Chapter 115.2: I’ll Follow Your Orders (2)

Kang Chan woke up to a calm Sunday, which hadn’t happened in a long time.

Thanks to Yang Jin-Woo using the underwater tunnel to stir the whole country, Kang Chan rarely got phone calls. Of course, it was a slightly different story for Yoo Hye-Sook.

They had toast, milk, omelets, coffee, and tea for breakfast.

Yoo Hye-Sook looked happy as she ate the breakfast that Kang Dae-Kyung and Kang Chan prepared.

The Chiffre was selling well, and work for the Foundation was also making great progress.

“What are your plans for today, Channy?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.

“I’m thinking of buying clothes with Michelle later.”

“Clothes?”

“Yes. Ones that are comfortable. I’ll also buy a suit since I keep having to go to stern formal events.”

“I see! You definitely need those. Do you have money? Should I give you some?”

“I’m fine. I get a salary from D.I.”

“I see.”

Yoo Hye-Sook drank tea as she nodded in response to Kang Chan’s excuse that he had just made up…

“Mother, what would you like me to do in the future?”

Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook looked at him with perplexed eyes, perhaps because the question came out of nowhere.

“Honestly I’m not really sure what I like to do and what I should do for a living in the future,” Kang Chan added.

“Did you think of that just now?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked.

“Michelle asked me about it yesterday, and I couldn’t answer. Now I’m curious about what you two think about it.”

When Kang Dae-Kyung received a look from Yoo Hye-Sook, he smiled widely. “I forget that you’re a high schooler when I look at you sometimes, but now that you’ve said something like that, you finally seem like one.”

Seeing Kang Chan smiling softly, Kang Dae-Kyung continued with a gentle expression. “If you don’t know what you want to do in the future yet, then just focus on the present. What are you so worried about? You’re still young. Figuring out what you really want to do and who you want to spend the rest of your life with takes time.”

“You should go to university first,” Yoo Hye-Sook said.

Kang Dae-Kyung smiled as if he knew that she would say something like that. “So take your time thinking about it so you’ll end up doing something that you really want to do and marry someone you really love.”

“Is what you’re doing right now something that you wanted to do?” Kang Chan blurted out, not really having any specific purpose. He didn’t even intend to ask the question.

“After being discharged from the military, making your mom happy was what I wanted to do the most.”

Kang Chan didn’t expect such an answer.

“For me, it didn’t matter what I did for a living. I would be happy for as long as I got to start and protect a family with your mom. That’s why there’s only really one thing that made me think, ‘I should really do that.’”

“What was that?” Kang Chan asked.

“Marrying your mom.”

Kang Chan couldn’t believe that he could say something like that so seriously.

Kang Chan looked to the side, finding Yoo Hye-Sook looking awkward but touched at the same time.

“Regardless of what kind of woman you date, if it’s someone you love, then your mom and I are satisfied. The same goes for your job as well. However, we do wish that you don’t do something or date someone who will make us worry. You understand, right?”

“Yes.”

Kang Chan was thankful that he could talk about something like this with his father. He also thought that he wanted to be like Kang Dae-Kyung as a father.

“Let’s clean this up,” Kang Dae-Kyung told Kang Chan.

“I’ll handle this,” Yoo Hye-Sook offered.

“Hey! We’re just cleaning up after a meal on Sunday. Don’t take away the joy that I get from doing this with our son.”

“Honey!”

Kang Chan quickly stood up and cleaned up the plates because he thought that he would cringe because of the look in their eyes and the way they talked.

After they finished cleaning up, Kang Chan got changed and went out to the living room.

“I’ll be back,” Kang Chan said.

“Okay, Channy. Have fun,” Yoo Hye-Sook said.

“Have fun,” Kang Dae-Kyung said.

“I will.”

Yoo Hye-Sook sent off Kang Chan and walked over to the living room. “Honey, our Channy grew up again, didn’t he?”

“You think so? I’ve been feeling as if Channy was about ten years older than his age lately, but now, for the first time in so long, I was reminded that he’s still a teenager.”

“Honey! If Channy is ten years older, wouldn’t that make him twenty-nine right now?”

“There’s been a lot of times when I felt that he was,” Kang Dae-Kyung continued, “So I doubt I would be that surprised even if he says that he’ll get married right this instant.”

“Who would he marry? He wouldn’t marry Michelle by any chance, would he? Honey?”

“What’s wrong with that lady?”

Yoo Hye-Sook, who was in front of Kang Dae-Kyung, looked worried. “She’s older, and she’s also a foreigner.”

“Oh dear, madam. Didn’t you see how Channy treats that lady? He totally treats her like a child. Let’s stop talking about who Channy likes. Even if he says he’s marrying Mi-Young, I think you’ll still worry.”

“Why would I be worried about her?”

“You didn’t look too happy talking to Mi-Young’s mom.”

“I was just worried that she would give Channy a hard time because she was putting on airs,” Yoo Hye-Sook explained.

“See? You already even thought about it,”

Kang Dae-Kyung smiled, and Yoo Hye-Sook playfully side-eyed him.

