Chapter 95

#95 <Comfort and Gifts>

*

Jin-hyeok was proud of himself for diligently preparing for the war in his own way.

First, he had secured his family in a safe place and drawn up a blueprint for his father to expand his influence while he grew up. That was the beginning.

However, Hong Ki-jun’s scenario made Jin-hyeok’s war preparations seem shabby.

‘This isn’t a report.’

It was a plan that only someone who knew the future could prepare.

Or maybe he had abducted an alien and extracted information.

In any case, it wasn’t something you’d commonly see in this era.

There were countless other reports as well. Although he couldn’t go through the details, it wasn’t like Son Jin-hyeok had reviewed just one or two reports. From the table of contents on the first page, he could roughly grasp the content and timeline. That’s how excellent Hong Ki-jun’s report-writing skills were.

Jin-hyeok felt like his head was floating, as if he had a high fever.

There was no reason to be shocked now. But still.

‘It’s ambiguous.’

From Jin-hyeok’s perspective, having lived through the future, it was hard to call it groundbreaking, but he could at least think that something didn’t quite fit the times. On the other hand, it was also the kind of idea that pioneers who predict the future and stay ahead of the curve could come up with. Jin-hyeok analyzed the reason he felt it was ambiguous in his own way.

‘Mr. Ki-jun is really good at walking the tightrope.’

Hong Ki-jun had always been strong in psychological warfare and political maneuvering. It seemed like he was hiding the fact that he knew the future and playing the role of a pioneer.

However, seeing the detailed descriptions of how to preemptively secure engineers for technologies like software and unmanned aircraft that hadn’t even appeared yet, there was no longer any doubt that he possessed future knowledge.

‘He probably intends to seek advice from Dad on how to deal with the changing market environment and to quickly secure engineers or set up research institutes to develop technologies unrelated to the market himself.’

Hong Ki-jun’s intentions seemed clear.

Hoo-. It was time to take a deep breath and calm the churning inside.

Before he knew it, Chairman Yoo Myung-sun had approached and placed a hand on Jin-hyeok’s shoulder.

Despite his age, there was strength in his grip.

“Hoho, do you understand what this is about? This old man here doesn’t understand half of it.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“No, no.”

Yoo Myung-sun gestured for him to look as much as he wanted, with a look in his eyes that said, “What would you even understand?”

Son Kwang-yeon, who had been watching Jin-hyeok puff out his cheeks in confusion, approached.

“Sir, may I take a look too?”

“Of course. We’re not strangers, and it’s not like we’re going to go around blabbing about it, right? Jun-sik and Mun-sik already know about it. Mr. Hong explained it, and even if I don’t understand the technical terms, the business model and potential seem solid.”

Son Kwang-yeon, who had also skimmed the report, puffed out his cheeks like someone struggling to breathe. It wasn’t just a decent business—it was one that could monopolize the future if realized.

Yoo Myung-sun, excited, began boasting about his son-in-law. Since the report required security, he mentioned that his son-in-law often stayed in his study. He added that after handwriting it, he would make copies and take them out.

“It’s a shame. I met with YS and even negotiated, but he just told me not to talk nonsense and to say how much election funds I’d contribute, then brushed me off.”

The report Chairman Yoo Myung-sun held was about internet network construction. Despite Hong Ki-jun’s dislike for dealing with politicians, he had no choice but to set up a meeting, only to be disappointed.

“You don’t like dealing with politicians either, sir.”

“That’s right. Mr. Hong is the same. But since it’s a national key industry, we have to talk to the presidential campaign. What can I do? It’s Mr. Hong’s work, so I have to trust him. But even he got up and left when money was brought up. Hohoho. Honestly, his personality is so much like mine that he feels more like a son than a son-in-law.”

Jin-hyeok nodded inwardly. Well, that’s why he liked that temperament. In his previous life, Chairman Yoo Myung-sun had also passed the company to his son-in-law in the form of inheritance to his daughter. Anyway, it seemed difficult to accelerate the spread of the internet network.

‘What a waste.’

