Chapter 16: I Will Be Filial (1)

Seong Yuna said with a still surprised expression.

"That's amazing. Is there anything Miro doesn't know?"

"It's just a guess."

Now that her mother has become the successor, many changes will come to her life.

"What are you going to do from now on?"

"I need to think about it from now on."

I've already decided what to do.

The hardest part of investing is predicting the future. People can't even predict what will happen tomorrow, let alone a month or a year from now.

But I have returned from 10 years in the future.

Buying unlisted stocks and making a 20-fold profit, and exposing the fund's failure, will be nothing compared to what's to come.

An opportunity to change my life has come. If I let this opportunity slip, I'll regret it just like before.

She had a regretful look on her face.

"That's a shame. It would have been fun to continue working with Miro."

"Me too."

We were colleagues who joined the company together, so it's regretful to think we won't see each other anymore.

Having this conversation, I could understand why she is so popular. Her smile is indeed beautiful.

Seong Yuna stood up and extended her hand to me.

"Can we meet again?"

"Of course."

I took her hand.

"Um... "

She was about to say something, but other people appeared.

"Hey! Luckily, you're still here."

"Are you really quitting the company?"

It's my colleague, Bae Geunseok, and Hwang Youngmin.

Hwang Youngmin said angrily.

"How can you quit after exposing the fund's failure? I can't tolerate it."

Bae Geunseok nodded beside him.

"That's right. If Miro hadn't exposed it, something worse could have happened."

"We can't just sit idly by."

"Exactly. We can't just sit idly by."

I asked the two of them.

"Can you write a petition for me?"

They were greatly surprised.

"What? A petition?"

"Ah, no, what... Let's just write it!"

"It's fine."

Covering for an internal whistleblower could get us both in trouble. Seeing my colleagues' normal appearances, I felt that what I did was right.

"Thanks for everything. Take care."

* * *

The good thing about being unemployed is that you don't have to go to work.

I was sleeping in when my phone rang loudly.

I answered the call half-asleep.

"Hello."

[It's me.]

So, who is 'me'?

I rubbed my eyes and saw Jin Se-yeon's name on the screen.

"What's up?"

[Is it true that you exposed the Premus Fund's failure, Miro?]

Since I said that the other day, it would be strange if she didn't know.

"Well, yeah."

[Was it because of me?]

"Huh?"

What is she talking about?

[You exposed it because of me, right?]

"..."

Why is she suddenly calling and saying nonsense?

She seems to have a huge misunderstanding.

At that moment, another call came in.

"Wait. I'll call you back later since I have a call now."

I hung up and pressed the call button again.

"Hello."

[Is this Han Miru?]

"Yes, who is this?"

[Yes. I'm Min Hong-su, a reporter from Jungheung Economic News. If you have some time, can I interview you...]

"I don't have time."

I hung up immediately.

How did they get my number?

I had messages from Park Seung-hoon and other colleagues. I ignored them because explaining each one would be too much trouble.

I rubbed my eyes and turned on the TV.

The news channel was broadcasting news about the Premus Fund.

With the unprecedented situation caused by mismanagement, criticism of the government was pouring in, and the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service were busy passing the buck.

President Oh Young-hwan's face appeared on the screen. He said sternly with a serious expression.

[Please take a firm stance against financial crimes that harm the public. Thoroughly investigate this incident and punish those involved to ensure that such an event does not happen again...]

I mumbled to myself while watching.

"What a mess."

* * *

I headed home for the first time in a while.

My parents' house is in Incheon. I don't go there unless it's a holiday because I'm busy working on weekdays and resting on weekends.

Even if I try to hide the fact that I quit my job, they will eventually find out, so it's better to tell them myself.

I pressed the doorbell, and my younger sister opened the door.

"Why are you here?"

"You're here too."

Her name is Han Se-na.

She is six years younger than me and is currently a college student. It's been a while since I saw her after the regression, so she looks very young.

She's still a fresh college student.

"Why is your hair that color?"

"What's wrong with my hair?"

The last time I saw her, her hair was light brown, but it had turned blonde. It must have cost a lot to dye it.

"Are you studying hard?"

Se-na said curtly.

"What's it to you?"

