Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Great Magician (5)
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"Oppa~! Prison Oppa~!"
Beeeep~.
The little brat Hong Su-jeong was finally throwing a full-blown tantrum. Even with Yu Se-ra grabbing her by the waist as she kicked and flailed, sending her shoes flying, there was no sign of her calming down.
If only she'd at least call me by name properly.
'Oh man, my head.'
Little Hong Su-jeong hadn't been satisfied with clinging to Son Jin-hyuk all night long; she stubbornly refused to let go even now. Jin-hyuk couldn't hide his awkward expression, nor could Yu Se-ra. In times like these, only Mom could soothe her.
"Su-jeong-ah, sleep for ten nights and then come see Oppa again."
Ah, there it was—the infamous ten-nights promise that brutally crushed children's dreams and hopes.
A notorious proposal with a fulfillment rate hovering near 0.01%. Jin-hyuk thought chaebols weren't so different after all.
But Hong Su-jeong was no pushover kid.
"Nooo~! Prison Oppa~!"
"Keep this up, and Prison Oppa says he won't play with you anymore."
Even Yu Se-ra was calling him Prison Oppa.
Anyway, the Hong Su-jeong that Jin-hyuk knew wouldn't fall for such a lame threat—she was just a little—
Sniff.
—girl.
Like magic, she stopped crying and clamped her mouth shut tight. Her big eyes were brimming with tears.
Jin-hyuk comforted her.
"Su-jeong-ah, Oppa has to go to school anyway. When Oppa's on break, come play again. Got it?"
Nod nod.
Hong Su-jeong nodded vigorously, and the pooled tears fell like raindrops.
There was no West Coast Expressway back then, and the roads were in poor shape, so even by car, it was a three-hour drive. Even if the dads were close, it wouldn't be easy to see Hong Su-jeong often.
'She's still young; in a few days, she won't even remember me.'
Life had taught him that connections were like that.
Jin-hyuk knew that once Hong Su-jeong's head grew a bit, she'd forget all about him. Heck, remembering at all would be impressive.
"I'll come often!"
"Don't come too often! Farmers are busy."
After the dads' farewell, the moms gripped hands, reluctant to let go, full of regret. Han Yu-young's eyes reddened in the end.
"No one's ever given me feelings like this..."
"We'll visit often. Don't feel bad, Jin-hyuk's mom."
Vrooom~.
She seemed to hold it in tightly, but in the departing car, Hong Su-jeong finally burst into tears.
"Opaaaaa~!"
Whether the kid cried or not, Jin-hyuk felt a sense of liberation.
The pity, the fluttering, the regret he'd felt toward Hong Su-jeong in his previous life. He could shake them off to a degree.
Sniff sniff.
This kid even drooled on my arm while sleeping.
Dad, waving at the receding car, asked Jin-hyuk,
"What do you want to be when you grow up, Jin-hyuk?"
Soldier? President? Scientist?
Whatever it was, he was confident he'd support it. He was young, and his son was smart.
Come to think of it, he hadn't asked what his son wanted to do or liked. The kid was always off doing something alone.
Jin-hyuk's heart pounded.
He had both Mom and Dad, and even a cute little sister.
'I just have to do well myself.'
Watching Hong Ki-jun's car kick up dust as it faded away, Jin-hyuk looked up at his dad.
"Dad, I want to live ordinarily."
"Yeah."
That's the hardest thing, apparently.
Son Gwang-yeon patted his son's head with a kind smile.
September, the '88 Seoul Olympics opened.
Watching the final torchbearer, Jin-hyuk felt his chest tighten.
The marathoner who had stood on the podium under the enemy's flag that stole his nation's sovereignty stepped firmly, one foot after another, on his homeland's track.
"Oh my! What do we do."
Mom, holding the baby, jumped in surprise. It was because of that famous live pigeon barbecue. He'd read records saying only one actually died then. But who would believe it now?
Dad, watching with him, seemed to swallow hard, but that must've been a mistake.
For some reason, he had a bad feeling that even winter vinyl house farming would flop this year.
[Hand in hand, over the wall~]
History played out exactly the same.
