< This is a service (2) >
In the past, I never even looked at lottery tickets. I never even bought one.
My life was too hard to live believing in luck given by the heavens.
‘huh?’
There was another lottery ticket that was definitely shining golden, although it was very small compared to the one I bought.
“I’ll buy one more. This one!”
So I bought two golden lottery tickets.
“Jeonghyeok!”
My mother followed me in a hurry.
I stuffed the lottery ticket into my pocket and bought a bag of chocolates at the stand next to me.
“Jeonghyeok, Mom really surprised me. You suddenly got out of the car… Huh?”
I put a piece of chocolate in my mother’s mouth.
A mother who accidentally received chocolate and ate it.
The nagging disappeared and a sweet scent filled the air.
“I was so, so hungry.”
The mother’s expression also softened at her childish answer.
My mother stroked my head.
“good job.”
“Are you hungry too, Mom?”
I put another piece of chocolate into my mother’s mouth.
Mother smiled brightly.
So when our mother and I returned to the jeep, holding hands,
“Hey, kid. Why are you so······big all of a sudden!”
I also stuffed a handful of chocolate into the mouth of Mr. Cheol-gu, who was preparing to nag me.
The old man had to mumble with a frown on his face.
It is unlikely that someone who drinks coffee black would like the sweetness of chocolate.
“Sir, this is a bonus.”
If you receive something, you should also repay it.
“This is a service.”
I whispered softly in Mr. Cheolgu’s ear and put a lottery ticket in his pocket.
It was a plain gold-rimmed lottery ticket, completely different from mine, which was all splendidly gold-plated.
“Please give me some pocket money.”
“What the heck?”
Mr. Cheolgu checks the housing lottery and laughs, saying that he is amazed.
I guess it’s because I realized that my real purpose wasn’t chocolate.
“I really want this damn little brat······!”
But this time, Mr. Cheolgu couldn’t stretch my balls.
Because I already had a mouthful of chocolate loaded and ready for battle.
What would happen if you fired a barrage of spit-covered chocolates from inside an expensive jeep?
If you’re going to try it, let’s try it!
No one will be able to stop me!
* * *
I thought about it carefully on the way home.
‘I guess they decided to force demolition because the land prices near Guro Station are skyrocketing due to the success of the subway line 1 development?’
Guro Station began operation as a regular station in 1974 with the opening of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway.
Since then, it has grown rapidly along with the city, and has established itself as a major transfer station for the metropolitan area’s light rail as a junction station for the Gyeongbu Line and Gyeongin Line.
It has become a transportation hub to the point where the Kuro Vehicle Depot is located.
Moreover, because there are so many industrial complexes, shacks for factory workers are built like mushrooms.
‘Besides, the Asian Games will be held in Korea soon. The government is working hard to beautify the cityscape these days.’
When the U.S. President visited Korea in 1966, the shantytown in Namsan was captured on TV.
Government officials began beautifying the cityscape because they felt embarrassed to show it to foreigners.
Redevelopment of downtown Seoul began in earnest, and the demolition of unlicensed slums was accelerated.
‘In the 70s, when the development of Gangnam and the apartment sales boom hit, Wookwang Construction stepped in. They thought they could make money by building and selling apartments here.’
The military regime promoted urban development projects in the 1970s, focusing on the development of Gangnam.
To encourage population movement, major government agencies, including the Supreme Court and the Public Prosecutors’ Office, were moved to Gangnam.
In addition, the relocation of prestigious high schools called Gangnam 8th District was promoted.
In this way, Gangnam development was successful.
Apartments were sold out as soon as they were built, to the point that new words like “bokkoin” and “premium” were coined.
People saw apartment and land prices skyrocket, and construction companies turned their attention to places they could redevelop for cheap: shantytowns and slums.
‘If that happens, the people of the shantytown will be forced out onto the streets.’
In the 1970s, 32% of houses in Seoul were shacks.
‘There’s nowhere to go with the tiny compensation. House prices have gone up so much these days.’
With the success of Gangnam development, a real estate craze began to blow throughout Seoul.
The land in Jamsil, which was worth 400 won per pyeong in the 70s, was worth close to 400,000 won per pyeong in the late 80s.
It has jumped a thousand-fold in just over ten years.
‘People who were forcibly evicted in the 70s and 80s even tore down their temporary shacks and dug tunnels to live in.’
I glanced down at my pocket.
The housing lottery ticket I bought earlier was still glowing golden.
“Everyone is here. Let’s get off.”
Before I knew it, I arrived in front of the house.
A large number of people, young and old, were crowded together in the front yard of the house.
