episode_0084

Shihyuk left the house before it got too late.

Park Gwang-deok suggested that he stay overnight if it was okay, but he politely declined. He didn’t want to cause trouble in the small yard where the two of them, a father and a child, were sharing a bed.

As I went outside, a cool breeze blew.

Late May. The summer heat hadn’t really taken hold, so the night air was cool. The humidity was high, so it would rain soon, and then the weather would suddenly get hotter as if nothing had happened, but the damp coolness on my skin still felt good.

But that feeling was short-lived. The smell of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and a messy mix of cosmetics and food poured out.

On the way back, I inevitably had to pass by the food alley and motel village of Donggureung.

As time passed, the atmosphere of the place being torn down began to change, but even that did not end cleanly.

The shouts and singing of excited drunks could be heard everywhere, and red and yellow vomit thrown by some of them could be seen here and there on the asphalt.

The red and blue lights of the motel building’s sign and the night lights of the tire factory visible on the small hill nearby were lighting up the night sky instead of the stars.

Even for a craftsman who had lived in a workshop his entire life, it was not a very good place to live. It was even worse if you were raising a child.

Shihyuk looked back behind me, in the direction of the house he had passed.

The woman’s house, which seemed ready to collapse at any moment, came vividly to mind, even though it was far away and hidden and could not be seen.

The pitiful image contrasted with the flashy neon signs in the alley made it seem even more harsh reality.

-But if you did something wrong, you should apologize and ask for forgiveness. I don’t want to be a shameless and proud father.

“… … .”

A man who was struggling reflexively came to mind.

It’s late to be talking about this, but the child’s father didn’t make a good first impression, even to say the least.

A conman trying to rip off tourists. It was a separate issue from the sympathy he felt.

When I saw him trembling with relief as he held his child in his arms at the police station, when I saw him overcome his shame and try to repay his benefactor even a little, when I saw his tenderness as he looked after his daughter with his clumsy chopsticks,

The sight of Park Gwang-deok that he glimpsed at every moment was different from what he had expected.

When he finally failed to overcome his guilt and showed his intention to atone by asking for forgiveness from Shi-hyuk, I was a little surprised.

The current Shihyuk is an ordinary person who does not appear to be an Awakened person.

Since there was no guarantee that my fraud would be discovered, I could have just let it slide.

Even if he had been caught, he could have shamelessly tried to force her into giving him money, saying it was a small amount of money and that he was doing her a favor when she was in difficult circumstances. Or, since he had dragged her into his private space, he could have threatened her with force.

But Park Gwang-deok didn’t do that.

He did not bow down and plead his case, appealing to pity. He bowed his head honestly, feeling ashamed of himself. He was a moderately kind person, neither a bad person nor a good person.

That was the kind of person he was. A father who cherished his daughter. … He was just an ordinary father.

So Shihyuk forgave him.

Life is cruel and sometimes you have to be mean. There are more times when you have to bow your head to the ground than look up to the sky.

This is especially true in modern society, where the public must show off the achievements and the public must hide the results.

But, the knees of a man who has something to protect and whom a daughter like that trusts are by no means cheap.

That’s what men are like. Their position as the head of the household makes them like that.

Park Gwang-deok’s knee was not a 150,000 won trick to avoid punishment and reprimand.

It was the conscience of a father who wanted to apologize for his mistakes and always be upright in front of his daughter.

[Love]. [Courage]. The two magic stones that clanked in his pockets every time he took a step told him this.

What, isn’t [Superman] also human?

Sometimes mistakes are made. When Si-hyuk arrived at the bus stop, he took out the candy the child had given him and put it in his mouth.

The green candy had a sweet and sour apple flavor.

=====

The next day, early in the morning.

“Oh my… .”

It was Park Gwang-deok who got up from his seat groaning.

He always woke up early in the morning, working hard every day to earn a living at a D-class gate.

It was really pitiful to see him bending over and staggering to the bathroom. How could his body be healthy after repeating the same old days of beating up monsters 24/7? There was no place that didn’t hurt.

Park Gwang-deok’s eyes, which were bloodshot and his face was yellowish, looked jaundiced when he looked in the mirror after washing his face. This was because the accumulated fatigue and stress were not being relieved and were just piling up. This morning in particular, he had trouble sleeping due to phantom pain, so it was worse than usual.

My body was tattered and tired, and my eyelids were heavy as a thousand pounds, urging me to rest.

The father of one daughter persevered with mental strength.

The child grows quickly like bamboo shoots after the rain, but the circumstances were not good, so I had to go out a little earlier and earn more money.

He came out after roughly washing his hair and prepared a simple breakfast.

While pouring water into the pot, I called my daughter, who was still in dreamland. Yesterday was the weekend, and today is Monday. The day my child goes to kindergarten.

“Hanbyeol, wake up. You have to go to kindergarten.”

“Kindergarten Sir… . Hanbyeol will sleep better… .”

“I’m going to make jajangmyeon for breakfast, but if Hanbyeol doesn’t wake up, I’ll have to eat it all by myself.”

“Jjajangmyeon?!”

Who does he resemble? He has a strong desire to eat. Park Gwang-deok, who was watching his daughter kick off the blanket and jump up, laughed quietly and continued talking while putting the Jajang Ramen in boiling water.

“If I don’t wash it quickly, the cotton will all blow up?”

“Hanbyeol will wash up soon!”

He opened the refrigerator as he watched the child go into the bathroom.

I was going to fry some eggs, but I didn’t have any eggs left.

