I’d Rather Live as a Villain

I’d Rather Live as a Villain – Part 6

(I didn’t have the confidence to do so against my mother)

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

How can I not worry?

Custody and parental rights?

It’s not even about custody or parental rights.

Just the second generation.

The second generation was never part of the discussion before.

“I’m most concerned about this right now.”

The executive waved his hand as if to say there was absolutely no need.

“I left work a bit early yesterday after getting a call from Grandpa, you know.”

“Yes.”

“Grandpa was saying yesterday. In the old days, by this age, one would have at least two kids, even if they were still in elementary school. Since marriage has been delayed, he said to hold the wedding soon and quickly have children.”

I truly couldn’t grasp what kind of expression I should be making in this situation.

“It’s an inevitable worry from our family’s perspective. Thirty-four. It’s not a young age. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t worried about that aspect too.”

I glanced at the last clause of the contract once again.

That’s when the executive spoke to me.

“But the problem is, I don’t have the luxury to do that right now. So, there’s no reason for Deputy Director Yoon to worry about that clause. Grandpa said to get a promise in advance, just in case.”

“What kind of promise?”

“In case we marry and then separate, to ensure that issues concerning the children’s custody or parental rights don’t cause any messy scandals that could damage the company’s image.”

Was this contract, as I originally understood it, supposed to be a secret agreement just between the executive and me? Why include such a clause in a contract that only the two of us are supposed to know about?

“Ah, I just threw in whatever came to mind into the clauses. And that last clause was added yesterday. Why? Should I remove it?”

“No, it’s not that. I was just asking because I wondered if this clause would bring such… responsibility onto me.”

It was when I was about to fill in the blanks, pen cap in hand, that the executive asked me.

“Why? If you had to take on such responsibility, would you want to act as if this contract never existed?”

“Now that it’s come to this?”

“So, would you?”

The bridge had already been crossed.

The Chairman, the President, and even Team Leader Son Jeong-hyun.

Even with my transfer order already dropped.

How could I, who will have nowhere to go to work from tomorrow, pretend the contract offering me 50 billion won never existed?

“We should change the contents of the contract a bit.”

“How? By increasing the amount under the guise of alimony, custody, and parental rights?”

No, that’s not it.

“Even if I give up custody and parental rights, let’s add a clause that sets rules so I can see the child on designated days.”

“…”

“What sin does the child bear? Living only with their mother, without a father. That’s really not good. I know because I’ve been through it. But I won’t worry about this part… as you said, Executive.”

“…Right. It’s a part you don’t need to worry about.”

There and then, the executive and I filled in the blanks and bound two copies of the contract side by side, completing the joint certification.

Side by side, we stamped our contracts with the executive’s lipstick, using it as ink, and each took a copy.

The promised 5 billion won was deposited into my account on the spot.

5 billion won.

The executive, nonchalantly transferring such a massive sum as if it were a mere 50,000 won, urged me to check my account, as if it was no big deal.

A whirlwind of thoughts engulfed me.

Could there be a zero missing from the 5 billion? I checked twice, and even though the number was correct, it felt so surreal, like a dream.

This is it, my life’s game is over!

I’ve hit the jackpot!

One would expect a surge of excitement, but instead, I found myself becoming calmer, more rational.

It was a strange sensation.

I thought having 5 billion won in my account would feel like owning the world, but instead, it brought an identity crisis… such was the feeling.

Two days later, I went down to Daejeon to see my mother.

In the car heading to Daejeon.

My resolve was clear, but the path from where I stood to the decision I had made seemed blurred.

How should I unfold this story of marriage to my mother?

Indeed, that was the case.

A contractual marriage for 10 billion won?

Selling myself?

Leaving a trace in the family registry?

I’d do it for 3 billion, even 2 billion.

Is there a reason not to?

Realistically, the economic value the world assigns to me isn’t even close to 10 billion, let alone 3 or 2 billion.

The money I’ve toiled and saved for eight years amounts to 200 million won.

200 million and 900 thousand won.

