Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Great Magician (4)
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Yu Se-ra had proudly triumphed over Han Yu-young in an arm-wrestling match. It hadn't been an easy fight for her either—her back was soaked with sweat. She was cooling off in the breeze from the wall-mounted fan hanging on the living room wall.
"Gwang-yeon oppa?"
Yu Se-ra, who had been holding the infant Son Yu-jin with a smile stretching from ear to ear like a beaming mom, froze the moment she spotted Son Gwang-yeon. Her pupils shook as if an earthquake had hit. She looked utterly stunned, like she'd seen a ghost.
Han Yu-young's reaction was no different upon seeing this Seoul woman calling her husband "oppa." She gripped her fan like an axe without realizing it. One wrong word, and she'd chop her down. How dare some city girl call her husband in that cutesy voice.
"Long time no see, Se-ra. Should I call you Su-jeong's mom now?"
The tension spiked and eased in an instant.
Like a tightly stretched rubber band of suspense going slack at Son Gwang-yeon's greeting.
Jin-hyuk would never forget the reunion between his dad and Hong Gi-jun.
Hong Gi-jun didn't care about getting his shoes and pants wet as he splashed into the rice paddy.
- "Hey! Son Gwang-yeon! You were alive after all! Oh man...!"
- "Hong Gi-jun, you bastard! Oh, you bastard! Oh no!"
It was the first time Jin-hyuk had seen his dad searching for his old buddy like a lost puppy, and Hong Gi-jun hugging someone and shedding tears was an alien sight to him.
'I'm more curious about Dad's real story than why I regressed.'
It was a question he never would have pondered if his parents had died as in his previous fate.
During holidays, his friends would don new clothes and head to their grandparents' or big family homes, but Jin-hyuk had no relatives. Aside from the aunt who abused him in his past life, that is.
Even in this life, no one visited their home for holidays except politicians, some co-op chairman, a fertilizer sales director, and neighbors.
'So this is what it feels like when the future changes.'
Knowing hidden truths must feel much the same.
The world-famous Sein Group chairman Hong Gi-jun and his dad—best friends like no other.
An unreal sentiment dominated Jin-hyuk's mind.
'This is pure chaos.'
The dads headed to town and returned loaded with makgeolli and drinking snacks. Sundae, fritters, dried filefish, squid. Even snacks for the kids. An impromptu drinking session unfolded in broad daylight. It was all the more shocking since Dad never touched alcohol.
"It's humble, but stay the night."
"You bet! Humble? I could sleep in the yard."
They lit a bonfire in the inner courtyard and spread out mats. Summer wasn't relentlessly hot, and mosquitoes were scarce. Tropical nights were an urban plight, and global warming was someone else's problem.
The drinking and chatting dragged on until dusk. Yu Se-ra teared up as she held Han Yu-young's hand, their conversation blooming like flowers. If fate's prank had separated sisters only to reunite them, would it be this tender? They were that affectionate.
"Gwang-yeon oppa is the one who introduced me to Su-jeong's dad. Oppa and I were like siblings growing up."
"Ah, I've heard he had friends he cherished more than brothers, but I never imagined I'd meet you like this."
In Han Yu-young's memory, her husband's "siblings" amounted to just one sister who showed up before their wedding spewing venom. That woman was scary and rude. Thinking of her again made Han Yu-young's neck tense up.
Wahaha!
To Jin-hyuk's ears, it was trivial banter, but the dads burst into roaring laughter. Jin-hyuk just nodded along, watching. Kids that age sure laughed easily.
Then the talk turned more mature, so Jin-hyuk perked up his ears.
"I came to scout land for a training center while prices are low. The company's grown a lot, and so has the staff. Not many firms invest in employee training yet."
Jin-hyuk nodded inwardly at Hong Gi-jun's words.
It must have been around the time corporate cultures emphasizing systematic staff development via talent academies started taking root.
"Whoever thought of the training center, it was smart. Young talent will lead the world soon. We need to reject this 'chairman decides all' era for group owners and the tradition of passing the reins to the eldest son. Only then can companies stay healthy."
