Ch.119119 – Shooting Star 2

# 119 – Shooting Star # 2

“My dream is to become a hair designer and open a small shop. A shop I can open when I want to open and close when I want to close.”

“Not an athlete or a fighter? With the traits you have, that would be much better.”

When Jeongseok asked with a puzzled expression, Yang Juhui responded indifferently.

“We’ll return to normal life someday, right? No one knows if these weird traits or whatever will still be there then. People need skills. To avoid starving to death.”

So that’s what Yang Juhui was thinking.

It was unexpected.

I still had a lot to learn about my friends.

“I’m going to be a prosecutor. I still want to catch all criminals. I’ll have to enter law school and prepare for exams. I’ll probably be busy when I become a college student. Honestly, I wonder if I’ll have any time to play.”

“…I want to be a novelist!”

Yu Dahui said with a slightly shy feeling.

This was the first time I’d heard about Yu Dahui’s dream.

A novelist.

It suited Yu Dahui, who always read lots of books.

“But my grandfather insists I go to college. I’ll probably have to go to a university in Seoul. I should go into humanities, right? Seoul isn’t really a place I like, but…”

“I… want to be a game YouTuber. Actually, I enjoy playing games more than being an idol. But standing in front of people is also quite a fun experience. If I want to do both, that seems like the best option.”

Kwon Sua also gathered her courage and revealed her ambition.

Now I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, and I became slightly embarrassed.

“I just… hope that even after we graduate or become adults, we can all get together like this once a year, take commemorative photos, and have meals together.”

“Hey, that’s not a future dream.”

Yang Juhui frowned.

Yu Dahui chimed in from the side.

“College vacations are three months long! I think we can meet more often than you’d expect. Though boys have to go to the military. I’ll write you letters often and visit you!”

Military service.

That’s a future I’d rather not think about…

Anyway, speaking my mind made me feel relieved in many ways.

“Hey kids, have you been doing well? The teacher had some business to take care of with the chairman. Nothing happened, right? Look at all these shooting stars falling suddenly. At times like this, we need this.”

Swish-

Teacher Hong Miri, who hadn’t been seen all day, pulled out a cold can from a black bag and held it out to us. It was a beer can.

For a moment, I wondered if this was okay.

But Teacher Hong Miri laughed heartily.

“You’re supposed to learn about alcohol from adults! And one beer won’t get you drunk.”

An adult, she says.

Actually, isn’t she basically 17 herself?

Pop-

Kwon Sua opened the beer can first.

Is she more rebellious than she looks?

Bubbles rose up.

We all opened our cans and raised them high.

Cheers-

As we toasted, cool foam splashed everywhere.

My first taste of alcohol ever.

Wondering what cool beer would taste like, I took a sip and immediately grimaced.

“Ugh, what is this taste?”

I expected something sweet like cola because of the carbonation and foam, but it was terrible.

I can’t understand why people eat chicken with something this bitter and astringent.

“Ugh, seriously, what is this taste? Why do people drink this stuff? Cola is better.”

When I grumbled loudly, Teacher Hong Miri burst into laughter. And the housekeeper sisters chatting nearby also giggled.

“Yeongwon is still a baby.”

“High schoolers are definitely babies.”

I felt a bit embarrassed.

Anyway, after that, we ate and chatted.

“Why did you dump me! Why! What’s wrong with me!”

Wham-

Kwon Sua lunged at me and started crying.

While I was quite flustered, Yang Juhui pulled Kwon Sua’s arm.

“Hey! Kwon Sua, you’re drunk!”

“I’m not drunkk!”

“Yeongwon is popular.”

“Want to date me, little brother?”

Giggle, hahaha-

Whether it was because of the barbecue grill’s bonfire or the tasteless beer, my face kept burning up.

But it was undeniably a fun time.

I wished this day could continue forever.

Of course, we would inevitably grow older and someday become adults.

How many years would it take for everyone to achieve their dreams?

I looked forward to that day.

And I made a wish that everyone’s dreams would come true.

# # #

10 PM.

Everyone fell asleep quickly, probably tired.

Must be because of the unfamiliar beer.

I helped put my passed-out friends to bed in their rooms.

“Yeongwon. Stay behind for a moment. The chairman is looking for you.”

Teacher Hong Miri, who had just helped the girls to their rooms, called for me.

The reason was that the chairman wanted to see me.

Somehow, I had a feeling I knew why.

After all, I had eliminated another chairman who was in this mansion.

Perhaps he wanted to hold me “responsible” for that.

The chairman’s study was among the lily of the valley flowers.

The flowers shining under the moonlight were more beautiful than I had imagined.

“Chairman, I’ve brought him.”

“Miri, you may leave.”

Teacher Hong Miri bowed her head and went outside.

Click-

The study door closed.

Soon, Chairman Cheon Daegon looked at me.

“I think you know why I called you without me having to explain.”

“Yes. Because of your brother, right?”

