We Do Business In Full Auto [EN]: Chapter 30

030

What is Power? (2)

That evening.

Before heading home, I packed a mountain of gifts.

I believe how you spend money is more important than how you earn it.

It’s not for nothing they say, “Earn like a dog, spend like a nobleman.” These sayings all come from the wisdom of our ancestors.

The things I’m about to do are to compensate my family for the hardships they’ve endured.

My wife, Sujeong, and Sua have all had their share of difficult days. Especially my wife’s suffering, which is beyond words.

So, I bought cosmetics and clothes for my wife at the department store.

I also picked out toys for Sua and clothes for Sujeong. I stopped by a jewelry store for my wife and bought a 14K rose gold necklace, remembering the time she’d glanced at one in a jewelry store.

It was just a necklace worth a few hundred thousand won [roughly equivalent to a few hundred U.S. dollars], but I still remembered her gaze lingering in front of the jewelry store during our desperately poor days. A bitter expression had flashed across her face for a moment.

My wife is a woman too, and wanting a gold necklace is a very natural desire, I thought. She was just suppressing that desire because of our poverty.

And so, I returned home, laden with gifts.

“Daddy~!”

“Oh, Sujeong!”

Sujeong was reading the legal code I bought her last time.

Seeing it open and already half-read, she must have been memorizing it diligently.

Besides that, professional medical textbooks and various science books were also spread out.

I wasn’t keen on pushing gifted education, so I planned to support Sujeong as much as possible in the fields she wanted to learn.

When I came to Seoul a few days ago, I deliberately didn’t stop by. I couldn’t very well tell them I had a battle with a gang, and I knew my wife would worry if the wrong words came out.

It feels like Sujeong has grown a lot taller in the few days I haven’t seen her.

“……Pa!”

“Sua! Did you just say ‘Papa’!”

“I think so. Sua must have a brilliant mind too.”

I’m a fool for my daughter, but my wife is just as bad.

Perhaps it’s because she’s already raised Sujeong, who has a genius brain, that she’s so sure.

I put down the heavy gifts I brought with both hands and picked up Sua.

I give my wife a light kiss.

“Did you have a good time?”

“Ah……Pa! Pa!”

“Ehehe.”

My mouth involuntarily stretches into a wide grin.

I don’t think it’s a very good expression for others to see, but I don’t feel like fixing it.

My wife unpacked the gifts I brought.

“Oh my, did you have to buy so much?”

“Huh? They’re all things you’ve been eyeing.”

“You were watching all that?”

“Of course. I couldn’t buy them for you before because I didn’t have money, but I wanted to buy you everything. It didn’t feel good seeing you wearing cheap clothes from the market. And even those were old and patched up.”

I have my wife try on the clothes.

We’ve lived together for several years now, so of course, they fit perfectly.

I gave Sujeong a new legal code as a gift.

Last time it was the Civil Law, and this time it’s the Criminal Law.

“Wow! A legal code!”

“You like it that much?”

“Yeah! Studying the law, I think there are a lot of loopholes! That’s why it’s fun.”

“The law has loopholes?”

“Hehe. I think I know why there are so many bad guys in the world now!”

As expected of a genius, she was already digging into and understanding the loopholes in the law. She’s incredibly sharp in that area.

Lastly, I gave my wife the necklace.

“Here.”

“Oh my.”

My wife can’t hide her happy emotions.

Just once.

About six months ago, my wife stopped briefly in front of a jewelry store in the neighborhood.

She briefly glanced at the necklace displayed in the glass case.

My wife turned away immediately, trying not to show it, but I can’t forget that sight.

So I’ve been remembering it ever since.

I passed by it every day, memorizing the shape of the necklace, and that’s what I bought now.

My wife smiled slightly.

“Thank you. I’m a very lucky woman. How can you be so thoughtful?”

“Isn’t it natural for a husband to be?”

“You’ve worked hard today too. Are you hungry?”

“Oh, I’m starving.”

“Go wash up and eat. I’ll make some soup in the meantime.”

“I should.”

I should bring up Sua’s first birthday party during dinner.

It’s a feast again today.

Especially since I’ve been away from home for a few days and this is my first meal back, I feel like my wife has put in extra effort.

I don’t even know if the rice is going into my mouth or my nose.

My wife’s cooking skills are so good that most restaurants can’t even compare. That skill naturally came from my late mother.

I had been preparing to take over the Korean restaurant my parents ran for a long time. My wife also naturally learned Korean cuisine as she became a daughter-in-law in our family.

If we were to go to a deserted island, we could create not only kimchi [fermented Korean cabbage] but also a side dish factory. The restaurant I used to run, Gold Hand, was quite famous in the industry. If I hadn’t tried to expand so recklessly, it wouldn’t have collapsed so easily.

As we were finishing our meal, I brought up the topic of the first birthday party.

“We don’t have Sua’s first birthday photos, do we? Or party pictures.”

“No. It’s unfortunate, but it’s passed, so there’s nothing we can do.”

“No. I told you before, let’s have a belated first birthday party. Let’s throw a party the day after tomorrow. I think I’ll be busy after that.”

