(Back to Seon-Hu’s point of view.)
I raised an eyebrow. Gillian got an invitation from the Bilderberg Club?
<Gillian: This happened out of nowhere. Were our group’s owners involved in making this decision?>
<Seon-Hu: Well, I’m not sure. Congratulations, I wish I were you. I knew you would become one of them, but I feel like it should have happened earlier.>
<Gillian: How much do you know about the Bilderberg Club, Ethan?>
<Seon-Hu: I’ve only learned about it through hearsay. Anyway, there is no doubt that it will be helpful to you and the group. Congratulations again.>
<Gillian: Thank you, Ethan. I’ll get back to you later.>
I could tell that he was suppressing his emotions. There was no one in the world who was as intelligent as Gillian, and he knew better than anyone else in regards to why the Bilderberg Club was bringing him in. They were actually inviting his group, not himself, as he was the CEO of the Gillian Investment Finance Group. They would soon manage the capital of nearly one trillion dollars. Moreover, they were curious about the real owners of the group.
I called Jonathan.
<Seon-Hu: Are you busy?>
<Jonathan: Wait a sec… Yeah, go ahead. Is everything going alright?>
<Seon-Hu: Gillian got invited by the Bilderberg Club.>
Jonathan became quiet, then he gritted his teeth.
<Jonathan: Those bastards… They’re leaving us out like this, right?>
The Gillian Group’s operating assets were about to surpass the Jonathan Group’s, but Jonathan’s power was overwhelming as a CEO if one took into account his private property, speaking influence, and glittering career. In most people’s minds, Jonathan was the obvious choice to get an invitation, not Gillian. Wait, never mind. Both had enough merits to get one.
Nevertheless, they excluded the Jonathan Group because of me as they didn’t accept Asians into their order.
<Seon-Hu: Well, it’s not ‘us.’ Has anyone approached you?>
<Jonathan: Not at all, Sun. If they are racists, we will reject them forever. Assholes… They’ll soon realize who is actually losing out by doing this.>
Jonathan wasn’t just spitting out words impulsively due to his anger. We were in positions with enough authority to say such things. The Bilderberg Club was bound to need the cooperation of the Jonathan Group in the future as its power was immense throughout the entire North American markets, London, the Isle of Man, and Seoul.
<Seon-Hu: I called you to let you know about it.>
<Jonathan: Gillian isn’t aware of anything yet, right?>
<Seon-Hu: Yes. Anyway, two of the members of the Bilderberg Club are now under our control.>
<Jonathan: It’s good that you brought it up. I don’t believe in the Karjans because they’ve done so many malicious things since the fall of the Berlin Wall. I could only find information from official websites, so the reality must have been worse. I wish you didn’t have to have them near you. I’m serious because I’m worried about you, Sun.>
<Seon-Hu: What are you worried about?>
<Jonathan: There were so many missing people, and the Karjans were the ones who benefited the most from their disappearance. It was all decades ago, but… they shouldn’t have changed much. I’m talking about their hideous DNA.>
<Seon-Hu: You must have searched a lot about them in the meantime.>
<Jonathan: So, get a bodyguard even if it’s not because of the Karjans. Even now, people might be gossiping about you.>
<Seon-Hu: Okay, that’s all I wanted to talk about.>
<Jonathan: Wait, I got off track, but Bilderberg Club? Let’s not care about them, and let them get their story straight. Everything is going according to your long-term proposal, Sun. Although they want to intervene, they will be blocked by limits. By the way, there are rumors on Wall Street nowadays.>
<Seon-Hu: Tell me.>
<Jonathan: People are saying that America will attack Afghanistan, then Iraq, then Iran, and then… North Korea.>
Jonathan was concerned about me because if America attacked North Korea, the entire Korean Peninsula would be engulfed in fire. Jonathan was aware that I cherished my country even though he didn’t know the reason why.
<Seon-Hu: You just said that everything was going based on my proposals. The war will end in Iraq, so focus on that and maintain the strategy.>
<Jonathan: The president might be more of a war freak than you think. You know how their DNA is eccentric. I think we should calculate and plan again. It’s about your country, Sun.>
<Seon-Hu: Thank you, but North Korea doesn’t have any oil.>
That was just one example, but the U.S. had almost no benefit from raiding North Korea. Instead, there would be unaffordable losses, so they would hope to maintain the status quo. However, if… history went off course, I needed to intervene no matter what.
***
“It’s me, Mother. Your son is here.”
