The sound of furniture breaking in the house. Someone shouting.
For the young Min Yugeon, these were uninvited guests that visited from time to time.
“I’m not even asking you for something amazing. Today was Yugeon’s birthday. No, it’s yesterday now. Shouldn’t you at least have been with us in the evening on a day like that?”
“……”
“You didn’t care last year, either.”
The fights usually began with his mother criticizing her husband, who rarely came home because he was too busy managing his social network.
“Do you think I’m doing this just for myself? It’s all for the future. I’m tired too.”
Min Sanghan sighed as he responded.
“It’s the middle of the night. Let me sleep.”
Lee Minha, frowning, scoffed.
“You must be able to sleep just fine after upsetting your kid. And let’s be honest, you are doing all this just for yourself. The research director is retiring, and you’re so desperate for that position you’re busy trying to impress everyone and kiss up to them. The director’s already taken notice of you, and even the captain’s aware, so why are you so anxious? If you just do your job properly from where you are, wouldn’t the promotion come naturally?”
“You’re saying that because you don’t understand. Do you know how much attention Heeseo and Jaejin’s approved project is getting right now? The captain’s practically throwing a fit, saying he’ll support it no matter how long it takes.”
The jealousy was plain on Min Sanghan’s face and voice—he made no effort to hide it in front of his family.
“They even promised to prepare a dedicated private lab for them to live and work in. Do you realize how rare it is to construct a new building on the ship just for a select few?”
“Ahh, so that’s what this is about?”
Lee Minha nodded slowly.
“You’re scared your old friends might take the position you want so badly.”
“……”
“So, because groveling is fun, you’re running around wagging your tail for anyone who snaps their fingers.”
“Lee Minha!”
Min Sanghan shouted, his face flushing red. But Lee Minha stared at him coldly.
“What? Am I wrong?”
“Watch your mouth.”
“Then stop acting like this. If you didn’t want to be questioned, you shouldn’t have behaved like that in the first place. Why’d you even get married if this is how it’s going to be? You could’ve just stayed single and chased your own ambitions.”
“You—!”
Breathing heavily, Min Sanghan hurled the object in his hand to the floor. Crash! A sharp clatter rang out. Lee Minha didn’t flinch at all. Instead, she mocked him, saying that he acted all friendly and submissive outside but showed his true colors at home.
Watching his parents’ raised voices through the crack of the door, Min Yugeon slowly backed away. His frightened face tensed as his short legs carried him hurriedly back to his room, where he crawled under the bed. The dark space was lined with block toys he always brought there on nights like this.
Buried among the blocks, Min Yugeon tried to hide himself as much as he could, eyes brimming with tears. He didn’t understand everything they said, but he could tell his mother and father were stabbing at each other with sharp words. His father had returned home late at night, clearly a bit drunk, showing no sign of remembering it was his birthday. He’d tried to go straight to bed, claiming exhaustion, which led to the fight with his mother.
Min Yugeon, who had pretended to be asleep with a fluttering heart while waiting for his father to come home, had secretly watched everything unfold from the moment Min Sanghan stepped through the door.
Over dinner with just his mother, he had been reminded of the meaning of a birthday. Yesterday was the day he was born. And every year, on that same day, his parents fought bitterly. The child, thinking his birthday was the reason for their arguments, couldn’t help but wonder—maybe I shouldn’t have been born at all.
After every fight came a prolonged cold war. Min Sanghan, too proud to admit fault, would still try to read Lee Minha’s mood and come home a little earlier or show interest in Yugeon. But the child, though craving his father’s attention, found it unwelcoming. His father would suddenly hand him unfamiliar and difficult books and pressure him to study.
“You’ll have to learn this stuff anyway once you enroll. If you work harder than others, you can become like me someday.”
“……Okay.”
Looking up at his father, who ruffled his hair, Min Yugeon had no choice but to answer in a way that betrayed his true feelings.
After another one of those unpleasant bonding sessions, Min Sanghan made a show of taking Yugeon out in front of Lee Minha. They went to a place on the ship where young children—those not yet enrolled in school—could run around and socialize freely.