“Honey, how hard would it have been for us if my mother-in-law was against our relationship while you waited for me and when you gave up studying abroad because of me? Just as she did for us, let’s not get greedy and ask too much from our Channy. While we wait for him to return from the military, let’s practice becoming selfless and respecting his choices,” Kang Dae-Kyung added.

Kang Dae-Kyung then stroked Yoo Hye-Sook’s back, who looked upset.

***

Kang Chan met up with Michelle and headed to the department store to buy things such as clothes, shoes, and sneakers. He started with suits from so-called luxury brands, then bought comfortable clothes that would be okay for him to wear when he met Lanok, but the prices for those were beyond imagination.

Honestly, Kang Chan wondered if it was right to spend this much on clothes.

“You can mix and match the clothes that you’ve been wearing until now with the clothes you bought today,” Michelle said, so Kang Chan didn’t say anything about it.

Two hours later, Kang Chan was completely exhausted. It was as if he ran nonstop for about half the day.

“Let’s buy some clothes for your mother this time, Channy,” Michelle suggested.

“For my mother?”

“She’ll be upset if you just go home on this kind of day. You should also buy a tie for your father.”

Was that true? It was something that he never thought about, but he was honestly thankful that she was being considerate.

“Channy, I’ll buy the clothes for your parents.”

“Let’s not do that—you already chose clothes for me.”

“Treat me to lunch in return, then.”

Kang Chan found it difficult to stop her since she said that it was to show her sincerity.

The long shopping spree ended there.

Kang Chan wanted to eat Korean food because he had been eating Western food since breakfast. However, since he was treating her to lunch, he decided to just eat what Michelle wanted to have.

Michelle parked the car near Hannam-dong.

“The Yukgaejang here is good,” Michelle commented.

Kang Chan smirked, thinking she read his mind.

They enjoyed their delicious lunch, then had tea at a nearby cafe. The sunlight during the leisurely Sunday afternoon wasn’t bad.

“Let’s go now,” Kang Chan said afterward.

Michelle obediently stood up from her seat. Even though Kang Chan thought that she was being clingy, she treated him comfortably at times like this.

“Hug me right now because I won’t be able to hug you in front of your house,” Michelle said.

She wasn’t suffering from a lack of love, but when he reached out and hugged her, Michelle buried her face in his chest.

“You won’t do something that will make me worried again, will you?” Michelle asked.

“Why would I do something like that?”

“Don’t get hurt, Channy.” Michelle gently pushed herself away from Kang Chan, then held his hand.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive in front of Kang Chan’s house.

“Let’s talk later, Channy.”

“Sure.”

Kang Chan got out of the car with the clothes and immediately went up to his house.

“I’m back,” Kang Chan said.

Yoo Hye-Sook, who was watching TV, greeted Kang Chan at the entrance.

“Did you have fun? Are those what you bought today?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.

“Yes.”

Kang Chan put down the shopping bag in front of the entrance, then looked for the clothes he bought for Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook.

“What else did you buy?”

Kang Chan found and handed over the clothes he bought for them to Yoo Hye-Sook.

“Michelle bought these for you two. She said that this is for father, and this is for mother.”

“Michelle did?”

The unexpected present seemed to have caught Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook by surprise.

Kang Chan left his clothes in his room and headed back out, finding his parents unwrapping their clothes.

“Oh my! This is really pretty! What do you think, honey?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked Kang Dae-Kyung.

“It suits you!”

The blouse that Yoo Hye-Sook was holding looked sophisticated, even to Kang Chan.

“Yours is a tie? Michelle has great taste. I should really go to Dongdaemun with her next time,” Yoo Hye-Sook commented.

This was what Michelle was talking about.

While looking at his parents, who appeared to be satisfied with what they got, he thought that he should’ve bought some more for them.

“Channy, would you like to have some fruits?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked afterward.

“Should I?”

Kang Chan thought it wouldn’t be bad to enjoy the leisurely Sunday afternoon with his family as well, which he hadn’t done in a long time.

“What’s that?” Kang Chan asked.

“It seems like there has been a massive earthquake in the deep waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Due to the tsunami watch, the beaches across Hawaii and Europe are in an uproar,” Kang Dae-Kyung explained.

As Yoo Hye-Sook brought over fruits and peeled them, Kang Dae-Kyung explained the news that was being reported on TV.

If something was on the news nowadays, then it broke the record.

“According to the news, there has never been an earthquake as wide and strong as this one, and two earthquakes have never occurred at the same time in two seas. Since the entire tectonic plates could shake if things go wrong, they report that places like Los Angeles and Hawaii and some small islands are worried that they might cease to exist,” Kang Dae-Kyung added.

No matter how bad it was, it wouldn’t be as dangerous as Yang Jin-Woo.

Kang Chan handed the oriental melon to Kang Dae-Kyung and ate a slice.

If not for the massive tsunami, he wished an earthquake like that to happen between South Korea and Japan as well.

1. Hannam-dong is one of the most affluent neighborhoods in South Korea. It has been continuously shown in South Korean content as a wealthy and luxurious area