Chapter 223: Family (5)

"It looks like I should cancel the insurance. Choi Kang-Han betrayed me," said Kang Eun-Gi.

Kang Eun-Gi, not one to be fooled, seemed to have prepared in case he got caught by Choi Kang-Han.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. Hyun-Min, you gather the people who went out to the workplace and tell Dong-Oh to gather everyone in the Kanghan Entertainment parking lot. If anyone tries to stop you, tell them I ordered it. Then most will turn around. Yeah, okay. And send a few support members to my house to take out the trash," Kang Eun-Gi said over the phone.

After hanging up, Kang Eun-Gi instructed the two people with him, "Soo-Chan, you stay here and guard until the support team arrives. Dong-Hyuk, you come with me."

Kang Eun-Gi was about to move toward the car with determined eyes.

At that moment, I stopped Kang Eun-Gi. "Hey, Kang Eun-Gi. Stop right there for a second."

Kang Eun-Gi frowned. "What? There's no time."

I handed over the protective gear and stab-proof vest I was wearing to Kang Eun-Gi. "Time or not, put this on first before you go."

"I'm fine without them," Kang Eun-Gi refused.

"Shut up and put it on quickly if you don't want me to kill you," I insisted.

Kang Eun-Gi clicked his tongue. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm the gangster or you are. I can't quite figure it out."

Kang Eun-Gi awkwardly smiled and quickly put on the gear I handed him. "I'm going now."

"Alright. You're dead to me if you get hurt even a little bit. Got it?" I warned him.

"Don't worry. I'm not that easy to take down."

"I'm not worried, you idiot."

Kang Eun-Gi started the car and rolled down the window before speaking to me. "And Yoon-Ho, if anything happens...please take care of Yeon-Sil and your nephew."

I shouted at Kang Eun-Gi, "Raise your own kid! Don't make them fatherless like us!"

Kang Eun-Gi smiled awkwardly once again, waved his hand, and finally left.

"Soo-Chan," I said.

"Yes, hyung-nim."

"Do you think Eun-Gi can take down that president?" I asked.

Lee Soo-Chan nodded his head firmly. "Don't worry. Our combat team is all on our side, so we won't lose the fight."

"You think that's something to be proud of, you punk?" I reprimanded him.

Lee Soo-Chan scratched his head.

"And don't take calls from Yeon-Sil until all this is over. I'll be with her instead, so call me as soon as it's done," I added.

"Okay, hyung-nim."

"And give me your number," I said, taking my phone out of my pocket.

When I handed him my phone, Lee Soo-Chan dialed his number. After leaving a call record, I reminded Lee Soo-Chan once more, "Take good care of Eun-Gi."

Lee Soo-Chan bent over at the waist. "You can leave it to me."

Not long after, the support team arrived and took care of the rest of the guys. To no one's surprise, there were lots of familiar faces.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"This is ridiculous. Were you all under Eun-Gi's care?" I remarked.

Kids from the Angel Orphanage and other nearby orphanages I knew glanced at me nervously.

"Yes, hyung-nim. Eun-Gi hyung-nim took us all in."

"

Sigh

. Go on. And you better wash your hands clean after today," I muttered.

At that moment, the support team members bowed deeply.

"Yes, hyung-nim!"

"I don't want to be called hyung-nim by gangsters. Call me hyung after you clean up," I responded.

The support team members nodded. "We'll greet you again later!"

The support team hurriedly loaded the fallen knifemen and Taechon gang thugs into the car and disappeared.

After everyone was gone, I took a deep breath and carefully opened my planner.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: July 17, 2020]

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

The entry was still in my planner.

'

Should I go after him and stop him?

' I wondered.

Most funerals were typically held on the morning of the third day after death. In other words, July 15th, today, was the day Kang Eun-Gi would die.

It was currently 9:30 p.m. on July 15th, and there were still two and a half hours left until the day ended.

I felt anxious because based on my past life memories, I only knew that Eun-Gi died late at night and not the exact time.

Words slipped out of my tongue without realizing it. "Eun-Gi, please don't die on me."

There was a time when I never wanted to see Kang Eun-Gi ever again because of my resentment toward him and my hatred for the gangster he became.

But now, I only wished for Kang Eun-Gi to stay alive—for my sister Yeon-Sil, for my mother who was waiting for him in the hospital, and for Sister Grace in Gwangju who was taking care of the kids.

Just like how I got a second chance through traveling back in time, I hoped Kang Eun-Gi would get a second chance too. Though he couldn't undo what he had done during his gangster days, I wished he could pay for his sins in a way other than death.

