Chapter 62
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Nightmare
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[Scene.62 Nightmare]
Kang Man-dong continued.
“A bag filled with blood-stained cash and your birth certificate, Yu-hyeon.”
“...”
“She told me to live in hiding until she came to find me herself. And that she was sorry for asking such a thing...”
“So, the reason you wandered the country like a peddler was...”
Kang Man-dong nodded silently.
“I was too young back then, and I didn't know what to do... She did say she would come find me, but.”
As if to ease his frustration, Kang Man-dong took out a filtered cigarette, not a cigar, and put it in his mouth.
“Why did you decide to immigrate?”
“At some point, strange guys started lurking around. I couldn't tell if they were connected to her or if it was for some other reason. That's when I suddenly remembered that foul-mouthed old woman. She said I'd die if I stayed here.”
“So that's why. So suddenly.”
Yu-hyeon thought of the immigration broker, Jang Man-ho.
The man who had approached them as a friendly neighbor, deceived his father, and ultimately drove him to his death.
Yu-hyeon remembered Jang Man-ho's 2G phone, lying dormant in his drawer.
Perhaps those men who had been loitering around back then. As his father said, it was highly likely they were connected to his mother.
*Should I tell him?*
That even though they had immigrated as if fleeing, they had been followed after all. The problem was, to tell this story, he would also have to bring up what happened at that time.
Yu-hyeon's thoughts grew complicated. Just then, Kang Man-dong spoke again.
“I told you I've been having nightmares, right?”
A nightmare.
It was a word Yu-hyeon was all too familiar with.
Until he had returned to the past.
And even after returning, it had tormented him relentlessly for some time.
Kang Man-dong pressed his temples firmly as he began to talk about the dream.
“I don't know where I am, but I'm frantically searching for something. A truck from the opposite direction crosses the center line and comes speeding toward me. I have to dodge it, but my body is frozen like a stone.”
“...!”
Yu-hyeon felt a chill run down his spine at his father's story.
A truck crossing the center line. Skid marks. His father, lying on the road, dead.
*No. That's all in the past. Something like that can't happen again. And I won't let it!*
While denying his father's dream, Yu-hyeon felt goosebumps rise all over his body, as if every pore had opened up, and his hair stood on end.
“When... when did you start having that dream?”
“Ever since I decided I had to find her. I have it over and over. At first, I just thought, what a strange dream.”
Kang Man-dong, as if thirsty, took a swig of his drink and continued.
“But as the same dream kept repeating, I couldn't shake this feeling of anxiety.”
Yu-hyeon's head throbbed.
His father called it just a nightmare, but for Yu-hyeon, that scene wasn't a dream—it was reality. And because of it, how many nightmares had he himself endured?
“You've been living well all this time. Why bother looking for her now?”
“You brat!”
Kang Man-dong roared at Yu-hyeon's words.
“She's a mother you don't remember, whose face you don't even know! But she's still your mother! How could you say such a thing!”
“I... I didn't mean it like that.”
Yu-hyeon was completely taken aback by Kang Man-dong, who was shouting with his eyes wide open.
“And to me... to me, she was... Damn it!”
Kang Man-dong slammed his hand on the desk in frustration.
A brief silence fell between them.
Yu-hyeon kept drinking, as if trying to overcome his own frustration.
“I'm sorry. I was worried about you, and I spoke without thinking.”
As Yu-hyeon spoke in a weak voice, Kang Man-dong let out a sigh, as if to say he was sorry for getting angry.
“Let's say, hypothetically.”
“Yes.”
“If I go to Korea.”
“Don't.”
“Let me finish!”
“Father!”
“Damn it, kid! You were the one who said we should talk about everything without hiding anything! So, listen!”
“...”
“Even without the dream, you never know what might happen in life.”
Kang Man-dong pursed his lips for a moment before speaking again.
“It's just the two of us. Without you, I'm alone. And without me, you're alone too.”
“...”
“Sigh. This is why I wanted to look for her quietly without telling you. But since we've started, let's get it all out.”
“Yes.”
“I... I wanted you to have a family besides me. Yes, I admit it. My own greed got the better of me, and I did some foolish things. And it made things awkward. It was... my fault. But... I! I wanted you to have someone by your side, even if it wasn't me. Then maybe I, and maybe she—who might not even be in this world anymore—could rest a little easier. That's what I thought. So that even if something happened to me in Korea... you wouldn't be left all alone... Damn it.”
Kang Man-dong's face suddenly contorted with emotion, and tears streamed down his cheeks.
As he finally let out the words he had been bottling up inside, his emotions overwhelmed him.
“Father.”
“You should have known when to stop, too! What the hell were you doing, drawing a line with every woman like that! Do you have any idea how worried I was!”
“...”
Kang Man-dong looked at Yu-hyeon.
“Finding her... I can't put it off any longer. It's already been thirty years. If I wait any longer...”
“...”
“In the past, I was too busy running, and after coming here, I was too busy getting settled. I still don't know who did that to her, but! I'm going to find out which bastard... who, and why! they pushed an angel like her into that situation. I'm not in a position to just take a punch anymore.”
Yu-hyeon's head spun, and a dull ache spread through it.
As he struggled, unable to decide what to do, Kang Man-dong spoke again.
“Let me ask you something.”
It was Kang Man-dong's turn to question him.
“...”
“What's the reason you won't budge, even when I'm going to such lengths? It's not like you're into men. And it's not like you have some other problem.”
