LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Father
“What on earth happened?”
Lee Si-hyun, looking serious, hurriedly asked as he arrived at the hospital ward in a university hospital in Chuncheon with his younger sibling.
At a glance, their father’s condition did not look good.
His head was wrapped in bandages, and there were bruises all over his face.
Meeting Si-hyun’s gaze, their father wore a stiff expression and snapped at their mother.
“No, I told you not to tell the kids, so why are you saying anything?”
“Then are you saying I shouldn’t tell them when the head of the household is injured?”
“Huh, seriously….”
How is Dad doing?”
Their younger sister, Ha-young, asked with a worried expression.
Their mother sighed and replied.
“Your father fell down the stairs while completely drunk. Thankfully, it wasn’t from a high place. Or else it could have been a serious issue. He lost consciousness from a concussion, but luckily a passerby called an ambulance, so he survived.”
“And how badly is he hurt?” Si-hyun inquired.
“Fortunately, they said it’s a mild concussion. But he hit his head against the sharp edge of the stairs when he fell, so he had to be stitched up with dozens of needles. When I rushed over after getting the call, his clothes were soaked in blood. It was incredibly alarming… sigh….”
“Honestly, making a big deal out of nothing.”
Their father spoke gruffly as if it didn’t matter to him.
Si-hyun had grown used to this blunt nature of his father.
But one troubling thought weighed on him.
It was the fact that his father had gotten drunk again.
Since his youth, their father had been a notorious drinker among acquaintances. He loved alcohol so much that he would drink after a meal and then again the next morning as a hangover remedy.
On days off, he would almost always have drinks. Even on workdays, he often drank too.
The only time he significantly cut down was when he was diagnosed with cirrhosis during a health checkup.
After the doctor warned him he needed to quit drinking to live longer, he resolutely decided to almost stop drinking entirely.
That was about ten years ago.
But now he had gotten drunk to the point of falling again?
Something must be bothering him.
“But Si-hyun, isn’t it time for you to be at work? How did you come here?”
Their mother looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Oh, I’m on leave for a week starting today.”
“A week? Can you really take that much time off?”
“I’m preparing for a promotion exam. Remember, I took about five days off last year too.”
“Is that so, huh.”
“What are you doing here when you have a promotion exam to study for? You should be studying.”
Their father interrupted.
“Don’t worry. I know most of the material, so I just need to review and jump into the exam. You don’t have to fret.”
“Be too nonchalant and you might fail. Don’t mind me and go study.”
“Yeah, Si-hyun, go back and study. It’s an important exam in your life. Don’t worry, Mom is here.”
Even their mother chimed in with similar sentiments.
Si-hyun reassured them with a smile, saying he was genuinely fine.
“I’ve come all this way, so how can I just leave? I’ll be here today. It’s really mostly stuff I know, so one day won’t affect me too much.”
“Eh, you’re so capable you’ll manage just fine. Big brother will be okay. Let’s focus on Dad’s health, okay? When do you think Dad can be discharged?” Ha-young asked.
“They said he still has a bit of a headache, so they need to monitor him. But luckily, the exam results showed nothing serious, so it doesn’t seem like he’ll be here long.”
“Thank goodness.”
“It’s really nothing serious, I say. You shouldn’t have bothered to contact me, making my busy children worry about such things.”
Their father scolded their mother again.
Si-hyun could read the discomfort on his father’s face. Of course, no patient feels good, but it seemed like there was more behind it.
“By the way, you guys haven’t eaten yet, right? You must be hungry. Go eat.”
“You should go have lunch with the kids too. You’re fine on your own, so you don’t need to be waited on. I’ll just take a short rest.”
As he said that, their father closed his eyes.
◈ ◈ ◈
The three of them had a simple meal at the hospital cafeteria.
“Father, is something wrong?” Si-hyun asked during their meal.
Ha-young nodded along, looking at their mother.
“Huh?”
