The Reason for Staying Home
“Are you really comparing my daughter to a secretary who does nothing but play the role of a gofer?”
“...?”
“Looking at her, she’s even younger than you. Did you get completely swept off your feet by her?”
Eunbyul understood immediately why he had said that. It had more impact than all the hundreds of sentences and words he had used to explain why her father-in-law’s house was like a fiery pit of hell. Ah, he really is a piece of trash. That was her only thought.
“Son-in-law, haven’t I always told you? Since my daughter is older than you, she can lead you well and help you...”
“Father-in-law. A ‘gofer,’ you say?”
“Isn’t that right? In terms of the court, isn’t she the type of person who would work in the deposit or records management department? Huh?”
That statement is a disparaging remark against Grade 7-9 court administrative officials, Jia’s father.
However, as if to seize the initiative, her father spoke to him again.
“Right. I understand you. You didn’t receive any comfort even after I spat out such harsh words, and then when my daughter made a mistake, your temper must have exploded. I would be the same in your shoes. I am deeply sorry. That’s right.”
“....”
“From now on, keep your distance from that girl who is nothing special. My daughter even got slapped by me. I will educate her firmly from now on, so...”
“Did you say ‘nothing special’?”
It’s a funny fact, but when her father was the Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court, the company that carried out some of the court’s renovation work was Seongjeong. Why is it funny? Because Eunbyul’s father, the Chairman of Seongjeong, was so enraged by a few court administrative officials who tried to embezzle some tax money by squeezing the construction company through the budget, that he reported them directly to the Board of Audit and Inspection.
At that time, Eunbyul’s father had stormed into the Board of Audit and Inspection:
“Look here, you people. What are this so-called Chief Judge and his aides doing? These bastards...”
“Sir, please calm down. Where are you from...”
“I’m the CEO of the construction company doing the annex construction for the Seoul Court in Seocho-dong. Damn it, is this a joke? Forget it, just bring the person in charge out here!”
The working-level official searched the monitor for a moment, then jumped up in surprise. The photo in the profile on the internet was identical to the person in front of him. A man who easily possessed 4 to 5 trillion won in assets was storming in and shouting, so the official quickly called the administrative officer to find out what was going on. The administrative officer, wondering what the fuss was about, came out, his eyes widened, and he immediately went upstairs.
“Chief, we have a big problem.”
“What is it?”
Kim Chae-jin, the then-Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, who was watering his plants, was about to take out some wire, thinking, I’m bored, should I manage my bonsai? A young administrative officer had dared to barge into the Chairman’s office without knocking, but the Chairman thought it wouldn’t be a big deal and planned to listen first and scold him later.
“A petitioner related to court construction has arrived. You must come down immediately...”
“No, you could just ask the Director of the Public Institution Audit Bureau. You’re in your first year, so I know you don’t know much, but you shouldn’t just barge into the Chairman’s office...”
“It’s just that, the petitioner’s identity...”
While he was saying that, Eunbyul’s father, Eun Seong-min, whose face was beet-red, appeared behind the officer as if he had been guided directly to the Chairman’s seat, and spoke.
“Are you the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection?”
“...? Who are...”
“Good grief, making things complicated. I’m the CEO of Seongjeong, the one building the court, and what are you doing not auditing things like this!”
At the words Court, Seongjeong, CEO, the Chairman put down the wire and unlocked his phone to search the internet. Meanwhile, her father lit a cigarette from a pack and smoked it openly in the Chairman’s office.
Do you think he was being a nuisance? If he had been, he would have been kicked out.
“...Ah, well, I... eh, um... so,”
“Once you’ve looked it all up, come over here and listen to why I came.”
“Ah... yes, Chairman. I apologize. I didn’t recognize you beforehand...”
“None of that! I was about to storm into the National Assembly, but I held back!”
After some time, the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection—who holds the 10th rank in the Republic of Korea’s order of protocol, one step lower than the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and one step higher than the Minister of Economy and Finance—brought an ashtray to the Chairman of Seongjeong. He didn’t even care if his bonsai was being damaged by the cigarette smoke; he was too busy focusing on the documents Eun Seong-min had brought.
