47
After I rambled on like I was talking to myself, my sister-in-law who had been listening quietly raised her voice. She put down the spoon she was holding and stood up from her seat.
“Really… I didn’t want to say this, but it’s difficult to have a meal together when there’s no communication. I’ll excuse myself first since it’s hard to eat with someone who doesn’t match my level.”
Hmm, I’d been feeling that lack of communication since earlier. Before I could respond with “Go ahead,” my sister-in-law left the dining room, creating a sharp breeze as she went. Strangely, after she left, my brother’s face regained its composure.
“Are you deliberately being this rude?”
“Of course not. I was just genuinely curious when I asked, so I don’t understand why she’s angry.”
While rinsing my mouth with water, my oldest brother stared at me intently. Under his scrutinizing gaze, I put on my signature blank expression that said ‘I don’t know anything,’ which made my oldest brother click his tongue softly.
“It’s just a gathering of kids from prestigious families, isn’t it? It’s a group based on background rather than the person themselves.”
“You need to learn how to speak more elegantly, even if you’re saying the same thing.”
“Does my lack of education show?”
“You would know that best.”
“Why don’t you include our second brother?”
“I didn’t realize you cared so much about Donghu.”
It’s not that I particularly care about him, I just happened to ask again when the little one appeared at the right time.
Seeing the second brother’s figure briefly appear and disappear, as if he was hiding after hearing our conversation while entering the dining room, I lowered my gaze to my rice bowl, pretending not to notice.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Second brother is also a son of the Hospital Director father, just like you. It’s weird that only you frequent this gathering that’s supposedly based on background.”
“It’s not just about current background. They also consider the potential someone will have in the future.”
“And what’s your potential? The next Hospital Director?”
My oldest brother didn’t answer my question, but the smile that slowly spread across his face was enough to infer the answer.
“So the oldest brother who’ll become Hospital Director qualifies, but second brother who probably won’t make the cut doesn’t qualify? Those people must be convinced you’ll become the Hospital Director. Or… perhaps someone has been confidently saying so.”
“There are things people naturally come to know without having to say them explicitly. Nothing looks as pathetic as announcing things with your own mouth.”
“I suppose so.”
That’s always your conversation method. You never explicitly state what you want, what you think, or what you intend to say. You simply guide the conversation to reach your desired outcome.
Even now, the oldest one never once stated with his own mouth that he would become the next Hospital Director.
He’s excessively cautious, making him the most difficult opponent if you’re trying to extract something through conversation.
“I’ve completely lost my appetite. I’ll excuse myself first.”
It wasn’t a lie—my appetite had completely disappeared, so I got up without hesitation. Leaving behind the oldest brother with his slightly pleased expression, I exited the dining room and saw the second brother leaning against the wall.
“Even just having a conversation with him isn’t easy, is it? Second brother, you’ll need to step up your game.”
If he understood what I meant, then he has the intelligence to understand our earlier conversation. If he didn’t understand, then he’s just going to sink like this. Leaving the contemplative second brother behind, I headed to my room on the second floor.
∞ ∞ ∞
Waiting for Kwon Yikang, who said he would come down soon, I looked at myself in the rearview mirror.
“Driver Lee, do I look okay?”
“I’ve already told you more than ten times, you look perfect.”
“Well, I guess no one would tell me to my face that I look like shit. I asked a pointless question.”
“Not at all. You really look very handsome. Looks like you have a special date today?”
“It’s not exactly a date…”
Though I do have something special planned.
As I let out a laugh from rising anticipation, Lee Gyeongjin, who had been glancing at me through the rearview mirror, made eye contact and slightly shuddered.
“Oh, he’s coming down.”
I saw Kwon Yikang emerging through the door leading to the parking lot in the distance. He seemed to be looking around, searching for me.
“I’m going now. If I end up going home, I’ll contact you before 10 PM. If you don’t hear from me by 10, it means I’m staying out, so get some rest. In that case, I’ll call you Sunday afternoon.”
“Even without such instructions, I’ll always be on standby. Please contact me if you need anything.”
“No, no. How can you rest while always being on standby? When it’s time to rest, you should do so without worry. I’m really going now.”
Seeing Kwon Yikang approaching with long strides, having apparently spotted the car, I hurriedly got out. As he walked closer, he looked me up and down and gave a deep eye-smile.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“It’s refreshing to see you in formal attire for once.”
“Except for when we first met, I’ve always been in casual clothes. I don’t like formal wear. It somehow makes me feel like an old man.”
