The Cost of a Joyride
Bratty little shits — when people see something happening right in front of them that they can't accept, they sometimes freeze up for a moment.
I'm the same way. I was eating a late lunch at my usual gukbap place when Athena told me my car had detected an impact. I couldn't even finish my soup, paid in a hurry, and ran to the parking lot. When I got there, a horrible sight spread before my eyes. The hood and fender of my car, which should have been shining red, were now decked out in a two-tone paint job — ugly white scratches — and even the wheel had scuff marks.
"What kind of bastard did this? The hood and fender are even dented!"
For a moment I tried to deny reality and wondered if I'd scraped it somewhere, but there was no such memory.
> "The black box captured the culprit. They had a merry time running around on their bike."
When I watched the black box footage, a hollow laugh escaped me. A bunch of kids in school uniforms were riding bicycles, and one of them, apparently curious about my car, jumped on it and raised hell.
"How old are they? Even generously, they look like second-year middle schoolers." Even I caused trouble when I was in middle school, but I never damaged other people's property.
Seeing my car trashed, I asked my bodyguards if there were any problems with the other cars.
"No issues there," Carlos said, giving me a thumbs up.
> "No contact on the Escalade. Probably because it's bigger."
"I'm so frustrated I could go crazy. I wish they'd done it to the Escalade... Am I just not meant to drive a car?" A few days ago some crazy bastard rammed into my car, and now these brats scratch it and run off.
"Any distinguishing marks on the black box footage?" They ran off after causing this, which means even the culprit knew they did something wrong, but their mindset is beyond me.
> "The school uniform is visible, but the face is covered by a mask. However, based on the uniform, I tracked them down. They posted about it on their social media."
With that last comment, the post uploaded to Starstagram was deleted.
"Makes a person angry, doesn't it?" They seem to be causing trouble thinking they won't get punished because they're protected by that "minor exempt from punishment" law, but that doesn't mean they're immune to civil lawsuits.
> "I saved screenshots of the posts, so we have enough evidence."
"As if deleting it makes the evidence disappear... They're young, so they probably don't know how the world works." Even teaching these impudent brats some manners was one thing, but seeing my car so brutally violated made my heart feel like it was tearing.
"Tch... How much do you think the estimate will be?" The Porsche from the previous accident was supposed to come back tomorrow, but now that the Porsche is coming, the Ferrari I never even got to drive will have go in.
> "You'll have to repaint the body. Let's just replace the dented hood, fender, and wheel. Considering the time for parts from the factory, the rental cost for a comparable vehicle, and depreciation — even if you don't sell it — we're looking at well over 100 million won."
"Over 100 million won... That'll take a while to pay back with a middle schooler's allowance, won't it?" Of course, that amount would be paid by the culprit's parents, not the culprit themselves.
"For now, file it with the police. Contact the lawyer." The world just had to throw another goddamn fun surprise event my way after a few quiet days.
"Cut! Nice~" Hyun-seong, now in the first year of middle school, cheered with his friends while gaming.
Just a few hours ago, he'd been jumping on an expensive-looking car parked in the neighborhood, but he wasn't worried at all. 'Phew, good thing my friend told me to delete the Starstagram post. There's no CCTV there, so there's no way I'll get caught, right?' Hyun-seong had been boastful in front of his friends, confidently saying he'd never get caught after making a scene by jumping on the car. Even if he did get caught, it wouldn't be a problem. He was in the first year of middle school, an invincible "minor exempt from punishment." What was there to worry about?
The door burst open.
"Our son~ You must be tired from school, right? Mom cut some fruit for you." Hyun-seong's mother came in with a smile, holding a bowl of fruit.
"Ah, Mom! I'm in the middle of a game! I'll eat it later."
"Alright, alright. I'll leave it here. Win your game and eat it slowly~"
Even as her son, entering puberty, snapped at her, his mother just smiled, placed the fruit on his desk, and was about to close the door when —
Riiing~
Her smartphone, left in the living room, rang loudly.
"Hello? Yes, this is Hyun-seong's mother. Yes? The police station?"
"What? No, my son damaged someone's property? He came back from school today and has been resting at home quietly!"
At the word "police station" filtering through the door, Hyun-seong's fingers, which had been pounding the keyboard, stopped.
"Ah, geez. So the kid scratched a parked car while riding his bike! Kids messing around can do that, right? Is the owner being too sensitive about it? Reporting something like that to the police right away? Times are so tough..."
