Why Is She Acting Like That?
Hanmijung was flustered by the sudden turn of events.
Her husband seemed inclined to believe their son, but from her side, having been hearing constant updates from a close friend in Seoul, it was a fact she simply couldn’t accept.
Up until just a month ago, she hadn’t heard anything out of the ordinary.
If her son had really been sitting on that much money, there was no way he’d still be living off other people.
Just from the conversation alone, they were talking about sums in the hundreds of millions of won.
Even in Seoul, that was enough to rent a decent place, whether it was on a monthly lease or a jeonse deposit.
By any common sense, there was no way someone could earn that kind of money in less than a year without any seed capital.
He must have been really upset...
Even listening from the side, she was starting to get angry.
If she felt that way as a bystander, then how furious must her son have been?
So maybe, in a burst of temper, he’d said it on the spot.
He was still young. That much she could understand.
What she regretted was that she hadn’t stepped in first.
Her husband seemed to want to trust their son.
She wanted to trust him too, as much as she could.
But not in front of everyone here.
She glanced around, looking for a natural opening to slip away.
What do I do...
It wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped.
Her excited son brought up Tae-san’s wife, as if to insist that what he was saying was true.
Her husband chimed in as well.
Lee Tae-san grabbed onto that opening immediately.
He loved this sort of back-and-forth, so there was no way he’d let it slip.
“Of course, big brother. I’d be happy to help. My wife probably won’t even charge a broker’s fee.”
“Really? That’s kind of you.”
“Haha, is that so? I’m sorry, nephew. I had no idea our Doyun was such a filial boy.”
“He’s received a lot from us.”
“That’s true. Then how about tomorrow? Things like this should be handled as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, that works.”
The conversation moved at lightning speed.
Before anyone knew it, the appointment had already been made.
Only now was she truly confused.
Had her son really earned that much money? Really?
And even if he had, that was another problem altogether.
He’d come up to Seoul saying he was going to make something of himself, and yet as his parents, how could they possibly take money from him?
He said it was 1.2 billion won.
More than enough to settle down comfortably in Seoul.
She couldn’t bear the thought of accepting it.
We didn’t do anything for him...
If they’d sent him off with both hands full back when he first came up to Seoul, maybe it would be different.
Even then, though, would it really have been any different?
Either way, they’d done so little for him that even having this conversation felt shameful.
All she could think of was how he’d only ever been able to stay temporarily at a close friend’s house.
It broke her heart as a mother.
What do I do...
He must have been really delighted.
Not only did he set the appointment for tomorrow, he even pulled out his phone right there at the table.
“Hold on. I’ll talk to my wife. Let me see...”
A little while later, he called his wife.
“Hey, one of my very close big brothers says his son is buying a house. You’ll need to help him out a bit. What? Of course it’s free! It’s Brother Gwangseop, the one you know too!”
“..”
“I think they’re meeting for lunch tomorrow. Right in the neighborhood where you work. Near our place, yeah.”
He hung up and looked at me with a broad smile.
“There you go. I told my wife all about it. You can take your time and come by by lunchtime tomorrow. Your parents must be so lucky. Their kid’s already buying them a house.”
“R-right...! Did Doyun really succeed with investing?”
“Wow, I can’t believe this. When did he grow up so much?”
“I’m really jealous! Gwangseop, you better invite us to the housewarming. I’ll be waiting!”
Now the atmosphere had turned into something he absolutely couldn’t take back.
That was fine. I’d never intended to take it back in the first place.
I’d actually been worrying about how to bring it up, so it was a relief that I’d managed to blurt out at least something like this.
And if the brokerage fee was free too, then I had no idea how grateful I should be.
That little bit of irritation I’d felt earlier could probably be forgiven.
My parents, wearing awkward smiles, spoke to everyone gathered there.
“Ahem. Of course, if we move, we should invite everyone to the housewarming. But first we have to see whether the house suits us.”
“That’s right. No matter how expensive a house is, it’s useless if we don’t like it.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. If a 1.2 billion won house doesn’t suit you, then that’s the real problem.”
“I’m jealous, I really am. When will our children ever start properly showing some filial devotion?”
After soaking up everyone’s envy, we slipped out of the shop with a vague excuse about needing to prepare for tomorrow.
Since it was the store right in front of our house, and since no one had been drinking, we just walked home.
Only then did they ask the questions they hadn’t been able to ask before.
“Doyun, what you said earlier—is that really true? If you’re making this up on the spot, your father can come up with some excuse somehow. Like I said before, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“It’s true. I’d already decided before coming down.”
“You! That’s not the issue right now! Even if Doyun did make money, you can’t just accept it!”
“.. Huh?”
“Would you take money your mother earned the hard way?”
“..”
Right.
That was exactly what kind of parents they were.
I’d known it already, but hearing it out loud made it sink in all over again.
Maybe I’d been too greedy all this time. Maybe that’s why I’d become so fixated on money.
