#120
“First of all, as far as I know, Lee Seung-jun was an American. A Korean-American. He was originally in the military, but he caused some major incident while on duty. A big enough incident to need a new identity.”
In Jin-ha’s memory, his father was a decent man. He sometimes overly doted on his mother, which could be uncomfortable to watch, but other than that, he was the epitome of a diligent civil servant.
But his father had caused such a huge incident in America that he had to abandon his past and flee? Could that incident be related to Master Senistry? Jin-ha swallowed dryly with tension.
“An incident…?”
“That’s something I can’t talk about. However, there are people who gained a lot from it. Probably the biggest beneficiaries were the American and Korean governments who cooperated in cleaning up his identity for a price. And whether it’s politics or business, if someone gains something, there’s always someone who loses something.”
“If my father’s identity is revealed, I might be in danger because of those ‘losers’.”
If someone lost something due to his father’s incident while he was in the military, it would likely be someone who served in the same unit. If his father was indeed a member of a military unit responsible for the exchange between America and the Kingdom of Abon, and if the portal was closed due to his father’s incident, the biggest victim would undoubtedly be the commander of the military unit.
It wasn’t strange for someone to hold a grudge against a subordinate who ruined a great opportunity for promotion and fled to another country.
“A persistent person, I hear. Someone who would track down and take revenge until death. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“I hope you do. I can’t afford to lose you too.”
Jin-ha could sense affection in the way Mrs. Cha looked at him. But at the same time, he felt an indescribable earnest emotion.
“Mom, aren’t you putting too much pressure on your child?”
Sensing that the conversation was coming to an end, Cha Ki-young grumbled as he sidled up to the table.
“Do you know what kind of work my son does? Do you think I wouldn’t know if someone tried to access his information? I’ve set up all the alarms.”
“You should be reliable.”
“Ugh! Do you have to say it like that? I told you I’m doing well.”
“Because if you’re too confident, you might not be able to fix things when they go wrong, so be careful in advance.”
“Yes, yes. I understand, Mother.”
Cha Ki-young, annoyed by the nagging, deliberately answered politely, and Mrs. Cha frowned slightly. She was contemplating whether to hit Cha Ki-young once or twice.
At the familiar sight, Jin-ha smiled softly. His new relationship with Riyekan in the other world was good, but the familial comfort that Mrs. Cha and Cha Ki-young provided was also nice.
Would he ever be able to introduce Mrs. Cha and Cha Ki-young to Riyekan?
Ring ring!
Mrs. Cha, who was about to smack Cha Ki-young, paused and took out her phone to check the screen. She frowned and immediately answered the call.
“Yes. …Yes, I understand. …No, keep doing that.”
After ending the call, Mrs. Cha stood up.
“I’m sorry, but something urgent has come up, so I have to go. I’m sorry we couldn’t meet for a long time, Jin-ha.”
“Me? Aren’t you sorry for me?”
Cha Ki-young pouted and grumbled, and Mrs. Cha pinched his lips to shut his mouth.
“Ugh, ahhh!”
“You had breakfast with me this morning. Don’t pretend to be jealous for no reason. You rarely come home because you usually say it’s annoying. Right?”
“Ugh, ugh…”
“Alright, prepare your passport. You have to go to America next week.”
At the sudden declaration, Cha Ki-young was shocked. He jerked his body back and asked with wide eyes.
“What? Why do I have to go to America?”
“It’s about the land in America that had problems last time. I’ll hand it over to you, so you manage it.”
“Why me? I told you I’m not taking over Mom’s company.”
“That’s unrelated. Shut up and prepare.”
“I’m busy. Jin-ha was going to ask me for a favor. Right, Jin-ha?”
When did I? Jin-ha looked at Cha Ki-young with a bewildered face. Cha Ki-young was looking at Jin-ha earnestly, as if saying, “Quick, say yes.”
Of course, there was something he could ask for. But he didn’t want to be used to avoid the work that Mrs. Cha was asking Cha Ki-young to do…
Jin-ha was about to say that it wasn’t urgent to Mrs. Cha, but Cha Ki-young, sensing the atmosphere, started kicking Jin-ha’s foot.
“Th, that’s right. You said you had something to ask me. Right? Quickly. Please.”
