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Chapter 4
We heaved a sigh of relief when we saw them.
“Oh, it’s you! You scared me.”
“Did you steal something? What are you doing hiding like a thief?”
At my father’s teasing words, Mother Bang shot him a glare.
“Don’t even start! Things are insane these days…!”
As if truly being chased, she frantically looked around and dragged us into the elevator.
My father’s expression turned serious as he watched.
“Suk-young. What’s wrong? Did something actually happen?”
“It did! It did! Choi Cham-byeol! That kid keeps following me for some reason!”
Choi Cham-byeol?
I was confused, but Dad’s reaction was different.
Hearing the unfamiliar name, the soft-hearted office worker’s face darkened instantly.
“Who the hell is that bastard?”
Right now he was just a gentle salaried worker, but formerly, he had been special forces military personnel—a man who once wrote a tear-stained blood letter because his wife wanted to break up, and who used to drive five hours from Changwon to Seoul every day just to go on dates with her.
You should never press the “love mode” button on this man.
In a panic, I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck to stop him from going dark.
“Oppa Cham-byeol? Why is Oppa Cham-byeol—?”
“…What oppa? Princess, you know him too?”
That was a mistake.
My father’s expression grew even darker.
Luckily, Mother Bang, as usual, lacked all sense of danger.
Ignoring her husband’s silent rage, she stomped her feet and complained.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with that kid! He follows us everywhere! Talking about new towns, good schools, apartments—just mumbling the same things over and over! It’s driving me crazy! I even told Cham-byeol’s mom, but she just said ‘oh really?’ and did nothing! Mother and son are exactly the same!”
“A neighborhood kid?”
“Of course! Who else would it be? Cham-byeol! Sing-a’s friend!”
Finally realizing the situation was not what he had imagined, a relieved smile bloomed on Dad’s face.
“Sook-young, you mean you were hiding because of a six-year-old? Hahaha.”
“He’s SEVEN!”
“Oh, Sook-young~ my dear~”
Next to them, I also giggled.
Looks like Cham-byeol seasoning was working perfectly.
How did I know Mom Bang Suk-young was weak to direct attacks?
And at this point in time, Mom was still pure—before life hardened her.
“But honey… after hearing about him, he doesn’t sound that bad.”
“You’re listening to that too?”
“No, Cham-byeol’s mom said Sing-a and Cham-byeol are each other’s only friends in kindergarten. If that’s the case, how could I ignore it?”
“What? Didn’t you say our daughter is the most popular kid in kindergarten?”
“I thought so too… but whatever! She never tells me anything, so I only hear things from other moms!”
“Impossible. How could our daughter only have one friend? Are kids these days blind?”
“I know, right? I don’t believe it either.”
As usual, the conversation between my slightly chaotic parents drifted off-topic again.
I quickly pulled it back.
“Mom! Isn’t Bundang where Uncle lives?”
“Huh? No. Your youngest uncle lives in Yongin. Next to Bundang.”
“Really? Why doesn’t he live in Bundang? People say Bundang is amazing! Heaven below heaven!”
“Where did you even hear that, you little troublemaker?”
“Sing-a seems to like it there. Do you want to move?”
My father’s casual question hit the target.
I nodded instantly.
I WANT TO GO!
I WANT IT!!
Mom looked surprised by my lightning-fast enthusiasm.
After thinking for a moment, she carefully spoke to Dad.
“Maybe we should move? Your younger brother also said something like that. That kids grow up fast… how long are we going to stay here?”
“He only says that because he’s lonely living alone over there. Move? Where? My job is here. And this house was given by your mother.”
That was the expected reaction.
My father couldn’t decide easily.
He had married into this family with nothing, basically starting from zero, and this house was the only real asset left from my maternal grandmother.
So he couldn’t just make decisions lightly.
But—
We HAVE to move anyway.
What did it matter if this house was inherited or saved with blood and sweat?
If we stayed here, everything would be destroyed.
All of it.
Have you ever heard of a guarantor system?
In the 1990s, to get a loan, you needed a “guarantor”—someone who would literally share your debt.
No credit scores, no risk evaluation.
Just: “Bring another person willing to bet their life alongside you.”
Brutal, reckless, unbelievably outdated.
If you couldn’t repay, the guarantor paid everything.
And because of the culture of lifelong employment and workplace hierarchy, people couldn’t refuse such requests.
This system was at its worst before the IMF crisis.
And my father…
He would eventually lose everything because of such guarantees.
If we didn’t leave now, before he settled properly at work and got dragged into that toxic system…
We might start life in the negative.
“Honestly, you’re struggling here too, aren’t you? They look down on you because you were a military guy.”
“Hey, why bring that up again?”
“Let’s think seriously. Now that Cheongsong is born, starting fresh somewhere else isn’t bad. Bundang is just below Seoul. Your brother lives nearby, Sing-a has friends there. Why not? If you want to go far, you have to think far! I can’t let my kids grow up stuck in this small town!”
Wow.
Mom Bang Suk-young was suddenly sounding smart.
Was this Cham-byeol effect?
This was my opening.
I grabbed my father’s sleeve and activated ultimate tears.
“Dad… if you don’t want to go, it’s okay…! Sing-a really, really wants to go, but I’ll give it up for you… I’ll sacrifice it… because Dad is the most important thing…!”
“D-daughter!!”
My INFJ father immediately broke down and hugged me tightly.
“What are you saying! No! You don’t give up anything! Daddy will handle everything!”
His strong arms squeezed the air out of me.
I gently patted his back with my tiny hands.
Father…
This is what I call filial strategy.
♧
“Sniff… sob…”
“Stop crying, Oppa.”
“But… how can I not cry?! We’re… we’re separating!!”
“We’re not separating. Sing-a is going too, right?”
While my parents argued, Choi Cham-byeol was clinging to me like the world was ending.
My father, slightly annoyed, lifted me up.
“Well, of course! It’s not like we’re never seeing each other again. Hmm. But Cham-byeol, if you’re a man, you should learn to handle separation…”
“Honey! Don’t say that to a kid!”
Through all the commotion, Cham-byeol kept staring only at me, tears streaming down.
Yoon Ire sighed softly and shook her head.
“Sing-a. Here’s my phone number and address. Don’t forget to visit, okay? Otherwise my son might drown in tears.”
“Don’t worry, Auntie~”
I smiled shyly.
Having just finalized her divorce and prepared to leave, she looked lighter than before—closer to the future version of herself I knew.
She gently patted my head.
“Let’s meet again.”
Of course.
We definitely would meet again.
That mobile phone commercial she would later cast neighborhood kids for would become a nationwide hit…
And bring me a fortune.
Summer of 1996.
With the refreshing sound of cicadas in the air, I waved goodbye to Yoon Ire and her son as they left.
Everything was going smoothly.
♧
United States, California.
San Jose Fairmont Hotel.
A luxury hotel in the southern part of Silicon Valley.
Unlike the 2000s version, it wasn’t overly flashy—more calm, restrained, almost intimate.
But he liked that atmosphere.
It reminded him, moment by moment, that he was in the past—not a ruined future.
[“Sir, Team Lead Jin Gu-bon from the Second Support Team of Strategic Planning is waiting outside.”]
“Second Support Team? Send him in.”
The Second Support Team handled “that matter” within strategic planning.
The door opened silently.
A young man entered, bowed, and placed a folder on the desk.
“Did you find anything?”
“Yes. There is no registered child named ‘Seo Sing-a’ among those born in 1996… However, we found one detail worth noting that doesn’t fully match your conditions, but may be relevant.”
