Chapter 185
Hyeon-woo scanned the bakery corner not far from where Jerome was. He was still troubled by the memory of that day’s terrible mille-feuille. He wanted to make up for it with a proper dessert.
As he turned around after putting a couple of easy-to-follow bakery books in his basket, one of the covers on the flashy magazine stand caught his eye. Drawn to it, Hyeon-woo picked up the last remaining fashion magazine.
The model adorning the cover with a dazzling presence was none other than Daniel McRae. Even though it had been years since he’d seen him, Hyeon-woo recognized him instantly.
Those deep, ocean-blue eyes. Even during his time in America, he hadn’t seen such blue eyes except for Jerome’s and those of his biological father, the Euclid Center’s sponsor.
Memories of America flashed through his mind like a panorama. Along with nostalgic and tender emotions, an indescribable sense of deep loss overwhelmed Hyeon-woo.
He had left America like a fleeing loser, without properly concluding anything. He hadn’t had the capacity to care about his surroundings. Just taking care of himself had been overwhelming. He had lived with those memories tightly locked away, too painful to even recall.
Hyeon-woo’s eyes sank deeply as he looked at McRae on the cover.
…I shouldn’t have done that, at least not to you.
McRae’s black suit and slightly damp ash-gray hair created a decadent atmosphere, making his already striking appearance even more appealing.
The fact that his hair was closer to ash-black rather than the starlight-like sparkling blonde weighed heavily on Hyeon-woo’s heart.
As he was wondering why McRae’s hair was still black years after he had left America, he noticed a small caption in the corner of the cover.
[Jinx: Black hair]
He must have graduated from school and would now be playing in the pro league. Given that he was influential enough to grace the cover of a famous fashion magazine, he might even be on the national team.
Although he could have found out everything about McRae by just typing a few words into a search engine on his phone, Hyeon-woo didn’t. Because McRae now lived in a different world from him.
Hyeon-woo had many things to be sorry for and grateful to McRae, but he had no intention of reconnecting their severed relationship on the pretext of undelivered greetings. They had become so distant that even the fact that they had once existed in the same world now felt like an illusion. He was glad to hear news of him like this, and that was the end of it.
Hyeon-woo smiled bitterly and was about to put the magazine back on the stand.
At that moment, someone grabbed Hyeon-woo’s shoulder from behind. Startled, Hyeon-woo turned his head towards the person who had rudely grabbed him, only to be shocked. It was Tae-geon.
Tae-geon smirked at Hyeon-woo’s wide-eyed surprise, his gaze slowly moving to what Hyeon-woo was holding. Sensing this, Hyeon-woo unconsciously hid the magazine in his basket and quickly blurted out, as if trying to capture Tae-geon’s attention:
“Wh-what are you doing here?”
As Hyeon-woo stammered in confusion, Tae-geon’s gaze returned from the basket to Hyeon-woo’s face.
“Just came out for some fresh air.”
“Y-your eyes? Didn’t the doctor say you shouldn’t be moving around yet?”
“It’s fine, little by little. But why are you so surprised?”
“……”
“Like someone caught doing something wrong.”
At those words, Hyeon-woo’s ears caught Jerome’s voice calling out, “Dad!” Jerome was running precariously with an armful of books under each arm. Hyeon-woo’s shoulders twitched, and sure enough-
Bang, crash-
With a loud noise, Jerome finally fell. Jerome’s books scattered everywhere, and one of them landed on the foot of a nearby man.
“Ouch!”
A threatening shout erupted. As a pale-faced Hyeon-woo was about to take a step towards them, Tae-geon was faster.
“Can’t you watch where you’re going?! What kind of parents raise a kid like this…”
The person spewing insults at the back of Jerome’s fallen head stopped mid-sentence as a large shadow fell over him, and he looked up.
A tall man in a black coat, with a face like a sculpture, stared at him intently and slowly opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
But his expression wasn’t sorry at all. No, rather, his gaze was so fierce it sent chills down the spine, like a warning. The man unconsciously took a step back, muttered a small curse, and left.