I grinned at the peephole. When I opened the door, I saw my mother coming out of the corner of the living room. She was still beautiful even while wearing an apron.
“Seon-Hu! My son looks so nice!” she exclaimed happily.
It was her first time seeing me in a suit, and light seemed to pour out of her eyes. After I greeted her, I placed the gifts I bought from the duty-free shop on the living room floor.
“I told you not to buy anything. You must have spent all your hard-earned money on these. I know how hard your work is, so don’t buy anything next time, okay?”
“Haha, okay. Where’s Father?” I asked.
“He went to the hospital.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry. He went to the hospital that his friend owns. He’ll be late today, so let’s eat first.”
My mother had prepared a lot of food again, similar to what she did on the day I left for the U.S and the day I stopped by to take the qualification exam. There was no way one person could eat it all. The kitchen was full of warmth. The styrofoam and plastic bags that used to contain food ingredients were piled up beside the wall, and the trash can was packed. I could see my mother preparing food in the kitchen all day. I was about to tell her that next time we should eat at a nice restaurant, but the happiness on her face stopped me.
“Let’s enjoy our meal today, and I’ll take you to a nice restaurant tomorrow,” I said.
“Nice restaurant?”
“There’s a place someone recommended. I heard only the wives of conglomerates know this spot.”
“Is there a place like that?”
“Father must’ve known about this. Has he not taken you there?”
“Your father is very busy.”
“Then let’s go together with just us two. We can make a reservation under Father’s name.”
“Isn’t it expensive?”
“Have you ever spent the money from the bankbook I gave you?”
My mother smiled instead of answering me. She seemed to be remembering how her young son had made more than one hundred million won from stock investments alone. She was grumbling but somehow looked pleasant.
“Your father said we’ll have to file for divorce if I touch that,” she said jokingly.
“You should’ve spent some. I’ll tell Father.”
“Ugh, his ego has reached its peak. You have returned home after working so hard, but he hasn’t even come home yet. I’m not going to let him come into the house if he gets drunk again,” she complained.
“Mother.”
“Yes?”
“Should we move out? Father’s salary is pretty high, and I make a decent living.”
She shook her head. “Tell that to your Father, not me.”
“Why?”
“I know his work is hard, but he gets drunk every single day. It’s not even a sales job, and he can skip some dinners with co-workers if he’s in a high position. Don’t you think so, son? You must know because you are working now. Well, it might be different in America.”
“Does he drink a lot these days?”
“Yes, his main food source is alcohol.”
“How long has it been?”
My mother pointed to a desk calendar next to the table, and I could grasp the meaning of a certain mark on each date without her explaining it to me. It was easier to find the dates without a mark as the calendar showed that he had been drinking at least five times a week for the past three weeks. In the past, he had enjoyed drinking but not to this extent. Back then, he had drowned his life in alcohol when he was distressed after getting fired due to the IMF crisis.
My conversation with Mother was naturally focused on Father. There was no problem with their relationship as Father wasn’t a guy who would cheat on his wife. He had never upset my mother with problems regarding outside women.
That night, my mother raised her voice, and I heard her slapping my father’s back a few times.
“Are you only going to realize how bad this is after being taken to the hospital? Do you think you’ll be healthy forever?”
Father was lying down at the door, and the scene reminded me of the past. A pungent odor of alcohol assailed my nostrils.
“See? Your father is like this even on the day his son came back,” she complained.
I helped my father without saying a word, and she said in surprise, “Look how strong my son is. Isn’t he heavy? He has gained more than twenty pounds lately.”
“Should I take him to the living room?”
I checked on him just in case, but there was no lipstick mark to be found. Mother searched Father’s pockets and relaxed a little when only his wallet and phone came out.
“Let’s put him in the living room,” she said.
After laying my father down, we tidied up his clothes.
“You should sleep. I’ll take a look at him and sleep, too.” I looked at Mother.
“What do you want to eat tomorrow?” she asked.
“Something with warm soup.”
She nodded as she looked at Father. Only Father and I were left in the living room, and his breathing was rough since he was very drunk. I wondered if he was under a lot of stress from work. He was an executive in Jeon-il Bank which used to be Korea Exchange Bank, and it was one of the top three largest banks in Korea. He was definitely in a position where he would get burdened, but since he felt rewarded and energized from work, he wouldn’t have thought of retiring now at all.
However… I was about to take a chance and ask what they thought about me. Father looked for a glass of water, so I gave him one and supported his upper body. Then, he muttered, “Sorry… I’m so sorry… my friend…”