It wouldn’t have mattered if it wasn’t the executive; I would have accepted the same offer from anyone else.

I was honest with myself.

I had the confidence to be proud.

Haven’t I done my best?

I’ve strived to earn recognition within the company, to advance and succeed on my own merits.

What did I get in return?

The achievements I believed were in my line were snatched away by my direct superiors.

Those people, who said they needed to secure their positions first to quickly promote me, what did they do after climbing the ladder one step at a time with the projects I created?

Those trashy villains, who didn’t just spoon-feed on the proposals that a subordinate had slaved over for months without sleep but stamped their own names on them, have each ascended to deputy manager, manager, and even head of the department, drawing salaries in the hundreds of millions, and yet they live so brazenly. So why can’t I stand tall in front of the marriage I’ve chosen?

But…

But I was confident and proud of this decision I made, in front of everyone in the world, except for one person, my mother.

I decided to raise myself properly, to live boldly without being belittled anywhere, sacrificing everything you had, mother.

So, I made up my mind.

I would include my mother in the category of all the people in the world I would have to deceive with this marriage from now on.

As I vividly outlined the process that had only been blurry in my mind, I found myself standing in front of my mother’s kimbap shop.

***

“There are no customers, just sit back and watch TV…”

Peering into my mother’s shop through the glass front, I unwittingly muttered my dissatisfaction.

The economy is definitely not doing well.

Even though it’s almost closing time, normally there would be a couple of tables occupied by customers having a late dinner, but there’s not a single one.

My mother, tirelessly scrubbing the idle tables without a break, even when there are no customers.

How could someone as honest and incapable of deceiving others as her give birth to someone like me?

Just in case, I pulled down the black hat I brought.

Will she be fooled again?

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

The bell on the entrance door jingled as the shop door opened.

“Welcome.”

With the brim of my hat hiding my face, I took a seat at the table closest to the entrance.

“I’ll have a bean sprout ramen and a roll of kimbap, please.”

“Okay, just a moment. One bean sprout ramen, one roll of kimbap. Water and side dishes are self-service…”

Did she notice?

I can feel my mother approaching.

“Hey! Yoon Tae-sik!”

“Ah, it didn’t work.”

As expected, it didn’t work.

I’ve used it too many times.

He took off his hat and placed it aside as he rose from his seat.

“Wow… Mom, you can recognize your son’s voice now?”

“What, really? You’re not going to work tomorrow?”

“It’s my day off.”

“Day off? Tomorrow’s not a holiday.”

“When has your son ever taken a holiday off?”

“But how did you get here?”

He fetched a glass of water from the dispenser, set it on the table, and told his mother,

“How did I get here? What do you mean? I drove, of course.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to see Mom. Does a son need a reason to visit his mother?”

“Are you really doing this knowingly, or are you trying to tease me? You’re not going to work tomorrow?”

“I told you, I’m off tomorrow.”

And so, he begins another lie to the world’s most easily deceived mother.

“I was really busy last week. The director’s schedule was so tight. But during one of the director’s events, I almost accidentally struck gold with a huge achievement.”

“What?”

“Would you understand if I told you? Just think of it as if I caught a rat by backing up like a cow, and it turned out to be a decent performance that helped the director. I’ve been running around all week, and the results were good, so the director gave me a day off tomorrow to make up for the weekend.”

The great thing about working for a conglomerate is that no matter what I say, Mom believes it because she doesn’t know any better.

In the empty store, I persuaded Mom to close up earlier than usual just for today.

But Mom shook her head, saying that’s not how you run a business, whether there are customers or not.

“Can’t you do that much when your only son comes down at this hour because he misses his mom?”

“Why are you throwing a tantrum you never did when you were younger?”

Eventually, he played his trump card.

“I need to be congratulated by Mom today. I turned down everyone else’s requests for a celebration treat and came to Mom instead.”

“Promotion? You got promoted again?”

The fact that Mom reacted this way means she was quite surprised.

“I made it big this time.”

“How big?”

