A Peaceful Day (2)
A Peaceful Day (2)
The controversy grew way more than I expected—ballooning as one thing led to another.
Especially given the nature of South Koreans, who love tearing people down—claiming every side of me that came out on Next-Door Hyungnim was exactly how I always acted...
And... a few comments about how growing up without a mother messed up my character...
Dad's fury over this incident was more than I thought, and JSM was investing time, manpower, and money to show the malicious commenters what the real deal looked like.
"Si-yoon."
"Yeah?"
"Give me your phone."
At Dad's unusually firm voice, I snorted a laugh.
"Afraid I'll get hurt?"
"..."
Honestly, being born as Kim Ji-ho's daughter, this wasn't the first time I'd gotten hate comments.
Having grown up wanting for nothing, with looks and talents that showed no flaws, I'd racked up countless hate comments.
There were probably people who hated me the moment I was born as Kim Ji-ho's daughter...
After all, Dad had that many sasaeng fans.
Hearing from the people around us, Mom apparently got quite a lot of hate comments too.
Saying she seduced Dad, a once-in-a-generation genius, with nothing but her looks.
But Mom's personality, which I'd only ever heard about, could tell a tyrant to take a hike.
Her personality ran to the far end of fourth-dimensional, hot-tempered and a severe sharp tongue... the way people described her, she was practically a sociopath.
Of course, that didn't mean she lacked common sense—they said she was the type who absolutely had to speak the truth when something was right.
And my mom, they said, took zero interest in anything happening outside of herself and the people around her.
Dad, who believes I inherited that personality, normally didn't worry, but he seemed to think this time was different.
I handed my phone over to Dad, who was looking at me with a worried expression.
"Should I stay off the computer too?"
"...No."
"You know everything already, but seriously... so many worries, my dad."
"Haha... sorry."
Dad hesitated for a moment, then handed me back my phone.
"Sweetie, don't pay attention to the hate comments. Just ignore them."
"Don't worry, I don't care."
"Okay..."
These days, Da-yeon and I go to the PC bang often.
ROL.
A game played by ten people, five versus five, dividing the lanes into top, mid, bottom, and jungle.
Tae-oh was mid, I was support going bot, and Ji-hoon was the ADC.
And the top laner in ROL, the sturdiest and toughest one, the dependable center of the team who soaks up all the enemy attacks and leads the game...
was Da-yeon.
The usual game pattern was Da-yeon helping Tae-oh, while Ji-hoon carried the bot lane by himself.
But today was different—because Ji-su was here.
Ji-su, who hovered at a slightly higher tier than Da-yeon.
Picking a 'Master Key' character with insect-like eyes, Ji-su roamed all over the place and put on a dominant performance.
After she created a growth environment for the other teammates like that, the game pattern became Da-yeon, who'd started slowly scaling, finishing things off.
"Ah, I said heal!!!"
"Heal or whatever, if you keep talking like that I'll show you what Silent Hill really is."
Ji-su looked at me with a serious expression.
"Guys, don't fight..."
Right then, a scrap heap with a pulling skill yanked me in, and a death indicator popped up in an instant.
"Wow... this is... wow... I won't say anything."
"..."
Normally the three of us go to the PC bang excluding Park Ji-hoon, but of course Park Ji-hoon had tagged along.
When I let go of my mouse and keyboard and sat there blankly, Ji-su started frantically trying to read my mood.
"0 kills, 6 deaths, 1 assist, overkill."
"..."
Amid the chilling atmosphere, only Park Ji-hoon kept grumbling.
"I'm 8 kills, 1 assist, and I'm the one getting shafted, seriously..."
"Hey."
"...Huh?"
"Come here."
The moment I stood up from my seat, Ji-su urgently hugged me from behind.
"Si-yoon, hold it in! It's okay, you're doing well, you know?"
"Wow... so kind, just like on TV. Seeing 0 kills 6 deaths and saying I'm doing well..."
"Hey!!!"
Of course, Park Ji-hoon had probably started needling me at first as a joke.
I played along as a joke too, but when I was already feeling frustrated and annoyed at myself for sucking, getting poked at from the side like that sent my rage gauge climbing endlessly, like it was flooring it down the Autobahn.
The moment I lunged for Park Ji-hoon, the place turned into utter chaos, and as I calmed down I looked around.
""...""
All five people had already abandoned the game trying to hold me and Ji-hoon back, and naturally, a defeat popped up.
"...Sorry."
