The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 80 - Salvation (1)

 

Lee Man-deuk’s father was given a funeral as an unclaimed body. His children refused to take custody of the remains, and the same went for the other relatives.

 

Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk had looked like they wanted to take responsibility for him until the very end, but in the end, they seemed to give up—for Lee Man-deuk’s sake.

 

The two of them had been separated from their father when they were very young, so they had neither good nor bad memories of him. Lee Man-deuk, on the other hand, did.

 

“So Man-deuk actually had relatives?”

 

“He didn’t really keep in touch with them.”

 

“Well… that explains why Man-deuk and the kids grew up in an orphanage.”

 

Seo Do-hwan added,

 

“Honestly, living in an orphanage is far better than bouncing around relatives’ houses and living off scraps of their pity.”

 

He muttered that he’d seen plenty of kids leave an orphanage holding a relative’s hand, only to return later having received nothing but cold stares and resentment.

 

“Do you think Deok-soon and Soon-deuk are doing okay?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong asked carefully, clearly worried about whether they were properly processing the grief of losing their father.

 

“I’m worried they’re bottling everything up because they’re watching Man-deuk hyung’s mood.”

 

But probably not. If they were, Lee Man-deuk would’ve already sent them back to our place. He’d even taken time off work to care for his siblings himself.

 

Still, Lee Yoo-seong’s face was full of concern.

 

“Yoo-seong.”

 

“If you’re that worried, why don’t you invite Deok-soon and Soon-deuk over and hang out with them?”

 

Seo Do-hwan suddenly cut in with the suggestion.

 

“Your break starts tomorrow, right? From what I heard, Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk are off starting tomorrow too.”

 

“How do you know that, Do-hwan hyung?”

 

“I have my ways.”

 

Bullshit.

 

When Seo Do-hwan took responsibility for the siblings’ safety, he practically memorized their school schedules. That’s how he knew.

 

“So why not take them to an amusement park or something?”

 

“Well… um…”

 

Lee Yoo-seong scratched his head awkwardly.

 

“Except for going once with my parents when I was little, I’ve never actually been to an amusement park.”

 

More like he never got the chance.

 

“Then this time, you can go!” Seo Do-hwan said cheerfully. But there was one problem.

 

—An amusement park? You want to send the kids to a crowded place? No way. Too dangerous.

 

The mage refused to let the siblings go out.

 

“Mr. Lee Man-deuk, you know how strong Yoo-seong is.”

 

—Even so, I can’t allow it. That bastard Ji Geon-hyuk just got free from the curse I put on him. Who knows where he might show up next…

 

It didn’t look like getting Lee Man-deuk’s permission was going to be easy.

 

‘Guess it can’t be helped.’

 

Things were already awkward between us because of the situation with his father, so I was just about to say “okay” and hang up when—

 

“Then let’s all meet up tomorrow.”

 

Seo Do-hwan suddenly jumped into the conversation with Lee Man-deuk.

 

—What?

 

“You’re free now anyway. So let’s all hang out tomorrow. You could use a break too, right?”

 

—I don’t need that.

 

“But Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk do, don’t they?”

 

There was no response—he seemed at a loss for words. Seo Do-hwan pressed on and made the decision for him.

 

“Then it’s settled! We’ll meet tomorrow. I’ll let you know the time and place soon!”

 

—Hey, wait!

 

Click.

 

Seo Do-hwan hung up. No sooner had he done so than Lee Man-deuk called back, but

 

“Ignore it, boss,”

 

Seo Do-hwan declined the call without hesitation.

 

“Seriously, what a temper,” Seo Do-hwan muttered, exasperated.

 

Lee Yoo-seong looked bewildered.

 

“Isn’t that a bit rich coming from you, Do-hwan hyung?”

 

“Shut up,” he said.

 

Lee Yoo-seong chuckled sheepishly.

 

“Anyway, which amusement park are we going to?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong’s eyes were full of excitement. I couldn’t help but answer.

 

“Let’s go somewhere we can rent out entirely.”

 

“Rent out? Rent what?”

 

“Obviously… the amusement park.”

 

Tomorrow marked the start of vacation for several schools, including Cheongmyeong High School, where Lee Yoo-seong studied. Going to a theme park on a day like that…

 

What do you think will happen?

 

They wouldn’t enjoy anything—just get crushed by crowds.

 

“I’ll see if we can rent it out after hours, so it’s just us.”

 

“Isn’t that kind of an abuse of power?”

 

“Not power—money.”

 

The more money you spent, the better—it stimulated the market, helped the economy. Power, on the other hand, shouldn’t be abused.

 

“Uh… Yoon-hoo hyung, maybe we should just let the kids play somewhere quieter?”

 

He seemed worried I was spending too recklessly. But there was so much money lying around that it wasn’t an issue.

 

‘Too kind.’

 

Then Seo Do-hwan asked, “Where else do you plan to take them?”

 

“Just… the Han River…”

 

“What are you planning to do there?”

 

“Uh… well…”

 

Lee Yoo-seong hesitated, falling silent as he thought.

 

“Ah! A picnic!”

 

He shouted as if a brilliant idea had just struck him. Of course, it was a plan that didn’t stand a chance.

 

“You really like picnics, huh.”

 

Seo Do-hwan clicked his tongue and said,

 

“Me, the boss, Man-deuk, Yoo-seong, Deok-soon, and Soon-deuk—that’s six people. Renting out a whole amusement park just for us seems a little… excessive. What about Han Yeong-won? Do you know where she is?”

