Translated: reireiss, MTLs-nim 

Edited: reireiss, Grammarly ssi 

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Translator Note:

Just wanted to let you know that sometimes I won't translate calls(?) like 'oppa, hyung, eonni, nuna, etc.' and suffixes like '-ssi, -nim, etc.'

So...... Bear with me, please (/▿＼ )

Thank You!

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Chapter 39 – Projects (2)

"Well, are you trying to extort money from the people who live here?"

"So what?"

Somehow, she looked bloodless and tearless. Normally, if I called a woman 'Nuna', then they would ignore me, but this person is the only one who doesn't......

"I don't know, it's kind of......"

At least he has some sympathy. Kang Subin gave an evaluation of Kim Sanghyun. About 0.3 points.

"That's why we need it."

"What?"

"Hurry up and follow me."

"Wa-Wait."

Kim Sanghyun huffed and puffed up the steep climb, following Kang Subin's fast pace. Why did they make the road like this? Do people even live here?

"Anybody home?"

"Who are you?"

"You must be Im Seonja -ssi, right?"

A person stepped out from the side room, she looked like she could immediately collapse if Kim Sanghyun hit her. She had graying white hair and a shabby appearance.

"I'm from Uisun City Hall. You owe 60,000 won in taxes from three years ago."

"Tha-That's......"

"I'm not here to force you to pay, but I'm here to see what's going on."

"Come in."

Nervously, Im Seonja let both of them inside. The house was small. The kitchen was barely big enough to be called a kitchen, and the bathroom had a conventional toilet that looked like something out of the old days. Kim Sanghyun rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Im Seonja poured water into an old, chipped cup and offered it to the two of them. It was the most intact cup he had.

"You're guests, but I don't have anything for both of you."

"No, you don't need to do that. We're not here to be served."

Kang Subin said that, trying to reassure her anxious interlocutor.

"We've been doing something new lately. We're personally finding people who are in such difficulty that they can't pay a small amount of money and connecting them with the welfare department to help them."

"Ah...... Like you helped that guy with the broken leg over there?"

"Yes, I'm the one responsible for helping him."

Im Seonja's expression, who had been anxious about what to do because she had no money, quickly brightened.

"Do you have any other family members?"

"No."

Looking around the room, Kang Subin spotted some cosmetics that looked too young for Im Seonja to be using.

"Where are your children?"

"My child is...... No longer here."

It was as if she had disappeared in the middle, not at the beginning. Even Kim Sanghyun, who had been in an upset mood, swallowed his breath and looked at Im Seonja's tear-stained face.

"She got into a car accident on the way home from work......"

"......I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's alright."

And so begins Im Seonja's flashback. The man she promised to marry died in an accident before the wedding, and she was left alone, and later realized she was pregnant.

She decides to have the child and becomes a single mom. Despite her lack of means, Im Seonja did everything she could for her child.

There is nothing she hasn't tried, and she makes sure her daughter can focus on her studies, even if it's not enough.

Perhaps because she was aware of her mother's hardships, the daughter was accepted into a prestigious university, and as soon as she became an adult, she earned money by tutoring students.

[Why don't you work less? Let Mom do more work......]

[Mom, I do this because I want to buy what I want.]

[I-Is that so?]

[Mom, wear this. I bought it because I thought it would look good to you.]

Then, on her way home from tutoring late, she is hit by a car.

Even though the cardigan her daughter had given her was all worn out, it was still draped over Im Seonja's body. Even after her daughter died, she couldn't erase her traces, so she kept it that way.

"How old is the handsome young man next to you?"

"Ah, I'm...... Twenty-nine this year."

"If my child is alive, she'll be the same age."

But Im Seonja's daughter is forever twenty-three years old. Kim Sanghyun, who had followed Kang Subin with a light-hearted attitude, became visibly somber.

"As for the taxes, we can give you a deferment......"

It is said that due to the grief of losing her daughter, she became ill and suffered a long illness, which left her in debt and unable to pay taxes. Kang Subin first provides detailed information on what support they can provide and then connects her with a job program.

