Chapter 91

# 91 <The Humble Beginnings (2)>

It was a serious yet enjoyable time.

For Jin-hyuk, it was his first taste of adulthood since coming to the past.

Even Son Kwang-yeon was no exception. He even felt like he was talking to Hong Ki-jun, and for someone who had never imagined having such conversations with family, it was refreshing.

Son Kwang-yeon began to formulate and flesh out his business plans in his head.

‘I need to do this right.’

He was already supplying commercial crops from various fields, but it was labor-intensive, with high labor and transportation costs. It was large-scale facility farming and simple contract farming with hired labor, which he had started after careful consideration, but from Son Kwang-yeon’s perspective, it was still too humble to be called a business. To create added value through commercialization, a new approach was needed.

“Jin-hyuk, you’ll help your dad a lot, right?”

He expected that Jin-hyuk, being smart and young, would come up with fresh ideas. But this kid’s reaction was lukewarm.

Jin-hyuk pushed up his lower lip and shrugged his shoulders.

“I have to go to school.”

Look at this kid! Son Kwang-yeon’s eyes widened like a piggy bank split in half.

Not a single word was wrong. It’s natural for students to go to school, and in a world where perfect attendance awards are highly valued, who could criticize a student for wanting to go to school?

He’s so mature that even as a father, Son Kwang-yeon often gets confused about his own status.

“Then, can you give me a handicap?”

“What do you mean…?”

Thud-. Jin-hyuk felt as if his skull was ringing.

If he wasn’t planning to help with the business, was he asking for a handicap in Go? Talking about business while playing Go and then this twist? His dad’s unpredictability is unbearable. He’s more unpredictable than a bull’s butt.

“No, no. I need a two-stone handicap.”

Son Kwang-yeon pointed at the Go board with a serious expression. That mischievous gesture resembled Yoo-jin. It’s endless unpredictability.

Of course, the manly Jin-hyuk crossed his arms in an X shape with a solemn face.

When the firm answer came, Son Kwang-yeon trembled with a sense of betrayal.

Han Yu-young was watching her husband and son having this strange conversation.

She had already formed a consensus with Yoo Se-ra, but men use unnecessarily difficult words. Why do they do that when there are simpler words? So, she didn’t understand a single word.

She had no idea that the men’s conversation was about an enemy whose identity and desires were uncertain.

Her son used half-intellectual, half-socially difficult words, and her husband’s expression wasn’t good either, as if those words were difficult for him too. Han Yu-young nodded as if making a resolution, thinking that being able to save her husband in such times was true wifely support.

“Jin-hyuk, your dad is tired. Let him rest.”

At the voice of the most dignified person in the house, his wife, Son Kwang-yeon’s face lit up, and he suddenly lifted his buttocks. He waved his hands wildly.

“Yay! A draw!”

Clack! Clack-clack-.

Son Kwang-yeon, who had scattered the Go stones on the board, quickly ran towards Han Yu-young. It seemed like it took less than a second for him to hide behind his wife.

‘That dad is really…’

His quick change of stance is unmatched.

Even now, his seriousness is gone, and only Han Yu-young’s jingling remains.

‘He’ll help, right?’

Well, if needed, he’ll help, but he’ll probably handle it well on his own.

Still, it seemed like the shadow that had lingered in his heart had lifted, and Jin-hyuk felt relieved.

With a smile on his face, he was tidying up the Go board when Yoo-jin, half-asleep, came over hugging a teddy bear. She seemed to have something to say to her brother.

Whisper-whisper.

“Did you win, oppa?”

Hehehe-.

As expected, his sister is the best.

Jin-hyuk lifted his sister by the waist and spun her around.

“Hahaha-!”

He thought the atmosphere at home was similar to a war documentary’s border zone.

The tension of not knowing when gunfire would break out coexisted with the children’s laughter.

***

Even at dawn, the light in the study on the third floor of the Son family’s house was still on.

All three members of the Son family were asleep in their respective places. Son Kwang-yeon was in the master bedroom, Jin-hyuk was in his room on the second floor, and Son Yoo-jin was sleep-talking in a frog position in front of Jin-hyuk’s room.

“Thank goodness I took diligent notes.”

Han Yu-young rubbed her stiff eyes and flipped through her notebook.

The cool air and the sound of crickets coming through the open window helped her study.

Her son had shown promise in sports, so she had registered him at the Korea National Open University. After majoring in Food and Nutrition, he attended lectures every week without fail and even took seasonal courses during vacations.

It must be because I focused only on growth when planning his diet. It’s all my fault.

Her fist, tapping her chest, felt heavy.

