Chapter 31
Chapter 31.
Contempt and Mercy
The Bungeoppang Business Has Ended.
Though the late spring cold still lingered, the Baekgyeong Department Store had requested that the stand be wrapped up.
The borrowed cart was returned.
"I heard the good news. Ha ha ha. Bungeoppang sold inside a department store — it feels like a massive hit!"
"Thanks to you. Here."
A thick envelope was handed over, the rental fee plus a generous helping of gratitude.
"I'll accept it gladly."
The fact that he didn't refuse made it feel even better.
As the cart was being packed up, Bungeoppang and energy drinks were distributed to everyone at Sanwang Technical High School and the nearby merchants.
It was, of course, Mom's idea.
"Cherish the connections you make."
The teachers and staff at Sanwang Technical High School were deeply disappointed, pouring out their encouragement.
The neighboring merchants were also overjoyed.
"Goodness, I've been watching all this time and never got to try one — and now I finally get to eat it."
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience to foot traffic all this time."
"Not at all! More people have been coming through, so our sales went up a bit too."
【The Neighboring Merchants Are Grateful To You. +500 Happiness】
After finishing the cleanup, on the way home.
Along the roadside, snow that had yet to melt lay piled up.
"Snow……"
I had never liked snow.
In my past life in Gangho, snow was trash falling from the sky that slowed my journey.
On top of that, it froze the ground and got in the way of growing medicinal and poisonous herbs.
Most of all — the white-piled snow.
Chwaaak—!
Whenever the red blood of those I had cut spilled onto it, it felt as though the snow was scolding me.
That I was defiling……
A pure white world.
After drifting briefly into troubled thoughts, I arrived at the front of the house.
Manager Jeong Jang-hyeon was standing at the door.
"Manager."
***
"Mr. Kim, I have something I'd like to—"
"You could have called."
"You weren't picking up at all."
When I checked, my phone had turned off.
The battery was fine, but it seemed too old to hold on.
It was time to replace it, yet—
I hadn't, somehow feeling as though Kim Tae-yang's traces still lingered here.
【Main Mission (3): Achieve 100% Synchronization With Kim Tae-yang's Memories】
— Success: Kim Tae-yang Finds Peace
— Failure: Kim Tae-yang Will ■■ ■■■■■
This, too, was one of my primary objectives.
Manager Jeong Jang-hyeon spoke.
"It's about Min-jeong."
"Yes."
"A problem has come up."
"What is it?"
"The École de Cuisine where Min-jeong was set to enroll is asking for her parents' consent."
"She already graduated. She's an adult now."
"That's true, but they keep requesting it."
"That's the kind of thing Min-jeong or you, Manager, could handle yourselves."
"I was going to, but the thing is…… Min-jeong's mother—"
Jeong Jang-hyeon scratched the back of his head.
"She says she absolutely must see you in person, sir."
Irritation surged up from somewhere inside.
I quietly exhaled under my breath.
A side mission that had suddenly appeared a few days ago came to mind.
【Side Mission: Turn Min-jeong Into A Master Of Chocolate.】
— Success Condition: Min-jeong returns from her studies abroad, and eating the chocolate she has made causes Happiness Points to rise
— Upon Success:
① Happiness Points +50,000
② Martial Art 'Ten Thousand Streams Return To Origin'
Whether it was the answer to the question I'd asked Kim Tae-yang, or some arrangement made by the Tower — I couldn't say.
But either way, the reward was no joke.
Setting aside the Happiness Points — Ten Thousand Streams Return To Origin!
The greatest technique for recalling and retrieving all things — Ten Thousand Streams Return To Origin.
Damn.
Just thinking about it made my body move on its own.
Honestly, sending Min-jeong to Paris was something I agreed with as well.
Because when Mom or Manager Jeong Jang-hyeon ate her chocolate, no Happiness Points message had appeared.
Compare that to Grandma's Bungeoppang — Happiness Points had popped up for every single person who ate it.
It was delicious, yes.
But it wasn't on the level of Grandma's Bungeoppang.
I had no regrets about choosing chocolate as the follow-up to Bungeoppang.
Looking into it, dark chocolate with high cacao content had been drawing attention for its various health benefits for quite some time.
It helps reduce stress.
