The Regressed Chaebol Grandson Finds It Hard to Forgive - Chapter 4

Episode 4. Inheriting

“The inheritance is 1 billion won. The inheritance tax has also been fully paid.”

“1, 1 billion won?”

“In principle, I should have delivered it on January 1st of the year you turned 19. But as you can see, I was in a major accident. I recovered and rushed to visit you.”

It was obvious at a glance that he was badly hurt.

He limped with his right leg and periodically winced, making a face.

Still, it felt awkward to invite him inside.

The room was small, and there wasn’t even a decent place to sit.

I quickly brought over a red folding chair that had been rolling around on the rooftop.

Then I brought a glass of cold water from inside the room and handed it to him.

“By any chance, is Han Ok-ja-nim my Halmeoni?”

“Yes, didn’t you know?”

“No. I’ve never met her in person. I have heard her name, though.”

“……. She is Ha Tae-woong-nim’s paternal Halmeoni.”

“…….”

Of course, I knew I had a Halmeoni.

The problem was just that I had never met her in person.

I had only heard her name through the media.

Swish.

The lawyer takes something out of his bag.

It’s a bankbook.

My gaze naturally locked onto the bankbook.

And,

“Gasp!!”

Why is that bankbook here!!

“This bankbook. You don’t know what kind of money this is yet, do you?”

“No.”

“……I struggled with this a lot.”

Lawyer Kim pauses.

His face is filled with anguish.

“……??”

“If you take this money, you could easily lose your life.”

What kind of scary thing is he saying while giving me money?

His calm voice sounded like an even scarier warning.

I have a rough idea.

I’m someone who has finished military service and done some social living, after all.

It wouldn’t be criminal proceeds.

Instead, there are people who would die of jealousy over this money.

Things that happened back in this time.

The memories from then came back vividly.

“Don’t tell me, Lawyer-nim, is your injury the work of those beasts?”

“……. It could be, or it could not be. Heh heh.”

Drinking cold water without even a proper drink, the lawyer laughed hollowly.

But he couldn’t hide his eyes.

Anger was etched in them.

“I will accept it.”

“You should tell your parents and……”

“No. You can give it to me.”

I showed a firm attitude, unlike a young student.

It’s a matter Halmeoni promised directly.

And she is protecting me.

I get that feeling strongly.

It’s a different development from the past life I lived until yesterday.

I didn’t even meet the lawyer who brought the bankbook back then.

The situation is different now.

The times and rules that were flowing back then have changed somehow.

“Can you handle it?”

“Yes.”

Lawyer Kim is worried about me.

“You’re still a high school student……. You seem to resemble your Halmeoni when she was alive. Your eyes do.”

Since he’s a lawyer, he must be good at analyzing people’s characters.

He accurately grasped whether I had social experience just by looking at my eyes.

“I…… matured early.”

“By any chance, have those guys come by?”

“Not yet…….”

Appa’s death in the past made no sense.

He met his end for an unacceptable reason.

It was a situation where it was fully possible to guess that they were involved in Appa’s death.

“You are brave.”

“Isn’t a well-fed ghost better than a hungry one?”

“Hahahaha. This young friend has no filter. Yes, yes. That’s right. That’s right.”

Lawyer Kim’s hearty laughter makes me feel good for no reason.

“Here, take it. This is the pocket money your Halmeoni left for Tae-woong-gun.”

The bankbook Halmeoni handed me in the dream.

I received the physical bankbook through the lawyer.

Even the wooden seal I saw in the dream matches perfectly.

My hand holding the bankbook trembles slightly.

1 billion won!

Pocket change for those with money.

For me, it’s a huge amount of money I’ve never once touched.

“Your Halmeoni did many good deeds while she was alive. I am here now because I received the benefits of that.”

I felt sincerity in Lawyer Kim’s words.

Halmeoni said the same thing to me in the dream.

Live doing many good deeds.

“It’s a relief…… that she was a good person.”

Halmeoni, whom Appa searched for so desperately.

It was confirmed that she was a warm person.

“If anything happens, please call the number on my business card. I may have been caught off guard, but I’m not an easy man either.”

His personality shows, just like his strong impression.

I could see he was grinding his teeth.

“Thank you for looking out for me.”

“Not at all. I’m just glad I can repay Yeosa-nim’s grace even like this.”

A mysterious relationship between the two of them.

The lawyer stood up from his seat.

“When you have no power, bowing your head isn’t a bad thing. The world is fair in the end.”

Turning around, he advised me once more.

I could feel a warm heart of encouragement in his words.

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Hahahaha. Tae-woong-gun is an interesting student, unlike any I’ve seen.”

The lawyer, who used honorifics from the beginning, didn’t use casual speech until the end.

Just by his tone, you can tell he’s a good person.

“I think the day will come when we meet again.”

“I think so too. Take care.”

Clack. Clack.

He moved his steps, limping with his uncomfortable leg.

The lawyer going down the stairs using a cane.

“Go safely.”

I bowed my head to greet his back.

I, who have become a physically healthy high schooler.

I’ve equipped myself with the manners a person should have through quite a bit of social life.

