Chapter 78
***
A big shot in South Korea's private lending industry.
Yang Chun-ja studied the document with an intrigued expression.
The document contained a report on Kang Noah.
A man who had recently grown close to her granddaughter.
If he had merely been a friend—or perhaps a boyfriend—she would not have investigated him this thoroughly.
'Someone who can see the future...'
When she first heard it from her granddaughter, she had wondered what kind of bullshit it was.
See the future?
Not predictions based on mathematical and scientific reasoning.
Her granddaughter was saying that he literally saw the future. Was she seeing some crazy con artist?
Predicting the future of human beings was not easy.
That was because humans possessed a madness all their own.
It was never easy to predict the madness of people entangled in their desires.
Yet he did it as casually as breathing—and even used that ability to broadcast online?
But when she investigated, it was even more astonishing.
He was using this incredible ability to save people.
From then on, she investigated him in greater detail.
What kind of person was he, anyway?
And the conclusion she reached.
'Quite a decent person.'
The more she investigated, the more she came to like Kang Noah.
He was an orphan.
A child who had grown up in an orphanage since infancy.
Generally, when people heard someone was from an orphanage, they assumed that person had character problems. Yang Chun-ja was no exception.
But Kang Noah was different.
Even after examining every record from his childhood until he left the orphanage, she found that his life had been nothing like what one would expect of an orphan.
He was not particularly ashamed of being an orphan; if anything, he despised people who lived like orphans despite having parents.
"I like him very much."
Someone raised in a good environment and leading a virtuous life.
Even though he had grown up in a bad environment.
Even though he possessed the power to lead a corrupt life, he still pursued goodness.
There was no question which kind of person was more radiant.
On top of that, hadn't he recently played a major role in saving people at Dundae Tunnel?
That only made her more intrigued, which was why she told her granddaughter
that she wanted to meet him.
And the moment they met, she knew.
'Well, well...?'
Wasn't honey practically dripping from her proud granddaughter's eyes?
Her granddaughter had never been particularly interested in men to begin with.
She always smiled when dealing with others, but Yang Chun-ja knew what emotions lay behind that smile.
There was a difference between the way she looked at other people
and the way she looked at Kang Noah.
The difference in her gaze was unmistakable.
'Didn't she say it wasn't like that last time...?'
He was even forthright enough to say that he liked her eldest granddaughter and respected her second granddaughter.
Her investigation had confirmed that he was an excellent person.
He had even grown up remarkably well despite an unmistakably bad environment.
How could she not like someone like that?
That was why she said it.
"Become my adopted son."
She was sure of it.
If he was close to Hong Si-yeon, he would have heard who she was.
A big shot in South Korea's private lending industry.
How much cash did she move every day?
Many companies wanted to cultivate a good relationship with her.
She thought Kang Noah would naturally accept an offer from someone like her.
And then.
"I'm sorry."
Her offer was rejected outright.
***
"Why?"
"Please, speak informally with me."
Wasn't it only natural to treat a friend's parents as one's own?
Then one should treat a friend's grandmother like one's own grandmother as well.
"In that case... then why are you refusing?"
"I'm Hong Si-yeon's friend."
"Hmm..."
"If I became your adopted son, wouldn't it cause problems between Hong Si-yeon and me—with your subordinates and in your business?"
She had helped me in all sorts of ways.
With that in mind, was there any reason to deliberately choose something that would put her at a disadvantage?
Ms. Yang Chun-ja immediately realized what I was trying to say.
Only then did she seem to realize that she had gotten a little carried away, and she gave a small cough.
"Just because you're so close to my adorable granddaughter... I must have gone senile for a moment."
"Haha. It's all right. I'm so exceptional that someone else made me a similar offer. An old man named Kim Seok-chun..."
We actually became friends.
"Huh. I heard that you became friends with that old man."
"Oh? Where did you hear that?"
"It's the sort of story people in the know have heard. The story about how he became friends with the young man who found the younger sister he'd lost during the war."
"Ah, I see. Yes. Somehow, we became friends."
"Hmm. Friends, friends..."
"Surely you aren't going to ask me to become your friend too, ma'am?"
"That won't do—the family tree would get tangled. Anyway, if you don't want to be my adopted son... would some other relationship be all right?"
With a faint smirk, Ms. Yang Chun-ja looked at Hong Si-yeon.
At that look, Hong Si-yeon's face flushed slightly.
"Come inside first."
As we entered the extremely luxurious-looking house, the staff inside greeted us politely.
"There are quite a lot of people working here."
"Right? They've all worked with Grandma since she was young."
"Oh..."
There were plenty of interesting things to see.
I followed her farther inside.
"Sit down."
"Yep."
Ms. Yang Chun-ja offered me a seat.