"This guy here will deliver the necessities from the welfare department."

"I-I'll do it?"

"Thank you."

Kim Sanghyun, who suddenly became a delivery boy, looked dumbfounded, but he didn't follow Kang Subin out the door.

"Kim Sanghyun -ssi, aren't you going?"

"Uh, wait a minute. Ma'am, can I use the restroom?"

Kang Subin went outside first and ran into someone.

"Huh? Officer Kang."

"Detective Park."

"You're out collecting money from someone who isn't even here today?"

It wasn't a reprimand, but more of a greeting. Detective Park Yunseong, the male protagonist of <Projects>, had gone to elementary and high school with Kang Subin and already knew what she was doing.

Kang Subin focused on why a homicide detective, who was supposed to be digging into a case, was in this narrow alleyway.

"Something happened again?"

"See that blue-roofed house over there? That's where they found the body."

"Could it be...... Is it similar to the murder a week ago? Is this the second time?"

"It's the second time."

"This isn't going to turn into a serial murder case, is it?"

Park Yunseong sighed heavily. He hoped that wouldn't happen, but the modus operandi was too identical. The neighborhood was being redeveloped, so the government promised to install CCTV later, but they kept putting it off.

"How can a car accident involving a child from a wealthy family make headlines, but not a single article talks about the murder case that occurred here?"

"If you catch the murderer and lock them up, you'll get a few articles."

"Yeah."

Then, finally, a child from a wealthy family left Im Sonja's house.

Detective Park Yunseong let out a laugh as he saw a luxuriously dressed Kim Sanghyun looking at his appearance at the window, fixing his hair.

"Who is he?"

"A new social worker."

"Ah, I see. Good luck."

"Haah...... Yeah."

Park Yunseong patted Kang Subin on the shoulder to encourage her, then headed to the crime scene.

"Did you take a big dump or something? I'm sure the restroom there is uncomfortable for you."

"I did some good work."

"You didn't give her money, did you?"

"I didn't give her much. Just enough to keep her out of trouble for a while......"

Honestly, how much rice or daily necessities will the welfare department give? Kim Sanghyun thought that money would provide real help. So, he just took a few coins out of his thick wallet so she could eat something delicious.

"Why did you give it to her?"

"I mean, she's in a tight spot."

"How long are you going to give it to her? Every couple of days? A week?"

"What?"

"Can you take responsibility for that person until the end?"

"Uhm......"

Kim Sanghyun, who was wandering like a puppy saying that he did a good thing, becomes increasingly hardened as Kang Subin continues.

"The purpose of this matter is to provide help only in ways that can be resolved socially, and not to try to do the right thing. If you want to throw money around like that, go to City Hall Station and do it."

"That......"

"Don't do that in the future."

After his first outing with Kang Subin, which ended coldly, Kim Sanghyun returns home and lies in bed, tossing and turning and kicking in the air.

"Aish, didn't I do a good thing!?"

If you think rationally, what Kang Subin said is correct. Isn't it human nature to want something in return if you give it in return?

Kim Sanghyun, who continues to be concerned and visits the area near Im Seonja's house, witnesses an unexpected sight.

Instead of spending the money on herself, she was giving it to others.

"Seonja, how much money did you spend to buy this meat?"

"That's right. If you have money, you should use it to buy your medicine."

"It's just...... Because you've helped me a lot."

For Kim Sanghyun, it's a small amount of money. But for them, it was the most they could afford to share their joy.

It's a strange feeling.

The screen switched, and Kang Subin began to give orders to Kim Sanghyun.

"Sanghyun -ssi. This sack of rice, please bring it to this address."

"Sanghyun -ssi, where are you going? I need you to deliver this to the third floor of the supermarket over there."

"After you deliver everything, memorize this and the conditions of the rental house. I'll test you later."

