Van Gogh Reborn!

Chapter 17

I made a bank account.

I directly put in the proceeds from the sale of [Sunflower], which grandpa had received instead, and showed me how to use the ATM.

The number 2,436,840,000 is written on the screen.

It seems to be an amount that I received after some kind of transaction charges.

Why didnt you take it?

No.

When I talk about paying back money, hes always acting like this.

There is nothing I can do about it since he keeps refusing every time I talk about money.

"Now, you have to press here like this and set the amount  you want to withdraw."

When I pressed 30,000 won and entered the password, a voice prompted me to take out the card.

After I took out the card, money came out from the machine.

How convenient.. to manage money like this.

The world has become so much better.

Heh heh heh.Alright little guy, Did you got it?

Grandpa messed up my hair.

He gave me a small box for keeping the money.

It is called a wallet, with a yellow sponge character painted on it.

When I was in the hospital, I kept watching at this strange guy in pants painting moving on the TV, and it seems like Grandpa misunderstood that, I like this guy.

"thank you."

There is a single 10,000 won bill in the wallet.

What is this?

There is a saying in our Korean culture, that, if you give someone a wallet with 10,000 bill then they will earn more money."

They did something things like this in my previous life too.

Even in such a developed age, such superstitious behaviours still exists. 

Even though a lot of things have changed, some things don't seem to change easily.

I got into grandpa's car.

The didnt go in the way to home.

Where are we going?

Tax office. You made money, so you have state your business and pay taxes.

I understand that I have to pay taxes, but there are a lot of words that I don't know about tax offices or businesses.

I dont know what it is.

Its okay if you dont know now. Grandpa will do it for you. But you definitely need to study. Selling your paintings is important, but how you manage the money is also equally important.

"Yes."

You made a lot of money right now, but if you dont manage it well, it will disappear quickly. that's what money in todays world, lets learn how to set up a corporation with Grandpa and manage money.

There are a lot of words that I didn't understand because he used a lot of unfamiliar words, but I've seen a lot of people who made a lot of money all of a sudden get ruined.

What is a corporation?

You can think of it as a company recognized by the government.

"..what?"

You will be creating a company. Your profits are the profits of the company. You get paid by the company you built.

I don't know why I have to build a company.

A company made for me?

yes."

Then the money I earned goes into the company, and the company pays me?

Good. You understood.

I dont understand anything. Why do I have to make a company its so complicated?"

The higher your income, the higher the tax you have to pay. Usually, the tax rate is set based on a certain amount. Corporations can bring that tax rate to their advantage, and state the benefits of the business so that it can grow.

Then if I dont create that corporation, will I pay a lot of tax?

Yes. Youre just like your mom, can understand anything quickly.

I just Admitted that I don't understand anything you just said.

I felt this life won't be easy in the future.

I didnt understand anything of what he said.

I know its not that important, but still Im frustrated because I couldnt understand anything, but grandpa just kept smiling. 

You have to take it slow. Its not like you can understand everything from the beginning.

"Yes."

Unlike in the past, when all you had to do was paint well, modern painters seem to have a lot to worry about.

Together with  grandpa, I created a corporation.

I didn't know what it was, and I kept thinking about how to name the company, but eventually just wrote Ko Hun.

Now then, lets go buy a cell phone.

What is a cell phone?

A telephone.

What is a telephone?

This..

Grandpa took out his smartphone.

Isnt this a smartphone?

yeah yeah. Smartphone is a phone and telephone."

A lot of things that I dont understand keep happening.

After thinking about it a few more times, I found out that all three names seem to be synonyms denoting the device.

Otherwise, there is no way to understand Grandpa's words.

I don't understand why one object has three names.

Soon the car stopped and we entered a place called department store.

"welcome."

We are here to buy a cell phone for this kid to use.

The employee asked with a pretentious smile.

Is there anything else you want to buy?

No. Show me the best one.

Yes. This way.

The employee showed us a smartphone.

This is a new product from WH, released just last month. The screen is large and the camera quality is 200 mega pixels. The display is also 244Hz, so the students can see the video well while studying. Would you like to touch it?

I don't understand what he was talking about, but it's too big.

I don't even know how it would work.

At least, I want to get the same phone that  grandpa uses, which I have handled a few times.

I like to buy one like  grandpas.

Like mine?

When Grandpa took the smartphone out of his pocket, the employee's expression suddenly hardened.

Even if it was pretentious, there is something wrong with his smiling face.

These days, there are a lot of applications out there, so you have to buy one with good specifications. It will good when youre studying.

Really?"

Grandpa nodded his head.

Little Hun, these smartphones are like that, so why dont you buy something good?

Grandpa knows a lot, but he seems ignorant about these type of things.

Grandpa, can I only buy these smartphone here?

Its not. Why? Is there anything you like?

No. I will think about it slowly.

"Hmm. okay. What do you want?

It is reckless to buy an item worth more than 1 million won without any information.

The salesperson lowered his head, met with my eye line and said

Kid you should have these kind of cellphones. These days, all the kids at school have smartphones, so if you dont have one then they will ignore you."

ButI dont go to school.

I grabbed grandpa and dragged him.

Hold on. I think its better to buy one. You can make friends later

It is the basic skill of a merchant to make it look like it is necessary to buy, saying that everyone else has it.

