Chapter 29
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: I'll Turn It Off Myself!
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"I'll turn it off myself!"
After Seongtae left, evening arrived.
The twins dashed to the kitchen, their stomachs growling.
"Nanny, I'm hungry!"
"I wanna eat!"
But the nanny the twins had been expecting wasn't in the kitchen.
Instead, a strange woman they had never seen before was cooking.
"Oh, young masters. Just wait a bit. It's almost ready."
"...Who are you? Where's our nanny?"
Deokyul asked warily, and the woman gave an awkward smile.
"...I'm the new lady starting today. Please take care of me, young masters."
"Then where's the nanny? She said she was gonna make us ribs..."
"Well... the previous lady had some personal circumstances."
Kangyul stepped forward quickly, before the woman could ramble on with excuses.
"The nanny just had to take a short leave for some work. She's coming back soon. So you should greet this lady who's making our meals in the meantime."
"...Hello. I'm Deokyul, and this is Jiyul."
"Yes, nice to meet you."
Kangyul bowed his head politely to the woman.
"You must be Young Master Kangyul. The previous lady talked about you a lot. Said you're so smart and wonderful."
"Really? Looking forward to your cooking from now on."
"Yes, me too, young master."
That evening, dinner was later than usual. Partly because the new lady was still getting the hang of things, but mainly because Im Myeonghan and Park Jeong-a had come home early for once.
"Why haven't you eaten dinner yet?"
"Oh, we... we thought you'd join us, Chairman, Madam."
"Feed the kids first from now on. They're starving waiting like this."
"Yes, understood."
Deokyul and Jiyul threw themselves into their mother's arms.
Kangyul bowed neatly to Im Myeonghan in greeting.
"Father, you're home."
"Yeah. Want a hug from Dad, Kangyul?"
He had greeted him maturely on purpose to avoid a hug, but Im Myeonghan didn't get the hint. He scooped Kangyul up and planted a barrage of kisses on his cheeks.
'Ugh. It stings.'
The stubble on his chin scratched painfully, but Kangyul endured it without a fuss.
He didn't want to ruin Im Myeonghan's good mood after not seeing him in a while.
Im Myeonghan and Park Jeong-a both seemed exceptionally happy today.
"What's got you both in such a good mood?"
"Good mood? Yeah, something good happened. Dad's company stock shot way up. Haha."
"What's a stock?"
Deokyul, nestled in Park Jeong-a's arms, tilted his head curiously. Park Jeong-a chuckled and explained to him.
"How should I put this so our Deokyul understands? A stock is like the price of the snacks Daddy sells."
"Snack price? Five hundred won?"
Im Myeonghan burst out laughing at the mention of five hundred won.
"For a snack, a million won is pretty pricey, right?"
"Really? Did Seonjin Electronics' stock rise that much?"
Im Myeonghan nodded at Park Jeong-a's surprised reaction.
It seemed all the late nights—even coming home late every day—were finally paying off.
'Is a million won high?'
Kangyul, who knew nothing about stocks, couldn't quite grasp how impressive that was.
The stock, which had plummeted to four hundred thousand won during the 2008 financial crisis, had climbed to a million in less than three years.
"Looks like I can relax for a while."
"You've worked so hard, dear. It's all worth it now."
"Hard work? Nah, it's all thanks to the employees."
He said that, but his mouth curved into a pleased smile at Park Jeong-a's words.
"Alright, let's eat!"
The whole family sat down at the table for a late dinner. They laughed and enjoyed the delicious food, but somehow, there was an emptiness in Kangyul's heart.
Deokyul and Jiyul kept glancing toward the doorway, as if remembering someone.
That was the spot where the nanny always stood, listening patiently to the twins' chatter.
'...Just hold on a little longer, kids. I'll track down that runaway Lee Jaeyoung or whatever her name is quick and bring the nanny back.'
After dinner, the family gathered in the living room.
They set out some fruit and chatted amiably.
The TV was on, blaring the news.
"Are Kangyul, Deokyul, and Jiyul studying hard?"
"Yeah! I got praised for being good at taekwondo, and Jiyul got praised for math!"
Im Myeonghan's gaze turned to Kangyul.
