You Are My Private Property (1)
He had hair that was thinning at the crown, leaving only tufts on the sides, and thick, high-prescription glasses that made his eyes nearly invisible. When viewed from the front, the way the lenses distorted his face into a swirling, vortex-like curve was truly an unforgettable sight.
“Grandpa!” Thinking that reinforcements had arrived, Lee Won-hee called out to his grandfather and ran over, burying himself in the old man’s arms and beginning to fake a sob. “Waaah! Grandpa, Grandpa!”
“Yes, yes, my precious little one. Grandpa is here.”
Lee Ki-cheol, the president of Jeil Textiles, was a gaunt man whose arms showed prominent veins and whose body seemed composed of sharp, straight lines rather than soft curves. He scooped Won-hee up and clicked his tongue, scolding his daughter-in-law. “How hard did you hit the boy to make him cry like this? Mother, your discipline is far too harsh.”
Jeong Ok-ju felt stifled by her father-in-law’s words, but she couldn't dare raise her voice. She expressed her opinion as cautiously as possible. “Father, you are right, but shouldn't we discipline him when he does something wrong…?”
It wasn't just the patriarchal atmosphere of the 1970s; she couldn't afford to provoke Lee Ki-cheol, who held the family’s purse strings. She kept her dissent to the absolute minimum.
“I know your heart, Mother, but the boy hasn't done anything that terrible. What’s so wrong about breaking a single pencil sharpener?”
“…….”
As Jeong Ok-ju bowed her head in silence, Lee Ki-cheol narrowed his eyes. “Mother, do you have some complaint about what I’m saying?”
“Oh, no! How could I? I was just staying quiet because I realized you were right.”
“That’s right. You shouldn't raise children by crushing their spirits. So, that’s enough of that.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Though Lee Ki-cheol couldn't see it, Lee Won-hee was already sticking his tongue out at Jeong Ok-ju, making a series of impudent faces.
‘*Sigh.*’ Jeong Ok-ju let out a breath and excused herself, using the excuse of making him a cup of coffee.
“So, how did the pencil sharpener break?” Lee Ki-cheol asked, settling his grandson on his lap to start a conversation. “What is it? Did something happen to upset you?”
Seeing his grandson’s face crumple, Lee Ki-cheol furrowed his brow, worried that the boy might have run into some neighborhood bullies.
“Yes!”
“What made my grandson so upset?”
“Grandpa! There’s this one unlucky kid in my class!”
“An unlucky kid?”
“Yes!”
“How is he unlucky?”
“He keeps stopping the other kids from carrying my bag, and he stops them from doing my cleaning duty for me! Anyway, he keeps bothering me!”
“Bothering my grandson?” Lee Ki-cheol adjusted his glasses with his thumb and forefinger, squinting his eyes.
“He hands out bread to the whole class, so the kids like him even though they don't really know him. I hate him so much!”
“Buying popularity with bread. That young rascal is already quite cunning.”
Lee Won-hee felt a twinge of shame, but he continued to badmouth Yoon-gi for a long time without mentioning a single one of his own faults.
“Alright, I see. I’ll look into it. My grandson can’t go to school with his spirit crushed.”
“Grandpa is the best!” As Won-hee laughed and threw himself into his grandfather’s arms, Lee Ki-cheol beamed, enjoying his grandson’s antics. And there was one more person—or rather, a ghost—who was laughing. Choi Deok-bae floated nearby, finding the whole moment hilarious.
Choi Deok-bae unwrapped a cream bun with a look of pure ecstasy and popped it into his mouth.
“About seven years?”
“Wow, you’re a picky ghost, aren't you?”
“Are you really there?”
“Have you really never received a single memorial offering since you died?” Yoon-gi chuckled as he listened to Choi Deok-bae’s lament. Suddenly, Choi Deok-bae looked startled and clamped his mouth shut.
“Are there Grim Reapers, too?”
“Hey, if you tell me, I might be able to set up a different kind of memorial table for you.”
Choi Deok-bae shoved the rest of the cream bun into his mouth, unwrapped a new one, and radiated an aura that said there was no room for negotiation.
“I could even prepare some meat somehow…”
“No.”
Choi Deok-bae’s refusal was so blunt that Choi Yoon-gi had no choice but to give up. “By the way, you said your son was a Catholic, but our family is non-religious right now. We don't hold ancestral rites, either.”
Choi Deok-bae, having devoured three buns in an instant and downed a carton of milk, patted his stomach and let out a loud, booming burp.
“It’s a physiological necessity.” Choi Deok-bae glared at him, then suddenly slapped his palm as if he’d remembered something.
“Tattling?”
Hearing this, Yoon-gi moved the plates and cups onto his desk and peeled back the ‘shell of reality.’ After all, just because a ghost eats a bun doesn't mean the physical bun disappears.
“Let them do it.”
When Choi Deok-bae looked puzzled by Yoon-gi’s relaxed demeanor, Yoon-gi smiled.
“Have you ever seen a lion get flustered just because a hyena is being annoying?”
If there was any competition among teachers in the 1970s, it was the ‘Rich Student’ competition. Having a wealthy child in one’s class was directly tied to a teacher’s survival. After various taxes, a regular teacher’s monthly salary was about 34,000 won. Even adjusted for modern value, that’s only about 350,000 won. Because of this, not accepting bribes was essentially a declaration that one was willing to starve to death, so the teachers’ offices during this period were swarming with parents. If you didn't offer a bribe, your child would be beaten by the teacher.
