chapter 273
“(Although it’s a little lower than me.)”
I really liked her confidence.
***
Seol Kyung-taek received a report on the application for the right to extract seabed resources submitted by Kim Jae-gu. It was because the scale was too large for the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy to decide alone.
He went through the application and opened his eyes wide.
‘At least 1.2 billion barrels?’
It was an incredible number. It was certainly too large a resource to be handed over to a private company.
‘This is enough to make it a national project…’
If it was Yusan, it was clear that it would have been forced to nationalize it. And he would have sucked the sweet water in by plugging in people he knew.
However, he was a man with more than 90% trust to Kim Jae-gu. I was surprised by the huge number, but it was not a reason to stop doing business with Kim Jae-gu.
He returned the application to the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
“Give me your permission.”
“Are you all right?”
“Didn’t we agree to do so in the first contract? If the country does not keep its promise, who will keep it?”
The minister bowed his head.
“All right.”
He said goodbye and left the office.
Seol Gyeong-taek, who was left alone, remembered Kim Jae-goo.
‘It’s not just luck. There’s definitely something special.’
This was beyond the scope of the culprit.
No matter how much I thought about it, it was clear that I was loved by God. Is there anyone who succeeds in everything they do?
‘I have to catch this person somehow.’
Whatever it was, I had to make it my own person. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be very greedy for power, so it seemed like we could coexist.
In order to do that, Seol Kyung-taek had to give something to Kim Jae-goo.
‘There’s a perfect seat.’
Seol Kyung-taek called him.
Also, I was connected to an international phone number as if I was out of the United States.
Click.
“Chairman Kim Jae-goo. How are you?”
{yes. Is President Seol Gyeong-taek doing well?}
“Thanks to you, I’m doing well. I’ve contacted you because I have something to tell you.”
Jaegu Kim was silent for a moment.
{What is?}
“Would you like to take a ministerial position?”
You say this comes from here?
When I received a phone call from Seol Gyeong-taek, I was embarrassed to hear that he was asked to assume the ministerial position.
‘What kind of minister is this all of a sudden?’
From the beginning, I was not very interested in power. Power was like water, which pooled in their own pits and then disappeared.
It would be difficult to have it, but even if someone had it, it was power to flow like water and move to others.
In order to maintain this, it took a lot of effort, such as taking care of the people around you and creating a network with people who could help.
‘bothered.’
So the conclusion I came to was to support those who deserve power and get help from them. Even if I didn’t have power myself, I could benefit from being close to someone in power.
Besides, you didn’t have to ride only one line.
‘There is no reason to accept it.’
I did not want to be judged and appreciated by the people for my morality as a minister of a country. Besides, isn’t my wife Elisa?
If someone organizes a Carver group, it could cause a nuisance to the in-laws’ house.
“I will refuse.”
{Listen to the story and decline.}
Seol Kyung-taek continued talking without giving me a chance to respond.
{Please serve as the Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning. If you are Chairman Kim Jae-gu, who is successfully investing in startups, you can do it.}
“I’ll refuse anyway.”
{Why? Of all the people I know, I think Chairman Kim Jae-gu is the most suitable for this position. Why don’t you reconsider?}
“Are you newly married?”
There was silence for a while.
{I don’t know if it’s presumptuous, but I think it would be nice to work for the country if you are a person like Chairman Kim Jae-gu.}
“I want this marriage to be successful.”
{okay. Sorry.}
But if you refuse too much, you’ll feel bad.
“I can give you some advice, though.”
{Is that true?}
“Yes. If it’s for President Seol Kyung-taek, we should do that much. Aren’t we between us?”
If Elisha gives birth soon, she will be very busy. I’m still busy, but thinking about taking care of a newborn baby made me tired.
But at the same time I was happy.
‘I’m sure I’ll spend more time with my family.’
While Elisha was resting at home and doing postpartum care, she would be able to spend time seeing her face every day.
{hahahaha. Yes. I was newlywed.}
“The baby will be born soon.”
{Are you a kid?}
“Yes. Then I think I’ll be a little busy.”
{You must be very busy. I can’t contact you often.}
“If you still need it, please contact me.”
I could hear Seol Kyung-taek laughing.
{Congratulations.}
“thank you.”
I had no choice but to decline the offer, but I still felt like I had an older brother who thought of me.
‘The president is your brother. It’s strong.’
***
We talked a lot with Elisa about our future plans. Because the situation before and after she became pregnant was different, most of the stories were about Ha-yeon.
The conclusion was to live in the US for a year and let them choose for themselves. With her parents in Korea and Elisa and her in-laws in the US, Ha-yeon was free to choose whichever place to go.
‘Cause I could go anywhere
So, during the vacation period, I taught English intensively. It was because I judged that it would be difficult to follow the class if I couldn’t communicate.
That’s how Elisa’s leave of absence approached.
Administrative procedures were commissioned by professional study abroad agents and lawyers. The more money you spend, the faster the process goes.
Ha-yeon cautiously opened her mouth to the story of going to the United States to study for a year.
“Dad, can I buy pizza for my friends?”