"

Sigh

."

I felt a cold chill as the sweat that soaked my body dried in the summer breeze.

"I need to calm Yeon-Sil first," I muttered to myself.

I was worried about Lee Yeon-Sil who must be panicking because she couldn't reach Kang Eun-Gi.

'

She's even pregnant. How scared she must be alone,

' I thought.

I looked around the surroundings cautiously and headed to Lee Yeon-Sil's house.

Ding dong.

When I rang the doorbell, I heard Lee Yeon-Sil's surprised voice.

-Yoon-Ho oppa? How did you get here?

I waved my hand and smiled looking at the intercom.

"I came to pick you up since it seemed like you and Eun-Gi wouldn't come."

-J-just give me a moment, oppa.

The front door opened with a buzzing sound.

I took a deep breath and walked into the house, determined not to be shaken no matter what happened.

***

Lee Yeon-Sil, my sister and also the woman I once loved, and now, the woman of another man and a mother to a child, stood before me.

But I smiled as if the past didn't matter.

"Hey, Yeon-Sil. Still as pretty as ever, huh?" I remarked.

Lee Yeon-Sil covered her face in a shy manner. "No, not at all. I didn't even put on makeup..."

"It's okay. You're pretty without makeup, so you don't need to cover up," I complimented her.

She didn't look much different from when we parted. But now, she was not the young Lee Yeon-Sil of those days. She had grown into an adult.

"Oppa..." Lee Yeon-Sil said in an emotional voice.

"Let's not talk about the past since it's all over. Let's talk about only good things from now on. Okay?" I said as I looked at her with a smile.

"

Sniff.

"

"You're crying again. What if the baby turns into a crybaby like you?"

When I mentioned the baby, Lee Yeon-Sil's teary face turned bright red. At the same time, Yeon-Sil instinctively placed her hand on her lower belly.

"S-sorry," Lee Yeon-Sil apologized.

"It's fine. But why couldn't you come to the hospital earlier?"

"My belly started to hurt a bit perhaps from the shock earlier, so I couldn't move. Oh, right. Sit here and wait until Eun-Gi oppa comes. I'll get you a drink," said Lee Yeon-Sil as she pointed to the sofa before hurrying to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I looked around Lee Yeon-Sil and Kang Eun-Gi's house. Though I heard they earned a lot of money, it seemed they spent it on supporting the orphanage so the house itself wasn't big.

But the place was filled with cute interior decorations, giving it a warm feeling.

‘

Yeon-Sil must have decorated it herself,

’ I observed silently.

Lee Yeon-Sil, who had brought back some drinks, sat next to me and spoke carefully. "But Eun-Gi oppa is later than I thought. He's not answering his phone either."

Lee Yeon-Sil looked at the clock in the living room.

I replied, "He’s probably stuck in traffic. It could also be that maybe his phone's battery died."

But my lips began to dry out despite my words as the planner’s entry still hadn’t disappeared yet.

To distract myself from thoughts about Kang Eun-Gi, I intentionally started talking about recent events.

At that moment, Lee Yeon-Sil asked, "But oppa, do you have someone you're seeing? There used to be so many girls who liked you."

"Me? No way. Who would like someone like me?" I asked.

When I smiled, Lee Yeon-Sil laughed in disbelief.

"You're doing it again, oppa. Stop smiling with your eyes like that. That's why girls flock to you."

Come to think of it, I remembered how female customers would give me drinks, chocolates, and lunch boxes when I worked at cafes or convenience stores.

Thanks to that, I was able to save a lot on food expenses.

"I thought they felt sorry for me because I looked so poor," I remarked.

"See? You're so oblivious that it drives girls crazy. I worry about who will take you away," Lee Yeon-Sil added.

As Lee Yeon-Sil’s nagging continued, it felt like we were back in the old days.

"

Oh

, poor Eun-Gi," I said teasingly.

Yeon-Sil glared at me. "What?"

"

Ah

, it's nothing."

Lee Yeon-Sil smiled when I shivered. "Well, Eun-Gi oppa does block his ears when I nag."

"Yeah, I admit it. Your nagging is quite intense."

"It's because you two always worry me a lot!" Lee Yeon-Sil defended herself.

I didn’t understand women's feelings because I never really had any particular interest in them. That was the reason Ju Yung-In had to push for our marriage which of course ended in a failed life.

The trembling in Lee Yeon-Sil's voice seemed to relax as we continued our conversation in a comfortable manner.

"Well, it's funny that someone like me nags a person who has it all together like you, oppa. Isn't it?" Lee Yeon-Sil asked.

