Chapter 13

#13 <The Great Magician (3)>

***

Han Yu-young was anxiously holding her daughter Son Yoo-jin.

It was because she heard a car outside.

‘Could it be that person?’

About ten years ago, when Son Kwang-yeon would stay at a nearby house during summer vacations and come down every weekend during the school year to passionately court Han Yu-young. She had experienced her body trembling uncontrollably.

– “Don’t flirt with Kwang-yeon. Don’t you have any self-respect as a woman? Just because you live in a humble place doesn’t mean you have to become vulgar.”

Those were the words thrown by a woman who came in a luxury imported car from Seoul.

She never flirted.

Even now, the innocent Han Yu-young shudders when she thinks about that time.

‘I’m furious. I couldn’t say a word.’

She wanted to return that anger directly to Son Kwang-yeon.

But because of the earnest look in his eyes and the pure soul hidden behind his sad gaze, Han Yu-young ultimately swallowed her humiliation.

When she accepted his courtship, Son Kwang-yeon willingly stepped into a remote village without any connections. Behind that decision was Han Yu-young’s earnest request.

– “I want to live somewhere where no one knows us.”

She didn’t want to see even her blood-related sister, nor Son Kwang-yeon’s family. It was a path of hardship chosen solely for each other. Han Yu-young never told Son Kwang-yeon about the humiliation she endured that day.

‘But why isn’t he coming in?’

It’s been a while since the car engine turned off, but no one has opened the gate to come in. Carefully opening the window, she stood in the front yard and heard murmuring voices from outside.

“Ah, how can someone be so smart?”

She flinched at the sudden voice of a woman.

But it was a warm, affectionate voice, not sharp or malicious. She concluded it wasn’t that woman from back then.

‘Should I go out?’

Glancing back, her gentle daughter was fast asleep.

***

“Oh my, baby, baby. So cute.”

Hong Soo-jung babbled.

Shouldn’t a five-year-old be able to speak well? Little Hong Soo-jung was smart but still clumsy with words. But isn’t that part of a child’s charm?

“Soo-jung, this is my younger sister Yoo-jin. Son Yoo-jin.”

Perhaps because she was still young, Hong Soo-jung didn’t seem to wonder how Jin-hyuk knew her name.

“Son Yoo-jin. Oppa, Hong Soo-jung.”

Hong Soo-jung pointed and clearly called out the names.

“Ah, Oppa?”

Then she pointed at Jin-hyuk and made a round mouth.

The habit of pointing and widening her eyes seemed to have been ingrained since childhood.

Jin-hyuk immediately understood what the little one’s actions meant.

“Ah, I’m Son Jin-hyuk.”

“Son Jing-yeok.”

“Not Jing-yeok, it’s Jin-hyuk, Soo-jung.”

When else would you get to call the Great Magician’s name?

Jin-hyuk, who almost ended up in prison, stayed by his younger sister Son Yoo-jin’s side along with Hong Soo-jung, who had followed him into the room.

“Oh my, the baby is so pretty.”

Yoo Se-ra, who had entered unnoticed, sat on the floor and peered at the baby in the room. It was clear she wanted to hold the baby.

“Should I get you something to drink…?”

Mother was holding a fruit basket. It contained bananas and pineapples, rare fruits even in the countryside back then.

‘Ugh, I’m sick of bananas.’

Having eaten six bananas a day in his previous life while exercising, Jin-hyuk suppressed the urge to gag and quickly stood up for his mother.

“Mom, I’ll make some juice.”

“Oppa.”

Hong Soo-jung followed Jin-hyuk again.

“My, your son is so handsome and smart. Hoho.”

“Haha, let’s have a son too, shall we?”

As Jin-hyuk headed to the kitchen, Yoo Se-ra and Hong Ki-jun’s words flew and stuck to his back.

Why don’t you take care of your own daughter? It’s annoying having her follow me around.

‘Even if you have a son, it won’t be like me. Ahem!’

Indeed. Where else would you find an old soul like me? Thinking that, Jin-hyuk shrugged his shoulders. His hands trembled as he poured orange-flavored powder into a glass, trying not to laugh.

He brought back the juice made by dissolving orange powder in water.

Hong Ki-jun petted the growling Jang Gun-i, and Yoo Se-ra held the baby, her eyes dripping with honey.

