Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: How Were You Raised?
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"How were you raised?"
Is that something you say to a kid right now?
I snapped in an instant, my eyes going completely red with rage.
I didn't want Daeun seeing me like this, so I pulled her behind me.
Swish.
Then I strode toward the man who was acting like he owned the place.
And I spoke, holding onto the bare minimum of human decency.
"What... did you just say?"
As I stepped forward, the man looked me up and down.
Like he was appraising me or quoting a price.
Then his expression changed.
The look on the man's face was...
Hmph. A sneer.
"You're the kid's dad, huh?"
His tone was provocative from the start.
It felt like he was just itching for a fight.
I glanced over at Daeun.
Swish.
Thankfully, Ms. Yoon had pulled her back, so she couldn't see me directly.
She could hear my voice, but I had to say what needed saying.
"If a kid bumps into you and falls, the least you could do is ask if they're okay. And you're an adult pulling out the 'family education' card?"
"Ha! Kid or adult, look at the way you talk."
He scanned me up and down again.
It gave me chills, like hundreds of snakes crawling over my skin. If even I felt like this, imagining Daeun enduring that gaze made my head go white.
I couldn't hold back anymore.
Swish.
He started it first.
"So, is that how you were raised, to have a tongue like that?"
"What?"
"Oh, if your twisted tongue is a complex, let me know. I make it a rule not to go for personal attacks out of basic human decency."
A few people in line burst out laughing at that.
Feeling targeted, the man's face flushed redder by the second.
"Are you freaking crazy?"
Thud!
He took a step toward me.
But I didn't flinch, just lifted my chin and said,
"Use words, words. There are people everywhere, CCTV all over, and kids watching. We came to shop and have a good time—wouldn't it be embarrassing to charge in all bold and end up getting hurt for nothing?"
"You...!"
His face turned beet red at my words.
Normally, he'd back off by now, but I had no intention of stopping.
Back in college, when I lived in a rundown area, that's when I first realized there was another side to me lurking inside.
That side was a fighter.
'I don't do words. I smash.'
Heh.
I pointed at the man's face and said,
"Yeah, that's exactly it. Like a dog desperate to—"
If Daeun weren't there, I'd have finished the sentence, but this was as far as all-ages content went.
Even that was enough to crush the man's pride.
"Ha! Where do nobodies like you get off coming to a department store? Talking about desperate dogs—you've got nothing but your body, so what, here to beg?"
"......"
He'd crossed the line by miles.
Got nothing but your body, here to beg at a department store.
Money's important to survival, sure, but it wasn't everything.
Even buying a single piece of clothing was joyful with Daeun by my side, and eating something tasty on a tight budget made it all the more meaningful.
Lack of money was just inconvenient.
It shouldn't become everything.
That's why I'd tried to live frugally in college.
"Do you know how much this shirt cost that your kid dirtied? Huh? Do you? You think someone like you could even cover the cleaning bill!"
The height of impudence, acting untouchable.
Did he think I was making a fuss because I couldn't afford it?
I ground my teeth and started to say to the jerk...
"How much is that shirt?"
But before I could, Ms. Yoon spoke up first.
"What?"
Swish.
The man scowled at Ms. Yoon's sudden intervention.
Then he sneered again.
"What, you gonna buy a new one if you know the price?"
"If my kid ruined it, we should replace it. So, how much?"
"Hmph! Birds of a feather, you think you can afford it?"
It was the kind of talk that'd make anyone furious, but Ms. Yoon didn't bat an eye.
"So, how much?"
"The jacket your kid ruined? Three point five million won. Know that? A three point five million won jacket."
At that, Ms. Yoon glanced at me and asked,
"How much is that in dollars?"
Three point five million won in dollars was roughly...
"About 3,300 dollars."
"Three... three thousand three hundred dollars?"
The man smirked smugly at Ms. Yoon's words.
"What, too pricey? Shocking, right? Not the kind of money common folk like you can handle. If you really apologize, I might just take the cleaning fee as a special favor."
Swish.
Ms. Yoon's expression turned icy as she replied,
"No, you should be the one apologizing."
"What?"
"If what you think is true—that the broke one should apologize—isn't that right?"
"What the hell are you saying?"
"I'm not the kind of person who deserves to be called that."
Click.
Ms. Yoon took a step forward.
Then she mimicked the man's words and actions exactly.
"I don't usually like stooping to this level, but with uneducated types like you, it's the best approach."
"Ha! What the—"
"The dress I'm wearing? XX brand, from the 2023 spring-summer collection. Roughly 15,000 dollars. These shoes? 5,700 dollars. This bracelet? 3,300 dollars..."
Swish.
