The Spoon (2)
One million won. With this amount of money, one could live like a king for a day. Of course, the truly wealthy could spend ten million or even a hundred million won in a single night at a club, living not like kings, but like emperors. But the point is, one million won is enough to live like a king. It’s enough to call up friends and cover the bill from the first round to the third, with money still left over. Or, if one wanted to enjoy it alone, one could head to a single malt bar, sip on whiskies never tasted before, and spin lies to the bartender. For instance, claiming to be an executive at a major conglomerate or a pilot for a famous airline, just to hear the bartender’s impressed gasps. Of course, that is nothing more than a one-night dream.
Furthermore, from the perspective of an ordinary person, one million won is by no means a small sum. Even by the minimum wage standards of the 2010s, it exceeds half a month’s salary. But to Kim Son-hwan, one million won was practically pocket change.
"Hey, drink! Drink up!" Kim Son-hwan was drinking boisterously at an adult entertainment establishment with his followers. Since his entourage included both men and women, Son-hwan was drinking happily with female classmates and seniors flanking him on either side.
Some might wonder, "They’re Seoul National University students, yet they follow Kim Son-hwan?" But consider the academic backgrounds of those who enter politics and how they spend their leisure time. There is nothing particularly surprising about it.
"Ah, midterms are coming up soon. Is it really okay for us to be doing this?" one of the followers giggled, downing the expensive whisky in their glass in one gulp. As the cost of a poor family’s weekly groceries burned down their throat, the follower seemed to feel their devotion to Son-hwan grow even stronger.
"Hey, why are you saying things that kill the mood? And who are we? We’re SNU Business majors, SNU Business! Exams are a piece of cake if you just study a little."
Everyone nodded at Son-hwan’s words and burst into loud laughter. However, Son-hwan’s expression suddenly stiffened as he glanced toward one side. It was Seo Gyu-young, sitting in the corner. Because no one sat near him, he felt relatively isolated. Yet, even Gyu-young’s glass was filled with alcohol.
"Hey, are you going to keep killing the vibe all by yourself? Are you not going to drink that?"
At Son-hwan’s words, all the followers pressured Gyu-young.
"Yeah, drink it!"
"Seriously, you’re such a mood killer."
"Can’t a grown man handle a drink?"
"Look at him, acting all special."
However, Gyu-young couldn’t easily bring the glass to his lips. It wasn’t just that he disliked alcohol; it was that he saw the money literally evaporating. 'The money being spent here tonight is three months of living expenses for my family…'
Gyu-young felt so resentful toward Son-hwan. He heaped all sorts of abuse upon him, yet the money he "gave" him was a pittance. He didn’t even give it freely. But for the followers here, he spent money like water. Gyu-young felt so sad, so pathetic, and hated himself for being unable to leave Son-hwan’s side even in such a situation. 'Why on earth do I live like this…'
If Gyu-young had aimed for Sogang University instead of Seoul National University, he would have had a high chance of receiving a scholarship. But the regret of giving up on SNU was too great. And if he had chosen Sogang, retaliation would have inevitably followed. For example, his father might be saddled with extra work, sent on long-term provincial assignments, or, in the worst case, forced into unpaid leave. It was fortunate for Gyu-young that Son-hwan’s grades were good enough to get into SNU. If Son-hwan hadn’t been bright, Gyu-young might have had to follow him to whatever university he chose, weeping all the way. His entire family was caught in a snare.
"Not drinking?"
When Son-hwan finally glared, Gyu-young squeezed his eyes shut and poured the whisky into his mouth. 'Ugh!' Gyu-young screamed internally. But this was only the beginning.
"So you could drink well all along and were just pretending you couldn’t? That’s cheeky, so you’ll have to drink more."
Son-hwan placed a 500cc glass in front of Gyu-young and mixed vodka, whisky, and beer into it. "Ah, I think I’m being too kind just by not putting cigarette ash in it."
Son-hwan praised his own kind nature and gestured for Gyu-young to drink up. Gyu-young stared at the glass and then at Son-hwan with a horrified expression.
"Oh, you were hoping I’d put cigarette ash in it?"