"I heard Se-ra pushed hard for it with her father-in-law after studying abroad. Her worldview changed completely. I'm proud of my wife. And you, holed up in the countryside, having those ideas too—surprising."
"I'm still creeped out by all that chaebol succession nonsense. They won't live forever, yet they build factions and hoard wealth. Money's the strongest power, sure, but one word from those gripping state authority, and capital-built sandcastles crumble."
Had thirty-five-year-old Jin-hyuk from his past life thought the same?
Jin-hyuk tuned in sharply to the dads' conversation. Mid-thirties. An awkward age in his previous life. Most peers were section chiefs or assistants. Even Jin-hyuk, backed by the chairman's daughter halo, was just starting to spread his wings.
'Hong Gi-jun's one thing, but Dad's surprising too.'
Talk of succession and outdated practices made Dad feel distant. To Jin-hyuk, he was just the kind farmer dad. No Son family member dominated business rankings later, so probably not chaebol direct lineage. Likely a business major from a top university disillusioned with Korea's owner culture.
If only the dried yellow croaker had lasted. The whole family loved it; hundreds didn't survive winter.
'This isn't bad either.'
Jin-hyuk grabbed some boiled pork or dried filefish, ate a piece, and fed small bits to Hong Su-jeong. The clingy kid he'd just met wouldn't leave him alone; he could barely stretch his legs.
'Is this really her?'
Jin-hyuk found himself smiling at Hong Su-jeong without realizing.
Hong Su-jeong gulped down what he offered like a baby bird, rubbed her plump belly, and dozed off on his lap. Jin-hyuk had no choice but to hold her and pat her back. Thanks to him, Yu Se-ra could chat freely with Han Yu-young.
Chirrup-chirrup.
Even as stars filled the night sky and crickets claimed lordship over the countryside, the adults' talk showed no signs of stopping. It was vacation anyway, and the house rang with voices and laughter—Jin-hyuk stayed put, ears still perked.
"Anyway, I'm not selling the land. Not the right time even if I were."
"I know your stubbornness; no point pushing. Haha!"
The roads weren't even paved well, yet this guy from afar gave up on the land so easily? The thought passed quickly. Recalling him leaping into the paddy with dress shoes for a long-lost friend, the original purpose hardly mattered.
'Anyway, don't sell, Dad.'
In a few years, west coast tourism booms would skyrocket land prices over 100-fold. Beachfront even more. The sandy plot Dad bought cheap amid youth group mockery would top 500,000 won per pyeong.
'This area's proximity to the sea means it'll jump 200-fold once roads open.'
Laughable next to Seoul's pricey land. But with tens of thousands of pyeong? It meant Dad would soon be a real estate tycoon. Even selling at current prices yielded multiples in profit. Prices were already stirring.
Jin-hyuk, a real estate novice, could predict it. Working Sein Group's Future Strategy Division, analyzing past economics, trends, and planning futures gave him the big picture.
'That fortune, those lands that were mine, Uncle squandered it all.'
He knew why the abuse was so vicious. Probably pocketed early handouts, then blew it on booze and gambling—vivid in his mind.
In his past life, Sein Group's talent center was by another beach. Hong Gi-jun visiting now suggested he left when no one was home before. Right after Jin-hyuk was dragged to town. He pieced the timelines together.
'Just you wait.'
If that bad blood reignited, he'd crush them worse than last time.
Jin-hyuk sharpened his blade against his adoptive parents.
Hong Gi-jun downed makgeolli like that and stayed fine. Young, so maybe natural. Dad too. Then again, Jin-hyuk took after Dad—could down whiskey instead of Su-jeong's milk and be fine.
As he gritted his teeth thinking of his adoptive parents, Hong Gi-jun gently gripped Jin-hyuk's shoulder.
"What's your dream, Jin-hyuk?"
Figured he'd ask. He swallowed the reflexive answer with a nasal huff.
