Late Night Tears
After finishing her shower, Jiyu lay sprawled on the couch with a sheet mask plastered across her face, looking as long as a strip of paper.
She suddenly bolted upright, tore the mask off her cheeks like a madwoman, and rushed toward the TV monitor as if diving into it.
Then, just like a chicken with its tail on fire, she scurried around everywhere, hunting for something.
Jiyu, who had been sitting at the dining table drinking hot chocolate and finishing her winter break homework, watched the scene and giggled.
From the looks of it, she was searching for her phone.
She handed the phone she’d been keeping on the Ireland rack to Aeri.
Seeing Aeri’s outstretched hand trembling, Jiyu tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
“Mom, why are you like that?”
Upon closer inspection, her face had turned deathly pale.
This was the first time Jiyu had seen fearless, bold Aeri in such a flustered state, and a sharp sense of unease stirred in her chest.
She watched Aeri dialing the number with trembling fingers.
But there was no answer on the other end.
Aeri kept calling and calling.
Only then did Jiyu remove the noise-canceling headphones she was wearing.
The anchor’s grave voice flowed into her ear.
Jiyu slowly walked into the living room, followed closely by Aeri.
“The federal authorities have revealed that Marlon & Strauss Capital Partners orchestrated a massive Ponzi scheme worth hundreds of billions of dollars over the past five years, sending shockwaves through the new year.
The masterminds of the fraud are believed to be James Marlon, former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, and Charles Strauss, the chief financial officer of Bluestone Capital.
Thousands of individual investors, banks, charitable organizations, and institutions have suffered enormous losses, and the exact scale of the damage… is still being determined.”
It was the lead story of the new year.
Breaking news banners flashed continuously at the bottom of the news screen.
“James Marlon and Charles Strauss are scheduled for arrest.”
“The SEC and FBI are collaborating to investigate the involved parties.”
“The total damage is still rising.”
“A victim who attempted suicide has been transferred to the hospital.”
Jiyu pointed at the TV screen with her finger.
“Mom, this… isn’t Dad’s company?”
“…Too late. Go to bed right now.”
Aeri herded her into the room with a tightly constrained voice.
Jiyu forced herself onto the bed, read a little, turned off the light, but sleep wouldn’t come because of her worries.
She dozed off and woke up repeatedly, waiting for Allen to come home, until exhaustion finally pulled her under.
When she woke again, she checked the time.
3:20 a.m.
The living room still had lights on; yellow light leaked through the gap under the door.
She heard faint voices of Aeri and Allen.
Quietly slipping out of bed, Jiyu stealthily opened the door.
The suddenly bright light hit her eyes, which had grown accustomed to the darkness.
She squinted, stood still until her eyes adjusted, and listened to the conversation from the living room.
[I’ve been fully cooperating with the investigation. As a mere accounting department manager like me, I won’t face serious legal penalties.]
Allen’s soothing voice came after Aeri’s sobbing one.
[It’s not serious? What kind of talk is that? You’re going to get punished anyway, right? I didn’t do anything wrong—why?!]
When Allen had no answer, a heavy silence fell over the living room.
Jiyu, shocked by what she’d heard, froze.
Her limbs went cold and her limbs trembled faintly.
[Dad…]
The two people sitting side by side on the couch startled and lifted their heads.
Her mom quickly wiped away the tears with her hand, her eyes puffy and red.
Allen smiled faintly and reached out to her.
[Rebi, why are you up so late?]
Jiyu walked to the sofa with her bare feet, then sat beside Allen and nestled into his arms.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, kissed her forehead, and messed up her already disheveled hair even more.
Aeri turned her face away so Jiyu couldn’t see, pulled out a tissue, and blew her nose.
Allen placed his arm on her shoulder and pulled her close.
Aeri leaned her head against Allen’s shoulder with a shaky sigh.
Jiyu looked up at Allen.
[I was worried, so I came out. Dad, are you okay?]
[Dad will be fine. You can tell from the news that the executives are the ones who did it, and I’m just a manager in the accounting department, so there’s no direct connection.]
Jiyu let out a small sigh of relief and asked again.
[Then Dad hasn’t done anything wrong, right?]
Allen hesitated, taking a deep breath before speaking carefully.
[Not doing something wrong and not being responsible are a little different things. I did feel that the data being handed down from above was strange. But even if it’s a justification, I wasn’t in a position to question it or appeal it. It was suspicious for a regular accounting manager to be given such a big bonus. But it was thanks to that bonus that we bought the house and now we have to pay off the mortgage. I was more worried about losing a high-paying job if I caused unnecessary trouble, so I followed orders and issued the report, and the investors decided to invest based on it.]
Jiyu strained her ears, not missing a single word of his explanation.
[Because the damage is so huge, the main culprits won’t be able to escape criminal punishment. The criminal case will probably be handled at the upper level, but since the case has grown so large right now… even if we prove there was no intent, managers are likely to face civil lawsuits. At worst, it might be a few years…]
Jiyu, having inferred the last part Allen left out, burst into tears.
The person who could live without rules, the kindest and gentlest person in the world, was her father.
That he might end up in prison like a vicious criminal…
[Ugh… what do we do…]
[It’s okay. Don’t cry yet. We’ll try to avoid reaching that point. But…]
Allen took a deep breath and lowered his head.
He opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to finish.
[It’s a shame, but it looks like we’ll have to move back to a smaller house like before. We just got our own home, and because of this…]
Allen swallowed hard. His voice trembled.
[I’m really sorry.]
Jiyu shook her head while sobbing.
[Don’t say things like that, Dad!]
Aeri bit back her tears in front of Jiyu and patted her shoulder with a sigh.
Early the next morning.
Allen packed his luggage into a travel duffel bag.
He had heard that reporters had found out and were waiting for information from the concierge and loitering in front of the apartment.
Because this was one of the apartments where the upper echelons of Manhattan’s elite gathered, the concierge manager was sensitive and cautious about privacy invasion.
So Allen decided to stay at a nearby motel for a week until things quieted down, then head to the investigation.
And he planned to exit through the employee entrance at the back of the apartment to avoid the front door.
Aeri and Jiyu went down with Allen to the employee entrance while it was still dark and saw him off.
He hugged Aeri, kissed Jiyu’s forehead, and carefully unlocked the door.
Luckily, no one was outside.
[Dad!]
Jiyu called after him as he stepped out the door.
She wanted to say this today and not forget it. It felt necessary.
He turned his head halfway out the door and looked at her.
[I love you.]
Then he turned to Aeri, cupped his hand to his ear as if waiting, and winked playfully.
“Me, too. I’ll say whatever I want in front of you. Oh, got it! Me too! I love you!”
Aeri shouted back to hide her embarrassment and avoided his gaze.
Jiyu, who had been forcing back tears and not crying in front of her mom, couldn’t help but let out a little laugh when she saw her.
Allen also smiled brightly with his eyes swollen red.
[I love you too. Don’t worry too much. I’ll be back soon.]
Three days later, at school after the first day back, the Ponzi scandal was still the hot topic.
Though hushed, rumors that Astor School had victims were spreading.
At the first morning assembly after break, the principal explained the Ponzi news briefly, asked for the students’ opinions, and held a discussion.
Discussing socially significant news during morning assembly or class wasn’t new.
But Jiyu felt her stomach churn the entire time, as if she herself were the guilty party.
It was fortunate that no one knew Allen worked for Marlon & Strauss Capital Partners.