It was a shame, but Ben Johnson clearly wouldn't set foot on a track again after this. Still, thanks to this incident raising awareness of Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science's doping test tech, they could handle tests themselves for big events like the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2011 Daegu World Athletics Championships, or so he'd heard. No way to confirm, so whatever. Might just be someone's national pride hearsay.
Like this, there were ups and downs everywhere.
The social section of the newspaper was the same.
'Nothing but articles on the rowdy festival.'
Not a single line about the weak.
Now he was the son of a rising powerhouse, but in his past life, he'd been a total weakling with no one's protection. When he finally encountered the tears hidden in the festival's shadows as an adult, he'd selfishly comforted himself that he wasn't the only one living a sad life.
Flipping through the paper with a serious face, Dad patted the back of Jin-hyuk's head.
"You can change the world or destroy it. But first, you have to make your own world before you can do anything."
What did he know to say that? Dad definitely wasn't ordinary.
Jin-hyuk nodded silently. Just having this conversation with Dad was joy enough.
"Dad, want to play baduk?"
"Uh... Dad's got to head to the fields. Let's do it tonight."
Dad couldn't even win a single game against Jin-hyuk.
Jin-hyuk had once picked up a go notation that fell from Dad's pocket. He was probably sitting on the rice paddy ridge, practicing with pencil and paper. Late September meant little to worry about in the paddies. Typhoons were a concern, but natural disasters were hard to prevent even knowing. They'd drained most water, easing pest worries. Scarecrows and shiny ribbons chased off sparrow flocks.
"See you later."
Best to give him some alone time now.
Dad cherished family time; how desperate must he be to go study alone?
'Should I have gone easy on him?'
No.
The world of competition was ruthless.
Even General ran desperately; how could a human slack off?
'I suggested it thinking of Dad. Should've picked something he's good at.'
What was Dad good at again?
Flying shuttlecocks?
The loneliness, longing, and even sorrow from his previous life.
As if compensated all at once, Jin-hyuk's life was filled with happiness.
Jin-hyuk's day started with jogging.
Waking early and running several kilometers to the peak of remote Gu-bong Mountain and back. Even athletes would find it tough, but it was to stimulate his growth plates.
'I was too short as a kid. My sister's growing soon; gotta make sure no one bullies her.'
Because he was Oppa.
The prized purebred General still raced neck-and-neck with Jin-hyuk. True to dog nature, General owned the start, but Jin-hyuk dominated sprints and endurance.
Several vacations passed.
Contrary to expectations of rarely seeing her again, Hong Su-jeong stuck to Jin-hyuk every break. Watching her, Jin-hyuk recalled the leeches that clung to his ankles, refusing to drop off, when he'd gone to the fields with Dad.
Those leeches sucked blood until their bellies ballooned, yet wouldn't let go. They wouldn't burst underfoot or sever cleanly with a shovel—tough as nails.
'That's where "stubborn leech" comes from, huh.'
The moms had grown so close they rivaled sisters.
"Rest well, Unnie. Don't bother looking for a minbak."
"Thanks every time, Yu-young-ssi. Su-jeong keeps nagging to see her Jin-hyuk Oppa—."
Jin-hyuk's house had been expanded into a fancy three-story building.
Thanks to Dad's knack for making money.
Predicting crops with surging demand or shortages, hiring help for farming, hustling to find merchants paying premium. That's how Son Gwang-yeon showed business savvy, earning cash, buying land, and building a new house. Interior finished with loess walls—Jin-hyuk's insistence, from past-life knowledge of its health benefits.
"Has Su-jeong already gone to Jin-hyuk?"
Han Yu-young looked around for her, but the Seoul kid had vanished already.
Hong Su-jeong barely greeted Jin-hyuk's mom before lighting up and ransacking the house.
"He plays better with our Su-jeong than with his cousins."
"He's always doting on Yu-jin. Treats Su-jeong like a little sister, I guess."
Hong Ki-jun's family stayed over a week every vacation. Hong Ki-jun helped with farm work despite clumsy hands, flaunting their friendship.
Kindergarten Su-jeong showed unwavering obsession.
Thud thud—up the wooden stairs, and the moment she spotted Jin-hyuk on the second floor, she latched on perfectly like a stubborn leech.
"Oppa, next year I'll be in elementary school too."
