“You’re crazy.”
It was Kang I-heum, Kang Ha-jun’s father. The ashtray hit Kang Ha-jun’s face and bounced off, hitting the wall and sending out fragments. Standing behind him were Kang I-heum’s wives, Min Seong-hye and Kang Hye-seong.
“dad! What’s wrong! Say it with words… … .”
Kang Hye-joo, who realized what had happened, hurriedly pressed Kang Ha-jun’s cheekbones with her handkerchief. Her fragments were flying and blood was leaking from cuts.
“oh my god!”
“Kang Hye-ju, aren’t you coming here?”
Kang Hye-seong told her to come towards me, but Kang Hye-joo ignored her and looked at Kang Ha-jun’s face.
“I’m going to bruise. Doesn’t it hurt?”
Kang Hye-joo stamped her foot in regret. This is why I tried to come with Kang Ha-jun, but my efforts were of no use. However, Kang Ha-jun lowered Kang Hye-joo’s hand.
“The bleeding hasn’t stopped yet. At least put on a handkerchief. huh?”
Even though Kang Hye-ju spoke as if pleading, Kang Ha-jun stared at Kang I-heum without accepting the handkerchief she held out.
“I’m not going to get engaged! “Do you know what you just did?”
“I know.”
“you… … .”
“I fully understand your desire to become in-laws with the current prosecutor.”
“You canceled the engagement knowingly? “What is the reason?”
Despite Kang I-heum’s harsh reprimand, Kang Ha-jun stared at him with the same calm face as before.
“Because I don’t like it.”
“what?”
“I’m not getting engaged.”
“Kang Ha-jun!”
Kang Iheum shouted loudly. Kang Hye-joo opened her mouth to stop him as he shouted at her to leave the house.
“Dad, calm down. I guess it’s because my brother has thoughts too. Don’t do this here, sit down… … .”
“This won’t change anything.”
Despite Kang Hye-joo’s efforts to stop her, Kang Ha-jun made the situation even worse with his cold response.
“You bastard. “Is your father saying something like that right now?”
Every time Kang I-heum’s hardships became more severe, Kang Hye-joo watched, not knowing what to do. She knew that this was not a situation that could be resolved without me stepping in to stop it. So he couldn’t bring himself to say anything, but he quietly stood in front of Kang Ha-Jun, afraid that he might throw something again, and his hands were clenched into fists.
Her twin brother, Kang Hye-seong, was looking at Kang Hye-joo with a sneer.
“Don’t expect anything from me.”
Kang Ha-jun, perhaps aware of Kang Hye-joo’s feelings, did not hesitate to say things that made Kang Yi-heum angry.
“My life so far is too precious to give something to my father.”
Kang Ha-jun turned around after talking to himself and smiling for the first time.
“brother… … .”
Kang Ha-jun quickly walked away, ignoring Kang Hye-joo’s voice calling from behind.
* * *
“Dad, when will uncle come?”
“uncle?”
Eunyul, who was playing with blocks with Haneul at home, closed her mouth, pretending to think for a moment. The person who usually comes in early has no news today.
I tried to call him, but I couldn’t reach my cell phone because I’ve never called to ask when he would be coming.
“Looks like work is busy today.”
“okay? “I thought your uncle wasn’t busy.”
Haneul muttered as he put the blocks together, and instead of saying another word, Eunyul put the blocks in place.
If I think about it, I met Kang Ha-jun quite often before we started living together, or even before that. I don’t think I had much time to wait because I had to deal with him showing up at any time.
‘if?’
Isn’t that why you can’t come in because of what you said earlier during the day?
If I say something pointless and regret it, or if that’s why I’m not coming… … .
“no.”
Eunyul shook her head to erase the preceding thoughts. Sky looked at that and then focused on the block again.
“dad.”
Sky lifted up a human-shaped block that was placed in front of a house made of blocks. While thinking about where to put it, Haneul seemed to remember something and put down the block and called Eunyul.
“hmm?”
“Can’t my uncle come to kindergarten tomorrow?”
“tomorrow? why? “What day is tomorrow?”
Eunyul was thinking quickly, wondering if she had forgotten about the kindergarten event, but Haneul shook her head.
“That’s not it, I don’t want to ride the rabbit car tomorrow. “Dad has to work, so can’t your uncle come?”
“ah… … .”
When Haneul said that she didn’t want to go to school on the kindergarten bus, Eunyul looked embarrassed.
“Is something wrong? “Did you fight with the friend who came in the rabbit car?”
“no. just… … “I’m sick of riding the rabbit car every day.”
“Are you sick of it?”
“huh. I didn’t fight, so you don’t have to worry about that. Or ask the teacher.”
Haneul told him not to worry and held up a different person’s block than before.
“I’m glad nothing happened, but why do I suddenly get sick of rabbit cars? “Is it because you want to ride the tiger car?”
That doesn’t mean you can ride the tiger car. Sky shook his head at Eunyul’s concerns.
“no. “I’ll just take the rabbit car.”