At this point, Jin-hyeok wanted to ask how they had snatched the telecommunications business rights. The reports he had reviewed didn’t mention it, but it seemed like they had handed over a few businesses with low profitability but large assets. However, Jin-hyeok didn’t have the guts to ask the chairman directly, having only met him less than two hours ago. He wasn’t a reporter, and it would be presumptuous.

‘Maybe they exchanged it for physical assets because they didn’t know the future.’

Without knowing what Hong Ki-jun had done, he could only make plausible hypotheses.

Jin-hyeok quietly moved to another spot to let the two elders talk comfortably. He wanted to skim through the report more, but it didn’t seem polite.

Son Kwang-yeon, who had been skimming the report, shook his head.

“I understand what he’s trying to do, but there are too many unfamiliar areas. I need to study how the world works too.”

“Yes, yes. People must study until they die to avoid falling behind.”

“But why did Ki-jun meet with YS?”

“He probably saw him as the next presidential candidate. He seems to dislike politics, but he has a sharp eye for monitoring and reading trends. Everything he’s said so far has come true.”

“It seems the position makes the person. That bookworm is now reading the world.”

“Hohoho. Exactly! If someone like Mr. Hong were still in Daejeong, who knows what would have happened.”

Yoo Myung-sun laughed so heartily that his face turned red. His son-in-law had come to ask for a position, so it’s not like he could have used his talents at Daejeong Group, but who can predict even an inch ahead in life?

Son Kwang-yeon pointed to a newspaper headline and turned to Yoo Myung-sun. It was an article about the next presidential candidate.

“What do you think about Chairman Jung in this election?”

“Oh, that guy said he’d dismantle the chaebols? He should go to Pyongyang and do some self-criticism. Even if he’s serious, the voters won’t believe him. How many people would vote for him based on that?”

The old chairman pouted his lips and spoke in a comical tone, making Son Kwang-yeon cover his mouth with his fist to stifle his laughter. To an outsider, they looked as close as father and son.

“Doesn’t Ki-jun do politics? He’d be good at it.”

“His dream is to make Sein the world’s top group without dirty backroom deals. Politics is something to be used, but if you’re not careful, you’ll just be used and discarded. He also said that capitalists influencing politics is like changing the course of history. The breath of a single citizen and a capitalist are different, after all.”

“I need to learn how to see the world from Ki-jun too.”

“Yes. Even the smartest person is like a frog in a well—it’s hard to fully understand the world they live in, let alone the world others live in. That’s how difficult it is to observe the outside world.”

Yoo Myung-sun tapped a newspaper headline with his finger.

“That’s why irresponsible nonsense like ‘history will judge’ works even after all the chaos. Trampling on the people of the same era and expecting future generations to evaluate you? Nonsense. Those who stand in the present must responsibly protect today and tomorrow. Judgment, evaluation, and responsibility belong to the living. The world belongs to the living.”

Yoo Myung-sun stared at Son Kwang-yeon as if seeking agreement.

“Young people have to live in a country made by the old, so shouldn’t they at least know how to reflect? There’s no need to feel bitter that we suffered and aren’t appreciated. Each generation lives in a different era. The memory of suffering should be shared among those who suffered together, not flaunted like some achievement.”

Pretending to understand difficult words, Jin-hyeok scratched the back of his head. It was his preferred way of dealing with situations—pretending not to understand even when he did, rather than nodding along cluelessly.

Yet, there was an indescribable resonance in his chest.

‘I never had someone to tell me things like that.’

It was a new experience.

Politics and such were someone else’s story, a discourse from another world.

What did politics mean to a child worried about survival? He didn’t even have a mentor, let alone a teacher. Thus, whether it was a cliché or something worth pondering, the conversations of these elders gave new meaning to Jin-hyeok.

The feeling of being recognized as a member of the world came to Jin-hyeok unexpectedly in such unintended situations.

His father’s reaction also made Jin-hyeok happy.

‘He’s so happy like a child.’

Well, he often acted like a child, but it was heartwarming to see him react like a child among adults.

His father, who would often stare blankly at the fields with no one to talk to during leisurely times, was clearly waiting for friends to visit during vacations. Seeing him happily conversing with adults and discussing the world made his loneliness as someone who grew up alone seem transparent.

