Chapter 7
– Due to the aftermath of the IMF foreign exchange crisis, liquidity pressures on Dongnam Bank are increasing.
The anchor on the bulky CRT television spoke with a grim expression.
– The government has announced that it is reviewing emergency funding support, but customers’ anxiety does not seem to subside easily. Reporter Kim Se-hoon, what is the situation on the ground?
Immediately, the reporter’s footage appeared, showing people crowding in front of the bank, protesting as they tried to withdraw their money.
– Yes, I am currently in front of the main branch of Dongnam Bank in Jongno-gu. Since this morning, customers requesting withdrawals and consultations have been arriving one after another, forming lines much longer than usual.
Customers holding bankbooks in their hands appeared in interviews with worried faces.
Knowing what was to come, I let out a small, sad sigh.
In the next report, they were discussing the causes of the foreign exchange crisis.
– Controversy continues over the causes of the recent economic crisis. Experts point out that excessive consumption, a preference for foreign products, and a general culture of extravagance have worsened the situation. We continue with our coverage.
“Ridiculous!”
I stomped over to the television and pressed the power button with an angry hand.
Always blaming the people, those bastards!
I turned my gaze to the snow flurrying outside the window.
“Ah… What are you saying now?”
Junho, who had been on the phone in the distance, had a much stiffer expression than usual.
“…How could something like that happen… Haah, okay. Let’s talk later.”
After hanging up, he stood there dazed for a moment, then slowly moved and sat down in front of me.
With trembling eyes, he spoke.
“Chae-ah… Do you remember Dad’s friend we met at the coffee shop last time? The one with the yellow hair.”
I turned around and looked at Junho.
“Yes, I remember. The arrogant and unpleasant guy.”
There’s no way I could forget that man who bragged nonstop and was so rude.
Junho looked utterly shocked as he said,
“He apparently ran away overnight, leaving behind nothing but debt.”
My fingertips flinched.
“Running away overnight means… he ran away. And with other people’s money.”
Even though I had expected this, I widened my eyes as if surprised.
“Then he’s a bad guy?!”
Junho let out a deep sigh, “Ha…” and nodded.
“I guess so. That irresponsible bastard. They say many of his friends, trusting his successful business, had co-signed for him.”
Junho’s brown eyes looking at me seemed somehow complicated.
I looked back at him with slightly nervous eyes.
‘No way, right?’
At home, I had been keeping a strict watch, and whenever I sensed something suspicious, I would pretend to be sick and cry my eyes out. But maybe while I wasn’t with him, someone could have come by when Junho was working and gotten him to sign a guarantee.
Junho looked at me with unreadable eyes, then lifted me by placing his hands under my armpits and hugged me.
“If it weren’t for you, Chae-ah… Dad would have been in big trouble.”
Only when I heard his relieved voice near my ear did I feel at ease.
The shoulders and voice of Junho, who was holding me, were trembling so much I couldn’t ignore it.
“If you hadn’t cried and said you were sick that day, I definitely would have signed a joint guarantee too.”
Seeing Junho relieved, like someone who had just returned from the brink of hell, I couldn’t hide my bittersweet feelings.
“If that had happened… Haah…”
We both would have ended up on the street.
Junho looked at my face in his arms and said,
“You saved Dad, Chae-ah.”
Looking into Junho’s eyes, I smiled softly.
Then I reached out and touched his soft face.
His warm body temperature transferred to me.
“Daddy.”
I looked into his eyes with clear eyes.
“Chae-ah is…”
A four-year-old baby’s body cannot stop the flow of history.
There’s no way to warn people of the danger.
I know that our country is going through a historic ordeal and that even greater difficulties will come with the ruthless financial measures, but there was nothing I could do.
“I’m really glad you’re okay, Dad.”
But for Goo Junho, this kind and handsome man who worked himself to the bone to raise me after I became an orphan, at least for him—
I felt infinite relief that I had protected him, even if it meant crying at the top of my lungs or pretending to be sick.
“Chae-ahhh… Huhng…”
Junho hugged me even tighter.
Ugh, I can’t breathe!
