Father
“What happened?”
Si Hyun and his sister visited the local hospital in Chuncheon where his father was admitted and asked with a serious look.
Just from looking at him, he knew that his father was in a serious condition.
A bandage was wrapped around his head and there were bruises all over his face.
When his father’s eyes met with Si Hyun’s, his expression became stern and started scolding his mother.
“I told you not to tell the kids about this. Why did you tell them?”
“How am I supposed to stay quiet when the head of our household is hurt?”
“Oh jeez…”
“How’s father’s condition?”
Ha Young asked with a worried expression.
Their mother let out a sigh and answered.
“Your father fell down the stairs while drunk. It’s a relief that there weren’t a lot of stairs. Otherwise, it could’ve been serious. He suffered a concussion, but luckily, there was someone that passed by and they called for an ambulance.”
“So, how bad are his injuries?”
Si Hyun asked.
“Thankfully, it’s not a serious concussion. But, when he fell down the stairs, his head hit against the sharp corner, so they had to stitch it up. When I got the call, I quickly ran over here and when I saw his clothes covered in blood, my heart started pounding so fast…whew…”
“Stop making such a big deal out of it.”
His father spoke bluntly as if he wasn’t affected by it.
Si Hyun didn’t mind it much since his father was always like that.
But, there was one thing that made him worry.
His father started drinking again and to the point where he was completely drunk.
When he younger, he was known to be a heavy drinker among his friends. He loved drinking so much that after drinking alcohol with his meal, he would go out to drink and drink again in the morning.
When he didn’t have work, he would always be drinking with people. He also drank on days when he had to go to work.
The reason why his father didn’t drink as much as before was because the doctor told him that he had Cirrhosis.
The doctor told him that if he wanted to live long, he had to quit drinking, so his father made up his mind and almost stopped completely.
That was 10 years ago.
But he drank to the point where he got completely drunk?
He knew there was a reason for that.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work Si Hyun? How are you here?”
His mother asked with a curious expression.
“I’m on break for a week starting today.”
“A week? Is it okay to take a break for that long?”
“It’s because I’m studying for an exam. I used five days last year for it.”
“Did you?”
“Why are you here then? You should be studying.”
His father intercepted.
“It’s fine. I already know all the material, so I just need to review and go in to take the exam. You don’t have to worry.”
“You can fail if you get careless. Go study and don’t worry about me.”
“He’s right. Go back and study. It’s an important exam for you. I’ll be taking care of your father, so don’t worry.”
His mother commented.
Si Hyun’s expression told them that he was really okay with it.
“I’m already here so how can I just leave? I’ll stay here today. I really know all the material, so not studying for one day is fine.”
“Jeez, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.
Stop worrying about Si Hyun and just worry about getting better. When can father leave the hospital?”
Ha Young asked.
“He still has a headache, so they have to observe his progress. But there wasn’t anything serious on his test results, so he shouldn’t be staying here for long.”
“That’s a relief.”
“It’s really nothing. You bothered the kids with this when they’re busy with their own lives.”
His father scolded his mother again.
Si Hyun looked at his father and noticed that he wasn’t in the best of moods. Of course no patient would feel great about being in a hospital, but it seemed like his father had a different reason.
“You two haven’t eaten yet, right? I’m sure you’re hungry. Go eat.”
“You go eat lunch with the kids too. My hands and feet are fine, so I don’t need you to take care of me. I’m tired so I’m going to sleep.”
His father closed eyes right after.
The three of them visited the cafeteria that was inside the hospital.
“Did something happen to father?”
Si Hyun asked while eating.
Ha Young also nodded her head to his question and looked at their mother.
“Hm?”
“It seemed like something happened to him. He never drank that much in the last 10 years.”
For his health, he stopped drinking the alcohol he loved so much, but he drank to the point where he got completely drunk, so this was odd.
Ha Young probably thought that way too.
“Well…”
Their mother was deep in her thoughts and ended up releasing a deep sigh.
There was definitely something.
Si Hyun waited for his mother to say something instead of pressuring her for an answer.
Ha Young also sat there and waited.
Their mother placed the spoon down, drank some cold water and then spoke.
“Don’t tell your father I told you two about this.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It makes me mad just thinking about it…your father got scammed, so he lost his savings and severance pay.”
“What?”
“What do you mean?”
It seemed like Si Hyun and Ha Young were really shocked by this.
Since a lot of the prisoners that were in jail were scammers, he was never affect by the word, scam. But, after hearing that his father got tricked, he suddenly felt a heavy burden.
“I don’t know the details either. Your father explained vaguely…but it sounded like he invested in a new company that an acquaintance of him introduced him to. Basically, if he invested 100,000 won, the company will pay a dividend of 25,000 won. The more he invests, the more he’ll receive. So your father…”
His mother continued talking while letting out another sigh.
There will be Chinese investors and the government is going to support it.
With that information, they also showed pictures, presentations and even played commercials that played on cable television. Because of that, over 1000s of people fell for it.
And his father just happened to be part of that group.
At first, they did receive some money.
That’s why they invested more.
However, it was their plan to receive more money.
When they realized that it was a scam later on, they had already spent their savings and severance pay.
“…..”
Si Hyun grabbed his head.
It was your typical company scam.
People even talked about this at the prison not that long ago and he thought no one would ever fall for that kind of scam, but his father did.
Ha Young was at a loss for words.
Si Hyun asked in a serious tone.
“So, what happened to the scammer? Did he leave the country?”
A scammer’s habit was typical. Korea was such a small country, that if they remained here, they would most likely get caught. That’s why, after they trick others, they do whatever they can to leave the country.
There was even an article that said close to 500 scammers left the country before the police could capture them.
“The guy who’s supposedly the president left the country. They managed to arrest over 10 of his ‘employees.”
His mother answered with a stern expression.
Si Hyun cursed in his head.
Bastard.
It sounded like their lackeys were captured, not the main culprit.
He was sure that the main culprit took most of the money and fled out of the country.
In this case, getting compensated was impossible.
“Anyways, because of that, your father has been angry and getting really stressed. That’s the reason why he drank until he got drunk. In the end…”
Si Hyun gulped down his water.
“Do you guys at least have money to live off of?”
They get some money from the farming work they do in Youngwol, but it wasn’t enough to call it an income.
If they really used all of their savings and pay, then it’ll be hard for them to obtain money to live off of.
“We’ve been using your father’s National Pension Plan…”
“But, you don’t get a lot from that. Don’t you only get a few hundred thousand won?”
“That’s true, but your father said he’s going to look for work soon. Don’t worry too much.”
“But, you guys worked so hard to save that money so that you could live a comfortable, retired life. I’ll send you allowance money, so use that along with the money you receive from father’s pension plan and recover.”
“Si Hyun, why are you leaving me out? Mom, I’m getting paid pretty well. I’ll also send some money, so tell dad not to get a job. He has back and knee problems, so he shouldn’t be working.”
Their mother looked at them proudly, but shook her head.
“I understand how you guys feel, but do you think your father is the type to receive money from his kids? He told me not to tell you guys because he was embarrassed about getting scammed. You guys should know, right?”
Si Hyun knew his father’s personality all too well.
So he decided not to pressure her about it right now.
“Since father’s condition isn’t that great, I won’t say anything today. But once he leaves the hospital, I’ll convince him no matter what.”