### Chapter 425 – Clan with Structure (1)
—
[Han Kain]
—
“This is a story from my childhood, now a bit hazy in memory.
Back then, both my grandfather and great-grandfather were alive, and his name was ‘Han Jinsung.’
—
My great-grandfather was a wealthy man, known for selling vast farmlands he inherited before their value dropped.
He even bought land in Gangnam, Seoul, before prices skyrocketed, showcasing his talent in real estate investment.
—
Anyway, such a person attracted swarms of people seeking his inheritance in his later years.
Our family was no different.”
—
… Who’s recalling this ‘knowledge’ now?
—
— Swoosh!
—
As a soft breeze brushed my cheek, I heard the rustling of leaves from the nearby bamboo forest.
Taking a brief moment to savor the earthy scent, I noticed a little kid wiggling a wriggly bug with his hand—
—
“Eww!”
“Eh? K-Kain…”
“Minsuk, I told you not to touch the bug!”
—
Is he my cousin? Or a distant relative?
Either way, the moment I stopped him from eating the bug, Minah in the back started making a fuss.
—
“Wahhh!”
“Why are you crying?”
“Wahhh! Waaaaah!”
“Please, just make some human sounds!”
—
She tripped on the dirt and tumbled on her knees, yelping about bleeding.
As I was hastily wiping her dirt-stained knees, a cheerful voice chimed in from the side.
—
“Look, it’s a mukgogi! A mukgogi!”
—
Heart racing, I froze at the mention of mukgogi. Fish?
Isn’t that the kid saying he jumped into the water by himself!
—
In sheer panic, I turned to see Cheolmin had jumped into the creek without even pulling up his pants.
The water was shallow and the current weak, so it wasn’t particularly dangerous, but kids at this age can hurt themselves even on a bed.
—
“Hey! Aren’t you going to listen to me? I told you to stay put!”
—
Finally getting my younger relatives back on dry ground, I caught my breath but then my younger sister started making a scene.
—
“Oppa! My leg hurts!”
“…”
“I wanna go home! I wanna go home!”
—
To be honest, that by itself wasn’t a huge issue.
Heeyang is just a kid, and it’s understandable that playing in such a shallow creek with distant relatives she doesn’t know might not be fun.
—
The problem is, the adults handed the kids over to me because something ‘not good’ was happening at the countryside house.
—
“Let’s just wait for another 30 minutes, okay?”
“… Okay.”
—
For the past three days, the adults had been fighting day and night.
They probably didn’t want to show this to the kids, either.
—
*
Around lunchtime, I returned with my siblings to the countryside house.
—
Upon opening the vintage front gate, a spacious yard unfolded before me.
Well-kept pine trees sprouted here and there, surrounded by a white stone wall.
—
The luxurious windows designed for good ventilation and lighting, the stark contrast of white and black in the wide wooden floor, the expensive folding screens made of delicate Hanji with engraved illustrations—
It was a traditional Korean house that could make anyone gasp if seen in a drama.
—
However, my cousins and I couldn’t focus on the elegant appearance of the Hanok at all.
The adults, namely my parents and other relatives, were still bickering loudly.
—
“Jung-ho! You never once stepped into your grandfather’s house—”
“What’s the difference with your uncle? Anyone would think you’re some great filial son!”
“What’s with your attitude? Minseung must have raised a bunch of incompetent sons!”
“Oh please, manage your own brat—”
“This little brat—”
“Wait, I’m from the same womb as you! If I’m a bad egg, what does that make you—?”
—
— Thud!
—
“Gah! Mr. Han, calm down!”
“Why all of a sudden, you old farts!”
—
With the enormous racket echoing from inside the Hanok, my cousins and I froze like statues.
—
“Ahem! Kids, how about we play in the back mountain this time?”
“… Okay.”
—
What exactly is my great-grandfather’s inheritance that has stirred this up so much?
—
「What do you mean? It’s an unfathomable fortune that an ordinary human wouldn’t even gather 1% of in their lifetime.」
—
“…”
—
“Hyung?”
“Oppa?”
“Heekang, did you just hear something strange?”
“Eh?”
“Just forget it.”
—
It took quite some time for the adults to calm down.
—
*
It sounds a bit silly coming from me, but I think my dad, Han Minseok, is a decent and wonderful person.
When my great-grandfather passed away, he brought his young children along to the countryside to leave a lasting impression.
This definitely speaks of greed for the inheritance and showcases Dad’s human side.
—
There’s also something fortunate about it.
At least my dad was more of a bystander than a participant in the ugly fight happening in the countryside house.
—
That said, the happenings of the past few days seemed to have seriously worn him down.
—
“Kain, you’ve had it tough too.”
“…”
“The kids don’t listen, huh?”
“Nope!”
“Don’t say that. It’s the adults who are greedy—”
“…”
“Jung-ho, that guy is such a greedy one! I didn’t know he had that much of a keen eye for inheritance.”
—
「That doesn’t sound like something you’d say to a middle school first-year boy.」
—
“Ha… Your uncle really is something. How could he say that to us—”
“…”
“Seokhyeon too. If we look into it deeply—”
“…”
“Ahem!”
