Episode 62

When I arrived at the classroom where Choi's daughter was, I was faced with a rather unexpected situation.

A girl wearing a school uniform with the name tag 'Kang So-hee' was bullying Choi's daughter.

I immediately flung open the classroom door and rushed inside before things got any worse.

But Choi's daughter, Choi Soo-bin, didn't even seem to notice Kang So-hee's hand gripping her shoulder; she was just staring blankly in my direction.

"Ah... Dad?"

"Yeah, it's Dad."

"Didn't you say you couldn't come?"

"The young master here pulled some strings. I rushed over so I didn't have time to call, I'm sorry."

Choi approached his daughter with a limp in his step.

"Student."

Then, he gently addressed Kang So-hee.

"It seems like you had a disagreement with our daughter. Why don't you let go of her shoulder and talk it out calmly?"

Kang So-hee, momentarily intimidated by the appearance of a strange adult, released her grip and stepped back.

"...Your father?"

"Yes, he is."

Choi Soo-bin nodded confidently.

"My dad."

There was something in her proud voice that made my own heart swell.

Choi, the person in question, stood there speechless, his throat seemingly choked with emotion.

"Ha."

As if pouring cold water on the heartwarming moment, Kang So-hee sneered.

"I see, I see."

Her tone was filled with malice.

"He's even a cripple? He's probably just a kitchen assistant at some restaurant, or a taxi driver at best. Yeah, no wonder he couldn't come."

"...What did you just say?"

"What would he even do if he came? You'd be the one who'd be embarrassed and ask him not to come. Pfft."

Kang So-hee spat out her cruel words.

Putting aside the matter of Choi, I found her attitude of looking down on people with physical disabilities and specific jobs extremely offensive.

It was hard to believe that those words were coming from the mouth of a mere nineteen-year-old girl, and not from an adult who had solidified their distorted life path over decades.

'Hmm, what should I do?'

I could step in, but this was Choi's daughter's school.

I couldn't risk causing them harm by intervening rashly. I glanced at Choi.

"..."

Choi also seemed troubled.

He had just heard some very insulting words to his face, but he was hesitant to respond, considering that he was inside his daughter's school.

Choi's honor and pride weren't so fragile that a few words from a high school student could damage them.

But the wounds inflicted on a child's heart were irreversible.

As I was gauging Choi's reaction, Choi was carefully choosing his words, looking at Choi Soo-bin with the utmost caution.

It was then, as the two adults were just observing, that Choi Soo-bin suddenly stood up.

"Huh? What do you think you're doing..."

She picked up the coffee cup she had placed on the desk next to her before Kang So-hee had started harassing her.

The cup, half-filled with iced coffee, had the logo of a well-known brand that I was also familiar with.

"You, you..."

Choi Soo-bin held it up high, and then turned it upside down directly over Kang So-hee's head.

"What, kyaaa!"

The cold, sticky coffee poured onto Kang So-hee.

Her hair instantly became like that of a drowned rat, and the pure white cardigan she was wearing over her uniform was completely stained brown.

It was as if she was exposing that the color of her heart was stained with such filth and ugliness.

'She seemed so quiet. She's got quite the fiery side.'

Was this what they called inner strength?

It might not have been the most appropriate response, but I honestly wanted to applaud Choi Soo-bin's attitude of not being intimidated at all and staring directly at Kang So-hee.

"You crazy bitch. Do you know how much this cost...!"

Kang So-hee, who had been speechless from shock, finally started screaming.

"...Pay for it. What if this doesn't come off? Take responsibility, take responsibility!"

Then, she reached out to grab Choi Soo-bin by the collar.

"Um, excuse me for a moment."

At that moment, I stepped between the two of them and blocked Kang So-hee.

"...Who are you?"

'Oh, she's not even using honorifics now.'

The reason I had been observing the situation was because I was worried that my meddling might make things worse.

But now that his daughter had already thrown coffee on her, the problem had already occurred.

If that was the case, it couldn't get much worse if an outsider stepped in and tried to resolve the situation.

"Mr. Choi."

Instead of answering Kang So-hee, I called out to Choi.

"Did I happen to give you your bonus for this month yet?"

"Y, yes?"

Choi looked bewildered at the sudden question.

It was only natural. Strictly speaking, his employer was Park Geon, and his salary came from Park Geon's personal account.

Choi had never received any kind of payment from me, let alone a bonus.

But when I winked at him from an angle that Kang So-hee couldn't see, he seemed to understand and nodded in agreement.

"Not yet, young master."

"I see. Then... let's settle it with this."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a wad of cash.

This was money that I had stashed away as an emergency fund when I had first transmigrated, in case Park Geon ever cut off his support for his delinquent son.

I always carried it with me so that I could use it even if I was kicked out of the house overnight.

