[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 150

Father's study.

To be honest, I didn't know that much about this space.

The reason for this is not only that I haven't been here long since moving in, but also, more than anything, I had never been to my father's study even when I lived at the previous house.

It's not like there was a direct ban on entering the study.

However, apart from the physical space of the house, there was a strange atmosphere at the entrance to the room, designated as my father's study, that made it difficult to enter carelessly.

“……”

A heavy silence falls.

A weight I wouldn't have felt normally.

Yes, now I am here not as my father's child, but as a borrower seeking a loan.

So this heavy atmosphere was, in a way, natural.

“Oh, Yujin.”

Slowly, slowly.

My father's face, hidden in the shadows of the bookshelves, appears.

His mouth, which always wore a gentle smile, was tightly closed.

And very slowly, his tightly closed lips parted.

“I watched your broadcast.”

“Ke-luh! Ke-luh!”

“…Are you okay? Are you sick? Hurry, to the hospital─”

“I-I'm fine.”

‘…He saw it?’

So that…

‘Getting scared and screaming at a ghost, panting and trying to get the moon balloon, and then dancing… Really?’

Really, truly, he saw it?

Family, no less?

And my father at that?

‘…Should I just die?’

The shock was so great that I seriously considered giving up the new life I had barely obtained.

I feel it now, the sensation of how a single word can kill a person.

‘I… he probably just saw a little bit. Yeah, that's probably it.’

How many hours have I been broadcasting, and would a busy person even watch it?

Of course, that doesn't make sense.

That's definitely what happened.

Wiiing─ The happy circuit in my head spins busily.

It was a kind of self-rationalization for survival.

Yes, this never happened.

Let's just think that way.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes, I’m really okay.”

Honestly, I'm not okay in another way… but I can't say anything unnecessary.

“Okay. Then sit down. You have something to say, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

Following my father's gesture, I sat on the chair next to the large, oval table in the study.

It's like a conference room.

“You came because of the promise, right?”

“Yes, that's right.”

“You collected 100 million won, right?”

Even though it was a question I expected, I couldn't help but flinch.

The reason was simple.

“……No.”

In conclusion, I failed to make the 100 million won I promised my father.

[Number of moon balloons exchanged: 1,663,415]

[Exchange fee: -66,536,600 won]

[Total settlement amount: 99,804,900 won]

The number of moon balloons had long since surpassed 1 million, but the damn fee was the problem.

So, to get moon balloons to make up for the shortfall, I did everything I could, but with only two days left, it wasn't enough to make up the 12 million won.

Of course, someone might say that the shortfall is only about 200,000 won, but there was a major pitfall here.

‘If we deduct the 3.3% tax from the source... it's way short.’

The tax on the 3.3% withholding tax of the current settlement amount of 99,804,900 won is about 3,293,562 won.

In other words, my net settlement amount is about 96,511,338 won.

There may be a difference of 1 or 2 won in the calculation… but that difference is not enough to reach 100 million won.

So, from now on, I have to negotiate with my father.

“Alright, Yujin. 100 million won is not an easy amount of money to earn. You learned that this time, didn't you?”

“……Yes.”

“So 1 billion won……”

“Wait a moment.”

I cut off my father's words.

I couldn't let my father make a conclusion about our promise like this.

“I almost, almost got it all……”

“What do you mean?”

“Here.”

I showed my father the bank app I had prepared in advance.

It was a dedicated account newly created to receive moon balloons.

[Current balance: 96,511,338 won]

“…What is this?”

“The money I earned this month.”

“……What?”

My father's eyes widened.

He said he watched my broadcast, but it didn't seem like he had watched it in detail enough to predict my income.

What a relief.

“So… is this really the money you earned this month?”

“Yes.”

“Hoo.”

……Did he get the point?

In fact, my father seemed quite embarrassed by the amount of money I had earned this month.

Well, he probably didn't really think I would earn 100 million won.

In the end, I failed to make 100 million won, but it was clear that I had achieved a result close to it.

However…….

“I see. You worked hard.”

The change in my father's expression, which seemed momentarily embarrassed, was the end of it.

Just a moment, just that.

“But a contract is a contract. You know that, right? You didn't fulfill the terms of the contract. Yujin.”

My father was firm.