“Jin-hyuk, do you want to ride in this man’s car and go see your dad?”

“Yes.”

While taking care of the baby, it seemed the adults had a conversation Jin-hyuk wasn’t aware of.

Since Mom said so, it should be fine.

Jin-hyuk took off his slippers and put on sneakers.

“Ah, baby. Ah, Oppa. Ahh.”

Hong Soo-jung hesitated.

“Oppa.”

She followed Jin-hyuk into the car.

Yoo Se-ra decided to stay at the house with Jin-hyuk’s mother.

*

Driving down the bus route, passing through a small forest, they headed to the field where Dad was working. The road was full of potholes from many tractors and tillers, but the Benz powered through the unpaved road.

‘At this age, I’m already riding in a Benz.’

More surprisingly, it was unexpected that he was riding in a car driven by Hong Ki-jun.

Wasn’t he once the owner of that group?

Just before returning to the past, Jin-hyuk had ridden in the back seat of Chairman Hong Ki-jun’s car.

There was a loud noise and a shaking impact. He had no memory after that.

‘Did I die that day and fly back to the past?’

At that time, Chairman Hong Ki-jun seemed to have something to say to Jin-hyuk. He never got to hear it and was curious. It was probably about marrying Hong Soo-jung, but only the parties involved know the truth.

‘Was Chairman Hong Ki-jun safe? Does that world exist separately and move independently? If so, it would be sad because Mom and Dad aren’t there. Ah, but I’m probably dead there too, so it doesn’t matter.’

It was an unanswerable question.

Even if he knew, there was nothing he could do.

While reminiscing about the past, he held Hong Soo-jung tightly in the back seat. Although he had fastened the seatbelt, his body shook as they drove over the pothole-ridden unpaved farm road.

Hong Ki-jun, who had been glancing in the rearview mirror, broke the silence.

“Jin-hyuk, you’re so kind. You take good care of your younger sister even though you just met her.”

“She’s a weak baby.”

It’s not like we just met.

Jin-hyuk turned his eyes to Hong Soo-jung. The little one with wide eyes was staring straight at Jin-hyuk. To stare directly at the great Son Jin-hyuk, wasn’t she braver than Hong Soo-jung from his previous life? Even though she might get carsick, she didn’t take her eyes off Jin-hyuk. For a little kid, she sure has high standards.

Whoosh-!

The car bottomed out as they passed a deep pothole.

“Ouch.”

Hong Ki-jun made a hearty sound. He hadn’t slowed down in time because he was looking in the rearview mirror. Hong Ki-jun seemed tense but had a strange smile on his face.

Indeed, Seoul men don’t hold back their emotions. Was he that pleased to see someone taking care of his daughter? Thinking that, Jin-hyuk beamed.

“He’s over there.”

Jin-hyuk pointed to where Dad was spreading fertilizer in the field. No matter how rich you are, a farmer must farm to feed his family, and Dad grew the food himself.

Hong Ki-jun parked the car near where Son Kwang-yeon was working and got out.

Son Kwang-yeon, who had been watching intently since the imported car approached, widened his eyes when he saw the person getting out of the car.

A strange tension flowed between the two men.

Jin-hyuk in the car also sensed the odd atmosphere.

‘These dads….’

They look like men about to duel.

It wouldn’t be strange if either of them made the first move.

Feeling an inexplicable unease, Jin-hyuk tightened his arms around little Hong Soo-jung.

Both Hong Ki-jun and Son Kwang-yeon.

Neither could speak first.

How long did the silence last?

Son Kwang-yeon, with a fierce expression, pointed at Hong Ki-jun and opened his mouth.

“Hey, you bastard….”

Jin-hyuk heard it for the first time.

His dad cursing.

He had never seen it before.

The sight of his dad, who was afraid of even minnows and sparrows, turning as fierce as a tiger.

***

Yoo Se-ra, holding the baby, was at a loss.

“Ah, how can she be so pretty? I wonder if our daughter was like this too.”

“She looked like a doll earlier. She must have been pretty as a baby too.”

“All I remember is being tired and irritated. It’s not because of the baby, but you just get tired and all. Didn’t Jin-hyuk’s mom feel that way?”

“Jin-hyuk was so gentle that I didn’t even realize it was hard. He was even prettier than Yoo-jin as a baby.”

