The Greatest Conglomerate Ever With the American Lottery

12. I was pretty successful with my son.

“Ho ho ho!”

“hahahahaha!”

The human eye is such a sweet thing.

After living in a suite at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Los Angeles for more than two months, we returned home to a very shabby house.

Cramped in a half-bathroom, moldy in the summer no matter how hard my mom tried to get rid of it.

Still, my family was smiling happily as we grilled the Korean beef flank steak I had bought back.

I was beginning to see hope.

So, shall I become a midsummer Santa Claus?

No, it’s the end of June, so it’s early summer Santa Claus.

“SOMIYA

“Ugh, big brother!”

“You take this.”

I handed Somi a box.

“Yogo-shaped?”

“What is it, an Apple Pad?”

“Wow, wow, wow! I was counting on it!”

“Fuhahahahaha!”

Somi runs over and hugs me.

“Hey, aren’t you falling off? Where’s the grown-up girl?”

“Ah! Molang! I love our room!”

“Hohoho!”

“hahahahaha!”

Weird?

A brother-sister relationship can’t be like this in the real world?

However, my brother and I got along very well.

Somi is the last born and is 13 years older than me.

Because of the huge age difference, I always thought he was very cute.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that I raised her halfway, half over, and a third of the way.

On top of that, Somi’s family broke up when she was still in elementary school, so she spent a few years living with her mom and maternal uncle.

When a business fails, it never fails alone.

When you’re backed into a corner, your family, friends, and in-laws will bail you out.

My maternal uncle was robbed of 80 million won, and my maternal aunt wouldn’t treat me well.

I was the one who helped him escape from such a grim life.

I’m the one who saved up money in the army to rent this house, and I’m the one who gave him pocket money every month, even after he had to put up with it.

This was why our relationship couldn’t be worse.

“Here’s something for mom.”

“What’s this?”

I handed her a flat rectangular box, and she looked puzzled.

“Open it.”

“Where?”

Click!

“Oh my!”

“Mom, it’s so pretty!”

My mom’s gift was a necklace and earring set.

It cost me a little over $120,000 at an LA jewelry store, and I thought it was beautiful.

My mom had sold all of her jewelry and now had a wedding band that cost a dollar.

It was a gift I really wanted to give her.

“Hey, isn’t this expensive?”

“Yeah, it’s expensive. It’s probably more expensive than our apartment.”

“Oh no! Then I can’t have it. How am I supposed to get it? What if I lose it?”

“If you lose it, I’ll buy you something more expensive, so feel free to lose it.”

“What?”

“Mrs. Han.”

“Yes, son.”

“This is the last time I’m going to tell you, so listen carefully. Mrs. Han, your son is quite successful, but can’t you do something like this for me, my crying mother?”

“It’s not that—.”

“From now on, what I give you, you just take it, no questions asked, do you understand, or I’ll get mad?”

“Yes, son, thank you!”

My mom with tears in her eyes.

After all you’ve been through, I’d buy you the whole jewelry store, even if you asked me to.

“And, Dad.”

“What? Me too? I’m fine, I’m fine.”

What do you mean you’re fine?

You’re getting a little glazed over already, aren’t you?

“Really? I don’t mean no.”

“Hey! Can’t you say no?”

“Higo, what do you want for your son? Dad wants this.”

“Huh? Are these car keys?”

“Yeah, it’s a Genesis DH. It’s parked in the public parking lot next door, so you can get in.”

Dad’s last car was an Equus.

And the rest is history.

“You still have your license, right?”

“Yes!”

“Then drive or call?”

“Call!”

The whole family ran out and went to the public parking lot next to the house.

I told you we parked on the second floor.

Once on the second floor, Dad pushed the button on the car key.

Beep, beep, beep!

A black second-generation Genesis DH greeted our family.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, is this our car now?”

“Yes!”

“Oh, I love this car!”

Somi and her mom were excited to sit in the seats and fuss over it, but her dad was just looking at it blankly.

“Dad, what are you doing, not starting the car?”

“Huh? Well, yeah.”

“You don’t like the car? Do you want me to trade you for something else? A Bmw or a Benz? I didn’t want to overwhelm you with this one?”

“Hey, I like it, I really like it!”

“But what’s with the look on your face?”

“Because I’m overwhelmed—.”

“Huh—.”

There was a man who had been driving a luxury car for more than ten years.

“aaah! This new car smells so good!”

“Cuckoo!”

That’s right, men die at the smell of a new car that smells a little bit like Bond.

Dad pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the National Defense University.

“You’re taking the second freedom?”

“Yeah!”

The 2nd Liberty is a good run because it doesn’t get much traffic.

“Go, Dad, go!”

“hahahaha!”

Excitedly, Somi shouted for Daddy to run, and he lived up to her expectations.

Then, on the way back.

“Daddy!”

“Huh?”

“Just go straight from DMC station.”

“Why? Where are you going?”

“I just want you to follow my directions, okay?”

“Sure.”

As the car drove straight ahead, I directed him to turn left.

“Dude, if you turn left, it’s someone else’s apartment.”

“Just go in!”

“Uh, I don’t know.”

They followed my instructions and entered the DMC Very Easy World Umian Apartment in Gajaeul New Town District 3.

“Okay, stop the car. Okay, let’s get out!”

“Cheol-sik, why are you here?”

“Are you following me? Without saying anything?”

