“Pick one in the model you like.”
“Oh, oppa.”
“Can I really pick? Anything?”
“Dad, Mom, you two also choose one each as a couple phone. Really…… phones are so pure and cute.”
In 2020, junk items that would have been buried in a deep warehouse were being sold as the latest models.
My eyes widened.
There was still about one year left before the iPhone made by Brother Steve Mathew would even appear.
A product that shocked the whole world before June 2007.
For someone like me, who had lived holding an iPhone and an Android smartphone in my hand, these clunky devices looked like polished stone tools used by primitive people.
“Ju-hee, this one is pretty. Isn’t this the new Anycall model that came out recently?”
“Wow! This camera is 1.3 million pixels! That’s crazy! The ringtone is 64-bit so the sound quality is amazing. My friend bragged about it and it really is good.”
64-bit…… ringtones…… 1.3 million pixels.
Before I died, a 20-million-pixel dual camera was the default.
Sound quality had reached a level where even raw recordings played clearly.
“I didn’t know pretty students liked these. This is the newest phone. Doesn’t the 2.6-inch QVGA screen look cool? And with the built-in mp3 and English dictionary functions, it’s perfect for studying too.”
The female employee smacked her lips proudly.
I felt no emotion.
I had lived without much, but I still used a smartphone equipped with an AI-based vision assistant.
Smartphones in 2020 could not only act as dictionaries but also do simultaneous interpretation.
“Wow! It’s pretty!”
“Oppa, are you really buying this for us?”
My clueless younger sisters blinked their big eyes.
They really were adorable little ones.
Having jumped across eras, I felt no awkwardness toward the past.
“Pick whatever you like.”
“Oppa! Thank you!!!”
“Our oppa is the best!”
The twins clung to each of my arms, shaking me.
This is why pretty younger sisters call their big brother ‘oppa’ with sparkly eyes.
“Tae-san, isn’t this too expensive for the kids? I know you received an advance, but how much do you think that really is……”
My father, looking worried, stopped me.
I had already told him I received an advance because my internet-serialized novel had been published.
I didn’t tell him the exact amount, but as an educated man, there was no way my father didn’t know how author royalties worked.
In his time, society still believed the saying “writers starve to death the moment they start writing.”
“Don’t worry. Mom, seriously. Dad, just pick a couple phone with Mom. These days there’s no household as isolated from modern benefits as ours. And since both Ju-a and Ju-hee have grown up now, they need a phone for safety.”
I winked at my mom.
This was the same mom who had been present on the day I hauled in twenty million won.
“That’s right. Thanks to my son, I should probably get myself a phone too~.”
“Dear……”
“Son. I like this one. They say the slim body from LG is sturdy. Should we get matching ones? As a couple phone.”
Oh! Mom came out strong.
Believing in her son, she stepped forward boldly, and my father panicked.
He had obviously expected Mom to stop me.
“I’ll purchase this one in this color.”
“Oh my, you have bold taste, sir. Are you really sure about choosing bright red?”
“Yes.”
The phone I picked was a product called Base, released by Caritel, which only people who knew a bit about phones chose at the time.
Even to me, who had lived in a full smartphone era, the design didn’t look tacky.
Its thickness was thin, and it was comfortable to carry around.
“Kya! Our oppa is the best!”
“Oppa? Are you seriously choosing that color??? Really???”
My younger sisters bounced around.
Having always lived gloomily and quietly at home, my choosing such a bold color must have shocked them.
“Our son has good taste, doesn’t he?”
Of course Mom defended me to the end.
Dad still couldn’t accept what was happening and kept swallowing silently.
His mind must have been troubled.
With the amount I had just spent today, he could have paid this month’s Nonghyup interest.
“I’ll calculate this as a one-time payment.”
“If you agree to a contract, it can be much cheaper. Starting March, there’s a temporary subsidy policy. If you use it for three years, the monthly fees become much lower and the handset price is heavily discounted.”
“No. There’s no need. I’ll pay the full handset price as a gift.”
The employee backed down.
A shiny-bait contract trap.
Getting tied to a three-year contract
I just wanted to live my life.
There was nothing to boast about in my future life.
“I’d like them opened with the standard payment plan. My sisters and I are minors, so please register them under our parents’ names.”
“Yes. Please wait just a moment.”
I handed over the debit card of the bank account opened under my mom’s name.
Ttirik ttirik ttilirik.
“We’ve waived the registration fee. The total handset price of 2,170,000 won has been paid.”
“Gasp!”
“Oh, oppa……”
The twins, who were still blind to the ways of the world in their eighth-grade lives, let out a gasp.
Including transportation costs, my younger sisters’ entire monthly allowance was 70,000 won.
For them, over two million won was the allowance for two full years.
“Ggg…….”
My father couldn’t even speak and only let out a tight sound.
This was money his son had earned and paid himself.
Unable to express it due to his personality, flames would surely be blazing inside him.
Father. When it’s hard, say it’s hard.
That is what a real man does.
“Is there a specific number you would like?”
“Yes. Please make the last four digits 2732, our home phone number. Because we…… are all family.”
When I graduated high school, even though it was difficult, my father bought me a cellphone.
At that time, my father said this:
We are family, so until you and the twins get married, all the last four digits should match.
* * *
“Oppa, are you paying for lunch too?”
