The Grandfather's Final Wish
Dooseop's eyes shook with bewilderment.
“What… what do you mean by that?”
Siheon didn’t answer. He simply grabbed Dayeon’s wrist and shook it in front of his eyes, his voice cold and sharp.
“Jeong Dayeon is coming with me.”
“Eh? Why are you taking Dayeon away…”
“Ah. There’s no need to say anything to the ruthless father who tried to sell his own child because of his debts.”
His words dripped with venom as he muttered to himself, then gave Dayeon a small nod.
“Jeong Dayeon. Let’s go.”
Dayeon looked back and forth between Dooseop and Siheon, her expression full of uncertainty.
Dooseop still couldn’t grasp what was happening, his face frozen in confusion.
Dayeon hesitated for a moment, torn between following the real father and the teacher she trusted. But the hesitation didn’t last long.
If she stayed, Dooseop would only demand money. She would have to wander outside every day waiting for him to fall asleep. She didn’t want to live like that anymore.
She nodded at Siheon. Without a second’s delay, he took her hand and led her out of the house.
They walked in silence through the chaotic entrance and the flashing lights of the police cars in the alley, covering a long distance before stopping.
They had reached a park along the Han River. The fierce river wind whipped across their faces, but Siheon kept walking straight ahead, eyes fixed on the path.
He was furious, though he didn’t know exactly where the anger came from.
Was it because of Yoon Tak-soo, that bastard who attacked Dayeon without knowing his place? Or because his father, obsessed with money, couldn’t even protect his own daughter?
No. No, that wasn’t it.
The rage boiling from somewhere deeper was aimed straight at Cha Siheon himself.
Because he had known that Dooseop was a man who only cared about his own safety and treated his daughter like a tool, yet he had left Dayeon in that house.
Because he had drawn a line with the word “teacher” and hidden behind it, pretending not to know.
Recalling Dayeon, powerless and held by the wrist of that strange man in the ruined house, made his blood boil again.
If Director Myeong hadn’t been watching over her, if he had arrived just a little later… what would have become of Jeong Dayeon?
“…Teacher. Teacher.”
Hearing the small, hesitant voice, Siheon snapped back to himself and turned around. Behind him, Dayeon walked while being held by the wrist, her face bewildered and unsure.
“Walk a little slower. Your steps are too fast.”
Only then did he realize he had rushed here without considering Dayeon at all.
“Ah. Sorry.”
Siheon stopped in surprise. Dayeon gently pulled her hand away and rubbed her wrist. A clear red mark remained where Yoon Tak-soo had gripped her earlier.
Siheon took her wrist again and brought it in front of him. When he lightly stroked it with his fingertips, Dayeon’s shoulder twitched.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“No. I’m fine.”
Dayeon shook her head, but her voice still trembled. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke again.
“Teacher… But weren’t you on a date with your friend today?”
“Date?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“A date… you weren’t on one?”
Her uncertain voice carried a faint sigh in response.
“It wasn’t a date or anything like that.”
“Then…”
“Han Jiwoo and I are just acquaintances. We met today because there was something to do.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint blush spread across Dayeon’s face.
Just moments ago her heart had been despairing over debts and her father, yet now a ray of light seemed to enter it.
Even if he couldn’t help her, perhaps he could at least convey his feelings.
“Really? Then… can I still like you, Teacher?”
Seeing Dayeon’s face brighten instantly, something inside Siheon seemed to loosen.
A faint blush bloomed on her shyly smiling face.
Siheon stared silently at that face, and faintly, a voice echoed in his mind.
“Siheon. If something happens to me… please take care of that child for me.”
Did she know she would have to change her life, and that Dayeon would be placed in front of him?
And that he would eventually reach this conclusion… did she know?
“Peanut.”
The low voice calling him made Dayeon’s large eyes flutter.
“You… you’re still serious about that?”
“What…”
“The thing I said about marrying you. Has that not changed?”
She took a short breath in surprise, then nodded with a confident expression.
“Yes. I still feel the same. Even though I can’t help you right now… I still want to marry you, Teacher.”
If Teacher says it’s okay. As Dayeon finished her last words in a small voice, the wind blew between them, shaking their hair.
It might have been a hasty decision born of impulse. She didn’t know if it was love or not. But at least, she never wanted to see Dayeon held by another man’s hand again.
No, it didn’t matter. She could do anything to escape from this damned emotion.
“Alright, let’s do it.”
A heavy voice cut through the night air.
“Let’s marry.”
Dayeon’s eyes widened in surprise. Siheon, with a serious face, confirmed his words once more.
“Let’s marry, Jeong Dayeon.”
“Really… is this true?”
Dayeon’s eyes trembled. Her face was filled with deep confusion, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
She didn’t know whether to be happy or not, because it was too sudden and unbelievable.
“Why are you saying that… now…”
Siheon also seemed to hesitate.
“Things happened. I need a marriage partner.”
“What? A marriage partner…?”
Looking at the questioning Dayeon, Siheon nodded.
“Our old man. No, Chairman Cha. You remember him, right?”
The magnificent old man who commanded the palace-like mansion and the people inside.
He wouldn’t have forgotten him.
“Yes. I remember.”
“Chairman Cha is in bad shape right now.”
“What? Really… are you in a lot of pain? When I saw you last time, you seemed fine.”
Dayeon furrowed her brows with worry upon hearing about Chairman Cha.
“Yeah. From what I heard, not much time is left.”
Siheon calmly conveyed the situation. But Dayeon didn’t accept it.
“Oh my god…”
She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a low moan.
“So that’s what it was. They were trying to call me to marry and have a great-grandchild.”
A desolate smile appeared on Siheon’s lips. He tried to suppress his emotions, but the heaviness in his chest remained.
To him, who lost his father in an accident, his grandfather had poured all his care. Sometimes strict, but he always gave him a break. He knew where that heart came from.
After suffering a major surgery that nearly led to death in childhood, and not long after, his father passed away, the young grandchild must have seemed pitiful.
So this was simply him giving in to the ridiculous request once, thinking about the care and love he had shown him.
“…So, to fulfill the old man’s last wish before he dies.”
Dayeon, listening intently, blinked her round eyes several times.
“You need a child, right?”
“What?”
Siheon’s brows furrowed at the sudden whining from Dayeon.
“When did I say that?”
“You said you were going to fulfill Chairman Cha’s last wish, right? At that time, Chairman Cha clearly said he wanted you to have a great-grandchild with me…”
Dayeon’s voice faded from Siheon’s scolding, but she nodded vigorously.
“I do. As long as it’s with you, Teacher.”
Seeing her cautiously speaking face, Siheon’s words stuck in his throat.
Jeong Dayeon had the ability to shake him with a face that showed she knew nothing.
“Hah.”
Siheon let out a helpless laugh.
What on earth is this little brat thinking?
“What are you thinking? You said you’d marry without hesitation, and now you’re asking for a child too…”
“Do you think I’m doing this to anyone?”
The teacher who helped her after her mother passed away and gave her a goal. And who saved her from danger twice.
Her feelings for him could only deepen.
Dayeon clenched her fists tightly, hesitated for a moment, and added with a shy face.
“Because it’s you, Teacher. Because I like you, Teacher.”