43
“You’re a disgrace to this family. Do you know why you’re attached to the hospital? It’s not because you graduated from medical school, nor because you have some amazing ability. It’s all because of me! You’re there thanks to having good parents! There are countless smarter and more capable people than you, but I put you in that position because you’re my child. You should be helping the hospital somehow, not trying to ruin it, you worthless child.”
A slapping sound of flesh hitting flesh was heard. For a while, there were also loud noises as if something was being thrown and broken.
“I should kick you out of both the house and the hospital to bring you to your senses. No, you’re the type who wouldn’t come to your senses anyway.”
“I’m, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Father. I was wrong. Please forgive me just this once. I absolutely won’t…”
“‘I absolutely won’t do it again.’ You always say the same things and keep doing the same things. Don’t you know what progress is?”
“No, Father. From now on, I’ll really, really do better.”
The younger one cowered before his father, for whatever he was so afraid of. The sound of his sobbing could be heard outside the room. If it’s causing such a commotion, he must have done something terribly wrong.
“Abandoning the hospital as you please, misdiagnosing patients, not caring about patients at all. What else are you planning to do to shit on the hospital’s reputation? Just keep doing drugs while ruining your life, the hospital, and our family!”
“No. I’ll do better from now on. I won’t leave my post, I’ll take good care of the patients, and I won’t disappoint you, Father…”
Oh, so he was completely out of control. Leaving the hospital and not caring about patients is already unprofessional enough, but he even misdiagnosed? It’s surprising he’s still allowed to practice medicine. Someone like him should just be fired for the patients’ sake.
“Donghu.”
Father, who had been breathing heavily, softly called the younger one’s name.
“Yes. Yes, Father.”
“Please get your act together. How much longer do I have to witness your delinquent behavior? I’m not asking you to excel. Is it that difficult to just avoid causing trouble and keep a low profile? If there are no complaints, you can at least open your own practice later.”
“Father!”
“You have your position now only because I’m here. When your brother inherits the hospital, what will you do then? I overlook things because you’re my son, but you know your eldest brother doesn’t have the personality to do the same.”
The eldest is indeed cold-hearted. Recalling the eldest’s snake-like eyes, always cunningly waiting for opportunities, I thought that when he becomes the next hospital director, this dimwitted younger one won’t stand a chance.
“When did I ever ask you to be exceptionally good? I just told you to at least pull your own weight. How do you manage to cause trouble every time? Always making such a scene. Don’t you ever think when you see what your eldest brother does? Doesn’t it occur to you that you shouldn’t live like this? I’m not even asking you to be like your eldest brother, just to be like ordinary people! Is that so difficult?”
“Brother, brother, that damn brother. Please stop talking about my brother!”
“If you were born well, you should live up to it. You were conceived from the same seed and born in the same field, why are you so different? This is why you can’t compete with your eldest brother. Were you born an Alpha without any aspirations or ambitions? There are rumors that the eldest will be the next hospital director as if it’s already decided. How can you still be causing such delinquent troubles after hearing that?”
“Rumors? If you’re planning to hand it over to my brother anyway, why blame the rumors? You’ve never once considered me. It’s already decided in your mind that my brother will be the next hospital director!”
“That’s why you should have done well! When I was supporting you from behind, you should have pushed forward. Do you know the difference between your eldest brother and you? While the eldest grew big and fast by eagerly absorbing the nutrients I provided, you spilled what was given, spread out sideways, creating useless branches and struggling. You incompetent child.”
“Anyway! Anyway, I’m the second son. If you’re going to give the hospital director position to my brother regardless of whether I’m capable or not, why blame me? If I had been born first, that position would have been mine. If you were going to give everything to him just because he was born a little earlier, why did you even have me? Huh? Cha Baekju’s only advantage is that he was born before me.”
Hmm, that’s not true. While I don’t particularly like the eldest, he’s definitely better than the younger one in many ways. His cold personality, his patience in quietly observing situations, his judgment in seizing opportunities—he’s definitely the type who would survive by stepping on others. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a better person, though.
“Don’t… disappoint your father anymore. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to throw you out myself, not by your eldest brother’s hand.”
“Father, please. Please give me a chance too. Please?”
“Based on what? Your delinquent behavior? That dim-witted brain of yours? Your body that’s always on drugs? What exactly should I believe in? Just stay quiet and open your own practice in a few years. Don’t cause any more trouble.”
As the conversation seemed to be winding down, I rose on my tiptoes and returned to my room. I think I understood the dynamics of this family now.
Father can tolerate his children’s bad behavior but not anything that harms the hospital. The eldest is doing well, positioned to become the next hospital director. The problem is the younger one—he lacks ability but has grown up being compared to his older brother, making him feel inferior and victimized. When someone without ability behaves like that, they’re bound to cause trouble later.
