Side Story 11
Kang Ye-ryeong came to see Raon whenever she had time. Her secretary’s hands were always full of gifts for both Raon and Eunsol.
“I’m certainly grateful for that.”
Kim Soon-ja smiled amiably as she expressed her thanks. Perhaps because they were wealthy, even the food they brought was consistently delicious.
As the two women were checking on the sleeping Raon and chatting quietly, the doorbell rang.
“That must be the tutor. I’ll prepare some refreshments.”
“Thank you.”
With reluctance, Eunsol stroked Raon’s cheek one more time before heading to the study.
Once Eunsol and Raon were discharged from the hospital, Hyun-oh had returned to work. In truth, he had been insisting on working from home despite the difficulties, so there was no choice in the matter.
Instead, Eunsol had created a study space in Hyun-oh’s study, which was filled with traces of him. All he needed to do was place a bookshelf on the desk he already used.
As he sat at the desk organizing his homework workbooks and printouts, the door opened and the tutor entered.
“Hello.”
“Hi. Have you been well?”
Lee Na-eun was a woman with a gentle impression. Although learning at an academy might have been sufficient, perhaps because it was his first serious attempt at studying, Eunsol showed weakness in mathematics and English.
Hyun-oh had arranged for a professional tutor for these two subjects, and Eunsol’s mock test scores were gradually improving day by day.
As soon as she sat down, she removed the hair tie from her wrist and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. Despite her smile that curved the corners of her lips upward, there was something refreshing about her.
Seeing her smile, Eunsol sensed that today would be another relentless two hours.
“Shall we start by checking your homework?”
Eunsol nodded and handed over the printouts. They were four sets of practice mock exams.
Na-eun’s red pen circled correct answers, making Eunsol’s eyes sparkle, but when she marked something wrong, Eunsol’s brow furrowed in tandem.
“78 points, 72 points, 84 points, and 65 points.”
“Yes…”
One was a grade 2, but the other two were grade 3, and the last was grade 4.
Given that scores might be even lower in the actual college entrance exam due to nervousness, with these scores, getting into a Seoul university would be difficult.
As Eunsol’s head drooped dejectedly, Na-eun pulled out a transparent file from her bag.
“Look, Eunsol. Last time, you had two grade 4s and two grade 3s.”
It was true. What Na-eun had opened was the mock exam paper that Eunsol had handed in as homework just a week ago.
“In just one week, one has gone up to grade 2. That’s remarkable progress, I tell you.”
From a teaching perspective, Eunsol was a student worth teaching. Throughout the lesson, he focused with sparkling eyes and diligently completed all assigned homework.
Moreover, without being told, he memorized vocabulary on his own and even previewed and reviewed material he felt was lacking. The teacher only needed to prepare thorough lessons.
The joy of teaching increased just by not having to wrestle with students who disliked studying, and Eunsol was a student whose enthusiasm burned bright.
So naturally, Na-eun wanted Eunsol to continue growing steadily and achieve a definite grade 1 in English on the college entrance exam.
Of course, the incentive she would receive for that success also fueled her motivation.
“Looking at the problems you got wrong, I can see your reading comprehension has improved a lot, but you still seem to struggle with grammar. Especially the passive voice and present perfect.”
“…That’s right.”
Even though he recorded and reviewed Na-eun’s explanations, he invariably picked the wrong answers when solving problems.
“It’s okay. Many other students find these parts difficult too. Let’s solve some basic problems together again.”
“Yes.”
Eunsol nodded firmly and gripped his mechanical pencil tightly. Soon, the study was filled with the sound of the pencil lead scratching against paper.
* * *
“Welcome home.”
Hyun-oh smiled as he saw Eunsol and Raon who had come to greet him at the front door.
There had been an important matter that required a marathon meeting lasting eight hours. Without any real break time, they had proceeded with the meeting while making do with sandwiches for meals.
Even Hyun-oh, with his good stamina, couldn’t help but feel tired.
Whenever his temples throbbed, thoughts of Eunsol and Raon at home came to mind, making him seriously consider stepping down from his position as Chairman.
But the sight that greeted him as soon as he opened the front door made him feel as if the day’s fatigue melted away like snow.
Hyun-oh bent down to embrace Eunsol and left a brief kiss on his ear. At his low voice, Eunsol shrank his shoulders and smiled shyly.
“Raon, daddy’s home.”
