Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Insignificant Stirrings
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In this house, it seemed General was the only one who didn't take Dad lightly.
Dad looked up at his son while stroking the belly of General, who was lying sprawled on his back.
"Dad really has no idea. It's so unfair."
Even if it wasn't a genuinely aggrieved expression, he had no choice but to believe it.
The fierce heat building at the crown of his head said as much, and so did piecing together the stories Dad had shared.
'No suspicious vibes at all.'
Hadn't Jin-hyuk, as an adult, issued all sorts of documents himself? He'd checked them more meticulously than anyone and managed them preciously. After all, those names on paper were proof of his existence. How many nights had he stroked those names, babbling "Mom" and "Dad" over and over?
Dad continued his story calmly.
"Grandpa passed away when Dad was still in Grandma's belly."
"Yeah..."
Jin-hyuk nodded. It was something he knew from the documents.
Since Dad wasn't from a chaebol family, it probably wasn't about inheritance disputes.
"All I know is he died on some hill during the armistice. No record in the military files, so the country didn't recognize him as a war hero. There were so many student soldiers and nameless heroes back then. Grandma struggled alone... She must've been around twenty."
Even as he spoke, the hand stroking General moved at a steady pace.
"Grandma couldn't raise Dad on her own, so Mr. Park Un-chul looked after him for a bit. Merchant association or something? They paid in rice as salary, and that's where he met her. He said he'd train her as an actress or whatever. That caused a misunderstanding, and the lady of the house burst in, grabbed Grandma by the hair, scratched her, beat her—. That's why Grandma cut ties with them for Dad's sake."
Dad let out a sigh.
He didn't mention the speculation that his mother, Son Mun-ye, had met with an accident one night, possibly orchestrated by Park Un-chul's in-laws. It was just a hunch, after all. Nor did he bring up how those who never fully let go of their suspicions might have tailed him.
Looking at his son's shining eyes, it seemed he didn't need to explain—Jin-hyuk had probably guessed as much.
"In college, their daughter showed up calling herself my sister and bought me a few meals. But no matter how I looked, we didn't resemble each other. Not one bit. I'm no Park."
Dad shook his head, his eyes growing misty. The hand stroking General's belly trembled faintly.
'A paternity test would settle it, right? Oh, wait, that didn't exist back then.'
Jin-hyuk averted his eyes from Dad's sorrow for a moment. What mattered now was the present and future.
Regrettably, he couldn't uncover anything about his grandparents. No records or witnesses left.
So he had to focus on the now, but until they identified the instigator, it'd be like groping through fog. That wasn't productive or efficient.
Jin-hyuk held back from asking more.
Mun Seok-il wouldn't take long to return. The man had declared himself unrivaled, after all.
But they couldn't just sit around waiting for him.
Idly waiting didn't suit his temperament anyway. He needed to do what he could.
"Dad, want to play some Go?"
Dad's face lit up instantly.
My kid's trying to comfort his sad old man!
'I need to start a constructive conversation, but doing it while swatting fleas might not be ideal.'
Jin-hyuk's thoughts were different, though.
Though he'd broached the topic, Jin-hyuk stayed quiet for a while.
There were several reasons: first, he'd seen Dad flinch too often from his straightforward speech; second, he worried about worrying Mom; third, he needed time to organize how to bring it up.
'We can't keep secrets from each other anymore. Everyone needs to know. For persuasion, we'll need evidence.'
That meant they needed Mun Seok-il. His decisive proof was crucial.
There'd be no issues until he finished treatment and called. The client would be waiting for Mun Seok-il's contact too. He'd already given instructions on how to proceed. Their safe return was paramount.
Clack.
The white Go stone clamped onto the nape of Dad's large group.
The forces Dad had desperately tried to save were surrounded on all sides.
"Wha—? Wasn't it immortal? Argh, what now."
Dad, his face weary from lingering fatigue, clutched the back of his neck.
He'd planned to go easy since his son was playing Go with him after so long, but this kid had tossed the three bonds and five constants into the mudflat. No mercy for an elder deserving respect.
"Even a great dragon can't stop a long-prepared war, right?"
Jin-hyuk phrased it carefully so Dad wouldn't shrink back and Mom wouldn't catch on.
Dad gave a strange smile at his son's clumsy imitation. He wished he'd cut it out. His wife mimicked it sometimes too, but anyone outside Yu-jin made his stomach turn.
"They say prepare for war secretly over a long time with overwhelming force. And once you start, end it quickly."
"Yeah..."
Dad nodded half-heartedly.
What did that have to do with now? This was definitely his son, yet he spoke like an old geezer. The more he watched, the more amazing he seemed.
"Even in a peaceful world, forgetting war makes you vulnerable."
"True. That's why we build up arms. Needs economic backing, though."
"Visible enemies aren't the real danger."
"Right. So we prepare for the unseen ones."
Dad, who'd been glaring at the board, finally looked up at his son.
"Jin-hyuk, you got something to say to Dad? Why beat around the bush?"
"You said direct talk scares you."
No, this kid equates my gentle tone with riddle-like circumlocution. Must be from his mom. Han Yu-young rarely stated things outright when she wanted something, usually just prodding his side.
From growing up in the countryside?
Hot air snorted from Dad's flared nostrils.
