Chapter 87
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Gong Nari's Family History
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Gong Nari's family situation was even worse than I'd imagined. Even I, who'd weathered every storm imaginable, found myself momentarily thrown off balance.
What should I do?
Should I hug her and tell her she'd been through so much? Or yell at her to get out of the house right now?
"Ah, so that's the story behind your family. It must have been so tough at such a young age..."
"Teacher Nari...!"
Jin Minjeong and Seol Yuhee went with the first option.
"Listen to me, Teacher Nari. ...Even if it seems like your parents might starve, people don't die that easily. The moment the money runs out, they'll set aside whatever they have—coins or donations—to feed themselves first. That's exactly why you need to get out now."
Seo Inae chose the second.
"My parents were the same. They complained about every ache and pain to avoid working, but the moment my sister—who was sending money—went radio silent, they started working right away."
Neither approach was immediately helpful.
As Gong Nari herself had said, she wasn't cluelessly pouring water into a bottomless jar.
"Haha, thanks everyone for caring. Just talking about it makes me feel lighter."
She said it felt relieving, but she seemed to regret impulsively spilling her family woes in front of her colleagues.
"......"
Gong Nari bolted out of the clinic like she was fleeing.
This time, even Seo Inae couldn't stop her.
"I was too hasty. She reminded me of my sister from a few years back, and I just couldn't hold back."
Seo Inae regretted her words, blaming her own impatience instead.
"You've been through a lot yourself, haven't you, Teacher Inae?"
"Not really. The second I turned into an adult, I cut ties cold turkey. My sister struggled alone, sending money even while I ghosted everyone."
Seo Inae rambled on about her own family.
She'd endured high school solely on the plan to leave home the moment she came of age. But then her sister, celebrating her graduation, promised to lighten her load from then on.
That very day, she packed up, moved into a cheap goshiwon, and blocked her sister too.
It took her sister a few more years to finally get her act together.
"That was what I wanted to say to my sister, but I ended up snapping at Teacher Nari instead. Our situations might be different, though."
"It was sudden, but not wrong. She just needs time to process it, and the delivery matters too. I'll talk to her myself."
"Yes. I'll apologize properly later."
I calmed Seo Inae first, then sent all three staff home.
They each headed back to their places, but I felt like taking a walk to clear my head, so I strolled through the park a bit.
I'd held back my words to avoid being reckless, but I hadn't been much help either.
'Should I talk to her even if it's uncomfortable? Or just leave her be?'
Maybe it would be better to let the other staff comfort her instead.
As an employer, there were clear limits to what I could do, and... even charitably, I wasn't exactly the friendly type.
I was used to empathizing with patients, but my mindset might be even more old-school than Seo Inae's.
In the middle of the park, I spotted a swing set in the playground.
My favorite playground ride as a kid. I sat down and let out a sigh.
"Hoo."
That's when a middle-aged woman approached me.
"Oh dear~. What's troubling such a pretty young lady?"
She looked to be in her late forties or early fifties.
"Huh? Oh... it's nothing."
"Your face is full of worry. Life's been rough, hasn't it?"
A total stranger, yet she chatted at me like we were old friends.
Just a nosy type? I should've masked my presence better.
"Haha, yeah. Even when you give it your all, problems beyond your control pop up sometimes."
"Think of me as your mom and spill it. I've got a daughter about your age."
No. We're probably peers, actually.
"Just family stuff."
I mumbled vaguely, signaling I wasn't in the mood to chat.
I couldn't blab about someone else's family drama, and I didn't need advice from a stranger anyway.
"Family troubles! Aren't they just? I had those once too~. My husband blew a fortune on stocks?"
"Ah..."
But she kept on anyway.
"Still, I prayed with all my heart for him to quit stocks, and God heard me!"
"......Pardon?"
She was proselytizing?
"No need to tell me~. But come to our church tomorrow and pour your heart out before the Lord. It'll ease your mind, and if you truly believe it'll work out, your family will change too."
"Ah, sure."
Proselytizing, got it.
I stopped responding and stood up.
No point in engaging when I had zero intention of biting.
"Meet the Lord soon and find peace! Just believe, and everything will go your way!"
Yet she kept following me.
"I've got an appointment. Next time."
"At least take this! Doesn't have to be tomorrow! Whenever you hear God's voice..."
She even jogged to catch up as I quickened my pace, shoving proselytizing materials into my hands.
I'd just exited the park and stopped at the crosswalk.
"Hoo."
Should I just take this and go? I turned around.
"Huh."
That's when my eyes met Gong Nari's as she emerged from the convenience store.
Beer cans in hand—she must've thought of drowning her sorrows while walking the park too.
"Teacher Nari?"
I called her name.
Pretending not to see her would've been ridiculous, plus I half-hoped it'd shake off the middle-aged woman.
But Gong Nari's face hardened coldly.
"Mom, what are you doing here?"
Mom...?
Did she spot me with a cultist and say that to shake her off?
If so, clinic director would've worked fine.
"Oh? Nari, aren't you supposed to be at the gym this late?"