In the end, Gyu-young had to swallow the alcohol while weeping inside. Did Gyu-young’s parents know he was being treated this way by Son-hwan? No, they knew to some extent, but they were among those who failed to grasp the severity. The entire family’s lifeline was held in the grip of Son-hwan’s household. Therefore, when Gyu-young cried as a child, saying he was having a hard time because of Son-hwan, it inevitably fell to the bottom of the priority list. They couldn’t even afford the family’s medical bills. And on the surface, it looked like their son was hanging out with Son-hwan, so it didn’t seem like there was a problem. This is why poverty is such a sad thing.
Those who know "true poverty" understand what kind of horrific life one must lead when there is no money. Therefore, no matter what mental suffering they endure, they have no choice but to accept it. No, they reach the point of thinking they "must accept it." Poor people don’t even have the luxury of thinking about what kind of mental consequences this will bring in the future. Because they have to survive the present.
Son-hwan, who knew this instinctively despite being rich, treated Gyu-young as a toy for his amusement, and Gyu-young had to endure it. Seven years left. Unless something special happened, Gyu-young would be able to escape, even if his spirit had been gnawed away by Son-hwan for over twenty years. Once he joined a major conglomerate, he wouldn’t have to rely on Son-hwan’s family. Of course, a very difficult challenge awaited him: living a normal social life with a spirit that had been eroded for over two decades.
In fact, Gyu-young didn’t even have the time to think about such things. The current moment was just too difficult.
"You idiot, you actually drank it?" Son-hwan giggled and returned to his seat, and the followers also giggled and nodded.
"Korea is such a great country. Even a guy like that goes to the same university as us. Right?"
For Son-hwan, South Korea was indeed a great country. He could do whatever he wanted, and there was nothing to stress about—wasn’t it the best country in the world? Thus, Son-hwan enjoyed his drinking and singing until he arrived home at 4:00 AM.
"You, come here for a second."
Son-hwan’s father, Kim Chang-sun, sat on the living room sofa and called his son in a low voice. The ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts, and the living room was thick with smoke. It was the very image of a terrifying father, but such an image only works on children who are susceptible to it.
"Huh? Ah… I don’t know… I’m sleepy…" Son-hwan went straight into his room, locked the door, and fell asleep.
"What, you little punk? Hey! Aren’t you going to open the door?"
Kim Chang-sun frantically turned the knob to open his son’s door. Or rather, he tried to. But the knob wouldn’t budge. Chang-sun then grabbed a baseball bat and pounded on his son’s door. *Bang! Bang! Bang!* But the door was so sturdy that it didn’t even flinch. He couldn’t even find where the key was. His wife, who might spill something strange regarding the tax audit, had already been told to stay in a hideout. Kim Chang-sun, who had waited until dawn to talk to his son, had wasted his time. But what could he do? It was Kim Chang-sun who had raised his son this way.
Morning came, then midday, and it wasn’t until 3:00 PM that Kim Son-hwan woke up in his bed.
* * *
"What is it, Dad? Didn’t you go to work?"
At the words of his son, Kim Son-hwan, who squinted slightly as if his head hurt, Kim Chang-sun’s eyes widened.
"You little brat! Who told you to go in and sleep yesterday!"
Son-hwan squinted even more.
"Ah, it’s noisy. My head is throbbing because of you. And who told you to wait until dawn? You waited by yourself…"
He was truly incorrigible. Kim Chang-sun had raised his son so that he would never feel any inconvenience in his life. On top of that, he had manipulated things from the outside so that his son could have more than what his own efforts could provide. Therefore, Son-hwan’s personality was the very definition of arrogance. When Gyeongwan Construction was doing well, it honestly wasn’t much of a problem, but in the current situation, it was the worst possible personality.
"Phew, first, sit down. I have something important to talk about."
"Ah, I have a lecture soon. Let’s talk later."
Son-hwan intended to just change his clothes and take a taxi. As if something had just occurred to him, he continued immediately.
"Oh, and I have plans later, so don’t wait for me today."
At his son’s behavior as he tried to leave after giving that notice, Kim Chang-sun roared.
"I said sit down!"
"Ah, I said it’s noisy!"
Son-hwan went straight into the bathroom to wash up.
"Damn it!"
Kim Chang-sun swung the bat at the closed bathroom door again. And a moment later, Kim Chang-sun’s older brother, Kim Chang-yun, visited.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah, brother! Son-hwan won’t listen to a word I say!"
"You’re the one who raised him like that…" Kim Chang-yun sighed.
"Is that what’s important right now?"