It was the first time Min Yugeon had ever gone out alone with his father, without his mother. Feeling stiff and awkward, he was soon wide-eyed at the sight of the exciting play equipment and the throngs of children. A bubbling excitement rose in him, making him want to dart off and try everything. Clenching his fists and bouncing on his feet, his face lit with anticipation—but before he could dash off, Min Sanghan held him back and looked around. Then, not far away, he spotted a couple walking closely side by side and cheerfully called out to them.
The couple turned to look at Min Sanghan, their faces breaking into wide smiles as they walked over. Only then did Min Yugeon notice the boy walking between them.
He was pale—so much so that it made one wonder if he might be ill—and small. His tightly shut lips gave off an indifferent air. The moment their eyes met, catching the strange shimmer in the boy’s gaze—perhaps caused by the indoor lighting—Min Yugeon stiffened.
Maybe… just maybe, all those times his mother had called him the most handsome, the most wonderful boy in the world—it might’ve been a lie.
“This is our son, Seo Suho.”
While Min Yugeon stood there dazed, the couple who had greeted Min Sanghan introduced the boy.
“Hello.”
Seo Suho spoke clearly and properly, though his words had an inevitable lisp. Min Yugeon noticed that, like himself, the boy was missing his front teeth, and that small detail sparked a sense of kinship.
“Aren’t you going to say hello too?”
Though he wasn’t ready, Min Sanghan nudged Min Yugeon forward in front of everyone. On reflex, Min Yugeon shrank back and hid behind him. The way Seo Suho’s gaze followed him made him feel embarrassed.
“You’ve never been shy before. What’s gotten into you?”
Min Sanghan’s remark, uttered in bafflement, struck Yugeon as odd. He blinked and looked up at his father.
Yugeon sometimes met and played with children of Lee Minha’s acquaintances, but not once had Min Sanghan accompanied them. From his perspective, his father wouldn’t even know whether or not he was shy—so why say something like that?
“…Hello.”
The thought only lingered for a moment before vanishing. Pushing through his shyness, Yugeon finally managed to greet them, and the couple responded warmly. When he learned through their conversation that he and Seo Suho were the same age, his heart thudded with excitement at that simple fact. So focused was he on Suho that he completely missed the lie Min Sanghan told—that Lee Minha hadn’t come along because she wasn’t feeling well.
By the time he came to his senses, he was already seated at a table across from Seo Suho. Suho was so small that even sitting upright, the table nearly obscured the lower half of his face. Unable to meet the round eyes staring right at him, Yugeon fidgeted with the table surface.
“Aren’t you eating?”
“Huh?”
Suho quietly pointed at the snacks.
Once they started eating together, Yugeon realized just how quiet and composed Seo Suho was. The word mature fit him perfectly. Yugeon, who was the complete opposite, couldn’t stop glancing at the rowdy kids beside them, his body twitching to move.
Eventually, he gathered the courage to ask Suho if he wanted to play in the ball pit—but was met with a firm refusal. Disheartened, Yugeon sulked for a moment, but soon began making timid attempts to spark a conversation.
“Um… what do you usually play with?”
“I solve quizzes. My parents ask me questions from the books I read.”
“Quizzes…”
“……”
“I don’t like studying. I only do it because my dad scolds me if I don’t.”
Seo Suho looked at him with a gaze that seemed to say that’s unfortunate. That silent look made Yugeon feel awkward and small, so he quickly added that he liked toys—especially building block sets.
With a steady stream of questions, he gradually learned that Seo Suho avoided anything physically tiring, what foods he liked, and what his dream was, even if only vaguely. Though Suho eventually gave him a look that seemed to say Why do you ask so many questions?, Yugeon couldn’t help it—he was just genuinely curious about him.
As they quietly chatted, time passed unnoticed. Before long, the adults returned.
“What were you two talking about so intently?”
The couple stood side by side, wrapping Seo Suho in a warm embrace. As Suho lifted his head while holding onto their arms, his face softened. The transformation was striking—his previously blank expression, which bordered on aloof, melted into something tender.
Min Yugeon gazed at Suho’s family, each member visibly expressing trust and affection for one another. Then he glanced beside him at Min Sanghan, who stood silently, checking the time without a word.