“Of course. You can buy me chicken too.”
“really?”
“Who are you going to buy?”
“My classmates and my friends from daycare.”
I felt the will not to leave out any friend. I was able to do as much as I could at least serve the kids’ pizza and chicken.
“Yes. Which one would you like to buy?”
“This and this.”
The child who used to like anything in the past is now starting to know his own preference. Having a lot of money also meant giving children more options.
“Should I mix the chicken?”
“yes!”
It was so cute to see him nod his head with a serious face as if it were something important in the world.
***
I told my parents that I was going to study abroad for a year. The two of them went back to their home village and were living there.
“Is it hard to see your face for a year?”
“I’ll see you on holiday.”
“That’s enough.”
“My daughter-in-law tells me to take care of myself and rest for a year.”
“all right.”
“Jeong said that if he wanted to see our faces, he would come and visit us.”
Seo Eun-chae would never have said such a thing. However, if it was Elisa, it seemed that her parents’ faces would tell her that she missed her.
‘I think I’m putting too much pressure on Elisa.’
I decided not to pass this on.
“all right.”
“Will Hayeon come with me?”
“Yes. We should come together.”
Hayeon was playing with Happy in the backyard.
Happy has now become our family in name and reality. When a newborn baby is born, access to the second floor will be prohibited for a while.
“Are you comfortable living in the newly built town?”
“Sure. Tourists have been coming to visit for a while now, and when I saw that they came as a family and did a lot of work, it reminded me of Ha-yeon.”
“Ii too. Why are you burdening yourself with that kind of talk? Mr. Kim and Mr. Yang are also there so I’m not bored. When I’m bored, I walk on the promenade.”
While creating an orchard, he created a trail for the health of villagers and workers. The trees weren’t very big yet, so the sun was shining, but it was clear that it would be a very nice road when the trees grew.
“It reminds me of when we were dating in the past and it was nice.”
“Who said no?”
It felt good to see the two of them in good shape.
“Is Grandpa all right?”
“Of course. The road is well paved and visitors go hiking. Thanks to you, my father won’t be bored.”
“Wouldn’t you still want to see your grandson’s face?”
Before leaving, I also had to say goodbye to my grandfather. The beginning of this happy life came from the ability my grandfather gave me.
“Of course. And wouldn’t we want to see Hayeon’s face?”
“I should go up together after a long time.”
“Let’s go together.”
Father got up from his seat.
“Wait a little. I’ll make the food for the ancestral rite.”
“I bought the main dish.”
I came to see my grandfather, but I couldn’t come empty-handed. I brought my own marinated and grilled ribs and Korean beef along with delicious sashimi.
Because the only dish I was good at was galbi.
‘Because sacrifice is sincerity. Grandpa will like it too.’
I won’t be able to visit you for a while, so I’ll have to say hello properly. And if the opportunity arises, I intend to sleep next to the grave.
If you’re lucky, you might be able to see your grandfather.
After waiting for a while, the two of them came out with fried pancakes. The amount of sincerity was the same as it was then and now, but the skill of baking has improved more than before.
“I might sell this.”
“Why are you selling it? I have to give it to my father.”
“Your father is a good cook. He is better with his hands than your mother.”
“Heh heh. If I had known it would be like this, I would have left the mart to you and cooked at home.”
“Ii is true.”
My mother seemed to enjoy the joke and smiled happily.
After a long time, I found my grandfather’s oxygen. The pool around the oxygen was very tidy and tidy.
“Did your father do it?”
“Sure. I have to do it.”
My father looked at the oxygen with melancholy eyes. It was set up to simply set up a table for ancestral rites, but soon it became one table because there were many things brought from each other.
I put Andong soju on the well-prepared ancestral table and greeted my grandfather.
“Grandpa. Hello.”
bowed twice.
“I’m doing very well thanks to my grandfather. Elisa is pregnant this time.”
When I was in Korea, I often stopped by to tell them about my current situation, so no further explanation was necessary. Even my parents smiled at me.
The two of them were overjoyed over the news that Elisha was pregnant.
“So I’m going to stay in the US for a while. Ha-yeon also decided to study abroad in the US. It will take a year at the most.”
A breeze blew over Grandpa’s oxygen.
Maybe it’s my grandfather’s greeting to have a good trip.
“But I’ll see you on holiday. Then I’ll have a drink.”
I poured my grandfather’s favorite Andong soju into the oxygen. Then, after pouring it again, he and his father tilted their glasses.
“It’s Andong soju, of course. There’s a reason why my father liked it.”
“The taste is clean and good.”
Mother gave Ha-yeon a coin.
“Grandma made sesame leaf pancakes. Try it.”
“Yes. Grandma.”
Ha-yeon chewed the jeon with her small mouth.
I turned my head and looked around, and saw a pear orchard spreading out under the blue sky. Now it seemed like it would be spectacular to see flowers bloom in an orchard covered in green leaves.
‘I prepared this because I didn’t have anything to give you, but I hope my grandfather likes this scenery.’
It would be nice if you appeared in your dreams and told me you liked it.
***
One week before leaving for the US.