Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Dodging the Voice Phishing Scam
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“Son, why’d you buy so much? You could’ve come empty-handed.”
His mother asked.
Flower sirloin, pork belly, fruit, chocolate, and more.
Jin-seong had brought quite a haul of food.
“Thanks to our eldest son, we’re in for a real treat. Thanks, son.”
Her weary face lit up.
She was thrilled to see her son after so long. And the delicious meat he brought made her even happier.
His mother’s favorability was something else.
“Where’s Dad?”
“He said he was on his way home earlier. Should be here in thirty minutes at the latest.”
“Ah.”
“Hang on a sec. I’ll whip up that braised short rib miso stew you’ve been craving, nice and spicy. We’ll eat it with the meat once your dad gets here.”
“Okay.”
His mother bustled about.
Inner Thoughts: Our son’s chubby, blessed face has gotten all gaunt.
Inner Thoughts: Dieting’s fine, but he can’t let it ruin his health.
Inner Thoughts: I hope he pays off that loan soon. Then maybe we can buy him an apartment.
Inner Thoughts: Your dad’s gonna love this. Eldest son comes home, brings beef and soju too.
His mother’s inner thoughts.
The more he read them, the bigger Jin-seong’s smile grew.
“Oh! Right. Voice phishing’s been rampant lately.”
“Huh? Didn’t you mention that before? How bad it is?”
“Yeah, I did.”
He’d brought it up on purpose again.
“A close hyung’s mom got hit this time. Lost fifteen million won.”
“What? Really? Fifteen million scammed?”
“Yeah, and it was their moving fund, apparently. Hyung covered ten million in a rush, and his dad chipped in the remaining five.”
It wasn’t really about a close hyung. It was their own future.
He’d dressed up the impending misfortune in a fitting tale.
Sorry about that.
It pricked at his conscience. The lie didn’t feel entirely refreshing.
But no choice.
He couldn’t afford to be picky about methods. He had to stop the voice phishing scam, come hell or high water.
“The worst part about voice phishing is...”
His father came home from work.
“Been a while.”
“How’ve you been?”
“Yeah, you’ve lost a ton of weight.”
“Yep, dieting.”
That was the end of the conversation.
It was as curt as could be.
Inner Thoughts: Ha, kid looks way better now that he’s slimmed down.
Inner Thoughts: Haven’t done a thing for him, yet he turned out so upright. More than we deserve.
They had dinner together for the first time in ages.
They grilled the beef, paired with Mom’s miso stew and assorted kimchi.
Home-cooked food after so long was pure bliss. He polished off two bowls.
“Going somewhere?”
“Just gonna exercise to digest.”
“Alright. Be careful out there.”
He wanted to crash.
Truth be told, he was exhausted.
Worked out at the gym in the morning. Rolled around at the office all day. Took an intercity bus, then three city buses. Hit the mart, and even stopped by with Yu-seol for karaoke.
Stuffing himself full had left him half-dead. He’d probably pass out the second he lay down.
But I gotta go.
Exercise was non-negotiable. Tired, hurt, short on time—no exceptions.
“Oppa, I’m coming too.”
“You too?”
“Yeah, ate too much. Need to walk it off.”
“Sure.”
Jin-seong headed out with Yu-seol.
“Oppa, I’m gonna hit karaoke quick.”
“Didn’t you say your stomach’s bloated?”
“Singing’ll digest it all.”
“Don’t stay long.”
“Okay okay. Wanna come?”
He shot it down flat. Exercise trumped karaoke by a mile.
Jin-seong found a nearby empty lot.
Popped in his earbuds. Cranked some tunes. Stretched to warm up.
He started jogging slow. Cool air filled his lungs.
Running outside at night... with music... not bad at all.
It had a certain charm. Therapeutic, even. He especially loved the crisp air.
Running... surprisingly... pretty appealing exercise.
He ran hard. For an hour straight. Wasn’t too tough.
“You ran the whole hour?”
“Huff... huff... Huh? When’d you get here?”
“Like five minutes ago?”
“Huff... yeah... huff... exactly one hour.”
“Impressive. So cool.”
Yu-seol flashed double thumbs up.
“Next time we meet, you’ll be a normal person, oppa.”
“I’m normal now. Why make me sound abnormal?”
“Pfft, no way you’re normal. Who ever saw a normal person with that gut? Look at this.”
“Huh? Check out this gas? Hey, maybe I’ll cut your allowance.”
He unleashed the allowance confiscation skill.