Then she poured tea herself, set it down in front of me, and smiled.
"I'll be honest. I had you investigated."
"I figured you had. So? Is there a problem?"
"There are so few problems that that's the problem."
She gave a faint snort and smiled.
There was something strangely comfortable about her smile.
Perhaps because it resembled Hong Si-yeon's?
"The reason I wanted to meet you like this..."
"But first, turn this over."
Yang Chun-ja stared intently at the hwatu card I held out.
Then she grinned.
"Come to think of it, I heard you're quite good at hwatu."
"I can hold my own."
"I play well too. How about it? Care for a game?"
"Sure, I'd love to."
"Si-yeon, ask Su-yeon to come over too."
At her grandmother's suggestion that the four of them play hwatu, Hong Si-yeon immediately picked up her phone.
A little later, the door opened and Hong Si-yeon's younger sister, Hong Su-yeon, arrived.
"Oh! It's Teacher Kang!! Teacher! Have you been well?! How have you been lately?"
"I've been doing the same as always. How about you, Ms. Su-yeon?"
"Heehee~! My broadcasts have been doing well lately. But... Why are you laying out that blanket?"
"Grandma said we were playing hwatu."
"Ooh...!! Am I going to win some pocket money today?"
"You play hwatu with Grandma every time and go home crying."
"Not today! Today will be different!"
Hong Su-yeon's eyes sparkled.
And so the hwatu game began.
.
.
.
If you looked only at the outcome, Hong Su-yeon was the sucker at the table.
After Ms. Yang Chun-ja and I cleaned her out, she went home teary-eyed.
"You play well."
"Haha. You're pretty good too, ma'am. Shall we play matgo this time?"
"No. Let's stop here. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, but my back hurts if I sit for too long."
She patted her lower back, gathered the hwatu cards, and held them out to me.
"Shall we tell your fortune now?"
"Sure."
I shuffled the hwatu deck and held it out.
When I turned over a card with a serious expression, it was Sakura.
The Three Brights.
"How will the fortune-teller who is right every time interpret this card?"
"You said your back hurts, right? There's a Korean medicine clinic called Hyemyeong in Jongno. Try getting acupuncture there."
"Uh, h-huh?"
"If you go there for about four days, all your back pain will be gone. Also, you lost a silver hairpin yesterday, didn't you? It's caught under the seat of your car... your black Lincoln."
......
"And don't invest in that request from the Teiai Group in Japan. They're cooking the books."
"...Ha. Hahahaha!!"
The older woman burst out laughing.
Then she immediately picked up her phone.
"Yes, Driver Kim. Check whether my silver hairpin is in the car seat. Hmm... Yes. It is? All right."
The call ended.
She stared at me with an intrigued look.
"You really are a talent worth coveting."
"A lot of people covet me. I really am a talent, after all."
I had no intention of hiding it.
As the saying goes, a sharp awl will pierce through a sack.
I knew perfectly well that there was no shortage of people who wanted to bring me under their wing, so there was no need to put myself down.
"I'm asking you sincerely... Would you consider working for me?"
"Why not be satisfied with the connection you already have with President Hong? And besides, isn't there something else you'd like to ask me? I assume that isn't the only reason you called me here, though."
In the future I'd seen, she did not ask this question.
But that caused her quite a setback, so it would be better to change the future here.
"Sigh. You really are impossible to deal with."
She lightly raised a hand in surrender and took a sip of tea.
"Yes. Actually, I'm working on something in Sichuan, China right now... but I'm having trouble reaching an agreement with the person who controls that area."
"I see. Then I can help you with that."
"You? Hmm... Do you know who that person is?"
"Mao Zhiwen, the Party Secretary of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, isn't it?"
"Good heavens..."
"Mao Zhiwen was the son of poor farmers in Sichuan. He went to the city alone as a child and became successful, but while he was away, his older brother left home and lost contact. He's been searching for him for decades."
......
"Couldn't I help you find him?"
Of course, I might not be able to find him.
Still, wouldn't it be better than sitting back and doing nothing?
At my answer, she opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"But is he a good person?"
"Uh... Well, the country is big, but people's hearts are narrow. You know what they say about China, right?"
"Yes."
"Mao Zhiwen. He's certainly a man worthy of being called a great man. He's also pro-Korean. That's why he isn't on particularly good terms with the current regime, but that is how capable and popular he is..."
"I see."
Then that settled it.
"No... But... you're really going this far for me?"
"Oh, come on."
I shook my head.
"If you're Hong Si-yeon's grandmother, you're practically my own grandmother. It's only natural that I help when I can."
The look she gave me began to resemble the look one might give a future grandson-in-law.
...Wouldn't you like to have a good relationship with our Si-yeon?"