Chapter 61
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: What's the Relationship Between You Two?
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Scene.61
What's the Relationship Between You Two?
Knock, knock, knock.
“Father. It's Yu-hyeon.”
“Come in.”
Yu-hyeon entered Kang Man-dong's office-slash-study on the first floor and briefly explained the changes regarding the drama.
“Is that so? It's bigger than I thought.”
“It just... turned out that way.”
Kang Man-dong nodded and took out a bottle of brandy.
“Are you having a drink?”
“Just felt like it. Care to join me for a glass?”
“Yes. Just a little.”
The on-the-rocks glass was filled with sloshing brandy, distilled from the vineyard's own wine.
“Setting the drama aside. What's the deal with you and Elizabeth?”
“What do you mean, 'what's the deal'?”
“Are you asking because you don't know?”
As Kang Man-dong gave him a look that said, "don't play dumb," Yu-hyeon paused in thought before speaking.
“Hmm. Somewhere between a friend and a student? It's around there.”
“A friend and a student? Tsk. Not that useless stuff. I'm talking about as a man and a woman.”
“Not really.”
Yu-hyeon shrugged, as if he had no particular feelings on the matter.
“Are you doing this on purpose, or do you really not know? Even a three-year-old could see it. For her to learn Korean, which she didn't even need to, just to come see you... it seems she doesn't just like you, she's absolutely smitten.”
Kang Man-dong looked at Yu-hyeon with a hint of expectation.
Yu-hyeon let out a short sigh and nodded.
“I suppose so.”
“Right? You think so too, don't you?”
Kang Man-dong nodded repeatedly and continued.
“For the record, I have no intention of caring about nationality or race when it comes to a daughter-in-law.”
“Father.”
“Yes.”
“You've been saying similar things quite often lately. Why the sudden change?”
“You call that a question? Think about your age. Marriage can wait, but is it normal to be your age and not have a single girlfriend? Let me ask you honestly. Are you... actually into men?”
“My orientation is perfectly normal!”
“That's what I'm saying! I just don't get it. Fine, let's say you were too busy at school, like you said. But this is just too weird.”
“Weird?”
“It's not like there aren't women interested in you, so why don't you make a move? If Elizabeth isn't your type, there's Lee Ha-na and Seong Ye-rim. It's obvious they all want to get close to you!”
“Just because they show interest in me doesn't mean I have to reciprocate...”
“Don't give me that nonsense. With all those healthy, beautiful girls around you. Is that something a man should say?”
“...”
“Yu-hyeon. This is your father's request. No, my wish. I'm not even asking for marriage. Can't you just live a little, date like other people, share your heart? How long are you going to act like a block of wood?”
Yu-hyeon sighed and spoke again.
“Even if I don't say it. You know you've been acting really strange lately, right?”
“Do you hate the idea that much?”
“This isn't a matter of liking or disliking it.”
“...”
“Father. Why don't we... be honest with each other.”
“What's this all of a sudden?”
“No more hiding things. Let's talk man to man. No dodging questions. Just the plain truth.”
“...”
Kang Man-dong fell silent again. For a while, he just drank without a word, sighing a few times before finally nodding.
'No more hiding things' was, in fact, what Kang Man-dong had wanted to say.
He never said it out loud, but he knew Yu-hyeon was different from other kids. That he had many secrets, things he hid even from his own father. And every time he saw Bishop Duane nod with a look that suggested he knew all of those secrets—secrets Kang Man-dong himself was not privy to—it left a bad taste in his mouth and bothered him.
He wasn't a child but a grown adult, so it was natural for him to have his own affairs. Still, seeing him exchange such knowing glances with someone other than his father stirred something akin to jealousy.
“By any chance, are you unwell?”
“You think I'm acting this way because I'm afraid I have some terrible disease and won't live to see my son get married?”
“...”
“No. The injuries from my youth ache and throb sometimes, but I don't have any terminal illness.”
Kang Man-dong took a cigar from a drawer.
“I'm going to have a smoke.”
Yu-hyeon's expression relaxed with relief at the news that his father wasn't sick.
