Retire 274

274 Coin (1)

“Who even uses coins these days?”

“What are you talking about! People still use them all the time!”

“Everyone just uses cards now. You give me my allowance on a card, too.”

“What? You get your allowance on a card?”

Hong Seok-young stared at me, genuinely shocked.

“On a card? What kind of allowance is that! There’s no fun in getting your allowance on a card!”

“Getting an allowance isn’t supposed to be fun, you know.”

Hong Seok-young grumbled, his face full of dissatisfaction.

“Kids need to handle real bills to understand what spending money feels like…. If you just load money onto a card, does it even feel like money? Isn’t that right, Irok?”

“I like using a card.”

“Irok, you’re supposed to take my side, aren’t you?”

“Why? It’s not like you’re the one giving me my allowance.”

“I pay your brother’s salary, you know!”

“Still, you’re not the one giving me my allowance.”

How long am I supposed to watch this ridiculous little skit?

But I didn’t want to get involved, so I ignored them. Or, looking at it another way, I could say that Woo Irok was keeping Hong Seok-young entertained for me. Meanwhile, Hong Seok-young probably thought he was doing me a favor by playing with Irok instead.

This is what you call a win-win. Everyone gets what they want without anyone getting hurt.

“……”

Well, of course, there’s always someone who ends up with nothing and suffers for it.

Science and technology have advanced year after year, but in some ways, things never change. Twenty years ago, people were probably gathering online and arguing, and twenty years from now, they’ll still be at it. Why would this time be any different?

Kim Chae-min offered to lend me his ID to check out the mage community. For all their idolization of magic over science, they sure know how to make use of modern conveniences.

‘You’ll find all sorts of interesting stuff.’

Kim Chae-min said that only mages above a certain rank could access the site.

‘But that doesn’t mean only real mages are here, you know what I mean?’

‘Are you sure it’s okay to show me this?’

‘Of course not. But what are they going to do if they find out I did? Fire me? Fire a grand mage?’

That confidence was a good look on him. Sure, arrogance isn’t great, but being too self-effacing isn’t any better.

If you know your abilities and can be confident in them, that’s the best.

‘Just avoid logging in at the same time as me, okay? That’s all.’

Kim Chae-min said it was best to avoid trouble, but since he didn’t log in often, he told me to browse as much as I liked and to let him know if I ever needed access.

‘Honestly, I think Mr. Woo would be better at picking out suspicious news than I am.’

I couldn’t tell if he was saying he trusted me or just trying to mess with me.

‘And seriously! You won’t find any real information here. But you can get a feel for the atmosphere, you know? Sometimes there are people trying to sway the crowd to their own tastes, but…’

‘It’s the same everywhere people gather.’

Kim Chae-min burst out laughing.

‘Mages aren’t that special, after all.’

And indeed, these supposedly not-so-special mages were busy fighting in their own online community. If this were real life instead of the internet, they’d be pulling hair and throwing punches by now.

“I pay Hee-jae’s salary, and that money goes to Irok, so if you think about it, I’m the one giving the allowance!”

“What kind of logic is that!”

…There’s a poor soul fighting right in front of me, too.

At least one of them is a kid, so you can make allowances. But the other, a man pushing fifty, is fighting tooth and nail to outwit a child at the same mental age. What a bleak reality.

I shook my head and looked at my phone. The mage community was ablaze.

[We can’t just let this stand]
[Dayeon and Daseon’s Behavior]
[When did magic become so cheap?]
[So funny—since when do we treat runes as magic?]
[It’s time for mages to stand up]

Posts in every language imaginable. You didn’t even have to click to guess what they were about.

It was the third day since Daseon had made the mana-shielding rune public.

“I told you, you’re not the one giving me my allowance! Mind your own business!”

“Woo Irok. Is that any way to talk to your uncle?”

“My allowance comes from my brother, so you really don’t need to worry about it, sir.”

…What has he been watching lately? His vocabulary is suspicious. He shouldn’t be able to watch anything but kids’ cartoons with parental controls on.

Hong Seok-young laughed heartily at Irok’s words, a laugh so cheerful it was almost unsettling.

“So if I gave you an allowance, would that mean you’d have the right to talk back to me?”

So that’s what he was after.

I could practically hear Irok’s eyes rolling. I kept pretending to look at my phone.

I clicked on an English post, since the European languages were too hard to read and the translation software wasn’t great yet….

[Why all the fuss? Only mages can draw runes anyway. That rune isn’t going to starve us; it’s going to feed us.

I’m telling you, that rune is going to become a must-have for dungeon raids. And the mages who can draw it? What do you think will happen to them?

If you’ve got any brains as a mage, you should know.]

Nationality… let’s see. British.

The tone sounded European. America, as Kim Chae-min said, had a looser, more easygoing vibe.

I checked a few more posts by European mages. Even with the poor translation, I could get the gist. Most of them were saying the same thing as that Brit.

They didn’t like the rune.

But only mages can draw runes, so stop worrying.

Who’s the mage who made the rune with Daseon?

