Younger Sister (2)
Kim Seokchun's childhood wasn't particularly affluent.
A father who worked as a day laborer.
A mother who labored solely for the family.
A rude, chatty little sister who was cute nonetheless.
And the youngest brother, still just a snot-nosed kid.
They were poor, but it was a happy family.
"Oppa! I got this from the neighbors!! You've never tried this before, right, Oppa?"
The girl with the bobbed hair and strikingly pale face.
A sly little thing who constantly startled the family with her mischief.
"Get lost. Damn girl."
Whenever he was with his cheerful sister, he'd shower her with affection in his own gruff way.
She always responded to his grumbling with a bright smile.
He thought this happiness would last forever.
But merciless gunfire shattered the boy's expectations.
The Korean War.
The shelling that began in the North was more than enough to utterly destroy his poor but happy life.
They fled.
South, further south.
With his father conscripted, Kim Seokchun, as the eldest son, took his mother and two siblings and evacuated.
That was when it happened.
From Seoul to Cheonan, from Cheonan to Daejeon.
The path of evacuation was agonizing.
And the most painful part of all...
"Sukyeong!! Sukyeong!!"
Was losing hold of his little sister's hand.
There was no choice.
They had to escape the charging Inmin-gun soldiers.
Even so.
Even so, he could never forget the sister he lost in the wave of the crowd.
By the time they reached Busan, he couldn't afford to wallow in despair.
His ailing mother, his hungry baby brother crying.
He had to fulfill the duty his father had entrusted to him as the head of the family before heading to the front lines.
In Busan, he did everything he could.
Shoe shining, newspaper delivery.
Even clinging to American soldiers for menial errands.
He did it all to feed his remaining family.
His days were endlessly busy.
But.
He never forgot his little sister, not for a single moment.
Then, one day, an American made him an offer.
Come to Japan.
I'll start a business there, and I trust your diligence—join me.
But what about his sister?
How was he supposed to find the sister whose hand he'd let slip?
Yet staying put meant his mother and baby brother would die.
An opportunity, or his sister.
He had no choice but to choose, so he took it.
He followed the man to Japan with his family and amassed a fortune there.
Even when scorned as a Chosunjing.
Even when mocked as a money-crazed ghost.
He kept pushing forward.
Even so.
Even so.
He never once gave up searching for his sister.
He couldn't do it himself, so he hired people.
He always allocated more than a fixed portion of his income to the search.
He married.
Had children.
Saw his grandchildren.
Even after his mother passed and his beloved wife died.
That was when it happened.
"Old man Kim. I met a benefactor this time."
Kim Seokchun tilted his head at the words of Han Junho, the Saseong Group chairman he'd known for years.
That foul-tempered geezer calling someone a benefactor?
And saying he'd met one, no less.
Especially with his eldest son causing headaches by skimping on rebar in that apartment construction.
"What, did you meet some hotshot executive from America?"
His tone was indifferent.
Kim Seokchun, the old man who cared little for worldly affairs anymore.
He'd raised his kids well.
His grandkids had grown up fine.
The company was running smoothly under his son and professional managers—what was there to fuss over?
The sister he'd searched for decades couldn't be found.
Now he figured she was dead.
All he did was run a small business to fund the search expenses.
To him, talk of executives or benefactors was irrelevant.
"Nah. Someone tipped me off about my idiot son skimping on rebar."
"A whistleblower? Better take good care of whistleblowers."
In this day and age, someone with a conscience was rare.
Such a righteous person deserved the title of benefactor.
Kim Seokchun nodded, but Han Junho denied it immediately.
"Not an insider."
"Hm. Then?"
"An outsider."
"...An outsider knew that? Hah. Some construction expert?"
"No, it's not that..."
Han Junho showed him his phone.
Some internet broadcast popular with the young folks these days.
Kim Seokchun found it absurd at first, but the more he watched, the more shocked he was.
A fortune teller.
Someone who divined people's past and future just by flipping cards.
"...This, uh, real?"
"Yes. You mentioned it before, sir."
The sister lost during the war.
Just one glimpse before dying would be enough.
Perhaps.
Perhaps this person could find her.
In his old age.
When he was just waiting to die.
Hope came knocking.
I could see Elder Kim Seokchun's future.
Standing alone in a small graveyard.
Having finally found his sister, but learning she'd died just two or three months prior—plunged into despair.
If only a few months sooner.
If only he'd known she was here and come faster—he'd sob like that.
"...Where, where is it. Where's Sukyeong..."
"She's in Yangpyeong."
I told him exactly what I'd seen in his future.
It wasn't hard, since I also saw him going to her house with her family.
"But are you sure you're okay with this?"
"What do you mean?"
"She might resent you."
Elder Kim Seokchun's body stiffened.
He'd always harbored that fear, equal to his joy at finding her—that she might have resented him her whole life.
"...I still want to see her."
Han Junho and Han Yuna beside him marveled.
Ignoring them, Elder Kim Seokchun grinned and downed his soju in one go.
"So, if it's alright, could you come with me?"
"Sure, no problem. But why me...?"
