Chapter 18: A Warm May

Today is the day the additional income from the reprint arrives.

“Haha, making ten million won as a middle schooler, that’s truly next-level.”

Today, over ten million won in manuscript fees was deposited into the bank account.
Even in my previous life, to earn ten million won required ranking first on the Runpia Gold Best list, along with over 1,500 recommendations.

It’s a level of difficulty that demands just that much.

And yet, here I am in 1999, having achieved it.

“What should I do when the money comes in?”

There are so many things I want to do, but I can’t seem to organize my thoughts.

“Why do you always mutter to yourself like that?”

Kim Yua spoke in a sulky voice while copying down the contents on the blackboard into her notebook.

“Ah, did I disturb your studying? I was just thinking about something I planned. I didn’t mean to mutter out loud.”

Lost in a pleasant daydream, I momentarily forgot that we were still inside the classroom.

Kim Yua is quite good at studying.
She even went to one of the better high schools in the region.

And here I was, disrupting her study time.

“You don’t go to cram school?”

Yua’s sulky face softened as she asked another question.

“Cram school?”

Ah, right.
Yua used to hang out with her close friends and attend cram school together.
I vaguely remember hearing that older high school boys constantly hit on her there.

“To get into university, you have to go to cram school. School classes alone aren’t enough.”

Whether now or in the future, many people treat university as just a stepping stone.
The perception that only by graduating university can you get a decent company job.

Honestly, I don’t really like this way of thinking.
It’s bitter that university has become a mere process for employment, not a place to deeply pursue knowledge.

“Well, I’m not thinking about going to university yet.”

At this point, is there even a reason to go?

I did go to university in my previous life, but it left no good memories.
It was just a waste of money.

I’ve often wondered what would have happened if I had invested that university money into fields I was truly interested in.

If university is just a process for employment, I’d rather advise against it.
But I didn’t say this out loud.

Because in reality, every company wanted that university credential.
I think this system needs to change, but I know very well how hard that is, so I keep it to myself.

“You’re not going to university?”

Yua’s eyes widened in surprise.
While other kids long for university, I’m saying the opposite, which must seem odd to her.

“I just don’t feel like I need to go yet.”

“Why?”

“Why? Hmm, if you ask why.”

Because the path I must take is already set.
There’s nothing I can learn by entering university.

My path doesn’t lie in ‘sentences’ or mere ‘writing.’
The path I walk is in works based on ‘fun.’

University teaches constrained writing, not fun-oriented writing.
I’m cautious because I fear it might become a huge shackle on the path I’m meant to take.

“My path has nothing to do with university.”

“My path?”

Today, Yua is throwing a lot of question marks my way.

“There is such a thing. Kids don’t need to know about it.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say, ‘I write novels.’
It’s embarrassing, and revealing one’s work to others is a delicate matter.
Especially as a middle schooler, it’s better to be cautious.

“Hey, kids? You and I are the same age, you know?”

“Even if we’re the same age, there’s stuff like that. If you know, you’ll get hurt. Shh.”

I pressed my index finger gently against Yua’s lips.

“You...”

Maybe because my finger touched her lips, Yua was quite flustered.
The way her face flushed red was rather cute.

“Hey, class is going on right now.”

To think I was teasing my former crush and first love like this.
I never would have imagined doing something like this back then.

“Yoo Seunghyun, Kim Yua. Class is in session. Save the love games for break time.”

At that moment, the Korean teacher’s voice came from the podium.

“Ah, no, it’s not like that.”

Yua’s face turned even redder at the mention of love games.

“Yes, sir!”

I answered confidently, acting like it was no big deal.

“Wow.”
“Is this a public confession?”

The kids’ reactions to my answer were very heated.

We were always seen together so much that rumors even spread that we were dating, so my answer only fueled the misunderstanding.
Though, to be honest, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

“You, you you you...”

Kim Yua stammered, flustered.

“Let’s eat some tteokbokki later. I’ll buy.”

Yua loved teasing me like this.

We finished class amidst the teasing and awkward comments from the kids.

￦ 11,253,280

“There’s no better cure than money.”

After eating tteokbokki with Yua, I visited the bank to check the deposit details.
The amount after tax withholding was recorded in the account.

“Nice.”

Seeing that deposit, my anxiety about the future vanished.

Only one thing was bothering me: I had no clear sense of what the standard for success was.

“Let’s apply for a housing subscription with my little brother soon.”

After a moment’s thought, I considered how to make use of the earned money.
I’m not the type to overthink questions with no answer.

“Come to think of it, the dogs liked it too.”

When I was around second or third year of high school, Dad gifted me a Cocker Spaniel named Gemma.
Later, in my late thirties, I had a Maltese named Yangpa.

My younger brother cherished both Gemma and Yangpa deeply.

“But we had to give up Gemma because our living environment wasn’t suitable.”

That reminded me... I missed Yangpa as well.
Born on February 14, 2021, and adopted on May 15.

“When the time comes, let’s bring Yangpa back.”

I resolved to never forget and to adopt Yangpa again.

[Withdrawal ￦ 2,000,000.]

“I’ll help Mom and Dad enjoy their thirties while they still can.”

My parents’ lost twenties.
I decided I would find that for them.

[“What...? The orphanage disappeared?”

Daniel’s heart dropped upon hearing that the orphanage where he last saw his son had vanished.

