Max-Level Son of a Chaebol Family - Chapter 6

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

06. This is Service (1)

‘They were just asking about Father!’

It seemed he had enough sense to detect the serious atmosphere.

Uncle Cheol-gu cleared his throat and glanced toward Mother and me.

“Ahem, well, you see, the treatment went well so there’s no need to worry about aftereffects. They said it’s fine to be discharged now. Cough!”

“Discharge? But I haven’t paid the hospital bill yet?”

“How much could it be? Hey, kid. Let’s go home now.”

Uncle had paid the hospital bill.

Mother quickly opened her bag.

“How much was it?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Please take it. It must have been a large sum. I don’t even have Medical Insurance…”

Mother, who was an unwed mother, raised me by selling vegetables at the market.

So we didn’t have any Medical Insurance coverage.

This was a time when Medical Insurance was only implemented for certain people.

“Ah, I said don’t worry about it. The treatment was just giving him plenty of oxygen, hardly a large sum.”

Uncle Cheol-gu smiled broadly.

“If you think about it, that little guy solved the hospital bill himself.”

“What?”

“There’s something like that.”

Uncle Cheol-gu winked at me.

The more Uncle spoke, the more Mother tilted her head in confusion.

“I don’t understand what you mean…”

“Kid, this is service.”

Uncle Cheol-gu pulled out a pair of Children’s Sneakers from his jacket and placed them on the floor.

“There was money left over after paying the hospital bill. And this is a bonus.”

It was Children’s Socks.

“They threw it in as a service.”

Whether or not Mother, who didn’t understand what was going on, had question marks floating all over her face.

Uncle grinned and quietly slipped something into my pants pocket.

I glanced down and saw it was a 500 won bill.

“Just keep that. No matter how much it’s to repay gratitude, taking money from a kid isn’t my style.”

“······.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

He seemed worried I might get scolded for being generous with Mother’s money.

This guy, despite having a build like a bear, has quite a thoughtful side.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

I jumped down from the bed with a bounce.

I quite liked how my sneakers landed softly on the floor.

I ran after Uncle Cheol-gu who was striding ahead by himself.

“Let’s go together, Uncle! Mother, please hurry too!”

“Jeong-hyeok!”

Mother, startled, also grabbed her bag and coat and followed us.

* * *

Vroom.

Mother insisted she could just take the bus, declining repeatedly, but she couldn’t break Uncle Cheol-gu’s stubbornness.

He said since he was going to pick up some documents he left at home anyway, and there was no time so get in quickly – Mother went “oh, oh” and got into the jeep.

‘Hmm?’

A bundle of documents rolling around on the jeep floor caught my eye.

‘Dazzling golden light!’

Why is this thing sparkling so brightly?

It’s just a black cover tied tightly with hemp rope.

Documents typed directly on rough paper with a typewriter.

It was a type rarely seen in the 21st century where everything is typed on computers and printed out.

I picked up the document file as if entranced.

‘Kuk!’

As soon as I grabbed the document file, the scene before my eyes changed abruptly.

A movie-like scene with a faint rippling blue tint came rushing in.

* * *

Splash!

Uncle Cheol-gu was tied up tightly in a gloomy basement and got doused with water.

Traces of torture were starkly visible all over his body.

-Hey, Park Cheol-gu. Spill the truth. Who ordered you to do this?

A man in a suit clicked his tongue while shaking the document file.

He was clearly a KCIA Agent.

-Does it make sense for a KCIA Agent bastard to be loyal to an individual instead of the country?

-That’s not… *cough*, that’s not it.

-Then why were you doing such things?

-I’m sorry, Senior Agent. I was just…

-I’m asking why a bastard who should be investigating spies was uselessly digging around behind Wookwang Construction!

Wookwang Construction?

Wookwang Group would become one of the top three massive conglomerate companies in the Republic of Korea.

-Park Cheol-gu, I asked who’s behind you.

-There’s no one.

-Don’t mess around.

Smack!

Uncle Cheol-gu’s head snapped to the side.

Uncle Cheol-gu spat out bloody phlegm.

-Senior Agent, do you know how many people those Wookwang Construction bastards injured while demolishing the shantytown?

-So what? Do you know how many people are in trouble because of you right now?

Smack!

-What? You caused all this trouble over some measly shantytown bastards?

Slap!

-You bastard, you’re really going to die at this rate. Just spill who’s behind you. It’s Taeseong Construction, isn’t it?

-There’s nothing like that.

-It is Taeseong Construction.

-That’s not it… Gah!

Splash!

The man grabbed Uncle Cheol-gu by the hair and shoved his head into the Water Bucket, pressing down.

-Clueless bastard. I’m telling you it’s Taeseong Construction.

Uncle Cheol-gu, with his whole body bound, struggled with all his might before going completely limp.

* * *

‘Huh…?’

As I let go of the Document File, the blue image that had been flickering before my eyes also disappeared.

‘What the hell was that just now?’

It was too vivid.

As if I had been there myself.

As if Uncle Cheol-gu was really being tortured like that.

