A Taste of a Whole New World
"Remember. In Korea, money comes first.
Only when you have money will you not be looked down upon, only with money can you learn what you want to learn, and only with money can you do what you want to do. So, you must be absolutely meticulous when it comes to anything related to money. Even family members must never get entangled with money. If you absolutely must, you have to make sure the legal procedures are airtight. That's the only way to prevent problems. The way to do that is..."
To Cheol-jun, his father Jaegang's words were like religious truth.
So even if there were parts that were hard to understand, he simply believed them and engraved them in his mind.
"Well, you see. It's, it's hard right now. The, locked-up money, should I call it? No, no. It's not that I won't give it to you, huh? Right. Yeah. You're still a minor. Your uncle, huh? I'll just keep it safe until you become an adult..."
Usually, people in a disadvantageous position talk a lot.
Cheol-jun sighed softly and closely observed the man he had met for the first time today.
If he felt anything suspicious, Cheol-jun planned to find another guardian without any regrets.
After all, there were a few other people his father had set up in South Korea whom he could ask for help.
......?
One of Cheol-jun's eyebrows twitched.
The man was flustered, but his eyes didn't look like he was trying to hide something.
Instead, he had the face of someone who had just experienced something incredibly interesting.
And a bit of... pride? That kind of emotion was faintly visible.
His father, Jaegang, used to look at him like that from time to time.
Cheol-jun's stiff expression softened slightly.
He would have to see more, but observing this uncle closely, although he seemed a bit rough around the edges, he didn't seem like a bad person.
Cheol-jun opened the human network data he had built in his head.
For now, Tier 4 trust for closest associates...
For the first person he met after arriving in South Korea, a Tier 4 trust rating on first impression was actually quite decent.
"Why? You can't trust your uncle?"
Cheol-jun smiled.
"I trust you."
"Ha. Right! Just trust your uncle! Huh? Live diligently, and when you become a proper adult..."
Cheol-jun quickly shook his head.
His father had predicted this situation as well and had told him in detail what actions to take.
This was a separate issue from trust.
His father had said that relying on such abstract concepts would definitely cause problems down the road.
"Please establish a legal basis. Also, please apply to the court for a guardianship supervisor."
"Ah, th-that requires hiring a lawyer, which costs money, so for now, just trust your uncle..."
"My dad said that if we contact the Legal Aid Corporation, we can get help for free. They also handle cases where guardians violate their duty of property management..."
"......"
"We can just establish a legal basis for the living expenses I need until I become an adult and deduct it precisely from that money."
"Ha..."
Cheol-jun smiled brightly at Hyeong-man, who looked utterly dumbfounded.
"The phone number for Kim Han-soo at the National Intelligence Service is 010-6346-5..."
"Haha. Wow... Hey, you bastard, why are you cutting in there without even using your blinker, damn it! You drive like absolute shit! Seriously! ... Oh, um... Okay, okay. I get it. Let's go to a lawyer's office first thing tomorrow! Happy?"
Cheol-jun nodded with a bright, innocent face.
"Yes!"
Sigh...
Hyeong-man shook his head in disbelief.
That bastard Jaegang had always been meticulous, but this was something else.
He had certainly raised his kid right.
"You can sleep in that room for now. If you need anything else, just let me know."
"Yes! Thank you!"
Cheol-jun smiled widely as he looked at his own space.
It was wonderful.
It was the first time in his life he had his own room.
When he lived in Shenyang with his dad, he had a room once, but it was more of a partitioned space than an actual room.
But this was a real room.
There was a bed, a desk, and a chair with wheels.
There was a sturdy door that could lock, solid walls, and even a window.
Cheol-jun threw the window wide open.
Wow! It's so high.
His first day in Korea.
Everything was exciting for Cheol-jun.
"Aren't you hungry? We should eat first."
"Oh!"
"What do you want to eat?"
"Meat!"
"Ha, right. Meat is great. What kind of meat?"
Cheol-jun blinked his round eyes.
There were quite a few things his dad had told him they must eat together when they went to Korea.
The first one that came to mind was—
"Chicken!"
"Oh! What kind of chicken?"
"Uh..."
Were there different kinds of chicken?
"Well..."
"Haha. Hold on. Uncle will order for you."
About thirty minutes passed, and the doorbell rang.
"This is called Bburinkle. I searched it up, and they say elementary schoolers love it the most..."
A moment later.
Cheol-jun sucked the yellow magic powder off his fingers, his round eyes widening even further.
It was a taste of a whole new world, making him instantly understand why his dad had insisted they must eat chicken when they came to Korea.
