Chapter 6

It's ominous….

"Sorry, but I've never heard that name before. Is he the son of the former group chairman?"

"Yes, yes, that's right."

"I see. I do recall hearing somewhere that the former chairman had a son, but I understand that he has no connection with our company at present."

A ringing sound began to be heard.

How long had I been standing there, dazed?

I quickly pulled myself together and asked again.

"So, does that mean… the current chairman hasn't provided any special care or living arrangements for the former chairman's family?"

"I'm not sure about that. As a regular employee, I can't know all the sensitive details of their family."

"Can you find out for me?"

"Find out what?"

"Jung Yeop. Son Jung Yeop."

Manager Jung nodded cautiously.

"I'll try to find out as carefully as I can. But… yes, I'll do my best to look into it."

Right at that moment.

"Before that."

"Yes."

"Do you know someone named Jang Tae San?"

"Of course. Jang Tae San, the chairman of Mirae Finance, is one of the major shareholders of Jae Kyung Mojeok. I naturally know him. He's one of the founders of Jae Kyung, along with Chairman Son Jung Gil, isn't he?"

I felt a bit of relief.

"So, is Jang Tae San… still alive?"

He was sixty-nine thirty years ago.

If he's still alive, he would be ninety.

It's a situation where I can hope, but can't really expect.

"Yes, I believe he's still in good health."

"Really?"

"Yes, that's what I know."

What a remarkable person.

It's impressive that he's still alive, and even more so that he's still in good health.

Alright.

If he's still alive, everything can be resolved.

Jang Tae San must know about Jung Yeop and the whereabouts of the eldest daughter-in-law.

"So, there's no need for Manager Jung to go through the trouble of finding out about Son Jung Yeop."

But I still feel indignant.

Hong Jun, that guy.

His only older brother died doing something so foolish, and as a younger brother, he should have taken responsibility for his sister-in-law and nephew, shouldn't he?

What was the point of building and reviving Jae Kyung? What was the point of dedicating my youth and health to Jae Kyung?

"One more thing."

"Yes."

"Moon Ju Ran."

The person inside me.

"Oh, Mrs. Moon Ju Ran? She passed away quite a while ago."

Yes, that's right….

I was trying to calmly accept it when he said,

"Mrs. Moon Ju Ran… passed away not long after the former group chairman, Son Hong Myung. I don't know the details, but the pain of losing a child must be the most heart-wrenching of all."

What a pitiful person.

She never received proper love in her life due to her greedy husband, and after a lifetime of supporting him, she suffered the pain of losing her son in her old age. How could she have passed away peacefully?

* * *

Forget what I said.

I decided to leave the hotel room first.

No matter how much I thought about it, I needed to know where my home was.

When I asked Manager Jung if the owner of this body, Jung Hoon, lived with his parents at the main house, he said no, that he lived separately and that he knew where the house was.

When I asked how he knew, he said that Jung Hoon had called him several times after drinking and asked him to drive him home.

He's really out of his mind.

What does he think he is, using a section manager who is just starting to learn the ropes of the company as his personal secretary and chauffeur?

It's not like he's trying to disgrace the family in front of the company employees. What kind of person is Hong Jun, who raised his children this way and had them learn the company business?

There's no need to blame the grandchildren.

This is all due to the parents' lack of ability, and ultimately, my own mistake for raising those parents poorly.

I'm burning with frustration.

"By the way, Manager Jung."

"Yes, Manager."

"There's another issue."

"What issue?"

"Do you happen to have some money on you?"

"Money? Cash?"

"I can't find my wallet anywhere. We need to pay for the room before we leave, right? I'm really sorry, but if you could pay for me, I'll give you the money as soon as I get home."

"That can be arranged, but I think the reason you don't carry a wallet is because you use smart pay, right?"

"Smart pay?"

He waved the thing he called a smartphone in front of me.

"Many people use this for reservations and to verify their identity these days. If you don't mind, could you give me your phone for a moment?"

We were in front of the hotel reception.

He fiddled with the smartphone I handed him a few times, then brought it up to my face.

"Fortunately, it's not password-protected. You have face recognition set up."

"Face recognition?"

