A Genius Speaks with Money

Chapter 41

Early Sunday morning.

The city was still quiet as if it hadn'

t fully woken up, except for the sounds announcing the dawn.

I, Lim Hyunjun, tightened my sneaker laces and left the house.

The clear autumn air dug deep into my lungs.

There was a park near my house, and running to it was my routine.

I followed the familiar path, running until I was out of breath to organize my thoughts.

After running for a while, sweat formed in beads on my forehead.

Today was no different.

It was just when my breath was reaching the tip of my throat.

A vibration rang from the smartwatch on my wrist.I stopped my steps for a moment and checked the smartwatch screen.

[Submitting Information Security Team report. Kim Jongseok, Team Leader of the Technology Development Team at Daehan Shipbuilding &

Marine Engineering]

– Oh Jong-rye: 68 years old. Mother of Team Leader Kim Jongseok. Heart valve disease and knee arthritis. Confirmed history of recent medical expense arrears.

– Kim Ha-yun: 7 years old. Daughter of Team Leader Kim Jongseok. Rare genetic disease. Currently hospitalized for treatment.

– Kim Jongseok’s personal debt is nearing approximately 300 million won. In addition to loans from the 1st financial sector, there are 3 records of private loan-style short-term financing. There is a history of arrears over the past 3 months. The current residence is under mortgage, and a shop under his mother’s name is also held as collateral.

I slightly knit my eyebrows.

Each number in the report was just a word, but the reality contained within them was not simple at all.

‘300 million won….’

His daughter’s treatment costs, his mother’s hospital bills, and debt mixed with living expenses.

Furthermore, the fact that even the shop under his mother’s name was held as collateral.

It was evidence that a head of household was holding on with even his last pride on the line.

I slowly scrolled through the screen and examined the following details.

It felt like I was deconstructing someone’s life.

– The currently unpaid treatment cost for Ms. Kim Ha-yun is 78 million won.

– Borrowed 40 million won in short-term funds from ‘XX Partners,’ a moneylender other than the main bank.

– Credit rating decline due to repayment arrears and notification of bond collection is expected soon.

The furrow between my brows deepened.

Anyone could see that the current Kim Jongseok was right on the verge of collapsing.

He was holding on, but it was no different from being on the edge of a cliff.

On the outside, he stood as a team leader at the company and the head of a household, but his inside was as precarious and fragile as cracked glass.

“At this rate, he wouldn’t even have the luxury to mention justice.”

I quietly exhaled and sat on a nearby bench.

The autumn air was still cool, but the reality in the report I read was only cold.

‘If he speaks the truth, his daughter’s treatment will end right there.’

That was the reason Kim Jongseok chose silence before the truth.

Because there were things he could not give up as a father, he was forced to keep his mouth shut.

I raised my head and looked up at the sky.

My eyes were dazzled by the sun slowly rising.

The more it did, the firmer my gaze became.

What was needed from now on was persuasion.

I shouldn'

t make him speak, I should make him want to speak.

I slowly stood up.

My sweat-soaked clothes cooled down as they met the chilly air, but my head became even clearer instead.

A door to escape.

I, Lim Hyunjun, plan to create that.

And that door must be a way to protect his family, not money or fame.

I began to run again.

Until my breath reached the tip of my throat and my heart was about to burst.

***

Monday morning.

Office of the Technology Development Team at the Daehan Shipbuilding &

Marine Engineering headquarters.

As soon as Kim Jongseok arrived at work, the whole team began to buzz.

“Team Leader, is it true? That you’re going as the Head of the Geoje Center.”

“Congratulations on your promotion.”

Since the notice had already appeared via internal email, everyone knew.

A month later, Kim Jongseok was appointed as the Head of the Geoje Center of Daehan Shipbuilding &

Marine Engineering located in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province.

Looking at the title alone, it was an exceptional promotion.

It was as if he had moved from a team leader position to a general manager level.

Even though it was in the provinces, it was a position in charge of an entire center.

However, Kim Jongseok’s heart was only heavy.

He sat at his desk as if pushed.

Even while words of congratulations were exchanged, his face was stiff and his gaze wavered all day.

After a while, a call came from the secretary team.

“Vice President Choi Dong-ryeol would like to see you for a moment. Please come to the Vice President’s office now.”

Kim Jongseok nodded quietly and stood up from his seat.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward him, but it wasn'

t pleasant at all.

Entering the Vice President’s office, Kim Jongseok saw Vice President Choi Dong-ryeol sitting in the center.

He was checking something on his phone without a single disturbance in his expression.

Kim Jongseok quietly approached and bowed his head to greet the Vice President.

“Vice President, I am Kim Jongseok.”

“Oh, if it isn'

t our Center Head Kim. No. Should I still call you Team Leader? Ahahaha.”

The Vice President spoke in a friendly tone but was forcing a laugh.

He remained seated and put down the phone he was holding in his hand.

“Here, sit. Everyone is jealous because it’s an exceptional promotion, right? In our company’s history, cases of going straight from the technology development team to center head are rare. How about it? Are you satisfied as well?”

To the Vice President’s question, Kim Jongseok lowered his head deeply and answered.

“I think it is a position I don'

t deserve, Vice President.”

“How modest. But tell me honestly. Don'

t you think this is quite something? Those remaining at the headquarters must be jealous too.”

Kim Jongseok pretended to smile quietly, but only his gaze was firmly locked.

This was not an honor but an exile.

Vice President Choi Dong-ryeol stood up, moved his steps, and slowly continued speaking.

“The Geoje Center is currently in the middle of defense work. There are national projects involved and many matters where security is sensitive. A person with a strong sense of responsibility like you is the right fit.”

Kim Jongseok only nodded without a word.