 

“I know, but she’s busy with something and can’t come. Besides, there are plenty of others we could invite.”

 

I could even call in the WF Entertainment staff right away. Inviting people from T.U, though, would be tricky—too many rumors could start.

 

“Don’t invite anyone from your company.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“How can the kids enjoy themselves with people they don’t know? And what if some weird rumors spread because of us?”

 

“It’s fine. Even if a rumor spreads, only I’d be affected.”

 

“What do you mean ‘fine’?!”

 

Seo Do-hwan scowled in annoyance and asked, “Why not invite the Victory kids instead?”

 

He had just said not to invite anyone from the company.

 

“They’re busy preparing for the year-end concert.”

 

“Exactly—so let’s give them some time off to relax.”

 

It was a good idea. It would give Victory a special memory and maybe even spark some inspiration. If any rumors arose about renting the park, they could also help smooth things over.

 

‘I didn’t want to use them as a shield, though. I had to be careful. I had to make sure nothing like that happened.’

 

“Alright! Then it’s settled—we’re inviting the Victory members, right? Should I tell Kang Ye-seong?”

 

“Do as you like.”

 

“Okay!” Seo Do-hwan grinned broadly and picked up his phone.

 

“Um… Yoon-hoo hyung, I feel bad making you spend money because of me…”

 

“No, Yoo-seong-ah. I’m renting it out so we can have fun comfortably, so don’t worry.”

 

“But…”

 

“It’s really fine. Renting an amusement park for a few hours isn’t even as expensive as you’d think.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

I didn’t remember which regression it was, but we’d rented an amusement park and taken all the returnees there.

 

“About five hours cost just over 100 million won. I don’t think it even reached 200 million.”

 

Of course, that wasn’t for every single facility, but that was roughly the price as I remembered.

 

Lee Yoo-seong stared at me blankly.

 

“Why?”

 

“Ah, no… it’s nothing.”

 

He shook his head, pale and a little drained.

 

Anyway, it was a relief that renting the amusement park was easy. The place we rented was L-World in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Since the notice was last-minute, I offered to pay 200 million won for five hours, and they readily agreed.

 

“Since we’re starting at 9:30 PM, make sure you arrive at L-World on time.”

 

“Are you coming separately, boss?”

 

“Yes. I need to stop by somewhere after work first.”

 

Earlier, there had been a call from the hospital about Lee Man-deuk’s mother. Apparently, she had a sudden seizure and had self-harmed. Lee Man-deuk may have heard the news, but even if he had, he wouldn’t go see her.

 

‘Then I’ll have to go,’ I thought. After all, I was the one who admitted her to the hospital.

 

“Alright. Let’s meet at L-World later.”

 

“Okay. Take care on your way to work and back.”

 

“I got it—now go back to sleep.”

 

Seo Do-hwan nodded sleepily and turned away. Then he asked, “Oh, what about Lee Yoo-seong?”

 

“He left for school ages ago.”

 

“That little punk didn’t even say goodbye to me…”

 

Muttering sleepily, Seo Do-hwan shuffled toward his room. I let out a small laugh and headed to WF Entertainment.

 

“CEO! Good morning~!”

 

“Good morning, Chris.”

 

Chris greeted me warmly, making small talk as he approached.

 

“How’s your hand? It’s been about a week since you took off the cast, right?”

 

“Yes, thankfully it’s fine.”

 

“Really glad to hear that!” Chris clapped his hands excitedly.

 

“Is everything going well with Victory?”

 

“Yes! The kids handle things so well on their own that I barely have to intervene. Ah, I’ll take my leave now. Have a good day!”

 

“You too, Chris.”

 

After parting ways, I stepped into the office, and my phone rang.

 

[Kang Ye-seong]

Hello, CEO. Hope you’re having a good day! Thank you for inviting Victory to L-World! We’re so excited to finally make some great memories with the members.

 

Along with the greeting, Kang Ye-seong mentioned that Victory’s youngest member, Lee Nak-hwa, wanted to visit the gift shop.

 

‘The gift shop, huh.’

 

I had only thought about the attractions and hadn’t considered that. After inquiring quickly, L-World said they could operate the gift shop for about an hour. I relayed that to Kang Ye-seong, who was delighted.

 

[Kang Ye-seong]

Thank you, CEO! I’ll make sure to get a gift for you at the L-World shop!

 

I was about to reply that it wasn’t necessary, but then:

 

[Kang Ye-seong]

Please, don’t refuse. I realized I haven’t properly thanked you yet, so I want to give you a small gift this time. Please accept it! Haha.

 

He made it impossible to say no.

 

[Kang Ye-seong]

See you at 9:30 PM!

 

He added that he had heard the time from Seo Do-hwan. I replied “Got it” and turned to the documents needing approval while handling some T.U.-related matters.

 

‘Come to think of it…’

 

It seemed like I could hand over T.U. to Seo Do-hwan soon. After collapsing from overwork and being discharged in just a week, he had promised, “I’ll study hard.”

 

True to his word, he studied everything necessary to run T.U., even while taking care of Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk. After finishing the amusement park plans last night, he stayed up late to study more.

 

‘He doesn’t have to push himself this hard…’

 

With that thought, I wrapped up my work. Before I knew it, it was time to leave.

 

“Good work, everyone.”

 

After greeting the remaining staff, I headed straight to AMA Seoul Hospital. After checking on Lee Man-deuk’s mother, I’d leave for L-World and arrive on time.

 

As I walked,

 

“Mr. Lee Man-deuk?”

 

He was standing at the entrance to the psychiatric ward.