“Do you know what the phrase ‘learning from the mistakes of others’ means?”
In the old-fashioned traditional Korean-style Dongcheongjae, Kang Woon-san, the chairman of Naeil Finance, asked the boy sitting demurely in front of him, drinking tea. The boy looked about five years old.
With fair skin and cool, deep eyes, his handsome face exuded an aristocratic aura by anyone’s standards.
“It means that even the trivial actions and words of others should be taken as lessons to cultivate oneself.”
A clear and articulate voice that didn’t match his young body flowed out. His demeanor and sharp intelligence were something not found in children his age.
Chairman Kang Woon-san nodded with satisfaction and raised his teacup.
“The country is going to face difficulties for a while. The time will come to pay the price for the complacency and laxity of the past. Don’t look away; look straight at it.”
The child slowly raised his jet-black eyes and met Chairman Kang’s gaze.
Unlike other financial institutions that were going bankrupt one by one due to serious liquidity problems, Naeil Finance was expected to weather this storm, thanks to Chairman Kang’s thorough and timely risk management.
“Because this is the company you, Heejae, will lead in the future.”
Looking at his grandfather, Heejae slowly nodded.
At his dignified grandson’s response, Woon-san’s lips curved into a wrinkled smile.
Among his grandchildren, Heejae was by far the brightest and most brilliant child. However, he had lost both his parents at once in a plane crash that summer.
Concerned that Heejae, already traumatized by the loss of his parents, would be hurt further by unnecessary attention, Chairman Kang had kept the funeral simple and requested the media not to highlight the family’s tragedy.
But after that day, a shadow had settled on Heejae’s face like a scar, something that hadn’t been there before.
Because he was a calm and intelligent child, he seemed to overcome his grief quickly, faster than his age would suggest. But Woon-san could clearly sense that many things had changed inside the child.
And that the scar would remain on the boy’s back for the rest of his life.
‘I hope this child meets a sun-like benefactor someday.’
Woon-san slowly swallowed his tea.
‘So that even that scar can be erased, turned white.’
The faces of his deceased son and daughter-in-law came to mind, making the tea taste especially bitter.
“But the price…”
Suddenly, Heejae spoke.
With a sharp, curious gaze, he asked.
“Who pays the price for the complacency and laxity?”
Woon-san’s eyes wavered.
For a long time, he kept his mouth closed, looking at Heejae. Then, with a sigh, he poured tea into his empty cup.
Whoosh, whoosh. I stared intently at Junho’s handsome sleeping face.
“You saved Dad, Chae-ah.”
The memory of his teary eyes and grateful voice brought a smile to my lips.
I raised my hand and patted Junho’s broad chest.
Even though he was sound asleep and didn’t stir at all.
I realized anew how overwhelming and proud it feels to be able to help your family, to save someone precious.
At the same time, several scenes rose in my mind.
They were scenes from my life before I became ‘Chae-ah.’
The things that always weighed on my shoulders. The moments I had left behind, abandoned in my life.
It was when I was in my first year of high school. I had come home after school.
My sister was at a retreat, and my parents, as always, would come home late.
I was dozing off while solving problems in an advanced math workbook I was learning at the academy when the ringing of the telephone woke me.
I vividly remember the feeling of that moment, when I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or awake.
The cold goosebumps that ran from my neck down my spine were even clearer.
– Sob, sob, your sister… died…
It was my mother’s sobbing voice. Even then, I didn’t understand the situation at all.
How could I?
Just before leaving for the retreat, my sister had been excitedly preparing a talent show.
Unlike my introverted self, my sister liked taking the lead and was good at both dancing and singing.
“Mom? What are you talking about…?”
But without any answer, the call abruptly ended, and only then did I snap to my senses.
I checked my phone and saw that I had received several messages.
I hurried to the living room and turned on the TV. The news screen was fixed on a breaking news banner.
– A large fire has broken out at a major resort where students on a retreat were staying, causing massive casualties. So far, 57 deaths, 44 missing, and 120 injured have been confirmed. Reporter Kim Ju-eun, please update us on the current situation.
