Chapter 221: Family (3)

I nodded as I watched Mom hesitating before speaking. “Yes, go ahead.”

Mom kept glancing at me before speaking. “Can you forgive Eun-Gi and Yeon-Sil now? This is for your sake. I don't want to see my son living with hatred in his heart.”

To be honest, I had already expected this kind of talk—maybe that was the reason I hadn’t come here until now. But Mom sincerely hoped I would forgive them for my good. She wanted me to start afresh without being tied to the past anymore.

I looked at Mom’s awkward smile and said, “I'll forgive them if you go for a health check-up without any complaints.”

At that moment, Mom looked as happy as a child. “Really?”

“Yes. I’ve booked a health check-up for you on the 15th. So we’ll all meet with Eun-Gi and Yeon-Sil together after that.”

“Th-that sounds good.”

That's when Mom and Sister Grace made the sign of the cross and began to pray.

‘

What have I done to deserve them...

’ I reflected silently.

The reason I hadn’t gone astray was all thanks to these two people who always worried about me. I clasped my hands as I watched them pray with their eyes closed.

A moment later, Mom looked at me after finishing her prayer.

“Wait a moment. I’ll call Yeon-Sil first. I'll be back.”

But I quickly grabbed Mom as she tried to stand up and said, “No. This is between us, so I'll handle it myself. I'll get really upset if you call and tell them first. You know how I am, right?”

My startled mom sat back down.“Alright. I'll stay quiet then.”

I had to tell a little lie to prevent Kang Eun-Gi's accident on the 15th. If I told Kang Eun-Gi and Lee Yeon-Sil that Mom was hospitalized for a health check-up, those two would rush over immediately. That way, Kang Eun-Gi could leave the location of the accident and I could save his life.

Besides, the health check-up could save my mom’s life as well.

With these thoughts sorted, I said to Mom, “It's true that all is in the past... and he’s really cleaned up his act now, so I’ll do as you say. Just wait a few days, okay?”

I genuinely wanted to forgive Kang Eun-Gi and Lee Yeon-Sil to make Mom's wish come true even if it were just an excuse. Besides, none of this would have happened if Lee Yeon-Sil was my destined partner anyway.

And then I remembered Kang Eun-Gi, who had risked his life to save me by jumping into the valley when we were kids.

I owed him my life and now it was my turn to repay him.

***

“Hyung. Hyung? Seoul is huge, isn't it?”

“Hyung! I want jajangmyeon!”

“Oppa! I-I want sweet and sour pork.”

“Oppa! Dong-Hyuk cut the rubber bands the girls were playing with! Oppa, scold him for us!”

“Hyung! Do you think I can be a talent agent? I want to see celebrities too!”

“Oppa, can you make me a singer?”

The kids from kindergarteners to high schoolers surrounded and clung on to me while asking various questions. When I told them to call me hyung or oppa and contact me whenever they needed help, the kids starved for affection started telling me all sorts of things.

As I responded to each of them, I called the boys who were about to graduate from high school to come over.

“Contact me if you want to try working as a talent agent after you graduate. The work is tough, but you'll never go hungry if you endure it,” I told them.

Next were the girls.

“If you’re interested in fashion or beauty, call me anytime. You'll need to study the basics first, but I can introduce you to good hair salons and dress shops even if it’s not our company,” I advised the girls.

Our industry always lacked manpower as more people left than joined due to the low pay and hard work. But if one endured, they could always find a way to make a living. I figured helping those who were about to graduate high school find a job would be a great help, although they were disappointed when I said I couldn’t help them become celebrities.

However, the kindergarteners clinging to my arms with plenty of time left before worrying about making their own living were only interested in celebrities.

“Hyung! I want to see Auntie Yoo-Jin.”

“Uncle Yoon-Ho! Who are you closest to among celebrities?”

“Oppa. I want to see Cherry Blossom.”

When I showed them a selfie on my phone with Yoo-Jin and Cherry Blossom, their eyes grew wide with amazement.

“Wow, that’s so cool.”

“Uncle Yoon-Ho, are you some kind of really powerful person?”

The kindergarteners looked at me with eyes full of admiration to the extent that I worried a little if I was giving them the wrong impression of working as a talent agent.

At that moment, various delivery men arrived at the orphanage entrance, causing all the kids to rush away immediately.