I found the entrance to the apartment from the underground parking lot and dialed the number he gave me.

Ding!

Now with a rough idea of what was about to happen, I led my nervous family upstairs.

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!

I dialed four numbers and a well, and the door opened.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is the front door?”

To be honest, I was surprised.

What kind of foyer is my studio?

“Come on, let’s go in!”

“Are you sure we can just walk in here?”

“Of course, it’s my house!”

“What?”

“Oh my God!”

Nolan opened the middle door with his parents and walked in.

“Yay!”

“Whoa!”

“Is this a house?”

“Four bathrooms?”

The apartment was 266 square meters.

It was really spacious.

It was even more spacious because it was empty.

It was big enough for a game of footsie.

“This is our house?”

“Yeah, I was thinking of going to Gangnam, but there’s a Somi school there, and I like the location here. It’s good for transportation to the airport, whether it’s Gimpo or Incheon, it’s good for downtown, and it’s right in front of DMC station, so I decided to come here, and if you don’t like it, just tell me, and I’ll move you anywhere in Korea.”

“No! No! I like it here! Why go to Gangnam, it’s too crowded and expensive, and why is it so spacious?”

“You don’t like spaciousness? I purposely chose a big house because I thought you’d be bored in a small one.”

“No! I love it! I love it!”

I lived in a really narrow house, a tiny studio, and now narrow is creepy.

“But isn’t this expensive?”

“No, it’s not expensive. This place is 80 pyeong for sale and 60 pyeong for private use, but it’s 1.4 billion won. It’s really cheap, right?”

It was indeed cheap.

Now, 1.4 billion for an 80-pyeong apartment in a large complex with over 3,000 units that has been in existence for a little over two years?

Even though the real estate market is still crashing.

“It’s cheap compared to Seoul real estate prices, but aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

“It’s not too much, so why don’t you stop worrying about it?”

“That’s right, I’ll let you take care of it—.”

“Wow!”

Somi’s admiration burst out.

Even though it’s the 34th floor, the view isn’t that great, but she’s marveling at the night view through the living room’s large windows.

“Somi, do you like it?”

“Ugh, brother. I can only see the legs of people walking by my room right now, and I didn’t tell you, but last year some drunk guy pissed in my window while I was trying to sleep, and I was so freaked out and sad about it, but I love it here, Dad.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

That happened, damn it!

Somi’s eyes filled with tears as she remembered the sadness.

“Somi, come here!”

“Ugh.”

Somi jumped into my arms.

“Forget about everything that happened, because now you’re going to make me the happiest girl in the world, Somi! Okay?”

“Mmm, big brother.”

It’s true.

My Somi will be the happiest girl in the world.

The next day, we went shopping for furniture and electronics to fill the house.

“Chul-shik, how about this?”

“Buy!”

“Chul-sik, which one of these and this one—.”

“Buy both!”

“Oh-bang, this one—.”

“Just buy it!”

Shopping is hard work.

It involves pain and patience.

Yet, Mom and Somi seem to glow from all that shopping, which is a mystery to me.

In the end, it was agreed that Dad and I would only be involved in buying electronics, while Mom and Somi would buy the rest of the furniture and household items, and we would wait downstairs.

“Dad.”

“What?”

“Did you do all the homework I gave you?”

“What homework? Ah!”

What homework?

I asked him to organize his debts, but he wouldn’t give it to me because he was sorry.

“You know, I’m so sorry I didn’t—.”

“Aww, Dad. Don’t you ever say that again?”

“Okay, okay. Here’s the principal and interest.”

“Just tell me how much the principal is.”

“I owe about $720 million.”

I sold all that property and paid it off and still owe this much?

Why didn’t he file for personal rehabilitation or bankruptcy?

It’s a bit ridiculous, but what’s done is done.

Let’s not talk about it anymore.

“Dad, I need your old bank account number.”

“Huh? I don’t have a bank account that I can use now.”

“I’ll take care of that, just give me any commercial bank account.”

“Okay.”

“In a couple days, I’ll get all the foreclosures and stuff out of the way, and I’ll put a billion in your bank account, and that’ll take care of everything.”

“A billion? Dude, that’s too much!”

“Oh, so now you’re just going to live off the gao like you used to? You’ll buy drinks for anyone who owes you money, and you’ll barely see your friends.”

If you’re broke, you won’t have any friends.

You might get screwed once or twice, but if it becomes a habit, it becomes a burden and you can’t see each other.

“Okay, thanks.”

“But there’s a catch.”

“Huh? Conditions? What are they?”

“From now on, you have to live strictly for Mom and Somi, okay?”

“When have I ever not done that, and that damn guarantee got me into this mess?”

“Come on, I remember when I was a kid and you caught me flirting with one of your female employees, but only once?”

“Dude, that was a misunderstanding on your mom’s part!”

“Really?”

“Ask your mom about it later. She apologized to me afterward.”

“Well, I’m sorry.”

“aaah! I’m talking to my son Nami about the stars!”

“Fuhahahahaha!”

“Don’t laugh, asshole!”

Since it was a new apartment, I couldn’t do much, so I only touched the wallpaper and moved in the following week.

Then, when Somi got her summer vacation, we went on a week-long trip to Jeju Island.

Sila Hotel is the best hotel in Jeju Island.

We stayed in a suite there for a week and did our best to provide for the family.