Come to think of it, we’re going to run out of ramen soon, so I have to go buy some, and Hanbyeol’s shoes and bag are old, so I have to buy new ones. I wish I could pick some herbs at the gate today-

Park Gwang-deok tried to calm his sinking mood. The money he had left was… .

“Ah.”

He remembered the money the kind-hearted tourist had given him. It was a burden on his mind, but for now, he was just grateful.

“Era, I don’t know.”

Park Gwang-deok cut the remaining ham into large pieces and placed them in a frying pan.

This is my daughter’s favorite side dish. I guess it’s okay to splurge a little for just one day.

“Hanbyeol, are you still far? Daddy is going to make ham too.”

“Ham?!”

A loud noise was heard from the bathroom, and a child ran out. Without even drying himself off, he quickly sat down at the dining table in the living room, holding a fork and spoon in both hands and shaking his legs.

“This guy, you need to sit down and dry your head.”

“Heehee!”

He chuckled at the cheerful laughter, brought out the pot and the plate of side dishes, then took out a towel from the corner and wiped his daughter’s head.

“Eat slowly while blowing on it. Deila.”

“Yeah!”

The child, not paying attention to his father’s clumsy hands, eats with a fork and spoon, making a slurping sound.

He liked to eat like that, but he couldn’t feed him anything to his full stomach. His incompetent father always felt sorry about that and it broke his heart.

After dressing his daughter and putting on his own gear, Park Gwang-deok reached out to the hesitant child.

“Okay, let’s go to kindergarten now.”

“… If you don’t go, you’ll get a blindfold?”

Here we go again.

His daughter’s eyes looked full of discontent as she stuck out her lips and tapped her toes. He swallowed a sigh.

“Hanbyeol, you said you’d become a painter if you studied hard. You can’t become a painter if you don’t go to kindergarten.”

“But… .”

“Come here. Daddy will give you a ride.”

This was the method that worked best in this situation.

The child, though fat, climbed onto his father’s shoulders. His hands tickled the shiny black cone-shaped helmet.

“The old man also wore the same hat as his father.”

“Mister? Ah.”

Park Gwang-deok could immediately recall the tall man he had met yesterday. The man wearing a black beanie hat. In his daughter’s eyes, it must have looked like a helmet.

He playfully shrugged his shoulders and bounced his butt, laughing heartily. He asked the child who was hugging the helmet.

“Does Hanbyeol like you, uncle?”

“Wow! That’s awesome! Nice to meet you again!”

“If Hanbyeol is good, Dad is good too. … That’s right. I wish I could see you again.”

Park Gwang-deok smiled bitterly, agreeing with his daughter’s words.

Yesterday, I was so busy that I couldn’t even apologize properly, although I was able to apologize for my mistake. If we ever meet again, I will apologize properly.

While he was sorting out his complicated thoughts, he arrived at the kindergarten bus stop.

I saw a yellow forklift in the distance.

“Hello, Hanbyeol’s father. Did you have a good weekend?”

“Oh my, teacher. Good morning. I hope Hanbyeol takes good care of me today too.”

The kindergarten teacher got out of the car and bowed her head toward Park Gwang-deok with a bright smile.

As he dropped his daughter off and had a brief chat with the teacher, the children in the car became noisy.

“Wow! It’s Mr. Clown!”

“Colorful, colorful! So funny!”

“You’re stupid!”

Purity can sometimes be cruel.

The kindergarten teacher bowed her head to him, pretending to feel embarrassed, as the children laughed heartily, revealing their true feelings.

“I’m sorry. The kids are just, a bit… .”

“Oh, no, sir. That could be possible. Don’t worry about it.”

Unlike Park Gwang-deok, who waved his hand, the child was so upset by the teasing that he stamped his feet and grumbled.

“You’re not stupid! It’s Superman!”

“What kind of Superman is that!”

“Ebebe, Hanbyeol is also an idiot!”

“No! This is Maria, the Superman!”

The child who was trembling could not control his anger and ran towards the child who had teased his father and pulled the hair.

A loud scream erupted and the car became noisy.

“This kind of thing.”

“Hanbyeol!!”

It took me quite some time to sort it out with the surprised kindergarten teacher and to calm my daughter down as she blushed and cried.

“Hoo… .”

After a commotion, Park Gwang-deok let out a weary sigh as he looked at the back of the van moving away. It was a deep sorrowful sound that he had never shown in front of his child.

Should I change my equipment? But it would cost more to re-fit it. And… .

Tsk, he clicked his tongue and tried to suppress his sadness. But what can he do? In the end, it’s all about money. Money is the problem. Suddenly, he felt like smoking a cigarette, which he had quit. He felt embarrassed about himself and sorry for his daughter.

Park Gwang-deok turned his back.

I was going to vent my frustration and annoyance by beating up monsters in [Chakgapsa] and making money.

Perhaps because it was still morning, Donggureung was quiet. Except for a few people preparing to sell on the street, there were no people, making the already large area look even more spacious.

The only place where people gathered was the entrance to the Awakened Ones.

Even among them, except for two or three tourists, they were all awakened people. They were people like Park Gwang-deok who had set out to make money early on.

Fortunately, perhaps because it was Monday morning, the line waiting before the doors opened was short.

Let’s do our best today too, he said, standing at the end of the line with determination. Suddenly, he realized that the person in front of him looked familiar.

Tall, dark lead-colored overalls.

A black beanie hat that I mistook my daughter for the same hat she was wearing this morning.

“Teacher?”

The person who turned his head slowly at the sound of Park Gwang-deok’s voice, which was somehow welcome but also empty.

“… Hello.”

It was Lee Si-hyuk.