Father was wrong. The younger one doesn’t lack aspirations or ambitions. He has ambition but lacks ability.
This could turn into quite an interesting picture if I scratched the surface a bit. My malicious mischief-maker side was starting to activate.
∞ ∞ ∞
“Is it nice living alone?”
I asked as I entered the elevator with Kwon Yikang, who had personally come down to the parking lot to pick me up.
“It’s comfortable in terms of avoiding friction with parents. Why? Thinking of living independently?”
“No. I’m fine as I am for now.”
“Well, the world is too scary for an Omega young master to live separately.”
What nonsense. I’m so vicious that even a burglar would run away. The reason I’m staying at home now is that I need to get used to Cha Sukyung’s life, and from a third-person perspective, it’s as exciting as watching a makjang drama.
“That family is quite entertaining. There’s always something beyond expectations, so it’s never boring.”
“That family is your family, but your positive mindset is commendable.”
He said lightly as he stroked my nape.
“This way.”
Though it was said as a joke, I was immediately invited and walked into Kwon Yikang’s home. So this is why everyone wants to be independent. You can date comfortably at home without going to hotels or motels. But why are all the men in our family stuck at home? Is it because there are many children?
“Are you alone?”
“I think I mentioned it before. Are you double-checking?”
“No, not that. I meant, are you alone without siblings?”
“Yes, I am. Why?”
“I was just thinking that while it’s comfortable to live independently, why are all the kids in our family stuck together? I wondered if it’s because of the inheritance. It seems like they’re annoyingly clinging to home to stamp their presence a bit more, hoping to get a slightly larger share later. Even though they don’t get along.”
Even so, seeing how healthy Grandfather still is, independence seems unlikely for their lifetime. They’ll probably live attached to their parents until they die, then try to change the will when they’re barely breathing. Raising voices about who did better, pulling each other’s hair, exposing each other’s flaws. It’s predictable without even seeing it.
Since I’m a person who values the present over the future, I should figure out how to cash out my share early instead of lingering on an inheritance that may never come.
“Life is pretty much the same everywhere. If you have money, you fight over it; if you don’t, you still fight.”
“Isn’t it all the same as long as you don’t have to worry about survival? It’s not like all that money goes into eating, clothing, playing, and sleeping anyway.”
“The more people have, the more they want.”
Frankly speaking, what’s the point of being a hospital director or chairman? It’s not like they’re going to sell the hospital for cash. They probably have enough money to live on until they die. I don’t understand why everyone is so fixated on the hospital. Seeing how they cover up a son’s medical malpractice, they clearly don’t have the noble goal of thinking only about patients and treating them from a patient’s perspective.
Of course, it’s not my place to complain while living off my parents’ money, but watching from the side, I can’t help but sigh at how they waste energy on such pointless matters.
“I don’t really get it.”
Clicking his tongue as if they were an incomprehensible bunch, I entered through the door Kwon Yikang opened for me. After taking off my shoes and stepping up, I saw photos filling one wall from the entrance to the living room.
“What’s all this?”
“Photos I’ve taken. I majored in photography.”
“That’s unexpected. Didn’t you say you work for a company?”
“That’s because of my father. Take your time looking.”
Kwon Yikang granted me permission as he took my outerwear and went inside.
Large and small photos were framed in unadorned wooden frames hanging on the wall. As I slowly examined them, I recalled having seen similar photos somewhere before.
“I’ve seen photos like these before.”
“Where?”
“There was an… exhibition recently. I went to see it every day.”
I had paid the bloody entrance fee every time because of Cha Sukyung. Since he had set his death date, I spent money without regret, but otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered going.
“That must have been my exhibition. A friend who’s an agent contacts me occasionally. I’m honored that you were such a fan of mine, going to see it every day.”
I better not mention how much I cursed about the entrance fee. Or how I cursed that the photos made viewers feel like shit.
To think that the exhibition I had disparaged was Kwon Yikang’s—I briefly considered whether I should now unleash those uncomfortable feelings on the photographer himself, but quickly changed my mind, deciding it was better to just bury it.
The atmosphere was similar, but there was hardly any overlap with the photos I saw at the exhibition. I wondered if these weren’t good enough for the exhibition, but then there would be no reason to specially select them for home display either.
As I examined the photos one by one, I saw a slightly larger framed photo among them. It was a black and white photo of an alleyway similar to the other photos, but the small child captured in it caught my eye and wouldn’t let go.
“Ah, you’re looking at that one. That’s my favorite photo.”
“…Why?”
“That kid was kind of unique. I still remember.”
The child in the photo that Kwon Yikang pointed to was wearing dirty, grimy clothes and was glaring straight ahead with shoulders hunched.
That was… me at eleven years old.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