His mother, who had been arguing into the phone, hung up and approached Hyun-seong. He was cowering, expecting to be scolded, but instead, she was putting on her coat with an annoyed look.
"Hyun-seong! Did you scratch someone's car while riding your bike? The police station called."
"Uh, Mom. I was messing around with my friends this afternoon and I might have scratched it a little..."
"Pfft, it's fine! Don't be scared. He just scratched a car parked on the street, what's the big deal? Bad luck. Mom will go and take care of it. You stay and do what you were doing. When your dad gets home, tell him I stepped out."
Hyun-seong's mother, trying not to let her son feel down, shouted out loud as she put on her coat, grabbed her wallet, and slipped on her shoes. And so, completely unaware of the bill that was about to hit her, she firmly believed that a few hundred thousand won for some paint job would be the end of it as she left the house.
"One hundred... and fifty million? Are you kidding me? A car gets scratched a little and it's over 100 million won! These are total scammers! Officer! Don't you see they're trying to rip off an innocent person?" The woman was screaming at the detective in charge, acting as if she had been wronged.
"Ma'am, the car was an expensive supercar... And looking at this business card, it says he's from Kim & Jung, so... he's not the type to commit fraud."
The woman paled at the officer's confirmation.
"Your son will escape criminal punishment because he's a minor exempt from punishment, but the civil liability for damages rests entirely with you and your husband. If you don't have the money for a settlement right now, we will proceed according to the legal process."
"Le...gal process?"
"Yes. First, we will proceed with repairs using the car owner's own insurance. After that, Cheonmun Fire & Marine Insurance will file a subrogation lawsuit against your household. The first thing that will happen is a provisional seizure of your and your husband's salary accounts and the apartment you live in."
Provisional seizure, apartment, salary accounts. At these terrifying words — any of which could cut off the breath of an ordinary middle-class family in an instant — the woman's body, which had been standing ramrod straight, began to tremble like an aspen leaf.
"Ah, no... Lawyer, the car owner... our child is still so immature... The neighborhood kid was just messing around with his friends... If you do this to us... we still have a huge loan on our apartment..."
The attitude from earlier, when she had looked at me and asked condescendingly, 'You're the car owner?' was gone. Now she was trembling as she begged for leniency.
Even if a child does wrong, the parent should discipline them properly and ask for forgiveness. This woman had done neither; instead, she had asked a complete stranger, 'How much will it cost?' Because of that attitude alone, I couldn't accept a settlement.
"I have nothing more to say. Lawyer, I'll go in now since I'm tired. Please proceed according to the process."
Even if it was just because their attitude was infuriating, I needed to teach them some manners. They seemed well-off since they could buy an apartment in Seoul, even with a loan, so losing 150 million won shouldn't ruin them. Probably...?
When I woke up, Athena told me an interesting story.
> "The parents of the culprit contacted the lawyer."
"I saw the mother yesterday. Is it the father now?"
> "Yes. They said it's too harsh for just kids messing around and wanted to meet and talk."
"I thought the father might be different, but sadly, he's not normal either. If they want to ask for a settlement, shouldn't 'I'm sorry' come before 'kids messing around'?"
"I don't want to see them. Tell the lawyer to handle it however he wants. He's getting paid for it anyway."
> "He gets paid to do it, so he probably won't mind. Anyway, I'll tell him to proceed since you have no intention of settling."
"I can't let this end simply because their attitude is infuriating. Squeeze them for as much as legally possible. If you can send the car to Italy for repairs, do it. Get the most expensive rental you can within reason."
> "Understood. I checked, and the culprit's parents also maxed out a loan to buy their apartment. If the provisional seizure goes through, the bank will immediately send a notice of forfeiture of term interests. It'll go to auction. When we add up the repair costs and rental fees, it'll be a staggering number..."
Hearing Athena's answer made all the stress melt away.
> "The Panamera has arrived in the underground garage. Would you like to go down and check it?"
"Sounds good. Finally, we meet again..."
It was my first car, and my heart ached so much when it got into an accident. I ran down to the underground parking garage and saw the Panamera standing quietly next to the Maybach.
"...It's good that my first car is back, but its successor has already gone in." Still, having the Panamera back was some consolation.
"I should get a nano-coating on the outside of the Ferrari when it comes back, too. If another crazy bastard gets caught and something like this happens again, I'm the only one who loses." I'd been so mesmerized by the original beauty that I only coated the windows. I should definitely take precautions for the exterior as well.