—
As my dad went on and on about our relatives who were ‘badmouthing’ each other, my mom who had been listening let out a small cough.
At first, I thought she was just cautioning my dad about talking in front of their child, but it wasn’t that.
—
“Ahem! Let me say a word too. Do you know who the real problem is?”
“…”
“Your uncle? Your cousin? Nope, none of them. The real issue is something else.”
“…”
“The old man!”
“Y-You!”
—
“Your grandfather, who’s over 90, still hasn’t made a proper will. What does he say? He’ll divide all his fortune between those of you deemed worthy?”
—
“Phew…”
—
“If an old geezer, who has saved over 100 billion won, just tossed around nonsense like that, will people not fight about it?”
—
Even I, a middle schooler, couldn’t help but feel how persuasive Mom’s words were.
It’s his fortune to handle as he pleases, but…
—
An elderly rich man with endless wealth gathers his descendants and tosses around words like ‘I’ll grant my entire fortune to the one deemed worthy among you!’?
It’s no wonder there’s chaos.
—
What does my great-grandfather think?
—
「Wouldn’t it be better to call a lawyer and draft a will that doesn’t stray too far from legal inheritance distribution?
If he had given well-deserved treatment to those who had helped him in his life beforehand, it might have prevented a ruckus.」
—
*
The next day started with a bang.
—
“Grandfather! What on earth are you talking about? A sudden donation?”
—
“Junseok… That loud noise hurts my ears.”
—
“Grandfather!”
—
“Jung-ho, look at that tree over there.”
“Y-Yes, I see it.”
“Isn’t the tree trunk splendid?”
“I’ll manage it!”
—
Before long, Uncle Jung-ho, who was almost bald, stepped outside with garden shears and began snipping away.
As the elder watching the scene suddenly burst into laughter.
—
“Slow! You’re too slow! With such sluggish movements, what big task will you accomplish? Jung-ho, you won’t make it!”
—
“Grandfather! N-no! I’ll just call someone—”
“Call someone? If I wanted that, I would have called them myself! Oh goodness….”
—
Even kids could see through it.
This old man, my great-grandfather Han Jinsung, had been playing with his descendants like they were just for his amusement.
One day, he suddenly announces he would donate his property, scaring everyone, and the next day, he puts them to work and uses that as an excuse to test if they’re ‘qualified.’
—
With his motive crystal clear and his attitude casual, numerous adults were embarrassed and flushed.
—
So what can be done about it?
He’s a billionaire and has little time left, and he declared he would distribute his fortunes at his own discretion a long time ago.
—
This left everyone inevitably entangled in the tyrannical ways of this old rascal.
—
「Was my great-grandfather really like this? I have no memories, so did I forget? Or are they just childhood memories?」
—
“Look at your lazy behavior! I can’t stand it! Immediately get that, uh, tea leaves or something!”
—
“B-but grandfather! Suddenly tea leaves… We are all city folks; you can’t just—”
“Hey you! What of being city folks? Back in my day, I broke my back picking tea leaves; are you saying you can’t do it?”
—
“W-well, that’s not what I meant—”
—
“Even if you calculate it at 10 million won per kilogram, can’t you do it?”
—
10 million won per kilogram for tea leaves.
—
Just then, as everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief, my great-grandfather suddenly called up the lawyer who had been taking care of him for years and started scribbling something on paper.
In less than ten minutes, the adults began to chuckle and set off to pick the tea leaves.
—
— Brrrmmmm!
—
Whatever the reason, as soon as the adults disappeared, silence enveloped the countryside house.
—
“Cough! Cough! Hahahaha!”
“…”
“The kids saw it, right? Did you see?”
—
The luxurious Hanok looked like a set from a drama.
The remaining ones were the housekeeper-like staff and the kids who stayed because of the prevailing idea that ‘it’s a bit unreasonable to take all the kids along.’
—
And the crazy old man.
—
“Grandfather….”
“Hey Kain, did you see? Chang-sik was going to poke a hole in your dad’s tire to stop him from leaving?”
—
Of course, I saw.
Han Chang-sik, my dad’s cousin, the director of a fairly large English academy in Seoul.
He probably lived gracefully in Seoul, being called ‘director’ all the time.
—
And yet, that same guy secretly tried to poke a hole in Dad’s tire so he couldn’t leave, even getting a smack from Dad in anger.
—
…
—
That over 100 billion won inheritance from my great-grandfather transformed that man into something so ugly.
—
So….
I couldn’t help but ask.
—
“Grandfather, great-grandfather.”
“Hmm? Got a question?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Have I done anything weird? They’re all clamoring for my money, so what’s the problem?”
—
“…”
—
I got mad.
No matter how rich you are and how old you are, this isn’t right.
The inheritance and all would just be more satisfying to deal with straightforwardly.
—
“Wow, just look at those tiny eyes of yours.”
“…”
“Getting all sassy, huh?”
“…”
—
“Haha! Seeing those cute eyes makes this fun too. Little one, follow me.”
—
Great-grandfather Han Jinsung chuckled as he led me into the warehouse of the countryside house.
—
「This is strange. If my great-grandfather was so eccentric, I shouldn’t have forgotten him. Not a single memory comes to mind.」
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