Chapter 87
Chapter 87
Jae-gyu brought out a large stainless steel bowl and began making the batter. His hands moved quickly, determined to finish before Bom got off work and arrived.
He swiftly sliced the octopus, blanched in boiling water, and popped a piece into his mouth. Chewing slowly, savoring the taste, Jae-gyu's lips curved into a loose smile.
"Mmm, chewy. I should make some boiled octopus with the rest. Tastes great."
The cooking video he'd watched earlier used dry-looking imitation octopus pieces, which went against Jae-gyu's ironclad rule.
Fresh ingredients come first in food. That's why he'd sourced these fresh octopus legs from his regular spot in town. They certainly stuck to his palate.
Next, Jae-gyu chopped green onions and poured water into the takoyaki batter, stirring it. He pressed the power button on the takoyaki machine to heat it up, then paused just as he was about to brush on the butter.
[I'm not really a fan of greasy things.]
Right! Bom liked things plain, so just a little bit then.
Jae-gyu thinly coated the pan with butter, then scooped the batter with a ladle to fill the molds. He quickly dropped the sliced octopus pieces into each hole.
He'd ask Bom to help with the octopus later. She'd enjoy something like this.
After covering the octopus with more batter, Jae-gyu grabbed a pair of metal skewers attached to the bottom of the machine.
"Easy, easy. Now, like a dung beetle, just like this..."
Jae-gyu tried to flip the batter with the skewers. That's how, like in the video he'd watched, they would form into perfectly round takoyaki. He had to make them round and pretty for his precious child...
"Damn it! Emergency!"
The culprit was the small amount of butter he'd used for a plainer taste. As Jae-gyu tried to flip, the mashed batter burst and flowed out like entrails.
In that state, the slowly cooking batter became unrecognizable. Jae-gyu quickly turned off the heat.
"Ha, I ruined it... Damn."
He grabbed chopsticks and tasted the ragged takoyaki. Despite its appearance, the savory and soft taste was exquisite.
Now, he just needed to skillfully drizzle the sauce and sprinkle bonito flakes on top. Then the taste would be even more incredible.
He cleaned the takoyaki machine and table, which were splattered with batter. Still, the recent commotion didn't feel bad.
He'd spectacularly failed before Bom arrived, so he'd learned the trick and gained confidence. He'd totally got the hang of it now!
Realizing it was time for Bom to finish school, Jae-gyu took off his apron and put it back in its place. He washed his hands and was about to head out to meet her when he stopped.
"Oh, right, where'd my phone go?"
So engrossed in the takoyaki, Jae-gyu hadn't paid attention to his phone. He scurried around the house. It was several minutes later that he found his phone on the sofa.
<My Bom-Bom♡ - 6 missed calls>
Given Bom's personality, she wouldn't call so many times in a row unless it was truly urgent. Jae-gyu's face quickly turned serious.
A long ring tone sounded once, then Bom's breathless voice came through.
—Ha, Jae, Jae-gyu.
"What's wrong? Where are you now?"
—I'm still at school. I, Jae-gyu, I have something urgent to tell you.
The unusual atmosphere made Jae-gyu press the phone tightly to his ear. Concentrating on the voice coming from the receiver, his face slowly hardened with tension.
⋆★⋆
"...Are you listening?"
Bom furrowed her brow and checked her phone. The call hadn't disconnected. But no sound came from the receiver.
"Hello, Jae-gyu?"
It was a relief that Jae-gyu had answered the phone as she was heading back down to the faculty office to find Han-gyeol. Bom quickly relayed the situation. As she spoke, she reached the front of the meeting room.
But Jae-gyu remained silent.
"Jae-gyu, can you not hear me right now?"
Her insides burned like a wick. That night, when she went to the valley with Jae-gyu, after their intimate moment on the flat stone, Bom had sprawled out instead of going straight into the Caravan. She watched the stars pouring down before her eyes and listened to Jae-gyu's stories.
That day, she also heard about various incidents that had occurred on the Chinese fishing boat, which she hadn't listened to in detail when they went to Haechon Village. It was so horrific that her heart trembled. His life, which she had only vaguely imagined, was far more desolate than she'd thought, and she pitied him. But Jae-gyu had said it was lucky he'd been on that boat.
[If I hadn't gotten on that boat back then, I would've gone straight to Seoul, wouldn't I? Then I wouldn't have met Han-gyeol, and I wouldn't have met Bom. I'm a lucky boy, right?]
