It was my younger sister Eunhye who opened the door through the intercom. As soon as she saw me, she asked what brought me here. Instead of greeting, she looked me up and down with dissatisfied eyes, but I expected as much.
“To see Mother.”
“Why Mom? You said you wouldn’t see her?”
“I have business. Where is Mother?”
“Do you need money?”
“I asked where she is.”
“Wow. You’re raising your voice.”
I really had a bad relationship with Unyeol, who was two years apart, but I didn’t have much contact with my sister who was eight years younger. Still, the relationship wasn’t very good. In my stepmother’s discrimination, Eunhye also disrespected me. But that was also a relationship that could only be established if I accepted it.
“If you don’t know where Mother is, just say you don’t know. If you give irrelevant answers, you only look stupid.”
“Oppa!”
“Do I have to say the same thing three times?”
“Geez.”
Eunhye got angry, then shouted that Mother was in the master bedroom and went upstairs to the second floor where her room was.
“I’m here.”
I knocked on the master bedroom door and went inside. My stepmother, who was lying on the bed, didn’t get up even when I came in. Even though I had clearly promised to come visit, if this was her reaction, it was definitely a protest. My head was already starting to hurt.
“Are you alright?”
Standing at the foot of the bed and asking if she was alright, there was no response.
“Loan shark debt—please tell me what happened.”
“……”
“You have to tell me what’s going on so I can do something. Why did you borrow money?”
“You come into someone’s room without permission and start talking about money?”
“I asked if you were alright first.”
“Do I look alright to you?”
“Are you sick somewhere?”
“You must wish I was sick.”
Seeing her nitpick with a prickly voice, she seemed fine. It seemed like she would only be irritated no matter what I said, so I kept my mouth shut. My stepmother’s lament began immediately.
“If you’ve become the eldest son, you should think about taking care of the household. Coming this late when you obviously know it’s urgent. You really have no sense.”
“The eldest son is Unyeol. That needs to be made clear.”
“Lee Unhyuk!!”
My stepmother, who had been lying weakly, bolted upright. Although my stepmother’s face, which was thoroughly self-managed, looked more gaunt than the last time I saw her, she looked much younger compared to her age of over fifty.
“Are you going to argue about that even in this situation? That you’re not the eldest son? Then did you raise yourself?”
“It was you, Mother, who said I wasn’t the eldest son.”
“Are you still holding onto that in your heart?”
I was holding onto it. After Father’s funeral, it was my stepmother who said that from now on, Unyeol would become the chief mourner and hold Father’s ancestral rites. It was also her who said I didn’t have to come home anymore.
“I think I’ve done my duty as the eldest son just by not receiving a single penny of Father’s inheritance.”
“Why are you bringing up inheritance in this situation?”
“It’s not money I borrowed.”
“How can a child be so stubborn?”
“First, tell me why you incurred the debt. Over 400 million won, and from loan sharks at that.”
I had realized long ago that my stepmother couldn’t be a logical conversation partner when it came to arguing about who was the eldest son. I decided to only ask the essentials.
“Do you have a plan for how to pay back the money? I remember there was quite a bit of Father’s insurance money and deposits, so pay it back with that first. Loan shark debt is scary. Pay it back quickly so they don’t come looking.”
I spoke smoothly, but my stepmother didn’t respond at all.
“Mother?”
“It’s gone.”
“Pardon?”
“I said there’s no money. That’s why I can’t pay it back.”
I was at a loss for words at the statement that there was no money. Father had run a small business. Although he had settled everything before passing away and the hospital bills were quite expensive, the deposits remained intact. Father’s insurance money and deposits combined exceeded 1 billion won. I knew the pension was also coming in regularly. But there’s no money.
“What did you do with all that?”
“Do you know how much money goes into Unyeol and Eunhye’s college tuition, and even Eunhye’s study abroad?”
“Even so, if you spent all that money in one year and incurred over 400 million in debt, isn’t that a problem?”
“That’s none of your business. You never once contributed living expenses, yet you’re interrogating me. Mind your own business.”
This was why I hated having conversations with my stepmother. Just a moment ago she was saying to take responsibility for household matters as the eldest son, and now she’s saying not to care. Heavy and stuffy things kept piling up in my chest.
“Earlier you were saying I was the eldest son. And now you’re saying not to care? Which tune should I dance to?”
“Where did you learn the habit of nitpicking words?”
“You’re the one saying things that don’t make sense, Mother.”
“What doesn’t make sense? You’re the one saying things that don’t make sense.”
She was a person you couldn’t communicate with. I didn’t even attempt to argue right from wrong.
“First, take out a bank loan and pay off the debt. Bank interest is at least better. And when the house sells, pay off the bank debt.”
“If the house sells, where are we supposed to live? Absolutely not.”
“Then do you have another method?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking carefully about this…”
The way she trailed off was suspicious. Still, I quietly waited for the next words.
“What if… you took this house?”
“Pardon?”
“You inherit this house and move in. You’re living in a jeonse house, right? Pay the gift tax with that, pay off the debt with the remaining money, and pay it back slowly with the money you earn. You don’t have to move elsewhere, this house becomes your house—isn’t that good? The house is old, but the land value alone exceeds 500 million. Isn’t that okay?”
It was a method that was only good for my stepmother. To move into the house I left ten years ago and live there while paying off debt—it was nonsense.
She was a woman who only cared about herself and her children. I could fully expect that such a woman would pass her debt onto me. Still, rather than being dumbfounded, something hot and cold filled up inside me.
Looking at my stepmother’s eyes glittering with abnormal heat, I swallowed a sigh.
“Let me just say one thing. I don’t have that ability.”
“You don’t have the ability? If you suffer for just three years, that much debt—”
“Mother. You don’t know where I live, do you?”
I interrupted my stepmother’s words and threw out an aggressive question. My stepmother made an expression asking what I meant.
“You say I’m the eldest son but you’re not interested.”
“Unhyuk-ah.”
“I sold my jeonse house and I’m living in a goshiwon. Most of my salary is tight just paying bank interest and principal. Even if you give me the house, Mother, I don’t have the ability to maintain it.”
I spoke slowly but forcefully. Then my stepmother’s face twisted strangely.
“Debt? What on earth did you do to have debt? How much? You’re not exaggerating with one or two hundred million, are you?”
“200 million.”
“What?! 200 million? What on earth did you do?! Huh?”
“I invested in a friend’s business and it failed.”
“You should’ve done it with someone trustworthy. Who invests in a friend’s business these days? Do you have a brain or not?!”
My head throbbed at the hysterical voice. Still, I put more strength into my clenched fist and waited until my stepmother finished speaking.
“First, take out a loan and pay off the debt. If you sell it for a fair price like Mother said, you’ll be able to get another house even after paying off the loan.”
“No. That won’t do. That won’t do. With your salary, paying off the money won’t be difficult. You’ll suffer for a few years, but. Right? I also receive your father’s pension, so I can live on that. Right?”
My stepmother tried to persuade me, desperately hiding her desperation with a smile. But I shook my head.
