Chapter 6
“Should I have given a more childlike answer?”
Judging by the situation, the old man had approached me with the intention of teaching a young child something, but I had immediately cut to the core.
“Hmph… ‘a bank inside a computer.’ I couldn’t ask for a more fitting expression.”
This concept was still ahead of its time in this era.
Even internet banking was still in its infancy, only offering home banking services like checking account balances.
The old man muttered again.
“You understood it precisely. Truly.”
His admiring gaze fixed on me softly.
Then he shifted his eyes to the child beside him.
“At the international financial forum your grandfather attended, there was a presentation about a coming era where everything—from transfers and investments to foreign exchange—can be done over the internet. It will achieve both greater customer accessibility and cost reduction.”
Soon, the old man let go of the child’s hand and spoke in a low voice.
“Just as this child said, how we realize ‘a bank inside a computer’ will be the deciding factor. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
A clear voice flowed from the lips of the boy, who was staring at me with an unreadable expression.
So they were grandfather and grandson.
But this kid… who does he take after?
Soon, the old man looked back at me with a somewhat puzzled expression.
Then he asked Jun-ho.
“Does the child’s father work in finance?”
“Ah, no. I just work at a factory…”
“Then this child is truly remarkable. To come up with such an intuitive expression from a blank slate. What is your name?”
The old man’s presence was so imposing that even Jun-ho, usually a doting father, seemed flustered.
But well, I hadn’t done anything wrong, so I proudly declared my name.
“Chae-ah imnida!”
At my voice, which shouted my name with imperfect pronunciation, a small wave of laughter spread among the employees who had been tense due to the old man’s appearance.
“Alright, Chae-ah.”
The old man took out his wallet from his back pocket and held out an old-style 10,000-won bill.
“Here, this is an allowance for a smart child.”
With many people watching, I politely extended both hands and accepted the money.
*Hmph, it’s a shame this era doesn’t have 50,000-won bills, though?*
“Thank you very much!”
Laughter followed my loud, clear thanks.
After tucking the money safely into my pocket so I wouldn’t lose it, I turned my gaze to the boy who was still staring intently at me.
“…”
He really does look like a very handsome young master from a wealthy family…
But he also seemed cold, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
It would be unusual for a child of three or four to give off such an impression.
Does he have some kind of story?
‘So that grandfather was the chairman of Naeil Financial. Wow.’
Right now, Noah could only search and utilize information accessible on the current internet, so he wasn’t hugely useful yet.
But still, the face and name of a titan like the chairman of Naeil Financial appeared immediately.
*’Kang Un-san, age 62…’*
The reason I hadn’t recognized his face, even though I used to work at Naeil Securities, a subsidiary of Naeil Financial, was that he was the former chairman.
‘Then the grandson with him, is that Kang Hee-jae?’
No wonder he looked somewhat familiar.
By the time I joined the company, the chairman of Naeil Financial was the founder’s grandson, Kang Hee-jae.
Young, handsome, as newsworthy as any celebrity, and exceptionally talented, having elevated Naeil Financial to a global financial company by integrating it with IT technology.
However, he was also criticized for being excessively result-oriented. There were employees who exposed him as inhumane and resigned.
Of course, as a low-level employee at a subsidiary, I only ever saw him from a great distance; I never actually met him face-to-face.
‘But come to think of it…’
I seem to recall there was a reason Kang Hee-jae had to take over the company at a young age…
What was it? That his parents died early?
I asked my AI assistant system, Noah, to search for this information.
[I don’t think this is something I can find.]
[Would you like to try a different search term? ૮ ˶ ˆ ᴥ ˆ ˶ ა]
‘The articles haven’t been digitized yet, so it’s hard to find information.’
“Is this all you’ve got, Noah?”
[….]
“You need to level up quickly so you can be of real help to your master!”
The usually bright white puppy drooped its ears.
‘Anyway… that kid… I saw something like an indescribable shadow in him.’