""It's fine.""
Expressions that were absolutely not fine...
Looking at the current situation, I started feeling genuinely sorry.
"Sorry, Tae-oh, swap seats with me. If I play next to Ji-hoon, I think I'll rip every last tooth out of his head."
""...""
Park Ji-hoon read my expression and covered his own mouth.
Playing between Da-yeon and Ji-su was healing.
Felt like I played even better, actually.
Of course, that was just because Da-yeon and Ji-su were taking care of me like they were handling a little kid.
Tae-oh was just as bad as me—could he stand Ji-hoon's bitching? But the bastard praised Kim Tae-oh as if he meant for me to overhear.
But looking at the assist numbers, it was obvious...
I might not know anything else, but he supports better than me.
We kept playing ROL for a while, then Da-yeon and I switched over to the Maple Leaf Game.
Ah... as expected, seeing people welcome me the moment I logged in, the Maple Leaf Game was so healing...
Ji-su saw my character and her eyes went round.
"Whoa... how much did you spend on cash shop items?"
The first and last time I put money into the Maple Leaf Game was when I was eight. After that, I just diligently multiplied it...
"2.3 million won?"
"Really? You put in only that much and it got like that?"
"I played the market. Then I used that money to cube and inflate the stats."
"Whoa... that's amazing. Yua plays this too."
"Seriously? Yua plays Maple Leaf too?"
"Yeah, sometimes? Back then she put 60 million into the game and we nagged her like crazy..."
60 million won. That's a lot of money, sure.
But to become a top-tier player in the Maple Leaf Game, 60 million won is a markedly insufficient amount.
And knowing Yua, who seems like she wouldn't know the market well... whatever gear she completed must be a mess too...
"I should play with Yua sometime..."
Ji-su, who'd been watching my inventory glowing entirely green, clapped in admiration.
"At this level, what's your rank?"
"By level? I'm around 2,300th."
"Huh? That's not all that high?"
"I'm first in damage output."
"Ah...?"
I showed Ji-su a mask item and whispered.
"This one's market value is over 300 million."
"What?!"
"Every single item I have equipped, the minimum price is around 100 million each."
"Wow... and they say there are people who spend a whole Maple Leaf lifetime in this game..."
Whenever people talked about the highest-priced items in the game, the items I'd revealed on Sheen's stream always came up alongside my username, 'Prince Siyu.'
And second place was Sheen, and twelfth was Da-yeon.
Da-yeon and I played the Maple Leaf Game almost every day, but Park Ji-hoon hadn't logged in much lately, so he was probably around 1,500-something.
Still in the top ranks, though.
"Yua's day off is tomorrow, shall I ask her?"
"I can get in touch with her~"
"Shall I~? Yua will like it too."
"Yeah."
Da-yeon's and my curfew had been extended to 8 PM, so we kept enjoying the game for a long while before heading home.
A millionaire.
In the past, it was a term for someone whose assets exceeded one million dollars.
But now, with so many people holding assets over a million dollars, the meaning of the term had shifted a little.
A millionaire defined by whether you had a million dollars in your wallet...
Opening Dad's Hermès wallet was an absurd sight.
Neat, dense rows of white slips of paper.
No—white cashier's checks.
There were a hundred sheets, showing what people meant by a millionaire these days.
Anyone who stole just this wallet and fled abroad could eat well and live comfortably for several years.
The green wallet with the H logo boasted an incredible price tag that made you wonder, 'Why?'
Why am I suddenly talking about this?
Dad lost his wallet.
"Si-yoon, did you find it?"
"No, don't see it."
"Hmm... I think I put it in my clothes... can't see it."
Even after losing about 1 billion won, Dad looked more nonchalant than an elementary school kid who lost 1,000 won.
I was the only one being serious, starting to search every corner of the house, but Dad seemed so calm it was stifling.
"Hmm... did I leave it at the office?"
"That's insane... those words... are coming out of your mouth?"
Dad flinched when he saw my expression.
"Find it! Now!!!"
"O...okay."
Watching me search while sweating, Dad seemed like he was reluctantly joining in only because he felt bad about the way I looked.
Wow... I'm so dumbfounded... how is that the face of someone who lost 1 billion won...
My heart's pounding like crazy and it's driving me insane with frustration that I'm the only one.
"I'll take care of in here, so go out and look. If you don't find it, don't bother coming back."
"Si-yoon...?"
"Go!!!"