And apparently, cacao nibs even have an energy-boosting effect.
Vitality!
Packaged the right way, it was an item people would go absolutely wild for.
This was pure happiness food.
So Min-jeong needed to become a master of chocolate.
She was someone who had already made excellent chocolate from a few online tutorial videos — with a bit of luck, she might just become an absolute prodigy of chocolate.
That's exactly why I had specifically arranged for an interpreter to accompany her.
In name, an interpreter — but in reality, a monitor and disciplinarian.
There to make sure she got a proper scolding if she slacked off and played around instead of studying.
Former delinquent Min-jeong. My distrust of her hadn't faded yet.
If she doesn't put in the work?
Then I'd have to stomp it out.
That yellow sprout of hers.
***
"Hey. Part-timer."
"Oppa."
I went to Min-jeong's house.
Min-jeong was wearing the clothes I had bought her.
She must have been waiting in front of the house for a long time — her cheeks were red.
"Why are you out here?"
My expression, cold.
"I was waiting for you, oppa……"
"Let's go in."
"Um, I'm sorry."
She grabbed the hem of my coat.
"Why?"
"My mother is…… A bit stubborn. And she doesn't trust easily."
"We'll have to talk it through."
"She simply won't listen to me."
"I'll handle it."
I went inside.
The house was cramped. Even more so than mine.
An old two-room unit.
The living room was filled wall to wall with paintings.
The style was similar enough that it seemed as though one person had painted them all.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Tae-yang."
"Welcome. I'm sorry for asking you to come all the way here."
The fruit basket Manager Jeong Jang-hyeon had brought was presented as a gift to Min-jeong's mother.
Three small cups of coffee were set on the low living room table.
She had invited a guest over and hadn't offered so much as a piece of fruit.
"I was told you wanted to meet me."
"Yes."
Min-jeong's mother got straight to the point.
"I heard our Min-jeong got a job at a Bungeoppang stall."
"Yes."
"I'm told it was a street stall."
"The street stall has been wrapped up now, and we're about to open in a department store—"
"Do you think my Min-jeong is easy to take advantage of?"
She cut me off and came at me aggressively.
"I did not raise her through hardship just to have her sell Bungeoppang."
"……"
"We may be living like this now, but my maternal family has been a distinguished household for generations."
She gestured toward the paintings.
"My late husband was a painter who received quite a bit of recognition. Had he not gotten involved in business and squandered away everything the family had, we would have been living much better."
So the paintings in the house were ones Min-jeong's father had painted.
Min-jeong's calligraphy skills must have been inherited from him.
Min-jeong's mother continued.
"The teachers at school introduced several decent companies, and yet you have her selling Bungeoppang. Are you trying to ruin my daughter's life?!"
Min-jeong's mother's voice grew louder and louder.
"That's not it, Mom!"
"You stay out of this!"
Min-jeong tried to defend me, but her mother stopped her.
Ha. A sigh broke free from somewhere inside.
There was plenty I could have said, but I chose not to bother.
I wasn't so inexperienced as to fail to understand her, and perhaps because I had been keeping Happiness Points in mind lately, I found myself with quite a bit of inner composure.
More than anything — a single book sitting next to the small TV in the living room had caught my eye.
‘Basic Introduction to French.’
It was something Min-jeong had bought.
She wanted to go study abroad, didn't she.
‘Even yellow sprouts deserve a chance to be given.’
Shennong's words came back to me.
And those eyes of Min-jeong's mother — filled with distrust.
Those eyes……
I wanted to change them.
"Ma'am. Would you take a look at this?"
The counterattack began with a phone quietly slid forward.
It was a text message from the police department.
— Mr. Kim Tae-yang, you will be awarded a commendation for the Courageous Citizen Award, so please ensure you arrive on time on the day of the ceremony.
Manager Jeong Jang-hyeon had put in the effort to arrange for me to receive the commendation.
"Oh? The Courageous Citizen Award?"
Even Min-jeong was seeing it for the first time.
Min-jeong's mother's expression shifted subtly, but she still didn't look convinced.
"Couldn't anyone send a text message like this?"
‘I knew she'd say that.’
"Then take a look at this as well."
The Baekgyeong Department Store food section tenancy contract.
"The department store food section? For Bungeoppang?"
