Chapter 179
Hyeon-woo felt a throbbing pain in his chest, as if Tae-geon’s anguish had been transferred through their locked gaze.
As if shaking off the inexplicable ache, Hyeon-woo nodded his head up and down hastily. Tae-geon gently caressed Hyeon-woo’s cheek with his thumb and said:
“I promised.”
“……”
“This promise-”
“Young master!!”
A shout from the gate cut off Tae-geon’s words. Hyeon-woo, startled by the butler’s voice tearing through the quiet night air, looked towards the gate.
Behind the sweating butler and the stern-faced Hak-gyu, Driver Yoon could be seen looking flustered. It seemed Driver Yoon, who knew the young master’s whereabouts, had led the two to this location.
The butler’s usually impeccable appearance was in disarray. His graying hair was sticking up like a bird’s nest, and two or three buttons of his sweat-soaked shirt collar were undone.
Hak-gyu’s face was solemn as he strode towards the two.
“How many times did I tell you that recovery is more important than the surgery? The mansion was turned upside down when you suddenly disappeared without a word. Let’s go back now.”
Hyeon-woo couldn’t lift his head, feeling as if Hak-gyu’s scolding was directed at him for causing this situation.
The butler, who had approached by now, joined in, and Tae-geon was forced to move, held by the two.
Just before crossing the gate, Tae-geon turned to look at Hyeon-woo and said:
“You must keep it.”
“……”
“It’s the last promise.”
With those final words, the three disappeared beyond the wall, and the engine sound of a car slowly faded away.
Hyeon-woo stood frozen, unable to move.
‘I promised.’
‘This promise-‘
‘You must keep it.’
‘It’s the last promise.’
The earnest voice weighed heavily on his chest like a block of iron. The feeling was terrible, as if the weight of the promise, which he could no longer shake off or avoid, was pressing down on him like a pile of debt to be repaid. A strange sense of defiance welled up in response.
The last promise? What’s ending?
‘Forgive me just once.’
Forgive just once? Why? Why only once?
Tae-geon’s statement, implying the end of their relationship as if dealing with a canned good nearing its expiration date, grated on Hyeon-woo’s nerves.
Pondering why he felt so bad, Hyeon-woo inwardly sighed, “Ah.”
Did he no longer believe what I say? It must be because of Tae-geon’s attitude, assuming that he would break his promise again. It was natural to feel this bad when being treated like a fool who couldn’t keep a single promise.
Hyeon-woo glared at the gate where Tae-geon had disappeared.
The wind that blew enveloped him bleakly.
*
On Monday morning after that confrontation with Tae-geon in the yard, Hyeon-woo boarded Driver Yoon’s car feeling like he was being led to a slaughterhouse. It was the most distressing commute he had ever experienced.
As if his anger at Tae-geon for treating him like a fool had been a lie, when he faced Tae-geon sitting on the bed with bandages tightly wrapped around both eyes, the first emotion that surfaced was guilt.
“Due to excessive strain immediately after surgery, his recovery rate has significantly decreased. Let’s completely block his vision for a few days and focus more on recovery than rehabilitation,” Hak-gyu’s advice added fuel to Hyeon-woo’s guilt. Needless to say, he had to stay by Tae-geon’s side and take care of him as before, now that he was unable to see again.
After an uneventful week like this, it was Saturday morning again. While Hyeon-woo was busy preparing Jerome’s meal, he heard the doorbell ring. The repeated ringing even woke Jerome up.
Who could it be? No one should be coming at this hour.
Since it was an old building without an intercom, he had to go out and check every time the doorbell rang. Hyeon-woo turned off the gas where he had been stir-frying vegetables and said to Jerome, who was coming out to the living room rubbing his eyes:
“You can sleep more, Daddy will be right back.”
After patting the head of the half-asleep Jerome, he crossed the yard towards the gate.
When he opened the gate, half-expecting it to be who he thought it was based on the familiar silhouette glimpsed through the iron bars, Tae-geon was standing there.
“What are you doing here?”
When Hyeon-woo asked, unable to hide his bewilderment, Tae-geon brazenly said:
“I’m not supposed to be in the sun for long.”
“I know. So why are you here?”
“……”
He had been told that the eye tissue was still weak and could get sunburned even with minimal UV exposure. Hyeon-woo sighed involuntarily at the reckless and unprepared Choi Tae-geon who had ventured out without even a hat or sunglasses.
“Haa.”
“……”
“Come in for now.”
Unable to leave Tae-geon standing outside, Hyeon-woo let him in and closed the gate. As he did so, he saw Driver Yoon’s car parked at the corner of the alley.
Driver Yoon, whose eyes met Hyeon-woo’s through the open driver’s side window, smiled awkwardly with an apologetic face, putting his hands together as if in prayer. What fault did Driver Yoon have? He was just another pitiful employee of the ill-mannered Tae-geon.