Eventually, I gave up searching and lay down. Just then, I heard Jun-ho’s voice on the phone.
“You want to borrow money? But… stocks?”
Ah.
I put a hand to my forehead.
Then I focused, tensed my stomach muscles.
In times like this, you have to yell at the top of your lungs!
“Daddy!! Waaaaah!!! Chae-ah’s tummy hurts!!!”
Using both my chest and head voice, my crying rang out loudly.
For a four-year-old, I have pretty impressive volume!
Soon, Jun-ho’s flustered voice came through.
“Ah, hold on. Chae-ah is crying. I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
“Daddy!! It hurts!!! Chae-ah is dying!!!”
I must not give them any opening!
Those wicked people trying to skin a flea!
Besides the friend who had asked him to co-sign a loan before, there were other acquaintances offering Jun-ho various ‘opportunities.’
Whenever that happened, I would fake being sick with vicious persistence, cutting off Jun-ho’s lines of communication.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot…?”
Out of breath, Jun-ho hurried over from the kitchen where the phone was.
“Our Chae-ah, are you okay?”
His eyes wide, he asked me with concern in his voice.
Seeing Jun-ho like that, my heart ached too.
“No, not really dying… but it hurts…”
I spread my arms and snuggled into Jun-ho’s embrace.
“Daddy needs to give me medicine!”
Jun-ho was soft-hearted and compassionate. And the people around him seemed to know this well about him.
So for me, this method was the only option.
“Our Chae-ah, should we go to the hospital?”
“It’s not that bad. I’m okay.”
“Chae-ah…”
Jun-ho stroked my head, his voice full of worry.
“Daddy, Chae-ah is sleepy. Put me to bed.”
I lay down on the floor and spoke, grabbing Jun-ho’s wrist with my small hand.
“Daddy’s hands are magic hands…”
At my words, Jun-ho nodded and began to rub my belly.
“Daddy’s hands are magic hands. Don’t be sick, our Chae-ah. Daddy’s hands are magic hands…”
Looking at me affectionately as he gave me his ‘magic hands,’ Jun-ho’s shoulders were, as always, covered in pain relief patches.
Even though I wasn’t his real daughter, seeing him work hard every day just to feed me made my heart ache.
Any other parent would have scolded me for faking sickness so many times at crucial moments, but the way he looked after me with such precious eyes… Hic.
“Thank you… Daddy…”
I placed my hand on the back of Jun-ho’s sturdy hand as he rubbed my belly.
A faint smile touched the corners of Jun-ho’s lips, and then he spoke.
“Daddy thanks you too. Daddy gets his strength from having Chae-ah. It always feels like I’m being cheered on.”
Then, as if remembering something, he continued.
“Speaking of cheering, that reminds me of baseball. Ah, it’s not that I’m a huge fan, but a lot of people were excited recently because Haitai won the championship. I went to cheer with some friends last time, and it was quite fun. You’ll understand when you’re a bit older and go to a baseball game with Daddy, but a baseball stadium is…”
Jun-ho was handsome, had a good personality, and was warm-hearted, but he had a slight flaw: whenever there was a chance, he would ramble on about things I hadn’t even asked about.
‘…Of course, from the perspective of a possessed person, he is a good caretaker.’
He even explained various things to me, someone who couldn’t possibly understand him, guessing my thoughts as he went along, so I could probably learn about the outside world through him.
As Jun-ho’s gentle, low voice washed over me, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
He had now started explaining the rules of baseball. And then the Haitai players’ lineup, their strengths and weaknesses.
Even though Jun-ho was saying he hoped Haitai would win again next year…
‘Daddy… to do that… you’ll have to wait… twelve years…’
Unable to fight the overwhelming drowsiness, my eyes slowly closed.
And like that, our first autumn passed by.
Around the time the cold wind started blowing fiercely…
And when the dark circles under Jun-ho’s eyes had grown as deep as the Grim Reaper’s…
News of major corporations defaulting began to fill the news.