"Okay... I'll look for it right away..."
Dad went outside, and I spent a long time wandering the house looking for the wallet.
Why is this house so damn big... For the first time, I resented the spacious house.
I thoroughly searched everything from Mom's room to the storage shed.
The wallet never turned up.
That's when Dad called.
"Did you find it?!"
-"Yeah, it was in the car."
"Haa... come up."
-"I'll be right there."
Dad came in holding the wallet, then carefully tried to read my mood when he saw me sweating.
"...Should I... give you some allowance?"
"How much."
Dad pulled one slip of paper out of his wallet.
"..."
Silently, as if possessed by something, I took it and went straight to my room and put it in my wallet.
Then I suddenly had a thought, pulled the slip out again, and went back to Dad.
"Dad."
"...Yeah?"
"What's a little runt like me gonna do with 10 million won? Give me ten 1-million-won notes."
"..."
"No, never mind. I'll take two hundred of the 50,000-won bills you've got upstairs. You keep this."
I put it back in Dad's wallet the way it was and headed to the second floor.
I came down from Mom's room with two hundred 50,000-won bills and went straight to my room.
Then I grinned brightly at the golden-hued cash, and for a moment, a slight wave of post-clarity crash hit me.
"...Now that I think about it, this is ridiculous."
There's an amount of money in my account that's hard to easily estimate, so why...?
Honestly, the figures printed in Dad's bankbook and mine just look like numbers, and the cash in my hand—apart from what's in my desk drawer—this is all of it, including the 200,000 won in my wallet.
Come to think of it, even when I go to the convenience store, I catch myself unconsciously checking for 1+1 deals first, only looking at promotional items.
When I buy something expensive, since I swipe a card... it kind of feels like it's not my money, so it never really hit me hard.
I spread the bundle of cash out on my bed and walked out.
"Dad."
"...Yeah?"
Dad was walking on eggshells around me, as if he'd done something wrong.
"Let's change the car."
"Why?"
"I want to try driving a supercar."
"Okay, let's do that."
"..."
With a voice as calm as breathing, Dad reacted almost the same way he did when I was little and asked him to buy me candy.
No, actually, he'd refused back then saying candy would rot my teeth.
I was so dumbfounded by Dad's reaction that I felt annoyed for no reason.
When my expression hardened, Dad carefully spoke up.
"...Si-yoon?"
"What."
"...Did Dad do something wrong...?"
"No."
I stood up from the sofa and didn't meet Dad's eyes as he fidgeted restlessly.
"Si-yoon... Dad doesn't know what it is. I'm sorry..."
"What are you sorry for?"
"Ah... that... that... because I lost my wallet and put Si-yoon through trouble...?"
"You don't even know what it is and you're saying sorry. Forget it."
"Si-yoon?"
As I went back toward my room, Dad grabbed my arm and then scooped me up in a princess carry.
"Put me down?"
"Dad really doesn't know. My daughter... can't you tell me?"
"Why should I."
"Just a second... give Dad a chance..."
Dad carefully set me down on the sofa.
I crossed my arms and looked at my phone, while Dad hemmed and hawed and tried to read my mood.
"Um..."
"Did you remember?"
"..."
"Forget it. I'm going in."
"Si-yoon! Wait! I think it's coming to me."
Dad quickly ran back through what had happened today and spoke.
"Dad lost his wallet, so Si-yoon urgently searched for Dad's wallet, but Dad... didn't worry much about it...?"
"You don't sound confident even after saying it, do you?"
"No..."
"That's not it, I'm leaving, okay?"
"Wait!!!"
Dad thought some more, then nodded and spoke.
"...Got back from drinking yesterday... no, that's not it. Then, don't tell me, maybe... Dad doesn't think of money as precious?"
"What do you mean, 'maybe.'"
"......Sorry."
"I told you since I was little how important money is to me. You yelled at me so much for putting 600,000 won into the Maple Leaf Game, and you lose 1 billion won and you're that nonchalant?"
"......"
"Dad, what did you say when I asked to change the car? I was so dumbfounded—you didn't answer that easily even when you bought me a 100-won piece of candy."
Dad stared at me with trembling pupils.
"And, knowing I'm weak for money, you feel sorry so you just toss me a banknote, is that it? Forget it. I gave you a chance, and I'm not in the mood to talk to you. Don't secretly open my door. I think I'll just be more disappointed."
I got up from my seat and went into my room.
All Dad did was stare at my door with a grave expression.