How an Eight-Year-Old Spends Money - 1
Even though my discharge date hadn’t arrived yet, I headed back to the orphanage to make sure the cash and gold bars were still where I’d left them.
While I was at it, I figured I’d check on the other kids too.
But what the hell had happened here?
“Why is nobody around…?”
The place felt like an abandoned school—utterly deserted. The walls and doors were covered in graffiti slamming the director couple, and the orphanage had simply been left to rot.
Maybe that was only natural.
The couple who ran the place were both standing trial. Even after the verdicts came down, they weren’t coming back. They’d be rotting in prison for at least ten years—probably more.
“Everyone’s been scattered, huh… So what happens to me?”
With the money and the gold bars, I wasn’t going to starve. Hell, being alone might even be more convenient.
But could an eight-year-old legally rent a room or buy a house?
“Well, at least the little ones are still safe here…”
I lightly covered the dirt I’d dug up again and headed down the mountain, taking just enough of what I needed for the time being.
“Taxi~~~!”
I managed to flag one down, but the driver made no move to start the meter. He just sat there staring at the kid who’d climbed into the back seat.
“Aren’t we going?”
“You got money…?”
“You won’t take me if I don’t? Even when a little kid with no parents is stuck alone out in the middle of nowhere like this?”
“Look, your situation’s rough, I’ll give you that… I could drop you at the nearest police box for free, but hauling you all the way for nothing? That’s a bit much. If another fare came along the way it’d be one thing, but with a kid like you already in the car, other passengers might get uncomfortable…”
Harsh reality. Being young didn’t magically solve everything.
So I paid the fare. I’d brought enough cash down from the mountain to last me a while.
“Driver, could I borrow your phone for one call while we drive?”
“Sure thing~ Use it for two calls even.”
“Thank you.”
I took the phone, punched in the number I’d memorized, and dialed.
“Hello?”
“Noona, it’s me.”
“Sunwoo?!”
“Yeah. I stopped by the orphanage for a bit and nobody was there, so I got curious and called.”
“The orphanage?? Don’t tell me you went alone? You’re not even discharged yet!”
“That’s why I’m on my way back to the hospital now.”
“You little—! Wait at the hospital! Noona’s coming right now!”
Jeong Suyeon, who’d promised to come “right away,” actually beat me to the hospital and was already waiting.
“Cha Sunwoo! Your body’s not even fully healed and you just wander off like that?! And how did you even get to the orphanage, then back to the hospital?! You don’t have any money!”
She was a lot more of a nag than I’d expected. And wasn’t she busy? She should’ve been deep in judicial exam prep by now.
“I borrowed some.”
“From who?!”
“Grandpa~~ Here’s the money I borrowed.”
“Oh dear, what do I do? I don’t have any small bills right now…”
“The rest is interest.”
“What?”
“When your grandkids come visit, give it to them as allowance.”
“Hahahaha~”
“Hehe~”
I’d borrowed two thousand won from the old man sharing my ward and paid him back with a ten-thousand-won note. The two thousand had been worth far more to me than that, so I’d wanted to give him even more—but that might’ve come off as rude, so ten thousand it was.
“Where did that money come from?!”
“More importantly, the kids were all gone.”
“Ah… Since both the director and the deputy director are in custody pending trial, everyone got transferred to other orphanages.”
“Then what about me?”
“Once you’re discharged, you’ll be sent to another one too. When they decide which, that director will come visit you here at the hospital.”
“I see.”
Exactly as I’d expected. But where would they send me? Anywhere was fine, really—but if possible, I wanted that place.
In my last life I’d shut my heart completely and never accepted the warmth and love they offered. This time, though… I felt like I could actually have a happy childhood there.
“Hey, Sunwoo.”
“Yes, Noona.”
“Instead of going to another orphanage… how about living with me?”
“Huh??”
Was she talking about adoption? She was way too young to make a decision like that. Jeong Suyeon was only twenty-three.
“You’re going to adopt me?”
“You know what adoption is?”
“Of course. Orphanage veteran— I mean, I’ve been there four years already.”
“Ah… Okay, then you know the score. I’ll ask again. Want to live with Noona?”
“You still haven’t answered. Are you adopting me?”
“Not me. My dad.”
“Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong??”
“……”
At my startled question, Jeong Suyeon’s eyes narrowed slightly as she stared straight through me.
“What is it?”
“Be honest. You’re not seven, are you?”
“No. I’m not seven.”
“What…?”
“It’s 2006. I’m eight now.”
“Whatever! A little kid should say ‘Uncle,’ okay?! Who the hell asks ‘Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong’ like that?!”
“Ah…”
Still a long way to go. I needed to get better at acting like the eight-year-old I was now—not the thirty-seven-year-old I’d been.
“Anyway, your answer?”
“Give me a second. Let me think.”
“Sure. No pressure. Take your time.”
A chance to become family with Jeong Seokmun—the man who would one day be a candidate for Prosecutor General—and with Jeong Suyeon, the righteous female prosecutor who would make a name for herself and rise like a rocket.
This went far beyond the ordinary life I’d wanted. It was a once-in-a-lifetime shot at an enormous background and powerful connections.
So I decided to refuse.
“I’m sorry. Just send me to an orphanage.”
“Can I ask why…? Dad really likes you, Noona likes you, and Mom—who you met last time—said she likes you a ton too. If we became family, everyone would treat you so well.”
“I’m truly grateful for the thought, but I want to live an ordinary life.”
