Chương 16: Chapter 16: I Love You, Grandma
After graduation, it's Chinese food
We arrived at the Chinese restaurant in Nampo-dong
"You all did well. Now that all three of you are going to Seoul, we'll feel quite lonely here. Don't get into trouble in Seoul, I won't be able to cover for you there. You all understand?"
Detective Park, Hyeon-seong's father, started speaking, followed by Myeong-su's father
"It's good that you all got your act together. Who would've thought you'd get into Korea University? Hyeon-seong also started exercising again and got into Korea National Sport University, so I think he'll do well. But you're all adults now. Remember, from now on, it's not your parents' responsibility, but your own"
"Yes, sir"
As the food we ordered arrived, the uninvited guest, Park Dong-su, spoke up loudly
"It's on me today. Eat up, everyone!"
"······"
Everyone just stared at him without replying
"Hahaha, don't look at me like that. Detective Park, you too, and you too, Mr. Lee. You know me, right? I owe Mu-hyeok a favor, so I came to congratulate him. Don't give me that look. You know best that even though I'm a gangster, I try not to cause trouble for civilians, right Detective Park? Am I wrong?"
At that, Hyeon-seong's father let out a deep sigh
"Fine, since it's come to this, we'll eat well. I don't know what happened between you and Mu-hyeok, but you know your paths are different, right?"
"Oh my! Detective, don't worry. I just see him as a little brother, that's all"
"Mr. Park, I can pay too"
"Ah, Mr. Lee, I'll pay"
While the adults bickered, Myeong-su, Hyeon-seong, and I ate quietly
Not long after, the adults, caught up in the graduation atmosphere, began sharing stories from their youth, lost in memories
When the mood was at its peak, Park Dong-su came closer and whispered to me
"Damn, I didn't know Detective Park would be here. That guy's the grim reaper for gangsters"
"Hahaha, there are things that scare you too, uncle? I'm disappointed"
"Hey, hey! For guys like us, cops are the grim reaper, and prosecutors are God. Don't you know that?"
Park Dong-su was exaggerating
The meal ended in a fairly warm atmosphere, and we parted ways, promising to meet again
Park Dong-su followed Grandma and me
Arriving in front of the house, I sent Grandma in first and had a conversation with Park Dong-su at the playground in front of the house
"But why did you really come to the graduation ceremony?"
"It's my little bro's graduation, of course I had to come. And I had something to say too"
"What is it?"
Park Dong-su let out a deep sigh
"Why's it so complicated trying to start a company? There's no one around but idiots, so nothing's getting done. Know any smart person I can trust and leave things to?"
"Haven't you looked for a lawyer?"
"Damn, the bastards who were all 'please come' when handling criminal cases all backed off when I asked to work together. And obviously, we need someone we can trust to move between legal and illegal stuff"
Well, there probably aren't many lawyers willing to clean up after gangsters, especially for a company that's not even a big corporation
Then suddenly, someone came to mind
"There's… a guy called Lee Sang-geun near Busan Station. He's a lawyer. If you pay him enough, he'll do anything"
"Lee Sang-geun?"
"Yeah, he's a bit unusual, but you can trust him. He's even better at fighting than most gangsters. He's not that famous yet, so make sure to get him on your side cheap now. He'll be a big help later"
"Really?"
I nodded to Park Dong-su, who seemed quite intrigued
"He's a lawyer with an unusual background. I think he was a cop before passing the bar exam and becoming a lawyer? Anyway, go check him out"
"Well, look at that. Ask my little bro and I get the perfect answer. That's why I can't help but come to you, right?"
Park Dong-su grinned
"Sigh… Uncle, you really can't keep coming around like this after I go to Seoul. You understand, right?"
"Ah, you brat! I got it. Lee Sang-geun…"
Park Dong-su mumbled Lee Sang-geun's name several times
I stood up, thinking to end the conversation
"What? Leaving already?"
"We don't have anything else to talk about, do we?"
"You damn brat, don't you have any feelings?"
"I'll leave you a contact number when I get to Seoul. Call that if you need to. Only if it's something you really can't handle with your abilities, uncle. Absolutely no casual calls, okay?"
"Really? Can't I just call?"
"…Are we dating or something?"
This uncle, surely not…
No way
Seeing my expression, Park Dong-su burst out laughing
"Hahaha! You're an interesting kid. Alright, have a good trip to Seoul. Give me a call when you've taken over Busan. Oh! And seriously, don't do drugs, okay?"
"Yeah, don't do drugs. If you ignore my advice and get involved in drug dealing or smuggling… that's the end of our relationship, uncle"
"Oh my, scary kid. Scarier than me, a gangster. Don't worry. But I'm not sure if the kid below me will listen"
"That's for you to handle. I'm going now, Grandma must be waiting"
I turned my back without waiting for a reply
From behind, Park Dong-su called out
"A kid with no feelings sure takes good care of his grandma. Go on in. When you're in Seoul, I'll look after your grandma. I'll make sure no weird guys bother her"
Before entering the front door, I waved at Park Dong-su
The day before moving to Seoul
Grandma and I sat facing each other in the living room
"Grandma, I'll come often. During breaks and weekends, whenever I have time, I'll come down"
"It's okay, you don't have to come often if it's hard. Why waste your precious time coming down? Just come during holidays and school breaks"
"I'm coming because I want to see you, Grandma"
"My child has really grown up well. How did that little one grow up so fast?"
Suddenly, childhood memories came flooding back
The beginning of my childhood memories…
"Grandma, I miss Mom and Dad! Why don't I have a mom and dad?"
"…They're busy, that's why. My child, is there anything you want to eat?"
"Waaah! Mom! Dad!"