“Are we closing up, or what?”

Of course, neither he nor his mother usually speak in dialect.

I can use it, but if I do, it feels quite awkward, you know?

But sometimes, when I’m joking around with mom, I try my best to mimic my grandmother’s old way of speaking.

I managed to finish work an hour early.

Having not eaten dinner and rushed straight to Daejeon, I was quite hungry.

Just as mom said, I was craving the home-cooked meal she prepares, but I didn’t want to make someone who had been cooking all day stand in the kitchen again once home.

So, I ordered a whole chicken.

I wanted to order some bossam as well, but that would undoubtedly lead to leftovers, which mom would have to eat tomorrow.

I didn’t want that.

In the living room, I spread out a small table and drank beer with chicken alongside mom.

“You know, I haven’t mentioned it to you, but the president of the old company I used to work for has returned and asked me several times to work with him again.”

What I’m doing now is definitely not a lie.

Because it doesn’t hurt anyone.

What I’m doing now is not a lie, but my best effort.

The best effort to reassure mom and make her happy.

“That company is already huge, and their president?”

“I serve the executive director right by his side. I often get the chance to meet not only the president of that company but also other affiliate presidents.”

“Mom doesn’t know how such a big company operates.”

“Serving the executive director is an important job, but from the company’s overall perspective, it seems like a waste. This time, the big chairman told his son to go to that company, to help out the president there…”

“Mom still can’t believe that her son is actually meeting and talking with those high-profile people she only sees on TV.”

“What are you talking about? Whether it feels real or not, what does it matter? They’re all just people. When you see them in person, there’s nothing particularly impressive.”

“You must be so proud, my son? Mom is so happy to hear about your promotion, how much happier must you be? Congratulations. You’ve done well, my son.”

A sip of beer.

It seems insufficient with just one sip, so I take another.

“And mom.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“There’s something else I’ve been keeping from you…”

“What?”

“The truth is… there’s a girl I want to introduce to you.”

Mom’s cheeks puffed up with joy, a hundred times happier than the news of her son’s promotion.

“Who is sheeee?”

Wow, hold on.

Even though I’m acting with determination, why does revealing the identity of the executive to mom make me so nervous?

“Don’t be surprised, mom.”

“What’s there to be surprised about? I’m just so happy that my son has a girlfriend. How long has it been? Is she pretty?”

I just nodded once.

Executive Kang Moon-jung.

Honestly, even if you throw away her family background and specs, just her looks alone are beyond comparison.

“Do you have a photo together? If you do, show me.”

“No need for photos… You know her. She’s someone you know.”

“Mom knows her? Then, are you seeing Ji-yoon again, the girl you mentioned from college?”

“Mom. When was Ji-yoon? And why do you still remember her name?”

“She was the first girl you introduced to me, of course, I remember.”

“She’s been married off and already has two kids.”

“Then who else around you would I know?”

I steadied myself with another sip of beer.

“The executive.”

“…”

Mom dropped the chicken leg she was holding onto the chicken box with a thud!

She blinked several times and tilted her head, I turned away from her gaze and took another drink of beer.

“Who? Which executive?”

“Is there another executive I’ve told mom about?”

“Kang, Kang, Kang Moon-jung, the executive… that woman? The one you’re… attending to? Kang Ki-young’s granddaughter, Kang Moon-jung?”

“Yes.”

Silence lingered for quite a while.

I too was confused about how to develop the story from here to make mom believe.

But just then.

“The thing you said about wanting to introduce her to mom, it’s not just about bringing her home to meet mom, but you want to introduce her in the way mom quickly hoped for?”

“…Yes.”

“The two of you… like each other?”

Kang Moon-jung.

Not as Executive Kang Moon-jung, but just as the person Kang Moon-jung.

Obviously, he’s a great person.

What’s the use of saying it out loud?

Did I not see an aura around him when I first saw him at the company?

But Kang Moon-jung can never be just an ordinary person to me.

Right now, even this distance, brought closer by a contractual marriage with him, feels like a lie.