After Sales-Services
Ten-year-old Kim Tae-Joon's birthday was filled with white and black.
His parents are smiling in the photo, buried in white chrysanthemums, but no one else is laughing along.
"Egg, you're too bad. How could you close your eyes to such a young son?"
Instead of wishing Tae-Joon a happy birthday, people sent their condolences.
The day before his birthday, his parents were returning home from an annual event when they were killed in a car accident. With a young life growing inside his mother's belly, it was three people who lost their lives.
The driver crossed the center line and barely missed a truck coming from the opposite direction. No, a sharp swerve saved the driver's life, but Tae-joon's parents, who were in the back seat, were killed instantly. It was a disaster due to drowsy driving.
Kim Seok-woo, the eldest son of K Group Chairman Kim Jae-pil and president of KEPCO, and Seol Jin-hee, a former beauty queen and broadcaster, The news of their unfortunate deaths became a global issue. Reporters camped out in front of the funeral home, and some even took pictures inside the funeral home.
Despite all the commotion, their only son, Kim Tae-Joon, held the funeral ceremony with dignity. On the day of his parents' deaths, he cried in disbelief, but he managed to keep his head above water amid the hustle and bustle.
People's mouths dropped at the maturity he showed at the age of ten.
Tae-joon's emotions were still locked inside.
"Grandpa, what about that guy who killed mom and dad?"
Tae-joon asked Kim Jae-pil in the car on the way home from the funeral.
"Did he get the death penalty? Or will he live the rest of his life in prison?"
Jae-pil pursed his lips at the unexpected question, and after a moment, he spoke up.
"I don't know what's going to happen yet, but it won't be the death penalty, and it won't be life imprisonment. They say the sentence will be one or two years."
"What? My mom and dad are dead."
Tae-joon asked, his eyes burning with anger. He'd never felt so helpless in front of his grandfather, who had built a huge company and ruled the world.
"You don't even feel sorry for my mom and dad? You should make him spend the rest of his life in prison. My dad was the boss, and what about his company? You should make him pay $100 billion!"
"That's the kind of people we are, Tae-Joon."
Jae-Pil, who understood the child's heart, said it gently. He needed to know the truth about the world. The grievances of those who live as the ruling class are grievances that no one recognizes.
"Sometimes we are treated unfairly because we have so much. No one understands our frustrations, and no matter how much you hate the driver who caused the accident, you can't drive him away. You have to forgive him even if you want to chase him to hell and back to make him do the same. That's the thing about social status."
"......."
"I know it's hard for you now, but one day you'll realize."
"No, I won't. Then I'll give up my social status."
Tae-joon clenched his fists and gritted his teeth at his grandfather's sternness.
"I'll just curse that old man forever."
When they reached the mansion and the gate opened, Tae-joon jumped out of the car and ran.
"Tae-joon!"
"Leave him alone."
Tae-joon's aunt, Seok-hwa, called quickly, but Jae-pil held her back.
Tae-joon ran and ran and ran through the mansion's large garden. It was the most rebellious thing a young Tae-Jun could do.
Tae-joon knew he had more than others. But nothing he had would ever replace his parents.
Now he would be alone for the rest of his life.
Tae-joon ran until he was out of breath and finally reached the staff quarters. In the tear-stained landscape, a little girl of six or seven years old was holding a lollipop in one hand and holding the hand of the mansion cook with her other hand.
She was the girl he'd seen from time to time in the mansion's garden.
She is Han So-eun. Tae-joon quickly realized that she was the daughter of the driver who had caused the accident.
"Auntie, when will my dad come home? Why hasn't he come home yet?"
The child asked with an innocent look on her face, a lollipop slipping in and out of her lips, making her eyes shine. Her face was white, and her short hair was in a cute braid.
She was unforgivable in her sparkle.
*** *** ******.
Kim Seok-hwa, President of the Home Appliance Division of KEPCO, waited for her only nephew at a restaurant.
A few minutes after she sat down, she saw her nephew, Tae-joon.
Her nephew is now 30 years old.
Recognizing him from afar, Seok-hwa's eyes lit up with joy.
Finding a seat, Tae-joon bowed to the waiter before greeting his aunt.
"Thank you."
A straightforward demeanor, a calm, low voice, and a soft resonance.
She had a friendly demeanor, but her broad shoulders and long bones made her seem imposing.
Tae-joon sat down and greeted him.
"I'm sorry, have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here."