Unlike me, who went to a prestigious university, Se-na barely made it into a four-year college. She didn't have a particular interest in academics, but she went to college for one reason only.

Because others go to college.

I gave her some advice as an older brother.

"You should study hard since you're paying a lot of tuition."

"Mind your own business."

From the way she talks, it seems she's not studying and just playing around. Well, college is just about getting a degree, right?

"If you say you're studying hard, I was thinking of giving you some pocket money."

Se-na's expression brightened instantly.

"Really? How much?"

"No, I was just saying."

Her expression quickly turned sour.

"What? I'm annoyed."

Yes, this is how siblings have a good conversation.

I would like to give her a 50,000 won bill, but I'm struggling to make ends meet since I didn't even get a severance package.

Se-na slammed the door and went to her room, and my mother welcomed me after a long time.

"Oh! You're here without any notice. Have you eaten dinner?"

"Not yet. What about Father?"

"He'll be here soon."

While my mother was preparing dinner, Se-na was lying on the sofa playing a game on her smartphone. After a while, my father came home from work.

"Welcome back."

"Miro is here."

Our family sat down at the table for the first time in a while.

Se-na was eating with one hand and playing with her smartphone with the other. It's been a while since we all ate together like this.

Compared to before the regression, my parents look 10 years younger.

While eating, my mother discreetly showed me her phone.

"Look at this photo."

The screen showed a photo of a pretty woman in her mid-20s.

"Who is she?"

"She's the daughter of an aunt who goes to the sauna with me. She works at Yuseong Electronics. Why don't you meet her and talk?"

Is this a match-making setup?

I didn't know such an important matter was being discussed without my knowledge!

Even during the first cycle, my parents were worried about my not getting married. But back then, I was an old bachelor, and now I'm not.

"Okay."

"What do you mean, okay? She's pretty and has a good personality. Her mother is interested because you work at DA Securities."

"..."

If I tell them I quit DA Securities, will they lose interest?

My mother, who kept urging me to meet her, suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right! Is everything okay at your company?"

"What do you mean?"

"Someone exposed the company's failure, and it's a big mess. They say billions could be lost. Is the company going to close?"

Se-na, who had never heard of this, asked with wide eyes.

"Really? Who did such a reckless thing?"

By the way, my younger sister doesn't watch the news or read articles.

"It's been all over the news for a few days. Some new employee did it, right?"

"Wow! What nerve does a new employee have to do that?"

"Apparently, he got into a fight with the chairman's son at the company. Did you see it?"

"..."

Se-na said excitedly.

"Completely crazy. Is he a social misfit? Like a torturer in the military or something? An outcast in the company? A problematic employee?"

"..."

Please stop hating the whistleblower.

My mother held my hand firmly and said.

"Our son must never do that at the company. Understand?"

"..."

I already did.

I was wondering how to tell them, but my father said sternly.

"What's wrong with exposing a fraudulent fund? The securities company that ignored and sold it is at fault. The news said that if it hadn't been exposed, the failure would have been even bigger. In a way, that employee saved the company and other people."

Father follows the news and articles but doesn't know that I am the whistleblower. After all, my name wasn't on the report.

Se-na tilted her head and asked.

"Still, isn't it wrong for an employee to expose the company's problems?"

"We should correct wrongdoings. That person exposed the issue, risking the backlash for the sake of their conscience and society. Thanks to people like that, corruption and crime disappear, and the country becomes clean. So, our society should give them a warm reception."

"Father..."

I was almost moved to tears. Se-na continued to ask.

"Then, Father, is it okay for my brother to do that?"

Father nodded confidently.

"Of course. If our son did that, we should praise him."

Hearing that, I mustered the courage to quickly say.

"I did it, Father."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

I explained to my family what had happened so far, of course, leaving out the part about the regression.

My family was shocked to hear that I had exposed the failure and quit the company.

Father looked at me with a very surprised expression.

"Are you crazy?"

"Excuse me?"

"No, if something like that happens, you should report it to the higher-ups, not take the lead yourself."

"But they pretended not to know when I reported it."

"Then you should have pretended not to know too."

"..."

Isn't that different from what you just said?

Where is the warm reception for whistleblowers? Where is the praise?