As he read them, her father said:
“We received 30 billion won for our construction costs, but why is their invoice showing 50 billion won? Huh? Hey, Chairman, isn’t auditing things like this your job?”
“I apologize. There might be a typo in the invoice, so I will contact the working-level staff and...”
It wasn’t even an excuse.
“You damn bastard, where are you spouting that mouth? I’ll stab you, you public servant!”
“...I apologize.”
“Chairman, do you make a typo of 30.1758261 billion won into 48.89461 billion won? Are you playing with me right now? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”
The reason Eunbyul’s father was angry was simple. Building a court through a public administration project bid—fine. That’s a project where it’s okay to receive only 5% of the original construction cost. It expands their presence and becomes a bonus factor in future bids. But at some point, the construction team manager at Seongjeong Construction told the department head that the budget was insufficient, the department head told the deputy general manager, and the deputy general manager told the general manager that the project would be difficult to proceed with because there was no money. Only then did the general manager open the cost settlement table.
“Isn’t it because the accounts payable are delayed...”
He muttered to himself, but after looking at the table, he wondered if the construction cost was originally like this. The general manager called the team manager directly.
“Hey. Park, about the court construction data. Did we originally agree to do this for 30 billion won?”
“Ah... that... actually, there are some circumstances.”
“Why? What is it?”
“The court asked us to reduce the budget. When I asked how much we should proceed with, they called out 30 billion won... so I deducted it from the original construction cost of 48 billion won and proceeded.”
“...No, what are you talking about?”
“I thought additional budget would be paid or part of the construction would be canceled because it was approved by the higher-ups... The general manager also signed it the month before last... I thought it was all agreed upon.”
The general manager slapped his forehead, worried about how to report this incident where 18 billion won was about to vanish into thin air because he had signed off on it carelessly. Chairman Eun Seong-min, who was about to enter the office, saw it.
“Chairman, when I received the invoice, I thought it was finished at 50 billion won, but shouldn’t we investigate why it suddenly dropped?”
“...If it was approved at the working-level staff level...”
The Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection began to read the room, eyeing Eunbyul’s father sitting in front of him. The material cost settlement table, the landscaping settlement details, and the civil engineering cost change statement all looked like a bad picture. Embezzlement or intermediate corruption was suspected, but the court was a tiresome place to investigate. Most importantly, Kim Chae-jin, the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection at the time, was nearing the end of his term. He was an audit expert who had worked at the Board for 33 years, and since he had finished his term without any major accidents, he hoped that no stains on his honor would occur in his final years—but perhaps because she was his daughter, Eunbyul’s father was also capable of threats and sudden outbursts. Chairman Eun Seong-min, whose tone had immediately turned frighteningly calm, stared intently at the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection and said:
“Oh. I see. That’s difficult, isn’t it?”
“...Chairman, for matters like this, we...”
“Then, as soon as I leave here, I will go to the National Assembly, find the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, and tell them that the Chief Judge is causing a deficit by slashing construction costs for a private company. Furthermore, I will have a one-on-one meeting with the President tomorrow to tell them about the behavior of the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, who says it’s difficult without even investigating why this construction cost was given a 50% discount.”
A one-on-one meeting with the President tomorrow? What an absurd schedule.
“If the President’s schedule doesn’t match, let’s do it the day after tomorrow. As a citizen, I will say that I am having a hard time because of the deficit while the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection only says it’s difficult. I will inform the Federation of Korean Industries that people doing business in this country are dying like this and ask for their opinion.”
After that, Eunbyul’s father made a phone call. Judging by the fact that the phone number started with 010, it seemed he intended to call the Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries directly. Ah, to make matters worse, the owner of that phone number was—
“Hello, Chairman Han Ju-won of the Federation of Korean Industries. I have always respected you. It’s nothing else, but...”
“If you ask me to plug your daughter into a secretary position again, I’m hanging up.”
They were friends.