Early in the morning, Leo was in the living room checking some information on his laptop.
Leaning his whole body toward the screen as if something extremely important was displayed, he narrowed his eyes and read the text.
What was on the screen were the tax debts of the house Leo was living in.
When Leo woke up this morning and started getting ready to go to Seoul, he wanted to learn the reason behind the "8 billion won total assets" message on the system before leaving.
In Korea, there's a website where everyone can check their own assets online.
When Leo looked at that page, he realized that the house he was living in had belonged to him since he was nine years old.
Even worse, none of the taxes for the house had been paid all these years, and the debt had snowballed with interest.
At this moment, the house had exactly eight hundred million won in unpaid taxes.
After frowning and doing some research online, Leo learned that the taxes should've been paid by his family during the years he wasn't an adult.
It seemed the father and mother of this body hadn't cared much about that.
Leo thought he needed to tell them he was going to move out. Besides, he couldn't keep his recovery as a secret forever.
Right before making the video call, Leo noticed that his heart rate had risen without him realizing it.
Since he hadn't seen his current parents for quite a long time, he could easily tell them the lie about he had recovered after a long treatment.
After taking a deep breath, he walked around the house for a bit, and once he finished cleaning up the mess in the living room, he picked up the little kitten that no longer tried to resist him.
After about half an hour, Leo sat at the dining table, called his family from the laptop, and placed the kitten where the camera could see it.
After a few seconds of waiting, the person who answered the video call was Leo's mother.
A cute woman who looked like she was in her mid-twenties with black hair and black eyes appeared on the screen.
Seeing this made the corners of Leo's mouth twitch involuntarily. Whenever his mother wore makeup, she looked like she was in her twenties, but she should've turned forty this year.
Leo's mother, Kim Crane, always kept her hair straight and long, like young Korean girls, and she had bangs that covered her forehead. This hid not only her age but even the shape of her face.
A few seconds passed, and when Leo glanced at the background on the screen, he noticed his mother was in a hotel room, and a funny scenario popped into his head.
Unlike Kim Crane, Leo's father was a very laid-back man. Over the past years, he had grown a beer belly and a beard—your typical American dad.
Adding his thinning hair on top of that, the difference in appearance between Leo's mother and father was pretty striking.
Leo's father was large, while his mother had small, cute body proportions.
If the two walked around holding hands, people probably thought Leo's dad was some pervert who seduced Leo's mom with money. So Leo guessed his father must have left his mother alone in the hotel room and gone out for a walk.
Leo and his mother stared at each other in silence for a while before his mother suddenly covered her mouth with her hand as if she had just noticed the kitten on the table.
"What an adorable cat! Isn't that a Turkish Van? I've always wanted one. Did Uncle Berk give it to you? You'd better take good care of it."
Even though Leo learned the kitten's breed and where it came from through those few questions, the smile on his face faded a little.
"Mom? Don't you see something more important than the cat?"
His mother stared at him blankly for a moment before showing an overly exaggerated expression of shock.
"Your hair! What happened?"
Leo brushed his hair back with a seductive (casual-careless) smile. Even though his hair was thick and stiff, it didn't fall apart when Leo shaped it with his hands.
Then Leo began explaining the fake story he had prepared beforehand.
Well well, one day I was walking on the street. well well, I ran into an old man, okay okay, this old man turned out to be an expert in ancient medicine. well well, I had to drink herbal mixtures for a whole month. well well, I miraculously recovered. well well, now even sunlight doesn't hurt my head at all.
Leo always knew his mother to be naive.
Both in the past year and in Leo's memories, whenever Leo lied, his mother immediately believed him, while his father simply looked the other way. This had turned the original Leo into a complete bastard.
This time as well, Kim Crane believed her son's words without doubting anything.
"Never mind that, how did you not notice the change in me at first? My skin looks healthier than before, and even more obvious is my hair. My hair is almost glowing, isn't it?"
Leo's mother smiled and said she had always imagined her son as the most handsome.
"Anyway, is Dad there? I have a few things I want to ask both of you, and I also have a surprise that's as big as my recovery."
"Unfortunately, your father isn't here. I'm in Bali right now, and your father went to Thailand."
Thinking there might be relationship problems, Leo started asking several questions in a row.
Unable to endure the pressure, Leo's mother pursed her lips and began explaining as if she had been wronged.
"Last month, when we went to Paris together, as always, I wrapped your father's muscular arms between my breasts with love, surrounding his arm with my affection and warmth. People jealous of our love kept glaring at us, so your father couldn't endure it anymore and said he needed to go to Thailand for a month to relax psychologically."
For a moment, Leo's mind filled with strange thoughts, but he didn't show it. He only pretended to get angry and scolded his father for leaving his mother alone.
"If you're alone, why aren't you coming home?"
"I am home. Your father gave me this hotel as a gift for my fortieth birthday. Also, I have to get facial tightening twice a day for a month. Look, I'm getting wrinkles near my eyes, do you see?"
Leo ignored the last part of the sentence completely.
"He bought you a hotel? Dad's business must be going really well."
"I'll send you all the profits from this place as allowance in three days, don't worry, my son."
"Oh, of course. Mom, can I get a small tattoo?"
"Of course, sweetheart."
"Alright, have a nice day, mom, talk to you later."
"But what about the surprise?"
*Call ended sound*