10 #2
Tom scratched his head. Creating that scholarship for DH had been one of the strangest things he had ever been asked to do, but even he had to admit that it had been worth the subterfuge and white lies.
As an international student of middle-class, white-collar parents, DH would never have received financial aid, and his parents would not have accepted such a generous gift from their son’s friend’s mother. Their pride wouldn’t have allowed it.
“DH is a special case.”
“Peter was better off having DH with him at school. Actually, both boys needed each other. Even when Peter was in California, DH’s family took such good care of him, and they didn’t know for the longest time about DH’s scholarship. I think Peter got the better end of the bargain,” Renee said.
“It was a lot of money,” Tom said. “Not many people would have just paid for a stranger’s kid. There’s no one like you, Renee.”
“I’m not wonderful. I have a lot of money.
I told you that my grandfather and grandmother didn’t go to college.
Grandfather finished high school, but he wanted to be a pharmacist. Instead, he sold used tires, then learned how to manufacture them.
He became rich because his timing worked out.
He always wanted all of us to be educated and to help Korea. ”
It was true. Renee wanted her son, Peter, to move back to Seoul; however, she felt bad for the children here who worked unceasingly and their parents who had no idea how to make their kids competitive globally. Everyone just told the kids to do more work.
In high school, she had played tennis seriously.
As an athlete, she knew work, talent, and luck were important, but smart coaching was essential, too.
In her mind, there had to be another way for these kids to get a global education and bring back beneficial ideas to Korea.
Her grandparents had loved the people of their country, and her saintly grandmother, who was almost a Buddhist nun after her husband died—just short of shaving her head—had always told her five children that one must share one’s good fortune with those who had less.
Renee couldn’t change things for everyone, but if she could affect the education of fifty children, while getting her own son to come back, then it was worth spending a fraction of her wealth on this hagwon experiment.
Soon enough, everyone had to admit it. Within just one academic year, Fortress Seoul had made a difference.
Fortress Seoul occupied two floors of an office building in Daechi-dong, where there were many other hagwons.
There were two executive offices, one teachers’ lounge, three classrooms, and two spacious meeting areas.
Within walking distance, there were six small suites in a long-term residential hotel reserved for three tutors, one college consultant, and the office managers—all from the United States.
When Lion came to visit during the first month, Peter insisted that he stay with him.
He also wanted to check in on Ginny, now a rising sophomore at UCLA, who was rethinking her premed track and had taken a year off from school to work as an assistant office manager to Mido.
It had been her idea to follow Mido and Lion to work at Fortress Seoul to make money and spend time with her family.
Her father had opened a restaurant supply export business in Busan, and Ginny’s family finances had improved somewhat, but her grandmother now needed more care.
Even after the fifty students were selected, there were numerous appeals to accept more applicants.
Peter was getting better at saying no, and thankfully, Tom’s petite, unassuming wife, Clara Song, was a master at turning people down.
The number of parents who visited the office with boxes of ginseng, orchids, and fabric-wrapped gifts from luxury department stores diminished rapidly when they realized that no one at Fortress was allowed to accept any gifts or money.
Peter had taken the smaller of the two offices, enclosed by glass walls, because everyone tended to gather in the one that Mido and Ginny shared.
Needing to expand their team, they hired another American college consultant, who had a terrific reputation for being able to reach kids.
Reg Sherman had been working at an international school in Seoul, and at the end of his term of employment, he decided to join Fortress.
It was Mido’s job to sort out his employment agreement and immigration issues, so she went to talk to their lawyers in Jongno.
In the imposing lobby of the law firm, the receptionist asked her to wait using formal language and with great deference, which surprised Mido.
The last time she had been in Seoul, she was in middle school.
Inside she still felt like a child, but now she was an adult, and somehow, through Renee’s relationships, Fortress Seoul had become a client of this large and impressive law firm.
On the coffee table, there was a wide assortment of English-language and Korean newspapers, and Mido picked up a copy of the International Herald Tribune.
Her father had told her that several families at church had recently lost their homes, unable to make their mortgage payments, which had gone up with rising interest rates.
Each month Bo, DH, and Mido sent their father money to help with the mortgage, taxes, and expenses, so he was okay.
He had a fixed rate, so his monthly payments hadn’t changed.
As Mido scanned an article about subprime mortgages and foreclosures in California, she heard footsteps approaching.
“Mido?”