But realizing that didn’t change everything overnight. It only made me want to say it properly and help them somehow.
A lot of money can be poison sometimes.
My parents could say things like this now. My older sisters too.
But what about relatives? What about acquaintances?
If they found out I’d suddenly come into a huge amount of money, people around me would start asking to borrow some.
Some of them would probably be doing it because they were truly desperate.
What would my parents have to deal with every time they had to turn someone down? And what if they ended up earning resentment they never should have had to bear in the first place?
There was no need to go out of my way and suffer for nothing.
If I just let them know I didn’t have that much money to begin with, I could avoid all that.
So just that much.
I’d tell them slowly, little by little.
Honestly, even that would be filial devotion on a level I’d never imagined before.
“Mom, remember that USB you found last time?”
“The USB? What about it?”
“You remember, right? I called you about it before. When I came back down to Gwangju recently.”
“Oh, I remember now. Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”
Just enough.
“I had bought some Bitcoin back then, and it was still on that USB.”
“.. You were into Bitcoin?”
“W-wait a second. Doyun. As far as I know, Bitcoin used to be incredibly cheap back then...”
“It was. Probably only a few hundred thousand won. And now it’s worth tens of billions.”
“..”
Both of them looked like they couldn’t possibly believe it.
But it was the truth. The only difference was that the actual amount had reached 100 billion won.
They already looked skeptical, so of course they weren’t going to believe me.
“And the part about me having a talent for investing is true too. I made more than double my money in less than a month.”
“..”
“So I ended up making almost 5 to 6 billion won.”
“I-is that really true?”
“Of course. Dad, Mom, you know what I’m like. I’m greedy. Do you really think I’d buy an entire house with my whole fortune just because I wanted to be filial?”
“Well... no, I suppose Doyun wouldn’t do that.”
“.. Exactly.”
They were only just beginning to accept it now.
After going this far, if they still couldn’t swallow it, then I had no more persuasive lines left.
Except for the house tomorrow.
All I’d done was shrink the amount a little; the story itself was real.
“Don’t feel pressured. If anything, I’m the one feeling pressured. I’m not actually that good of a son. I just felt guilty, that’s all. I’ve earned this much money, I can live comfortably now, and yet I haven’t done anything for my family.”
That was partly true.
Of course, I wasn’t feeling it as strongly as I made it sound.
There was no special reason.
I could still do even bigger things for them later.
I just didn’t want to rush it.
Maybe that was why my conscience wasn’t eating me alive.
I might not really be a good son after all.
“Doyun.”
“Yeah?”
“Your father doesn’t need you to be a good son.”
“..”
“I just wanted you to live well because you’re my son. Without lacking anything. Of course, as a father, I’ve felt sorry that I couldn’t shoulder more of the burden myself.”
“..”
“So you don’t need to feel guilty about it. If buying a house helps ease that guilt, then do it. But put it under your name.”
Under my name?
“Your mother and I will use it well. Gratefully. But there’s no need to pay extra taxes if we don’t have to. We’re not going to sell the house and use the money for something else. We’d give it to you anyway.”
“Ah.”
“If your mother and I are going to receive a house at all, then that seems like the best way. We’re parents, sure, but we still don’t know the world all that well. This is just about relieving a little guilt. Better that our son has property than spend his money elsewhere, at least.”
So both my parents and I were carrying around a fair amount of guilt.
Neither side wanted to burden the other even a little.
On the other hand, my parents probably felt the same way I did.
Like they could just use this house however they wanted.
Like I’d think this money was theirs to spend however they liked.
That was the conclusion I came to.
I simply wanted to give my parents a house however I pleased.
Still, Dad was right too.
There was no need to buy it only to pay capital gains tax or inheritance tax later.
Besides, property tax and all the other taxes would end up being my responsibility anyway, which made things easier.
So after letting out a little of the secret, we headed home.
“What’s with you? Why is everyone acting so weird?”
“I’m buying a house. Mom and Dad are going to stay there.”
“.. Did you drink a lot? Did your uncles and aunts get you drunk?”
“..”
If you don’t want to believe it, then don’t.
Go live somewhere else. Move out on your own.
I didn’t feel like wasting my breath explaining it all one by one.
That was for my little sister.
The next day.
Hoo...
Bitcoin, which had been up 11 percent, dipped by 1 percent.
Even so, I still had 20 billion won in profit left.
I love you.
We left the house in time for lunch.
And there was a burdensome extra person with us.
“Seriously? You’re really buying a house? Korea Radellium is the most expensive apartment in Gwangju right now.”
“.. Why did you come with us?”
“Did I come with you? I came with Mom and Dad. Wow... so I don’t even need to move out. Mom, cancel the whole ‘I’m leaving home’ thing.”
“..”
Damn it. She should have just stayed home and watched television.
We arrived at the real estate office.
I saw the wife of the suspicious-looking ajusshi and the ajusshi himself, wearing a bright, innocent smile.
Why are they acting like that?
I’d already explained everything.