Chapter 6

© Yeongwan (映完)

=======================================

The child's physiognomy was ordinary, but their Four Pillars were somewhat peculiar. There were Earthly Branches and Counter-Annihilation Stars in the Four Pillars. The Earthly Branches indicated a high possibility of separation from parents, while the Counter-Annihilation Stars suggested that the child would soon benefit from the virtues of their ancestors. Isn't it ironic that a child with a high possibility of being separated from their parents would benefit from their ancestors' virtues? In conclusion, this child was either not a biological child of this family or had no blood ties with one of the parents. Since the father had left home and was wandering outside, it was highly likely that this child's father was different, so I asked, and it turned out to be true.

"What does the child's father do?"

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

"I don't know. I don't know."

"You don't know? Is there no way to contact the child's father?"

"I don't know. I never even thought about finding out. If I met him, he would tell me to get rid of the child..."

"Hmm..."

Although it was a sad situation, Young-hoon wasn't too disappointed that this child now had a glimmer of hope.

"Then, can you tell me his name or what he was doing at the time?"

"Do we really have to find the child's father?"

"Can you continue living like this?"

"Yes? Even if we find the child's father..."

The reason for her hesitation was obvious. Even if they found him, there was no way to know what kind of help he could provide. She might also fear that meeting him would only cause more emotional pain.

"Who knows? He might offer some help when he sees the child."

She was wary, not knowing Young-hoon's true intentions.

"How could that be? He borrowed money and should pay it back, but isn't this too much? I don't know how you know Eun-ji's father, but this seems wrong. Let's pretend this conversation never happened."

"Then, are you going to ruin this family?"

"That, that's not it, but..."

"If we find out that he is struggling, we won't ask him to pay the debt. Legally, that wouldn't be possible. But if we find out that he is unmarried and working for a large company, living a very comfortable life, then you should receive child support for the child's sake."

"Then what about you?"

"We hope the child's father will pay the debt for us. If he seems incapable, as I mentioned, we won't insist on a meeting to demand payment. If he has the means but refuses to pay, we won't push further. As I said, we can just enforce the collection."

In fact, he wasn't sure if this was legally sound. He just felt sorry for the struggling mother and daughter and believed that finding the child's father was the best way to resolve their debt and improve their lives. This would also be beneficial for the company that lent the money.

If she refused, he didn't intend to persuade her further. It was up to her to make the most of the opportunity presented by the Four Pillars.

The core keyword in the Four Pillars is "fortune." There are fortunes for marriage, wealth, and accidents, among others. Just because the fortune for marriage has arrived doesn't mean everyone will get married, and just because the fortune for wealth has arrived doesn't mean everyone will become wealthy. It takes personal talent and effort to turn fortune into reality.

Eun-ji's early life fortune was clearly that of a well-off child, but if her mother, Joo-hee, strongly obstructed it, the child would follow the parents, and the early fortune would not manifest.

"Is this really okay?"

"If you don't want to, don't. I don't want to force you into something you don't want to do."

He spoke honestly. As he stood up to leave, she grabbed the sleeve of his jacket.

"I'll tell you. But I don't know exactly. Just the name and the university he attended at the time."

"Tell me that much. Ah, by the way... No, never mind. I'll go then."

He almost asked if she knew the Four Pillars of the child's father. He returned to the company and the accounting clerk looked bewildered.

"Where have you been? Manager Yang dropped you off in Myeongdong a few hours ago. Where have you been all this time?"

"Sorry. I went back to Joo-hee's house."

"What? You went there alone?"

"Is that a problem?"

He asked innocently, but the clerk seemed offended and scowled, closing her mouth.

At that moment, the door to the CEO's office opened, and Song Byung-chang beckoned to Young-hoon.

"Come in."

Young-hoon entered the office and sat on the sofa, while Song sat opposite him. The CEO's eyes were filled with curiosity, not the air of a prosecutor.

"I heard you went back to Joo-hee's house. How much is the debt?"

"There's 8.8 million won left."

"Hmm... According to Manager Yang, there's no more to get, so we should proceed with the enforcement. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you go?"

Young-hoon scratched his head, wondering how to explain.

If he said he went to check if the child had a real father or if there was a connection to a helpful ancestor, he would look like a complete fool. He couldn't say he was as good at reading Four Pillars as a famous philosopher, as that would lead to all sorts of people asking him to read their Four Pillars.

After so much effort to avoid this, it would all be for nothing. He couldn't give such reasons.

After a moment's thought, he said:

"I went to provide counseling."

"Counseling?"

"Yes. I thought there might be something I could help with since they were struggling."

"Hmm..."

The look on his face was as if he was seeing a madman.

Young-hoon understood his reaction.

"You might think it's strange, but I'm confident in my ability to provide personal counseling and stabilize the client's psychology. Of course, if it doesn't help with debt recovery, it would be unnecessary."

"Does it help?"

Song's interest was piqued.

"Yes. Through various conversations, I found out that the current father is not the biological father of the child. So, I'm trying to find the child's real father."

"Will this work? It's not the 1980s, and it's not a world where you can find people and ask for money."

"I know. I don't plan to force the father to pay. I won't even mention the debt."

"Then what?"

"I just want to see how he reacts. If he has the means, he might offer help. If not, he might pretend he doesn't know."

Song's face showed confusion, wondering what kind of person Young-hoon was.

Young-hoon continued, looking at Song's puzzled expression.

"And I will quit the company after this job."

"Why? Is the job not a good fit?"

"To be honest, it seems like a perfect fit."

He wasn't joking; it really seemed like a perfect fit.

People with wealth in their Four Pillars are likely to incur a lot of debt. Conversely, those who incur large debts are also likely to pay them off. Those without wealth in their Four Pillars may incur small debts and never touch large sums of money.

So, why do some people gain wealth while others only incur debt? It depends on how their life unfolds.

Even if the Four Pillars indicate a knife, if it unfolds well, they might become a prosecutor or a police officer. If it unfolds poorly, they might become a murderer.

Just by looking, you can tell if someone can pay their debts. This job seemed like the perfect fit.

But it was too perfect.

Even though the job involved recovering debts from people who had borrowed money, it was about squeezing money from those who couldn't afford to pay. He didn't want to make money this way, and he didn't want to lose himself in the process.

"Why quit if it's a good fit?"

"Sometimes, even a good fit needs to be let go."

If someone else had said this, Song would have exploded in anger and cursed, but he agreed reluctantly, thinking Young-hoon was a monk (though he denied it).

"Then, how about this? Since you've started, work for one more month. Since you've gotten involved, you should get what you can from this experience to build your reputation elsewhere."

The reason was absurd, but strangely convincing.

"Right. I understand. I'll work for this month."

In any case, after settling the matter, when Song used the information Young-hoon provided to find the person, it took only two days to locate Eun-ji's father.

And the identity of Eun-ji's father was surprising.

"Really?"

Song looked at Young-hoon with a bewildered expression, holding the report.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. This guy's father owns three buildings in Gangnam. There's even one more in his name."

Manager Yun, who brought coffee, said with a resigned expression.

"If my dad owned three buildings, I wouldn't be unemployed either."

That's true.

The end.