Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Father and Son

I stood in front of the living room glass window and looked outside.

Heavy snow was still falling flutteringly.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the backs of Mother and Father sitting side by side on the garden bench.

Heavy snow was scattering thickly above the parents’ heads.

It was like a painting.

‘It must be cold.’

I want to take a scarf and wrap it around them.

I want to take a shawl and cover them.

But I couldn’t bring myself to jump into that beautiful painting.

‘Since they haven’t met for a long time, there must be many words to share.’

The parents would need time to share the unfinished stories.

I watched Mother’s smile and Father’s gaze beyond the glass window.

Just looking was pretty.

They were beautiful lovers.

‘Mother really loves Father.’

I had roughly guessed Mother’s heart from cherishing the watch Father left.

But seeing Mother making such an excited expression in front of Father, that heart clearly came through.

Mother who smiled as if drawn but rarely laughed out loud.

In front of Father, she continuously burst into laughter like a fully bloomed rose.

Happily as if she had the whole world.

‘That seems to be the same for our Father too.’

What about Father looking at Mother.

The man who rarely smiles couldn’t take his eyes off Mother.

Completely unsuited to the cold, hard, taciturn, heavy-looking atmosphere.

Father gazed at Mother intently with eyes dripping honey.

Hotly as if only one person existed in the world.

‘A well-matched pair.’

It was heartwarming.

Just watching from afar was good.

‘Is our Mother’s age twenty-seven this year, or twenty-eight. She gave birth to me at a really flower-like time.’

A young woman giving birth to me alone and raising me.

How much hardship must there have been.

Mother devoted her twenties, the most flower-like age in life, for me.

So I was grateful, and so I was sorry.

Mother who left me a lot of beautiful and warm memories until I died.

I had hoped to meet Mother again even in dreams for 45 years.

I had hoped for Mother to be happy.

‘Come to think of it, how old is our Father?’

Come to think of it, I don’t know anything about Father.

What I know is our Father’s three-character name and that Father is the youngest son of the Taeseong Group chairman.

Also that he was scheduled to take charge of Taeseong Construction but died at an early age in a plane crash.

The moment I realized that anew, something surged up in some part of the chest.

‘That person was my father.’

A man who somehow looked cool just from the back.

The height is tall, the face is handsome, the family is good, and the head also looked good.

From the walking gait to the posture he was taking.

There’s nothing to criticize.

A sense of luxurious dignity and pressure of someone properly educated and raised upright was felt.

‘No wonder our Mother couldn’t forget.’

I blankly looked down at Father’s watch.

‘Would he like it if I return this to Father. While saying it’s Father’s item that Mother cherished······.’

So I casually took it from the main room.

But I shook my head.

‘Even if I return it when returning, this should be returned by our Mother, not me. That would be right.’

I blankly looked at the watch.

‘Come to think of it, I came all the way here believing only in this one watch.’

Just a seven-year-old poor child.

What I believed as the last resort was ultimately this Father’s watch.

To save Mother’s life.

I had worried whether to give this to Jae-ho’s father and borrow the truck to go to the hospital.

When trying to finish the oxygen treatment early, I had also considered handing this watch as a bribe to persuade the doctor.

I had taken this watch to the pawnshop to collateralize it to buy this house.

When Mother said she would do kitchen dishwashing work, I had also worried whether to exchange this watch for living expenses.

‘It was good that I didn’t sell it.’

Actually, I know this is just an item.

This watch fully contained Father and Mother’s memories as well as Mother’s heart.

‘They’re really pretty. Our parents.’

I kept wiping the glass window that was becoming blurry because of the steam with my palm.

“Hey, little kid. Don’t gloomily act here for no reason and just go ask to join in too. You’re family.”

“It’s fine.”

Instead of running to the garden and leaving clear footprints in the white snow, I chose to watch them while wiping the steam from inside the blurry glass window.

Uncle Cheol-gu stood side by side with me in front of the living room glass window and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Didn’t you miss Dad?”

“I did miss him.”

“Then run and hug tightly right away.”

“How can I do that.”

I made a bitter smile.

“I drew him thinking our Dad would be somewhere. But our Dad might not have even known of my existence.”

Otherwise, when I became an orphan at seven in the past, there’s no way there wasn’t even a single person who came looking.

“But if a child you’ve never seen in your life suddenly runs saying ‘Dad, I missed you!’, how burdensome would it be.”

I stroked Father beyond the glass window with my fingertip.

The cold of midwinter, the moisture of the steam came off.

“You have too many thoughts for a little kid.”

Uncle Cheol-gu messed up my hair disorderly.

“A seven-year-old little kid can ignore adults’ circumstances. That’s the privilege of a child.”

Uncle Cheol-gu held out one lollipop to me.

“Want to eat?”

Somehow a chuckle came out.

The gentleman who drinks coffee black and frowns when chocolate is put in his mouth.

Why did he buy something like a lollipop that doesn’t suit him.

I took the candy and grinned while sucking it.

“I’m a man who doesn’t refuse goodwill.”

“If you’re a man, it’s straight ahead. Just run and hug tightly and it’s the end?”

I sucked the lollipop pretending not to know.

“What’s wrong if Dad is a bit bewildered? Anyway, you’re the son. Isn’t that right? Are you going to just watch from afar like this for a lifetime?”