"Yeah, the kid fell asleep a bit ago. He must have been tired. He's really smart. Jaegang raised him incredibly well. ... Well, he acts nonchalant, but his inside must be a mess. Just a moment ago, he was sobbing in his sleep. He keeps flinching, like he's having a fit. His dad was shot dead right in front of his eyes, so of course the shock must have been massive. Yet, he doesn't show it at all. The kid is very mature. Are kids these days all this fast? ... I don't know. I didn't even get to see my own kid grow up properly. ... Yeah. Right. Got it. Once the kid adjusts a bit and settles his mind, let's all get together. ... Yeah, man. Jaegang's kid is all of our kid. Yeah, got it. Oh, right. Where was Seok-hyun's law office again? ... No, no. I just want to make things airtight regarding the guardianship. ... Yeah. Okay."
After the call, Hyeong-man looked at the slightly open door.
Sigh... Poor kid.
The boy who had acted so nonchalant had started flinching and sobbing shortly after falling asleep.
It was only natural.
For such a young child to witness such a shocking scene right before his eyes...
He couldn't even begin to fathom the depth of that pain.
Hyeong-man downed a shot of soju and scrunched up his nose.
Although they hadn't seen each other often, Jaegang was practically a hero to the field agents who had operated in China.
Though his deeds were unrecorded due to the nature of their work, there was a truckload of people who owed him their lives.
Every single one of them had wanted to repay that debt somehow.
They had been eagerly counting down the days until his return...
Whew...
But if there was any consolation, it was that Jaegang had at least sent his son to them.
Hyeong-man downed another shot of soju.
Let's see, what I have to do tomorrow...
Comprehensive checkup, child psychological evaluation, intellectual level test, Wechsler Intelligence Scale...
It's going to be a busy day. Especially if we have to stop by the law office too...
Hyeong-man capped the half-empty soju bottle.
It was the first time in a long while that he had left soju unfinished.
"Yes, compared to his peers, his physical growth is indeed quite delayed. His height is in the bottom 10%... But other than that, everything is perfectly fine. In fact, it's above normal. His bone density is actually quite high for his age, and his muscle mass is considerable. His body fat percentage is in the top 1% for his age group, and his blood test results show absolutely no abnormalities. His cardiopulmonary function is also excellent. At this rate, it's safe to assume he has been managing himself with daily exercise..."
"Well, he does show some attention deficit. He tends to get bored easily. However, that is a common phenomenon in children whose emotional development is still ongoing. In contrast, his language ability is outstanding. His ability to pinpoint the core of a question is superb. His social flexibility also scored very high. If you look at this graph, his verbal expression is more mature than his peers, and his self-awareness is high. However, there are a few concerning points. He shows some perfectionist tendencies, and his fear of failure is too great. Given the situation the child went through, his emotional hypersensitivity is understandable, but there's a sense that he is constantly imagining and reconstructing new situations due to worry and anxiety. He also shows a bit of obsessive-compulsive tendency. For now, no psychopathology meeting the diagnostic criteria has been observed, but you should visit occasionally in the future..."
Yoon Kyung-mi, a clinical psychologist at the Child Development Center of Ilsung General Hospital's Pediatric Psychiatry Department, sat in front of the child with a bright smile.
The child had round, charming eyes beneath an innocent expression.
"Hello there. Have you been waiting long?"
"Hmm, about eight minutes. It wasn't that long of a wait."
"...Ah, really?"
Before the test, during the first question to build rapport, Yoon Kyung-mi was momentarily speechless at an answer that was not at all typical for an eleven-year-old.
She quickly gathered herself and organized the test papers on the table.
Then, she reviewed the referral note from the pediatric psychiatry department.
Attention deficit, high social flexibility, perfectionist tendencies, emotional hypersensitivity, imagining and reconstructing the future...
These were diagnoses commonly found in gifted children.
Remembering a few key points, Kyung-mi smiled warmly.
"Cheol-jun, how did you get here today?"
"By car."
"Really? Did it take long?"
"Hmm, the distance wasn't that far, but there was a lot of traffic. We also had to wait a long time to park. So, about forty minutes?"
"Wow. Cheol-jun, you're really smart. Do you know what you're doing with me today?"
"An intelligence test? An exam?"
"Ah, yes. Something like that. But what you're doing with me today isn't an exam. Getting things right or wrong isn't what's important."
"Yes."
"If you don't know, you can just say you don't know. You don't have to force yourself to answer."
"Yes, Teacher."
The child smiled brightly and nodded.
During their brief conversation, he had already given two highly unusual answers, leaving Yoon Kyung-mi slightly tense.
Usually, children like this scored extremely high on intelligence tests.
"Alright, don't be nervous. Let me know when you're ready, and we'll begin."
