Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Truth Always Hurts, So We Try to Ignore It
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“Sniffle!”
“Waaah!”
“Sob!”
“Waaah!”
“...”
“Waaah!”
“...”
By now, I'd pulled myself together and stopped crying, but Hye-jeong was still bawling her eyes out.
Her big brother, whom she always relied on, had suddenly burst into tears out of nowhere. It must have scared her little heart pretty badly.
In the end, it took me quite a while to calm her down.
“Hic... You're really okay, right, oppa?”
“Of course! You know about puberty, right? Puberty? During puberty, your emotions just swing wildly all of a sudden...”
“Oppa!”
“Yeah?”
“You're not in puberty! Everyone says you look like a total bachelor!”
“...”
My little Hye-jeong could be surprisingly sharp about the weirdest things sometimes.
Anyway, after a whole lot of sweet-talking and coaxing, I finally managed to settle her down.
On top of that, since Mom and Dad could never find out we'd been clinging to each other and sobbing like that, I emptied my pockets completely and bribed her with everything I had. Only then was the crisis fully averted.
Evening rolled around, and Mom came home from her duties in the main house kitchen.
She usually didn't get off until after the Chairman finished his meal, so seeing her back early meant the old man must've eaten out and come home already.
“Kang Hyeok, you're home early? Haven't had dinner yet?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Huh? Mother? Hohoho! What's with the sudden 'Mother'? What, you too grown up to call me 'Mom' now?”
“...”
Every time I looked at Mom, my vision started to blur, so I deliberately turned my gaze away, desperately fighting back the tears.
Mother... I missed you so much.
Ah, this was brutal.
I never knew holding back tears could be this hard.
Finally, Mom must've thought something was off because she started coming toward me.
That's when Hye-jeong jumped in.
“Mom! Our teacher said...”
“Oh? What'd your teacher say, Hye-jeong?”
“Yeah! So, like...”
Phew!
I barely dodged that bullet.
Hye-jeong was chattering away with Mom, shooting me a wink in the process.
The power of bribes was truly magnificent.
Around 10 p.m., Dad finally got home from work.
That was his daily routine.
They called him “Manager” all fancy-like, but he couldn't clock out until the master dismissed him after heading to bed.
And that wasn't even the end of it.
Middle of the night, crack of dawn—if the intercom buzzed, he had to leap out of bed no matter what.
No weekends, no personal life whatsoever.
The only breather came when Jo Min-cheol's dad, Chairman Jo Seong-gi, jetted off overseas for business or vacation.
Even then, at least he could head home early and rest a bit.
That was the life of a house servant.
I'd followed in his footsteps, living the same way until I was past sixty.
Dad relieved his stress in just two ways.
During the day, he'd sneak off to the gym and pound the punching bag whenever he could.
At night, after getting home and eating dinner, he'd nurse exactly one bottle of draft beer.
Exactly one. Not two.
Any more, and he worried he wouldn't be sharp enough for a potential midnight call.
Tonight, too, Dad was sipping his bottle of beer late into the evening.
Savoring each sip.
Whew, thank goodness for those big 4-liter bottles back then. If it were like the 2020s with only tiny cans, he'd have been in real trouble.
I quietly approached Dad and sat down across from him at the low table.
“Dad.”
“Oh, Kang Hyeok.”
“...”
I stared at him for a moment.
Dad was in his mid-forties now, looking so young and sturdy.
To think a healthy man like him would pass away so early...
Of course, that wouldn't happen this time around.
Anyway, time to throw the fastball.
“Dad.”
“Yeah? What?”
“How long are you gonna keep living like a house servant?”
“Pfft!”
“Whoa!”
Dad spat out his beer right in my face, soaking me.
Even in the mess, he glared at me with wide eyes and opened his mouth.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Hold on. Let me wipe this off.”
“Y-yeah, do that.”
A moment later.
“Kang Hyeok, what was that? How long am I gonna keep living like a house servant?”
“Exactly what I said. We can't live like this forever, right?”
“Ugh... House servant...”
“Don't deny it. You know it too. If this isn't house servant life, what is?”
“What? Your tone today is...”
“What about it?”
Sigh, I'd been trying so hard to speak carefully, but shaking off that old formal speech pattern wasn't easy.
“What's going on? Something happen?”
“Something's always happening. Just like every day for you, Dad.”
“You...”
“Hold on.”
“Huh?”
I turned on the TV in the living room and cranked the volume just a notch.
Glancing at the clock, the show still had plenty of time left.
“Why the TV all of a sudden?”
“Gotta be careful in this house.”
“Kang Hyeok, you really...”
Dad stared at me with a stiff expression for a bit, then got up and fetched a fresh bottle of beer and an extra glass.
He filled both glasses to the brim.
“Dad?”
“A father teaches his son to drink. Have some.”
“I'm fine, but Dad, this is your second bottle.”
“Kid, I can hold my liquor. Sticking to one was just me keeping myself in check.”
I knew Dad was a heavyweight drinker.
After Hye-jeong passed away, he'd downed soju by the pair for days on end.
Anyway, suited me just fine.
Like manna from heaven.
“Drink up.”
“Yes, Dad.”
Gulp! Damn, that's good.
Even rolling in dog shit beats the afterlife.
If I'd stayed dead, no more beer for me.
“Not bad, huh? You sneak drinks with your friends sometimes?”
“Nah.”
“Don't lie. At your age, it's about time.”
