I Became a Black Market Tycoon with an Inventory - Chapter 108

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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108-Child Support
108.
“Child support?”
“So you weren’t planning to pay child support either? That’s shameless.”
“I didn’t know, so···”
“What a convenient way to live. If you don’t know, that’s the end of it? If you stab someone with a knife, push them off a cliff, and they die—you didn’t know they’d die. Does that mean you escape punishment?”
“That’s a bit different from this situation.”
“You’ve lived long enough to know better. Why don’t you understand how the world works?”
I handed Lee Sung-hun a bottle of water first.
“Drink. Just drink it. Get yourself together. We need to have an important conversation now, so you need to clear your head.”
Lee Sung-hun gulped down the water I offered him.
I spoke to him in a warmer tone than before.
“So I’m thinking of giving you a chance.”
“A chance···?”
“Yes.”
“What···”
“A chance for you to live as a true father, as a genuine adult. I’m offering you such a precious opportunity.”
“···..”
“Listen carefully. What was that kid’s name again? Scott, what was the child’s name?”
“It’s Ramil.”
Scott answered.
“Right, Ramil. Remember that well—your child’s name is Ramil.”
“Ramil?”
“Yes. It’s a pretty name, isn’t it? You’ve become a father and the child is already fourteen years old, yet you’re only now learning his name—that’s the real problem. But since you’re claiming ignorance, I’ll let that slide.”
“Thank you.”
“Here’s what I want. I want you to register Ramil in the family registry. What do you say?”
“What?”
“Families should live together. Don’t you think? If you live together, you can fulfill your role as Ramil’s father. You can take on all your responsibilities as an adult. How wonderful is that?”
“That’s···”
“Think about it carefully. How many children do you have right now?”
“Two···two children.”
“If you register Ramil in the family registry, that makes three. You’d qualify for the multi-child benefits right away. How great is that? You’d receive government benefits too.”
“I’m already receiving those benefits.”
“Doesn’t it start from three children?”
“It changed to two children.”
“Really? Either way, the benefits would increase, wouldn’t they? Your other children would have an older brother too, so they’d feel secure. A Filipino older brother. How reassuring that is. Isn’t that more dependable than a church brother?”
“Pardon?”
“Plus, Ramil speaks English well. He could teach your children English too. You’d get an English teacher for free—one that would normally cost tens of millions of won, maybe even hundreds of millions. You’re getting every benefit imaginable. I’m jealous, truly jealous.”
“Still···registering in the family registry···”
“You can’t register him in the family registry?”
“To register him in the family registry, I need to discuss it with my wife too… There are many complications involved.”
“Of course you have to resolve those issues. It’s the first step to becoming an adult. Taking responsibility for your own actions.”
“But still… that’s…”
“You’re saying you can’t do it?”
“…”
I handed a sheet of paper to Lee Sung-hun.
“Sign here then.”
“What is this?”
“A will? Something like that?”
“A… will?”
“If you register Ramil in the family registry, even if you die, he’ll receive an equal share of your assets. But if you die like this, Ramil won’t even see his father’s face once, let alone ever get to use the privilege of having a father.”
“So?”
“Right. It’s a will stating that you’ll inherit all your assets to Ramil when you die. Even in death, shouldn’t you fulfill your duty as a father?”
Lee Sung-hun suddenly grew angry, as if things weren’t unfolding as he wanted.
“No, damn it, how am I supposed to know if that kid is even mine or some other woman’s child, and write a will giving him all my assets? And if I do this, what about my own children? Huh? Should my children just end up on the streets? You need to say something that makes sense for me to listen.”
“Wow, your judgment is incredible. So you want a DNA test then? Will you sign after that? Looking at the photo, he looks so identical to you that a test seems unnecessary, but…”
I tossed a photo of Ramil in front of Lee Sung-hun.
Lee Sung-hun stared intently at the photograph.
In the photo stood a boy who looked identical to Lee Sung-hun, standing with an embarrassed expression.
Though just a child, his face bore the weight of all the world’s worries.
But Lee Sung-hun understood.
A DNA test wouldn’t be necessary.
Anyone could see this was Lee Sung-hun’s child.
Lee Sung-hun’s mind grew turbulent.
Registering Ramil in the family registry was no simple matter.
Bringing home a child born outside of marriage?
Even fifty years ago, when a man’s word was law, this would have been grounds for ridicule.
What about in this modern age?
It would be grounds for divorce.
Becoming human garbage was just a bonus.
Everyone Lee Sung-hun knew would condemn him.
That terrified him deeply.
He didn’t want to be criticized by people.
