NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42
But that didn’t mean I could act like I had never seen the person before.
From their attitude, it seemed like they had been dealing with Ye Sara for a long time. They looked younger than Yang Hye-in at first glance, but maybe they were just an eternal beauty.
“…I’ve had some circumstances that prevented me from contacting you until now.”
“…Oh.”
As soon as I said that, the other person had a blank expression.
“…Why is that?”
“Oh, it’s just that this is my first time hearing your voice, customer.”
“…”
So does this person communicate with other customers in sign language or something?
“Well, to be honest, I feel it might be rude to say this, but I was wondering if you were mute or something because you usually conveyed your requests with just notes.”
I almost slapped my forehead in that moment.
That’s right. Ye Sara had a personality that hardly engaged in conversation with those around her. In the main game, she was a character who screamed and cursed, but she was isolated from society at least until middle school.
So… the problem wasn’t with the other customers, but with Ye Sara.
“…I just changed my mind. A lot has happened recently.”
“Indeed, it seems like a lot has happened.”
The employee nodded with a wry smile. It seemed they thought my change was positive.
“Still, it seems you didn’t make any extreme choices. Good for you. After all, living has much more future, right? When you asked for sleeping pills, I really thought you had given up on everything.”
“…”
Hearing such chilling words casually made me think that this person wasn’t quite normal either.
I looked around. It was an ordinary park—well, not exactly ordinary since it was in a school, but it was just an average park underneath the concept of ‘park.’ Trees, walking paths, and places to sit and rest.
But then what could the reason be for waiting here?
“How did you come in here?”
“Excuse me?”
The employee tilted their head at my question.
“Well, I just walked in through the front gate. Oh, of course, I didn’t drive here. Cars can’t enter the school, and the parking lot in front of the school charges an arm and a leg unless you’re a student’s family.”
“Does nobody stop you even if you come in so confidently?”
I asked, astonished, but the employee tilted their head again.
“Because I’m a bank employee. You see, there are quite a few bank-related duties in private schools, and many students want banking services on campus.”
…A bank employee? Not someone from a delivery center or something?
“…You’re Ye Sara’s customer, right?”
As I stayed blank-faced, the employee asked seriously again. However, after saying that, they mumbled to themselves, “No, but yes. You are the customer.”
“Ah.”
It seemed they just remembered something.
“…By any chance, did you attempt… that?”
“What attempt?”
When I frowned and asked again, the employee cautiously inquired.
“Uhm, for sleeping pills.”
“Ah.”
That made sense.
If these people were the ones who got the sleeping pills, then Ye Sara probably knew how to use them. So it wasn’t strange for them to be worried.
“Right. So I went to the hospital.”
“By any chance, do you remember anything after that…?”
“Yes, there might be some damage to my memory… I don’t know.”
Since this had come to this point, I decided to bravely lie. It would be better to say I was confused about my memories to get information.
“Ah… this is troublesome.”
The bank employee scratched the back of their head.
“Then, by any chance, do you not remember which bank I’m from?”
“…Right?”
My vague answer seemed to actually make it easier for them to believe. The bank employee rubbed their forehead, making a face as if holding back a sigh.
“Aigoo… it looks like this conversation is going to take a while.”
“I have plenty of time. Shall we sit down and talk?”
As I pointed to a chair, the bank employee nodded in the end.
*
“In that case, let me introduce myself again. I’m Han Garam, team leader of Testamentary Trust at Changwon Savings Bank.”
As the bank employee handed me a business card, they bowed while sitting.
“Testamentary Trust?”
When I asked back, she nodded.
“Yes, many people want to have their assets neatly organized before passing. Especially those who wish to leave everything to a particular child or want to return it to society but are worried about children claiming their legitimacy share.”
“…Is there a way to avoid giving the legitimacy share?”
“Hmm…”
Han Garam thought for a moment before continuing.
“Shall I explain about wills and inheritance first?”
“Yes, please do.”
Han Garam nodded again at my request and continued explaining.
“First of all, when someone passes away and they have assets to distribute among their family, if we assume there’s no will, the spouse gets 1.5 and the child gets 1 for distribution. You know this part, right?”
I nodded.
