episode_0012

After going through many hardships, I graduated from kindergarten and turned 8.

In conclusion, I kept my lips well, and with my mother’s encouragement, I succeeded in instilling in my younger sister, Ye-eun, a sense of reason close to Confucianism.

At least until she enters middle school, I hope she won’t have a boyfriend. I hope that Ye-eun will follow the Confucian ideas that I taught her.

The children in the kindergarten were so young and innocent that it was even scarier.

My sound and logical conversations did not work with some of the kids in kindergarten who would try to steal my lips at any moment while I was trying to take a nap.

The only way I could choose was to talk to the mothers who came to pick up their children during school hours.

Haha… So at some point, I was able to sleep comfortably and wake up without worrying about my lips, and time passed smoothly, and I was able to graduate comfortably.

At the age of five, the Korean economy was in fact recovering from the IMF foreign exchange crisis and making a comeback.

The higher exchange rate has boosted the competitiveness of export companies, and KOSPI has actually reached its highest point since the foreign exchange crisis due to the growth and expectations of IT technology stocks.

Compared to the past, it showed a growth rate of over 80%, and KOSDAQ showed the highest growth rate of all time with a growth rate of over 200% due to the dot-com bubble.

Likewise, the US NASDAQ also showed an 80% increase rate, making it a year in which anyone who traded stocks had no choice but to make money.

At that time, I was regretting that I couldn’t do stocks. Wasn’t it the best time to make money?

When I was six, the dot-com bubble burst, and the KOSPI and KOSDAQ, which had peaked when I was five, fell by over 50%. In the stock market in 2000, ordinary citizens who had entered the stock market late in life suffered greatly.

The Nasdaq also followed suit, falling more than 40 percent.

The difference between the US and Korea is that the US fell slowly, while Korea plummeted in an instant.

As a result, stocks were crushed, but the Korean economy appeared to have entered a period of stability following the IMF crisis.

South Korea’s GDP growth rate was 9 percent, the trade balance also turned to a surplus, and prices were stable.

When I was seven, both KOSPI and KOSDAQ, which had fallen when I was six, rose by 40% each as if they had never fallen.

However, when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred in the United States, the stock markets in the United States and Korea suddenly crashed, and although people were anxious due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, KOSPI and KOSDAQ gradually returned to their original positions over time.

However, the Korean economy did not fare as well as last year, with a 5 percent GDP growth rate and a trade surplus, but both figures fell significantly compared to the previous year.

But most importantly, the country graduated from the IMF management system by repaying its $19.5 billion in IMF bailout funds early.

Everything went as I remembered.

Now that I’m eight years old, I wonder if I can make money by trading stocks myself if I just talk to my mom.

Born into a wealthy family, I don’t have a huge desire for money, but I said that the more money I have, the better.

From the age of five, I started saving up the money I received during holidays or when I met relatives, as well as pocket money, without my parents even knowing.

Since I was young, I didn’t really have high expectations even though they were from a wealthy family. But since I started saving when I was five, I think it’s because the adults who gave me money were from wealthy families, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had more than five million won.

I made my own secret storage box and hid it there, so no one will find it.

My son will be starting elementary school next month, so I need to get permission and open a stock account before then, but it’s not easy to say.

So I thought that as a celebration of turning 8, I would ask for some pocket money. I thought that if I used the money to invest in stocks and save money after a week, my mom would probably let me.

Hmm, I think my plan is perfect.

***

Jaehoon is asking for pocket money now that he’s 8 years old?

Since ice cream costs about 500 won, I thought 3,000 won a week would be enough.

But it’s not Jaehoon.

He asked me for five thousand won because I needed to save money. I said I understood how special that was.

But then I suddenly remembered. I’ve definitely seen people receive pocket money several times during holidays or when meeting relatives.

I wondered where the money had gone, so I called the child’s father.

I don’t know. If you were going to give it to her, you would have given it to me instead of the kid’s father. It’s not Ye-eun, it’s Jae-hoon. Haha.

I guess I’ll have to ask him directly.

“Jaehoon!”

“Yeah. Why?”

“What did you do with the allowance you received from your relatives?”

“Huh?”

Jaehoon’s eyes are shaking.

It’s an uncommon scene, but there seems to be something poignant about it.

“Didn’t you get a lot of pocket money from your relatives?”

“I don’t know? Haha. I’ll go out for a bit.”

”Seo Jae-hoon! Aren’t you going to tell the truth?“

He ran away. I haven’t seen him since he gave birth to Jaehoon.

Since I was a smart kid, I didn’t really care when I saw him receive pocket money or allowance. Where would a kid spend money?

I’m sure it’s in the room since I left empty-handed.

I’ll have to look it up sometime.

If a smart kid like Jaehoon ran away like that, I don’t think he’d be anywhere easy to find.

Still, how much space would there be in Jaehoon’s room to hide?

Today I need to reclaim my status as a mother.

Um… I lifted the bed mattress and touched the clothes that were neatly folded one by one. There’s nothing there.

I don’t think Jaehoon would have put it in a place like a drawer, but just in case, I opened the drawer and looked through the pockets of the old padding, but it wasn’t there.

Where on earth could it be?

Surely it’s not between the ceiling and the light, right?