He'd occasionally made passing comments about bringing a girlfriend home, but he'd never acted this strangely before, which had secretly worried Yu-hyeon.
“That's a relief.”
Kang Man-dong let out a small laugh at Yu-hyeon's worried gaze and relieved tone. He felt pleased that his son was still worrying about him, even in a moment like this.
“Then what's the reason? I'd like you to tell me why you're acting so rushed.”
Yu-hyeon pressed for an answer again.
Kang Man-dong puffed clouds of cigar smoke into the air before taking a sip of brandy. He looked as if he was about to say something, then stopped, repeating the motion. His eyes were incredibly complex, filled with many thoughts.
“Whatever you have to say, I'll listen quietly. I won't get angry.”
Yu-hyeon gave Kang Man-dong, who was struggling to speak, some time. It was better to give him a moment to collect his thoughts than to press him impatiently.
The cigar had burned down to about half its length.
Kang Man-dong, who had been maintaining a heavy silence, finally spoke.
“Yu-hyeon.”
“Yes, Father.”
“You are my son.”
At Kang Man-dong's words, Yu-hyeon's expression also grew complicated. Why was he bringing this up now? Surely, he wasn't about to reveal that he wasn't his biological son. At this particular moment?
“Yes. I am your son, Yu-hyeon.”
“Heh. That's right. My son. My only son.”
“...”
“You're smart and quick-witted. You already know, even if I don't say it, right?”
“Father.”
“A child isn't just one you give birth to. It's funny for me to say this, having never been married, but a child of the heart is a child, too.”
Yu-hyeon swallowed dryly without realizing it.
“Seeing your face... I knew it. You already knew. Then again, my son is a brilliant kid.”
Kang Man-dong drained his half-full glass in one gulp and refilled it.
“Hoo... Yes. I've been impatient lately.”
“...”
“But. Lately, I've been having nightmares.”
“Nightmares...?”
“I don't know where to begin.”
Kang Man-dong's eyes grew distant for a moment, as if recalling a far-off past.
“Yu-hyeon. Your father was an orphan. One with an incurable disease, who didn't know when he would die.”
“...!”
Seeing Yu-hyeon's eyes widen, Kang Man-dong nodded as if he understood.
Even someone as smart as Yu-hyeon couldn't have known about this.
This was a story he thought he'd never tell until the day he died. Or one he'd only tell if he ever found Yu-hyeon's mother—the woman they called Angel.
Yu-hyeon quietly waited for him to continue.
“Sometimes. Often. People would visit the orphanage carrying boxes of ramen or snacks. Local bigwigs. Politicians. People like that.”
“...”
“How should I put it... They'd come, spout some strange words, take pictures, and then leave just as quickly. Whatever their purpose, we got to eat tasty food and get new clothes because of them. There was no reason to hate them, but I did. The rebellion of a teenage boy who could die at any moment? Thinking back on it now just makes me chuckle. Those were childish times.”
Kang Man-dong, recounting his past in a self-deprecating tone, briefly looked up at the ceiling.
“I thought she was one of them, too. Just someone passing through, like the others. Around that time, they had a system where you got points for volunteer work or something.”
“...”
Kang Man-dong let out a wry grin.
“The other students would come once and never return. But she was different. Every week, every month, every year. She wasn't coming for volunteer points or anything like that. She was like... a real older sister.”
Kang Man-dong trailed off, blinking rapidly.
The corners of his eyes were moist; it seemed recalling those memories had brought him to the verge of tears.
“But like I said, I was a teenager. I knew she was a good person, but I acted the opposite of how I felt, grumbling and being irritable. Just like that fool Lee Jae-yoon, I was like that back then.”
Yu-hyeon swallowed dryly.
“By any chance, was she...”
“Yes. She's your mother, Yu-hyeon. And she was my first love.”
Mentioning his first love, Kang Man-dong grinned and continued.
“I wasn't the only one who liked her. Back in those days... I guess she was everyone's first love.”
As memories of that time resurfaced, Kang Man-dong would smile to himself one moment and then frown and sigh the next.
