The Baby Seizes Fortune - Chapter 51

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 51

“Gasp, it’s Seo Chang-hyeon!”

The face of a famous criminal I had once seen on 【Tracking 90 Minutes】 was posted there.

Seo Chang-hyeon was a lifer who had escaped from prison through the ventilation shaft.

What made him even more famous was that after his escape, he roamed the entire country committing crimes for about 3 years without being caught.

‘Though he was eventually arrested in 2000.’

Anyway, the protagonist of the most famous prison break in Korean history.

‘Surely he’s not here, right?’

I came out alone thinking I’d be safe since it’s a hospital…!

As I looked around with wary eyes, Noah also became tense.

[૮₍ °ﻌ° ₎ა]

But… surely, there’s no way Seo Chang-hyeon would be in this hospital.

Just as I was thinking that, someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder from behind.

“Chaea…”

“Kyaaaaa!”

Startled by the contact while I was on edge, I screamed and turned around,

to find Hee-jae standing there with a dazed expression.

“….”

“Oh, Hee-jae?”

“…Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah.”

I nodded my head.

‘How embarrassing.’

I felt secretly ashamed of losing face in front of a five-year-old. I cleared my voice and spoke.

“Wh-what brings you here?”

“I saw the news and got worried. They said Father got hurt. That he was attacked by an assailant.”

Behind Hee-jae, I could see a driver in a black suit.

He was carrying a fruit basket in his hands.

“Oh, you came to visit. Thank you.”

“Yeah.”

I walked to Father’s hospital room with Hee-jae.

Then, I heard Hee-jae’s quiet voice.

“I was worried about whether Uncle and you, Chaea… would be okay.”

“Well, it’s not like anything happened to me. Though I was really angry. How dare someone attack my father… Ugh, that crazy bastard.”

“You really love your father, Chaea.”

“Of course. He’s my dad.”

Having this conversation, we arrived in front of the hospital room. I immediately opened the door.

“…Then I should get some points.”

“Huh?”

The nurse was checking Father’s blood pressure.

“Father, Hee-jae is here.”

“Oh. Hee-jae. Hello, come in.”

“Hello. I’m Kang Hee-jae, Chaea’s friend. Are you feeling alright, Uncle?”

“Ah, hello. You’re Chaea’s preschool friend, right? Nice to see you again. Did you get permission from Grandfather to come?”

“Yes. Grandfather is also curious about whether you’re okay, Uncle. He sent this fruit basket too.”

“Kang Chairman did?”

Junho looked at Hee-jae with a bewildered face.

He had only seen Kang Chairman at Tomorrow Bank when I mentioned the ‘bank inside the computer.’

“Yes. Our Tomorrow Finance is a sponsor of 【Typhoon Internal Medicine】. Since meeting you at the bank, he’s been very interested in Uncle’s activities. He’s also enjoying watching 【Typhoon Internal Medicine】.”

“R-really? Haha. That’s quite an honor. To think Kang Un-san Chairman remembers me.”

While Junho scratched his head, the nurse finished checking his blood pressure.

“Please tell the Chairman I’m grateful.”

“Yes, I will.”

I asked the nurse who was packing up the blood pressure monitor.

“Is Father’s condition okay?”

“Yes, the doctor will explain it to you later.”

The nurse left the room with a bright smile.

“Oh, Uncle will peel some fruit for you, but I should wash it first. Just a moment.”

“No. I’ll wash this.”

“Huh? B-but.”

“Please stay lying down, Father.”

When Junho tried to get up, Hee-jae quickly stood up in a way unbefitting a young child and took several fruits larger than his hands from the fruit basket, heading to the sink.

The sight of Hee-jae standing on a footstool, washing the fruit with his small, clumsy hands was cute yet somewhat awkward.

Watching this, Junho tilted his head.

“Fa…ther?”

* * *

After eating the apple Junho peeled for us, we went for a walk in the hospital backyard and sat side by side on a bench.

“A suspicious person in the hospital?”

“Yeah. It seems like there’s someone like that.”

I squinted my eyes and looked at the passing patients, but nothing stood out.

[૮₍ °ﻌ° ₎ა⌕]

Noah was also in full detective mode.

“Well, to my eyes it looks like an ordinary hospital’s daily routine. What part seems suspicious?”

Since I can’t explain about the status window, this is frustrating for me too.

“Well, hmm. Anyway, let me know if you see anyone who looks suspicious.”

Hee-jae, sitting next to me on the bench, tilted his face slightly toward me and said.

“Well, I’m too busy looking at you.”

A gentle breeze blew, swaying the tree branches above our heads.

“Ah…”

The child’s clear black eyes were filled with me.

‘Wait, what kind of line is that?’

Is he really five years old?

Hee-jae smiled mysteriously and looked forward again.

“Still, if it’s important to you, I’ll help look for them too. Suspicious people.”

“Mm-hmm.”

He’s so sweet.

“But…”

I suddenly stopped smiling.

“It keeps bothering me…? Strangely, it feels like I’m missing something.”

My heart was beating as if there was something more instinctive and fundamental.

‘Today’s horoscope didn’t mention anything special either.’

Why do I keep feeling uneasy since earlier?

“Then would you like to try closing your eyes?”

Suddenly I heard Hee-jae’s voice.

“My eyes?”

“Yeah. After my parents passed away, I learned something during psychological counseling that might help. They said this method helps you remember what you’re missing in your heart.”

As I gently closed my eyes at Hee-jae’s words, only the cool breeze could be felt in the darkness.

Soon I heard Hee-jae’s voice.

“Imagine this. You’re standing at the seaside right now.”

“The seaside?”

At the child’s quiet voice, I imagined myself standing at the seaside.

I am looking at the ocean on a white sandy beach.

“Yes, splash, splash, the seawater is coming in. The first seawater wraps around your ankles and recedes. Try to remember what happened a week ago. Around evening time.”

Cold seawater wets my feet and recedes.

“Father gave me eggs with sausage. After eating, I played ball with Minsu oppa.”

It really comes back so vividly, doesn’t it?

“Minsu oppa lives where and is how old… no. Now, the second wave is coming in.”

Hee-jae’s voice was sweet, and his pronunciation was so good it was unfair that he was the same five years old.

When the incoming seawater swept up to my head, I opened my eyes.

‘I remembered.’

And I bolted up from the bench.

Seo Chang-hyeon’s informant was an electrician who came to repair the electricity at Seo Chang-hyeon’s house and reported him after coincidentally seeing his appearance.

Someone’s impression recorded in a person’s unconscious. But what my unconscious remembered wasn’t just that person.

“I need to go somewhere real quick!”

* * *

In the mid-2000s, a political scandal involving a spy occurs.

It was Ri Ji-han, a female spy dispatched from North Korea.

After crossing over to South Korea in the late 1990s, she lived under various false identities while collecting much information to pass on to North Korea.

Particularly, her infiltration of a military hospital from 2003 onwards to steal sensitive medical information of military generals caused a huge stir in society.

Her face was prominently displayed on broadcasts and newspapers, and even though I was young at the time, her face remained clearly etched in my memory.

‘It was that nurse!’

The somewhat gaunt-looking female nurse who guided Junho to his hospital room and came in every hour to check his blood pressure!

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