There was only one reason for us to gather here on a Sunday afternoon.
The house of the richest lady in our neighborhood had a black and white television.
‘You came to see the housing lottery drawing.’
A shantytown that will soon be forcibly demolished.
For people with nowhere to go and no money, the only hope was the luck of the housing lottery.
The first prize is a whopping 10 million won!
A huge sum of money is needed to buy a newly built apartment in Gangnam.
“Oh my, Jeong-hyeok’s mom!”
The townspeople greeted us as we got out of the car.
“You said you almost got into trouble yesterday? Are you feeling better?”
“I heard the story. You said you were taken away because of coal gas?”
“I heard there are a lot of people suffering from the aftereffects of coal gas. Go in quickly and lie down. We’ll take care of Jeong-hyeok.”
My mother smiled brightly and expressed her gratitude.
“I’m okay. I’m fine thanks to your concern. Thank you so much for helping me yesterday.”
Everyone added their comments in a noisy manner.
“Jeonghyeok ran around barefoot to save his mother?”
“I am alive thanks to my son. I don’t know how he is so talented.”
“I’m so glad you came back healthy.”
“Okay, everyone, let’s all applaud to celebrate the safe return of Jeong-hyeok’s mother!”
The townspeople applauded in unison.
We laughed awkwardly and kept bending down.
So we were able to return to our one-room house, bustling with activity.
“Jeonghyeok, just sit down and wait for a moment. Mom will prepare food soon.”
My heart was pounding.
It’s been 45 years since I’ve had my mother’s home-cooked meal!
The taste of my mother’s cooking, which has been so long that even my memory has become hazy······.
“Ugh!”
I remember it as a childish tantrum over side dishes.
This much I can say for sure.
My memories must have been embellished over time.
“Mom, water!”
Salty! Spicy! Bland! Bingy! Oily! Fatty!
No, what kind of side dish makes each of its own claims so unique?
What have you done to the substitute food!
“Hey, my son ate well today. He must have been really hungry.”
Don’t smile so proudly!
I just forced myself to eat three spoonfuls of rice.
Ah, life······.
Crunch, crunch. Hororok.
Yeah, filial piety is nothing special.
If our mother smiles, that is filial piety.
Why do I cry while eating, even though it’s not chemical, biological, or radiological warfare training?
Dalgrak. Dalgrak.
I asked, scraping the rice grains stuck to the bowl with a spoon.
“Mom, I’m talking about my dad.”
Mother put down her spoon.
He observed my expression for a long time, then his face became very stiff.
But I pretended not to know.
“That’s right. Mom was taken to the hospital yesterday and almost died. Why didn’t you call Dad?”
“Jeonghyeok, your father······.”
The silence is getting longer again.
“Did Dad abandon us?”
“That’s not it.”
My mother drank the water in one gulp and then sighed as she spoke.
“My father went to the Middle East to make a lot of money. He couldn’t come back because he was building roads and buildings there.”
The dispatch of construction workers overseas became very popular in the 1980s due to the construction boom in the Middle East.
Daewoon Construction was famous for rising to the ranks of conglomerates overnight by winning overseas construction orders.
However, it seems a bit early for the Middle East construction boom to begin in earnest.
‘You don’t want to tell me properly?’
Which second generation chaebol would be paving roads and building buildings in the Middle East right now?
If not······ Hmm. I can guess what it might be.
“Mom, what is my dad’s name?”
Before Mom could answer, a commotion was heard outside.
The children shouted loudly in the front yard of the owner’s house.
“Now it’s number one!”
“1 trillion!”
The draw for the group has ended.
“Get ready and shoot!”
The next six digits were played in a dart shooter.
“2!”
The children followed along with loud voices.
Because the screen is so small, people sitting in the back can’t see the numbers.
The kids sitting in the front are shouting loudly.
“4!”
“9!”
for a moment!
I took the housing lottery ticket out of my pocket.
‘Group 1, 2, 4, 9······.’
Outside, the children called out the rest of the numbers.
“Huh!”
The more I thought about it, the more my hands trembled.
Because something was happening that had never happened in my entire life.
“Jeonghyeok?”
Why else would my mother, who had been bowing her head with a serious expression, approach me with a puzzled look on her face?
My mother also looked at the housing lottery ticket trembling in my hand.
Soon, my mother also said the same thing as I did.
“Huh!”
My mother and I met eyes in midair.
His eyes looked like an earthquake had occurred.
“This, first place······!”
Prize money 10 million won!
It was the price of an apartment in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam.
< This is the end of service (2) >
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