‘Where did I park it?’
He was half-distraught and couldn’t remember properly. It was only after looking around for a long time that the red Panamera in one corner finally came into his view. Hyeonu quickly started the car. This was an urgent situation.
‘Father woke up.’
Hyeonu was now moving like a crazy person for a very simple reason: he heard that his unconscious father had woken up. After seeing Hyeonu’s smartphone ringing dozens of times in a short period of a few minutes, an employee of Nike had answered the phone and then told Hyeonu the content of the call.
Hyeonu stepped on the accelerator even harder. He wanted to get to the hospital faster.
‘The things that were blocked burst open all at once.’
The faster the car drove, the more Hyeonu’s heart opened up. Things had unraveled. His father had regained consciousness, and Hyeonu had defeated Jung Hanbaek in a humiliating manner in front of numerous people.
‘The last one’s the best.’
That moment when Jung Hanbaek fell to his knees and the last blow was dealt, Hyeonu had really felt like he was flying. He soon arrived at the hospital. The roads were very empty, and the location was close. Hyeonu parked his car in the hospital parking lot and ran. The sweat on his back had just cooled, yet he was running again.
‘Why isn’t it coming?’
He waited impatiently for the elevator. Today, the elevators moved too slowly.
Dding-!
In the time that seemed to have stopped, the elevator doors finally opened. Hyeonu quickly got on the elevator and pressed the button.
‘Is he up? Or... will he be lying down?’
Hyeonu imagined many things in a very short time, from his father’s welcome to what he shouldn’t do. His imagination came to an end when he met his mother standing in front of the elevator. “Mother.”
“Hyeonu, you’re here...” His mother greeted Hyeonu with a hoarse voice.
Although it was a very hoarse voice, the joy in it was clear.
“Father?”
“He has been sitting up since he heard you were coming. He won’t listen to me no matter how much I try.” His mother shook her head with an expression that said she couldn’t stop it. Hyeonu heard this and felt his face relax. The corners of his mouth were trembling and trying to rise up in a smile.
“So where are you going now?”
“I am going home for a while. Your father has woken up, so I need to grab what he needs. I have to bring them with my own hands.”
Hyeonu couldn’t say anything. He didn’t want to break the happiness visible in his mother’s eyes.
‘The caretaker... isn’t needed.’
“Yes. It hasn’t been long since your father has woken up, so don’t be too loud, okay?” His mother warned Hyeonu.
Hyeonu nodded silently. He knew very well what his mother was worried about. Anyone who knew Hyeonu and his father in the past would be worried. Hyeonu knocked on the door of his father’s hospital room. A few weak knocks rang out.
Knock knock knock!
“Come... in,” a small voice giving permission spoke from inside the room. It was a weak and quiet voice, somewhat like that of a mosquito's buzzing.
“Dad, I’m here.” Hyeonu carefully opened the door. Inside the hospital room, he saw a man just lying on a half-tilted bed. The identity of the man was Hyeonu’s father. He greeted Hyeonu with his thin body by sitting up.
“You came? You... look a lot better?” These were the first words Gang Seokjun, Hyeonu’s father, said to Hyeonu.
“Yes, I’ve been exercising a lot. It is natural to look good. How much effort did I put in...” Hyeonu joked playfully.
“You didn’t do it when I asked you. Tsk. I raised such a child..”
Gang Seokjun hadn’t changed. There was nothing different from before. He was the same. No, rather, he acted more casually for Hyeonu's sake. Hyeonu knew this and behaved more like before.
“How are you the one who raised me? Mom raised me. You never came home properly because of the company...”
He held on firmly to his heart that felt like it was going to be torn apart. It seemed that if he let go even the slightest bit, his tears would fall immediately.
“Well... that is indeed the case. Good job, good job. You stood up firmly like this when I wasn’t around.”
Tears filled Hyeonu’s eyes. He couldn’t stand it any longer. Before he knew it, tears poured out like a waterfall.
“Why is a man crying? Don’t cry. Come over here and talk about it,” Gang Seokjun spoke with a smile to the tearful Hyeonu.
He didn’t want to see his son cry. This was a father’s heart.
Gang Seokjun continued, “I roughly heard about it. You’re a pro gamer? I knew you were good, but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.”
“Whose son am I?” Hyeonu smiled without wiping away the tears flowing from his eyes. The situation he dreamed about was being completed little by little.
***
The hours passed by. It wasn’t until late at night that Hyeonu would finally leave the hospital.
The knot he’d carried with him all this time finally got resolved. The father and son talked a lot during those hours. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Hyeonu mentioned everything that happened after Gang Seokjun collapsed. The relationships Hyeonu developed during that time, the events and incidents that had occurred, and finally, today’s matter—Hyeonu mentioned all of it without reservation.
Gang Seokjun listened silently before telling Hyeonu in a warm voice, “Hyeonu, just go your own way. I’ll take care of the other things.”
However, Gang Seokjun’s eyes were very sharp, unlike his mouth that was smiling warmly.
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