Kangyul had always stood out since he was little. Im Myeonghan was deeply interested in where his talents lay.
"Kangyul hyung gets lessons all by himself!"
"What? By himself?"
Im Myeonghan frowned and looked at Park Jeong-a. It was a silent question of whether she knew, but she shook her head in equal surprise.
"What do you mean, lessons by himself?"
"The teacher said Kangyul hyung is so smart he needs to be in the special class!"
"...Not special class, but gifted class."
'Guess that's how they spun it at school.'
Jang Deokcheol must have arranged things beforehand so the teachers wouldn't suspect anything.
Technically, the 'Junior Entrepreneur Special Class' was a special class, so it wasn't entirely wrong.
"Gifted class?"
"Yeah. The 'Junior Entrepreneur Special Class.' But it's no different from what you guys do. Hehe."
Kangyul tried to brush it off to deflect attention. But at the mention of "entrepreneur," Im Myeonghan's eyes lit up.
"Really? Kangyul definitely takes after Dad a lot. Honey, why don't you go to his school tomorrow, meet his teacher, and hear more about it."
"Sure, it's my day off tomorrow anyway. I should at least say hello."
'Gasp. Tomorrow?'
Kangyul was startled inside. There was no teacher actually teaching him at school. And he couldn't very well ask Jang Deokcheol to handle it.
"Mom's busy, you don't have to. I can handle it myself."
"No. Mom's been sorry for being so busy lately. We'll go together tomorrow, okay?"
Park Jeong-a must have taken his words as childish whining. She stroked his head as she spoke.
The twins jumped for joy at the news that Mom was coming along.
'...Damn. What now.'
Kangyul's mind grew complicated. Unaware of his turmoil, the TV announcer droned on noisily.
—...Some online games' violent content is now reaching even elementary students. Games that promote indiscriminate killing. Experts say these are affecting students' mental health. Reporter Yoo Choong-wan.
The TV screen shifted to a familiar scene for Kangyul.
It was a PC bang where kids were playing Sudden Attack.
The reporter gazed worriedly at the gaming kids and spoke.
—One of the most popular online games among youth these days. A brutal combat game where you shoot opponents with guns or stab and slash with knives. The more indiscriminate killing you do, the more money and points you get.
'Heh. Indiscriminate killing? That reporter's exaggerating.'
The reporter walked over to one of the PC bang's soundproof booths and lifted the lid.
—...I'll turn off the power to this computer in the middle of an intense game!
Click!
The reporter actually shut down the entire PC bang's power.
'Crazy! That's the one.'
Kangyul remembered this news from his past life.
It was the infamous MBC Newsdesk segment remembered as the most cringeworthy in history.
—Argh, what the hell! I gotta practice for the tournament!
—Who turned off the computer! I was about to win!
—What the! What's going on!
Not just the students, but everyone in the PC bang flew into a rage. But the reporter's expression didn't change as he faced the camera.
—Unable to handle the sudden change, curses and intense reactions erupt everywhere. They've turned savage, just like the protagonists of these violent games. MBC News, Yoo Choong-wan.
'Wouldn't you get mad if someone flipped the table while you were eating? And they call that news. Tsk.'
This clip had become famous from parodies on Gag Concert and even The Simpsons.
"Mom, I wanna play that game too! All the kids at school talk about it."
Deokyul was clueless about timing. Right then, the TV showed a headshot with a knife, blood spraying.
No way Park Jeong-a would allow it after seeing that.
"You can get a computer when you're older. Got it?"
"Hiiiing. I just wanna try it like the other kids."
Deokyul threw a rare tantrum, clinging to Park Jeong-a.
Watching that, Im Myeonghan casually remarked.
"Learning computers early isn't a bad idea. These days, if you don't know computers, you're a fool."
Deokyul wailed even louder upon hearing his father.
Park Jeong-a shot Im Myeonghan a fierce glare.
"...Still too young for computers. Hmm. If you study hard, Dad'll buy you one for your next birthday. Okay?"
Deokyul nodded through sniffles.
Kangyul stifled a laugh, watching Im Myeonghan gauge Park Jeong-a's mood.
'Even a big corp chairman's most scared of Mom in the end.'