Everything was so overwhelming and unfamiliar, but it was also fascinating, so I watched everything Manager Jung did closely.

It was a series of amazing scenes.

He held the smartphone I gave him in front of a small, strange terminal, and soon he handed me back the smartphone along with the hotel receipt, saying the payment was complete.

"So, you don't need to carry cash?"

"It varies from person to person. I still prefer cards to smart pay. I need to carry some cash to feel secure. But these days, young people often handle everything with their smartphones."

"Then how do you handle identification?"

"Just a moment…."

He took the smartphone back from me and fiddled with it for a while, then showed me a screen with a photo of Jung Hoon that looked like an ID card.

"So, this can be used as an ID?"

"It's not just a substitute; this is your ID."

"Then, when I said I would give you ten million won, I could have done that with this?"

"Yes, that's right. It's possible."

"Wow, wow, wow… This world is full of dreamlike things. So, this is also the key to the car?"

I showed Manager Jung a small object with the Mercedes logo and asked for confirmation again.

"Yes, it's the car key."

"But there's no key?"

"It's still the car key. Give it to me. You don't know what kind of car you have, do you? I know, so give it to me. Let's go down."

As soon as we went down to the underground parking lot, a sudden curiosity arose.

If Korea has developed this much in the past 30 years, how much more advanced must Japan be, which is always said to be 30 years ahead of Korea?

"There it is."

Beep!

When I saw the car, I was speechless.

I felt so embarrassed to look at Manager Jung's face.

And the indignation started to rise like a flame again.

If he was born in 1994, he's only twenty-nine, right?

And he's living as a section manager thanks to his parents.

If his father is the head of the company and he's just starting to learn the business, he should be careful with his every action out of fear of what the company people might think.

And as a father, he should teach his children to be careful.

But what is Hong Jun, that guy, doing?

How can he let a guy who's only been with the company for about six months drive such a luxury car to work?

I can understand that he likes cars since he's a guy.

And if he likes them, he might have a few.

But he shouldn't be driving such a car to work, right?

"Did I always drive this car to work?"

"Today is quite a good day, actually."

"Good?"

"Isn't it a Jaguar? You've even driven a Lamborghini to work before."

"A Lamborghini? Isn't that a sports car manufacturer from… Europe?"

"Europe? Yes, that's right."

"You mean I drove a Lamborghini to work?"

"…Yes, that's right."

"…I see. Manager Jung, I'm really sorry, but I don't know how to drive this car, so could you drive me home? I'll pay close attention to how it works on the way."

"Do you remember how to drive… at all?"

"Well, if I know the basics… I should be able to drive, right?"

* * *

We were in the car on the way home.

"Really… wow, wow, wow…."

"Why… are you laughing like that?"

In the scenery outside the car window, I couldn't find any trace of the Seoul I knew.

I could only laugh bitterly.

"Everyone seems to have one of these smartphones. They all carry one."

"Of course."

Even the elderly and students in school uniforms couldn't take their eyes off these smartphones while walking on the street.

"How much does one of these cost?"

"It varies by model and brand, but on average, it's around one million won."

"Even middle school students have one of these that cost one million won?"

"Middle school students? These days, even elementary school students have them."

It sounds unbelievable, but I can't deny it because I'm seeing it with my own eyes.

"What are they looking at on these things?"

"I don't know. They could be playing games, using Kakao Talk, or searching for good restaurants."

"Good restaurants?"

"Restaurants. Delicious restaurants."

"You can find restaurants with this?"

"Yes."

I'm speechless.

The current Korea is a world without a moment of boredom, a world that's too good to live in, a world that's too convenient.

"Then, how much does a car like this cost?"

"This car… I'm not sure exactly, but it's a Jaguar, and you must have bought it new. With all the options, it's probably around two hundred million won, or two hundred and fifty million won. I'm not very interested in cars, so I'm not sure, but it would be in that range."

"Two hundred to two hundred and fifty million won?"

It was hard to grasp.

From what Manager Jung said about a second-year section manager's salary being around five million won, it seems the cost of living hasn't risen much, but the price of this car seems to have skyrocketed.

But since car prices vary so much, it's not fair to compare just this one.

"Then, how much does an apartment in Seoul cost these days?"