63.
The conversation Haseo had with Choi Mujin while staying up through the deep night remained in his memory. And that memory brought a strange sense of intimacy. Even if Choi Mujin didn’t feel the same way.
Quiet time passed by. Choi Mujin occasionally called Park Dongsu and headed somewhere by car, but he left Haseo behind.
‘It must be for work.’
He couldn’t take Haseo with him throughout his workday. Besides, Choi Mujin had originally wanted to confine Haseo in the villa. Though he knew this was imprisonment, giving up everything actually made his mind more at ease. He was told that if anything happened to his grandmother, someone on standby would rush in and take him to the hospital.
Apart from the confinement, it was excessive kindness. To become so obsessed with and treat so well someone who was merely a substitute. Why didn’t the person who should have originally received this love choose Choi Mujin? And why did Choi Mujin still love such a person?
“Haa.”
Sighing without realizing it, Haseo abruptly stood up. Being alone in a quiet space seemed to invite too many thoughts. So he headed to the kitchen to do something. Although all dangerous tools had been removed, there were still dishes he could prepare without them.
Like toasting bread and spreading butter and jam. Or he could make a sandwich with ingredients from the refrigerator. He had also prepared rice for times when he might want to eat it. He could just take it out and heat it in the microwave, but he didn’t have much appetite. He wanted to do something himself, but considering his past record, Choi Mujin couldn’t fully trust him.
‘But I had no choice.’
If Haseo had to choose between his grandmother and Choi Mujin, he would choose his grandmother and cry. Even if he loved Choi Mujin, he couldn’t betray his grandmother who had raised and embraced him.
Though he had toasted a slice of bread, he didn’t have much appetite. Putting down the bread he was eating, Haseo left the kitchen and sat down by the living room sofa.
‘Come to think of it.’
Today’s Choi Mujin was a bit different from usual. He said that since Haseo had been behaving well lately, he would give him a gift. Haseo smiled happily regardless of what Choi Mujin would give. But everything he received just ended up neatly stacked in his room.
Haseo dozed off in front of the living room fireplace like a sick chicken. While he did so, the light beyond the window disappeared, and darkness began to settle.
“Huk!”
With a startled sound, Haseo raised his head and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He had dreamed while sleeping, and his long-unseen father had appeared. Though he couldn’t remember the face clearly, the things his father had done still remained in his memory. It should have been a memory he had forgotten, yet it was vivid.
His father shouting, his mother standing in front helplessly crying. At first, his mother hadn’t been like that. Day by day, she withered like a plant without water. And the same was true for Haseo.
“What kind of dream is this.”
Speaking aloud for no reason, he fumbled on the floor for the remote control. Strangely, here you could turn the building’s lights on and off with the remote. At first, he didn’t know this and moved around directly, but once he knew, he stopped taking even those minimal steps.
As the living room brightened, his rough breathing finally calmed. Light comforted people in many ways.
Beep.
At that moment, it seemed Choi Mujin had returned. Hearing the door open, Haseo poked his head out from behind the sofa.
“You’re back?”
Choi Mujin liked being welcomed by Haseo.
“Yes, I’m back.”
A glance showed that Choi Mujin was carrying only a document case in his hand. Surely he hadn’t brought a gift in there. Thinking this, Haseo raised his body, stiff from curling up and sleeping.
“Haseo.”
Smiling with his eyes curved into crescents, Choi Mujin continued.
“Today, I have a new gift for you.”
“I don’t need gifts, I keep telling you.”
With so much money to repay already. The gifts Choi Mujin gave were often extraordinary items. Normally, Haseo might never have seen such things in his lifetime.
“Want to see it?”
But Choi Mujin’s behavior was somewhat different from usual.
“You’re asking if I want to see the gift?”
“Yes.”
Extending his hand to stroke Haseo’s head, Choi Mujin said,
“This gift is special. You’ve been behaving well lately, haven’t you?”
Have I behaved well? Making a peculiar expression at Choi Mujin’s praise, Haseo nodded. He didn’t know what the gift was, but he wanted to see it.
“Manager Seo.”
As Choi Mujin called someone and stepped aside from the entrance, a woman in a business suit appeared.
“Hello. I’m Manager Seo. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Smiling brightly as she greeted him, she then stepped aside and pushed someone’s back. It was a man who looked quite old, but despite wearing clean clothes and being well-groomed, he had a strange, shabby appearance.