“However, if there is a will, it changes the story. What if the will states that all assets should go to one child? Of course, the law respects the deceased’s wishes as much as possible, but it would be against social justice to leave no assets to blood-related children or family members at all.
A child may very well be unworthy of inheritance, but on the other hand, the deceased parent could also be a discriminatory person. Thus, the law sets a minimum limit for the remaining family to inherit assets regardless of the will. This is called ‘legitimacy share.’”
I was familiar with this content, having learned about it from various programs and the internet.
“And the legitimacy share is set as ‘if there’s no will, children receive half of the amount they should get, while siblings get one-third.’ Thus, children who fail to receive assets usually file a lawsuit for legitimacy shares. Of course, this amount is significantly less than what they would receive if there was no will.”
After explaining that far, Han Garam smiled and said,
“However, there are people who don’t even want to give that legitimacy share.”
“So, does that mean that’s why there’s a Testamentary Trust?”
“Exactly. To explain a bit more about inheritance, it refers to the assets left behind after someone’s death. Of course, people with families want to leave their estates to their children as much as possible, so they think of certain tricks. For instance, what if they transferred their assets to their children before dying?”
In conclusion, the law already has closed that method. If you transfer assets to a child and die within ten years, those assets will still be treated as inherited assets.
Of course, taxes must be deducted from those assets, and legitimacy shares will also occur.
Unfortunately, it seems Ye In-soo, Ye Sara’s father, passed away before she turned ten.
No matter how early gifts were made, it did not meet the ten-year criterion at the time of inheritance. Thus, all those gifted assets are classified as inheritance, and naturally, legitimacy shares will occur.
This meant that some of the assets Ye Sara received as gifts are included in the costs during the inheritance split.
“However, it seems that the late chairman really loved Ye Sara. That’s why he entrusted his assets to us. The contract period lasts until Ye Sara becomes an adult, which is three years. A considerable amount of real estate has been entrusted to our company.”
“…So, does that mean there will be no legitimacy share on that real estate?”
“Correct. Trust property is excluded from legitimacy shares.”
“…”
I was left with my mouth agape as I asked.
“How much exactly does that asset amount to?”
“I’m not exactly sure. They’ve kept the amount confidential due to a secret contract. Well, in fact, they didn’t disclose that such trust property even existed. You also didn’t know until we approached you to inform you.
But one thing is certain: several areas scheduled for redevelopment are included. I assume you can somewhat guess what kind of properties those might be? And there’s also a rather large theme park.”
After that explanation, Han Garam smiled proudly.
“So as soon as I turn 18—”
“That means a bright future ahead.”
“…”
Then, why did Ye Sara want to die?
I thought my expression must have been quite strange to her.
“…Um, so you’re saying that you’re confused about your memories before going to the hospital, correct?”
“Yes.”
At my answer, Han Garam pondered for a while before finally speaking.
“Do you remember why you thought that?”
“No.”
Han Garam stayed silent for a long time before finally managing to speak.
“In that case, it’s actually a good thing. Rather than being obsessed with what you couldn’t have in the past, looking forward to what you can obtain in the future is a positive mindset, right? Since it’s already like this, isn’t it better to forget the past and live looking only to the future?”
…
Even after hearing that, I still didn’t quite understand.
I wasn’t Ye Sara.
What was visible to me was only the positive future prepared for Ye Sara, so it was only natural that I thought positively, but what on earth had Ye Sara seen that led her to completely give up on her future?
Could it really be just to hurt the chairwoman, solely for that one reason?
“…”
I maintained silence for quite a long time.
“Ah.”
Then suddenly, something came to my mind.
“Then please tell me one more thing.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Han Garam responded cheerfully.
“Why were you waiting here, of all places?”
To my question, Han Garam smiled sweetly again and said,
“Because I’m also a graduate of Hwayoung High School. I know the places on campus where there are no CCTVs. While the security in schools with the name ‘Hwayoung’ is tight, there are indeed places intentionally left unmonitored for ‘protecting students’ privacy.’ If the kids know for sure that there are no cameras here, wouldn’t it be a good place for them to exchange gifts or have ‘private conversations’?”
And those gifts and conversations would probably be the things parents ask their children to do. Passing items and messages through each other’s children.
…It was truly a school with no boundaries.