Jae-gyu then recounted the epic tale of how he raised Han-gyeol. Bom had her eyes closed, but she remembered every word Jae-gyu said.
For many years, Jae-gyu had spared no financial support for Lee Hee-yeon, Han-gyeol's birth mother. His intention was that if difficult Circumstances were the problem, she should resolve them with this money and raise Han-gyeol well.
But in the end, even when Han-gyeol yearned desperately for his birth mother in middle school, she never appeared.
And now, that same woman was putting on a show, searching for her lost son through a broadcast.
"You are listening, right? I'll try to stop it for now. Don't worry too much..."
—Does Han-gyeol want to meet her too?
Jae-gyu, who had been silent, finally spoke. His cracked voice made Bom's heart ache.
"I'm about to ask Han-gyeol what he wants. That's why I called you first."
—What can we do but let him meet her?
Bom's eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
"What?"
—I don't have the right to stop him if Han-gyeol says he wants to see his mom.
"Why don't you have the right?"
—If you get Han-gyeol's family registry, Seon Jae-gyu's name isn't anywhere on it. Only Hee-yeon's appears...
Jae-gyu, who had been speaking calmly, let out a faint sigh. Bom didn't give up, gripping her phone tightly and speaking in a low but clear voice.
"Jae-gyu, you're the one who raised Han-gyeol. If Han-gyeol learns the truth, he'll definitely refuse to meet her."
—His father is gone now, and his mother is all Han-gyeol has left. Even without the broadcast, I was going to let him meet her when he became an adult. Blood is thicker than water, isn't it? So I'm fine, Bom.
Bom, suppressing her frustration, hung up the phone and glared at the meeting room a few steps ahead.
'I have a bad feeling about this.'
It was just a hunch, but she felt Han-gyeol was already inside. Was it too late to turn back?
She grabbed the golden doorknob and slowly turned it. As the door opened, a recorded voice, inaudible from outside, pierced her ears.
Before Bom, she saw Han-gyeol's back, sitting in a meeting room chair, watching a tablet screen. Her heart sank with a thud, even though she had expected it upon entering.
sniff, could someone pass me a tissue...>
The woman's wailing echoed in the quiet meeting room. That's Lee Hee-yeon. Bom's mind went blank. Han-gyeol must have already heard the explanation from the Producer and writer, learned about his birth mother, and even seen the Video Letter.
"..."
She couldn't even begin to guess the extent of the emotional shock Han-gyeol must have received. In Bom's line of sight, she saw Han-gyeol's hands trembling under the table.
The writer turned off the tablet screen, her lips downturned.
"You must be very surprised, right? Did you know your mother was alive?"
A camcorder was blinking diagonally opposite Han-gyeol. They were going to film even this scene of him watching the video letter. Bom's expression crumpled.
"...Just a guess."
Bom's heart began to beat uneasily. Han-gyeol was holding back tears. His voice thick with emotion, he barely managed to answer and lowered his head.
"Who do you live with now?"
"...Just my uncle and me."
To the Producer, who looked puzzled, asking if his uncle was Hee-yeon's brother, Han-gyeol briefly replied that he wasn't his actual uncle but he called him that.
The Head of Academic Affairs beside them kept clicking his tongue, interjecting with 'Good heavens,' and 'How pitiful.' Bom seized the brief pause to intervene.
"As you know, he's still a minor and at a sensitive age. You're not going to broadcast this footage as is, are you?"
The Producer and writer's faces briefly twisted, then returned to normal. They smoothed their faces into polite expressions and spoke.
"What kind of era is this? Broadcasting things carelessly would cause big trouble. Don't worry, we always discuss things in advance."
As soon as the writer finished speaking, the Producer's gaze returned to Han-gyeol. Han-gyeol was covering his face with his hands, trying to compose himself.
"Student. You must have missed your mom a lot, didn't you?"
Han-gyeol nodded. Bom, standing right behind him, felt a chaotic mix of emotions.
She utterly detested Hee-yeon for trying to exploit him so vilely. It was also despicable that she had taken advantage of Jae-gyu's good heart.
But seeing Han-gyeol so emotionally broken made her feel strange. She felt such pity for Han-gyeol, who must have been so anxious, yearning for her but unable to find her.
Is blood truly thicker than water, as Jae-gyu said?
"Then you should send your mom a reply. You'll do that, right?"