“It feels like something’s up. It’s been nearly ten years since you’ve been drunk enough to fall like that.”
He had almost completely stopped drinking for his health, so the idea that he got wasted was indeed strange.
Ha-young seemed to share the same thought.
“Sigh….”
Their mother frowned deeply as she sighed.
It definitely seemed like something was going on.
Si-hyun didn’t rush her, waiting for her to gather the courage to speak up.
Ha-young quietly continued to play with her food.
After a moment of deliberation, their mother set her spoon aside and sipped cold water slowly before finally speaking.
“First, keep this a secret from your father.”
“What happened?”
“Huh, it’s something so infuriating that it’s hard to even say… your father got scammed and lost all his savings and retirement funds.”
“What?!”
“Mom, what do you mean?”
Si-hyun and Ha-young seemed to be in shock from the unexpected news.
Having seen so many scams in prison, the word “scam” had almost lost its impact on them, but hearing that their father had been scammed brought its weight crashing down.
“I don’t know the details either. I only heard a bit from your father… He seems to have invested in a newly started company through a friend’s introduction. They touted that if you invest 100,000 won, you’d receive 25,000 won weekly in dividends, and the more you invest, the bigger your profits will be. Sigh… So your father….”
Their mother continued explaining, sighing deeply.
It turned out that they had enticing promotional materials, including convincing photos and even an advertisement aired on cable, showcasing the company as having government support, leading thousands of investors to be duped nationwide.
And among those investors was their father.
At first, he received the dividends regularly, so he decided to invest even more.
However, it was a deceptive scheme designed to lure in more victims.
By the time he realized, he had already poured all his savings and retirement funds into it.
“….”
Si-hyun buried his head in his hands.
It was a classic multi-level marketing scam.
He had thought about how anyone could fall for such a scheme, being familiar with scams in prison, but never imagined his father would fall into it.
Ha-young, too, wore a ashen expression, unable to speak easily.
Si-hyun asked in a heavy tone.
“So what happened to the scammer? Did they escape abroad?”
The habits of scammers were predictable. Most are caught in this small country. That’s why they always attempt to flee abroad right after committing their crimes.
In fact, a report stated that nearly 500 scammers were on the run abroad and unable to be apprehended.
“They say the man who called himself the chairman has fled overseas. About ten of his minions have been caught, though….”
Their mother replied with a gloomy expression.
Si-hyun cursed inwardly.
Damn bastard.
It appeared the mastermind had escaped, leaving only the small fry to get caught.
Clearly, most of the scammed money had been taken abroad with that scoundrel.
That meant proper restitution was probably out of the question.
“Anyway, that’s why your father has been feeling so frustrated lately and is under a lot of stress. The reason he drank to the point of falling was because of that. And then this happened….”
Si-hyun downed a glass of water.
“So, does Dad and Mom have enough living expenses now?”
Farming in Yeongwol was merely a side gig for his parents, not a source of proper income.
If they had just lost their savings and retirement funds to scams, getting by would be tough.
“Well, your father is living off his national pension for now….”
“The national pension isn’t much, is it? Doesn’t it only provide a few hundred thousand won?”
“That’s true. But your father says he’ll look for a job soon. So don’t worry too much.”
“Wait, that money was saved so he could live comfortably in retirement! Are you saying he’ll have to go back to work again? I can help with living expenses if needed, so you can live off the pension and take care of yourselves.”
“Hey, don’t leave me out of this! Mom, my income is pretty decent too. I can help with living expenses, so tell Dad to take it easy and not work. His back and knees aren’t going to handle that.”
While their mother looked proudly at her children, she shook her head.
“I know you care, but… Your father would never accept money from you kids. He’s too proud, saying he doesn’t want you two to worry about his scam.”
Si-hyun understood his father’s pride all too well.
So he decided to take a step back for now.
“I won’t say anything today since Dad isn’t feeling well. But when he’s discharged, I’ll definitely persuade him.”