“You don’t have to go that far. Sua will understand when she grows up.”

“Honey. If we don’t do that, I feel like I’m sinning against Sua. Her incompetent father has made her suffer until now, shouldn’t we at least leave her a picture?”

“You…….”

“Ahem. Mother, Father?”

Sujeong puts down her spoon and speaks.

“What is it?”

“Sujeong doesn’t want a third child, you know?”

“You rascal! Why are you making that connection?”

“Oh, if you’re going to have one, I think a younger brother would be nice. If you really, really have to?”

“You’re too precocious.”

I took out a bankbook and a card from my pocket.

“Here’s the living expenses. 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD] for living expenses and 3 million won [approximately $2,250 USD] for your allowance.”

“Yes!?”

My wife’s eyes widen.

Until recently, we were struggling without 100,000 won [approximately $75 USD], so she can’t help but be surprised to receive such a large sum as living expenses.

My wife subtly pushed the bankbook back.

“You’re already giving me enough.”

“Take it. I won’t say it twice.”

“Okay. I’ll use it sparingly.”

“Uh-uh. Don’t do that. You don’t have to anymore. I want you to buy whatever you want, whatever Sujeong and Sua need, without holding back. Now my annual salary easily exceeds 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD].”

I told her the exact figure because it didn’t seem like my wife would accept it otherwise.

The figure of 1 billion won in annual salary was just the bare minimum. In less than two months, I had earned almost 400 million won [approximately $300,000 USD].

I felt like I would earn more in the future, not less. I was building my own network and there were people who recognized me.

“Should I give Sujeong an allowance too?”

“Wow! Really!?”

“Here.”

I handed her six Shin Saimdang bills [Shin Saimdang is featured on the 50,000 won note].

“Thank you!”

Sujeong kissed me once and ran off to her room. It seems she thought she might have all her allowance taken away if my wife caught her.

Sujeong’s actions must all come from experience.

My wife smiles and teases me.

“Aren’t you giving her too much?”

“Sujeong knows the value of money well. So it’s okay to give her that much.”

“If you’ve decided that, then I guess so.”

“You’ve worked hard until now.”

“You’re saying too much. I believed this would happen.”

I felt a surge of elation again.

No matter when or what happened, my wife was someone who would believe in me. She believed in me even in that crushing poverty.

I didn’t have the slightest thought that there would be any changes just because I made some money.

Late at night.

My daughter and I climbed the mountain to train after a long time.

Mangwon-dong Cemetery is good too, but we decided to train at the newly discovered location and are climbing the mountain.

“Daddy, it feels like our family is rising really fast. Sujeong really likes it.”

“Is that so?”

“We don’t have to sleep in a cold place anymore. Mom doesn’t have to wash dishes with cold water either. I remember breaking the ice in the frozen washbasin and washing Sua’s diapers.”

“That won’t happen again.”

“Hehe. I’m really glad.”

It seemed like Sujeong was realizing the stability that money brings. No, at that level, she should be said to have completely understood it.

Of course, money isn’t everything in life.

I wouldn’t have been able to endure those harsh times if I didn’t have my family. But you must have as much money as you need.

If you don’t have money, you can’t make a living, and it’s bound to be a huge burden, especially for a man with a family.

I wasn’t the only one earning money, but if there are two children, and especially if the children are young, it’s impossible to have both parents working.

“I’m going to earn more. Daddy told you before, right? That I’m going to go to a deserted island.”

“Yeah! Sujeong is looking forward to it too.”

“You’re looking forward to it?”

“Because we can easily boss around the undead there.”

“That’s right. We can boss them around as much as we want.”

“Hehe. We’re going to create our own kingdom there.”

“That’s what Daddy thinks too.”

I gently stroke Sujeong’s hair.

Sujeong’s help was absolutely essential in getting here. It wouldn’t have been easy to recover without the help of this young daughter.

To fail in business once and be heavily in debt and then recover? It’s easier said than done, and it’s difficult in a situation where even your connections are cut off. Especially in a time like now when the economy is frozen.

As we almost reached the top of the mountain, I felt an enormous amount of yin energy [a concept in Eastern philosophy referring to the passive, dark, and feminine principle] pouring out.

My sense of energy was more developed than before, and I could accurately analyze how much black magic was distributed, what the concentration was, and what the quality was.

That’s why I was able to find the best place.

“This place is good.”

“If Daddy says so, Sujeong has no complaints.”

My sensitivity to black magic is thousands of times that of the average person.

I was growing faster than Sujeong, who taught me black magic, so it was natural for my daughter to trust and follow me.

I start training and absorb the black magic.

While doing so, I think about the path to the 4th Circle.

‘What kind of enlightenment is needed to reach the 4th Circle?’

That thought hasn’t left my head for days.

From the 4th Circle onwards, it is said to be the realm of enlightenment. But what exactly do I need to realize?

I thought about the commentary.

If you have reached the 3rd Circle, you need to consider absolute good and absolute evil at least once.

Good and evil coexist in every object. If you can realize that, you will see the path.

Contemplation on good and evil.

What does good and evil have to do with black magic that such a commentary is attached?

Then suddenly, one thought flashed through my mind.