When I was a slave of Sunyang and cleaned up the family’s messes, the disregarded Jin Yun-ki, Jin Sang-jun and Jin Do-jun were not on my list.

So in my memory, the number of Sunyang’s third generation was 12. I have racked my brain for the name Jin Do-jun but can’t remember anything but a car accident.

I didn’t give a d.a.m.n about the accident at the time.

Unfortunately I can’t remember when, where, and how it happened.

I should be so careful that the future can not change much, but what if I can avoid the accident and vie for control of Sunyang?

What if I can help grandfather live longer? Will this help the future change much?

Not only did my doubts remain, I realized I should be be mindful each day of my demeanour.

Especially toward the grandfather.

This evening, I’m supposed to be having dinner with him, just two of us.

I should yield something, in an elaborate, careful manner.

“Grandfather!”

d.a.m.n,

The probably the hardest thing to do is to run and thrust this small body against him.

For a time he laid his eyes on me, curving his mouth over his lips and petting my head, then seated me at a table.

Sunyang Hotel Restaurant.

He probably wanted to reward me in some way for the tip-off.

The election result pleased him. Indeed, it was deemed that 5 years from now, Sunyang would benefit from the result.

‘Thank you so much, I will never forget your aid,’ The president-elect said to him on the phone.

“I want to get you what you want, kid”

“This soon? I didn’t even tell you my grade yet,” said as if I had not heard anything of the election result, but thought of the pony promise.

“Grade?”

“Yes,”

“Oh! Right...”

He must have forgotten it.

“So did you get good grades?”

“I got straight A’s,”

He blinked in surprise, then laughed softly.

“I’m the only one in my cla.s.s who has gotten straight A’s,”

“Oh, well. It’s too late to buy you a pony today,”

Now I would like something bigger than that.

“It’s okay. I can’t even ride a pony. I will learn how to ride it over the winter break, then you can buy me one,” I continued, “Grandfather?”

“Yeah,”

“What is it you wanted to see me about, today?”

“Well, because of you, my companies can get bigger,”

Get richer, you mean?

He said, with a big smile.

“Then you can give me something bigger too?”

“Bigger? Of course. What is bigger than a pony?”

“Well…”

“Go on,”

“If I have a pony, will the pony be kept in a pasture in Jeju Island (an ideal place for raising horses in Korea)?”

“You can’t raise a pony in your house, you know that,”

“But… Once I have one, I will want to ride it every day. But I can’t always fly to Jeju Island to ride it,”

“Well, what should we do then?”

Delectable dishes such as sus.h.i.+, sas.h.i.+mi, bulgogi, doenjang jjigae, steak and jajangmyeon (black bean sauce noodles) started being served.

And there was cake for dessert.

He would not eat a meal without kimchi. Kimchi was served first.

“Eat up, kid,”

He watched me scarfing down jajangmyeon. When I lifted my chin, he shot me a smile.

After shoving a few pieces of sas.h.i.+mi into his mouth,

“Should we find a pasture near here so you can ride your pony every day?”

That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!

“Really?” I asked, swallowing hard.

With a broad smile on his face, he looked at me wiping black bean sauce off my mouth.

“Of course. You said you wanted something bigger, didn’t you,” he said, then laughed broadly.

‘Oh yes!’ almost came out of my mouth.

I had to do that d.a.m.n thing again; I climbed down off my chair, ran and hugged him.

He let out a hearty laugh.

I cruised around the table and dropped back into my chair.

“Where is your pasture, grandfather? Is it near your house?” I asked.

“You can’t raise horses near residential areas, as horses stink,”

“Where then?”

“North of Seoul,”

Record scratch...

That was not the area I’d had in my mind.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s just… too far,” I said, with a pout of my lips and a sullen look.

“Too far?”

“Our house is in Gangnam…”

“There is no pasture in the south of Seoul,”

“Make it. You can make everything you want, grandfather,” I said, in a nervous, yet firm and elated voice.

“What? Make a pasture?”

He erupted in laughter again. It was relief.

“Do-jun?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know how many companies I have?”

Although I knew the answer, I shook my head.

“I made 19 of 48 myself. And I bought the rest,”

Bought? Not robbed?

“I feel more attached to 19 that I built up,”

What is he trying to say?

“I like it when you say, make it,”

How should I react?

Brinking? Nodding?

“Let me help you make something of your own,”

He summoned his PA.

“Fetch us a map of Seoul and Gyeonggi-do,”

“Yes, sir,”

After a little while, the PA brought us a map.

The grandfather spread the map over the table, then circled a spot and pointed to it.

“Now, the circled spot is where my house is, where do you want to make your own pasture? Circle a spot,”

Crazy!

d.a.m.n happy now.

I pretended to be agonizing over it although there was just one spot that had been in my mind for a long time.

“Pick carefully,”

I circled the one.

“Here,”

He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together.

“Looks far from here, don’t you think so?”

“Oh...”

I wore a sullen face, which shortly made him say, “All right then, kid,”

He called out the PA again.

“Determine if this spot is suitable for a pasture,”

“Yes, sir,”

The PA rolled up the map and put it under his arm, then backed into the door.

We continued to eat our dinner.

Grandfather changed the topic: friend.

I had none. How can a boy who has a mental age of 40 make a friend?