“Alright, Jin-ha. Tell me what the favor is. Let’s hear what kind of favor it is that my son is saying he can’t go to America.”
“It’s a very time-consuming big favor. Right, Jin-ha?”
Jin-ha looked at the two of them in bewilderment and, with no other choice, took out a small frame from his bosom. It was a portrait of Master Senistry that Riyekan had given him this time.
“This is something I found in the other world, but it seems that my father came to Earth with this blonde girl. Not at this age, but when she was a bit older. If she’s still on Earth, I wanted to ask you to find her traces so I could meet her.”
In the last memory he saw on the vacation island, his father had taken Master Senistry and Jin-ha through the portal. That meant Master Senistry had come to Earth. At that time, it was after the world’s great upheaval, and the world had not yet fully recovered, so it might be difficult to find traces, but perhaps Cha Ki-young could find out something.
If possible, it would have been nice to show a picture of her as an adult in the Corridor of History, but unfortunately, electronic devices from Earth didn’t work in the other world. It was impossible to bring a painter to the other world for personal reasons, so this was the best he could do.
“Any other, other things? Nothing else? Nothing more difficult and time-consuming that you want to ask me?”
“No.”
At the firm answer, Cha Ki-young made a sad face and then looked at Mrs. Cha. He seemed to regret not just saying he would go to America from the beginning, thinking he would get scolded for lying.
“…Mom?”
“Ah, yes. Are you busy?”
Mrs. Cha was unable to take her eyes off the frame that Jin-ha had handed over.
“Yes, if you’re busy, there’s nothing we can do. Then, let’s go to America the week after next.”
“If I can’t go next week, that’s the end of it…”
“Jin-ha, can I take a picture of this photo?”
Mrs. Cha smiled gently and extended her hand to Jin-ha.
“Just, the picture is so pretty. It seems like the style of painting in the other world… Can I?”
“It’s fine. Go ahead.”
Mrs. Cha, who had received the frame from Jin-ha, looked at the picture for a moment and then took a dozen photos in a row with her phone. Then, after checking the photos, she seemed unsatisfied with the angle and took dozens more before returning it to Jin-ha.
“Thank you, Jin-ha.”
“You’re welcome…”
“Well, then I have to go, so call me if something comes up, and if nothing special happens, make him work hard and eat a lot of delicious food. It’s tough, but do your best.”
“It’s not tough.”
“You’re worried about your father…”
Mrs. Cha, who bent down to hug the seated Jin-ha, said,
“Your father is not the kind of person to do bad things. So you can rest assured.”
“Yes.”
Even though he didn’t say anything, it seemed Mrs. Cha had guessed what kind of worries Jin-ha had about his father. Jin-ha hugged her back. Even though there was no evidence, he felt a sense of relief.
After hugging Jin-ha tightly once more, Mrs. Cha patted Jin-ha’s cheek a few times and then pointed at Cha Ki-young warningly before leaving to work.
Beep— As the sound of the front door closing was heard, Cha Ki-young sprawled on the table and grumbled.
“Mom always does that to me.”
“Mrs. Cha, just now, didn’t she seem a bit strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“When she was looking at the frame…”
It was a gaze as if looking at something she missed.
“Do you think the picture looks expensive? Well, it would probably be very expensive if put up for auction.”
“…You have no right to complain about Mom.”
“What? Just give me the picture.”
Surely he wouldn’t try to sell it somewhere. Jin-ha looked at Cha Ki-young with a distrustful gaze but obediently handed over the frame.
“What about the other kid next to her?”
“It doesn’t seem like she came to Earth together.”
“Hmm… What is it? For some reason, her face looks familiar.”
“…I feel the same way, but…”
“Still, no one specific comes to mind. But who is this blonde girl who came to Earth with your father?”
This time too, Jin-ha couldn’t bring himself to answer. Cha Ki-young, who was looking at Jin-ha with a trembling gaze, shook his head.
“What, no way. Your father…”
“Hey, no. Mom said your father isn’t the kind of person to do bad things, right?”
“Well, that’s just… taking his side.”
“Taking his side? Our mom, your father?”
Cha Ki-young repeated as if to say, does that make sense? Indeed, that was true. If anything, Mrs. Cha was on the side of disliking his father. When he was young, Mrs. Cha would often rage in front of the children, saying that his father had taken his mother away when she wasn’t around.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