Even though I expected it, I was intimidated.

“I know that, but……”

“I know you worked hard. But there can be no personal feelings in a contract. Yujin. It's a promise you made.”

“……”

Every word is correct.

So much so that there is no room for excuses.

My own self, who had been eager to negotiate, becomes pathetic.

Perhaps the conclusion of this bet, no, this bet, was decided the moment I failed to reach 100 million won.

I was an idiot.

“By the way, you said you were going to make a team, right? A professional gaming team?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm……”

I answered my father's question vaguely.

I don't have any energy.

I just want to go to bed and lie down.

“Yujin.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you need pocket money?”

“…Pocket money?”

Why pocket money all of a sudden?

I don't think he's going to give me 1 billion won as pocket money…

“……I need it.”

“How much?”

I can feel my father's gaze.

Looking at his smiling eyes, I belatedly realize that my father has been teasing me all along.

“……3.5 million won.”

This is probably the correct answer.

The amount short of 100 million won.

This was the identity of the pocket money I demanded from my father.

“Hmm, alright. Dad can give you that much pocket money.”

And then, as if he had already prepared, my father took out a check for 3.5 million won from the drawer and handed it to me.

“……Dad.”

“Yes, Yujin.”

“…Here, I kept my promise.”

I wonder if this is some kind of farce, but my father probably thought this process was necessary.

“Hmm, that's right. 100 million won.”

My father nodded after cross-checking the check and the bank app I had shown him.

“Okay, I’ll lend it to you. 1 billion.”

Even though I heard the words I wanted to hear so much, the feeling of unease didn't go away.

Perhaps because of what he'll say next.

“But, there’s a condition.”

“…What condition?”

“If you want to borrow money, you have to pay the appropriate interest, right? Don't you think so?”

Yes, I knew this would happen.

“There will be no collateral, of course… Then it's a personal loan, and you know that the base interest rate for a personal loan varies depending on your credit score? In that sense, Yujin, your credit score… even if there is no stability, your income is quite high, so I will give you a grade 1, which is about 2.84%. Are you listening? I'm really being very considerate. If you're an internet broadcaster, you're a freelancer, right? Originally, freelancers' credit scores are not recognized so easily.”

“Ah, uh-huh.”

“Let's see… 2.84% on 1 billion won is 28.4 million won. The interest is quite high, are you able to handle both the principal and the interest?”

This was an essential question.

If my father really lent me the huge sum of 1 billion won, could I repay the principal and interest?

“…I can pay it back.”

I will.

I will make a team,

Win,

And win again.

“Alright. You have to pay the interest regularly every month. Got it? 28.4 million won divided by twelve months, let's see… 2,366,666 won. You have to pay it neatly, even to the nearest won.”

“……You swindler.”

“You don't know much, but if you and I were originally father and child, even if I lent it to you, if you pay less than the statutory interest rate of 4.6%, it's considered a gift. You'd get hit with a tax bomb. So, if you're lending, you'd pay me 4.6% interest, but I'll pay the remaining interest instead. For your information, I'm being very generous, right?”

“…You're so great, really.”

I understand that my father is charging less interest.

But is it necessary to boast about it like that? Well, I don't know.

“If you don't like it, you don't have to borrow. What will you do, will you borrow or not? Let me say it again, 1 billion is a lot of money, Yujin.”

Looking at my father's face, who was smiling triumphantly as he said that, I couldn't help but feel resentful.

“…Lend it to me.”

“Okay.”

A surprisingly straightforward answer.

I have the feeling that I might have been playing on my father's palm from the beginning.

“Then, come back tomorrow to sign the loan agreement with a notarization from lawyer Kim. You've seen Lawyer Kim a few times before, right?”

“…I know.”

The contract was finally concluded with my father's consideration.

However, even though I clearly got what I wanted, I somehow feel drained.

I know in my head why my father is doing this.

To make me, who has lived comfortably, feel the weight of money directly.

But you see…….

The way things go in the world is not always so rational.

“Dad.”

I turned slowly as I walked out of the study.

I felt like I wouldn't be able to resist unless I paid it back immediately.

You think you'll get away with tormenting me like this?

“I'm going to tell Mom everything.”

The first genuine sense of embarrassment appeared on my father's face.