Ms. Yoon pointed to each piece of her outfit and accessories, then looked up at the man.
"Want me to go on?"
Gulp.
The man's face drained of color.
But Ms. Yoon wasn't done.
This was just the beginning.
"Anyone with a modicum of fashion sense would recognize what I'm wearing on sight, but if you can't even spot new releases, you're not that wealthy. Though someone of that caliber wouldn't act like you anyway."
Ever heard of a "killer one-liner"?
I'd only heard the term before, but now I witnessed it live.
The man had nothing left to say in response.
He just chewed his lip, desperately trying to wriggle out.
Unfortunately, Ms. Yoon showed no mercy.
Cruel, even.
"Oh, and one more thing. The brand of that outfit you're wearing? It's one of the companies I invest in."
That was when it happened.
"What's all this commotion?"
Pushing through the gathered crowd came a man.
It was President Jeong, the general manager of the department store.
* * *
At President Jeong's invitation, we were all seated in his office.
How much time passed like that?
Click.
The door opened, and President Jeong returned from his brief outing.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
I bowed my head in apology to the smiling President Jeong.
"I'm sorry."
Honestly, anyone in that situation would've reacted like I did.
Still, I apologized because the commotion had arisen because of me, one way or another.
"No need for Painter Kanghyeok Lee to apologize."
Daeun, slumping next to me with a dejected face, apologized too.
"Sowwy."
President Jeong shook his head at Daeun's words.
"No, neither of you needs to apologize. I heard the whole story—this was clearly that man's fault."
Then President Jeong knelt on one knee and spoke to Daeun.
"But, Miss Daeun."
Swish.
At the sound of her name, Daeun peeked up at Ms. Yoon.
"Make one promise with me."
"A pwomise?"
"Yes. No getting upset. I wasn't there, so I don't know details, but I heard some harsh words flew. That uncle was just angry—don't let it get to you, okay? Promise?"
That seemed to be what worried President Jeong most.
With all those people crowding around, it had been a big scene, and a young child like Daeun might blame herself.
He was probably considering that.
"And..."
As he spoke, President Jeong turned to Ms. Yoon, who was sipping coffee seated nearby.
"First off, my apologies. You honored us with a visit, and all we showed you was an ugly side."
Bow.
President Jeong bowed deeply to Ms. Yoon.
Clink.
Ms. Yoon set down her coffee and asked,
"It's fine. Every store has its share of difficult customers. What I'm curious about now is how you handled that man."
President Jeong asked for a moment.
"May I sit?"
Nod.
With a nod, he and the others standing sat down.
Then President Jeong continued.
"We've provided every compensation the department store could offer."
"Compensation?"
"Since the customer's clothes were soiled, we covered the cleaning. And for our management lapse, we added separate compensation when requested."
Swish.
'Of course—the department store sees even jerks like him as customers.'
It burned me up, but it was the right move from President Jeong's position.
His behavior and words grated on me, but that was our issue.
To the store, he was likely a high-value customer dropping big money.
Knowing that didn't stop it from stinging.
Having to compensate a guy like that.
Swish.
Ms. Yoon nodded slightly at his words.
And asked,
"Is that all?"
"Yes, that's how we've concluded it from the department store's side."
"Department store's side?"
"The compensation up to this point was the best we could do as a store. The rest was at my discretion."
President Jeong's expression hardened completely as he said,
"My motto is,
'No discrimination whatsoever in the department store where I serve.'
That man's mindset clashed with what I stand for. He will never set foot in our department store again. And this isn't just here—I've blacklisted him from every department store nationwide under our name. Even if I step down as general president, it won't change."
Gulp.
Blacklisted nationwide.
Stunned by the unexpected punishment, that's when...
Nod.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you. Know one thing, know ten. I thought you just had an eye for things, but your abilities are outstanding."
Only then did her stiff expression soften.
"With President Jeong at the helm, I have a feeling this department store will become the best in Seoul."
Truly the highest praise Ms. Yoon could give.
As that exchange went on...
"Daddy."
Daeun, who'd been sitting a bit dazed, spoke to me.
"Mommy says..."
"What'd Mommy say?"
"People who make scawwy faces and get suuuper mad... even if they're wich, Mommy says they're the pwoor ones..."
Was she talking about that guy from earlier?
It must've been a shock.
Her first time seeing...
"They're the weally pwoor ones. So Daeun's okay. Daeun has a wich heart..."
Swish.
Daeun looked up at me as she spoke, her face trembling.
Like she was forcing back tears.
Then she pursed her lips tight and declared,
"So Daeun's not sad. Daeun's... stwong!"
Seeing her like this, I realized.
'It... wasn't the first time.'
There had been incidents like this before.