Then the parents who had been sitting side by side on the garden bench stood up.

They walk this way side by side.

One step, one step.

The closer they got to the front door, the faster my heart also began to beat more and more quickly.

Click.

The front door opened.

“Come in, Senior.”

“Then I won’t decline.”

Father entered with unhesitating footsteps.

The moment our eyes met, Father smiled gently.

“Jeong-hyeok.”

The moment the violently beating heart seemed to drop with a thud.

It was the moment Father called my name for the first time.

A dizzying feeling as if only Father and I were left in the world.

I couldn’t move an inch like a butterfly caught in a spider web.

Father knelt on one knee and matched eye level with me.

“I am Cha Seong-jun.”

No thoughts came.

Uncle Cheol-gu’s words, the worries I had in the meantime, the cheers of the Taeseong Group security guards.

My mind turned white like pure white heavy snow and nothing came to mind.

“I don’t know if you heard from Mom, but I am your······.”

“Dad!”

I was running toward Father with both arms open.

“Yes.”

Father opened both arms.

I jumped into that embrace tightly.

I hugged Father’s nape tightly.

“Dad, I missed you!”

“Yes.”

A heavy, sophisticated, and luxurious men’s perfume smell rushed in.

As if that was our Father’s smell.

While inhaling deeply into the lungs, I buried my face in Father’s nape.

“I also missed you.”

Father also hugged me and laughed softly.

It was a pleasant laugh sound.

I also wanted to smile prettily at Dad like that.

For some reason, tears welled up hazily first.

“Dad, Dad······!”

From the day I opened my eyes in this world until the moment I closed my eyes.

No, even in the underworld, I always wanted to say this when I met Father.

“I am Dad’s son. I’m Cha Jeong-hyeok.”

Actually, there were really many things I wanted to ask when meeting Father.

Who you are, how you learned of my existence, why you left our mother and son like that.

There were also many questions I wanted to ask, and many resentments I should ask.

But at this moment, not even one such thing came to mind.

“I love you.”

The words I had resolved to definitely say if Father ever came looking for me someday.

The words I had only vaguely drawn in my heart without ever taking them out of my mouth even once.

The words I had believed I would absolutely never say because it was the first meeting with Father unlike Mother, so it would be awkward.

After actually taking the words that had remained as a regret in my heart for a lifetime out of my mouth.

Tears surged up without realizing.

“Dad, I love you.”

Sobbing and choking up is not my style.

“My son······.”

I just liked Father’s heavy and warm embrace.

“Jeong-hyeok.”

I just liked the name Father called me.

“Thank you.”

I cried sniffing in Father’s embrace.

Damn, this child’s body.

* * *

Throughout eating, laughter didn’t stop at the dining table.

Mother poured water for Father and asked.

“Does the food suit your taste?”

“Yes.”

“What tastes the best?”

“Everything.”

Fortunately, this morning’s was made by the landlord grandmother.

The landlord grandmother’s cooking skills were famous enough to be counted as the first in the Guro-dong shantytown.

Probably if she opened a restaurant, it would have been a big hit or something.

‘It’s the first time in my life. Eating together with Father and Mother.’

Father was a taciturn man.

On the other hand, Mother was very excited and chattered this and that.

‘It also seems like the first time seeing our Mother talking so excitedly.’

Mother had her body turned toward Father without even eating properly.

Father nodded and silently listened to Mother’s story.

As if it had always been like that from the beginning until now.

Like lovers who met again after 7 hours, not 7 years.

It was nice to see like people who had never not loved even once in 7 years.

“Does Jeong-hyeok like ribs?”

“Yes.”

Father placed ribs on top of my rice bowl.

I smiled brightly and accepted Father’s goodwill.

“It’s delicious.”

“Would you dislike japchae?”

“No. I like everything. I don’t pick and choose.”

“You’re good.”

Father picked only side dishes that a child would like and placed this and that on top of my spoon.

Seeing that sight, Mother smiled gently.

“Jeong-hyeok has a bit of a short mouth, but he’s really eating well today.”

Mother, I’m not the type with a short mouth, it’s just that I can’t eat Mother’s food well.

“Jeong-hyeok, after we finish eating, shall we make a snowman together?”

“A snowman? I like it!”

I answered excitedly right away.

It was like a dream.

I wanted to finish eating quickly and play together outside.

I also have to hold Father and Mother’s hands and stamp clear footprints on the pure white snow that fell in the garden.

Ding dong! Ding dong ding dong!

It was the doorbell sound.

The quick-witted Taeseong Group security guard, the self-proclaimed number two, ran over and whispered softly in my ear.

“Secretary Kim brought the bribe.”

This quickly?

He said it would take 3 days to prepare the bribe.

The bribes I demanded then were four.

Apologizing for the rudeness to Mother, permitting the marriage, bringing Father, and receiving 100 million won worth of Taeseong stocks.

“Chairman Cha also came.”

I realized why the preparation of the bribe that was thought impossible proceeded smoothly.

As soon as the words ended, the front door opened with a bang.

“Jeong-hyeok, Grandfather came!”

A voice that was thunderous but with a clear affectionate complexion.

It was Chairman Cha.

“Father?”

Father stood up abruptly from his seat in great bewilderment.