Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 426
Only Krnovel
EP.426 Episode 426 – A Family with a Backbone (2)
Episode 426 – A Family with a Backbone (2)
– Han Ga-in
Administration.
A secret organization that deals with demons, cultists, ghosts, and monsters that threaten civilization.
The word ‘secret’ is meaningless when a middle school student knows about its existence, but the average person only knows that ‘an organization called the Management Bureau exists.’
“I heard it on TV sometimes… .”
“What do you say?”
“They are people who deal with demons, ghosts, monsters and such -”
Before I could finish speaking, my great-grandfather chuckled and gestured.
“Baby, listen to what Grandpa says.”
“yes.”
“If you keep spreading rumors like this, you’ll end up with your balls cut off, but look, how old is your grandfather?”
“… I heard that you are nearly ninety years old.”
“At this age, why would I ever regret having a baby?”
“…”
“Gain-ah. When I was young, Grandpa did a lot of things with the people from the management office. I rode the train day and night, and I felt the flesh moving underground in a cold country. Hawaii, Hawaii, do you know?”
“yes.”
“I went to Hawaii and talked to a three-headed giant.”
“…”
“Doesn’t that sound like a lie?”
“No. Was your grandfather an agent of the Administration?”
“Agent… Well, it was similar. The most brutal memory of my life is my time at the Administration, but my funniest memory is also from the Administration. If I hadn’t worked there, I wouldn’t have known how crazy the world is at this age!”
Great-grandfather chuckled again and then started talking about something else.
“Baby, do you like scary stories?”
“no.”
“Then I must tell you.”
“…”
“When I was a child, my father got a strange jar from Japan.”
“Japan?”
“I don’t even remember clearly whether it was obtained from Japan or whether a Japanese person brought the jar to Joseon.”
“Oh, I understand.”
“The Japanese who gave the jar said that if you keep the jar well, your household will prosper, your crops will be good, your women will give birth to sons as big as toads, and your sons will have great luck with official positions.”
It’s a superstition that often comes up with things like golden toads.
“Did your great-grandfather’s father, or great-great-grandfather, believe that?”
“Rather than believing it, I guess he just thought it was like that and put it away in storage and forgot about it. Don’t you have a lot of things like that at home?”
“Yes.”
“But, strangely enough, after that day, the housework started to go smoothly. It’s hard to give examples one by one, but to put it simply, the land tripled in three years.”
After obtaining a mysterious jar from Japan, his wealth tripled in three years.
As I listened to this strange story, a thought naturally came to mind.
“That’s strange. But….”
“however?”
“…”
“Oh my~! If you’re going to talk, you should talk it out until the end. What’s the point?”
“Well, doesn’t that kind of thing usually come with a terrible price? Like when your great-great-grandfather got entangled in a jar and died?”
“…”
Suddenly, great-grandfather’s expression hardened.
“…Grandpa?”
“The price… The price… That’s right. Where in the world is there anything free? If there were gods or devils in the jar, they would definitely have what they wanted.”
“…”
“Honey, do you have a younger sibling?”
“Little brother? Hee-kang?”
“Was your name Han Hee-kang?”
“Yes, Grandpa. Do you remember my name?”
“Oh my! Are you criticizing me for having a memory full of holes?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Look. I have three sons, two daughters, fourteen grandchildren, and great-grandchildren… Oh my! I can’t even count how many there are.”
“…”
“Are you sure you can memorize all of this?”
“That’s right.”
After listening to it, I understood what my great-grandfather said.
In fact, isn’t it amazing that someone who is nearly ninety years old can speak so well and walk around normally?
“Your younger sister, Hee-kang, does she listen well?”
“yes.”
“Good? Cute?”
“sure.”
“Is it pretty enough to put in my eyes?”
“Uh… I think it would hurt if I put it in my eye.”
“…”
“…”
“Ahem! What I mean is, do you love your little brother a lot?”
“I love you so much.”
“Baby. Love, love is meaningless if it ends only in words.”
“yes?”
Love is meaningless if it only ends in words.
Why are you suddenly saying something like this?
“How much you love someone is not determined by how many times you say you love them, but by how much you can actually give.”
The extent of love is not determined by the number of times you say it, but by the extent to which you can actually give it.