Haneul, who seemed to sense that Eunyul was embarrassed, changed her words and listened to the last person’s block. There are adults and children in the human block, and the last block that Haneul held was a child.
He placed it in the middle of the two adult blocks and turned to play with another toy.
‘I couldn’t pay attention to Haneul. ‘I’ll have to call my teacher tomorrow.’
The child pretended to be indifferent, but since she couldn’t just ignore it, Eunyul put down the block she was playing with just a moment ago. And while he was putting everything that Haneul had made on the shelf instead of dismantling it, he heard the sound of the door lock opening.
“uh? “It’s my uncle!”
Haneul quickly got up and ran to the front door, and Eunyul also slowly got up to greet Kang Ha-jun.
“Since when did I start picking you up like this? … .”
The first was Kang Ha-jun. When they got home, they opened the door and welcomed them as if they had been waiting for them, and Haneul also got into the habit of doing the same, and now it has become a natural thing.
Normally, Eun-yul would have left without thinking about it, but because of the conversation they had during the day, it was difficult to see Kang Ha-jun’s face, so Eun-yul became hesitant and couldn’t leave easily.
“dad!”
At that time, Eun-yul hurried to the front door to hear the urgent call of the sky, as if something had happened.
“what’s the matter. uh?”
Eunyul, who was asking Haneul, was surprised to see Kang Hajun’s face later. And when he tried to cover his wound with his hand, Eunyul quickly approached and stopped him.
Eun-yul grabbed Kang Ha-jun’s wrist to prevent his hand from touching the wound and asked in a calm voice.
“What’s wrong with your face?”
“I’m hurt.”
Rather than being injured, the wound seemed to have been caused by being hit or by someone throwing something and missing. As Kang Ha-jun was vaguely explaining this, Eun-yul’s mood sank further. I don’t know why my heart feels like it’s tightening around his wounds… … .
“Come in.”
Eun-yul held Kang Ha-jun’s hand and led him to the living room and called Haneul.
“Sky, it’s an emergency.”
“I’ll bring a first aid kit.”
While Haneul quickly went into her room, she sat down across from Kang Ha-jun in the living room. Kang Ha-jun didn’t see Eun-yul, probably because he lied, but it didn’t matter since he wasn’t trying to make eye contact with her anyway. Eunyul looked closely at his face.
“I’m upset… … .”
And when he revealed his feelings, Kang Ha-jun’s eyes turned to Eun-yul.
It wasn’t a good idea for someone to come in injured, even with just a slight scratch. Because being sick without someone to take care of you is so lonely and sad.
It wouldn’t have mattered if that feeling had disappeared as Seong Eun-yul, but it couldn’t. Even when I first became Seong Eun-yul, I got hit so hard that the place where I got hit throbbed and my body hurt.
Because of the memory of walking around with that body, Eunyul hated herself and others being sick.
When someone else was hurting, my heart tightened and my whole body became tense. I was upset. It didn’t matter how good Kang Ha-jun was. All he cared about was that someone had hurt his face.
Even though she knew Kang Ha-jun was looking at her, Eun-yul only saw his wounds. Looking at the wide-spread bruises and cuts on his cheekbone, it looked like he had been hit rather than injured. Hajun Kang said as he looked at the wound.
“It’s no big deal.”
Eunyul was impressed as her lips moved and even her cheekbones moved. It would hurt if I moved.
“They say it’s okay to just wear minor wounds?”
Eunyul’s words came out sharply as she was upset. He was a wounded man, and I thought he should have spoken softly, but when I saw his wounds, those thoughts went away.
“But this… … “Is this an emergency?”
Kang Ha-jun remembered what Eun-yul had just said and bit his lip to suppress laughter.
“Of course it’s an emergency. “If anyone appears sick, an emergency alarm must be sounded and an ambulance or police car must be dispatched.”
As Eunyul was explaining things as if she was asking an obvious question, Haneul came out holding a first aid kit.
“dad! “I brought it.”
“good job. “Will Sky heal you?”
“of course. Dad goes to catch the bad guy who hit my uncle. “I’ll take charge of this place.”
Haneul spoke solemnly and opened the first aid kit. Kang Ha-jun looked at Eun-yul in silence as he saw the child’s sturdy hands holding various things.
Eunyul smiled and said with a look in her eyes that meant she could leave it to Haneul.
“I’ll know it when I see it.”
As Eun-yul stayed still as if there was nothing more to explain, Haneul thrust something in front of Kang Ha-jun’s eyes.
“Patient, I will sterilize you.”
It was a disposable disinfectant pad. Haneul extended the disinfectant pad toward Kang Ha-jun’s wound. And just before touching his face, Haneul’s tragic words came out once more.
“It stings.”
Kang Ha-jun’s eyes returned to Eun-yul. Eun-yul shrugged her shoulders when the kids looked at her as if she was asking if she knew what these words meant. Meanwhile, a disinfectant pad touched Kang Ha-jun’s face.
“are you okay?”
Ha-jun Kang felt like he was going to laugh because Ha-neul was so careful in applying the disinfectant pad. However, I felt like I shouldn’t be laughing here, so I just nodded.