“Here’s your gift.”
The woman called Manager Seo said in a cheerful voice. Is she saying this person is the gift? No, but what kind of person could be a gift? Haseo carefully examined the man making an awkward expression. And soon he recalled someone.
“No way…”
Looking at Choi Mujin hopefully, he nodded.
“…Father.”
At the voice that came out as if in pain, the man flinched.
“Uh, y-yes. It’s your father.”
In the past, he had seemed like a man who feared nothing in the world, but now he looked like a cowed dog. The hands that had once struck his mother and young Haseo were wrinkled and didn’t look strong. So now, Haseo felt like he could probably defeat his father.
“How…”
Even when Haseo had desperately searched for his father after his grandmother collapsed, there wasn’t a trace of him.
“How did you find him?”
Asking Choi Mujin in disbelief, he shrugged.
“By chance?”
“By chance?”
“What, don’t you like the gift? Should I dispose of it?”
Unlike the usual gifts, this time he gave Haseo a choice. What was happening didn’t feel real, and his heart was pounding. Though hatred was all that remained for his father, he couldn’t ask for him to be disposed of. Because even such a person was a precious son to his grandmother.
“…No, I like it.”
Haseo lied.
“I’m glad you like it. Then, is there anything you want to do with your gift?”
Anything I want to do? There was something.
“Grandmother. I want him to meet Grandmother.”
She hadn’t awakened at her grandson’s pleas, but perhaps it would be different with her child. Haseo said this while trying hard not to distort his expression.
“Uh, mother?”
His father made a troubled expression, but that was all.
“Alright. We’ll go see her tomorrow.”
Choi Mujin gestured to Manager Seo, and she led the father away. Then the front door closed, and Choi Mujin, having removed his shoes, stood up.
“Shall we go in the morning or afternoon?”
“Morning, please.”
The sooner, the better. A small hope that had been buried deep inside was slowly raising its head again. Choi Mujin approached Haseo, lowered himself, and met his gaze.
“You said you liked the gift, right?”
“Yes.”
“The best among all you’ve received so far?”
“The very best.”
“Hmm. Then what about me, who brought you such a gift?”
Haseo quickly recognized the answer Choi Mujin wanted.
“You’re the best in the world.”
Saying this, he suddenly embraced the nearby Choi Mujin. The answer seemed correct. Choi Mujin embraced Haseo back, who was clinging to him almost desperately.
* * *
When Manager Seo, Seo Miso, first received the documents about Mr. Lee from Choi Mujin, her impression was:
“Wow. A typical gambler.”
Addicted to gambling, he stayed at gambling houses and, with no money coming in, tormented those around him. Consequently, the first to distance themselves were his friends, and eventually, even his family turned away from him. His wife fled after enduring violence, and the remaining child was abandoned by Mr. Lee.
“I’m trash too, but this guy is no pushover. His debts have piled up and up.”
“Nothing new there.”
Choi Mujin deeply inhaled the smoke from a cigarette he hadn’t had in a long time.
“You know what to do?”
“Yes, I know.”
First, gather all the scattered debts into one, then buy them and place them under Choi Mujin. This would make Lee Haseo’s father Choi Mujin’s debtor.
“He’s good at running away, so be careful.”
“Catching runners isn’t my first rodeo. Trust me.”
“Of course, I trust Manager Seo.”
Abandoned by her parents at a young age, she jumped into this industry and climbed up harshly to where she was now. Considering that the usual path for women was different, one could appreciate Seo Miso’s abilities.
“I’ll deliver him promptly.”
After confidently saying this, Seo Miso left the director’s office and moved quickly. Since it was something she did occasionally, it wasn’t difficult or challenging. Having acquaintances in the gambling houses made it easy to take over the debts. The problem was bringing in Mr. Lee.
“P-please spare me. I’ll, I’ll definitely repay the debt!”
Seo Miso accomplished that within a week. Captured by one of her brawny subordinates, Mr. Lee pleaded with Seo Miso, rubbing his hands together. He rolled his round eyeballs around nervously, which was unpleasant to watch.
“Hey, why is this bastard begging me?”
“He seems to have so many debts, that’s probably why.”
It seemed he had so many guilty spots that he would beg first upon seeing any unfamiliar face.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