The skills of the merchants are not  any different from the past to till now.

Ill buy it later.

"what's wrong Hun? Grandpa wanted to give this to you as a congratulatory gift.

The face of the staff instantly brightened. 

I have no intention of doing this, but I have to make a false threat.

If we dont go now, Ill lie down here and start to cry.

WhatWhy are you like this? Whats wrong with you today.?

I will do it for real.

I was deliberately pretending to be crazy, but it's not unusual to just lie down and pretend to be fussy.

"Sir. I'm sorry. I will come again next time.

Ah. yes."

I left the sad staff behind and took grandpa out.

Hun. Do you hate it so much that your grandfather bought it for you?

Ill ask Aunt Mirae whether buying grandpa's phone is going to cause a lot of trouble and then I will think about buying it later.

Why come later. Didn't they say the discount is until today? So isnt it better to buy something at a discount anyway.

They will put that discount once again.

How do you know that?

Everyone in business is like that.

Who does this guy resemble to be so stubborn?

Aunt Mirae says that I have taken after you grandpa.

We had dinner at a restaurant before returning home.

It was a dish called Samgyeopsal, which is made by cutting thickly sliced bacon and grilling it on a stone plate.

Along with potato pizza and jajangjang, this might be the best food in the world.

The rich texture of meat, the savoury flavour and juices that are spewed out like a burst everything made it very delicious.

Kimchi, which was hard to eat, was fried in pork oil and eaten together.

It was such a wonderful evening at the end of a long day.

What did I do today?

I made a passbook, established a corporation, created a corporate account, created a corporate passbook, and created a stock account.

I wonder if I can even remember everything.

Tomorrow, Aunt Mirae said she will take me to buy a new cell phone, but I don't know how smart she is.

HeyIs it  tiring?"

I think I dont know anything.

"At first, it's like that. Grandpa will do everything for you now, but someday you'll have to do it yourself."

Grandpa stroked my hair as if he felt sorry for me.

Thats why your grandfather keeps your big money. You can't just spend money just because you have enough money. If you manage it well and save it, you can live without worrying about money until you die, but if you go wrong, your life may become difficult.

Grandpa seems to want to instil the idea of economics on me.

I assure you, not only children but also adults know a very little about economics.

We have been wandering around for a long time, so it must have been hard for grandpa too.

Nevertheless, the reason for doing this is to prepare me for the day when I can stand on my own feet. 

I didn't know because he looked young for his age, but it seems grandpa turned sixty-four.

It was a shock.

In my previous life, it was not strange for people to die at this age.

I pulled down the sleeves of Grandpa.

He turned his head towards me and asked.

Whats wrong Hun.?

Live long Grandpa.

Hey boy, what are you talking. Your Grandpa is still in full swing. Im just sixty-four.

"When I retire next year, I will be able to make time for traveling. Then we can go and see the paintings all over the world."

My heart felt heavy

You say it casually, but it seems as if you are preparing for a final trip.

I knew it

He tries to buy me a smartphone that contains the knowledge of this world.

He treats me with such a delicious grilled pork dish.

After showing me all the fun things, then he will try to say the sad news.

Whenever my painting doesnt sell or wasnt welcomed by exhibition staffs my brother Theo always does this.

I hugged Grandpas legs and said.

I will do it grandpa. I will come with grandpa wherever he wants.

Wha?

Grandpa scratched his chin and looked at my face.

Hun, what happened why are you crying? Huh?"

I am not crying.

We have been together only for a while.

But in that time, you showered me with parental love, which I never received in my life.

Even my real parents treated me as a freak. But you always treated me sincerely.

You made me realize the warmth of a family.

Even though Im not your grandson, you will always remain as my only grandpa. 

Boy..why are you in tears.? what's wrong.? Do you not want to travel.?

You want to hide it until the end. Dont you?

You might be thinking I, Ko Hun, is still young to learn about this. 

how much days do you have.?

"what?"

You dont have to pretend, I know that your days are counted.

What does you mean by days counted all of a sudden?

It's hard to speak with a sore throat.

Say.. the day.

What!!?

You do not have much days leftright?

Who is left with not much days? I will live well until I am a hundred years old!

I wish you did.

But there is no way a person can live for a hundred years.

You lived a long life just by living a healthy life up to sixty four.

Lets make a lot of good memories. Lets travel and see a lot of sceneries."

Hey! If I prepare to die at 64, people will curse me.! They won't even accept me if I go to the old age home.!

Dont lie.

What is there to lie? What happened to our Little Hun today.? Why, who said I was going to die?

Then why did you create a corporation?

So you wont have to pay high taxes?

Suddenly you wanted to buy me a smartphone.

There are no children without smartphone these days!

You also bought me high-quality dishes like the grilled pork belly.

Wha?

I dont need any luxurious dishes. I dont want potato pizzas or smartphones. I only want  grandpa to be healthy."

Dont say nonsense, go quickly, wash your hands and brush your teethI think you ate too much of samgyeopsal. Guess its too early for you to eat grilled pork belly.!

Then.then, you are not dying.right.

If you are not satisfied, tomorrow lets go and do a health checkup.

There seems to be some misunderstanding.

But I will not believe until I see that health checkup