“That’s right. You really ransacked my study. Then you probably know who I am too. I’m actually Cheon Taegon. I stole my brother’s name and married his woman.”

He admits it so cleanly.

Cough, cough-

Just then, the chairman coughed violently.

Blood spurted from his mouth.

“The price of envying someone else’s life is steep. Even if I take antidotes, toxins eventually accumulate in the body, and I may die soon. No one knows if it will be 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years.”

Contrary to rumors, the chairman couldn’t tolerate the lily of the valley.

I suddenly became curious.

“Then why not just get rid of the flowers?”

“Yes. I could just remove them. But it’s because of these that I can continue living as Cheon Daegon. You wouldn’t understand. Now, tell me about your father.”

“My father?”

“Yes, what was your father like? Did he ever catch a cold? Or get an upset stomach?”

In my memories, my father was healthy.

The fact that I rarely got sick was because I took after my dad.

“My father was very healthy. At least until the last time I saw him.”

“My brother was like that too. But he gradually changed. Like that Kwon Suho who fell to the level of a beast. I believed my brother could return to normal. I built a new mansion for him and made it possible for him to move around like a human, even if only late at night.”

“……”

“During that time, I married a wealthy man’s daughter under the name of Cheon Daegon. My wife knew I wasn’t Cheon Daegon, but she married me anyway. However, there was a problem after our honeymoon.”

The chairman looked at a frame on his desk.

In the photo, two men and one woman were smiling happily together.

“One day when I was away, ‘that thing’ did something terrible to my wife. No, originally they were lovers, so did I steal her from him? Or did he take her back from me? Eventually, from that day on, she fell ill and died after giving birth to a child.”

The study was dark.

Deep shadows formed around the chairman’s eyes.

“Since long ago, I’ve always questioned whether my son is truly mine. My son is different from me. He never caught a cold even once since he was young. His personality was different from mine, and he was good at everything.”

“……”

“Isn’t it funny that I couldn’t purely rejoice in my son’s growth? If only he had been lacking. If only he had been clumsy and slow like me, it would have been better. Once doubt takes root in the heart, every moment becomes hell. But that boy is my son. That’s what I believe.”

A woman has no need to doubt the child she carried for ten months and shares blood with, but it’s different for men. Men strive to find traces of themselves in their children.

Men are truly pitiful creatures.

“I want to prove my belief. I want to meet my brother and wife who disappeared beyond that abyss and get an explanation for my burning thirst and anguish. That’s why I forgive you for killing my brother. Ha Yeongwon. Go to the end of the abyss. Starting tomorrow, a special teacher will instruct you. Now leave.”

The chairman said what he wanted to say and sent me outside.

As I stepped into the garden full of lily of the valley, Mrs. Danvers was waiting for me.

Mrs. Danvers held a lantern to light my way.

“Ma’am, what kind of person was my father?”

In this mansion, I could find traces of a boy.

There were many traces of boys and girls running around in this mansion.

Were they like our pirate crew?

If I closed my eyes, I could almost vaguely picture them.

Soon Mrs. Danvers spoke.

“Your father was an ideal son. He didn’t do what he was told not to do, he listened well. If you taught him one thing, he understood ten. He was always confident and knew how to be loved. Everyone said the same thing. Indeed, Cheon Daegon’s son is truly Cheon Daegon’s son. A tiger gives birth to a tiger—. Quite different from a slacker like you.”

“Slacker…”

I didn’t know how to be loved.

If I had known that, would life have been a little easier?

“You take after that man more. Your suspicious, foolish, and clumsy grandfather. Doing exactly what you’re told not to do, and forgetting five things even when taught ten. That’s exactly you. Such people cause accidents and eventually create big problems.”

“……”

“But, such foolishness might be like a refreshing well to your thirsty grandfather. When he looks into your eyes, he might see his own reflection as if looking in a mirror. So live as you want. Make mistakes, agonize, and get scolded.”

I’m not sure if it’s praise or criticism.

But the warmth of her feelings came through clearly.

“Your father is my child. Even though our blood isn’t mixed, I’ve thought of him that way since I rescued that small thing from the flames that day, since I nursed and raised him. Even though I didn’t carry him for ten months and give birth to him. If that child accepted you, then I’ll support you too. Ha Yeongwon. You rootless boy. Now go to bed. If you sleep late, you won’t grow taller.”

I went to my room and lay down on the bed.

Suddenly, I remembered all the New Year’s and Chuseok holidays I had passed through.

I once asked my mom.

—Mom, why don’t we go to grandmother’s house?

Mom said.

—Mom doesn’t have a family, so since I was young, my dream was to have a wonderful family. Yeongwon, you gave Mom the gift of family.

I never knew the love of grandparents since I was young.

But as you live, you learn things you didn’t know before.

Like the taste of beer.

Like the smell of gunpowder.

That alone was enough reason to look forward to tomorrow.

Buzz-buzz-buzz-

I closed my eyes listening to the cicadas that were noisily singing even at night.