Honestly, he didn’t want to take responsibility either.
Wasn’t asking him to take responsibility now just unreasonable?
I mean, when you’re dating, these things happen, and accidents occur. Pregnancies happen by mistake.
Register him because of that? It makes no sense.
An unwanted pregnancy?
Shouldn’t she have found a way to handle it somehow?
Who asked him to raise the child?
I’m furious with Lorna for making such a foolish and frustrating decision.
If she’d decided alone, she should bear the responsibility alone—I couldn’t understand why this fallout had to splash onto me.
“How much longer are you going to make me wait? I’d really appreciate it if you’d just pick one of the two.”
“What if I don’t?”
“You will. But the process will be quite painful. We’ve been doing this verbally so far, which makes us look like decent people, but we’re not any better than the rest of them. Want me to show you just how much of a bastard we can be?”
“… Give me some time. This is sudden for me too. I was drinking last night and woke up to find out I suddenly have a kid, and now you’re demanding child support, registration on the family registry, a will… I’m overwhelmed. Just give me time to think.”
“Hehehehe. Do you know why you’re so conflicted and finding it hard to decide?”
“… Why?”
“If you’d done the right thing, you’d just accept the consequences. If you’d done something shameful, you’d just face the finger-pointing. But because you don’t want to face what’s obvious, these problems arise.”
“Okay, fine. I get it. Let’s say that bastard is my kid. But that doesn’t mean we have to do it this drastically. We should take it step by step, one thing at a time. Relationships require maintaining proper distance and building trust gradually.”
“Pfft. You’re spouting nonsense. Step by step… In the end, you’re just planning to go through the motions and then run away. Lee Sung-hun hasn’t changed one bit, then or now. A coward who runs at the first sign of danger. Someone with zero sense of responsibility. A man who only ever looks out for himself, no matter the situation.”
“…”
“Do you think that’s even possible?”
“… Is there really no other way? If it’s money, I’ll figure out how to get it somehow.”
“Money? Kahahaha. You know better than anyone. You don’t have nearly enough wealth for us to covet it. We’re not struggling either. What we’re doing is more like free volunteer work finding separated families. You found a son you didn’t even know about yesterday. So you should be grateful to us.”
“Damn it. Then what the hell am I supposed to do!!!!!”
“Whoa, easy there. Why are you shouting? I don’t understand why taking responsibility for the kid you carelessly created is such a difficult dilemma, but we happen to have a solution for that too. Scott, are you ready?”
“Yes, sir. I’m always ready.”
“Don’t show off. Keep it subtle.”
“The Young Boss always gives me the tough jobs.”
Scott cracked his neck side to side as he approached Lee Sung-hun.
A series of popping sounds came from his neck.
Lee Sung-hun found those sounds absolutely terrifying.
“I’ll do it… I’ll do it. I’ll sign!!”
Before Scott could even take three steps, Lee Sung-hun cried out urgently.
“I’ll sign. Where’s the paper? I said I’ll do it! Just give me the document.”
Lee Sung-hun’s mind raced quickly.
He considered which was better: registering on the family registry or writing a will.
Registration on the family registry was an immediate problem.
That meant his wife, in-laws, family, children, friends, and coworkers would all inevitably find out.
He’d even have to bring her from the Philippines.
That wouldn’t work.
A will, on the other hand, no one would know about until he died.
For the will to be executed, Lee Sung-hun would have to be dead.
It would be executed after his death—what did it matter?
And he could always change the will later.
He could just quietly go back to South Korea and change it, and it would be as if nothing happened.
So he chose the will between the two options.
In the process, he read the will carefully.
It was a clean will with no toxic clauses.
If Lee Sung-hun died, all his assets would be inherited by Ramil.
However, South Korean law has something called the reserved portion of inheritance.
It’s a law stating that no matter how one disposes of assets through a will, the minimum inheritance share legally determined cannot be violated.
Even if the will stated that all assets would be inherited by Ramil,
his wife and children still had the right to inherit their respective shares.
Having thought this through, Minister Lee Sung-hun decided that a will was better and calmly wrote his own name in three characters.
“That’s it, right? So I can leave now?”
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“You told me to sign, and I did. Isn’t that the end of it?”
“What are you talking about? This is a will that takes effect when you die. This isn’t child support. It’s literally just an inheritance.”
“What?”
“From now on, you’re going to work very hard here in the Philippines. I’ll arrange for you to work as an employee of Dae Yeon Development, not as a contractor like before.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It means you’ll live and work here. When you get your salary, 50% goes to Ramil, and you can use the remaining 50% however you like. You can send it to your family in South Korea, or frequent bars like you do now, or if you go looking for young children again, you’ll meet me once more.”