The messenger of luck, who visited suddenly like a daytime goblin, has returned.

“It’s not like I was possessed by a ghost.”

The bankbook with 1 billion won cleanly printed on it.

I held it in my hand and checked it over and over again.

Even holding the physical bankbook, I couldn’t believe it.

It’s a huge amount of money I’ve never even seen in my life.

Throughout my social life, the highest balance in my bankbook was around 10 million won.

An enormous amount, over 100 times that, was printed on the bankbook.

I’ve already passed my birthday, so I’m an adult.

I don’t need my parents’ permission.

My main bank linked to my student ID is Daehan Bank.

The public authentication is all set up.

Swish.

I opened the bankbook I had closed again.

Looking at it again, it’s the same bankbook Halmeoni handed me in the dream.

It was as vivid as if I were touching it and seeing it for real.

“Live like a mouse, huh…….”

That was the advice the lawyer left while handing over the bankbook.

I must live quietly.

I could fully guess the hidden meaning in that one sentence.

-Ring-ring-ring, ring-ring-ring.

The simple ringtone of my cell phone, which has already become an old-fashioned smartphone, rang.

It’s a person I miss, whom I’ve lived hiding.

How long has it been since I saw this name?

A smile spread across my lips on its own.

I pressed the call button.

-Son?

The single word sounds like magic.

My heart felt touched.

For a moment, I couldn’t find the words to reply.

My throat tightened.

-Son?

She calls for me again.

“Uh, Omma.”

-Omma? What is this? What is this unfamiliar title?

It was until before I enlisted.

Calling Omma ‘Omma’.

After being discharged, getting a job, and living in society, my personality changed.

As I adapted to the harsh world as an adult, the word ‘Mother’ naturally stuck to my mouth.

As much as the title changed, the distance in my heart also grew.

“Uh, Omma.”

Suddenly my face felt hot.

I felt embarrassed for no reason.

-Ho ho. Yes. It’s Omma.

Omma’s unique laughter returned.

I, who had a long period of wandering after several failed job applications.

She is like a big tree who always cheered me on without showing it.

My eyes stung.

“Thank you.”

-Thank you? Son, you’re strange today. Saying things you don’t usually say.

Omma’s radar started scanning.

She detected my abnormal phenomenon.

“Thank you for giving birth to such a handsome son! Loyalty for life! Loyalty!”

I quickly brushed it off with a joke, just like I did in high school.

Thinking back, I was quite close to Omma before Appa’s accident.

Omma, who joked like a friend and always maintained a girlish personality.

-Oh! Ha Tae-woong! Thanks, thanks.

Omma’s unique voice bounces.

A smile spreads across my lips again.

“Where’s Appa?”

-He went on a business trip to the provinces. He’ll be back tomorrow or so.

As expected, Appa is alive.

Thank goodness.

I clench my fist.

It’s a regression point where everything fits perfectly.

Once again, I’m grateful to Halmeoni.

“I miss you.”

My voice trembles on its own.

It’s sincere.

After graduating high school, I never saw the two of them together even once.

Now I can see them again!

-I saw you the day before yesterday, already?

“Yes! I miss you a lot!!”

-If you have time, come to Sokcho. Omma will prepare sashimi and soju for you.

“Yes!!”

My mouth waters.

Alcohol became natural right after I became an adult.

In my past memories, I was distant from Omma.

No, I barely had the capacity to make time to meet her.

After Appa passed away like that, I also had a hard time.

I switched to a passive unfilial son mode.

The appearance of Appa’s creditor, whom I had never seen before, also played a part.

A lawsuit for breach of trust also arrived at Appa’s company.

The house where the three of us lived went to auction overnight.

That’s the reason I remained in the rooftop room I chose as my own place.

In the meantime, I became an adult.

I was busy with college entrance and covering living expenses.

It’s not a lie.

Thinking back, I really had no time.

I handled four online tutoring part-time jobs a week.

Seeing Omma once or twice a year was all I did.

I was a college student, but I holed up in the school club room and focused on coin investment.

During my military service, I spent my vacation time hanging out with friends.

It’s true that I avoided Omma on purpose.

Omma, who spends every day looking at the sea and missing Appa.

It was hard to endure every time I saw her.

Even after being discharged, I poured my soul into job preparation and part-time jobs.

Studying also required money.

After returning to school, I covered living expenses with student loans and part-time jobs.

Around that time, Omma ran a small flower shop.

Her financial state was barely enough to manage life alone.

I became a living-type warrior myself.

I, who lived without hope like that, have regressed!

A chance given by heaven.

I bit my lip hard.

Just then, a large electronic news board across the street, visible from the rooftop room, caught my eye.

An old man with a kind face and age spots appeared on the screen.

Large letters emphasized to stand out.

-Haryun Group, donates 300 billion won to support self-reliance for the low-income class.

Haryun Group, one of the top 10 conglomerates in South Korea.

The current chairman, Ha Cheol-gon.

“My Halabeoji……. He has money to rot. Heh.”

That old man on the electronic board, he’s my paternal Halabeoji.

And I am Ha Tae-woong, the youngest grandson of a conglomerate family!!