<The Coward (3)>
Despite the melted tension, Jin-hyeok, with his naturally introverted personality, struggled to get close to people he had just met.
But as the saying goes, spring after a harsh winter feels warmer, and Jin-hyeok felt that warmth in the way the Hwang sisters affectionately cared for their younger siblings.
Perhaps because his tension had completely melted away, his stomach started to growl again, and he began devouring the spicy beef soup.
‘It’s so good.’
Jang Jin-nam, sensing a subtle competitive spirit, joined in, but the only ones who could match Son Jin-hyeok’s appetite were Choi Tae-yang and Lee Seung-hoon. Even they couldn’t guarantee a win against Jin-hyeok.
“Jin-hyeok, you’re like an ox.”
“What are you talking about?”
“No, I mean you eat a lot.”
It’s like reading a sutra to a cow’s ear. Ignoring Jang Jin-nam’s incomprehensible grumbling, Jin-hyeok kept slurping the red broth. He couldn’t leave out the chunks of meat he loved.
‘Fern shoots! Bean sprouts!’
The soup was filled with all his favorite vegetables—how could the beef soup ghost resist?
The medical center was located downtown, and the weather outside was lovely.
After eating his fill, Yoo-jin held his hand, and they went out to explore the city.
“I want to come too.”
Hwang Ga-young followed.
Caught off guard, Jin-hyeok awkwardly asked, “Is it okay to leave your seat?”
“My friends left this morning… I was feeling stuffy staying inside…”
There was no reason to refuse.
It would be ridiculous to politely ask her to keep her distance when they were still socially awkward.
So, the two of them walked, each holding one of Yoo-jin’s hands.
‘This is unusual.’
He couldn’t recall ever walking like this in the past.
It was clear from how nothing came to mind.
Perhaps feeling awkward too, Hwang Ga-young scratched the back of her head and asked, “Which school do you go to?”
“Taeyang High.”
“I heard you’re good at studying. What a waste.”
“No, well… It’s just…”
Jin-hyeok also scratched the back of his head.
They had met through their mothers’ connections and only had a casual acquaintance, so there wasn’t much to talk about. Like a dog stepping on piano keys, their conversation wasn’t exactly dissonant, but it was far from harmonious.
In the midst of the awkward conversation between the older siblings, Yoo-jin was the only one excited.
“Unnie, I’m going to Eodong Elementary!”
Breaking the uncomfortable silence, Hwang Ga-young, grateful to Yoo-jin, tilted her head and widened her eyes.
“Eodong? Where’s that?”
“Yeah, Eodong Elementary is in Eodong Village! It’s less than 10 minutes by yellow bus from our house. Unnie, you should come to Eodong too after you graduate!”
“Oh my, what should I do? Unnie has to go to college now.”
“Our school is really good, though. Too bad.”
“Hahaha. You’re so funny.”
Hwang Ga-young, pushing up her horn-rimmed glasses with her index finger, patted Yoo-jin’s head.
To Jin-hyeok, Hwang Ga-young’s shy smile looked like a little girl marveling at a cute chick. This side of her was also unfamiliar.
Though Yoo-jin was chatty enough in front of her brother, she was even more excited in front of Hwang Ga-young.
Is this how a child actively expands their world by meeting new people? Grateful for his sister’s voice softening the awkward atmosphere, Jin-hyeok also listened to Yoo-jin’s chatter.
“Yeah, our school has cows and goats in the playground. And there’s cow dung rolling around! When you get close, you see black bugs pushing it upside down. The teacher calls them dung beetles. We kids were observing them, and Kim Ho-jin hit a dung beetle with a stick, but Lee Dong-ho told him not to. Kim Ho-jin said, ‘No, I’m helping it!’ Then Lee Dong-ho said, ‘A wise child leaves nature alone. That’s how you help.’ The teacher said, ‘Hey, don’t fight,’ and Kim Ho-jin said, ‘Then who am I fighting with?’ and everyone laughed.”
“HAHAHAHA!”
Hwang Ga-young held her stomach.
She was genuinely laughing, even shedding a tear.
‘Now… I don’t have to be scared anymore.’
Jin-hyeok gently let go of Yoo-jin’s hand.
So she could get closer to Hwang Ga-young.
Hoping that his sister’s presence might brighten any shadows over Hwang Ga-young.