I could feel every breath, every bit of cold air.

It was something I had never experienced in the past.

With trembling hands, I touched the black document cover once more.

“…”

Nothing happened.

I couldn’t see anything.

It was quiet.

‘Did I just see things for a moment?’

[No.]

What a shock!

The answer came from somewhere else.

[Strange. It seems he caught a glimpse of what I saw.]

The Grim Reaper appeared like smoke from the passenger seat and spoke.

[This fellow’s journey to the underworld is in one week.]

I remembered.

Not long after Mother passed away, the Guro-dong Shantytown was forcibly demolished.

Landlady Grandmother also lost her home and was driven out to the streets, but by then Uncle Cheol-gu was already dead.

‘Uncle Cheol-gu dies in a week? While being tortured?’

The Grim Reaper didn’t answer me.

Instead, he just glanced at Uncle Cheol-gu.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly Uncle Cheol-gu stopped driving and started trembling and shuddering.

[He has good instincts.]

Whoosh.

The Grim Reaper disappeared like cotton candy dissolving in water.

Uncle Cheol-gu rubbed his arms and kept glancing toward the passenger seat.

“What, what was that? I just felt incredibly creeped out?”

“Uncle, what’s this?”

I picked up the documents.

Uncle Cheol-gu looked through the rearview mirror and became serious.

“Kid, that’s important stuff, so put it down. You’ll be in big trouble if you look at it carelessly.”

“Uncle, are you investigating Wookwang Construction?”

More precisely, it was a tracking investigation into Wookwang Construction’s slush funds.

Screech!

Uncle Cheol-gu immediately pulled the Jeep over to the roadside and snatched the documents from my hands.

“You didn’t see anything. Forget it. Got it?”

This man really had no backing whatsoever.

Are you brave or just stupid? You’re really going to get yourself killed at this rate.

Wookwang was a representative conglomerate that had grown through political-business collusion during the military dictatorship era.

Mother also spoke with an equally serious expression.

“Wookwang Construction – aren’t they the ones who go around house to house causing trouble, saying they’re going to tear down the shantytown and build apartments?”

Uncle Cheol-gu kept his mouth tightly shut and stared straight ahead.

He let out a long sigh and just pressed his temples firmly.

But at Mother’s next words, he quickly turned around.

“Just the day before yesterday, they came to Our House too and told us to move out immediately, threatening that they wouldn’t be so nice next time.”

“Those bastards caused trouble again? Was anyone hurt?”

A sigh escaped me involuntarily.

‘Forced demolition will start soon.’

I glanced at the Document File that Uncle had retrieved.

It bothered me that the man who had been torturing Uncle was trying to pin the blame on Taeseong Construction.

“Uncle.”

“This is adult business. Kids don’t need to know.”

When Uncle Cheol-gu pressed the Audio Player button, 70s trot music began to flow out.

-I came with dreams. I have come~♬ All sadness and suffering, get out of the way~♬

It was a legendary popular song released in ’75 that catapulted Song Dae-gwon to stardom.

Uncle Cheol-gu began singing along loudly.

“Nothing is impossible. If you try hard~♬ The day when the sun shines bright will come again~♬”

Vroom.

The Jeep drove forward vigorously.

I crossed my arms and looked out the window.

It was a Seoul street so different from the 2020s.

Instead of the high-rise buildings that had been packed densely along Main Street, small buildings were scattered here and there.

The people walking on the streets and the number of vehicles were also clearly different from the past.

‘This is serious. There’s no way we’d get compensation money for Our House where we’re just renting a room. I could tell from looking at the Bank Passbook. With our financial situation, we don’t have anywhere suitable to move to right away.’

My brow furrowed involuntarily.

‘Whether I sell Father’s Watch or contact Father’s house for help. I don’t know what adult circumstances are about, but we can’t live on the streets in the middle of winter… huh?’

I just saw something golden flashing at the Street Vendor Stall near the Bus Stop.

Light burst out like fireworks.

“Uncle, stop! Stooop! Stop the car! Quickly!”

Screech!

Uncle Cheol-gu had to make his second emergency stop.

“Why? What? Why? What’s wrong?”

“I’ll get out for a moment! I’ll be right back!”

“What? Why? Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

Leaving behind the adults with question marks floating above their heads.

I jumped out of the Jeep and ran at full speed.

I really wanted to check out that extraordinary golden light I saw earlier.

Somehow it felt like I absolutely had to.

‘That golden light that burst like fireworks over there earlier… Found it!’

Housing Lottery Tickets being sold at the Street Vendor Stall near the Bus Stop!

I rubbed my eyes vigorously with the back of my hand.

Even looking again, brilliant golden light was bursting from the lottery ticket.

‘Wow, I have to buy this!’

Without realizing it, I swallowed my dry saliva.

In my pocket was the 500 won that Uncle Cheol-gu had given me earlier as a service.

‘One lottery ticket costs 100 won.’

I decided to close my eyes and go for it.

“Housing Lottery Ticket! Please give me this one!”

The lottery drawing day is today.

My heart is already pounding with excitement.

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