The Genius Grandson of the Loan Shark King - Chapter 2 (2/840)
After my grandmother passed away, while I was in a daze preparing for the funeral, a man came to see me.
"I'm the person your maternal grandfather sent."
He was Mr. Ha, who had come down from Seoul at the instruction of my maternal grandfather.
"Chairman Cheon wishes to meet you after the funeral procedures are completed."
"All the funeral expenses and paperwork will be handled by us. After the funeral, please come with me to Seoul."
At Mr. Ha's firm tone, I simply nodded.
That's how I met my maternal grandfather, known as Chairman Cheon or the Old Man.
In our first meeting, he said only one thing.
"I know you've been living like a delinquent. Get into a university in Seoul within exactly three years. If you do, I'll give you a big gift."
With that, our conversation ended.
After that, I lived in a small apartment that my grandfather had arranged for me and attended school.
I gave up friends, girls, and everything else, determined to gain my grandfather's approval and live the life he wanted.
I cut ties with all my friends.
In the first semester of my second year of high school, I was assigned to a different class from Myung-soo. While I was focused on my studies, Myung-soo's legs were shattered by the relentless violence of the delinquents.
Not long after, Myung-soo left school.
Lost in thought as I watched Myung-soo's figure grow distant, I returned to the emergency room.
The doctors and nurses were preparing to move my grandmother's bed to a hospital room.
"Student, we'll admit her to room 703. Can you go home and bring some undergarments and other things she might need?"
I held my grandmother's hand as she lay in bed, looking at me.
"Grandma, I'll be right back."
"What if you're too tired?"
"Don't worry. I'll be quick."
Leaving my grandmother, who was still worried about me, I registered at the administrative office and decided to pay the fees the next day. Outside the hospital, the sky had darkened.
The slum with poorly lit streets. I climbed the stairs with difficulty and arrived home.
In the room with no proper furniture, I found my grandmother's undergarments, socks, and some clothes to change into.
Seeing the box of my grandmother's undergarments, I shed tears.
And the few clothes my grandmother had.
It was completely different from the box of my own clothes and undergarments.
My grandmother, who had worked hard to earn money, bought clothes, undergarments, and shoes for me. Why didn't I realize it before?
I gathered a few decent undergarments and left the house.
Returning to the hospital, I opened the door to the room where my grandmother was admitted and entered.
The other patients in the same room looked at me all at once. Ignoring their gazes, I sat next to my grandmother's bed.
"Yeah. Is Grandma okay now?"
"Not really. Don't worry about me, go home."
I felt warmth from my grandmother's hand.
It was a great relief that I no longer felt the coldness that had been there when she collapsed.
I organized the things I brought from home next to her bed.
"I'll be back in a moment."
"Sure. Grab something to eat while you're out."
I went out of the room and climbed the stairs to the rooftop.
When I opened the door to the rooftop, a few people were smoking.
I sat in a small chair in a corner and began to slowly sort out what had happened to me.
'I don't know what the situation is, but I've returned to the past. I prevented my grandmother's death in 1990. Before she died, she contacted Chairman Cheon to prepare for her own death. Mr. Ha will probably come down again this time.'
As my thoughts became clearer, the anger and frustration I felt before I died surged up again.
Cheon Su-man and Cheon Su-han, the two brothers.
My mother's older brothers.
They had no ability but a lot of greed, and eventually joined hands with the Cheongpung Society to eliminate me.
And the Cheongpung Society...... a force that operates in the shadows of all power, violence, and wealth in South Korea. I don't know the exact number of members, but it's a group that has existed since the military dictatorship era.
Although the name has changed over time, its roots include the military dictatorship forces and the descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators.
'If I've returned here, I'll infiltrate their core and destroy them. I'll slowly take control of their lives and end them.'
I don't know if it's God, Buddha, or Allah, but perhaps the entity that sent me back wants this.
With a goal in mind, I decided to slowly formulate a detailed plan.
As I stood up to leave the rooftop, a man called out to me from behind.
I turned around, still holding the door handle, and looked at him.
"I'll pluck out your eyes. Come here."
"Who else would I be talking to? Who did I call? You're a funny guy."
"Hey, you bastard. Come here when I call you. You talk too much."
"Ha ha ha, bro. What are you doing with this kid?"
As I approached, his face became visible in the dim light of the cigarette.
I had seen this face somewhere before. Who is he?
A tattoo on his neck was faintly visible above his hospital gown.
"Young kids shouldn't smoke. You shouldn't smoke."
"Really? Then why did you climb up here?"
"I came to sort out my thoughts. If you're done, can I go down now?"
"......You're a brave one."
"Do you know me? I think it's the first time I'm meeting you."
"Ha ha ha. Shame on you!"
The guys next to him snickered, and the man glared at them.
"Ha ha ha. You're a funny kid. Nice to meet you, I'm Park Dong-soo."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Park Dong-soo. Can I go down now?"
