Chapter 203: 203

“What about Seoul?” Su-hyeun asked Kim Dae-ho . “Why do you ask?”

“Just cause . Just answer me . ”

Kim Dae-ho pressed for an answer and Su-hyeun hesitated a little bit . It was a different question than his past life . He didn’t expect Kim Dae-ho to ask about Seoul .

“Well…Seoul is a great place to live,” Su-hyeun said .

“In what way?”

“Lots of people, lots of convenience facilities . The transportation system is well established, so it’s easy to get places . Families with kids prefer Seoul because of its better education system . Most of all, again, there are a lot of people . ”

“Lots of people? Hmm…”

“But they’re all meaningless to you . You hate crowds . The only convenient facility you need is a supermarket . Also, you don’t usually move around a lot, so you don’t need good transportation . ”

“Yea, that’s right . ”

“One good thing is, you could easily get all the materials you need for your workshop . Since Seoul is the most active place for trading and auctioning items and Ether stones in Korea . ”

“Oh, yea?”

Kim Dae-ho’s face brightened a little bit . He liked that, at least .

Su-hyeun asked quietly, “Are you thinking about coming to Seoul?”

“Yes . I’m thinking about it . ”

“Why? Is it uncomfortable to live here?”

“No . ” Kim Dae-ho shook his head . “This is the best place for me . ”

“Is there a particular reason you insist on this place?”

Su-hyeun already knew the reason, but he asked anyway . He knew Kim Dae-ho would tell his next story after he finished talking about the reason he lived there .

“I’m too old to hold onto things . It’s all because of memories . ”

Kim Dae-ho got up from his seat . He walked toward a drawer on one side of the room . He opened the third one from the top and took out a picture frame .

“I was a man who only liked fire and metals . I didn’t deserve her . ”

Kim Dae-ho looked at the two people in the picture . They were a young Kim Dae-ho, looking uncomfortable, and a younger woman riding on his back .

“But she told me I looked awesome when I worked with a hammer . I told her I like living in the middle of nowhere, like here, and she said then she liked it here, too . ”

“Did you have a family?”

“No . We weren’t together long, anyway . We lived together for about three years . At that time, I was even crazier about working . My wife didn’t get a baby and passed away . ” Kim Dae-ho wiped the dirt off the picture frame with his sleeve . “And this is the only picture I have: just this one black and white photo . I regret not taking more pictures with her . And I even didn’t look at this picture often . ”

“Why?”

“What’s the use? It won’t bring her back . Thinking back to that time still makes me…I’m not sure how to feel . ”

Kim Dae-ho rubbed the glass part of the frame . No tears came out . Everything had happened too long ago to shed tears again now . That was fortunate at least, Kim Dae-ho thought .

“So, I couldn’t leave here . I never went to Seoul . Everyone goes to Seoul . I turned my back on the world and lived only for her . It’s been 20 years since she passed . ”

“You’re a romantic . ”

“Romantic? No . It’s just a lingering affection and stubbornness . ”

“Are you better now?”

“You know the saying, ‘Time heals all wounds . ’ I don’t know who said that, but I think whoever it was was an idiot . I thought time would help me, too . But longing was like drops of water . The water kept pouring in but not evaporating . So, I just had to work harder, like a crazy person . ”

“Then, why now?”

“Because I’m ashamed . ” Kim Dae-ho put the picture back in the drawer and looked at Su-hyeun . “When I look at you, I feel ashamed, and I can’t stand it . ”

“Me?”

“Yea . Although I live in the middle of these mountains, I still have ears, man . Whenever I turn the TV on, people talk about you all the time . When I see you, I feel ashamed and embarrassed . ”

“There’s no reason to be ashamed . It is your life, and you live like this because you want to . It’s not like you committed a crime or anything . ”

“I didn’t say I feel ashamed because of you, man,” Kim Dae-ho retorted and looked back at the drawer . Soon, he sat back opposite Su-hyeun, looking calmer .

“Anyway, I grumbled at my sad plight for twenty years, and I thought it was time to stop . That way, I will be less ashamed . ”

“Are you saying—”

“I want to live like you . I’ll no longer turn my back on the world . I’ll stand tall . And I’ll stop hiding my children behind my back and show them to the world . ”

“Have you made up your mind, then?”

“Yes . ”

At Kim Dae-ho’s answer, Su-hyeun got up from his seat .

“I’ll find you a house then . Just pack your stuff . I’ll find a nicer workshop than here, too . ”

“Hey . I have money, too . Why do you treat me like a beggar?”

“Houses in Seoul aren’t cheap . And I have been getting equipment from you for so long, the least I can do is pay you back in this way . ”

“What do you mean? You gave me more stuff . Thanks to you, I enjoyed all the best materials and even made my dream hammer . ”

“Then, that’s better . I’m happy for you, and you are happy for me . Win-win, isn’t it?”

Kim Dae-ho laughed a little bit at Su-hyeun’s easy words .

“Wow . Did you put honey on your mouth?”

“Then, you agree with me, right?”

“Okay, okay . ” Kim Dae-ho slammed the table in front of him and said, “Let’s go, Seoul!”

Act 3

Su-hyeun went back to Seoul immediately . At first, he went to Gangnam District . Gangnam was the area where the most Ether stone auction houses were . Also, it had the highest floating population in Korea . So, Su-hyeun thought it would be good to find a house in Gangnam for Kim Dae-ho to get materials for his workshop .

Su-hyeun headed to a real estate office near Yeokgok Station . He wore a mask to hide his face and went into the realty building . The realtor was already talking with a customer .

“Hello, sir . Could you wait for a minute, please?”

The realtor, with a big smile, pointed to an empty chair for Su-hyeun . Su-hyeun nodded, looking at the properties that hung on the wall . He checked the size, location, and year of completion . There were many pretty good houses .

Su-hyeun Kim Dae-ho’s tastes well . Su-hyeun wrote down a checklist on a notepad he brought . Soon, the realtor sent off the customer and came to Su-hyeun .

“Sorry to make you wait . ”

“That’s okay . ”

At Su-hyeun’s response, the realtor hesitated a little bit . He made a curious face but soon smiled again .

The realtor asked, “Do you have a house you’ve thought about or a sale you’ve been looking for?”

“I’m looking for a large single-family house . It would be good if there’s a yard, also somewhere with convenient transportation . ”

“A single-family house?”

The realtor opened his eyes big with a surprise at the unexpected request . He thought Su-hyeun would look for a studio or small apartment . He thought for a moment and got up .

“Please, hang on . ”

After searching for properties on a laptop for a while, he brought the laptop over to Su-hyeun .

He said, “There aren’t many single-family homes in Gangnam . Few houses for sale in this Nonhyeon-dong area . ”

“Please show me the biggest one . ”

“This one, then . It’s a single-family house that used to be a restaurant . The yard is wide, and the location is good, too . Very quiet . ”

Click—

He showed a picture of the large house . It seemed pretty large at a glance .

“It was a bad place for the restaurant because there isn’t a large floating population . But there is a subway station within walking distance . There’s a highway close, too, so it’s not a bad place to reach by car as well . ”

“How much is it?” Su-hyeun asked .

“It is 7 . 5 billion . It’s quite expensive since the yard is large—”

“I’ll take this one if it’s the biggest . The location seems good . