Episode 33
Before arriving at the orphanage, Jonghyeon handed a card to Secretary Jang and said,
“Please place delivery orders for all the food nearby that the children might like.”
But Secretary Jang—who knew what kind of master he had served before—spoke to Jonghyeon as if he were rather more adept in this area.
“Rather than that, sir, how about calling in some food trucks?”
Food trucks?
Jonghyeon had never even considered it. The only meal truck he had ever laid eyes on was the food support truck that had come for school meals in his childhood.
“Food trucks? Are those better? At any rate, you’ll need to prepare at least about two hundred servings. I’m counting on you.”
Secretary Jang quickly moved off somewhere, and Jonghyeon gradually walked toward the front of the orphanage.
‘But I forgot to ask how much it costs. Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s not even my card.’
The card Jonghyeon had received was under Chairman Lee’s name. A card given to him to buy gifts for the orphanage.
He hadn’t asked exactly how much was on it because it seemed rude, but Chairman Lee was surely no ordinary man in his generosity.
Well. The card should be enough.
Thinking so, Jonghyeon walked inside the orphanage, and his eyes went wide.
‘What on earth is going on here?’
Chairman Lee hadn’t just restored the orphanage; he had practically built a palace.
Hidden by the outer wall, four five-story villas had risen inside the grounds. Not only that, but it seemed he had purchased the parkland in the back, building a soccer field and exercise facilities as a matter of course, and the main orphanage building itself had become incomparably cleaner than before.
The director, apparently having received word that Jonghyeon was coming, had already come out to greet him.
“A very important guest of our orphanage has arrived. Haha.”
The director spoke to Jonghyeon with a hearty laugh.
“Please, speak comfortably. I haven’t done a thing.”
Jonghyeon accepted the director’s handshake with an awkward expression.
“Not at all. V Group has decided to fully cooperate with our orphanage. From the children’s schooling to private academies for those who study well. They’ve decided to support the children in many areas according to their talents. What kind of magic did you work, my boy?”
The director’s questions poured out as if he had been wanting to ask Jonghyeon all along.
“Let’s go inside and talk. It’s getting cold out.”
Jonghyeon and the director sat in the reception room and talked about many things.
How he had become strong. How he had taken revenge. The reason Chairman Lee had become a sponsor, and so on.
Minus the fact that he had picked up a watch, he told the director everything, and only then did the director understand.
“You didn’t have to carry this burden alone. Still, thank you. For growing up so splendidly.”
Seeing the director speak with tears in his eyes, Jonghyeon could see how much the man had worried about him all this time.
“Please don’t worry. Nothing like this will ever happen again. I have become far stronger than you can imagine.”
At Jonghyeon’s words laden with a smile, the director seemed unable to get his words out properly, nodding his head repeatedly.
“By the way, have you eaten? I didn’t have any particular gift to give, so I brought food.”
Just as the director was wondering what Jonghyeon meant, seeing that he was clearly empty-handed, a loud truck noise was heard from outside.
At the sound of the trucks, everyone at the orphanage—teachers and students alike—came outside to stare.
There were as many as three food trucks with “V Food” written on them.
Soon the side doors of the food trucks opened, and the children began to cheer.
The food trucks were loaded with plenty of food the children loved—pizza, chicken, hamburgers, meat, and so on.
It would have been stranger if there were a child who didn’t cheer at that.
“Waaaah!”
The children ran toward the food trucks, and the director and teachers lined them up, saying,
“The older brother over there. He’s a brother who grew up in this orphanage. He brought these trucks to give you all a gift! Everyone, applause!”
At one teacher’s words, the children began clapping for Jonghyeon all at once. Jonghyeon was so embarrassed he didn’t know what to do with himself; he wanted to hide somewhere, yet strangely, this feeling was also thrilling.
Watching the children eat with delight, Jonghyeon felt incredibly proud.
“Thank you!”
Each time the children received their food and thanked Jonghyeon before leaving, he patted their heads.
‘I should come often from now on. To think they’d like it this much.’
Yet inwardly, Jonghyeon worried about the cost on the card. Calling three trucks of this sort—he wondered if even the generous Chairman Lee might feel the burden.
Secretly calling Secretary Jang over, Jonghyeon subtly asked about the card bill.
“Secretary Jang. Did the bill come out high?”
“Pardon...?”
As if he had never expected this man to ask such a thing, Secretary Jang adjusted his glasses and spoke.
“Since it was for the children to eat, I judged there was no need to spare on cost and recruited only the finest chefs. It came to approximately three hundred million won.”
In that moment, a massive earthquake struck Jonghyeon’s pupils.
Th-that’s a hundred million per truck?
Even if they were large food trucks, a hundred million each...
“D-did it actually go through?”
Jonghyeon asked cautiously. Even if it was Chairman Lee’s card, three hundred million won at once... and it wasn’t even the black card from before, but a normal one.
“Hmm. It is not my place to evaluate my other employer, but I understand that with this card, at least one billion won can be paid in a lump sum. So I called them thinking it was a reasonable and appropriate price. Is there a problem? If so, I will correct it immediately.”
Jonghyeon had nothing to say.
‘Am I dreaming right now?’
Even though he knew it was pointless, Jonghyeon began doing the math.
‘A meal costing one and a half million won per serving. I’ve never even imagined such a thing.’
The most expensive meal he had ever eaten was a five-star hotel’s Set A. It had cost around two hundred thousand won.
He had eaten that while splurging, yet one and a half million per meal...
He didn’t feel it was a waste at all, but the situation felt so unreal that a hollow laugh escaped him.
“Haha. Hahaha...”
The secretary looked at Jonghyeon with an unreadable gaze.
And so, the day at the orphanage passed.
Declining the director’s offer to treat him to dinner, Jonghyeon turned his steps toward Chairman Lee’s residence.
Before he left, the children gathered at the orphanage entrance as a group to see him off.
“Thank you, Mister!”
“Thank you, Hyung! Come again!”
Receiving the children’s send-off mixed with cheers, Jonghyeon waved his hand from inside the car in reply.
After Jonghyeon left, the teachers began chatting among themselves.
“We knew he was successful, but to this extent? It’s truly amazing.”
“Who’s saying otherwise, Teacher Lee? At this level, isn’t he practically on par with a major corporation chairman?”
“Who knows? Maybe he was the hidden son of a chairman.”
Watching the teachers gossip, clueless about Jonghyeon’s true circumstances, the director sent the children and teachers back to their places.
The sun was setting.
* * *
“So in the end, I have to go to court.”
A detailed plan had arrived from the NIS. It had an exact name, but Jonghyeon and Chairman Lee had decided to call it the NIS for convenience.
“Yes. The court will declare you not guilty. In return, they will demand an explanation for this situation. Then you simply need to do an interview with some appropriate embellishment. Here are anticipated questions and answers for the interview, so use them as a reference.”
Jonghyeon received the stack of documents from Chairman Lee and returned to his quarters.
The moment he read the documents, he burst into laughter.
Q. Ranker Ryu Jonghyeon, how were you able to become so strong?
A. Thanks to the state’s full support, I was able to become strong.
Q. Ranker Ryu Jonghyeon, how did you come up with the idea of destroying the Red Rose Guild?
A. I simply could not tolerate those who threatened the nation, so I carried out the deed at great personal risk. I have always respected independence activists, so I thought I was acting as they did.
‘This is a complete comedy.’
The so-called Q&A was pretty much at this level. At the same time, Jonghyeon felt a bit angry.
An unofficial fixer, yet they had dumped vague dungeons on him at cheap prices whenever they pleased. And now, “for the nation”?
Rather than feeling wronged, he was dumbfounded. That was the exact expression. All the “national support” he had ever received was staying at the orphanage until he was fifteen.
Even that had been cut off, and while supporting himself, he was also keeping the orphanage running.
Tossing aside the paper stack that only drew sighs, Jonghyeon suddenly felt like taking a walk for the first time in a while.
Since the wind was cold, he threw on some appropriate clothing and began walking along the trail.
‘It reminds me of when I first came to this mansion. Quite a lot of leaves have already fallen, haven’t they?’
Thinking such thoughts, he arrived at the lake and saw a girl sitting on a bench.
It was Bori.
“Miss Bori, what are you doing here?”
“Hello, Mister Jonghyeon.”
Bori seemed somewhat dejected.
“Is something the matter? You don’t look well.”
At Jonghyeon’s question, Bori suddenly looked at him and spoke.
“Can you please stop calling me Miss? It’s unbearably uncomfortable. You’re not even my father’s bodyguard, so why do you treat me so formally?”
Bori’s sulky question was an answer Jonghyeon had never expected.
“Ah, well... I... That is... Understood. Miss Bori.”
“Drop the ‘Miss’ too! Just speak comfortably, please! Do I make you uncomfortable too, Mister Jonghyeon?”
Jonghyeon had no idea what had gotten into this girl. But it was quite fascinating that this girl, who was like a little sister to him, was pointing out things he hadn’t even figured out for himself.
“Fine. If you drop the ‘mister,’ I’ll do the same. This is quite awkward.”
Bori looked back at the lake at the sight of Jonghyeon scratching his head awkwardly.
“More importantly, is something really wrong? You’re not acting like yourself.”
Jonghyeon had never seen Bori so dejected, and the situation was very awkward. At the same time, he blamed himself for being in this situation.
Why did I have to go for a walk?
Bori seemed to hesitate for a moment, saying nothing for a while.
But soon she let out a sigh and opened her mouth.
“The children found out I’m the daughter of V Group. They act like it doesn’t matter, but I feel like a wall has formed between us now. *Sigh.* They have this look like, why do you do this?”
Honestly, Jonghyeon had wondered the same thing, but he swallowed his words. Thinking that from this girl’s perspective, such things could indeed be a problem, he began searching for words of comfort.
And he opened his mouth without thinking.
“Don’t you think there’s no need to worry about such things? The most important thing in the world isn’t other people’s gazes, but your own happiness. Frankly, what meaning is there in living for others? Their gazes? Don’t mind them. The stronger you become, the more jealousy you attract. Deep down, they’re probably just envious.”
Jonghyeon had spoken without properly realizing what he was saying, but his words brought considerable comfort to Bori.
“Is that really true? Then I suppose it’s rather a relief. Thank you. I feel a bit better thanks to you! Then I’ll go back to training! Thank you, Jonghyeon-oppa!”
Jonghyeon-oppa! Jonghyeon-oppa! Jonghyeon... oppa...!
The word “oppa” echoed in his ears. Aside from the younger siblings at the orphanage during his childhood, Jonghyeon had never heard anyone call him “oppa.”
It had been roughly ten years since he had heard the word.
He didn’t have an old-looking face, but his fierce eyes had always, regrettably, prevented him from hearing that word.
Suddenly grinning like a fool, Jonghyeon began heading back to the main building.
“Hahaha. Oppa... Hahahaha!”
And so, the next day.
Jonghyeon stood before the court.
“Defendant Ryu Jonghyeon, do you admit to the fact that you inflicted lethal attacks upon the Red Rose Guild, resulting in loss of life?”
The judge asked heavily. The interior was solemn, yet everyone seemed to be watching Jonghyeon’s reaction.
What would that man say? Jonghyeon’s background information had already been made public to some extent. Public opinion was already loud with the sentiment that Jonghyeon’s value as a talent had to be considered.
A single man who held all of South Korea’s spotlight stood before the court.
Even the faintest sounds rang loud. Finally, within the courtroom, only the sound of a clock’s second hand ticking and quiet breathing could be heard.
Soon, Jonghyeon slowly opened his mouth.
---------= Author's Afterword ---------=
Come to think of it, Jonghyeon the lifelong single is actually pretty good with women, isn’t he...