“Delivery!”

“Yay! It's jajangmyeon! I want a double portion!”

“I’ll start with fried chicken!”

“I want two hamburgers!”

“I want sweet and sour pork!”

I ordered them pizza, fried chicken, jajangmyeon, and sweet and sour pork. Even if there would be leftovers, I wanted them to eat as much as they wanted today.

“But still, how can all of you run away upon seeing food? Hey! Save some for me too!” I complained.

Sister Grace approached and patted my shoulder. “Yoon-Ho, understand that they’re at an age where they eat a lot...”

“Noona, wipe your mouth and come with me,” I said teasingly.

“S-should I?”

For today, I decided to worry about saving Kang Eun-Gi later and enjoyed a boisterous meal as if I were a kid again.

***

It was finally July 15th.

Mom had come for a detailed health checkup and I admitted her to a special room as soon as she arrived in Seoul.

She had to fast for a whole day today as the health check-up was tomorrow. Since she would suffer from stomach cancer and die from it being metastasized like me in my past life, I repeatedly asked the doctor to focus the checkup around her stomach.

While Mom was resting in the hospital room, I called Lee Yeon-Sil and lied that Mom was hospitalized because she was sick.

But Lee Yeon-Sil’s reaction was completely unexpected.

-O-oppa. You see, Eun-Gi oppa will be a bit late today. I don't think we can come today, but we’ll be there early tomorrow. I’m so sorry. Please take good care of Mom.

Lee Yeon-Sil answered the phone in a trembling voice. She said she wanted to come right away, but she couldn’t move her legs.

“Is there any way you can come? Mom is really scared right now. And since I’m a man, it’s hard for me to help her with everything like taking her to the washroom.”

-Even so, I’ll come with Eun-Gi oppa. I’m sorry.

Although she was so apologetic, Lee Yeon-Sil was too scared to come alone. In the end, I decided to say what I thought I had to say to her directly in person.

“Yeon-Sil.”

-Yes.

“I’m sorry for everything. I know I made things hard for you because I was petty and foolish. I’m not going to get mad at you, so feel free to come. I want to give you and Eun-Gi my blessings.”

Suddenly, I heard sobbing through the phone. Lee Yeon-Sil started crying loudly and repeatedly apologized.

-No, oppa. I’m sorry. I'm sorry I didn’t trust you, oppa... I was crazy then... I mistakenly thought you had another woman...

“Stop crying. It’s all in the past and we weren’t meant to be anyway. From now on, I’ll keep watching over you as your brother. Let’s continue being a good family, okay?”

A moment later, Yeon-Sil finally stopped crying and spoke.

-Okay, I got it. I’ll get ready and head over to the hospital right away. I’ll also tell Eun-Gi oppa to come straight to the hospital.”

I felt a wave of relief wash over me when Lee Yeon-Sil agreed to come to the hospital.

'

It’s done

,’ I thought.

I hung up the phone and leaned against a chair in the hospital hallway, letting out a long sigh.

Then I checked the planner.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: July 17, 2020]

-08:00 a.m. Gangbuk Samsung Hospital. Kang Eun-Gi's funeral.

“It still hasn’t disappeared yet,” I muttered to myself.

The current time was 3 p.m. on the 15th. There were only a few hours left until Kang Eun-Gi’s death.

“Will it disappear once Eun-Gi arrives in Korea?”

I wondered why the entry hadn’t disappeared yet from the planner and waited for Kang Eun-Gi and Lee Yeon-Sil to arrive.

***

Two men in suits were sitting on a luxurious sofa. The men who appeared to be in their fifties and forties called each other hyung-nim and younger brother.

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

The man in his forties asked with a troubled expression, “Don't you think you're going to regret your decision?”

“I know I will. It’s already so regretful that it’s driving me crazy,” replied the man in his fifties.

“Then should we reconsider...”

But the man in his fifties shook his head. “A caterpillar should eat pine needles. It shouldn't forget who it is just because it's been eating mulberry leaves for a while. Don’t you agree?”

The man in his forties looked troubled. “I’m sorry. I was short-sighted.”

“Yeah. Anyway, I hope you don’t get confused either. Just because we came out into the sunlight doesn’t mean we’re truly living under the light.”