“...”
Back then, high schoolers were treated half like adults, so folks were pretty lax about booze and smokes.
Common sight: kids crammed in the back room of a Chinese joint near school, chasing spicy noodles with soju or gaoliang, puffing away.
In the 2000s, that'd get you raided and the owner shut down.
Anyway, even if it was just beer, this was the first time Dad had poured me a drink.
Meant he saw me as someone worthy of a serious talk now.
“Say it again. What made you say that?”
“I've been thinking it for a while. Dad, are you happy right now? This isn't even for your sake.”
“I'm fine. The Honorary Chairman took me in, let me live like a human, and keep the family fed. As long as you kids grow up right...”
“Sigh, you're killing me.”
“What?”
The Honorary Chairman took me in?
I was losing my mind.
Honorary Chairman Jo Man-deok, who was one wrong move from getting shit-smeared on the walls, was the root of all evil. But Dad didn't know that, so it sounded innocent enough. To me, who knew the truth? I wanted to jump out of my skin.
“Dad, let's cut the crap and stick to facts. Our family— we're living as house servants, right? Right? Butler? Manager? Fancy labels, but it's house servant life, admit it.”
“W-well...”
“You've wrestled with this plenty, haven't you, Dad?”
“...”
Dad just clamped his mouth shut.
No words left.
“I'll take that as a yes.”
“...”
“Next, don't say it's for us. Hye-jeong's still clueless, but me? The whole school's been whispering 'house servant's son' for ages.”
“What?”
“Come on, you think that stays quiet? With me at the same school as Min-cheol?”
“Sigh...”
“That's how it is. Bet you've worried about it deep down too. Fine, say it's all good. So what if they tease the house servant's kid? The real problem's the future. What am I gonna become like this?”
“...”
“A house servant carrying on the line, serving the Jo family. That's my future, Dad. You want me following in your footsteps?”
“...”
The truth always hurts, so we try to ignore it.
You think Dad didn't know?
“Fine, say that's okay too. Me as a house servant. The real issue is Hye-jeong.”
“What're you saying? Why her?”
“You really don't know? Is Hye-jeong just some average pretty girl? She's in sixth grade, and people stare everywhere we go. Child model offers, TV gigs— they pour in nonstop. You think a girl like that'll stay safe growing up in this snake pit?”
“Y-you! What the hell...”
Dad looked genuinely shocked.
But I had to keep going.
“Isn't it? Last month, Min-cheol knocked up some girl—you handled it, right? How many times this year already?”
“How do you...”
“That's not the point!”
“Even so, that's too much. Hye-jeong's like a little sister to Min-cheol. Why spin such awful nonsense?”
“You really believe that? You know that trash's personality inside out, and you say that?”
“W-well...”
“Can you swear it? Hye-jeong's gonna bloom into Miss Korea stunner in a few years— obvious as day. You sure that creep sees her as a sister? Especially a high school sophomore humping everything that moves!”
“...”
Dad silently refilled his glass and downed it in one go.
Then another.
These big bottles really packed a few rounds.
Beer running low, he grabbed another bottle, topped us both off, and finally spoke.
“Sorry, Kang Hyeok. Guess I've been too complacent.”
“No, it's fine.”
“Be straight with me. You think I haven't agonized? You think I like this life?”
“I get it.”
“Kid, how could you possibly?”
Because I've lived the house servant grind longer than you.
“I understand why you can't just quit even if you want to.”
“What? How do you...”
“It's scary, right? You know too much about the Jo family. They won't let you walk away easy.”
“Hah!”
I'd been there.
Early forties, burned out, I once hinted at quitting.
Min-cheol had said:
‘Look here, Manager—or Kang Hyeok. You seem worn out. Take a trip or something. Honestly, if you quit, it'd inconvenience me. In all sorts of ways, yeah? Think it over.’
I still remembered that bastard's face and tone when he said “inconvenience.”
Why?
Because it was the exact look he had when he was about to beat someone to a pulp and stuff 'em in a drum.
That's when I knew.
I'd never leave this damn house alive.
I knew too many of their secrets.
“You know too much, Dad. Their dark side.”
“Unbelievable. You already know that much?”
“Anyway, am I right?”
“Yeah, you are. Honestly, would your mom and I let you starve if we left? Worst case, I'd do manual labor to feed us. Your mom's cooking? She'd be welcome anywhere.”
Dad worked out hard—his build could've passed for a twenty-something.
Mom's culinary skills were legendary even among chaebol circles.
“But quitting's tough, huh? Afraid of the fallout. Plus, with Mom and us kids, even scarier.”
“You know all that, and you ask how long I'll keep at it?”
“Doesn't mean we can stay forever.”
“So, what's your big plan?”
Dad was treating me like an equal now.
Fair enough— no high schooler talks like that.
“Me and Hye-jeong need to escape ASAP.”
“How? When?”
“When I head to college, I'll say it's for independence. They can't stop that, right?”
“True.”
No matter the pressure, a house servant's son moving out for school? They couldn't block that.
“Then, depending on the situation, I'll take Hye-jeong too. Around high school entry.”
“And after that?”
“Can't say yet, but I've got something in mind. That'll let you and Mom break free too.”
“So what is it?”
“Secret.”
“Hey!”
Couldn't spill that.
It involved the fortune hidden by the root of all evil, Honorary Chairman Jo Man-deok.
That'd stay my secret till I died.
Sorry, Dad.