I held up the wad of fifty-thousand-won bills, which looked to be worth several million won, and threw it at Kang So-hee.

Kang So-hee, who had been absentmindedly holding it, opened her eyes wide.

"I heard that was expensive, right? I don't know much about girls' clothes. Is this not enough?"

Then, I pulled out another wad and held it out towards her.

"Go buy yourself something new."

I added, as if driving a wedge.

"Don't bother me with such 'pocket change'."

Kang So-hee stared at me with her mouth agape.

"Wh, what is it? Who are you to have so much money..."

"Me? I'm this man's employer."

I gestured respectfully towards Choi.

"And don't be so surprised. Even if it was ten times that amount, it would still be less than Mr. Choi's salary."

"Wh, what are you saying...?"

Being the employer was a lie, but the part about the salary was a truthful statement without even a hint of distortion.

From the beginning, Choi wasn't just a simple driver.

He was a trusted confidant whom the owner of the Yu Seong Group relied on as his right-hand man, and he was receiving a salary that surpassed that of most corporate executives.

Choi, who habitually underestimated himself and called himself talentless, would never have been kept by Park Geon if he was truly incompetent.

His frugality was due to his humble nature, not because he couldn't afford to spend money.

"Wh, what..."

Kang So-hee's face turned red.

While poverty of the heart couldn't be filled with anything, material wealth could easily be defeated by even greater wealth.

I was intentionally acting like a nouveau riche to make this young girl learn that, and hopefully change her heart.

'Well, if she's rotten to the core, then I can't do anything about that...'

That was something that I couldn't control.

Kang So-hee was trembling as if she didn't know what to do with the wad of cash in her hands.

If she accepted it, then her pride would be hurt, but it was too big of an amount to reject.

Kang So-hee wasn't the daughter of a tycoon or a wealthy landowner.

Of course, she was from a well-off and affluent family, but from the moment she had bragged about the price of the clothes she was wearing, it was clear that she wasn't a true heiress.

It wasn't money that an average child who received an allowance could ignore.

After agonizing, Kang So-hee finally bit her lip and shoved the money into her handbag.

'If she accepts it, then it's over.'

Now that the hierarchy between them in terms of their boasted financial power had been established, there was no way that she could hold onto her pride any longer.

Or so I thought.

"...Nouveau riche."

Kang So-hee spat out the word through her tightly clenched teeth, as if she was about to bleed.

"Don't think you've won with this. Judging by how you're always calling him 'young master,' you're probably just some son of a nouveau riche, but that's not money you earned yourself!"

'...You're saying that?'

"I, I'm different from someone like you who only has money from their parents."

Like a shipwreck survivor who was barely clinging to the shore, Kang So-hee was desperately searching for something to hold onto to protect her pride.

The patheticness of it made me curious. What would this girl use as a basis for her claim of superiority?

"Because I, I'm going to be a prosecutor someday."

But the words that came out of her mouth were too absurd.

"...Huh?"

"You, do you even know where this place is?"

"It's Seongmun High School, right?"

"That's right. Seongmun High. A school that's among the top five in the country for sending students to Korea University."

Kang So-hee smiled crookedly.

"And I'm one of the top ten students in that school."

"So?"

At this point, I couldn't help but lose my composure.

I was barely managing to suppress my laughter.

It was quite funny to hear her call herself a top student, but it was even more ridiculous that the career she was so proudly mentioning was that of a lawyer.

"With my grades at this school, I'm guaranteed to get into Korea University. It's a place where all the best kids gather, but with my abilities, I can surpass them all. And after that, I'm going to get into Korea University Law School."

"Ah, I see."

"I'm different from someone like you who's just flaunting money that you got from your parents, or someone who can only come to other people's high schools to brag about money. You'll have nothing left if you take that away, but I have the skills and a guaranteed future."

As she spoke, Kang So-hee gradually regained her confidence.

I was very familiar with this type of person.

Humans who couldn't bear the thought that they weren't 'above' others.

They were individuals who were covering themselves with overflowing arrogance, but in reality, their self-esteem was so weak that they were desperately clinging to the standards that others had set, to protect their pitiful souls.

"You nouveau riche types probably haven't ever tried to get anything by your own efforts. I'm different. Not only am I good at studying, but I've also won a ton of awards in national competitions, and I've been networking diligently, so I even have seniors I know at Korea University Law School. Look."

Then, Kang So-hee held out her smartphone.

The screen was filled with records boasting her achievements.

Grade reports that were plastered with top grades, and certificates of awards she had received in competitions.

As I looked at them with a look of interest, she became even more arrogant and scrolled through the screen.

'...Huh?'

But the 'senior she knew' that she was bragging about was someone whose face I knew very well.

'That's Han Seol, isn't it?'