“We’re currently investigating the whereabouts of the orphanage director and the young master through contacts in Korea.”

“No matter the cost, find him as soon as possible.”

His father’s time was running out.
He had to find his son before then.

“Hangyeol, where are you?”

The Korean name his wife had given their son.
As he recalled the moment they had to entrust their son to a Korean care facility, his gaze lifted to the moon hanging in the night sky.]

“Just two more volumes and it’s finished.”

Whether two volumes amount to 50 or 60 chapters, I wouldn’t know until I wrote them, but it wasn’t long now.

If I wrote just three chapters a day, 60 chapters would be done in 20 days—completion would come quickly.

“That’s enough. If I cut back on sleep a bit, five chapters a day wouldn’t be hard.”

Lately, my stamina had improved so much that even with less sleep, I wasn’t too exhausted.
Youth was truly a blessing.

In my thirties, staying up late even once would leave me exhausted the next day, but teenage energy was perfectly suited for writing.

Satisfied, I returned my hands to the keyboard.

[Yu Jaejung, who endured the Saehan foreign exchange crisis, introduced his son to the media.
Showing off his son, renowned as a genius, he firmly stamped who the next owner of Saehan would be.

The media picked up the story and spread it nationwide.]

“With this, he meets his biological father, but Hangyeol ultimately chooses the parents who raised him with love, not blood.
He acknowledges both as his parents.”

Chairman Liam Quinn looked at Hangyeol and felt the strong blood tie.
He shed tears and apologized for the past.

[“Grandfather existed, so Father exists, and because Father exists, I exist. I hold no resentment. Everyone has their own circumstances.”]

Hangyeol wore a mask like he did at the orphanage, with a blank expression.
He was used to this.
He didn’t want to make them cry because of him.

[‘Let grandfather’s last moments be filled with laughter.’]

“Showing Hangyeol’s true feelings, Liam Quinn closes his eyes.”

Liam Quinn’s inheritance was settled.

[Two years later, 1999.]

“Hehe, what if I put the changes in little buildings and stocks I know into the story?”

Writing something so prophetic in a novel is very dangerous.
But I’m not too worried.

“I have excuses ready. And it’s pretty embarrassing that experts can’t predict market changes better than a middle schooler like me.”

The story begins in 1999 and ends in 2004.

I happily imagined the future as I moved on to the next chapter.

9:40 PM.

“Son, daughter, Mom’s home.”

Mom arrived home late from overtime. Her face looked extremely tired.

“Welcome back.”
“Welcome back.”

When I greeted her, my younger sibling followed suit.
I gently ruffled my sibling’s hair.
Such a kind and lovely kid.

“Mom, can we talk for a bit?”

“Talk? Hmm. Okay. Let me wash up first, then we’ll talk.”

“Okay.”

About thirty minutes later, Mom came out.

“What’s the matter?”

She wrapped a towel around her hair and sat on the floor.

“Mom, please accept this first.”

I knelt in front of her and handed her an envelope.

“This is...”

“You know over a thousand came in this time, right? I withdrew part of it. It’s two million won total.”

“... Seunghyun.”

“Mom, thank you for raising me and Dahye all this time.”

Mom had gotten pregnant at twenty and lived her life with wrinkles on her face from constant worry.

Now, I want her to lay down that burden and live comfortably.
I’ll bear it and protect the family now.

“...”

Mom’s lips trembled.
Tears welled up in her eyes.

“From now on, live your life as a woman, not just as Mom. Go shopping with Dahye. Go on dates with Dad.”

Mom and Dad are thirty-six years old this year.
I’m fifteen.
They poured everything into raising me for half their lives.

Now, they can put down the burden.

“Ahh...”

Mom was speechless.
She lowered her head, and her delicate shoulders shook.

“I’ll make sure to get you a house, Mom. Please wait a little longer.”

Mom’s long-held wish was to have her own home.
She never asked for more.

“Waaah.”

In the end, Mom burst into tears.
She always cried a lot.
I remembered the time she sobbed openly when I enlisted in the military.

“Mom, why are you crying? Hiying.”

Dahye cried along with Mom.
The mother and daughter hugged each other tightly, moistening the air.
I looked on, feeling warm inside.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

Just then, Dad came home late and hurried inside upon hearing the crying.

“Seunghyun, our son... sobbing.”

Mom told Dad everything in a choked voice through her tears.

“Seunghyun...”

Dad was speechless.

Though he was strong and vigorous in his youth, he was actually a sensitive man.
Various factors had lowered his self-esteem, making it hard for him to hold his head high.

Recalling the past, I spoke to him.

“Even though I’m just a middle schooler, I’m the eldest son. I’ll share some of the burden of being the head of the family.”

It might sound cheesy.
But such things don’t matter between parents and children.

This was my true feeling, and my parents’ love for us was genuine.

“... I’m sorry. For being so useless...”

Dad hung his head.

Our family is a household full of tears.

“You two are never useless. Never say that. Because of you both, I exist.”

Some say parents must care for their children out of duty.
But now, I think differently.

If parents have fulfilled their duty and responsibility in raising me, then now the child must take over that duty and responsibility to care for the parents.

Duty is duty.
Responsibility is responsibility.
That’s how it should be.

sob

In the end, Dad cried too.
I hoped he would erase the painful memories and live imagining a future full of hope.

Our family was reborn.
We welcomed a warm, family-filled May and blossomed anew.