At this moment, Yoo Myung-sun’s study felt like a warm space meant to comfort the Son family.

‘I hope they start talking about what I want soon.’

Jin-hyeok gave his father a look.

Understanding the intention, Son Kwang-yeon nodded slightly.

However, the elderly man, delighted by the welcome guest, didn’t give Son Kwang-yeon an easy opening.

While Jin-hyeok browsed the bookshelf, Yoo Myung-sun quietly asked,

“So… did you move there because of the kids’ mom?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Son Kwang-yeon scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly, while Yoo Myung-sun nodded with a smile. He continued to pat Son Kwang-yeon’s back or gently stroke it.

“You did well. You’re living well, that’s great. Very well done.”

Yoo Myung-sun kept nodding and smiling.

Since he didn’t interfere with his children’s relationships, both Yoo Mun-sik and Yoo Jun-sik had brought home partners who resembled their family. It made him wonder if there was some function in the blood that sought out lookalikes. But it seemed Son Kwang-yeon was no different.

‘He somehow found a woman who looks just like his mother.’

He said they met by chance during a university volunteer trip.

Meeting in a place with no connections—it must have been fate.

***

Crunch crunch-.

The smooth eating motion was as if Yoo Se-ra had possessed her.

To repeat, it was a cookie of fate.

Yoo Jin patted her mom’s shoulder.

“Mom, mom. Stop eating-.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Yoo Jin has nothing to eat-…”

Seeing her daughter on the verge of tears, Han Yu-young shook her head vigorously.

For some reason, once this cookie entered her mouth, her hands and mouth wouldn’t stop. She used to take care of her daughter first, especially making sure Yoo Jin finished her meal before anyone else. But now, it was like she was waging a cookie war with her daughter, minus the gunfire.

When she came to her senses, the cookie plate was empty, and her daughter was looking up at her with eyes full of resentment.

“Ah… I’m so sorry. Do you want to eat this?”

Yoo Jin silently took the cookie piece her mom had been eating.

Then she turned her back and started nibbling on it.

At that moment, an auntie who had overheard the mother-daughter conversation appeared.

“Hohoho-. Your daughter is so cute. Should I bring more cookies?”

“Yes! Mom ate them all, right? Yoo Jin didn’t get any!”

Yoo Jin tattled on her mom as if she had been waiting for this.

The war quickly turned into a blame game.

“I’m shameless, but could I ask for a little more?”

Thanks to the housekeeper, Han Yu-young was able to ease her guilt.

Han Yu-young brushed off the crumbs from her mouth and hands and sat back. Her clenched fist trembled as she tried not to reach for the cookies, but her tongue kept licking her lips uncontrollably.

Not feeling reassured, Yoo Jin, who had turned her back and hugged the cookie plate, stopped eating and started fidgeting.

When Han Yu-young looked, she was stuffing cookies into her rabbit bag.

“Yoo Jin, what are you doing? You should eat them now.”

“I’m saving them for Jang Gun-i. Jang Gun-i likes snacks-.”

Ah, Yoo Jin.

She always shared her food with Jang Gun-i.

Han Yu-young was too ashamed to lift her head.

The auntie, who had seen it all, gave her a comforting look.

You’re still a great mom.

The daughter of this household, Ms. Yoo, ate everything while her sister was starving.

“Yoo Jin, where are you going?”

“I’m going to eat snacks with Jang Gun-i-.”

Perhaps misunderstanding that her mom was trying to take them away, Son Yoo-jin sped up on her short legs and ran off.

It was dark outside, and worried, Han Yu-young quickly followed her daughter.

***

Finally finding an opening, Son Kwang-yeon asked the question he had discussed with his son beforehand. Given the long time apart and the age difference, his attitude was cautious, but the question itself was straightforward.

“Did Chairman Park Woon-chul leave any comments about me?”

The unexpected question made Yoo Myung-sun’s eyebrows furrow.

The bookshelf Jin-hyeok was flipping through came to a quiet halt.

Finally.

At the peak of destiny, Jin-hyeok perked up his ears.

‘Eavesdropping mode.’

Along with the delusions of a fourteen-year-old boy.