Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 221 An Unavoidable Matter

The business cafe in the airport was a room-like space separated by partitions. It seemed they had prepared a meeting area for the many people who came here on business trips.

“What are you trying to tell me that you need such a place…?”

Seeing my gloomy expression throughout, my colleague Kyunghwa’s father started to feel uneasy and asked me with a worried face.

He had a vague resemblance to Kyunghwa, but he was a completely different person. Even though they had a similar base in their looks, his face was marked with the traces of his life of irresponsibility.

Kyunghwa was not exactly a pure-hearted person either, but his face showed a sense of responsibility at its core.

‘He’s trying to rip off his own son with the excuse of hospital bills for gambling money.’

If I didn’t draw a clear line now, he would surely drag Kyunghwa down when he became more successful.

“I can be flexible with whatever amount you need.”

As soon as I said I would give him money, his eyes lit up and he grabbed my hand and got up from his seat.

“Oh, thank you, thank you! I’ve raised my son so poorly that he’s showing me all the worst sides of him.”

He said, while clutching and patting my shoulder. I quickly shook off his hand and backed away.

“But there is a condition.”

I didn’t know how much he thought of me as a fool, but I was not a stupid person who would let him take advantage of me.

“Huh?”

The man who had been smiling sheepishly until a moment ago changed his expression and asked me.

“What do you mean, a condition? You’re helping me, aren’t you? How can you have a condition for an adult?”

He was not an adult by the way he acted. Even though he was older than me in real age, his behavior was less responsible than his son.

“The money I give you cannot be used for gambling, only for living expenses. You can use it for various purposes, such as buying necessities, changing your living environment, or moving Kyunghwa’s mother to a different ward. But you cannot use it for gambling or business funds.”

“What?”

As soon as the word ‘gambling’ came out of my mouth, the man slammed his fist on the table and jumped up.

“Ha, you must have met good parents and have nothing to worry about, you young punk! You’re making fun of an adult…”

I immediately asked the manager to bring me the loan agreement I had prepared in advance.

“Sit down. You know you can’t get this much from Kyunghwa.”

I smiled kindly and put a pen in front of the man.

After a short time of looking into Kyunghwa’s father, I found out that he had a record of bankruptcy. He was a credit delinquent who couldn’t even get a loan from a private lender. It was almost impossible for him to get this amount of money.

“…A loan agreement?”

The man, whose mind was swayed by the amount, sat down again and started to read the document.

“As it says, I will give you the money in the form of a no-interest loan, and if you receive treatment at a gambling addiction center for the next three years, I will convert it to a gift. Of course, I will pay the gift tax. And you have to keep looking for a job during that time. I will also continue to support the cost of hospitalization.”

The man raised his voice again, as if he was angry.

“You think you can make fun of an adult!”

He seemed to be trying to scare me, but my expression didn’t change.

“I’m helping you as a close colleague of Kyunghwa, not as a charity worker. Please confirm that you will not contact Kyunghwa for any financial problems in the future.”

“Oh, my fate! To be insulted by this young punk!”

I looked at the man’s face without any expression and picked up the loan agreement again. Then I held both ends of the paper and said, as if I was going to tear it up.

“This is your last chance. Next time, I will see you in court, not with support. Think carefully.”

Then, before the sound of the paper tearing, the man grabbed the document in his hand.

I could roughly guess why he was so desperate.

There must have been more than one group of people who would lend him a small amount of money at an illegal interest rate, since he couldn’t get a loan from a private lender.

Even though it was a small amount, the interest rate was far beyond the legal limit, and the money he had to pay back kept increasing, making it impossible for him to afford it with his income.

The root cause was that he had borrowed money he shouldn’t have to fund his gambling, and then he got into a vicious cycle of gambling again to pay it back.

If this wasn’t resolved, he would continue to hold Kyunghwa back.

“Ah, who said I wouldn’t do it? You young people have no patience!”