The image of Grandma crying while trying to comfort me as I cried and threw tantrums, missing my parents
The next memory too
"Grandma, all the other kids come to school holding their mom and dad's hands. Why don't my mom and dad come?"
"…You have Grandma, don't you?"
"But I still miss Mom and Dad"
And the next one
"Mu-hyeok! My child, Mu-hyeok!"
"Hey, Grandma, look at our son's face. How could you let a child's face get in this state? What are you going to do about this?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry"
"It's not like he's showing signs of growing up without parents or anything. Educate the child properly, will you?"
"Yes, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"
No one listened to my side of the story
The teacher only scolded me and Grandma
At that young age, I couldn't understand
On the way home
"Grandma, did I do something wrong?"
"No, our Mu-hyeok didn't do anything wrong. But no matter how much you dislike someone, you shouldn't hit them, okay?"
"Why! He made fun of me first, calling me a kid without parents!"
"…Grandma is sorry, Mu-hyeok"
That's when it started. When I began to go astray
"Mu-hyeok, Mu-hyeok, you shouldn't do that. My child, how did you end up like this?"
"You think I wanted to end up like this? Why are you always apologizing to others, Grandma? Is it my fault for beating up the guy who called me a kid without parents, or the one who called me a beggar? Even the so-called teachers always bring up my name in front of other kids, talking about school fees. I did it because I wanted to live too"
"Mu-hyeok, Mu-hyeok, Grandma is sorry"
"Ah, enough! Stop saying you're sorry"
That day, I ran away from home for the first time
It was only for three days, but they said Grandma searched for me like a madwoman all over the neighborhood until I came back
By then, there was no one at school who dared to mess with me
No one called me a kid without parents or a beggar anymore
No one
I fought and fought again with kids who picked on me
From then on, I was called a mad dog
Even after entering middle school, except for the first few people, no one talked to me
There were some who tried to pick fights, talking about pulling out teeth or whatever, but after a few brawls with those bastards, no one approached me
That's when I met Myeong-su
He was one of the smallest kids in class, always ranking first or second, but judging from his clothes and the money he carried, he was from a well-off family
"You're Mu-hyeok, right? I'm Myeong-su. Let's be friends"
I thought he was crazy. I ignored him
And from then on, Myeong-su, who became a target for the school thugs, was constantly robbed of money and beaten up
He probably wanted to use me to make his school life easier. When I ignored him, he became a target for the thugs
One day, while I was sleeping with my head on the desk, I woke up to a loud noise
"Hey! Midget, is this all you've got?"
"Uh? Uh, sorry, it's hard to bring more. Please let it go just this once"
"Look at this kid? Are your parents scary but we're not?"
"…"
"If you don't give us money, I want to hit you. You know that, right?"
"…I'll bring more tomorrow"
"Tomorrow is tomorrow, and today is today"
Myeong-su's cries to stop…
Overlapped with the image of my younger self crying out to stop to the kid who used to make fun of me for not having parents
"Shut up, you're noisy"
The thugs beating Myeong-su at the back of the classroom turned to look at me
"What did you say?"
"Are your ears clogged? I said shut up, you're noisy. This isn't even your classroom, why do you keep coming here and causing trouble? I'm trying to sleep, so get lost"
"Is this kid crazy? Hey! Do you want to die?"
"Hey, don't. Why bother with that mad dog? Let's just go. He said he'll bring more money tomorrow"
The other guys tried to stop him, but there's always one who likes to show off
"Let go! This bastard wants to die. Hey! Kim Mu-hyeok, do you think we'releaving you alone because we're scared of you? We're letting you be because you're quiet. But what? Get lost? Do you really want to die?"
"I don't care what you think of me. Go play gangster in your own classroom and get lost. Didn't you hear me?"
That day, I fought with the kid who was the school's top dog. During the fight, I got beaten up and eventually collapsed
But the next day, and the day after that, I kept clinging to them like a mad dog
Sometimes one at a time, sometimes two at a time, sometimes with ten people. Sometimes I won, sometimes I lost
Eventually, even the thugs gave up
"Hey! Let's stop. We were wrong"
"Don't touch the kids in our class, got it? And you bastards, don't you ever think about fighting one-on-one? That's why you're thugs"
Every time I came home after fighting with the kids, Grandma cried seeing me all bruised up
I hated that sight like crazy
After that, the three of us – me, Myeong-su, and Hyeon-seong who transferred later – always hung out together and caused trouble. We fought with kids who picked fights, and ended up in and out of the police station a few times
And then… because of me always running wild outside, Grandma, who only worried about me, died so suddenly and helplessly
That's how I lost my only family, unable to do anything
My vision suddenly blurred. I blinked a few times
I saw Grandma's face, holding my hand tightly
Grandma is alive
My Grandma, who only cares about me
My Grandma, who must have been more hurt than me when her son died
My Grandma, who didn't even have time to be sick because of me, left alone
"I love you, Grandma"
That night, I fell asleep in Grandma's arms
For the first time in a long while, I could sleep deeply without any thoughts
The next day
When I woke up, Grandma had prepared so much food the table legs might break
"Why did you make so much?"
"My child is going to Seoul now, I won't be able to cook for you. I made all the things you like. Eat a lot"
"Okay"
Not long after, the car sent from Pyeongchang-dong arrived in front of the house
With the car waiting with the engine running, I hugged Grandma
"Grandma, I'll come often"
"Go on now"
"I'll call often"
"Okay, okay"
Grandma patted my back
"Grandma, make sure to eat well, okay?"
"Okay, you eat well too"
"Mm"
Myeong-su and Hyeon-seong, who promised to go to Seoul together, arrived
"Grandma! We'll come with Mu-hyeok next time. Take care!"
"Grandma, take care"
As we got in, the car slowly started to move
Grandma stood in front of the entrance, watching our car for a long time
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