Tae-geon gathered the scattered books and approached Jerome. He lifted Jerome, who was still trembling with his head buried in the floor, probably out of fear, with a single powerful motion. Then he knelt on one knee in front of Jerome and dusted off his dirty clothes with firm pats.
Jerome stared blankly at the top of Tae-geon’s head. Unlike his kind and gentle dad, Tae-geon’s touch was rough, but Jerome didn’t dislike Tae-geon’s ruggedness.
“Here, yours.”
Tae-geon held out the books he was holding to Jerome.
“Thank you.”
Jerome politely received them, tilted his head once, then shook it from side to side.
“But they’re not mine yet because I haven’t bought them.”
Tae-geon looked at Jerome, who was responding so clearly, with a strange expression. He saw young Hyeon-woo in this precocious child’s appearance.
“…Should uncle buy them for you?”
“All of these?”
Jerome asked, showing the books in his arms, and Tae-geon replied, “Yes.” Jerome called out “Dad!” as if seeking permission, and Hyeon-woo approached.
Hyeon-woo frowned as he checked the books Jerome had chosen. The amount of text on the pages and the level of vocabulary didn’t seem appropriate for Jerome’s age.
“These look difficult, can you read them?”
“Yes! I tried reading a bit earlier!”
As Jerome answered confidently, his stomach growled. Tae-geon, taking some of the books that were burdening Jerome’s arms, asked:
“Haven’t you eaten?”
“No, I was going to eat out with Dad.”
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
“…Um, pork cutlet!”
The backs of the two walking away, chatting softly, gradually moved towards the checkout counter. Jerome’s attitude, which had often been awkward around Tae-geon, had noticeably changed.
“Dad!! Hurry up!”
Jerome turned around and urged Hyeon-woo. As even Tae-geon threw a glance, Hyeon-woo, caught off guard, moved and finished his payment at the counter opposite to where they were checking out. The magazine he had missed the chance to remove from the basket was packed into a paper bag along with the bakery books.
After finishing the checkout, the three headed to a nearby Western-style pork cutlet restaurant.
A bitter smile appeared on Tae-geon’s lips as he watched Hyeon-woo start to cut Jerome’s king-sized pork cutlet.
“…He’s using it well. I always used to cut it for him.”
Jerome somehow caught Tae-geon’s quiet mutter.
“Uncle, did you cut our dad’s pork cutlet?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your dad was terrible at cutting pork cutlets.”
“When was that? I’m really good at cutting now, you know?”
Jerome smiled brightly, showing his teeth, as he looked back and forth between the two bickering. For some reason, he felt happy and proud to know that there was someone who used to cut his dad’s pork cutlet too.
“Can’t uncle cut our dad’s pork cutlet?”
“Why not.”
“What?! What…”
Tae-geon brought Hyeon-woo’s pork cutlet in front of him and started cutting it skillfully. Although flustered, Hyeon-woo couldn’t bring himself to stop Tae-geon. Jerome was watching Tae-geon cut the pork cutlet too fondly for that.
After placing the nicely cut pork cutlet in front of Hyeon-woo, Tae-geon started cutting his own. As Hyeon-woo was at a loss for what to do, feeling awkward, Jerome picked up a piece of the pork cutlet Tae-geon had cut with his fork and held it out to Hyeon-woo’s mouth.
“Dad, say ah.”
After hesitating, Hyeon-woo gave in to Jerome’s repeated urging and accepted the gesture with an “Ah.”
“Is it delicious, Dad?”
When Hyeon-woo replied “Yes” to Jerome, who was asking with shining eyes, Jerome smiled brightly. This time, Jerome bravely forked his own pork cutlet, chewed, and swallowed it, then let out an exclamation, “Wow!”
“It’s delicious~! This is the first time I’ve had such a delicious pork cutlet!”
That’s funny. You ate the exact same thing here not too long ago, you know?
But Hyeon-woo only thought this to himself. He didn’t want to spoil Jerome’s mood. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had seen Jerome smile so brightly.
Hyeon-woo unconsciously smiled along as he watched Jerome’s innocent laughter.
Unaware that Tae-geon was looking at him with an unreadable gaze, Hyeon-woo laughed like a child, making eye contact with Jerome over and over again.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