If I climb up on the chair, Jaehoon’s hands will move, so I’ll have to put my hand in once.

There is a risk of electric shock, so you should turn off the lights. I am a college graduate, so I have some common sense, right?

I climbed up on the chair and put my hand in, and it was full of dust. It seems like I will never be able to regain my mother’s status.

Whose son is he? That’s amazing. I can’t find him where he’s hidden in this small room.

Could it be that this isn’t the room? I go out to the living room and look around.

No matter how much I look at it, there isn’t a place I haven’t seen at least once.

There’s no way Jaehoon would take that risk. Whose son is he?

It definitely won’t be the master bedroom, and the study is only about 3.3 square meters and has only books and a bookshelf, so it won’t be Ye-eun’s room either, so I guess I’ll have to give up.

I was sitting on the sofa waiting for Jaehoon to leave the house, so it looks like Ye-eun has finished her nap.

“Mom. What are you doing?”

“Ye-eun, have you ever seen your brother hiding something?”

“Um… No! No!!”

Whose daughter is she? Her bright smile is so pretty.

No, that’s not it. You’re asking the wrong question.

“Do you know what Jaehoon did when he came to my house on New Year’s Day?”

“Brother? Did you sleep?”

“Did you do anything when you woke up?”

“Um… Ah!! When I woke up and saw that Mom and Dad were sleeping too, I was sitting there bored. Then I saw you coming out of the study!”

“What did you do when you came out of the study?”

“Um.. He said to me, shh! and went into the room.”

It looks like it’s hidden in the study.

“Thank you, Ye-eun!!”

When you enter the study, it is full of only bookshelves and books.

In a room that is at most 1 pyeong (approximately 3.5 square meters) converted from a warehouse, there is only a bookshelf and books, so where would I hide them?

Could it be hidden behind the books? Let’s check to see if there are any books sticking out.

No, that’s not true.

What on earth is this? It’s a study that my father and I built before Jaehoon was even born.

I know best that there is nowhere to hide.

I’m starting to get tired now. I guess I should give up. All I can do is wait for Jaehoon to come back.

“Wow. Mom, what is this book? It’s so fat!”

“This is a Korean dictionary, a book with a ton of Korean words written in it.”

“Can I see it too?”

“Graham. Mom will show you~”

I took out the Korean dictionary from the bottom shelf and removed the dictionary case from the outside.

I opened the book to show Ye-eun.??

Wow~ What could it be?? Money is fluttering.

I think Ye-eun did it.

Oh my gosh. The middle of the Korean dictionary has been cut to fit the size of money.

I picked up the money that had fallen on the floor and brought the Korean dictionary into the living room.

I sat on the sofa and counted, and it was two million won.

-Tingttingttingti tiring.

Just then my son comes home.

“Are you here?”

“Oh, it came out…”

This is my son looking at the dictionary on the living room table.

My pupils are shaking violently.

“Do you have anything to say to your mom?”

“You’re going to give it back to me? I worked hard to save it up, right?”

“Seeing what Jaehoon is doing?”

What could it be? My eyes, which had been shaking violently when I first looked at the Korean dictionary, changed to one of relief.

What did I miss?

“Ah!”

I picked up the money on the table and quickly ran to the study.

Seeing Jaehoon following me, I guess my guess was right.

I took out the encyclopedia that was on the opposite side of the Korean dictionary and the English dictionary that was in another corner.

I came out to the living room and opened it and saw that my son was truly amazing.

I should have noticed something strange when it started breaking down into million dollar bills.

My son, who sometimes has a sharp side in strange places, saves up money in units of millions of won.

Next to me, my son is standing with his mouth open, unable to say anything.

How can there be so much money? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so much money.

It took a long time to count. The total is six million won.

With this, it is confirmed that there is more.

“Son? ”

“Huh..?”

“Is there more?”

“….”

“If you want to take this money, bring it to me.”

My son is heading to the study with his shoulders hunched.

What book will it be this time?

huh?

Bring multiple books at once?

Wow, the Go books that came out in volumes 1-5 are the same size, so they pasted them together and only cut the middle.

I counted the money and it’s 1.38 million won. The total is 7.38 million won.

How much pocket money and allowance do adults give to their children in New Year’s money?

“Isn’t there more?”

“It’s written on the last page of the Go book. Check it out.”

My son’s speech is a bit aggressive. I think he’s upset.

I feel like I’ve regained my motherly status.

If you look at the last chapter that Jaehoon mentioned, there is some kind of… ledger written in it.

How much was received from whom, when, and the total amount by year.

“Wow, since when did you write this down?”

“I wrote it down separately when I was six, and then copied it while making the book.”

“Who told you this?”

“Someone tell me that. I learned it myself.”

“Why are you even self-studying~”

“Mom. So, can’t I use that money to invest in stocks?”

“Huh? What stock? Do you know how much money this is?”

“I know. My allowance is five thousand won.”

“Oh. That’s right! If you invest in stocks, all this money can disappear?”

“I know. But I’ve been watching a lot of economic news since I was little.”

“Let’s talk to Dad and then talk again!”

“Okay.”

“But Mom never said she’d give me the money back.”

”….“

A son with his mouth open and unable to say anything. What a precious scene.

My son today has a great sense of humor.