20 years ago.

“Taejun, it’s done.”

Taejun intentionally broke the device because he wanted a new mobile phone, but what he received from his dad was a mobile phone that his dad had personally fixed.

“How is it? Everything okay?”

“I wanted a new mobile phone. It’s my birthday next week; can you change it to red?”

“This kid. Why does a 10-year-old want to change his mobile phone again?”

Dad scolded Taejun in a good-natured way.

“Using something fixed for 5 or 10 years, making a good machine is Dad’s dream.”

“If everyone just keeps using fixed things, new mobile phones won’t sell, right? Then we’ll become poor.”

Taejun already had a managerial mindset. Blood couldn’t be hidden.

To Taejun, who already seemed to understand his dad’s words, his dad calmly explained.

“So, we have to keep attracting new customers. People keep being born, so if we continue to make an effort to attract young customers, that’s the effort. The effort is making good products.”

Attract, bring in. These were difficult words for a 10-year-old, but Taejun somehow felt like he could understand his dad’s words.

“And let me tell you. If we keep producing good products and become a global company, maybe we’ll have to advertise encouragement for marriage and childbirth.”

The story of the distant future seemed a bit extravagant, but if it were Dad, he seemed capable of creating such a future.

“You can keep using the mobile phone. I’ll give you a different, better gift for your birthday.”

“Yeah. You have to give me something better!”

Convinced by Dad, 10-year-old Taejun nodded vigorously.

Laguna Province, Philippines.

As soon as the day broke, Taejun went to meet the families of the deceased employees. The bereaved families, who still couldn’t accept the fact that they had lost their family members, shed tears several times even while sharing their stories. Taejun calmly comforted the bereaved families and listened to the details of the incident.

“My husband and his colleagues had trouble with the boss about a defect in the parts for about three months. It seems they weren’t being accepted. My husband and his colleagues continued to complain, and in the end, they were transferred to another factory altogether. They had to learn a completely new job and were having a hard time. He had accumulated fatigue and had an accident while driving.”

According to the family, it seemed to be a situation that could be considered industrial fatigue, an industrial accident. However, there was no record of the deceased employee being diagnosed before his death, and commuting was treated as normal commuting hours, making it difficult.
When he turned around, he saw a child who seemed to have lost his father overnight, sobbing. He looked like a boy of around ten. Taejun felt like he was looking at himself when he lost his parents.

Visiting the Philippines reminded him of his father’s thoughts when he was alive. His father, who wanted to create the world’s greatest company, his father who had many dreams…

Although the current K Group has achieved many things, it seems to have clearly deviated from his father’s dream. Perhaps his father’s dream was an impossible task from the beginning. For a company to continue growing, products have to keep selling. If they produce machines that can be used for 5 or 10 years, sales will inevitably decline.

However, in the meantime, there are people who put effort into fixing beloved devices so that they can be used for 5 or 10 years. Taejun’s thoughts on reminiscing about his father reached the present.

“I think the desire to continue using something without throwing away is precious.”

He remembered the woman who lovingly repaired the old foldable phones of customers.

Someday, could he tell her? Whenever I see you, I think of my father. Not the father in the painful memory who left the world because of his father, but the father who dreamed of wonderful things when he was alive.

As much as he missed his father, he somehow wanted to see Han Soeun.

Come to think of it, didn’t Han Soeun’s father say he was in the Philippines?

After finishing the visit to the bereaved families, on his way out, Taejun contacted the counselor for the first time in a while.

“Could you introduce an investigator in the Philippines? I would appreciate it if they are competent.”

Kim Malhui, who arrived first at the meeting place, greeted Hyunji’s parents with her husband Yang Kyuchil. Hyunji’s parents were as expressive and full of bright energy as Hyunji, making the atmosphere of the meal pleasant throughout. Except for Malhui, who kept cramping her mouth due to smiling throughout, everything was perfect.

After the meal was almost over, Hyunji’s father looked at Hyunji and Heeuk with affectionate eyes and smiled happily.

“A very handsome young man and a beautiful young lady have met.”

“My daughter is like a blessing. With the beautiful Hyunji next to him, wouldn’t our Heeuk naturally become a handsome young man?”