It was the most goodwill Jin-hyeok could show at that moment.
“Unnie, come visit our house! We have Jang g*n-i, Hong-shi, Cheon-ma, and Gwang-ma. And if you cross the sweet potato field, there’s Mi-kyung unnie’s Geon-ma. They’re all so cute!”
“Should I? Should I come see Yoo-jin?”
“You have to wear yellow clothes and a yellow hat.”
“Why?”
Hwang Ga-young’s eyes and mouth twisted comically, making Jin-hyeok bite his lip. She could make such expressions too.
“So you can see better! Oh, right! Bring a backpack too.”
“A backpack?”
“So you can float on water.”
Oh, Yoo-jin.
She spoke so seriously with wide eyes, but it was anything but a joke.
I thought she had grown up a lot, but she’s still a quirky little kid.
Avoiding Hwang Ga-young’s confused gaze, Jin-hyeok blinked like a calf.
After avoiding reporters all day, Jin-hyeok ended up eating only spicy beef soup.
Thanks to his dad, who understood his mom’s desire to stay by her sister’s side, Jin-hyeok had beef soup for dinner too. For a while, even the sight of Yook Seong-chan might make him sick of beef soup.
‘But at least my stomach feels good.’
It wasn’t just because of the comfort food.
It was like the joyous shock when someone who had been tormenting you sincerely apologized. He felt a relief close to certainty that there would be no more fear.
“It could have been bleak, but thank you to everyone who came.”
The eldest daughter, Hwang Ga-yun, bowed politely.
“No, we should take care of family. Ga-yun, think about what I said. We’re planning to set up a research institute in the area with Sain Bio to study microorganisms and viruses—”
“Oh, we already talked about this. Don’t tire people out.”
“Hahaha, I just want to scout talent. Well, I’ll be going then.”
Thanks to Han Yu-young subduing her husband, the awkward farewell didn’t last long.
With Han Yu-young taking the last reluctant steps, Jin-hyeok’s family left the funeral home.
In the car, Son Kwang-yeon pulled his wife’s hand.
“You could’ve stayed longer.”
“I have to feed our eldest and send him to school. Yoo-jin has kindergarten, and Jeong-won only has one day’s worth of diapers.”
Listening to his parents’ conversation from the passenger seat, Jin-hyeok inwardly bowed his head.
His mom was always as solid as a mountain.
‘To think she has to worry about diapers too.’
Moms are truly geniuses.
But his dad’s expression, reflected in the rearview mirror, was different from Jin-hyeok’s admiration.
‘Why does he look sulky?’
Clearly, he’s upset because mom didn’t mention him.
What to do with a dad who sulks over being left out?
But mom was broad-minded.
“We’ll see off our cowardly husband to work too.”
“Heh.”
Jin-hyeok, who had been watching the rearview mirror, closed his eyes tightly.
Because of the person rubbing his head against mom’s shoulder. What is he, a puppy?
But he was curious.
“Why is dad a coward?”
He had often seen his dad wandering around looking for mom on his days off. Mom was busy picking vegetables and tomatoes in the garden, carrying Jeong-won to the stream or the beach.
Thinking it was because of the memory of losing his grandmother as a child, Jin-hyeok didn’t judge him.
Was it because he acted like a child looking for his mom that he was called a coward?
It was pure curiosity.
“Hmph.”
“It’s just a saying. Your dad is so childlike and pure…”
But his parents’ unsatisfactory response only fueled Jin-hyeok’s curiosity.
“Hyun-woo? Hurry up— Yes. Shall we go? I’m tired.”
“Yes, boss.”
Myung Hyun-woo, who stuck close to dad, might know, but he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. He was only quick when it came to grabbing the sandbag.
By the time they got home, Jin-hyeok faced the urge to jump out of the passenger seat.
‘What the hell is that?’
Broadcast cameras and what looked like reporters were camped out in their yard. Min Yong-rak had left for the weekend, and most SSS agents had gone to pay their respects, so there was no one to stop them.
‘Even if there were, they wouldn’t have stopped them.’
With orders from boss Hong Ki-jun, who would dare stop them?
Checking his dad’s expression in the rearview mirror, Jin-hyeok saw him scratching his forehead, avoiding his gaze.
