#31

At those piercing words, Jung Hosu’s long eyelashes trembled. I looked at his tense jaw for a moment before picking up the coffee cup on the table. I wanted to give him some time to think. Of course, I had already contacted the management support team and asked them to delay things a bit.

“……Bada is not sick.”

It was quite some time later, just as the coffee cup had emptied, that Jung Hosu finally spoke in a quiet voice.

“Bada is not sick.”

Even though I had already expected this answer, hearing it directly from his lips still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“My parents are just using Bada’s hospital bills as an excuse. The reason they came today is probably because they got greedy after realizing my income would increase. My parents…… they’re very greedy when it comes to money.”

As he spoke, Jung Hosu rubbed his face with his palm. He looked utterly exhausted, completely worn out. Seeing him like that, I couldn’t hold back the words that came to mind.

“Hosu-ssi. Reject the account change request.”

“I can’t. My parents would be disappointed.”

I was surprised by how quickly he refused. Staring at him with wide eyes, I saw him glance at me briefly, as if gauging my reaction, before lowering his gaze again.

“……I don’t want to disappoint my parents.”

Ah……

I let out a quiet sigh at the frail whisper that escaped from Jung Hosu’s lips.

To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t understand his way of thinking at all.

No matter how close a parent and child were, I believed there had to be clear boundaries when it came to financial matters. Unless the parents were incapable of making a living on their own, the idea of a child handing over all of their earnings was something I couldn’t even imagine.

I understood the desire to repay one’s parents for raising them and the wish not to disappoint them, but there had to be a reasonable limit.

Though I didn’t know much about Jung Hosu or his family situation, it was clear that his parents were exploiting him in a highly unjust way. And despite being fully aware of it, he remained silent because of his affection for them.

What on earth was I supposed to do about this……?

After contemplating for a moment, I organized my thoughts and slowly spoke.

“Hosu-ssi. Are your parents incapable of supporting themselves? Are they ill or anything?”

“No. They’re healthy.”

“What do your parents do for a living?”

“They run a shop. Somewhere in Gyeonggi Province……”

So they do have jobs, at least. I nodded before asking another question.

“Do your parents know exactly how much you earn?”

“Probably not.”

“That’s great. That works in our favor. Then let’s skim some off the top.”

“……What? Excuse me?”

At my words, Jung Hosu looked completely dumbfounded. I met his gaze with absolute confidence.

“Hosu-ssi, you already know that something is wrong with this situation, don’t you? But you’re doing nothing about it because you’re afraid of your parents’ reaction, right?”

“……”

“You’re going to be earning way more money than before anyway, so what’s the harm in keeping some of it for yourself? They probably won’t notice for a while.”

At my continued words, Jung Hosu stared at me as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Ignoring that look, I began to explain the plan I had come up with.

“We’ll tell your parents that you’re sending all of your earnings to your mother’s account, but in reality, you’ll only send a portion. The exact amount is up to you, but I’d personally recommend keeping it under 5% of your total income. To be honest, even 1% feels like too much, but if you send too little, they might become suspicious and start questioning you. The rest of the money should be managed by you directly.”

“Keeping it under 5%? That sounds too little……”

“Too little? No way.”

At my firm response, Jung Hosu looked confused. Seeing that expression, I realized—he had no idea how much money he had actually been earning all this time.

Yeah. There was no way someone like Lee Yongjun would bother explaining all that in detail. This damn game. This damn President Lee Yongjun.

I cursed him a thousand times in my head but still kept my composure as I got up from my seat and walked to my desk. I opened a drawer and pulled out a few documents, then placed them in front of Jung Hosu.

“Read these.”

Jung Hosu glanced at me briefly before picking up the documents and slowly reading through them. As he turned each page, his eyes grew wider, and his pupils trembled. The documents I had given him contained a detailed record of his earnings over the past five years as a member of Tartarus.

“Well? It’s more than enough, isn’t it?”

He didn’t answer my question. It wasn’t that he was ignoring me—it seemed more like he simply didn’t know how to respond. Jung Hosu buried his face in his hands and remained silent for a long time.

“I’ve…… made quite a lot of money.”

“Yes, you have. So if you go with the suggestion I made, your parents will be satisfied. Even if you only give them 5%…… no, just 3%, it would still be far more than what you’ve been giving them up until now.”

Haa…… A deep sigh escaped Jung Hosu’s lips. He rubbed his weary face with his hands a few times before slowly turning his gaze toward me.

“President.”

“Yes, Hosu-ssi?”

“Why are you giving me this advice?”

“Huh?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, I blinked at him. Jung Hosu’s expression was filled with mixed emotions as he continued.

“Most people, in a situation like this, would tell me that I’m doing something wrong, that I’m being a pushover, or that I should cut ties with my parents. But you’re different. You’re supporting my actions.”

“I didn’t realize suggesting you siphon off at least 95% of your income counted as support.”

There was a faint trace of amusement in my voice, and the corner of Jung Hosu’s lips twitched. Watching him struggle to suppress a smile, I continued speaking in a lighthearted tone.

“If I had said something like that, do you think you would have listened? If someone I had only known for less than ten days told me that, my first thought would be, ‘What do you know about my situation? You barely even know me’. Or maybe, ‘Do you think I don’t know that already? I know, but I just can’t do it.'”

“Sir, I……”

“If I meddle too much, it’ll only make you feel worse. This is, after all, an issue between you and your parents. It wouldn’t be right for me to interfere in your personal matters. The only thing I can do is offer some advice and a little help, within reasonable limits.”

As I kept talking, I started feeling a dryness in my throat. I instinctively reached for my coffee cup to take a sip, only to find it completely empty. Disappointed, I withdrew my hand. Then, I met Jung Hosu’s gaze—his eyes still filled with uncertainty.

Eyes filled with emotion were much better than those that looked lifeless and empty. Even if that emotion was confusion.

I wondered if I would ever get to see a more positive emotion reflected in those eyes. With that thought in mind, I spoke again.

“To be completely honest, I actually feel the same way as those other people. If it were up to me, I’d tell you not to give them any money at all. I’d tell you to handle this situation much more coldly. But that’s not what you want, is it? So I’m offering you the best option I can within the boundaries of your own wishes. It’s just a temporary fix, but for now, I believe it’s the best approach.”

As I spoke, Jung Hosu kept his eyes locked on mine, as if trying to read my innermost thoughts.

“What…… What do you think I should do?”

After a long moment of hesitation, he barely managed to force out the question. I simply shrugged. That wasn’t for me to decide.

“That’s up to you, Hosu-ssi. I already told you—the only thing I can do is give you some advice and a bit of help. This is your problem, so you have to be the one to choose how to handle it.”

“……”

“But there’s one thing you should keep in mind. The method I suggested is only a temporary solution. Even if you go through with it now, there will come a time when your parents start to find things suspicious. And when that time comes, you won’t be able to just keep deceiving them like this. You’ll have to face them and confront the issue head-on.”

Hearing my words, Jung Hosu looked at me with surprise. Seeing the faint shock on his face made me feel a bit sorry for him.

“……So you’re saying that if I choose the method you suggested, there will eventually come a day when I have to confront my parents about this?”

“Yes, that’s right. But even if you don’t choose my method, sooner or later, you’ll still have to face them.”

“Why? As long as I keep giving them what they want, there won’t be a problem.”