Along with a voice I’d never heard before, someone revealed themselves from behind the front door.
“……!”
Before my eyes stood a young man who looked exactly like Hyeol, but with much sharper features and taller than Hyeol.
“I’m sorry, you must have been very surprised that I came so suddenly…”
When I stood there looking dazed while holding Hyeol, the man apologized with a sorry expression. In his hand, he was holding a palm-sized black box.
Who is this…?
No, did he say brother-in-law earlier…?
I looked at the man who resembled Hyeol while recalling the names saved in Chae Seungyeon’s phone one by one.
Husband, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, brother-in-law’s wife, young master…
[Young master]
“Young… master…?”
I called out carefully just in case, and the man suddenly made a serious expression. Correct, it was the young master.
“I heard the news late and was very worried… Ah, I came here secretly from the family while dropping off Hyeol. I didn’t tell anyone.”
From what he was saying, the young master seemed to be someone who knew well what kind of people mother-in-law and the in-law family were, and how they treated Chae Seungyeon. But just because he knew the situation didn’t mean those family members were on my side. I didn’t let my guard down and asked about his business.
“Hyeol… I’m grateful that you brought him, young master, but coming so suddenly without a single contact call…”
“Ah, well, it’s nothing else… I heard you packed your things, but it seems like you left this behind…”
The man also seemed to have planned to just take care of business and leave, as he held out the black box he was carrying to me. Meanwhile, Hyeol quickly escaped from my arms and went inside.
“…What is that?”
I couldn’t readily accept the black box. No matter how kindly the young master approached me, I didn’t know what might be inside.
“You’ll know if you look…”
I was still suspicious, so I told him to open it himself. The young master, who hesitated a bit, carefully opened the box lid.
“……”
Inside the box were Chae Seungyeon’s bankbook and seal, along with a ring case, a photograph, and what appeared to be Hyeol’s pacifier.
“That’s…”
“Yes, you forgot something important.”
I finally let my guard down and accepted the box.
“Thank you…”
“Well then, I’ve delivered it, so I’ll be going now.”
The young master moved toward the elevator as if he’d finished his business.
I hesitated for a moment. Still, since he’d gone to the trouble of bringing really necessary items like this, I thought I should at least offer him a cup of tea.
“Um, wait a moment, young master…”
Just as I stepped slightly outside the door to call the young master, he quickly turned around, perhaps hearing my small voice.
“Brother-in-law!”
Suddenly the young master called out to me loudly.
“…Yes?”
“Persistence success! Congratulations on your escape!”
The young master made a fighting gesture with his hand and then disappeared into the elevator.
“……”
As expected, the Gwak family… is not ordinary.
*
When I entered the house, Hyeol was just coming out of the bathroom after washing his hands.
“Hyeol, it’s really fortunate that your unc… no, uncle brought you home, right?”
“I don’t know, I could have just called a driver ajussi.”
Then Hyeol answered indifferently and gulped down the water the ajumma handed him.
“Please wait a moment, I’ll prepare your meal right now.”
“Ah… thank you, is there anything I can help with?”
“Oh my, just watching the children is help enough, please sit down.”
The ajumma smiled gently with her eyes while taking the water cup Hyeol handed her and went back into the kitchen.
“Hyeol, did something happen with uncle?”
When I sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to me while asking, Kkotsu, who had appeared from somewhere, plopped down in that spot.
“Then Hyeol, sit over here.”
“……”
Hyeol looked at Kkotsu once with an indifferent expression, then sat in the spot I indicated.
“With uncle… nothing happened.”
He said that, but Hyeol’s expression didn’t look like that at all. But sometimes, it might be better to just let it pass rather than questioning a child to find out the reason.
“Hmm, then shall we look at the communication notebook Hyeol wrote at kindergarten?”
“Communication notebook?”
But Hyeol looked at me with puzzled eyes as if hearing the term for the first time. I was flustered again.
Ah, I really can’t think of it as being the same as a regular kindergarten… Just as I was trying to convince myself, Kkotsu, who was sitting next to me, suddenly jumped up from his seat.
Thump thump thump, making footstep sounds, he ran to his room and appeared carrying his kindergarten bag. Then he put the bag on the floor and rummaged inside with his hands.
Thud.
What fell out from between the bag was a communication notebook with a frog character drawn on it. Kkotsu picked it up and held it out to me.
“Th-this… comm-communication book…”
“Ah, this is the communication notebook from the kindergarten Kkotsu attends?”
I received the communication notebook from Kkotsu and opened it. I read down the round handwriting written by the kindergarten teacher.
“Oh… it says Kkotsu took a good nap today and practiced using chopsticks?”
“Yes, yes…”
Kkotsu nodded his head vigorously while answering. Just looking at his expression, he seemed incredibly proud. That sight was so cute that a smile naturally bloomed on my face. Kkotsu probably saw Hyeol using chopsticks well yesterday evening and tried practicing himself too.
“Oh, and… it says Kkotsu got a dream today, and to congratulate him.”
“Huh… huh?”
As if he didn’t know the teacher had written that too, Kkotsu blushed and opened and closed his mouth.
“What is Kkotsu’s dream?”
“……”
“Hmm? Teacher is curious too.”
When I asked, Kkotsu mumbled shyly then answered.
“F-fish… f-flesh… p-pick out… and f-feed…”
Pick out fish flesh and feed it?
As soon as I heard it, my heart felt warm and fuzzy. Because Kkotsu’s dream was really pure and like a child of that age.
“Then you’ll pick out fish flesh and feed daddy?”
“Yes, yes…”
“Oh my, how wonderful.”
I smiled and gently stroked Kkotsu’s soft hair with my hand.
“That’s a dream?”
Just then, Hyeol, who had been sitting quietly beside us, spoke in a cold voice.
“That’s a dream, Kko-kko?”
No, Hyeol, still calling him Kko-kko… it’s cute though…
I should have corrected him, but I missed the timing because the nickname Kko-kko was too cute.
“N-not Kko-kko…!”
Then Kkotsu clenched his fists and shouted loudly at Hyeol. I was startled because I didn’t expect Kkotsu to come out so aggressively.
But unlike me, Hyeol seemed completely unaffected.
“Then what is it?”
He still had a cold attitude. Then Kkotsu’s shoulders started shaking and his body trembled. The signs weren’t good. Just as I was about to reach out to stop Kkotsu.
Kkotsu, his face red as a tomato, shouted as loud as he could.
“Not Kko-kko…! I… I am… Kko-tsu!”
Kkotsu…
This was the first time I’d seen Kkotsu like this. Sweet Kkotsu seemed to be quite angry. The ajumma must have heard and been surprised too, as she ran from the kitchen to the living room and then quietly went back.
“That’s right, Hyeol. Not Kko-kko, but Kkotsu. You should call him Kkotsu.”
I tried to say it gently, but Hyeol didn’t bend his position.
“I think Kko-kko is better than Kkotsu though? Kkotsu’s name is weird.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