“Father, how much does my grandson Minseok love you? This can be explained by the amount of money he spent on raising you. People are creatures that spend money just by breathing.”
Can my parents’ love be explained by the amount of money they spent raising me?
“From the formula milk you drank while crying after coming out of your mother’s womb, to the rice you eat every day. All of these are love.”
“Well, isn’t that standard a bit strange?”
“Is it strange? What’s strange?”
“After all, the more money someone earns, the more they can spend on their children. Rich parents don’t necessarily love their children more than poor parents.”
Great-grandfather nodded slightly and added.
“Gain, what you said is right. However, what Grandfather said is not an absolute amount, but a ‘degree of value.’”
“How precious is it?”
“The amount of money that poor parents spend may be small in absolute terms, but isn’t that money extremely precious to them?”
“Oh, I understand.”
After hearing the explanation further, I was able to understand.
“Hey, summarize what this old man said.”
“How much I love someone depends on how much of what I have I can give to them?”
“Kiya!”
“…”
“Kiya! Are you an elementary school student now?”
“I’m a first year middle school student.”
“You’re smart. Who do you look like? Me?”
“…”
Honestly, I don’t deserve such rave reviews.
“Then, baby. What precious thing do you have?”
The most precious thing I have?
“Life, right?”
“Haha! That’s right. The most precious thing to a person is life. There’s no way to buy it with money, and you only have one in your lifetime, so what could be more precious than that?”
“Yes.”
“Then, what is the most precious thing after life?”
“uh….”
“Isn’t there another one similar to this? It can’t be bought with money, and it’s the only one you’ll ever have.”
Something as precious as life itself.
There is no way to buy it with money, and it is the only one in your life.
“… body?”
“Kiya! Look at this neighborhood guy! A genius who can hit Einstein’s head five times has been born!”
Seriously, why are you doing this!
“Grandpa! Did you get it right?”
“Yes. It’s the body. The body is the most precious thing a person has, next to life, and in fact, it’s almost as precious as life.”
“yes….”
The old warehouse became quiet for a moment.
I thought that I could finally escape from the clutches of this crazy old man.
At that moment, my great-grandfather looked at me clearly.
“Baby.”
“yes?”
“You said you love your little brother, right?”
This is the story that came out at the very beginning.
“sure.”
“Do you love me enough to give up your body?”
“…”
This sentence is the final destination of the long conversation I’ve had with my grandfather.
I love my brother.
Love is proven by giving something precious to someone.
The most precious thing I have is my body.
Therefore, extreme love is a love that can even give one’s body.
“… I love you, but I don’t think I’d give my body to you.”
“I guess so. Everyone is like that.”
“…”
“That’s… a person.”
“…”
“Cain.”
“yes?”
“Grandpa has never seen a love that can even give its body.”
What on earth does this mean?
I looked at my great-grandfather with bewildered eyes, but instead of answering, my grandfather motioned for me to go back to the Hanok.
*
When I returned to the Hanok, the phone was ringing loudly.
“Yes? You’re coming tomorrow?”
Because of my great-grandfather’s whim, all the adults went out to pick tea leaves together, but they said they would come back after one more day.
They added things like it suddenly started raining heavily, or there was a problem with the car, but even to me, a middle school student, it sounded like an excuse.
Sure enough, as I hung up the phone, a nearby man named ‘Attorney Park’ smiled bitterly.
“It looks like there are fewer tea leaves than expected.”
“yes?”
“I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing easy in this world. It’s strange if city people can get a lot of results just by working in a tea field for a day.”
“…”
Are you trying to say that you picked the tea leaves today and include them for tomorrow since the amount picked today is not enough?
I just laughed in vain and didn’t feel angry at the adults or anything.
My great-grandfather said he would pay me 10 million won per kilogram, so I have to work hard.
Thanks to that, I had to struggle through the bamboo forest with my energetic children all afternoon.
*
Late at night.
In the haze, I overheard a conversation between strange people.
“Here we go again. Are we stopping here this time too?”
“Didn’t Gain say that she was just an ordinary high school student outside?”
“I think that’s what he thought. Who knows? Maybe Seungyeop or Songi too… .”
“Eww! Everyone shut up! The important thing is Gain-”
Strangely enough, I missed each and every voice, but it was also welcome.
.
.
.
— Got it!
I woke up in excruciating pain as if something was choking me!