Parents Will Do Anything for Their Son
After sharing the story about Sooji's secret, the mother and son grew even closer. Their bond had always been strong, but now it overflowed with affection. Someone else began to feel left out—Dad.
"You two have been acting suspicious lately. Are you leaving me out on purpose?"
Seongtae voiced his grievance while Sooji and Soojeong watched him with amused smiles and fidgeting unease.
"Hahaha! We got caught because of our son, didn't we?"
"But still~"
Seongtae pouted at his wife's laughter, then lifted Sooji onto his lap and nuzzled his head affectionately.
"Our son's so adorable I can't even stay mad at you two."
Sooji, resting comfortably against his father's chest, lifted his head to look up.
"You were pretending to be upset?"
"Hey now. No informal speech."
"...were you?"
Seongtae found his son's slightly pouty informal reply endlessly cute.
"I already knew you had something on your mind, didn't I?"
Sooji felt a pang of defeat realizing his father had noticed all along. Was I that obvious? I thought I was a good actor...
Seongtae continued, clearly reading his son's thoughts.
"Did you tell Mom about it?"
"Yeah... Well, it's like this..."
Since he couldn't keep it from his father either, Sooji explained everything again while Soojeong chimed in with occasional details. After hearing the full story, Seongtae pulled his son into a tighter hug.
"I already knew our son was special. But you've always given your mom and me reason to trust you. That's why we've always been able to believe in you."
"Yeah..."
Seongtae held his son and gently patted his back. Before long, Sooji's breathing grew softer and softer. Snore...
"Oh my... He fell asleep."
Whether it was the warmth of his father's embrace, the soothing pats, or the emotional exhaustion of the day, Sooji had drifted off in his father's arms. Seongtae carefully carried him into the bedroom.
"He's still just a baby..."
"A third grader is still a baby, isn't he?"
"Do you think other people would see it that way? He's past the baby stage now."
"Even so, he's so pretty and cute. What does it matter if he's a baby or a kid?"
"True enough."
Soft laughter from the couple filled the quiet living room.
After confessing everything to his parents (except the reincarnation part), Sooji felt lighter and spent his school days more comfortably. Together with his parents, he decided to maintain grades within the top ten of his class. Following the old saying "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down," they agreed it was better to keep a moderate rank and live peacefully rather than draw envy by aiming for first place. As parents, they didn't want to obsess over his scores anyway—they prioritized their son's happiness over being number one. Of course, this was also because they were confident they could fully support him no matter how he grew up. If their circumstances had been difficult, they might have focused more on his academic performance.
Five years passed like that. Sooji was now in his second year of middle school. Thankfully, puberty had come and gone without much fuss, and he had avoided the dreaded "second-year syndrome." Honestly, as a former hero, second-year syndrome is a bit... Having far more intense memories—defeating the Demon King, meeting the Goddess—he found the so-called second-year syndrome people talked about these days rather laughable. (Hmm? Isn't this also second-year syndrome?)
Anyway, at fifteen years old in middle school, he was considered an adult in his previous life. With those memories intact, the restrictions and label of being a minor in this life felt like a significant source of stress. No matter how much he tried not to compare, he couldn't erase his clear memories, nor did he want to. He couldn't help but draw comparisons to his past life.
Aaaah~ In my past life, at fifteen I was an adult, so I could do this(?) and that(?) too~~
He wasn't sure exactly what "this" and "that" referred to, but they must have been good things. Ahem, ahem.
While the world seemed peaceful and pleasant, Sooji was bored out of his mind with nothing to do—unlike his parents, who were in the middle of a serious discussion.
"So they're suggesting we immigrate to America this time?"
"Yeah. As you know, our business has been doing so well that companies keep approaching us."
Seongtae's explanation went like this: His company had been a solid mid-sized firm supplying parts to major domestic corporations. But as the big companies' unreasonable demands grew worse, he had worked to expand overseas. That effort paid off when an American corporation decided to place an order.
"But the existing suppliers told us to cancel the deal with the other country, or they'd cut ties with us."
"How can there be such thugs?"
"That's how this industry works... but this time it's a bit much."
"So what happened?"
Seongtae continued. While being pressured by domestic clients, the American company reached out first. After testing the samples he'd sent, they discovered the parts perfectly matched a critical project they were staking their future on.
"Oh my, really?"
"Yeah. They even got performance numbers 20% higher than expected."
Because of that, the American company was in an uproar and had sent a negotiation team offering extremely generous terms while strongly recommending immigration. To make matters worse, while the American team was visiting to persuade him, representatives from the existing suppliers had barged in uninvited, causing a scene by saying things like "You think you can still do business in Korea after this?" This only strengthened the Americans' position.
"In that situation, immigrating makes sense. Why are you even hesitating?"
"Well, our son's in middle school now, and there are the employees and other complications to consider."
"Our son... well. What about the employees?"
"If they want to come with us after we ask, we'll take them. Luckily, the contract payment and other terms are generous enough that we can cover housing and everything for those who join us."
"Still, look into them carefully. It's fine to help, but there might be people who'll betray us."
"Yeah. I've already asked some acquaintances to have a few private investigators check into certain employees."
"Good. If they're coming all the way to America with us, we should only take the trustworthy ones."
"I agree. That's why I had the background checks done, even though it feels bad."
Seongtae sighed, feeling guilty about the employees, while Soojeong gave him an understanding look.
"By the way, what about our son? If we go to America, he'll have to leave his friends, and adapting might be hard for him too."
Soojeong looked at her husband with exasperation.
"Good grief... You still don't know your own son..."
Leaving the flustered Seongtae behind, she called out loudly for Sooji.
"Sooji~! Come to the master bedroom for a second~!"
"Wait, honey. Hold on—"
"Coming~!"
Before Seongtae could stop his wife, Sooji's reply came from down the hall. He soon entered the room, and Soojeong explained the situation.
"Then let's go right away. Why are you even worrying about this?"
Seongtae looked at his son with a mix of pity and concern.
"Are you sure you're okay with it? Leaving your friends and adapting over there?"
Knowing that his father's worry stemmed entirely from concern for him, Sooji answered happily.
"Dad, I can make new friends once we get there. And don't you know your own son? Adapting won't be a problem."
"Haha. You're right. I asked something unnecessary. With a son as capable as ours. Hahaha."
Seongtae burst into hearty laughter before making his decision.
"Alright. I'll let them know we're immigrating."
"Sounds good."
"Yep~"
The family, having made their choice while trusting one another, enjoyed another peaceful day.
"By the way, Dad. Which companies were the ones that gave you trouble?"
"Huh? Why do you ask?"
"...Just want to keep track of them. (Quietly.) Maybe send them a little gift."
From some point onward, incidents began occurring nonstop at several major corporations. In particular, the employees in charge of transactions started suffering frequent accidents and illnesses. Eventually, repeated accidents and hospitalizations forced them to quit their jobs, yet the misfortunes continued even after that, only stopping once the victims had been reduced to beggars. The worse someone had treated others through abuse of power in the past, and the higher their position, the more severely they were affected. Of course, no one realized the connection.
"Hmm... That should be enough... It's a bit disappointing, but it can't be helped."
Someone muttered to themselves while watching the news aboard a plane bound for America.