It was an era where poor children were beaten to death, fostering resentment toward the teaching profession, while wealthy children were showered with money-bought affection, leading them to say, “The teachers I had were all fine.” In that sense, the teachers’ office at Jeongwon Elementary School was frequently visited by parents. Of course, a visit like today’s was truly rare.
“Ahem! I am Won-hee’s grandfather.”
At Lee Ki-cheol’s words, Park Seon-ja bowed her waist as low as possible and spoke in a servile tone. “I am his homeroom teacher, Park Seon-ja. I had no idea you would visit such a humble place in person, so I haven't prepared anything proper. I am truly sorry.”
A simple cup of coffee. Since he hadn't come to be entertained, Lee Ki-cheol didn't show any discomfort at the relatively poor hospitality.
“I didn't come to the office to be entertained, so don't worry about it. By the way, I heard our Won-hee is having a bit of a hard time with school life lately?”
Even though Lee Ki-cheol mixed formal and informal speech craftily, Park Seon-ja didn't show a hint of discomfort. Whether judged by age or social status, Lee Ki-cheol was far above her. Although it wasn't a massive conglomerate, Jeil Textiles was at least a well-known company in the region where Jeongwon Elementary School was located.
“I apologize. I will pay closer attention.”
Even as she said this, Park Seon-ja’s mind was racing. It was an era where you couldn't survive unless you were ruthless. Naturally, her mental abacus was clicking at high speed.
‘Does this president not know that the young master of Samwoo Trading attends this school? Well, I suppose that’s possible. Someone of that stature wouldn't necessarily send their grandson to this school.’
Though she judged that Lee Ki-cheol didn't know the situation, Park Seon-ja didn't bother to inform him. It was information that held absolutely no benefit for her.
“Yes, paying more attention is better for everyone.”
Lee Ki-cheol pulled out a thick envelope and handed it to Park Seon-ja. It was clearly, visibly thicker than the one Jeong Ok-ju had handed over at the beginning of the semester.
‘This should satisfy him, right?’
Just as Lee Ki-cheol intended, Park Seon-ja acted surprised and pretended to refuse. “Oh my… I’m not sure if I should accept this…”
“Take it. It’s better for everyone if things go smoothly. Teachers need money to teach children, don't they?”
“Th-then, I will accept it gratefully…”
“Good. Then I can return home with peace of mind, right?”
“Of course. Please don't worry.”
Park Seon-ja, even flashing a sweet, sycophantic smile, saw Lee Ki-cheol off to the school gate and immediately began clicking her mental abacus. The time it took to calculate was a mere three seconds.
‘Even if I combine both envelopes, the one the Samwoo madam gave me is much heavier.’
Park Seon-ja moved quickly.
“So, you’re Yoon-gi’s homeroom teacher?”
Seeing Choi Ki-hyun sitting in the seat of honor in the living room, Park Seon-ja instinctively trembled, then barely managed to calm herself and nodded.
“Yes, that is correct, Chairman.”
“Chairman, what? We aren't in the same company, so feel free to call me comfortably.”
“C-can I call you Grandfather?”
“That sounds fine. Anyway, what is the matter?”
It was a natural condescension, but the gap between Choi Ki-hyun and Park Seon-ja was so vast that she didn't feel any sense of incongruity.
‘This is the right path.’
Park Seon-ja took a deep breath and began to state her intention. “Yoon-gi is currently the most outstanding student in the class I am in charge of.”
“Yes, I’m sure he is.”
Choi Ki-hyun’s response, so natural and expected, was overflowing with faith in his grandson.
“But are you aware that a student has recently appeared who is challenging Yoon-gi?”
“Challenging? Yoon-gi? Who?”
To Choi Ki-hyun’s rapid-fire question, Park Seon-ja answered just as quickly.
“It is the grandson of the president of Jeil Textiles.”
“Jeil Textiles? Was their grandson the same age?”
“That is correct. He came to me today asking me to take special care of his grandson, but honestly, Yoon-gi is a more important student to me, so…”
Park Seon-ja trailed off, but her intent was conveyed precisely.
[I will stand on Yoon-gi’s side.]
Since Choi Ki-hyun couldn't possibly miss that, he went straight to the point.
“So, how much did that guy give you?”
If it were someone worth ‘negotiating’ with, he would have beaten around the bush to find a strategic advantage, but since the opponent was someone not worth the effort of negotiation, he went for the direct strike.
“Well… that is… I did receive this…”
Park Seon-ja took out the envelope she had received from Lee Ki-cheol earlier and placed it down cautiously. It was an envelope filled not with 10,000-won bills, but with 5,000-won bills. As soon as he saw it, Choi Ki-hyun called the secretary who was waiting in the house.
“Hey, Chief Kim!”
“Yes, Chairman.”
After signaling Chief Kim to lean in, he whispered something, and Chief Kim disappeared for a moment before reappearing.
“Please, take these.”
At Chief Kim’s words, Park Seon-ja took three money envelopes with trembling hands. They were thick envelopes, twice as thick as the one she had, and filled only with 10,000-won bills. Even though she had expected something, the treatment far exceeded her expectations, making her body shake.
“Th-this is too much…”
“Is it not enough?”
At Choi Ki-hyun’s furrowed brow, Park Seon-ja hurriedly clutched the envelopes to her chest and shook her head.
“Oh, no! That is absolutely not the case.”
Hearing this, Choi Ki-hyun nodded, slightly relaxing the tense atmosphere.
“That aside, I already knew the teacher was coming today because my grandson told me.”