It’s a disgrace to mages, they should be expelled….

I snorted at that last one. Expelled? Expelled from where, exactly? As long as you can use magic, you’re still a mage.

“…How much? Depending on the amount, I might consider it.”

And of course, the nonsense wasn’t limited to just one side.

I thought about saying something, but stopped. Even if I tried to intervene, Hong Seok-young would just find some new excuse to shower Irok with gifts. That man hasn’t given up yet.

“How much would it cost to make you my son?”

A line straight out of some old drama.

“How much are you willing to pay?”

Irok, what on earth have you been watching!!!

Hong Seok-young’s eyes went wide at Irok’s response, then he burst into laughter.

“Oh, how much am I willing to pay?”

He laughed even harder when he caught my eye.

“I’d pay enough for Irok to do anything he wanted!”

“……”

“And how much is that?”

Irok, perhaps thinking he was being mocked, pouted.

Foolish kid… That wasn’t mockery. That man never makes empty promises.

I forced myself to look back at my phone.

American mages, whatever they really thought, seemed outwardly supportive of Daseon. It felt like they were ready to break away from the old magic societies and oppose the European stance, at least for now.

Asian mages, on the other hand, weren’t saying much. There were a few posts from Japanese and Chinese mages, but Korea was all but silent.

It was rare to find a Korean mage with no connection to Daseon.

Ironically, the person with the loudest voice in the Korean mage community was Kim Chae-min, thanks to his lineage as a third-generation grand mage. No Korean mage could afford to ignore a rune endorsed by someone like him.

“I said, enough for Irok to do anything he wants!”

“…What about my brother?”

“Your brother?”

“You said you’d make my brother your son too.”

“That’s right.”

“Then you’d have to give him an allowance too.”

I couldn’t take it anymore and jumped in.

“My brother’s too old for an allowance.”

“If someone’s offering you money, why not take it? Why refuse?”

What’s wrong with these people? I thought I was doing a good job raising him.

School? Taekwondo? I remember him bragging about making friends with older kids at taekwondo class….

I rubbed my finger across the phone screen, not really seeing it, and tried to keep my cool.

“…He never said he’d give me anything.”

“Uncle, aren’t you going to give him an allowance?”

“Huh? Why wouldn’t I? Of course I will.”

I glanced at Hong Seok-young. I expected him to be grinning at me, but he was still looking at Irok.

He reached out and gently ruffled Irok’s hair with his big hand. The look in his eyes was so warm—just like the way my father used to look at me.

Thinking that Irok could feel that too…

…it wasn’t so bad.

“Irok’s brother, and Hee-jae, you can both do anything you want.”

And then that same expression turned to me.

“Though it seems like you already do.”

“…Me?”

“I’m saying you should do even more.”

Just like that, the warmth vanished and he gave me his usual annoying grin.

But Irok’s pout didn’t fade.

“That’s not the point. I’ll do what I want by my own strength. I don’t need your help for that.”

“Really?”

Hong Seok-young ruffled Irok’s hair even more, as if he was proud.

“Your brother calls me every time he doesn’t want to do something. Do this, do that. Irok, you shouldn’t grow up like that, okay?”

That man, honestly.

“That’s not what you said, though.”

“Hm?”

“Telling me to do whatever I want means I don’t have to do what I don’t want, right?”

“…Is that how it works?”

“Stop messing with my hair already!”

Irok protested, but if Hong Seok-young ever listened to that, he wouldn’t be himself.

In the end, Irok tried to shake off his hand, failed, and grumbled,

“I don’t need that much, just… a hundred thousand won a month… no, a hundred fifty… would two hundred thousand be okay?”

“……”

“……”

What am I supposed to do with this kid.

There’s a reason that old curse about raising a child just like yourself has such a long and storied history. Irok isn’t my son, but… well, not quite my little brother, either.

I put down my phone.

“Irok.”

Irok’s shoulders jerked.

…Has his shirt gotten too small? Since the new year, he’s been shooting up like a bean sprout. My sister always acts surprised when she sees me—maybe this is why. Back then, there was nothing I hated hearing more than “You’ve grown so much.”

Guess I’ll have to buy him new clothes again.

“Hey! He’s the one who said he’d give it to me!”

“Why are you haggling over it?”

“Can’t I?”

“…Was your allowance from me not enough?”

He’s never even spent all of it, not once.

Maybe there’s something he wants.

“It’s not that…”

For once, Irok hesitated.

“Then what? And don’t just say you never turn down free money.”

“……”

Irok glanced at me, checking to see if he could get away without answering.

I knew exactly what he was thinking—I’d done all the same things myself, so it was plain as day.

When he realized I wasn’t going to let it go, he gave up and spoke.

“If I use a card, you can see everywhere I spend it.”

“……”

“I need another source of funds.”

“……”

I sighed and ignored Hong Seok-young, who was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

“Irok.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s time you learned the truth about the world.”

“Huh?”

“The reason I give you your allowance on a card is so I can see where you spend it.”

“……!”