"Jin-hyuk. Is this about what happened at Chuseok? If so—"
Dad glanced at his wife.
She seemed oblivious, drawing with Yu-jin and colored pencils.
"The uncles got taken down hard, so it'll be fine."
"No, not that."
Dad's eyes narrowed into slits.
The two men's gazes clashed in midair.
Jin-hyuk's voice was low and even.
"Cowering achieves nothing. Not the land, not the family."
Finally getting it, Dad rubbed his forehead and let out a quiet sigh he couldn't hold back.
'So much for quietly farming out my days.'
They say the closest distance between people is a laugh.
Dad knew that best.
He'd deliberately forgotten dignity, acted goofy, danced his butt in front of his wife, grinned like an idiot even when Yu-jin yanked his hair. He loved seeing his family laugh, loved how their laughter made him happy.
...Hoping that even after he was gone, they'd lean on those memories and smile without sorrow.
Lowering his gaze back to the trembling surrounded dragon, Dad spoke.
His low, grave voice matched his dark expression.
"How should we prepare for war?"
He had to admit it. He'd been complacent; reality demanded a new approach.
"Use it. The system, and our connections."
"The system... Right, off the board, stones lose their place."
Dad gripped his chin. In this moment, his towering son was no longer a teenage boy. Nor was he some fool uncle.
Jin-hyuk nodded. Unseen foes hurled stones from beyond the board. No need to get dirty just because they did. Like smiling sweetly at foul-mouthed ronin to emerge victorious, he'd win by the rules. Matching their filth would just be a dogfight in the mud.
"People matter too. Even in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, they rally friendly heroes before raising arms."
"Connections are iffy. Never donated to politicians."
"Korea has its most famous guy."
Ah, Gi-jun.
He'd teased him for being dim so much he'd forgotten how big a shot he was.
But relying solely on connections without his own base would make him a freeloader. Knowing that, his son was prodding him to raise his own banner.
One corner of Dad's mouth curved up as he looked at Jin-hyuk.
Was this how Sun Jian felt looking at Sun Ce? Dad thought the time had come. With his grown son backing him solidly, family worries could ease.
"How to use the system?"
"In a capitalist country, no matter the laws or democracy, money's king. Buy people with it."
Nothing built power as surely and honorably as earning money legally.
Dad realized his son's thinking aligned with his own.
Still, this kid was definitely his mom's son. At fourteen, Dad had groaned memorizing S+V+C patterns, but his son's level of thought was worlds apart.
"War's ugly. Can't we talk it out?"
He asked knowing the answer.
It was a peace too precious to abandon easily.
"Talk is amusement for the powerful. The weak are desperate; the strong indifferent. Without power balance, words can't be true, promises fleeting. A general's word and a soldier's can't weigh the same, nor CEO and employee's. And trying dialogue with anti-system, antisocial provocateurs? Nothing dumber."
Oops, too direct at the end.
But Dad just nodded slowly, unflinching.
"Hm. Guess we move, then?"
Regret filled Dad's eyes.
After fifteen years, he'd grown attached to the village. The local produce from hills, fields, and sea was rare in cities. Selling the land he'd built up saddened him too.
Jin-hyuk shook his head.
"Transport's improving, comms will explode soon. Location isn't as vital anymore. We're not doing it ourselves anyway. Leave work to experts. Phone and fax enable real-time talk now."
Pity internet wasn't widespread yet, but with Hong Gi-jun, super high-speed might come faster than in his past life. History would accelerate. Jin-hyuk planned to ride that wave.
He didn't mention future changes. Unnecessary, and Dad was savvy enough to predict the world as well as he knew it.
'Quiet countryside suits my ops. Fewer eyes.'
If needed, he could snap intruders' necks for defense.
He shunned dogfights but had to prepare; they ended with throat bites anyway.
Dad nodded, still eyeing the board.
No need to ask what his son meant.
"Let's see. What to do first? To gain power, leverage my rooted strengths. That's trust, the invisible contract with the world. It'll sell in business."
"No agro-industrial complex coming?"
Not a question. Make it happen.
A small one would arrive in years anyway—why not speed it up, supersize it? Diplomatic ties with China soon; trade booms from farm goods. Exploit proximity where many Sung clans from China settled downtown.
'China's just a tool to use and discard.'
Trade yes, but knowing their kind, exploit moderately and cut ties before the backstab. In his past life, he'd swiftly withdrawn from China and Japan corps, minimizing losses to acclaim.
Whoa, Dad's mouth rounded in surprise.
"Start there. Meet Assemblyman Song tomorrow. He's dying to see me anyway. Gonna get busy."
"What items?"
"Plenty. Heck, even earthworms. Sell anything from the soil. Water'll cost someday; crops more so. Farmers dwindle, all buy food. Textbooks call it urbanization now?"
So processing farm products, then.
Jin-hyuk nodded, deeming it apt. Whether for war chest or kingdom-building, start and expand influence.
"Won't be enough."
"Solid process guarantees grand end."
"Takes time."
"Won't be boring."
"Unlike farming."
"Just different tools and theory."
"Hard work."
"Nothing easy in life."
"Not just anyone can."
"Man can do anything."
Obviously, Dad would be busiest.
Yet as he eyed the board, conversing with his son, Dad's smile lingered.