“Um.”
Just as Kang Man-dong had agonized over Yu-hyeon's questions, now it was Yu-hyeon's turn to wear that expression.
He had intended to maintain maximum security until the project was finished, but in a situation like this, maybe it was better to tell him.
“Yu-hyeon?”
“I mentioned I was working on something in the States, right?”
“Yes. You said you didn't even have time to meet women because of it.”
“Well. The work I'm doing...”
In a calm tone, Yu-hyeon explained the energy project.
He explained that for security, the superpower America, the Middle Eastern oil giant Saudi Arabia, and the Roman Curia had joined hands. He told him about the consortium they had formed. And he also explained why he was trying not to let people get close to him.
Kang Man-dong was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a while, his face just a blank stare.
“So... if your identity, Yu-hyeon, were to be revealed, the people close to you... your family, or a girlfriend, could be threatened...”
“Yes. There's no reason to create more vulnerabilities. If I give someone an opening or get emotionally close, that person could become a target instead of me. My situation was a bit complicated. Of course, once the project is finished and this becomes public knowledge, it won't matter. There will be no reason to provoke me then, and even if they did, there would be nothing to gain.”
Kang Man-dong stood up and began pacing back and forth in his office.
“I don't care about the other details. The bottom line is, you're in danger right now!”
“No, it's not like I'm in immediate danger. My identity is thoroughly disguised.”
“But you said those guys, the CIA or whatever, said the secret was leaked!”
“They did, but it wasn't my information that got out.”
Yu-hyeon tried to calm Kang Man-dong down.
This was why he had planned to tell him slowly, when the project was nearing completion.
As expected, his father's face twisted as if he were about to explode.
Anyone else would probably have been proud, talking about how incredible Yu-hyeon's research was and how many people would be freed from oppression once the project was complete. But his father's expression made it clear he couldn't care less about any of that.
He was focused on one thing only: the fact that his son might be in danger.
Panting, Kang Man-dong, who had been pacing the office, sat down with an exhausted look on his face.
“And I didn't know... I didn't know any of that.”
Kang Man-dong's face immediately filled with regret, as if he'd just realized what a thoughtless, childish thing he had done.
“No. Now I understand why you felt that way. First, take a breath. Here.”
Yu-hyeon poured a glass of water and handed it to Kang Man-dong.
Kang Man-dong gulped down the water, but as if it wasn't enough, he poured a full glass of brandy and downed it in one go.
“Keuh.”
Exhaling the sharp scent of alcohol, Kang Man-dong put a cigarette in his mouth and clicked his lighter. But his hands were shaking so much that he couldn't produce a flame, fumbling repeatedly.
“Let me get that for you.”
Yu-hyeon took the lighter, lit his father's cigarette, and then said there was something else he needed to talk about.
“Again?”
Kang Man-dong pleaded with him to take it easy with the heart-stopping news.
“This one won't be hard on your heart.”
“...”
“Um. It's just that... it sort of happened that... I asked Writer Kim to set you up on a blind date...”
Yu-hyeon explained the favor he had asked of Writer Kim in exchange for helping her with the script.
Kang Man-dong's expression went blank for a moment.
Then, with a sigh, he explained how the drama production had started and the conditions he had set in exchange for renting out the farm and the pension.
“That happened?”
Yu-hyeon looked as if he'd never imagined such a condition was attached to the location sponsorship.
“Ha! Writer Kim must have been completely baffled. A father and son pulling the exact same stunt.”
Yu-hyeon was momentarily speechless at the fact that his father had made the same condition he had.
“This won't do. Whatever the reason, it looks like we, father and son, have done something awful. We need to be honest and apologize. Ask Writer Kim to have breakfast with us tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway, the drama has to do well, right?”
“Yes. I'm hiding my identity as a drama writer, an artist. Even if someone investigates from the outside, they'd never think an energy researcher would be doing this kind of work.”
“Right. That makes sense. Even I would find it hard to be suspicious in that situation.”
Kang Man-dong nodded, looking slightly more at ease.
“Father.”
“Hm?”
“About finding Mother.”
“Ahem!”
“No, I'm not saying I'm against it. I'm asking what you think about me joining you.”
“Hmm. But publicly, you're...”
“Of course, it would be difficult for me to move openly.”
“If something goes wrong, your identity could be exposed. I'll just handle this on my own...”
“No. Please hear me out first.”
“Hmm.”
“I have a fair number of connections. I can get help from various places if needed. And more than anything, if you go around alone and get into an accident...”
“You think I'll be alone? I've got the guys from the gym on a long-term contract.”
“These are the people who managed to find you and me even when we were living like nomads in hiding. They wouldn't go to such lengths over a simple matter of money or a grudge. Above all, we're starting this without even knowing who our enemy is. If we move recklessly and they spot us...”
“You think I haven't thought that far ahead?”
“Father. We're not going to Malta or Italy. We're going to Korea. It's practically enemy territory. You know about the home-field advantage. Please, think about how your son feels, too.”
“Let's talk about this again later. I need to think about it. And while we're on the subject... to be honest, I was hurt.”
“What?”
“Bishop Duane knows all about this, doesn't he?”
“Uh...”
When Yu-hyeon hesitated, unable to answer right away, Kang Man-dong continued.
“You little punk! Even if you can't trust anyone else, you should trust your father! You left me out and teamed up with that chatterbox priest? Is that right? Is it? Huh? If you have a mouth, say something!”
“...”