On the surface, I remained calm, but the name Park Dong-soo immediately brought back memories.
Park Dong-soo, the deputy leader of the Saseong faction, one of the two major violent organizations controlling the Busan Jung District.
He will be arrested during the upcoming war on crime and sentenced to life in prison, taking the blame for all the crimes of the leader, Lee Sa-seong.
"Ha ha ha! What school do you go to?"
"I'm a first-year at Dongseong High School. My grandmother is admitted, so can I go down now?"
"Sure, sure. See you next time."
I nodded and turned around.
Early in the morning, Myung-soo came to the hospital.
"Hey! Aren't you going to school?"
"I am. What brings you here so early?"
"Are you really Mu-hyuk? Why are you speaking in Seoul dialect and acting weird?"
"Stop it. What brings you here?"
Myung-soo took an envelope out of his bag and handed it to me.
"It's 500,000 won. I borrowed it from my dad. It's for the hospital fees and my grandmother's medicine."
I alternated my gaze between Myung-soo's face and the envelope of money.
"What? You'll pay it back. I'm lending it to you, not giving it."
"Thanks. I should refuse, but I don't have the luxury. I'll definitely pay it back."
He finally smiled as I took the envelope.
"Let's go to school. Have you eaten?"
"Let me see my grandmother eat first."
After helping my grandmother with her breakfast, I went to school with Myung-soo.
When we arrived at school, the office called me. It was the homeroom teacher who answered my call yesterday, known among the students as 'Viper.'
"She's fine. Thanks to you, she's out of danger."
"Hey, if something like this happens, you should tell me right away."
"Alright. Do you have the hospital fees?"
"Yes, Myung-soo's dad helped."
"Good. If something happens, let me know right away."
"Go. Prepare for class and don't cause any trouble."
I opened the back door of the 1st-year 8th-classroom, and the noisy classroom suddenly became quiet.
I sat at my seat by the window at the back, and Myung-soo ran over.
"Hey! What did Viper say?"
"He asked if my grandmother is okay."
"Damn, he's pretending to be nice. If you knew how much he takes from our dads, you'd be shocked."
"Shut up. Focus on your studies."
The classroom, which had become noisy again, fell silent. Everyone was looking at me curiously.
"Who are you? Where's Mu-hyuk?"
Myung-soo, with a strange expression, grabbed my head and shook it.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"You're crazy. Why are the kids looking at me like this?"
"......Are you okay? You've been acting weird since yesterday."
I had forgotten over the 30 years. Before meeting the Old Man, how much of a delinquent I was.
As the homeroom teacher, Viper, entered, the noisy classroom became as quiet as a temple in a forest.
"Next week is the exam, right? If your average score drops, 10 swats per point. Don't forget."
"And, don't get caught smoking. If you do, you're really in trouble."
I couldn't believe I would have an exam right after returning.
I looked at the blackboard with a sense of helplessness.
As soon as school ended, I returned to the hospital. I went to the administrative office to pay for the tests and then went up to see my grandmother.
My grandmother, lying in bed, greeted me.
"You're busy with your studies, you don't have to keep coming to the hospital."
"I come because I want to."
"My child...... When did you grow up so much?"
Tears welled up in my grandmother's eyes.
I left the room and went up to the rooftop. I felt the gap between the 48-year-old me and the 17-year-old me.
As I looked outside and tried to compose myself, someone called out to me from behind.
"Hey! You there, student."
I turned around to see a familiar face smiling at me.
"Do you smoke? Be honest."
This guy is really persistent.
"I do, but not in the hospital."
"Right? I could smell the cigarette on you, stranger."
"Hmm, did you come to visit your grandmother after school?"
"You're a good grandson. How did such a good kid come from a slum? Can you fight?"
Park Dong-soo chuckled, and the big guy next to him snickered.
"Ha ha ha. Look at my brother, he's flustered. You can fight!"
Their bickering didn't seem like that of gangsters.
I remembered an article I read about the lineage of Korean organized crime.
'He took good care of his younger brothers......'
Even during his life sentence, his younger brothers continued to support him.
"This kid is funny. What's your name?"
"Kim Mu-hyuk? That's a good name."
"Did you hear my name yesterday? If the big guys bother you, use my name. Since we met, let's be friends."
I continued the conversation, which felt increasingly familiar.
'......He might be useful.'
I thought he could be useful in dealing with the Cheongpung Society's henchmen.
"Sure, sure. See you next time. Dong-sang."
"......I'm a bit too old to be called a younger brother."
"Ha ha ha ha! You're funny. Am I scary?"
"Why would I be scared? You're like an uncle from the neighborhood."
"Ha ha ha! Right, an uncle from the neighborhood."
I said goodbye and went down to the first floor.
I was so distracted by Park Dong-soo that I couldn't even sort out my thoughts. I sat on a bench where no one was.
'The exam is next week......'
As I was thinking about the future, a shadow fell over my feet.
A familiar face was smiling at me.