"Yes. It's my company, one that Baekgyeong invested in directly."
I placed particular emphasis on my company.
Her eyes wavered, just slightly.
"There's more."
A brochure and enrollment form filled with French.
"This is the promotional booklet and enrollment application for École de Cuisine in Paris, France — said to be the world's finest for chocolate."
"……"
"I intend to send Min-jeong to study abroad in Paris."
‘Study abroad.’
What parent wouldn't feel their heart stir at those words?
Having used the first two items to plant trust, I was able to hold her attention.
Min-jeong's mother stared at the promotional booklet in silence for a moment.
She thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Min-jeong showed it to me. I've already read through it."
"I see."
"The reason I wanted to meet you today was because there were things I wanted to see for myself and ask directly."
"Please, go ahead."
"Something still feels off to me. There's no way something like this would just happen to Min-jeong out of nowhere."
A tone full of distrust.
Understandable.
Was this kind of luck something that came around often?
"Isn't this just getting my daughter's hopes up for nothing and using her? And Paris, of all places — isn't it a bit dangerous there?"
"Mom, what's dangerous about it?!"
"It was in that movie too. Taken, or something."
"That's just a movie!"
"Still, no! She can't even say a single word of the language!"
"That's why I'm studying right now—"
"Don't go expecting things like luck!"
Min-jeong's mother yelled sharply.
"Your father…… Don't you remember your late father? His friend said there was a solid business opportunity, and he was full of certainty!"
"……"
"I told him it was dangerous, but your father wouldn't listen! He said this kind of luck only comes once in a lifetime."
She gripped Min-jeong by the shoulders.
"You know, don't you? What became of the luck your father had been hoping for?"
Min-jeong bit her lip.
Her mother pressed her.
"Say it yourself. What happened to your father?"
"He was taken advantage of, and he…… Passed away. From the illness of a broken heart……"
I thought I understood.
The reason for the distrust that Min-jeong's mother carried.
"You heard it yourself. I appreciate the offer, but I cannot give my consent."
"Hey, Mom!"
She addressed me directly.
"Our Min-jeong still doesn't know how the world works. I don't know what you're planning to do with a girl like her, but that's not the way to go about it. If you have a thing for young women, go look for one somewhere else."
"……"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't contact our Min-jeong from here on."
Ha.
It seemed like a serious misunderstanding.
I pulled out my last resort.
"Why don't you make a phone call."
"A phone call?"
"Call Baekgyeong Department Store. See for yourself whether what I'm saying is true or not."
"Why would I call the department store?"
"Because it was Baekgyeong Department Store that proposed sending Min-jeong to study abroad."
Min-jeong's mother looked at Min-jeong, and Min-jeong nodded vigorously.
As I said that, I searched on my phone.
It was a news interview from just a little while ago — the one with the Choi brothers after they broke through the 23rd floor.
"And please watch this interview. The individuals being interviewed here are the second-generation heirs of the Baekgyeong Group."
"I've actually seen this one too."
Tri-ring.
I immediately placed a video call to Choi Jae-jun. He picked up right away with a cheerful voice.
"Senior! How come you're calling on video?"
Min-jeong's mother's expression changed. The person on the screen.
It was none other than Choi Jae-jun of the Baekgyeong Group she had seen on TV, the Red-rank conqueror of the 23rd floor of the Murim Tower.
"Jae-jun, actually, about our chocolatier—"
"You mean Min-jeong?"
Gasp!
The moment Min-jeong's name came out of Choi Jae-jun's mouth, Min-jeong's mother pressed her hand over her own mouth, struggling to hide her shock.
Right then, an unexpected figure appeared on the screen.
Chairman Choi Tae-seong.
The father of the brothers, the head of the Baekgyeong Group.
This should make things go even more smoothly.
Her eyes, wide as they could go, went even wider.
‘She's going to pop her eyes out at this rate.’
Chairman Choi on the screen waved with a welcoming gesture.
"Assemblyman Kim. It's me, Choi Tae-seong. How have you been? I hear you've been working on a business with my sons lately — I do hope the boys aren't causing you too much trouble."
"I've been receiving a great deal of help."
"Ha ha ha. Just say the word and I'll help with anything. And come visit our home more often, would you. Why are you always so busy."
Chairman Choi's manner of treating me like a son.