Seok-hwa couldn't help but smile at the growth of her thirty-year-old nephew, who was no longer the slightest bit boyish.
"Why do you look better every time I see you? You're so clear, so clear."
It was a natural reaction from an aunt who admired her nephew's appearance. Tae-joon stretched his lips as if he were used to hearing such comments.
Soon, the appetizers arrived on the table.
Even in front of his aunt, whom he hadn't seen in a year, Tae-joon didn't fuss. It was table manners he had been strictly taught. In the silence of the meal, without the sound of chewing food or the clinking of cutlery and utensils, Seok-hwa's eyes turned back to her nephew.
The handsome features he had inherited from his parents, coupled with his refinement, made him the perfect young man to be given away.
"Who's going to take him? Doesn't he have a girlfriend?"
"If he did, would he come back to Korea?"
"Doesn't he have a girl following him around?"
"Not really."
"If he does, why doesn't he have one?"
"I don't know. Is he a bad personality?"
"That's right, there's no other reason."
Tae-joon chuckled at his aunt's joke.
"It's time to get married, Tae-Joon."
"You're not going to get married and live like your aunt?"
"Am I not getting married? No, I can't."
Seok-hwa's grin grew wider as her nephew, who had been eating politely, looked furious. Tae-joon's lips lengthened, and his cheeks puckered. Seok-hwa felt a pang in her stomach as she thought of her brother, who had passed away 20 years ago. She hid her feelings and spoke softly.
"You should have stayed a little longer," she said, "and I would have gotten you a job at the electronics headquarters."
Tae-Joon was supposed to return to Korea a year later, at the age of thirty-one, to join K-Electronics. I was told that it was a firm promise to my grandfather, but I was surprised that my nephew had returned home a year earlier.
Tae-Joon, who had spent most of his adult life overseas except for his military enlistment, was offered a position as the head of KEPCO's service center upon his return. It was a position with the title of director, but it could have been a bit of a stretch for the third generation of the family, who came from an Ivy League family.
" My dad was overwhelmed. He said, "What's the head of a service center for a grandson like you who should be applauded in the holding company's business strategy office?"
"No, I told my grandfather that's where I'm going."
When Seok-hwa defends her nephew and complains about Chairman Kim Jae-pil's decision, Tae-joon immediately denies it.
"You? Why?"
"Because I need after-sales service myself."
Tae-joon replied with a smile and continued eating.
Seokhwa was even more puzzled.
*.
Speed is the foundation of after-sales service. People come to the center with a purpose, and you don't want to waste their time.
However, service centers are always full. Even if we worked quickly without stopping to go to the restroom, we couldn't overcome the speed at which customers came in. More work was piling up than was being solved.
Sweat kept pooling on the bridge of her glasses. So-eun pulled out a tissue, wiped the bridge of her nose roughly, and went back to work.
She took an unpaid leave of absence, returned to work after a month, and spent the following month being looked down upon by her coworkers. I am sure they feel bad for her because she left and returned without telling them what happened.
But you can't just blurt it out.
Her body was swollen with fatigue from all the hard work she had done, but she couldn't say anything about it. So-eun quickly slammed her arms down and stomped her legs as she let one customer leave and greeted the next.
It's okay; you did good.
You saved someone's life.
She told herself again today.
Two months ago, So-eun had 65 percent of her liver removed. She did it to save her boyfriend Yang Hee-wook's mother, Mrs. Kim Mal-hee.
After eight months of dating, she learned that Mrs. Kim was suffering from liver cancer. Yang Hee-wook burst into tears when he told her. It was the first time she had ever seen her boyfriend, who always showed her a strong and affectionate side, cry so sadly.
It was a big shock for So-Eun, too. Mrs. Kim had always treated So-eun with affection and cared for her like her own daughter. She didn't want to be judged for having a lawyer son.
The warmth of the Yang family was like a ray of sunshine to So-Eun, who had been a miserable person for most of her twenty-seven years of life. When So-eun was eager to enter the sunlight, Mrs. Kim first brought up the subject of marriage. She welcomed So-eun, saying that if she had a daughter-in-law like So-eun, no one would envy her and that she shouldn't worry about the wedding; just come with her body.
They began preparing for the wedding and went for a medical checkup together. Not knowing what to expect, So-eun underwent several tests as Hee-wook recommended. When the results came back, Hee-wook burst into tears as soon as he received them.
"So-Eun, I'm glad you're type O. I wish I was type O too."