Kim Sanghyun walked up and down the steep hill. When he returned to the City Hall exhausted, a new job lay ahead. Officer Park, who had been paying attention to him because he was like a child of a wealthy family, watches from behind with an accusatory expression.

"I'm grateful you came this far, but I don’t have anything to give you...... At least have a glass of water and go."

"Ah, no. I'm fine."

It was quite difficult because he was physically exhausted. But, the pure good intentions of trying to give, make him feel something strange. Of course, some people begged for more. Kim Sanghyun spots someone on his way back after finishing his delivery.

"What is that?"

A luxury bag and a fur coat that doesn't belong in this neighborhood? She grabs the child's hand and leads the child into a ramshackle house.

Is that a debt collector? Where is a debt collector like that? That person cautiously approaches the front of the house.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, this is the place."

"It's more shabbier than I thought."

The woman who wielded the luxury goods all over her body frowned.

"Will you stay here?"

"Well, uhmm. No, I'll just be here for one...... 6 hours."

"Then it's 66,000 won."

"Here, 70,000 won. You can keep the rest."

"Thank you."

The woman bowed low. The woman in the fancy dress smiled with satisfaction.

"Mom! This house is smaller than the toilet in our house!"

"Hajun, if you don't study, you'll live in a house like this. You got it?"

"I don't like it here, it stinks! I want to go home!"

"Ssttt. No, you can't. Let's stay for two hours. I'll let you use the game console."

Even though the woman heard the mother-child conversation, the woman's expression did not change in the slightest. She turned around and closed her house's door. A gloomy, society-worn face. However, Kim Sanghyun's impression of her was,

"Isn't she pretty?"

 

<Projects> is a thriller story with a humanity element.

The first half of the drama shows the stories of people in difficulty and brings tears to the eyes, and the second half is about chasing down a serial killer, but they were told to add a romance because they didn't think it would bring in ratings.

Woo Tae-yoon, who didn't want to include a love line between the lead actors in the drama, replaced it with a love line of the sub leads, Kim Sanghyun and Choi Ara.

 

"Do you live in this house?"

"W-Who are you?"

"Ah. I'm a social service worker from Uisun City Hall. I came to pick up rice in the alley behind the supermarket......"

"Ah......"

Her face is prettier up close. Kim Sanghyun scratches the back of his head and frowns, uncharacteristically.

"Please keep this a secret."

"What?"

"You don't need to know."

The woman rushed into her house, and Kim Sanghyun picks up the flyer she dropped.

 

(Slum/Shantytown Experience - Don't you want to teach your child the value of life? Don't you need an unusual dating place for couples?)

 

After registering the number on the flyer, Kim Sanghyun turned on his messaging app. The name of the newly registered contact appears.

"Choi Ara."

Okay. I got her number.

***.

The first broadcast of 'Projects' was well received for its calm sound without any irritating seasonings.

"Unreasonable New Wave" and "Poverty P*rn" ...Is this the limit of the new writer, the writer of 'Projects'?

 

"Huh, indeed."

Writer Woo Tae-yoon sighed while watching the article. He covered his cell phone screen with his hand.

"Writer -nim, don't look at that."

"I can't stop watching it. Don't you regret it, Jay -ssi? Our ratings weren't good......"

"Regret it?"

I've already picked a drama with provocative material that's guaranteed to get ratings. I chose <Projects> just because...... It was appealing to me.

"Wouldn't it be nice if there were other works like this?"

"If that's the case then I'm glad."

Yoon Jay reflexively looked away when an unfamiliar car number caught his eye. The person who got out of the car was Im Siwoo who had started an argument with him.

'What a coincidence.'

As soon as he made eye contact with him, Im Siwoo stiffened and bowed his head, but Yoon Jay was already listening to the Director's direction as if he didn't care about Im Siwoo.

Im Siwoo is playing a younger version of an old man with dementia in the flashback scene. It's just a small role.

'Fu#k......'

Im Siwoo's face turned red. The image of Yoon Jay surrounded by people and himself in shabby clothes. The gap was palpable.


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