Min-jeong's mother seemed quite shaken by the sight of a conglomerate chairman speaking so casually and without pretense.
Not letting the moment pass, I immediately held the phone out toward her.
"Go ahead and talk to him. Ask whatever you'd like."
"Pardon? Me?"
"Go on and take it."
Her mother hesitantly accepted the phone.
"Ah, ah — nice to meet you. Oh my…… Yes…… I saw the news that you had recovered. Ah, yes. Congratulations. Am I calling because I'm worried about my daughter's studies abroad? Ah, I'm not worried, I was just a little bit concerned…… Ah, ah. She's truly Baekgyeong's scholarship student, you say? You've even arranged for an interpreter? There was really no need to go that far…… What?! You're saying I should go to Paris together? That just making meals would be enough…… W, with a monthly salary even…… All of a sudden?!"
Min-jeong's mother had the expression of someone whose soul had half-flown out of them.
I took the phone back.
"Ha ha. Chairman. I'll come visit soon."
"Do come. Actually, how about this evening? Bring Min-jeong and her mother along too."
I looked at the two women.
"Would you like to go?"
‘No, no! No, no!’
The two of them turned their heads in vigorous refusal.
"I'm afraid tonight would be a bit difficult."
"Oh dear. Such a shame! Well. Alright, I understand. Take care."
"Yes, Chairman. Please rest."
Click.
I hung up and looked at Min-jeong's mother.
"Do you believe me now?"
Do I still look like a con artist to you?
……Gulp.
The look in her mother's eyes as she stared at me.
She suddenly burst out—
"H, have some food before you go!"
"Pardon?"
"Just wait a moment! Min-jeong, stay here and keep him company for a bit!"
She rolled up her sleeves and rushed into the kitchen.
Min-jeong said.
"Eat before you go, oppa."
"All of a sudden?"
"My mom doesn't set out food for just anyone."
"……?"
"Our maternal family comes from a line of Daeryeongsuksu."
Daeryeongsuksu?
The greatest royal court chefs of the Joseon Dynasty — the ones who set the royal table for the king?
So it was true that her family had been distinguished.
"You won't regret it. My mom's cooking is nothing to scoff at."
Every word Min-jeong said proved to be true.
Across both my lifetimes combined, it was a taste I could count on my fingers.
Ah! Min-jeong's talent for making chocolate — it was unmistakably inherited from her mother.
We could open a side dish shop with this.
Should I ask them to open a side dish shop in the department store food section.
All of it was fine.
Except for the blazing intensity in the eyes of those two women.
【Min-jeong's Mother Looks Up To You With Admiration. +1,000 Happiness】
【Min-jeong's Mother Silently Vows In Her Heart To Offer You Side Dishes For The Rest Of Her Life. +800 Happiness】
After the meal was over, I made sure to drive the point home firmly.
"Min-jeong is my employee. Boss and employee. A business relationship — nothing more, nothing less."
The expressions of both women fell.
But I had absolutely no intention of pursuing anything with Min-jeong.
She wasn't even half my real age, and at best, she was like a younger sister.
Drawing the line here was the right thing to do.
Min-jeong's study abroad proceeded with remarkable swiftness.
At my request, the schedule for the two women departing for Paris was moved up.
A place was rented in central Paris, and the flight date was pushed forward as well.
The idea was to go early and study French.
Hurry up and grow. You yellow sprout.
And bear plenty of fruit — chocolate and Ten Thousand Streams Return To Origin.
***
[Departure Day, The Airport]
"You didn't have to come all the way to the airport."
"You kept texting me to come."
"That was……"
She gripped her luggage handle and bit her lip.
"Nervous?"
"A little."
"Keep this in mind. Apparently there's only one thing you need to say well in Paris."
"What?"
"Melshi."
"……That's Merci you're saying, right?"
"Same thing, same thing."
"The meanings are completely opposite!"
"Go on."
She stepped through the departure gate.
She waved.
Her eyes were red at the edges.
"Have a safe trip! Study hard."
I walked out of the airport.
"Aaah, it's finally done!"
Out of season, snow fell softly from the sky.
Snow……
For some reason, today.
"It's not so bad."
Bwoooong—
I said quietly toward the airplane rising up into the sky.
"Merci."