“Indeed, hyung-nim.”

The man in his fifties let out a deep sigh. “Let's send Eun-Gi away peacefully.”

“Okay. I have prepared two professionals.”

At that moment, the man in his fifties turned to look behind the sofa he was sitting on.

[Kanghan Entertainment, President Choi Kang-Han]

“That kid. His idea of running an entertainment company was useful...But now he’s ruining everything because he’s inflated with dreams of coming out into the light. Is it because he’s soon to be a father?”

The man in his fifties was Choi Kang-Han and the man in his forties across from him was Kanghan faction’s number two, Lee Sae-Dong.

“You were too accommodating, hyung-nim. You should’ve only done the surface business for money laundering. Why did you go that far?” Lee Sae-Dong remarked.

At that moment, Choi Kang-Han frowned. “What else could I do when the young guys following Eun-Gi wanted it? How else could I survive if I, an old tiger, didn’t use my brain?”

The force that made the Kanghan faction the top organization in Gyeonggi-do was the strength of the 30 men in the combat unit under Kang Eun-Gi.

Those men were orphans who Kang Eun-Gi had personally brought in and raised one by one. Because they had nothing to lose, they were fearless and brave. And most importantly, they were loyal to Kang Eun-Gi, not the Kanghan faction.

For this reason, 27-year-old Kang Eun-Gi could become Kanghan faction’s number three.

But they received an intelligence report that Kang Eun-Gi was trying to leave the gang. It was also said that most of the combat unit wanted to follow his path, and even the prosecution was targeting the increasingly powerful Kanghan faction.

Choi Kang-Han had declared a fake retirement to avoid the storm, and that was the moment when Kang Eun-Gi recommended the entertainment industry where his friend worked.

Choi Kang-Han gave the go-ahead for this plan as he thought it was perfect for the Kanghan faction's image makeover, which was previously involved in the liquor and construction industries.

He had optimistically thought Kang Eun-Gi’s mind would change after experiencing the prejudice against former gang members trying to work in the light. But to his surprise, Kang Eun-Gi adapted to the new industry quickly. Kang Eun-Gi then went a step further and began to rapidly expand the business as a director of the entertainment company, despite Choi Kang-Han’s lack of such intentions.

Ultimately, Choi Kang-Han's decision was to eliminate Kang Eun-Gi. If only Kang Eun-Gi disappeared and the combat unit could be taken over, the Kanghan faction could remain the top organization in Gyeonggi-do.

And Choi Kang-Han planned to use the strength of the combat unit to transform into a nationwide gang.

“Eun-Gi, if only you had been incompetent instead. If that entertainment company had gone bankrupt, I could have kept you around longer...” Choi Kang-Han murmured as he looked at the red sunset over Seoul through the window.

“The sunset is really red today.”

At that moment, Lee Sae-Dong quietly picked up the phone.

“After Eun-Gi is gone, calm the combat unit members so they don’t get agitated. Make sure to frame it as if the guy sent by the Taechon faction took Eun-Gi out.”

With that, Lee Sae-Dong gave instructions to make it look like a Taechon faction's executive, who had once been tortured by Eun-Gi, orchestrated the plan and ended the call.

***

It was 8 p.m. but the entry in the planner still hadn’t disappeared. On top of that, Lee Yeon-Sil hadn’t arrived at the hospital yet either when she had said she would leave earlier.

I called Yeon-Sil immediately. “Yeon-Sil, why aren’t you here yet?”

-O-oppa. I'm sorry. I’ll be there soon.

“What's going on? You said you were leaving earlier.”

-Yeah, but my stomach suddenly started hurting... so I decided to come with Eun-Gi oppa when he arrives.

“Why does your stomach hurt?”

-Well... never mind. I’ll tell you when I get there.

Lee Yeon-Sil stammered, seeming to have difficulty explaining. I asked what was going on but she just said she would come later and hung up.

At that moment, Mom who sat beside me let out a deep sigh. “My son, I’m really worried about your future.”

“Huh? Why?” I asked.

“Can’t you tell what's going on just by listening?”

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind. “No way. Mom, is it...is what I'm thinking right?”

Mom replied with a smile, “Probably, yes.”

At that moment, I jumped up from my seat.

I had yet another reason to ensure Kang Eun-Gi stays alive.