Eunsol then called Raon’s name, who was drooling as he pressed his cheek against Eunsol’s shoulder.
Raon stared blankly at Hyun-oh before soon grinning and flailing his arms and legs.
“Bwoo, boo!”
His babbling burst out energetically. Whenever Raon did this, Hyun-oh felt a tickle in the corner of his heart, as if Raon truly recognized him. A space for Raon was gradually forming in a heart that had been filled only with Eunsol.
Hyun-oh effortlessly lifted Raon, whom Eunsol had been supporting with both arms, with just one hand.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“I’m fine.”
In truth, he hadn’t even eaten dinner properly, but he had no appetite. Rather, he wanted to shower quickly and hold Eunsol in his arms.
“Bwooo…”
But as soon as Hyun-oh finished speaking, Raon pushed out his lips as if detecting a lie.
As Hyun-oh naturally wiped away the drool flowing down below Raon’s lips, he felt a piercing gaze.
Under the silent pressure, Hyun-oh smiled as if he had no choice.
“On second thought, I might be a bit hungry.”
Even Kim Myungjun, who had assisted Hyun-oh for the longest time, often couldn’t distinguish whether Hyun-oh’s words were lies or truth.
But as days passed, it became increasingly difficult to tell lies in front of Eunsol.
“Chairman, you’re home. I’ll take Raon now and put him to bed.”
Just then, Kim Soon-ja came over and took Raon, who was blinking his eyes as if sleepy. Eunsol yawned and waved his hand slightly toward Raon as he was carried away.
“Is there something delicious to eat?”
Hyun-oh took off his jacket and naturally took Eunsol’s hand. Thanks to this, even though they were just walking from the front door to the kitchen, Eunsol felt as if they were on a date alone.
Hyun-oh’s expression also softened as Eunsol’s fingers tapped the back of his hand.
“Today I helped Auntie make samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup).”
Perhaps trying to make up for past cooking failures, Eunsol occasionally cooked with help from those around him.
And Hyun-oh willingly became Eunsol’s test subject.
After seating Hyun-oh at the dining table, Eunsol scurried to the counter and turned on the electric range.
Samgyetang was really easy—you just had to trim the chicken a bit, put in the prepared ingredients, and let it simmer thoroughly. To avoid any risk of strange flavors, he hadn’t even seasoned it.
The samgyetang, filled with various medicinal herbs good for energy restoration, had a rich broth that made it seem more like a medicinal tonic than food.
“Eat with me. There’s a lot.”
The steaming samgyetang was placed in a stone pot in front of Hyun-oh. Hyun-oh caught Eunsol’s wrist as he was about to sit across from him and guided him to his side.
“I already ate a lot.”
“Food doesn’t taste good when eaten alone.”
Although Eunsol had already eaten half a chicken and rice for dinner and had no intention of eating more, he obediently picked up a spoon at Hyun-oh’s words.
Then, realizing there was only one spoon, he was about to get up again when—
“It’s fine, come here.”
Hyun-oh seated Eunsol right on his lap. Finding himself suddenly sitting with his legs spread wide facing the table directly, Eunsol’s cheeks flushed bright red.
Reflexively, Eunsol looked toward the kitchen entrance and living room. Fortunately, Kim Soon-ja was nowhere to be seen.
Raon’s room and her room were adjacent on the first floor.
When Hyun-oh returned from work, she would give the couple space to spend time together naturally.
“This is delicious. Your cooking skills have improved a lot.”
After wrapping an arm around Eunsol’s waist to prevent him from escaping, Hyun-oh took a spoonful of the samgyetang broth to his mouth.
Although it was unseasoned and bland, the bitter taste of the medicinal herbs harmonized with the chicken broth, warming his insides.
This reminded him of the bizarre-tasting seafood stew that Eunsol had made in the past.
Feeling vibrations from behind, Eunsol turned around to look at Hyun-oh with a puzzled face.
“Uh…”
It was the first time Eunsol had seen Hyun-oh chuckling like this, leaving him dumbfounded. Hyun-oh’s lips descended upon Eunsol’s slightly parted ones.
After a light kiss, Hyun-oh placed his hand on top of Eunsol’s head and gently stroked it.
“I was just remembering the seafood stew you made for me before.”
Recalling the emotions he felt at that time, the corners of Eunsol’s mouth drooped.
“That was when I wasn’t good at cooking yet…”
Despite learning from a professional, he seemed to lack talent for cooking, resulting in a strange creation.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
