I decided to be hospitalized for a few days. Even though I said I was fine, Manager Ha insisted it was absolutely necessary and admitted me without any choice.
"I won't ask for the reason. However, I will have to inform the chairman a few days later. Focus on recovering for now. I'll take care of the rest."
After saying this, Manager Ha never visited the hospital again until I was discharged.
Not long after, my grandmother, along with Myeongsoo and Hyunseong, came to my room.
Grandmother came in crying, while Myeongsoo's reaction to the large room was quite different.
"Wow! This isn't a room; it's a hotel, isn't it?"
Grandmother came to the bed, crying.
"What's going on? Oh, Muhyeok. Are you badly hurt? Oh dear."
"I'm not badly hurt. Grandma, I'm sorry. Don't cry. I don't need to be hospitalized, but Manager Ha insisted. I'm not in pain."
"You're not in pain...?"
I held her hand tightly, feeling sad.
"Really. It's just a minor injury. There's no need to worry."
"Have you eaten?"
"I just ate at the hospital."
"Is the hospital food good? Is there anything you want to eat? I need to take care of my child."
Myeongsoo, who had been looking around the room, said in a gentle tone.
"Oh, Grandma. It's fine. Muhyeok didn't get into a fight anywhere. He just got a slight scratch. They admitted him to the hospital just in case."
I gave Myeongsoo a nod, and he slightly nodded back.
"Grandma hasn't eaten since she was worried about you. I'll take her to eat."
"Can you do that? Thank you."
"Thank you?"
"I'm not hungry. You two go and eat. I want to stay by my child's side."
"Grandma, if you don't eat, Muhyeok won't be able to rest. Let's go eat first."
"Okay, I'll eat and come back."
"...Come back quickly."
"Sure, I'll eat a lot and come back."
Grandmother was reluctantly led out of the room by Hyunseong and Myeongsoo.
A little later, Myeongsoo came back alone and plopped down beside my bed.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
"No. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Myeongsoo looked at the bandage on my head with a sad expression.
"I'm sorry. And thank you."
"Hey, stop it. I'm the one who's sorry. It's because of me that you got involved with those guys. Don't worry about it."
"But still..."
"Myeongsoo, Im Myeongsoo. Aren't we friends?"
"..."
"Alright. Go eat."
As I waved him off, Myeongsoo stood up again.
"But your grandfather seems to be quite a figure. I heard from Hyunseong's father that the police station was completely turned upside down. I thought he was just a regular person, but it seems he's more than that. What does he do?"
"Later. I'll tell you slowly."
"Alright. Are you really fine?"
"I'm fine. Go eat quickly. I need to rest."
"Alright, I'll eat with Grandma."
Myeongsoo left, and I was alone in the room.
Manager Ha must be busy dealing with the situation right now. He will probably clean up everything—the school, the police, and the prosecution—before coming to Seoul with me.
'Is that why he had me hospitalized?'
I looked at the hospital ceiling, lost in thought.
* * *
A specialty restaurant in Busan.
In a private room isolated from the outside, three men were talking, putting the food aside.
"Prosecutor General."
"Yes, Manager Ha."
"Our chairman..."
Manager Ha deliberately left the sentence unfinished. Prosecutor General Yun Changho swallowed hard.
The position of prosecutor general in the Busan District Prosecutors' Office was not a low rank in the prosecution hierarchy.
Yet, even Prosecutor General Yun was at a loss in front of Manager Ha, who was not the chairman but his subordinate.
"Manager Ha, Prosecutor General Yun didn't know. He's not the kind of person who would do such a thing knowingly. Please speak to the chairman on his behalf."
Lawyer Moon Sooho defended the prosecutor general.
Prosecutor General Yun, receiving a nod from Moon Sooho, bowed repeatedly to Manager Ha.
"I really didn't know. I didn't know the chairman's grandson was in Busan, and I didn't know he was involved with Chief Hong."
Manager Ha, looking at the top of Prosecutor General Yun's head, asked.
"What will you do about Chief Hong?"
"I've suspended him and will conduct an internal investigation."
"The Supreme Prosecutors' Office will soon send someone down. Please cooperate. Under no circumstances should the young master's name be mentioned. Do you understand?"
"Yes, yes. Of course."
"I'll consider a report on how you handle this matter."
"Thank you."
"Let's eat for now."
Only then did they pick up their chopsticks.
"But how will you deal with the teachers at the school? I heard some of them were in cahoots with Chief Hong."
Manager Ha calmly ate while Prosecutor General Yun's mind raced.
"I'll take care of it."
"Ah, I see. I trust you. Eat, Prosecutor General. You need to go to Seoul, right?"
"Yes, yes."
* * *
During the week I was hospitalized, my grandmother never left my side. Since it was a VIP room, she had no trouble living there, but...
Myeongsoo and Hyunseong came to the room every day after school, like clockwork. Even when Hyunseong had practice, Myeongsoo would come alone and tell me everything that happened at school.
"Hey! The bald eagle and the vice principal were suddenly taken away by the police. They got caught for taking bribes. Haha, that guy's face turned red and he was shouting, but it felt so good, didn't it?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, the principal couldn't say anything and just watched. The school atmosphere is really bad. I heard that all the students who had problems with you have dropped out. Did you know?"
"No."
It seems Manager Ha had taken care of it.
"What about Chulgu? Did he drop out too?"
"No... He just didn't say anything. He was absent at first."
"Good, that's a relief."