What was I supposed to do there?
I could've driven if I knew how, but I didn't even have a license yet.
"Dunno. Feels like I'd draw courage with you there."
Am I some kind of totem?
"It's thanks to you, isn't it? Truth is, I tried my own way to find her too."
But failed.
A person lost in war.
How do you even track someone like that?
He'd tried desperately, but not even a clue.
"You."
His eyes met mine.
"Without you, I never would've found Sukyeong."
So you give me courage.
Because you accomplished casually what even I couldn't.
Hm.
Hard to refuse when he puts it like that.
"Alright, let's go together."
Gotta clear my schedule tomorrow.
.
.
.
The next day.
A car pulled up in front of the house in the morning.
It was Elder Kim Seokchun.
"Elder's one thing, but why's Yuna here...?"
"Took the day off. Father said to go and see."
"Elder, you okay?"
"I'm fine. Let's take your car then."
His driver looked troubled.
But a few words from the elder, and he obediently got in the car.
"Let's go."
"First, take this."
"...Why heart pills?"
"You'll need 'em."
"Hah. Treating me like an old fogey."
You are one.
In the end, he pocketed the pills I gave him meekly.
Though he didn't take them.
He will, though.
He'll mutter about his heart racing like mad in the car later.
"I'll drive. Address... got it."
Han Yuna set the navigation and started driving.
I sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window, and said,
"Let's grab coffee on the way. I want a café latte. Pick whatever you want—my treat."
"Matcha frappé for me."
"Choice way too young for your age...!!"
"My granddaughter loves it. Tried it with her—pretty good. Oh, you married yet?"
"I'm only twenty."
"Perfect age match! My granddaughter's twenty-four! Four years ain't nothing—perfect compatibility. And she's not just my granddaughter, she's a real beauty!"
"Ahem!"
Han Yuna cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Anything's fine for me."
"Yuna, green tea with extra whipped cream and chocolate chips..."
"......"
"Kidding. Don't glare. Latte it is. Latte."
Lattes are good.
Anyway, we parked, bought drinks from the café, and got back in.
Elder Kim Seokchun slurped his iced matcha frappé through the straw, then sighed looking out the window.
"Getting anxious heading out like this..."
"Take the heart pill."
"Sheesh, I told you I'm not that old."
Let's see how long you hold out.
.
.
.
My vision of the future hit the mark again this time.
Not content with chewing the straw to bits, he even bit his thumbnail.
Opening and closing the window to vent his nerves, he finally took the heart pill I'd given him.
Should've taken it sooner.
"We're here."
And so we arrived at a small house in rural Yangpyeong.
A beautiful spot with a little stream nearby.
A modest home, but idyllic and lovely.
"Hoo..."
"Elder, you sure you're good?"
I pulled out another pill, but he shook his head.
"Let's go."
He swallowed hard and walked ahead.
Then rang the doorbell.
-Ding dong~!
"Who is it~!"
The door opened.
Out came a boy who looked like a blond mixed-race kid.
Kim Seokchun squeezed his eyes shut.
And quietly opened his mouth.
"Is there a Grandma Kim Sukyeong here?"
"No one by that name here."
".....!!"
Kim Seokchun whipped his head around.
A terrifying glare.
So I spoke up.
"Is Grandma Charlotte Teresa here???"
"Huh? You know my grandma?"
Only then did Elder Kim Seokchun's expression soften.
"Yeah. Tell her it's Kim Seokchun...?"
"Okay~! I'll ask!"
The boy scampered inside.
Stinging stares demanded explanation.
"Separated from family in the war, got adopted in America."
"...I see. You're something else, kid."
Nothing special.
I heard it from her family in the future vision.
Hm...
Come to think of it, reading the future is pretty amazing, so yeah.
"Grandma says come in!"
At the boy's words, we entered.
A clean house.
Impeccably maintained.
Elder Kim Seokchun took a deep breath and followed the boy.
And met her in the kitchen.
Ah.
You've aged so much.
Deep furrows like plow lines on your forehead.
A face faded by the years.
But it's still there.
That pure, mischievous girl's face.
The cheeky, sly way you'd toy with your big brother like a plaything.
Kim Seokchun squeezed his eyes shut.
The fear he'd harbored all his life crept up.
What if she resents me?
What if she asks why I let go?
Says she lived in pain her whole life.
What if she accuses me of abandoning her to care for Mom and the baby brother?
What then?
He'd shrugged off countless cruel words from the Japanese.
But the thought of hearing that one word from her terrified him beyond measure.
"Su, Sukyeong-ah..."
To him, the gracefully aged woman—
High in her seventies.
The old lady who was Kim Sukyeong to Kim Seokchun—offered a drink made from plum syrup with a toothy grin.
"Oppa! I got this from the neighbors!! You've never tried this before, right, Oppa?"
"...Ahh."
Tears.
Streamed from the old man's eyes.
The boy's memory overflowed.
Watching him, the old woman.
The girl from his memory shed the tears she'd held back, smiling.
"Oppa.... I missed you. So much..."
It was a reunion after decades.