The man muttered, but his eyes scanned the text with greed. At the end of the contract, there was a clause that said the interest rate above would apply only if the debtor fulfilled the agreement, and if he lost his eligibility, the highest legal interest rate would be applied to recover the money.

‘Well… the highest legal interest rate is a bit too much, even for me.’

But I had to use that kind of measure for this person. I sighed inwardly and waited for the man to sign.

His hand, which was shaking as he wrote the account number to receive the money, was pitiful and somewhat sympathetic.

I had temporarily relieved his state of not being able to let go of his burden unless he gambled on his luck. The rest was up to his will.

I could push him to the entrance of the treatment center, but after that, it was up to him to do his best.

“And also, please get counseling from a psychiatrist when you register at the treatment center. It’s not because you have a problem, but because counseling itself will help you change your behavior.”

The man who had finished signing glared at me fiercely. I put the documents that I had signed into a file so that we could each take a copy, and added,

“I’m leaving a written record for legal purposes, so that if you breach the contract, you won’t be able to claim any rights as Kyunghwa’s father and I can sue you. It’s not for your sake.”

With just one-sided claims, I could write an article like ‘Idol R’s father accused of breaking ties with his son’. But if he gambled again, he would have violated the contract to sever ties with his son, which was an objective reason to cut him off and run away. I hoped he would come to his senses so that I wouldn’t regret giving him one last chance.

“I’ll get up now.”

I took the documents and completed the transfer right away, then got up from my seat.

“I hope we never meet again.”

As I left the cafe, it was already late and the airport was quite quiet. Just then, I got a call from Yi-jun.

“Hey, did you find Kyunghwa?”

“No, not yet. Kyunghwa can’t drive, so he’s either around here or he took a shuttle somewhere…”

Anyway, he’s not a five-year-old lost child. He had been doing well until he had a big accident one day. I knew he had a reason, but I thought I should scold him when I saw him.

He should have consulted me about his embarrassing situation that he didn’t want to tell anyone.

He was the one who put up with all kinds of nonsense from me when I was immature at twenty-three.

He would get angry and ask how that was the same as this. I didn’t mind if he got angry, I just wanted to make sure he was safe.

It was his life, his choice, but I couldn’t just let go.

‘Twenty-four, no, twenty-five is still young…’

I could only guess how hard it was for him to endure this kind of family trouble on his shoulders.

I wanted to bring him back, feed him well, put him to bed, and comfort him that he had worked hard.

“I’ll rent a car first.”

“Huh? Can you drive?”

“I prepared everything in advance. Just in case.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll rent a car and call you back.”

I hung out with Yi-jun and rented a car, then met up with him. It was already past 10 o’clock.

“We should book a hotel for late check-in soon.”

Just in case, I booked a nearby hotel for three people and got in the car. Yi-jun was busy fiddling with his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to text Kyunghwa. I wonder if he’s looking at his phone.”

I looked at him and it was ridiculous.

[Me] (picture) 10:34 PM

[Me] (picture) 10:34 PM

[Me] sent (picture). 10:34 PM

[Me] Check out the attached file I sent you! 10:35 PM

‘Is this a joke?’

I was speechless at Yi-jun, who pretended to send pictures and wrote texts one after another.

“Ah, he’s not looking.”

Well, why would he?

Yi-jun thought for a moment and wrote a new message.

[Me] Oh Yi-jun sent you 100,000 won. [Receive] 10:36 PM

And then he exclaimed.

“Oh, I see. Your phone and internet are working fine, right? Don’t worry too much and take your time to look around.”

Is he crazy or what? I didn’t even want to imagine how much Kyunghwa was freaking out on the other end of the line.

‘Where can I go in this cold…’

Anyway, it didn’t seem like an emergency, so I searched for a place within a reasonable distance from the airport where I could get a bus or a taxi. As I scanned the street with an eagle eye, Yi-jun suddenly exclaimed.