It was then that Hee-wook confided in So-eun about his mother's health condition. Hee-wook told her that he wanted to give her his liver, but he couldn't because his blood type didn't match her blood type, and he cried sadly because everyone in his family didn't have the same blood type as her.
Liver transplant surgery is possible even if the donor and recipient have different blood types, but the family is worried about accidents.
So-Eun couldn't sleep that night, even though she was found to have the same blood type as Kim and was healthy enough to donate her liver. So-eun was also a potential liver donor for her mother-in-law. While liver donation is not allowed for non-family members, it is possible for those who are engaged to be married.
The mother who asked her to be my daughter was the one she said she already considered her biological mother.
I wanted to have a real mother, to believe we were a real family.
She wanted to repay them with even more love—to be loved forever. And she wanted to be loved forever.
And so she decided for a lifetime.
"Mother, I'm sure my liver will be perfect for you, so I'll have it checked again."
So-eun will never forget the tears that burst out of both Hee-wook's and Mrs. Kim's eyes at the same time and the overwhelmed expressions on their faces.
After a thorough medical examination, it was determined that So-eun's organs would fit perfectly into Mrs. Kim's body.
Hee-wook's family was overjoyed, saying it was meant to be. So-eun was overjoyed, too.
Organ donation from a non-relative is a very demanding process. The donor had to prove his or her pure will and purity, without any coercion, to be approved by the state.
Soeun had to meet with social workers several times to prove her innocence, and she had to prepare a lot of paperwork. Hee-wook took care of most of the headache of filling out the paperwork, but So-eun accompanied him every time.
Eventually, the preparations for the surgery went well, and So-eun was finally put on the operating table. On the operating table, So-eun dreamed that the compass of her life was suddenly turned.
The surgery was successful.
After the surgery, she woke up alone.
The pain was so intense that she could barely breathe as she realized what she had lost overnight and where her body had been cut.
The first person to rush to her side when she woke up was a nurse.
"Ms. Han, the surgery went well. It was laparoscopic, so the wound isn't too big."
"What about my mom? And my guardian."
"She's probably in your mom's hospital room; I think they're all there because the recipient's condition is more critical."
It was natural and unavoidable, but even as she resigned herself to the fact, Soeun felt a pit in her stomach.
From then on, So-eun's health took a backseat to Ms. Kim's recovery. So-eun had to take care of Mrs. Kim while she was hospitalized herself.
She was discharged from the hospital after a short stay, and the wedding preparations took a backseat. Hee-wook was always by her side in her spare time, and So-eun had to visit her in the hospital instead of preparing for the wedding.
Hee-wook was always by her side in her spare time, and So-eun had to attend to her illness instead of preparing for the wedding.
*So-eun
So-eun worked diligently and headed straight to the hospital after work. Although there is a bus that goes from Suwon to the hospital in Seoul, it takes quite a long time due to the distance.
On the bus, So-eun made a promise to herself.
"We should still talk about getting married today because it's better to book a venue early.
She had taken a tour of a wedding venue a long time ago but hadn't made a reservation. A medical examination and a surgery scheduled for Mrs. Kim put everything on the back burner.
Now that my mother-in-law's condition is getting better, we have to start planning the wedding again.
I have to say it in a nice way so as not to hurt her feelings.
Once we have a wedding date, she'll cheer up and recover faster.
So-eun filled her head with positive expectations and headed toward the hospital room.
She could hear the sound of conversation coming through the door. It was the voices of Mrs. Kim and Hee-wook Yang.
"Did you say Choi Hyun-ji? You said you work at the same law firm."
"Yes. He's a fellow lawyer."
"That's great. You must be busy, but you came to visit your colleague's mother. Are you married?"
"Not married."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-seven."
"You're the same age as So-Eun."
Mrs. Kim sighed loudly through the hospital room door.
"Cha-am was beautiful. I wasted it."
At the sound of Mrs. Kim's voice, So-eun reached for the door handle and let go.
"You have such pretty and smart girls around you. Your parents are still alive, and your family is good."
"My parents are alive and well, and good girls don't give to my mom."
So-eun raised her hand, hastily covering my mouth.
Mrs. Kim's lament continued.
"She's a sinner. She mortgaged our son's life with a bright future to get his liver."
"Don't say that. It's not a sin to be sick, Mom."
"......."
"Mom, think only good thoughts and focus on your recovery."
Hee-wook comforted the grieving Mal-hee.
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