"Forget it, just wait for now. He went in to wash, so he’ll be out soon."
Just as Kim Chang-yun said, Son-hwan came out as soon as he finished washing.
"Oh, Uncle. What’s going on?"
Son-hwan used formal language toward Kim Chang-yun. The reason was his academic background. Son-hwan greatly admired Kim Chang-yun’s credentials as the Dean of the College of Business at Seoul National University. On the other hand, his own father, Kim Chang-sun, was a middle school graduate. Therefore, Son-hwan secretly looked down on his father quite a bit. It was Kim Chang-sun who had taught him to look down on people with low academic backgrounds, but he probably didn’t know that he himself would be included in the targets of that disdain.
"I have something to ask you."
Because it was the words of his uncle with the academic credentials, Son-hwan answered with reasonable politeness.
"Ah… can’t we talk later? I have a lecture soon."
"I’ll tell the professor to mark you as present, so let’s talk first."
Hearing that, Son-hwan’s eyes sparkled. "Really?"
"Yes."
"Awesome! Then how long are we going to talk? You won’t go over 30 minutes, right?"
Son-hwan was overjoyed at the thought of skipping the lecture to go have fun. Kim Chang-yun sighed at the sight, but he forced himself to endure it, thinking of the gold bars he had received from his younger brother, Kim Chang-sun, in exchange for helping Son-hwan get into university.
"Sit down first."
"Ah, yes! Of course I should sit."
Son-hwan sat down, shaking his hair, which was still damp, with a towel.
"Did something else happen with the Chairman of YK Group besides the lecture? Tell me in detail."
"Ah, that Choi Yoon-gi bastard?"
Son-hwan spoke with strong hostility toward Yoon-gi. At the same time, his father, Kim Chang-sun, clutched his forehead. "Oh my…"
"No, why? Anyway, it’s not that the bastard is great, it’s his grandfather who is great. And his grandfather only succeeded because of the military regime. The military regime is over now, so why are you talking so seriously?"
Kim Chang-yun felt strongly that it was pointless to try to explain complex matters to his nephew. So he decided to get straight to the point.
"Son-hwan, the Chairman of YK is investigating your fraudulent admission to the university."
However, Son-hwan still felt no sense of crisis. "What? Fraudulent admission? That bastard must be crazy. What fraudulent admission?"
Son-hwan giggled and mocked Yoon-gi. However…
"You shouldn’t be laughing."
"Why? Are you saying I committed a fraudulent admission? You’re joking too much."
"It’s true. Fraudulent admission."
"What?" Son-hwan thought for a moment that he had misheard.
"I said it’s true, it was a fraudulent admission."
"No, even if you’re joking, isn’t this too much? What the hell kind of fraudulent admission?"
"It’s true. Before you took the essay exam, we injected the answers into you through your cousin’s tutoring."
Kim Chang-yun had manipulated his nephew Son-hwan’s essay very meticulously to prepare for any potential situation. First, he obtained the exam questions, and then he obtained the model answers. He taught those model answers to his son, and Kim Chang-yun’s son taught his cousin Son-hwan questions that were almost identical to the actual exam. Including the answers. Thanks to this, Son-hwan was able to write his answer sheet very easily in the exam hall, and as a result, he received a perfect score, narrowly getting into the SNU Business Department. All of this was because of the help of Kim Chang-yun, the Dean who knew the admission criteria for the Business Department. However…
"No, what kind of bullshit are you saying so absurdly? You’re trying to scare me, but I’m not afraid of that at all."
In the end, his father, Kim Chang-sun, stepped in.
"Son-hwan, do you truly not know how scary the YK Group is? You might not know well because you’re a classmate at the same school, but…"
Son-hwan cut off his father’s words. "Ah, forget it! So, I just have to prove that I didn’t commit a fraudulent admission, right?"
"I said it was a fraudulent admission."
Kim Chang-yun spoke again, but Son-hwan no longer listened to his father or uncle. Instead, he crushed the backs of his sneakers, left his father and uncle calling out to him desperately, ran outside, and caught a taxi. And he arrived at the university campus. Son-hwan snorted and searched for Yoon-gi. And when he reached the Law School campus, just as Yoon-gi was coming out after his lecture ended, Son-hwan shouted as if to announce it to the world.
"Hey, aren’t you the one who committed a fraudulent admission?"