The classic future aspirations probe, predating job and marriage holiday rituals. Jin-hyuk thought Hong Gi-jun's eyes gleamed unusually, but booze gives everyone that spark.
'Can dreams be summed up simply?'
Patting sleeping Hong Su-jeong's butt, Jin-hyuk hesitated. Dad stepped in.
"Whatever our boy does, he'll excel. Always perfect test scores. Never missed first place."
"Oh? Genius begets genius, huh?"
Hong Gi-jun's eyes lit up.
Even if dads, chatting over him wasn't pleasant. Not pride—just disliked being the topic.
'I'm not a kid.'
Fortunately, Hong Gi-jun shifted to Son Gwang-yeon.
Not recognizing his past self, then. Silly assumption. If roles reversed, Jin-hyuk would've hugged him joyfully.
'Kinda disappointing. Wanted to ask what he meant to say back then. Su-jeong, what was your dad gonna tell me?'
He glanced at her sleeping face.
Moms' and dads' talks faded into the distance.
Slurp.
"Kaaah—good stuff! But why'd you buy such cheap land?"
Hong Gi-jun downed another bowl and asked.
"'Cause it was cheap."
Son Gwang-yeon's reply was short and clear.
Hong Gi-jun nodded seriously without follow-up. Jin-hyuk, fighting sleep, got Dad's vibe.
'Dad's a born merchant. Opposite of me.'
Impressed by Dad's boldness.
Some buy stocks or coins cheap and jump off bridges. Dad went all-in on land. Just because it was cheap.
"People just gripe about unfairness, inequality, hardship. Same in any job. They curse laws, country, politics. Gotta know how to use the system too. Rice transplanters, combines, tractors—expensive gear can be rented, yet they scrape for subsidies to buy."
With ample booze, Dad's unheard thoughts flowed freely.
"All greed. Want to work on their schedule. End up in debt, cursing the nation. Year's harvest goes straight to repayments."
"So my friend skips debt for machines and snaps up cheap land instead?"
"Yep. Farming has seasons, but a day or two late doesn't ruin it. In business terms, crops matter more than timing sometimes."
Crops others don't grow.
That explained Son Gwang-yeon stubbornly farming his predicted crops amid neighbors' mockery. They changed yearly, sold high each time.
Farmers grew the same crops annually. Like bewitched. Cabbage last year, radish this, corn next.
Exaggerated, but the village, the nation, seemed colluding. Result: plowing fields and burning crops come fall.
Growing scarce crops was farming's money secret, yet they rejected thinking for themselves, all planting the same. Like they'd agreed to die together.
"A genius is a genius, anywhere, anything."
Hong Gi-jun's words.
Jin-hyuk marveled.
'Reading market needs trumps making and selling.' Not exact, but from Hong Gi-jun's marketing strategy lecture. Friends shared business mindset too.
'Yeah, can succeed without future knowledge.'
Thinking of Dad. Jin-hyuk had no intent to cheat with hazy future info anyway. Maybe he took after Dad there.
"Oh? Honey, look at Su-jeong."
"Whoa, that's new. That picky girl."
Shocking the fussy daughter slept in a stranger's arms, but drunk, Hong Gi-jun gazed warmly at the kids.
Hong Su-jeong clung to Jin-hyuk's waist with her legs, asleep in his arms.
"Not heavy, Jin-hyuk?"
"Jin-hyuk?"
Late night, the clinging toddler's hot body heat dazed him. Cricket chirps, dads' talk, moms' laughs drifted in sporadically.
Jin-hyuk rested his chin on the kid's shoulder, dozing sitting up.
Too long a day for a ten-year-old body.
Should he ask? If you regressed too. What were you gonna say? Why so kind? Pitied me? Knew I was your friend's son?
Say it.
What were you gonna tell me?
Why treat me so well?
Out of pity?
Knew whose son I was?
Words he couldn't even mutter in sleep floated up the bonfire into the night sky.
Dreaming of the past? Comforted by the kid's warmth?
Jin-hyuk sniffled once, shoulders trembling faintly.