"Excited for school?"
"Yeah! But there's so much to do, right? Homework, piano, swimming—."
Chatter chatter.
Shouldn't have asked. Jin-hyuk sighed softly and closed his book.
"Su-jeong-ah, wanna go pick mountain strawberries with Oppa?"
"Yeah! Those are yummy."
"Su-jeong-ah, wanna go to the stream?"
"Yeah! Let's catch fish."
"Su-jeong-ah, wanna go to the sea?"
"Yeah! Catch crabs."
"Su-jeong-ah, wanna make a snowman with Oppa?"
"Yeah!"
"Su-jeong-ah, wanna go sledding in the paddies?"
"Wow! Sounds fun!"
A kid who never said no.
Hong Su-jeong followed even Jin-hyuk's morning and evening jogs. On those short legs. Eventually, she'd end up piggybacked home.
On his back, she'd swing her legs excitedly.
"Oppa really likes running that much?"
"Yeah."
Felt like a question he'd heard before.
The difference? Jin-hyuk answered this time.
"Like Su-jeong-ah more, or running more?"
What're you on about, you little squirt.
Jin-hyuk shut his mouth again.
Thought it was fate, but maybe a cursed one.
Suddenly felt aged.
"Opaaaaa~!"
Crying at parting was as constant as ever.
The daughter who'd thrown a fit in the car heading to Seoul had quieted down. Yu Se-ra glanced back, saw Hong Su-jeong asleep with her neck twisted sideways, and shook her head. Didn't forget to rub her forehead either.
"Good grief, who does she take after?"
A remark that could spark marital war, but Hong Ki-jun said nothing. He just alternated glances between his crumpled little daughter in the back and his sighing wife in the passenger seat.
Daughter once, wife once.
Daughter once, wife once.
Then his eyes met Yu Se-ra's.
The spitting image of the bratty Hong Su-jeong who'd refused to part from Prison Oppa sat in the passenger seat.
The troublemaker woman staring at Hong Ki-jun lifted her chin when their eyes met.
"What."
"Sigh~."
"What's with that sigh?"
Her cat-like eyes glared.
"Just. Maybe ate too much."
Make excuses to survive. Their power balance, swayed by her hands and background, had only recently stabilized. Hong Ki-jun pretended to unbuckle his belt and sighed again, whew~.
Yu Se-ra nodded.
"Jin-hyuk's mom is a good cook."
Pretty face too.
"She looks familiar, but I can't place her."
"From seeing her often?"
"Familiar from the first time."
"Cause she's a beauty?"
Hong Ki-jun quickly sealed his lips.
But Yu Se-ra's mind was elsewhere; she didn't make an issue of it.
"Hm, eloped with Gwang-yeon Oppa after acting?"
Yu Se-ra crossed her legs and arms. Her pose when in a bad mood. Anyway, crisis averted; Hong Ki-jun sighed inwardly in relief.
"We'll keep coming every vacation to see Oppa’s family, right?"
"What about the company?"
Hong Ki-jun gripped the wheel tight, glancing sideways.
She was swamped with company duties in a key group role.
"Just take one more vacation."
True, who’d stop the chairman's daughter and son-in-law?
One more in winter, done.
"World's scary when you think about it."
Yu Se-ra's speech habit was like this.
Cut to the chase, drop a single line. Those around sweated to grasp the context and intent, but if you knew what she was thinking right then, it wasn't hard.
"Yeah. Who'd think Gwang-yeon was living in a place like that."
Hong Ki-jun was unmatched at reading Yu Se-ra's feelings. That's how he beat rivals to claim this era's beauty. Just recalling the day she accepted his proposal made his heart boil even now.
"But it's too far. Driving must be tough for you."
"Roads are rough now, but distance is about 100 km."
"Wish there was a broomstick or something."
"Broomstick?"
"To fly around on."
What else from the Great Magician's mom.
Was she really imagining flying on a broom? Yu Se-ra narrowed her eyes even in her crossed-arm pose.
A kittenish mumble from the backseat.
"Mmm, broom for me too. Prison Oppa."
Well then.
Who does she really take after? Yu Se-ra muttered.
Hong Ki-jun scratched his temple irritably, unable to retort.