“What??”
“Hehe~ Instead, I have a different favor to ask. Could you grant it?”
“What kind of favor…?”
“Introduce me to a trustworthy lawyer. Ideally someone I can meet today.”
If it had been an ordinary family, I might have agonized and eventually accepted. But this was a prosecutor’s household—the very symbol of public authority.
That enormous background was exactly why I turned it down.
The things I planned to do from here on… if I had a direct line to a powerful prosecutor, those things could look illegal. Becoming family wouldn’t just hurt me—it would put Jeong Seokmun and Jeong Suyeon at risk too.
“Hey, what kind of patient walks a visitor out?! I told you not to come outside!”
“The doctor said I’m doing a lot better and that I should walk as much as possible.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. So stop worrying about me and go study for the judicial exam. You have to pass this year.”
“……Yeah. I should. I’ll come again next time…”
At the mere mention of the judicial exam, Jeong Suyeon’s shoulders slumped. She left the hospital with heavy, defeated steps. Looks like the studying was really grinding her down.
“Excuse me, Nurse.”
“Hm?? What’s up, little guy? Forget which room you’re in?”
“No—where do I go if I want to upgrade my room?”
“Uh…?”
With a little help from a passing nurse, I upgraded from a six-person ward to a private room.
The six-person room was free under government coverage, but a private room cost an extra 730,000 won a day after the subsidy. Even so, I switched.
One week left until discharge. Total hospital fees would top five million won, but dodging other people’s eyes and ears mattered more than the expense.
Less than an hour later, someone came looking for me in the new private room.
“You’re Sunwoo, right?”
“You’re Attorney Choi Myeonghun, correct? I was told you were coming. Please, have a seat.”
“Huh?? Ah… yes…”
I climbed down from the bed, offered him the sofa in the private room, and sat first. Attorney Choi Myeonghun perched awkwardly opposite me.
Having an eight-year-old as a client was probably pretty strange and unfamiliar. But true to his experience, he quickly composed his expression and posture, then looked at me and asked,
“I received a call from Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Seokmun, but I wasn’t given any details. Why did you want to see me?”
I’d only asked Jeong Suyeon to introduce me to a lawyer she knew, yet the request had gone all the way up to Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Seokmun. Well, a regular college student knowing a lawyer would have been a little odd anyway. This was actually better—it meant the man was trustworthy.
“I’d like you to become my legal representative. I’ll pay the retainer, of course.”
“For something like that, wouldn’t it be better to ask Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong directly? As you said, if you appoint me as your legal representative you’ll have to pay a separate fee.”
“He’s been kind to me, but we’re not close enough for me to ask that kind of favor.”
“Ah…”
“If you don’t want the job, you’re free to leave.”
“No, it’s not that… Then will the client be paying the fees, or will Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong?”
“I’ll cover every fee and every retainer myself.”
He started calculating. Weighing whether this was worth his time.
“Hoo…. All right. I’ll serve as Cha Sunwoo’s legal representative.”
“Looking forward to working with you.”
“Likewise. I’ll prepare the necessary documents and come back.”
“Could it be done today?”
“Excuse me?”
“I’d like the retainer contract finished today.”
“Ah… Yes, understood. I’ll be back in two hours.”
It didn’t even take two hours. A little over one hour later, Attorney Choi Myeonghun returned with the paperwork. That night I slipped out of the hospital, climbed the wooded hill behind the orphanage, and the next morning—
Thud—
I set a bag on the table.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
“……”
Attorney Choi unzipped the bag, checked inside, then blinked rapidly, looking back and forth between me and the contents with a dazed expression.
“This is…”
“Money.”
“I-I can see that, but… what kind of money… Don’t tell me this is the embezzled funds from the director couple that the police still haven’t recovered…?”
“No. When I was about five, I was out for a walk and someone just handed it to me and told me to take it.”
“Excuse me?”
“Attorney-at-Law Act, Article 26. An attorney or former attorney shall not disclose any secrets learned in the course of their duties. You’ll keep the source of my money confidential, right? Even if it was a free gift I’d still have to pay gift tax, and I’d rather not.”
That was exactly why I’d wanted a lawyer I could trust as my legal representative. If Deputy Chief Prosecutor Jeong Seokmun ever learned about this money of unclear origin, it would leave my hands for good.
“Yes, understood. But for a retainer, this is… quite a lot.”
“Not ‘quite’—it’s an enormous amount. And of course it’s not all retainer. First, use it to open a phone line, a bank account, and a stock trading account in my name. Take your fee as you see fit, deposit about ten million won into the savings account, and put the rest into the stock account. Ah—and get me a laptop too.”
“You’re planning to invest this money in stocks…?”
“Yes. By the way, what’s the gold price these days?”
“Why gold all of a sudden…”
Thud!
This time I set a different bag on the table. The sound was heavier than before.
“Open it.”
“D-Don’t tell me…. You crazy little—!”
The moment Attorney Choi checked inside, a curse slipped out. Seeing ten kilograms of gold bars would do that to anyone. I’d cursed the same way myself.
“Convert that into cash. Deposit the proceeds into the stock account, of course. Ah—and don’t take too much as your fee. I’ll check the balance later, and if too much is missing I’ll replace my legal representative.”
“Th-Then this gold is also….”
“That one? When I was six or so, some old man on a walk told me to buy ice cream with it.”
“….Just where the hell is that neighborhood? I’d like to go for a walk there myself.”
“Who knows? Hehe~”