Facing the past was hard at first, but it wasn’t as difficult after that.

Lee Yeon-Sil started telling me what happened after we parted. She had realized late that Kang Eun-Gi had played tricks to keep us apart, and she tried to break up with him. But Kang Eun-Gi begged, cried, and knelt. Since then, she had been keeping a tight rein on Kang Eun-Gi which was good.

"Anyway, Eun-Gi has always been soft on you. He used to just melt whenever he saw you..." I told her.

Lee Yeon-Sil smiled. "Oppa."

"Yeah?"

"We’ll keep seeing each other often, right? You're not trying to make peace with us because you’re dying of a serious illness, are you?" Lee Yeon-Sil asked, with a concerned look.

'

She must have watched too many dramas,'

I thought to myself.

I shook my head and answered her question "No. Eun-Gi came to our company recently. I thought we should make peace since then, but it took me a while to come here after hesitating so much."

"I see. I thought... you looked so different from before we parted that I wondered if there was another reason."

After traveling back in time, people's perceptions of me had changed drastically. Lee Yeon-Sil also said it was a relief to see my impression had softened.

Just like that, we spent time reminiscing about old times as if we had returned to our childhood.

But even those stories had their limits.

It was now 10 p.m. Lee Yeon-Sil started worrying about why Kang Eun-Gi hadn’t arrived home yet.

"Could it be that something happened to Eun-Gi oppa? He should have been here by now..." Lee Yeon-Sil said with a worried look.

Lee Yeon-Sil was aware that Kang Eun-Gi’s phone was broken. She kept calling Lee Soo-Chan for this reason, but he didn’t answer her calls just as I had instructed.

At that moment, a call from Lee Soo-Chan came to my phone.

"Yeon-Sil, give me a moment," I said.

"Who is it? Is it Eun-Gi oppa?" Lee Yeon-Sil asked anxiously.

"No, it's a call from work. I have to take this."

I got up quickly and distanced myself from Lee Yeon-Sil.

"Hello?"

-Hi, hyung-nim. It's me, Soo-Chan.

Lee Soo-Chan struggled to speak as he was trying to catch his breath.

"Yes. Go ahead."

-We sorted out everything just now.

"Really?"

-Yes.

"Hold on. Don't hang up yet."

I covered the phone's speaker to keep any sound from leaking out.

"Yeon-Sil, I suddenly have a stomach ache. Where’s the bathroom?"

Lee Yeon-Sil pointed to one side. "Ah, it's over there."

"Okay, thanks."

I checked my planner as I headed to the bathroom. However, the entry still hadn't disappeared.

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: July 17, 2020]

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

'

Could there still be a threat left?

' I thought hard.

My steps quickened toward the bathroom. As soon as I closed the bathroom door, I urgently gave instructions.

"Surround Eun-Gi right now and protect him. If not, Eun-Gi will die!" I said in an urgent voice.

-I'm sorry?

"There's still someone targeting Eun-Gi! From now until midnight, don't let anyone near Eun-Gi. If you don't listen to me and something happens, you're all dead to me! And if Eun-Gi refuses, tell him I ordered it," I explained hastily.

-Yes, okay, hyung-nim. I'll tell Eun-Gi hyung-nim that right away.

At that moment, the call ended abruptly.

My heart pounded, not knowing what was happening around Kang Eun-Gi. But I had to stay calm because Lee Yeon-Sil must not know about this until it was over.

'

It'll be okay. Everything will be okay,

' I tried to comfort myself.

I desperately wished for the entry to disappear.

But as my time in the bathroom lengthened, Lee Yeon-Sil knocked on the door and asked, "Oppa... do you have constipation or something?"

That's when I began to make a strained sound without realizing it.

"Oh

...yes.

Ugh

."

At the same time, intense anger toward Kang Eun-Gi surged.

'

Kang Eun-Gi. You gave me constipation that I never had. When you come back, you're dead to me. Just make sure to come back alive so I can beat you up,

' I thought to myself.

I desperately suppressed my tension while earnestly praying.

After a minute, the entry that seemed impossible to go away was finally disappearing.

'

It's done!

'

[Everyday V10.1]

[Date: July 17, 2020]

-08:00 a.m.

(Deleted Schedule: Gangbuk Samsung Hospital. Kang Eun-Gi's funeral.)

A sigh of relief escaped me.

At the same time, a call from Eun-Gi came in.

-H-hey! Jung Yoon-Ho, you, you... what...how...

Kang Eun-Gi's voice trembled with shock.