I Became the Loan Shark Queen’s Grandson!
Chapter 6
"No matter how hard you squeeze Kim Dong-su, there's nothing left to take."
"I'll figure something out. If you lend someone money, shouldn't you also help them reach a point where they can repay it?"
Jo Sun-ja stared at me as if I'd just said something ridiculous.
The employees in the private lending office reacted the same way.
Every face seemed to be asking, Do you seriously think that's possible?
"Does that even make sense?"
"It does to me. I told you, Grandma. I'm going to practice romantic private lending."
"Taesan, are you really confident you can recover the principal?"
"Let's try."
"Taesan. No matter how much you like money, you'll get yourself into trouble if you make it by grinding people down."
The way Jo Sun-ja said that made me realize she was at least someone who knew where the line was.
She might be greedy, but she didn't cross certain boundaries.
"That's hardly much different from what you're already doing."
Grandma stared at me for a moment.
She didn't say anything, but her eyes clearly asked,
And what would you know?
"How much time do you need?"
"A week should be enough."
The person most shocked by that answer was Kim Dong-su.
"A week is enough?"
"Yes. I think so. Judging by Kim Dong-su's face, he doesn't seem like someone who's lived his whole life irresponsibly."
"You're right about that."
"Then give me one week."
"Fine."
Jo Sun-ja nodded.
She had probably decided that one chance was acceptable.
"H-How are you going to do it?"
Kim Dong-su looked at me with a trembling voice.
His face made it obvious that he hadn't expected things to move in this direction.
"Mr. Kim Dong-su, let's die once."
"What?"
"I think we'll find the answer after you die."
I decided to trust the number floating before my eyes.
Ninety-three percent.
If that number was real, then there was one plan worth trying.
"Manager Park."
"Yes, Boss."
"Didn't one of our borrowers work as a pretty capable shaman?"
"Yes. There's a shaman known as the Lotus Fairy."
"Bring her here."
Jo Sun-ja glanced at me before turning toward Manager Park.
He silently looked between her and me before speaking.
"Boss, shouldn't we wait until after the DNA test?"
I understood immediately.
Jo Sun-ja had already guessed what I was trying to do.
Manager Park had probably reached the same conclusion after watching our expressions.
I could also understand why he wanted to stop her.
"Why?"
"She's expensive."
"Expensive?"
"Yes. She received another spirit initiation recently, and apparently her spiritual power has become extremely strong. And... we still don't know for certain."
His voice trailed off.
But the meaning was obvious.
If they got involved carelessly, they might end up responsible for something.
Manager Park cautiously looked at me too.
"That's true. You said the test results would take how many days?"
"Exactly one week."
The message behind that answer was clear.
Jo Sun-ja wanted me to do nothing until then.
But I had a different opinion.
I had already decided exactly what I was going to do during that week.
"If he's really my grandson, what am I supposed to do about something like this?"
Jo Sun-ja spoke while staring straight through me.
I had acted like I was unusually good at reading faces.
Now that skill was making her suspicious.
To her, I probably looked like someone who could see straight through people despite not being a shaman.
If the grandson she finally found turns out to be someone destined to become a shaman...
Any grandmother would worry.
Family.
Reputation.
Money.
A successor needed to be able to control all of those things.
Something like a divine calling would crack that order apart.
Jo Sun-ja nodded slowly and muttered.
"Anyway, the brat definitely has good eyes. You really know how to judge people. Taesan, what are you planning to do with those eyes now?"
By then, Kim Dong-su and I were already sitting together on the sofa.
It was the sofa in the corner of the office where Manager Park usually sat while reading the newspaper.
Quiet.
Out of the way.
A good place to talk.
I was about to speak when a question came sooner than expected.
"Grandma, I'll handle it myself."
"You don't even want me asking?"
"Just help me with the things I need. I'll take responsibility for everything else."
I turned toward Manager Park.
"You're Manager Park, right?"
"That's right."
"Do you happen to know a funeral hall?"
"What?"
"A cheap one would be even better. Just introduce me to one. I don't need anything else."
"What are you planning to do?"
Manager Park looked completely confused.
There was suspicion in his eyes.
Confusion.
And even a little irritation.
He couldn't begin to guess why I was asking for something like that.
But I didn't explain.
"That's all I need."
Explaining more would probably only make them more suspicious.
I quietly turned away.
Then I looked at Kim Dong-su.
"Give me your phone."
"What?"
"Give it to me."
When I repeated myself, Kim Dong-su hesitated before quietly handing me his phone.
I took it and immediately opened the contact list.
I slowly scrolled down.
There were far more numbers than I expected.
More than five hundred saved contacts.
Trustworthiness: 93%.
I repeated the number in my head.
The figures shown by my ability weren't meaningless statistics.
They represented a person's past.