"You can start as soon as you are ready, Teacher."
"Huh?"
Cheol-jun blinked his round eyes.
He had said it unconsciously because the teacher also seemed nervous, but it seemed it wasn't something a normal child would say.
Seeing how she asked him to repeat himself despite definitely hearing him the first time.
"Remember. Unless it's something fun or happy, never do your best. You will naturally do everything above average. If you do, people might try to use you. You might end up in a situation where you have to keep doing things you don't even enjoy. So, for now, hide it. Until you grasp the whole situation, being ordinary is the safest."
His father's words flashed through his mind, and Cheol-jun quickly shook his head.
"Ah, no, it's nothing!"
Only then could Kyung-mi define the strange sense of incongruity she had been feeling from the child.
The rapport-building stage before the test.
Usually, children were nervous or intimidated in front of an unfamiliar adult.
During that time, the psychologist had to guide them into a comfortable conversation while closely observing them.
Yes. It was supposed to be the time for her to read the child.
Wait. Was he reading me first?
Flustered, Yoon Kyung-mi quickly adjusted her expression with an eye-smile and nervously shuffled the test papers.
This hospital was one of the top four general hospitals in South Korea.
It was the place where children evaluated as highly intelligent in standard pediatric psychiatry clinics came for final, precise testing.
As such, she had seen plenty of incredibly smart kids, but this felt like it was on a completely different level.
Though she was deeply shocked inside, she maintained as natural an expression as possible and organized the test sheets.
"I'm ready. Are you ready, Cheol-jun?"
"Yes. I'm ready."
"Alright, shall we begin?"
"Yes."
Yoon Kyung-mi turned the page of the test sheet with high expectations.
The test sequence usually proceeds in the order of Block Design, Similarities, Digit Span, Matrix Reasoning, Vocabulary, Figure Weights, Visual Puzzles, and Picture Span.
However, not long after starting the first subtest, Block Design, Yoon Kyung-mi's eyes widened to their absolute limit.
Block Design.
The child had to arrange solid-colored blocks to match the pattern shown on a card.
An average eleven-year-old would try fitting the blocks one by one, gradually figuring it out.
However, children with outstanding spatial cognitive abilities were incredibly fast.
The number of times their eyes darted back and forth between the card and the blocks was significantly lower, and they found the necessary blocks almost instantly.
Such children would observe the card for a few seconds longer.
This was because their cognitive structure involved thinking first and executing based on that judgment.
Wow...
Yoon Kyung-mi stared at Cheol-jun, her mouth hanging open.
His time spent analyzing the card was far shorter than even that of gifted children.
Yet, from the moment he picked up the blocks, he didn't look back at the card once, nor did he hesitate.
It meant his observational skills and short-term memory were extraordinarily superior.
Furthermore, the order in which he placed the blocks was unusual.
Average children—even those considered quite smart—usually built the pattern starting from the top left.
But this child started with whichever block he happened to pick up first.
Using that first block as a reference, he would start from the center, or establish the diagonal line first.
The speed at which he matched the blocks was absurd, but the approach itself was on a completely different level.
What... is this kid?
Astonishment.
Only a few Block Design items had passed, but that was the emotion filling the eyes of Yoon Kyung-mi, a psychologist of eight years.
Just then, Cheol-jun stole a glance at Yoon Kyung-mi's state.
Her expression, the position and movement of her fingers, the line of her shoulders, the angle of her waist, her gaze—analyzing all of it in an instant, Cheol-jun realized his mistake.
Uh-oh.
From the next card shown, he began to pretend to think a bit longer.
Knowing all the answers to such easy questions and having to do them slowly on purpose was incredibly frustrating.
Cheol-jun continued to solve the problems carefully after that.
Not too fast, maintaining a reasonable pace while observing the teacher's expression.
Cheol-jun figured that the rule of this test was time.
So, he tried to maintain ordinariness just by adjusting his speed.
But Yoon Kyung-mi was an expert.
Although Cheol-jun's block-matching speed had slowed down significantly, she was constantly amazed for a different reason.
What? He only looks at the card once.
Normally, the reason a child's time increased in this test was that they doubted their own memory and kept checking the card.
But this child was only spending time finding the blocks.
His eyes had clearly identified the correct block, yet his hand would pick up a different one, only to put it back down.
It was clear.
For some reason, this child was intentionally slowing down his pace.
Wow...
It was her first time.
Seeing a child like this.
When Yoon Kyung-mi unconsciously let her mouth hang half-open, the hand of the child, who caught her reaction, slowed down even further.
Then, he made a very troubled face.
Yoon Kyung-mi quickly composed her expression.