“It was leukemia. I needed a bone marrow transplant.”
“Ah...!”
“That leukemia... it's not an easy thing to deal with even for a normal family. For a poor orphan, forget finding a marrow donor, there was no money for surgery. I just thought I'd live like that and die.”
“Could it be...”
“My angel saved me. Without asking for anything in return. She came to me with a smile, as always... like someone who was just doing what was natural. She told me, 'It's hard to find a marrow match even among family, but we're a perfect match. From now on, we're siblings by blood!'”
“...”
“I felt sorry, grateful, and at the same time, afraid. No words could ever truly express the emotions I felt back then.”
Kang Man-dong's grip on his glass tightened.
“Yu-hyeon.”
“Yes...”
“It seems my angel's family was rich.”
“What?”
“She paid for my hospital bills. The orphanage's operating costs. Even the other kids' tuition. Normally, I hated all that praying nonsense. But the only time we all gathered and prayed with all our hearts... was when we prayed for my angel's happiness.”
Kang Man-dong gritted his teeth in the middle of his story.
Yu-hyeon didn't dare ask why, only swallowing dryly.
“Want to hear a funny story?”
“Funny...?”
“The truth is, I didn't have to go to the military.”
“Ah. Right.”
“But she told me. That it was shameful for a man not to fulfill his responsibility and duty to the country he was born in. Wow, back then, I seriously thought, 'Why is she being like this? They told us we didn't have to enlist!' I really felt that way.”
Yu-hyeon, whose expression had been tense, couldn't help but smile at that. Kang Man-dong's face had contorted so much that you could practically feel how much he had hated the idea of going to the military.
“So, you went?”
“I went. I didn't want to be a shameful man.”
“It must have been tough.”
“So tough that if I could go back, I'd want to cling to her skirt and beg her to let me off the hook.”
“Hahaha.”
As Yu-hyeon laughed out loud, Kang Man-dong laughed with him.
“But then, my world came crashing down.”
“What? All of a sudden...”
“She came to visit me at the base, and she brought a handsome, pale-faced man with her.”
“...”
“Ha... Fuck.”
Kang Man-dong flinched after letting the curse slip and quickly tried to correct himself.
“I didn't mean to swear.”
“No, I understand. By any chance, the man who came with her...”
“I don't know either.”
“What?”
“She said she was going to America. To study abroad.”
“Ah.”
“And I never saw her again.”
“Mmm...”
“It's a bit much to call it a heartbreak. But after she left, my already shitty military life became truly hellish. After I was discharged, I went back to school.”
“What? School?”
“Ah. Did I not mention it? I was a student at Hankuk University.”
“You were?”
Yu-hyeon blinked, as if asking if that was really true.
“You brat. Did you think your father was an illiterate fool?”
“No, not that. It's just that you've lived a nomadic life.”
“She even threatened that she wouldn't leave me alone if I didn't study properly. How could I not? I just thought of it as another way to repay her kindness and hit the books.”
Hankuk University was a prestigious school. Why would someone who attended such a university wander around without a fixed residence? He even remembered his father only starting to use a bank account when Yu-hyeon was much older.
“I think it was my third year. A few of us reservists went on a group blind date. It was a day we ended up spending a fortune on food and drinks, probably because they thought a bunch of old guys had crawled out, and were heading home with nothing to show for it.”
“Is that the day you met Mother again?”
“Yes. That's right. The day I met her again. And the day I first saw you. It was that very day.”
A blazing light ignited from the depths of Kang Man-dong's eyes.
“Covered in blood... in front of me.”
“...”
“She placed you in my arms. And asked me to take care of you.”
“...”
“The sudden reunion. Seeing her bleeding. Watching her hand me a newborn baby while sobbing... Everything was bewildering and chaotic.”
Yu-hyeon felt one side of his head flush hot. He had never seen or heard anything about her. He had lived his life thinking his father was all the parent he needed, but hearing that his birth mother had entrusted him to his father while covered in blood... he couldn't shake the feeling that a part of his chest was shattering into pieces.