These days, suits are designed with some tailoring and aren’t made like shapeless sacks like my father’s suits, so they look decent, but they’re still equally uncomfortable.
“We’re taking your car, right? I told my driver to go home.”
“You seem to be particularly considerate of drivers.”
“Well, he’s always with me. I should let him rest when possible.”
His hand came up to guide my back, leading me to a section of the parking lot. Kwon Yikang’s car, which I’d ridden in a few times before, was gleaming brightly today as well.
“Get in.”
After opening the passenger door for me, Kwon Yikang sat in the driver’s seat himself.
“No driver or attendant? You’re driving yourself?”
Even as I asked, I thought it was strange. Of course it makes sense for someone to drive their own car. That’s normal, but since becoming Cha Sukyung, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing people with drivers—myself, my fathers, my brothers—so seeing Kwon Yikang drive himself seemed unusual.
“I enjoy driving myself. I only have someone accompany me when I’m using the company car. For personal matters, I drive myself. I don’t like other people’s hands on my car either.”
“You really cherish your things too much. Is it because you grew up alone without siblings? You don’t understand the art of sharing.”
“I have a strong sense of possession.”
“Since you grew up alone, everything must have been yours. When you have everything, shouldn’t you have less greed?”
“I’m willing to give things away, but I don’t like sharing. Plus, I used to hide the things I treasured so that others couldn’t see or touch them.”
I used to think Kwon Yikang was remarkably normal compared to Cha Sukyung’s crazy family, but unexpectedly, he had strange quirks in unexpected areas. Still, being attached to one’s belongings isn’t particularly strange, so his stubbornness actually seemed cute.
“You seem like the type who would have had a security blanket or a favorite stuffed animal as a child.”
“…I didn’t have those, but I did have a dog I cherished very much.”
“You raised a dog?”
If he raised it as a child, it probably isn’t alive anymore. Pets have short lifespans.
When I lived in back alleys, I saw many stray cats. There were big cats and kittens so small they looked newborn. They survived by scavenging through food waste, but the smaller cats often went hungry, losing out in power struggles. I thought their situation was similar to mine.
I would save some food and give it to the small cats when I saw them. We never became close enough for them to allow my touch, but when we crossed paths in the alley, they would meow as if greeting someone familiar.
I fed them like that for two or three years, but at some point, they disappeared. I don’t know if there was an accident or if it was a natural death. But I naturally realized they no longer existed. After that, even when I saw kittens, I didn’t share my food anymore.
“You must have been very sad when it died.”
“At some point, it started following my father more. I was the one who fed it, played with it, and trained it. The dog could see the hierarchy. So…”
“Never mind,” Kwon Yikang swallowed his words and just smiled. He must have felt really disappointed. I guess I would feel hurt too if a dog I raised with affection preferred someone else.
“Aww, so you felt let down? Did you cry about it?”
“I didn’t cry… I just showed the dog. Who the owner was. Who it belonged to.”
“Such a strict master, aren’t you?”
I said it with a smile, but Kwon Yikang’s face had hardened slightly. Is it really such a bad memory? Like trauma? Thinking he might be more sensitive than I thought, I changed the subject.
“Anyway, where are we going? Are we having dinner with your father at a restaurant?”
“To my family home.”
“Your father’s house?”
“He asked me to bring you there.”
“Wow, inviting me straight to your home.”
I felt a bit pressured. This feels almost like I’m going to formally greet his parents. This was deviating from my original intention of casually showing that “we’re currently meeting with good feelings.”
“He’s trying to establish dominance from the start. Confident you won’t back down?”
“Does it have to go as far as establishing dominance? This is why his only son couldn’t get married until he was thirty-four. It’s an overreach for parents to interfere so much in their children’s relationships.”
I’m not even being brought as a potential marriage partner, so why call me to the house? I tried to guess, but I couldn’t predict how Kwon Yikang’s father would approach this.
“Today we’re… a couple, right?”
It’s okay to be a definite couple just for today, isn’t it? I asked while glancing at him cautiously, but silence followed. Is even asking that too burdensome? Feeling a sort of thirst, I licked my lips.
“That way your father won’t try to set you up with blind dates. We need to look like a happy couple.”
“…Right.”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and we should decide how to address each other. I keep calling you ‘you, you.'”
“I’m surprised you’re only now thinking about this.”
“Stop joking around. What do couples usually call each other? You must have dated before. Quickly, share your experiences.”
“I’m sorry to say I haven’t had anyone that close.”
“…Really? A lifelong single has been in front of me this whole time? Wow, that’s genuinely surprising.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