"When are you getting discharged?"
"Tomorrow? I'll probably go to Seoul and come back next week. In the meantime, visit Grandma often so she doesn't get lonely."
"Don't worry. We'll take care of her."
"Haha, our grandma."
We laughed at each other.
In my memory, Myeongsoo was no longer the disabled boy. That was enough.
While we were laughing, Manager Ha came to the hospital.
"I'll discharge you tomorrow morning and take you directly to Pyeongchang-dong. We've already explained everything to your grandmother. You don't need to prepare anything. I'll come to pick you up in the morning."
"Yes, thank you, Manager."
"You're welcome. See you tomorrow."
He left after saying that and bowing.
"Wow, that guy really only says what he needs to. He's almost like a machine."
"He's a good person."
"Anyway, without the bald eagle, school is much more enjoyable. I'm so happy."
"What about the snake?"
"The snake is always the same. I think he might become the student affairs head."
"Oh?"
"Ha, can't he become a bit nicer?"
"The snake is very nice. Taking bribes is unavoidable, but he doesn't hit you for no reason. You just do things that deserve it."
"Right, right. Model student Kim Muhyeok. You have it easy."
The next day.
After completing the discharge procedures early in the morning, I left the hospital with Manager Ha. The doctors, including the hospital director, came out to see us off, and the people around us were staring, which made me a bit uncomfortable.
"Director, thank you. The chairman might contact you. See you next time."
"Yes, thank you. I'll see you next time, young master."
The doctors bowed in unison. I bowed in return and got into Manager Ha's car.
A little later, when we arrived at the house in Pyeongchang-dong, the housekeeper was nowhere to be seen, and only the grandfather was waiting. Chairman Cheon had a stern expression.
"Hello, Grandfather."
"Hmm."
As I approached, Grandfather gestured for me to sit.
"Sit down. Manager Ha, wait outside. Come in when I call you."
"Yes, Chairman."
Manager Ha left, and only the old man and I were left in the living room.
"Tell me."
"What should I say?"
"From the beginning to the end."
"..."
I told the truth without adding any unnecessary details.
Chairman Cheon listened without changing his expression.
"They tried to force me, so I asked for your help."
"Couldn't you have avoided it? Why did you do it this way?"
"If they had touched me, I would have done as you said. But since they used people around me, I couldn't avoid it. If I had avoided it, it wouldn't have solved everything. If I couldn't avoid it, I had to crush them so they wouldn't come back. That's how I've lived and will continue to live."
"Hmm..."
"I don't want the people around me to suffer because of me. My grandmother, my friends, and you... I want to protect the people I consider family."
"Family..."
Grandfather looked at me with a complicated expression.
"To protect them, I can ask for your help, and I can do even more. I'm sorry."
"If I hadn't helped you, what would you have done? Would you have just given up on your life?"
"..."
"Probably, our connection would have ended there. If you had the ability to help me but chose not to, you wouldn't be part of my family."
"..."
Chairman Cheon was silent for a long time. I met his gaze without looking away.
Then, Chairman Cheon suddenly laughed.
"Haha! You're making my old age interesting. Right, a man should never back down. You should use everything you can."
What I said was sincere, but it also aligned with Chairman Cheon's philosophy.
It seemed to have worked, as Chairman Cheon nodded repeatedly.
"If you can't avoid it, crush them so they can't come back. Never forget that. If you handle it half-heartedly, they'll come back. If you can make them your own, do it thoroughly. If you can't, destroy them completely. Well done. I'm pleased."
"Thank you, Grandfather."
"Manager Ha! Come in."
Manager Ha, who had been waiting nearby, came in upon hearing Grandfather's voice.
"How did you handle it?"
"Chief Hong is under internal investigation. It's unlikely he'll avoid arrest. He's taken a lot of money since his public security days, and there are issues like torture and case manipulation. The Busan prosecutor general and police chief are waiting for your decision."
"What about the teachers?"
"The vice principal and the student affairs head, who were in cahoots with Chief Hong, have been arrested. They took a lot of bribes, so there were no issues. The involved students have all been asked to drop out, and we've settled things with their parents."
Chairman Cheon glanced at me.
"Are you satisfied?"
"Yes, but Grandfather, I have one request."
"Request?"
"Can you leave the punishment of the prosecutor general and the police chief to me?"
"Why?"
"They're probably not sleeping well. Instead of making a fuss over someone unrelated, wouldn't it be better to forgive them and clear the debt?"
Chairman Cheon chuckled.
"There's a big difference between me forgiving them and you asking me to forgive them. I'll use this opportunity to make them my own."
"Haha, you already know how to make people your own. Go ahead, but don't do it half-heartedly. You know that, right?"
"Yes."
Chairman Cheon looked at Manager Ha.
"Minho, did you hear that? Handle it that way. Create a position for the prosecutor general, and for the police chief... he's too low for me to meet personally. Leave it to Manager Ha."
"Understood."
"Hahaha. Thanks to my grandson, my old age is interesting. What other surprises will you bring? I'm looking forward to it."
"You won't be disappointed."
The Chairman Cheon in my memory was a completely different person. Whether this change was due to my growth or if he was always like this and I just didn't see it, I needed to find out.
"Hahaha, interesting. I thought my children had failed, but Misook gave me an interesting child at the end."
But I shouldn't think it's too easy. Chairman Cheon is a scary person...
I quietly observed the laughing Chairman Cheon, hiding my expression.