“Eek?! No fair! Sorry. My bad. Oppa’s totally normal. Oppa’s handsome. Forgive me. I really messed up.”
He chuckled.
Too cute to stay mad.
He showered. Dried his hair. Flopped onto the bed.
Bliss.
Grabbed his phone.
Opened KakaoTalk. Messages from several people.
Homework’s piling up;;
My brain’s melting;;
I hate using my head.
Wanna eat dakgalbi.
Hang in there. ^^
Wanna grab dakgalbi again?
My treat this time.
Last time was so good.
Ever since they ate together.
Jin-seong and Park Ha-yeon had started chatting now and then.
Casual talk, everyday chit-chat.
Not right now.
Homework and exams;;
After exams, sure.
OK, lemme know after exams.
I’ll buy dakgalbi.
Homework’s killing me;; Gonna go ghost;;
She really seemed swamped and beat.
Next, Choi A-young’s messages.
Lolllll oppa
Mom’s surgery went great.
All thanks to the lottery shares you gave us.
Thank you. Really, thank you. A-youngie will repay you.
So glad. Really glad ^^
Hope your mom recovers fast and gets discharged soon.
Nah, no need to thank me. No repayment needed.
Must’ve been nerve-wracking waiting for surgery results. You did great.
Surgery went well?
What a relief.
No reply. She must be asleep. Choi A-young was an early bird.
Set the phone down.
Closed his eyes.
But...
A question popped up.
What’s a happy life?
More questions followed.
What’s a successful life?
What’s a cool life?
What’s success even mean?
How do you succeed?
How to make our family happy?
What do I really want?
Questions he’d been mulling lately.
Questions sparked by watching Yu-seol.
His head was a mess.
Tired...
He drifted off without answers.
Jin-seong’s mother, Kim Ji-young, was hustling in the kitchen of a rice house.
She was the cook. Came in at dawn to prep the meals.
Hot.
Unlike the crisp weather outside.
The kitchen sweltered. Sweat beaded on her forehead.
Hm? Who’s this?
Her phone rang.
“Yes, hello?”
She answered absentmindedly.
— Hello? This is Happiness Hospital. Are you the mother of Yoo Min-seong?
“Yes, that’s me. I’m Min-seong’s mom. What’s going on?”
— Yes, confirmed. Ma’am, it’s serious. Yoo Min-seong just had a major car accident. It’s urgent.
“What? What?! O-our Min-seong? I-is that true? He’s really hurt bad?”
— Yes, critical. Needs surgery ASAP. Without it, his life’s in danger.
“N-no! W-what do I do? S-surgery! P-please do it now! Hurry! Min-seong can’t die!”
— Yes, ma’am, calm down. Listen carefully. Surgery costs 15 million won. Transfer to our account, and we’ll operate right away. He’ll live.
15 million won? Just transfer 15 million, and Min-seong gets surgery? Lives, safe and sound?
Her vision narrowed. Time froze.
“O-okay...”
She was about to agree. About to say she’d send it. About to promise the 15 million right now.
But then.
Jin-seong’s words flashed in her mind.
“W-wait a sec. I’ll call Min-seong’s school and get back to you.”
— Huh? Ma’am? It’s urgent. No time for school calls. Send the 15 million now. That’s how he survives.
“One minute. Just one.”
— Ma’am, please don’t...
She hung up. Frantically called her second son’s school.
— Min-seong attended today.
— No accident.
— Yes, he’s fine.
Only then did Kim Ji-young realize.
Voice phishing. Nearly scammed. Jin-seong’s warning had saved her.
Jin-seong sat on the toilet.
“Huh?”
He was rereading the Misfortune Diary.
“What’s this?”
[Page 1]
Misfortune Diary Page 1 was gone.
[Page 2]
Page 2 was gone too.
[Page 3]
Only Page 3 remained.
His mother called.
— Son, Mom almost fell for voice phishing today.
— If you hadn’t warned me, I’d have been had.
— Those guys are scary. They prey on your emotions so well?
What a relief.
Truly a godsend.
Misfortune averted.
He sighed in relief.
No 15-million-won scam. No major injury for Dad.
Phew, just one left to fix.
Misfortune Diary Pages 1 and 2 were deleted.
But Page 3 lingered.
He read Page 3 again.
[Page 3]
I’m worried. Anxious. It’s been a week since A-young went missing. We were supposed to hit the zoo a week ago. We were still texting that morning.
He furrowed his brow.
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