The reply came from the middle-aged woman behind me.
"......What kind of day is this, seriously."
Gong Nari sighed deeply.
"You two know each other?"
"She's the director of the clinic where I work."
"Oh my!"
She reluctantly introduced me to the middle-aged woman.
The woman fussed dramatically, clearly embarrassed.
"I had no idea and butted in~. Nice to meet you, I'm Nari's mom! How do we keep running into each other?"
"Han Yeowon, director of Seongsu Clinic."
I pulled a business card from my bag and handed it over.
In return, she pressed her church pamphlet into my hand. Guess I ended up taking it after all.
"Mom, don't hang around on the street like this—go home already."
"What about you?"
I jumped in for the hesitating Gong Nari.
"My appointment earlier was with Teacher Nari. We'll catch up next time."
"Oh~ I see!"
"I won't let her stay out too late, so don't worry."
"No, no! Director's business comes first! Take your time coming home~ I'll head off first~."
The middle-aged woman... no, Gong Nari's mother waved at her daughter and scurried away.
Gong Nari watched her go, clenching her fist tight.
"Were you planning to drink alone in the park? Join me."
She didn't seem eager to head home right now. Otherwise, she'd have gone with her mom.
"Sure."
She didn't refuse. She even waited obediently outside while I popped into the convenience store for my beers.
We sat on a park bench and cracked open our cans.
"Meeting me here means... Mom's marked you as a proselytizing target, huh? Haha. As you saw, it's not some normal religious group—it's a cult."
Gong Nari scratched her head and spoke up.
She didn't seem to mind the coincidence much.
"Teacher Inae was right, though. You think I'm being foolish too, don't you, Director?"
"I don't think that."
I'd just held my tongue.
I had no confidence I could fix it.
If it were a physical ailment, I'd treat it with all I had. In the murim world, I'd beat some sense into them for physical therapy.
But family hooked on crypto and cults?
No acupuncture or herbal remedies for gambling addiction or fanaticism. Western meds might curb manic impulsivity at best. Once the brain rewires, it's game over, from what I knew.
And morally, I wasn't exactly spotless on this.
Far from cracking down on cults for the people's sake, I'd cozied up to their leader—the Heavenly Demon—and fed off the scraps.
"It's a heavy topic, but... can I talk about it?"
But listening? That I could do.
No problem at all.
"Of course."
Ever since Gong Nari was little, her dad had loved stocks.
Some days, he'd come home beaming and order chicken, jjajangmyeon, pizza—everything. Those were big stock up days.
Other days, you could feel his rage from the keypad tones alone. Her mom warned everyone not to approach his gloomy aura. Stock loss days.
Gong Nari thought all dads were like that. It wasn't until middle school that she learned other dads didn't day-trade constantly or take wins and losses out on the family.
"Ah, I'll turn it into five times and bring it back?"
"How many times have you said that and come home without the principal?"
"What're you talking about? I bought that fridge and TV with stock money!"
"After blowing millions!"
Around then, her mom's wish was for dad to quit stocks.
She'd initially okayed investing some assets, but realized he had zero talent for growing money.
So first, she begged her husband to stop.
Naturally, no dice.
Next? Separate finances? Divorce counseling?
Sadly, no.
"Mister shaman, if we hold this ritual, my husband will really quit stocks, right?"
Mom started praying everywhere for him to quit.
And it was everywhere.
No one knew where she went first. Sometimes talismans plastered the house after a mudang visit. Other times, noisy gut rituals. Regular churches too, calling on "God" or whatever. Temple trips with 108 daily bows. Ancestor offerings another day.
"Give that money to me if you can afford it—diluted water or not, this works!"
"You're talking nonsense! Just drop the bio stocks already!"
"What do you know? Not all bios are scams. Do it right, and this is jackpot! Can't you see Ki Young's head on this chart? Once-in-a-decade shot. This'll go tenfold—no, twenty!"
"I don't know. Don't care. Shut up with the nonsense!"
Gong Nari never bought that the stock he dumped everything into would 10x.
Mom just desperately wanted him to quit, while funneling cash to mystery religious groups.
But unbelievably...
"N-No way?"
"See? What'd I tell you? It's really pumping!"
That bio stock actually 10x'd.
"If you hadn't stopped me from selling the house, I could've put in fifty million! Sell it, rent for a couple months, park it here, pull out for a bigger place."
"Oh... sorry, honey. I didn't know. This is great!"
Dad strutted around the house for a while.
The stock kept climbing too.
Her parents gradually cashed out bits—new furniture, a car.
The rocket ride didn't stop.
"......Let's buy more now."
"With what money?"
"Sell the house, rent short-term. Park it here, cash out for a mansion."
"......Okay! Whatever you say!"
And the moment they sold the house and moved...
"N-No way!"
The stock hit limit down for days straight.
Embezzlement? Manipulation? Scam from the start? TV yapped about it nonstop—stuff Gong Nari barely understood.
"Uwaaaagh!"
Dad screamed every mention of the company.
And finally, he quit stocks.
The god her mom had believed in so fervently had granted her wish.