructing them in his own way…….”
“What? Online? We don’t let him use the computer at home.”
They ignored what I said and just spouted their own nonsense. Then Baek Jae-ha’s stepmother clapped her hands and shouted.
“Oh my goodness! They said he had to go to school even after exams for counseling?! And after we let him go, he’s been doing this in the computer room?!”
“What? Jeez. We told him college is pointless anyway, so what’s the counseling for, but he insisted on going. Turns out he was lying through his teeth to fool adults?”
“Good grief. Can’t he come home early and help with chores or farm work? He’s so damn lazy. Always scheming ways to slack off!”
They huffed and puffed with outrage, then started pounding on the warehouse room in the annex.
“Hey! Baek Jae-ha! You little punk, get out here!”
As the stepfather banged roughly on the door, the stepmother sidled up naturally—like she’d done this a hundred times—and tried to shoo me away.
“Hey, scout or whatever, come back tomorrow! When Woo-joon’s dad gets mad, nothing’s safe~.”
“What? No, wait a second.”
She tried to push me out forcefully, so I braced myself and held firm.
All that cooking and part-time work had packed my body with battle-hardened, compressed muscle.
When I didn’t budge, the stepmother went, “Huh?” in confusion.
Meanwhile, the stepfather forced the door open and grabbed Baek Jae-ha—who’d been hiding inside—by the scruff of the neck.
“L-Let go……!”
“Rebelling now?! Hey, you bastard. We send you to school and this is how you waste it?!”
“Eek!”
Baek Jae-ha let out a shrill scream and clawed at the stepfather’s hand gripping his neck.
“Argh!”
“Oh my, honey! Are you okay?!”
“That rat bastard!”
Baek Jae-ha hit the ground and immediately scrambled backward.
“After all we’ve done raising you! Ungrateful wretch!”
The stepfather’s face turned red and purple as he lumbered toward Baek Jae-ha.
That little act of resistance had been his limit. Baek Jae-ha couldn’t fight back anymore. Pale-faced, he just trembled in learned terror and helplessness, bracing for the brutal violence to come.
Swish.
I stepped between them.
“That’s enough.”
“Hey! Miss, don’t butt in when you don’t know what’s what.”
“This is family business—stay out of it!”
I snorted at their words. Family business? Since when was child abuse a family matter?
But would common sense even reach ears like theirs? It’d be like reciting scriptures to a cow.
There was a more effective way.
Rustle!
I opened the briefcase I’d brought. Bundles of cash inside gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.
“……!”
“Huh?!”
The two—who’d been ready to string Baek Jae-ha up—froze, eyes bulging.
They looked bewildered by the unprecedented situation. I stood taller, drawing strength from the huddled warmth of the kid behind me.
“This is the signing bonus I prepared in cash. Exactly 50 million won.”
“F-Fifty million won……!”
“Of course, it’s not free.”
Click.
I snapped the briefcase shut, and their greedy eyes locked onto me. Bloodshot veins were already crawling across them.
“Our [The Song] rates Baek Jae-ha’s talent very highly. So, in exchange for all his ideas belonging to [The Song] during the contract term—and no collaborations with other companies for at least two years after termination—we’d…….”
I slid the briefcase toward them.
“……pay 50 million won as signing bonus immediately.”
A heavy silence followed my words. They seemed to be piecing it together.
Suddenly, Baek Jae-ha must’ve looked like a golden goose.
“……O-Our Jae-ha’s always been such a clever kid!”
The stepmother changed her tune first. “Our Jae-ha.” As if she’d ever called him that once.
Ho ho ho. She forced a laugh.
Her mouth stretched into a strained grin, her fake eye smile so unnatural it was creepy to look at.
She elbowed the stepfather’s side, and he awkwardly chimed in.
“Y-Yeah, sure is.”
“But if we sign for this much money and our Jae-ha doesn’t do well? Do we have to give it back……?”
“No way. This is a true signing bonus. It’s not something you refund if he underperforms.”
“Ho ho ho! Oh my!”
The stepmother couldn’t contain her glee. She cleared her throat, then put on a nauseating show of concern.
“But our Jae-ha’s still so young…. If we take this huge signing bonus, he won’t manage it well. As his guardians, we should handle it for him, right, dear?”
“Y-Yeah!”
“And if our Jae-ha’s that talented, maybe we could ask for a bit more than 50 million…….”
“Signing bonuses like this are rare in the industry, ma’am.”
I smiled brightly but firmly.
“I understand Baek Jae-ha turns adult this year. You can discuss bonus management with him and his parents. Our president is very interested in recruiting him, so how about we draw up the contract ASAP…….”
I glanced at my watch.
“We’ll deduct 1 million won per minute.”
“What?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? You can’t just strong-arm us like this! W-We want 50 million or nothing……!”
“49 million.”
“!”
“48 million soon?”
They read from my relaxed demeanor that I wasn’t backing down. The stepmother’s overly sweet face twisted back to vicious in an instant.
“Let’s do the deal—contract!”
There we go.
They didn’t even ask to read the contract once. If they truly cared about Baek Jae-ha, that would’ve been the first thing out of their mouths.
“You drive a hard bargain. Seeing your judgment, ma’am, I know I came to the right place.”
I set the briefcase down with a flourish.
“I’ll leave the full 50 million as originally offered. In exchange, I’m taking Baek Jae-ha with me.”
“Y-Yes, sure!”
It was basically human trafficking their nephew for 50 million, but the stepmother’s eyes bulged red, glued to the briefcase.
“Then.”
I bowed politely, grabbed Baek Jae-ha’s hand, and walked briskly away.
Baek Jae-ha stared at me in a daze.
I put a finger to my lips——then mouthed:
[Run!]
Scamper!
Baek Jae-ha bolted after me without knowing why. We raced to the dock, where the last boat to the mainland was prepping to depart.
“Let’s go!”
At my shout, the boat set off.
As we pulled away from the dock a bit, the stepmother and stepfather—who’d chased after us—screamed at me.
“Hey, you scammer!”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the sight.
“Ahahaha!”
“……?”
Baek Jae-ha looked at me puzzled, so I grinned and explained.
“That briefcase earlier? The top bills are real, but the rest is all fake.”
“!”
Baek Jae-ha’s face lit up in shock.
No need to give those scumbags the full signing bonus, right?