“But you see, Team Leader Kim.”

Vice President Choi’s voice lowered significantly and his tone changed subtly.

“The atmosphere at the company is a bit noisy these days. Well, everyone’s mouth will be heavy though.”

Vice President Choi took out a bottle of high-end whisky from the drawer and poured it into a glass.

After that, he drank it in one shot.

He poured whisky into another glass, held it, and turned toward Kim Jongseok.

The look in Vice President Choi Dong-ryeol’s eyes had changed as he turned around.

The hint of a smile disappeared and was instead like a beast with its edges fully sharpened.

“When you go to Geoje, don'

t say a word. I mean focus only on the task you are given. If I see even a hint of external contact or strange signs…. Hehe. I hope such things don'

t happen. Understood?”

Clack!

The sound of the glass being placed on the table was heard unusually loudly.

Choi Dong-ryeol pushed the glass he had put down toward Kim Jongseok and delivered the final blow.

“I’m telling you to keep your mouth closed and stay quiet. You rascal!”

Kim Jongseok took a short breath.

He held the glass with his two trembling hands.

After drinking the alcohol in one gulp, he spoke as he put it down on the table.

“…Understood, Vice President.”

Choi Dong-ryeol nodded as if satisfied and changed his tone again.

“Right. You should think about your family too. I heard the treatment costs for your daughter are no joke? I know that support has gone to the hospital side too.”

Kim Jongseok’s pupils wavered.

Now an invisible hand was even seeping into his family.

“What you need right now is to just keep your position. Don'

t pointlessly bring up things like justice or righteousness. These days, every Tom, Dick, and Harry is looking for justice, it’s a mess.”

Choi Dong-ryeol wore a fishy smile.

It was literally an expression as if saying he should have understood by now.

“I heard the President himself handled this personnel matter. Now, you may leave.”

With those words, Kim Jongseok bowed his head quietly and came out of the Vice President’s office.

As he passed the hallway, he found a painting on the wall containing the sea off Geoje.

A ship that roamed the wide sea, which was once a technician’s dream.

Now that sea felt like a prison without bars to Kim Jongseok.

He exhaled longly and walked along the hallway.

And he thought.

‘If I change my mind even now….’

His daughter’s face came to mind.

As that thought settled deep in his heart, he closed his mouth again.

The things he really wanted to say were quietly broken inside his heart.

It was the moment he realized that the world doesn'

t move as one intends.

Especially for the weak.

***

After a few weeks had passed.

At the Daehan Shipbuilding &

Marine Engineering headquarters in Seoul, Kim Jongseok emerged from the elevator, breathing heavily.

Both his hands were shaking, and his palms were drenched with a liquid he couldn'

t tell was sweat or water.

“Ha-yun to… Geoje….”

He still couldn'

t believe what he had heard at the hospital just a moment ago.

“Guardian of Ha-yun, the transfer to Geoje XX Hospital has been decided starting this Wednesday. I understand that administrative cooperation between hospitals has been made due to the guardian moving his workplace.”

“I have never approved such a thing.”

“But it was delivered as a state where discussions were already finished with the hospital by the Daehan Shipbuilding &

Marine Engineering side. The transferred hospital is a partner hospital in the Geoje area and has many cases of long-term inpatients, so you don'

t have to worry too much.”

It was nonsense.

There was a reason the daughter had to be treated in Seoul.

The attending physician who was treating her must not be changed either.

Because the disease the child had was a rare one, it could only be treated in a few places in the entire country.

But to send her to Geoje.

This was no different from telling her to go there and die.

Kim Jongseok gritted his teeth while looking at the end of the hallway and ran toward the office where the Vice President’s office was located.

With every step, anger surging up from his toes was covering his whole body.

It was about the time he reached the front of the Vice President’s office.

Two employees from the secretary’s office blocked his way with tense faces.

“Team Leader Kim, no, Center Head. The Vice President is in a meeting right now so….”

“Let me in. I must talk to the Vice President right now.”

“It is difficult without a prior appointment. We would like to help too, but we haven'

t received any instructions.”

As they blocked Kim Jongseok, he spoke while even begging earnestly.

“I beg you. My daughter is about to be kicked out of the hospital. Just once…. No, even one minute is fine.”

However, his earnest wish did not work.

Even the security team came in and tried to drag Team Leader Kim Jongseok out.

At that moment, as the door to the Vice President’s office opened and Choi Dong-ryeol came out, Kim Jongseok pleaded.

“Vice President, please, I beg of you. Please let my daughter stay in the hospital as she is. This is really not right, is it.”

Choi Dong-ryeol frowned as if tired and said coldly.

“I even gave you a promotion. You should know how to be thankful. When the company has shown this much consideration.”

“This is not a consideration. It is a threat. Without a word to me… how can you do that to a child? What fault does that young child have!”

Choi Dong-ryeol’s tone became cold.

“Center Head Kim. The organization doesn'

t only look at you. What are you guys doing. Drag that bastard out!”

As Choi Dong-ryeol urged the security team, they forcibly dragged Kim Jongseok out.

While the security team held Kim Jongseok’s arms and dragged him out, his face gradually distorted.

His two eyes, overcome with emotion, were bloodshot.

“Let go! This isn'

t right! It’s a person, it’s a person’s life! How… how can you even touch a child.”

His voice echoed to the end of the hallway.

In his voice, as he shouted at the top of his lungs, sadness, anger, and despair were mixed.

Kim Jongseok, who was dragged out, sat down on the bare floor as if collapsing.

He bit his lip and swallowed his tears.

No, he was already covered in tears and sweat.

It was as if the world had trampled on him.

“Ha-yun… Daddy is sorry.”

What burst out of his mouth was not resentment, but a desperate apology toward his daughter.