It might have helped that she didn’t do much hard work and focused solely on childcare at home. But where is childcare ever easy? Han Yu-young’s words that the baby was gentle and made things easier weren’t entirely baseless.

“Looking at her features, it makes sense. She takes after her mom a lot.”

It wasn’t just lip service.

Yoo Se-ra thought Han Yu-young was too beautiful to be living in such a countryside. Her face somehow felt familiar. Where had she seen her before?

“Jin-hyuk takes after his dad. I only take after him a little.”

If she had to pick, maybe his eyes, nose, and mouth resembled his mom. His ears too….

She was glad her son took after his handsome husband. Anyway, he takes after his dad.

“Um… but you still haven’t told me why you came.”

Han Yu-young cautiously spoke.

They suddenly showed up, handed her a fruit basket, and the woman held the baby while the man took her son to meet her husband. Her husband back in the day used to barge in all the time to court her, and these people were no less forceful.

Is this how people from Seoul are?

“Ah, ahaha. Was that so?”

“Yes, earlier that chairman only said he wanted to meet Jin-hyuk’s dad.”

An awkward smile appeared on Yoo Se-ra’s face.

Why did they come?

She had dozed off in the car her husband was driving and ended up here.

Yoo Se-ra quickly tried to recall.

While enjoying a vacation in Haeundae, her husband received a call from somewhere and urged Yoo Se-ra. At first, she thought they were going to visit his parents.

– “What? We’re on vacation until the day after tomorrow, why are we going back already?”

– “There’s a place to visit. They say there’s a lot of good, cheap land.”

Her husband Hong Ki-jun said they were going to look at land.

He said he would use his power as the chairman’s son-in-law and had the secretariat find some good land on the west coast. He also mentioned that the call came from the secretariat.

‘This man has been acting strange lately.’

He was honest without any cunning. His mind worked well, and he was kind, which is why she decided to marry him. It was a rare love marriage in the chaebol world where arranged marriages were common. Thanks to her father who let his youngest daughter do whatever she wanted, there were no obstacles.

But suddenly, her husband was enthusiastic.

He quit his well-paying job and went to his father-in-law to ask for a position. He probably phrased it politely, but still.

He joined Saien Construction’s overseas business division as a manager and had been busy ever since. But suddenly talking about land during vacation?

What’s even funnier is that Yoo Se-ra herself was excited about her husband’s plan to look at land.

– “That’s great. It would be nice to have the company training center in a scenic place.”

– “That’s Yoo Se-ra for you! You understand me well.”

She had a cold and aloof image, but strangely, she had her naive side. That was part of her charm.

So, after nodding off in the passenger seat until her neck was stiff, they arrived in this remote village.

From Busan to the coast of South Chungcheong. How many rest stops did they visit, how many times did they unfold the map?

Yoo Se-ra couldn’t forget her husband’s expression when they arrived.

He was smiling brightly like he had found treasure.

Was it an illusion that he looked brighter than when she accepted his proposal?

– “Found it.”

– “Who? Do you know them?”

– “No, the address the secretariat gave me for the landowner is here.”

It’s strange that someone living in such a humble house in this remote village is a landowner, but to be happy about finding the landowner? Did the work stress drive him to mania? People change, but he changed too actively.

‘Though it’s good that he became more active at night.’

Perhaps the pressure of being a chaebol son-in-law and the surrounding gaze was burdensome, as he seemed cautious after marriage. It was good that he became brighter.

While Yoo Se-ra, holding Yoo-jin, furrowed her brow and tried to recall, Han Yu-young fanned her daughter to keep her cool, resigned. Seoul people are indeed strange. When asked about their visit, they just stared blankly like a sick chicken.

After sorting through her complicated thoughts, Yoo Se-ra finally spoke.

“About the land….”

“The land?”

There is a lot of land under the Son family’s name. But is it that hard to bring it up? Seoul women are strange. Scary.

Han Yu-young subtly held onto Yoo-jin.

‘Jin-hyuk will be fine.’

He’s smart and quick, so he’ll run away if it’s dangerous.

Her heart was pounding for no reason.

No, but this Seoul woman is holding Yoo-jin tightly and won’t let go.

Han Yu-young’s arms tightened.

The Seoul woman’s strength was no joke, perhaps from eating meat since childhood.

Unaware of the women’s tension, Jang Gun-i wagged his tail.