“That’s not what you said.”
“I’ve never changed my words. I’ve simply proceeded step by step as you said.”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t changed my words—I’d just never stated them explicitly.
Minister Lee Sung-hun realized he’d been played.
“Don’t worry. I have the ability to set you up. The company will be thrilled too. How delighted they’ll be to have an employee willing to work until retirement in the Philippines, not taking vacations back to South Korea but staying to work instead?”
“What? Work until I’m sixty? What are you saying?”
“You need to work to pay child support. To do that, you need to work hard, don’t you? Since you can’t afford to get fired, let’s keep going without resignation until retirement.”
“What?”
“You’re working at a great job with no employment insecurity. A company where you get your salary without fail, with no worry of being laid off. Wow, I’m really envious.”
“No… this doesn’t make sense. I need to go back for my passport at least. That’s legally…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll arrange a visa for you. If needed, I can even get you permanent residency or citizenship. So don’t worry about trivial things like your stay. Just focus on working hard and thinking about paying child support. We’ll deduct the child support from your salary and send it to Ramil ourselves.”
“······.”
“Why do you feel wronged? Sad?···.. You shouldn’t feel wronged right now—you should be grateful. You’ve been given the opportunity to act as a father, even at this late stage. You should be thankful that you can play the role of a father at all. You shouldn’t think of it as unfair.”
“Still···.”
I approached Lee Sung-hun’s side.
I spoke in a quiet, whispered voice near his ear.
“You know what? I’m only telling you this. Do you know why I’m being this considerate to you? I could just harvest your organs, take out your eyes, and dispose of your assets with your death certificate and a forged will. So why am I making this so complicated?··· I think death is a blessing for a bastard like you. For a piece of trash like you, I want to give endless pain—long, thin, but relentless suffering. I want to turn your living life into hell. A bearable hell, mind you. A life where you’re alive, but endless days of unbearable hardship. I want you to feel the difficulties Ramil endured, the devastation Lorna faced. For a very, very long time. That’s why I’m letting you live. Understand?”
After hearing my words, Minister Lee Sung-hun’s face turned deathly pale, and his body trembled as he lost control of his bladder.
********
The Edward Institute in Dalapaanan.
A massive factory revealed itself.
This time, a fully automated system had been implemented—one where raw materials were automatically mixed and products were stamped out without human intervention.
Production volume had increased more than tenfold.
While the production scale was roughly tenfold, the automated process accelerated production, allowing for even greater output.
As I observed the magnificent sight of the machinery being installed, I received a message from Hanlin in China.
– Brother, be careful. The MSS and Public Security Bureau have been searching for you like madmen lately.
“Those bastards are always hunting for someone anyway. It’s fine.
– The atmosphere is seriously off. They’ve identified you specifically. They’re carrying photographs.
“Is that so? They must have found me. And here I thought I was hiding so well..”
– You need to be careful.
“It’s fine. I’m not in China right now. What about you? Are you okay?”
– You’re concerned about me too? I’m deeply moved, brother. I’m doing well thanks to you.
“It’s not concern, exactly. Just checking in, you know.”
– But… forgive me for asking, but won’t you sell Assand again? So many people are looking for it everywhere.
“See, the Ministry of State Security is hunting like mad. Distributing it now would be ridiculous.”
– Understood. I’ll contact you again.
“Alright.”
.
.
.
Bohol, Philippines.
Emerald Resort.
People who appeared to be tourists sat in the lobby drinking coffee or browsing Bohol-related merchandise in the gift shop.
At first glance, they seemed no different from any other tourists, but their gazes were directed elsewhere entirely.
Without anyone noticing, they scanned their surroundings and observed the people around them.
Tiny micro-earpieces were inserted into their ears.
And they transmitted in barely audible whispers.
“Base. This is Echo One. Target is not visible.”
“Delta Two. Target is not visible here either.”
“Shadow Six Six. Target is not visible here either.”
“Understood. Tower team, return to nest.”
“Roger. Understood.”
“Copy that. Returning to base.”
With the command, several people naturally left the Emerald Resort.
But soon, others took their place.
Wireless cameras were installed throughout the resort, and the base monitored the feeds.
Yet the target never appeared.
One day, two days,
a week, over two weeks passed, but still no sign of them.
The longer the operation dragged on, the greater the agents’ anxiety grew, and the higher the risk of exposure became.
But they couldn’t return without successfully completing the operation either.
“Where the hell are they hiding?”
Li Qingwu, who led the operation team, grew increasingly irritated with each passing day.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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