“Bananas? He eats those every day. Celery, chives, cabbage, pork, seaweed, oysters…?”

When the professor mentioned foods good for men as an aside, Han Yu-young perked up her ears and took notes. While other students laughed it off as non-exam material, Han Yu-young, thirsty for knowledge, didn’t miss a single word and jotted everything down.

“Oysters aren’t in season yet. I should go oyster hunting in winter. Eggs, animal liver, walnuts? Walnuts are good for walnuts because they look like walnuts? Hehehe-.”

Before she knew it, her worries disappeared, and a silly chuckle began to take over the study.

They say couples resemble each other.

“Since the other foods are things we eat regularly, maybe I should plan a diet focused on oysters for winter?”

Chives and cabbage are things Jin-hyuk likes, so they’re almost always on the table, and pork is never left out for Yoo-jin, who loves meat. In the end, she concluded it was due to poor nutrition in childhood. She couldn’t turn back time, and even if she could, her financial situation would be the same, so there was no other way. Let’s at least feed him oysters.

Thinking this, Han Yu-young came down the stairs.

“Oh my, our daughter. Sleeping here again?”

Just as Han Yu-young was about to pick up Yoo-jin.

Click-. Jin-hyuk opened his door and came out.

“Huh? Jin-hyuk, are you awake?”

“Yes. Around this time, I usually take Yoo-jin in.”

It was the siblings’ sleep routine.

When the time came for his sister, who crawled up the stairs like a toad, to arrive in front of his room, Jin-hyuk would take her in and sleep with her. Strangely, Yoo-jin slept well without tossing and turning when next to her brother.

“Mom will take her.”

“She’ll just come back. Give her to me.”

Han Yu-young handed over her daughter in a daze.

Her curious mouth blurted out without thinking.

“Jin-hyuk, are you not wearing underwear?”

She instantly regretted it, but who else but a mother could check her son’s attire so casually?

Still half-asleep, Jin-hyuk muttered nonchalantly.

“I’m wearing them. Goodnight.”

“Okay. Sleep well, our son.”

Click-.

Even after the door closed, Han Yu-young couldn’t easily leave her son’s room.

Her wide eyes struggled to focus.

‘What kind of X-bitch is spreading rumors about our son?’

Though far from tough farm work, Han Yu-young had learned to swear quite effectively from hanging out with the feisty neighborhood women.

It must be because it’s dawn.

Her husband had told her that healthy men usually have morning wood. She had confirmed that her son, just like his dad, proudly had morning wood in his tracksuit, so what’s the deal with oysters?

With the chilly winds starting to blow in the morning and evening, she should make some pollack stew.

‘I believed in our son!’

Only then did she remember the advice Cheon Gil-ryong had given her.

She shouldn’t forget to brag to Kim Soon-bok. Kim Soon-bok, who used to brag about her son Choi Tae-yang all the time when he was in middle school. She didn’t know why it was so praiseworthy, but it strangely tickled the competitive spirit of mothers with sons.

If she tells Kim Soon-bok, the whole neighborhood will know.

Now, another rumor about Jin-hyuk will spread in the neighborhood.

‘Our son wears underwear! You! Ignorant fools!’

That’s when it started.

Han Yu-young’s pride in her son began to rise.

Even when he set a Korean record in the athletics competition, her shoulders rose as if they would pierce the ceiling.

It was a humble pride.

But isn’t it a world where even a small flaw can become a point of pride?

Han Yu-young’s steps down the stairs were as graceful as a fairy descending from the moon.

***

Every day after school, Jin-hyuk spent time talking with his dad about work.

‘He’s always cheerful, but he seems especially happy lately.’

With Hong Ki-jun and others to rely on, Son Kwang-yeon felt secure.

Son Kwang-yeon drew diagrams in the yard with a stick as he explained.

“We’re considering this side of the mountain as the optimal location.”

Jin-hyuk, with a blank face, pouted his lips.

“That area isn’t flat and is far from the town. That’s unexpected.”

“True, but we chose a place where there’s almost no opposition from residents. Since they live near the air force base, they seem to just go along with it.”

“That means it’ll move forward quickly.”

As Jin-hyuk nodded, Son Kwang-yeon smiled with satisfaction.

“It’s not a bad choice for us either.”

“We can go without passing through the town.”

“Right. We can go past the school Jin-hyuk graduated from, and there’s a plan to expand it to two lanes next year. Even if we drive at 80 km/h, no one will say anything.”

Son Kwang-yeon emphasized the 80 km/h.

His son had a particular fixation on 80 km/h.

“When will the industrial complex be developed?”

“It’ll take time due to inter-ministerial negotiations. Budget issues are also involved, so it might be possible early next year.”