They crossed the yard and reached the front door. When Hyeon-woo pressed the door lock button and opened the door, Jerome, who had come out to greet him, smiled brightly at Hyeon-woo. But then his face hardened at the sight of Tae-geon appearing behind Hyeon-woo. He recognized him as the person who had come in the middle of the night and shouted at his dad.
Sensing Jerome’s fear, Hyeon-woo reassured him in a gentle voice:
“It’s okay, he’s Daddy’s friend. Daddy invited him.”
Even so, Jerome’s wariness towards Tae-geon didn’t ease easily. Tae-geon’s gaze towards Jerome wasn’t particularly friendly either.
For Jerome, who had only ever felt affection and fondness in adults’ gazes towards him, Tae-geon’s disapproving look was enough to feel like hostility.
Tired of their ridiculous standoff, as if they were having a staring contest, Hyeon-woo told Tae-geon to come in, causing mixed reactions from the two.
When Tae-geon took a step forward with a triumphant gait, as if to say “See?” to the surprised Jerome, Jerome shouted “No!” in a shrill voice.
Hyeon-woo calmly persuaded Jerome, who was on the verge of tears:
“He came to apologize to Jerome.”
Tae-geon twitched his eyebrow at Hyeon-woo as if to say “What nonsense,” but despite his piercing gaze, Hyeon-woo’s gentle voice, like spring sunshine, continued uninterrupted:
“It seems he felt sorry for scaring Jerome that time. He said he came to apologize, will you accept it?”
“……”
“……”
Hyeon-woo felt a silent outcry in the gazes of the two looking at him. Ignoring their looks that seemed to protest “What’s going on here?”, Hyeon-woo urged Tae-geon:
“Our Jerome has a big heart and is a wonderful child who knows how to forgive people who regret their mistakes and apologize. So don’t worry. Come on, hurry.”
Faced with Hyeon-woo’s demeanor that suggested he wouldn’t allow even a single step inside without an apology, Tae-geon reluctantly opened his mouth:
“…I’m sorry.”
“Jerome! Uncle said he’s sorry! Did you hear?”
Jerome nodded his head slowly with a sullen face.
“Then, will you allow Uncle to come into the house now?”
Only after Jerome hesitated and then slowly nodded as if he had no choice, was Tae-geon able to enter the house.
With no separate space to entertain guests, Hyeon-woo seated Tae-geon at the dining table and brought him some warm green tea before going to the room to put Jerome back to bed.
In the meantime, Tae-geon sipped the green tea and looked around the house.
The first thing that caught his eye was the soft mat laid out for Jerome in a sunny corner of the living room. Thick stickers with cartoon characters were attached to the sharp corners of furniture to prevent injuries from bumps, and colorful storybooks and toys were scattered about pleasantly.
On the gas range was a frying pan containing vegetable fried rice that was being prepared for Jerome’s breakfast. The fried rice, evenly mixed with finely chopped carrots, cucumber, mushrooms, onions, shrimp, and bell peppers, glistened appetizingly. A bitterness spread in Tae-geon’s mouth as he looked at this.
‘He’s my child.’
There was no need to confirm the truth of those words. Everywhere he looked in the house, he could feel Hyeon-woo’s sincerity towards Jerome.
This was not the Hyeon-woo who used to leave half-eaten bagels until they grew black mold. The Hyeon-woo of the past, who only knew how to make a mess but never clean up, was nowhere to be seen. The Hyeon-woo who only knew how to cook ramen and would starve until he prepared meals for him was also gone.
Tae-geon was suddenly gripped by a strange feeling.
Disappointment? Emptiness? Or a sense of deprivation?
An odd emotion spread in his chest that couldn’t be pinpointed to just one thing, but was bitter and regretful, and somehow a little sad too.
Hyeon-woo, who had come out after putting Jerome to bed, pulled out a chair opposite Tae-geon and sat down.
“What brings you here?”
Tae-geon silently stared at Hyeon-woo’s face as he asked. Discovering something hot flickering in the eyes steadily gazing at him, Hyeon-woo hurriedly averted his gaze.
Nevertheless, Tae-geon’s persistent gaze lingered on Hyeon-woo’s face for a long time, tender and earnest, as if caressing something he had longed for over many years.
Hyeon-woo felt nauseous, as if he might get motion sickness. He gritted his teeth.
“Didn’t you come here for a reason? Say it.”
Hyeon-woo’s voice was cold as he urged.
After taking a moment to sip the green tea in his hand, Tae-geon spoke:
“…There’s something I want to confirm.”
“What is it?”
Gesturing towards Jerome’s room, Tae-geon asked.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