‘Dad knew too. Was he rushing to get home so they wouldn’t wait too long?’
But what questions would they ask?
How should he answer?
For the first time in a while, Jin-hyeok’s head started spinning with desperation.
It wasn’t fear.
Just the dread of being harassed at school again.
Wait, isn’t that the same as being scared?
‘Whatever.’
It was dark, but the lights around the yard made it as bright as day.
Not wanting their family home to be exposed, they set up the shot facing the opposite direction. Since they were doing the interview, they might as well do it right. It was Jin-hyeok’s decision.
‘Uncle Hong Ki-jun must have threatened them.’
He probably said he’d cut all their ads if they didn’t cooperate.
Still, it would’ve been nice if he’d given a heads-up. Why does it feel like he’s being tricked?
“So, our student? How did you systematically take down the notorious dog theft ring? What seemed off, were you scared, how did you move to catch them? Just talk about it like that. I won’t include my questions, just your statements. Got it?”
Half-listening to the reporter’s explanation, Jin-hyeok looked at Choi Mi-kyung’s house in the distance.
Lights were installed there too, making the exterior glow white.
Moths, attracted by the light, swarmed like a galaxy in the sky.
“Did reporters go to that house too?”
“Huh? Oh, the police said something happened there too.”
Something did happen.
A dog thief caught by dogs.
“Okay, you’ll see a red light on the camera. Start when it turns on.”
Jin-hyeok nodded with a stiff face.
I know what’s up, buddy. Who do you think you’re fooling? That’s the recording light.
Whew.
His dad, grinning ear to ear, and his mom, holding Jeong-won and proudly looking at her eldest son.
Even Yoo-jin, sitting on her brother’s lap, hugging Jang g*n-i like she was choking him.
With such a cheering squad, why would he be nervous?
‘Why is my heart racing?’
Three years ago, he would’ve said whatever he wanted in front of the camera. The great Son Jin-hyeok, nervous? What a sight.
“Let’s start.”
The reporter, holding a mic in front of Jin-hyeok, folded his fingers one by one.
When he finally made a fist, the red light turned on.
That’s when it happened.
The reporter, with a serious expression, started nodding at Jin-hyeok.
‘What’s this guy doing?’
I haven’t said anything yet, buddy.
On the yellow bus, Kim Ho-jin; at kindergarten, Lee Dong-ho and the teacher; on the playground, unknown sisters and brothers.
Son Yoo-jin bragged about her brother everywhere.
“My brother caught a dog thief. Yesterday, a TV station came to film him.”
“Wow.”
Some kids widened their eyes, others wiped their runny noses, all listening to Son Yoo-jin.
“Was Son Yoo-jin there too?”
“Yeah! I was there too. My brother hugged me and Jang g*n-i like this. Mom fixed my hair and wiped my face.”
Wow.
Son Yoo-jin is so cool. On TV. Lee Dong-ho mumbled.
“That’s nothing. My uncle caught armed guerrillas and got to ride a helicopter on vacation.”
“Hey, Kim Ho-jin! You can’t simplify and equate everything!”
The kindergarten classroom fell silent.
Partly because Son Yoo-jin screamed.
‘What did he say?’
‘I don’t get it.’
‘It’s hard.’
‘Son Yoo-jin’s brother is really big.’
‘I know what big is. It’s a huge fish.’
‘What’s that? Scary.’
Kim Ho-jin, with his loud mouth but poor articulation, couldn’t win. He just shot imaginary laser guns into the air.
Pew pew pew.
*
That evening, and the next night.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Son Yoo-jin stayed up to watch the 9 o’clock news but never achieved her goal.
[That concludes the 9 o’clock news. Thank you for watching.]
“They’re not showing it today either?”
“Did you ask Su-jeong’s dad?”
“I heard the police put a reporting restriction on the interview from Taeyang’s house because there are unresolved issues. It might help catch other thieves.”
“What happened at that house? Mi-kyung’s mom didn’t say much. Did the police gag her too?”
“I’ve been too busy with work to check on them.”
Sigh. Will it be on tomorrow?
My friends will call me a liar.
Son Yoo-jin is scared of being called a liar.
Liars get long noses, and a scary grandpa called Mang-tae takes them away.
Hugging her stuffed bear tightly, she fell asleep, trying to soothe her heavy heart.