“Of course. Today, oppa prepared a full course.”
“Oppa! The best! The best!”
In front of food, my sisters cheered wildly.
They had almost never eaten out.
Sometimes, when my father or mother returned from a trip downtown, they would buy meat to grill, and that was it.
The ones with the biggest appetite when something big happened were always the younger sisters.
Just from receiving one phone, my younger sisters abandoned their father and clung to both of my arms.
It was a fresh experience.
It felt different from the girlfriends I had in the past.
Because these were younger sisters who shared my blood, I felt it more vividly.
It was a warm sense of happiness that only a family could give.
Walking along like that, I suddenly stopped.
“Oppa, what’s wrong?”
“Tae-san, is something going on?”
Ju-a and my mother expressed curiosity as I stood still.
“Let’s go in.”
“Huh, in here?”
“Yes. Our next destination is here.”
“Tae-san, this place is……”
My father, who was following behind, became flustered again.
I confidently opened the door and went inside.
The family cautiously followed me.
This was everyone’s first experience like this.
Buying a new car existed only as a fantasy in a drama to us.
“Welcome. Welcome to Samyong Motors, where trust and safety come first.”
As we stepped in, the veteran dealer who had been waiting approached us with interest.
His impression wasn’t bad.
Samyong Motors, the company that produced SUVs with a full frame.
The cars were really good, but there was always regret surrounding them.
It was an unfortunate brand that eventually went bankrupt and was sold at a bargain price to Chinese and Indian companies.
However, back then, its frame durability was solid, comparable to sturdy off-road vehicle brands.
Unlike corrupt companies that boasted high fuel efficiency but stripped out all safety systems, Samyong was different.
If it was for the family’s safety, Samyong was one of the few domestic brands one could trust.
Even if an accident happened, there was no worry the engine compartment would be crushed all the way into the cabin.
“Dad. How about this car?”
“……”
Stripped of his authority as head of the household today, my father only blinked his eyes.
Having driven nothing but a used compact car all his life, my father lost his words in front of Samyong’s flagship full-size SUV, the Laxton.
My father looked deeply conflicted.
“What do you think, Mom?”
“Me? It… it looks big, and sturdy.”
My mom looked just as surprised.
She blinked several times and checked my father’s expression.
My father could only stare blankly at the car.
My father was also a man.
The solid and massive Laxton had once been known as the car only Korea’s top 1% drove.
Even though Samyong’s crisis had greatly lowered its value, it was still a luxury vehicle.
“I didn’t expect the son to have a proper eye for cars, it’s a pity. The Laxton second generation uses a full-time four-wheel-drive system, so whether it’s on dirt roads or snowy paths, it’s extremely stable. And because Samyong uses a pure body-on-frame structure, it’s very sturdy. Also, thanks to installing audio and convenience features comparable to luxury brands, you will be fully satisfied with the convenience as well.”
The salesperson, who had been gauging our reactions, stepped forward.
My mind was already decided.
There was nothing more important than safety when it came to family.
“Even just for Ju-a and Ju-hee going to and from school,
I think we need this car. Right, girls?”
The twins were startled.
“Huh? Uh, well, that would be nice but……”
“It’d be amazing if Dad drove us every day in this car!”
Quick-witted Ju-a watched Dad and me and looked conflicted, while Ju-hee exploded with excitement and ran around.
Even twins with similar appearances can have completely opposite personalities.
“Tae-san. I don’t think this car suits our family’s level. I don’t know exactly, but your father’s situation isn’t that good.”
My father spoke carefully.
But he didn’t know.
He didn’t know that I had already experienced our family’s economic destruction in the future with bitter clarity.
“Dad. Starting today, things will be okay. Don’t worry.”
I looked into my father’s eyes.
I wrapped my arm around his shoulders.
Surprised, my father couldn’t say anything.
He silently looked at me.
From now on, I was the head of this family.
A new chapter of the Jang family history would be written.
‘Dad, please trust only me!’
In the past, when I came back from the military, I had called him “Father.”
But I never hesitated to call him “Dad.”
It was a precious word I could not call whenever I wanted.
“You have a stock car available, right?”
“Yes?”
“You should have at least one stock car ready for same-day delivery, right?
If not, the display one is fine.”
As soon as I asked sharply, the salesperson panicked.
“Oh, no, well…….”
“I won’t say much. Please prepare it so we can drive it out today.
A basic discount is fine.”
“…….”
The salesperson was at a loss for words at my bold request.
There was no need to waste time trying to save a few petty bills.
The car my father drove now was a dangerous time bomb on wheels.
For the happiness of the Jang family, safety had to come first.
“You can handle used-car trade-ins too, right?”
“Yes! Of course! If you entrust it to us, we’ll take care of everything cleanly!”
The dealer shouted loudly for the manager to come.
They did not ignore what I said just because I looked young.
It seemed they could smell the salesperson’s instinctive sense for money.
“…….”
My entire family stared at me in shock.
I was only a second-year high school student, yet I was acting like a fully grown working adult, and they were stunned.
Seeing them like that made me laugh.
They had no idea I was just a shameless smooth-talker.
‘Why are you all so shocked? This is only the beginning.’
Our hunger-driven shopping spree was not over yet.
Jang Tae-san, the man who had returned!
Today, he would show the extreme limits of being both a dutiful son and an amazing oppa.