“What if Saein Group pushes for it?”

“You know. Ki-jun hates giving money to politicians. It’s like a disease for him. A kind of obsession. If he has to eat with a politician, he thinks it’s like eating with poop.”

It was understandable.

Even when he was chairman, Hong Ki-jun had refused invitations from the Blue House. Of course, it turned out to be a good decision. The businessmen who attended were later summoned to hearings.

Anyway, although it wasn’t about refusing invitations, Saein Group faced a barrage of media attacks and intense tax audits.

‘Even if it was his principle, he should have anticipated the employees’ suffering.’

If the old man had suffered a bit, the young people wouldn’t have had to rub their dark circles and suffer.

As Jin-hyuk shook his head, Son Kwang-yeon unfolded a large sheet of paper.

“First, we’ve decided to acquire four plots. Here and here-.”

Even though it seemed like he was reporting to his son, Son Kwang-yeon looked excited.

If he had known it would be like this, he would have started the business earlier, he thought regretfully.

“Isn’t that preferential treatment?”

“Not really. We have to consider the contribution to the local economy. According to Councilman Song, all the applying companies are from other regions. There are few participating companies, so the land will remain anyway.”

“It’ll cost a lot…”

Even with budget support, building four factory buildings and an office at once is no small feat. It’s something you can’t dream of without your own capital.

To do that, they’d have to sell land, and knowing his dad’s affection for the land, Jin-hyuk couldn’t gauge the sense of loss Son Kwang-yeon would feel.

Understanding his son’s concern, Son Kwang-yeon chuckled. As if it was ridiculous.

“Don’t worry. At least this time, we won’t need to sell land or take out a mortgage. I can’t sell my blood-like land for such a humble business.”

“How?”

“Having good friends makes it possible.”

Son Kwang-yeon winked at his son as their eyes met.

Unlike Hong Ki-jun’s eyelid twitch, it was a perfect Casanova wink.

‘Ugh-. Do-re-mi-fa-sol.’

Despite the urge to vomit, Jin-hyuk felt a certain energy sprouting from his dad. This is what they call vitality, right? Even though he calls it a humble business, seeing him exude such energy, his dad is also full of pretense.

“He said we should discuss such important matters in person. I’ll be going to Seoul soon.”

“You’ll sleep there, right?”

“I should.”

“Don’t worry about the house.”

“I won’t. They say there’s no place safer than our house in Korea.”

It was a valid point. He had confirmed how excellent the agents were through their personnel files.

Knowing Son Kwang-yeon as Hong Ki-jun’s Zhuge Liang, Jin-hyuk understood Hong Ki-jun’s actions. His dad had repeatedly refused to come to Seoul and work together.

“Shouldn’t we at least have a meeting with those uncles?”

There’s such a thing as rural hospitality, so wouldn’t it be good to at least share a meal? Of course, mom would cook, but Jin-hyuk was also willing to help.

“Ki-jun said they won’t show themselves without his approval.”

“Those uncles must be having a hard time too.”

“We’ll solve that issue when we meet this time.”

“Solve it?”

“Obviously, they’ll build a security building around our house. I’ll have to give them some land. Expensively.”

Emphasizing the word “expensively,” Son Kwang-yeon winked again.

It was good to see his dad happy, but Jin-hyuk barely resisted the urge to poke his own eyes out. Of course, he couldn’t poke his dad’s eyes either.

‘Enough!’

Why do men wink at each other?

***

When you dig in the mudflats, you find all sorts of things. Octopuses, clams, mudskippers, crabs, and other creatures that should be there, as well as broken pottery, unbroken pottery, and other traces of ancestors. You can even dig up bicycles, motorcycles, and other vehicles. Though they’re hard to use.

Among the things Yuk Young-gu dug up, the most peculiar item was…

One autumn day, while digging for octopuses, Yuk Young-gu’s shovel hit something hard.

“Huh? What’s this?”

He thought it was another clump of oyster shells, but the sensation on the shovel and his hand told him it wasn’t. It was definitely something harder, like pottery, and since it was time to change the dog’s bowl, he thought it was good timing and continued digging.

But what finally emerged was an unexpected item.

“Huh? What’s this? What the hell, is this a bomb?”

It was about a span long and quite heavy. At that moment, something flashed through Yuk Young-gu’s mind.

– [If you find an unexploded ordnance, please report it to the military base or the nearest police station.]

He remembered the village head broadcasting the procedure for handling unexploded ordnance at the village hall.

“Damn, those bastards are always busy. I’ll take it to the town on my way-.”

Expecting a reward, Yuk Young-gu put the shell in a styrofoam icebox.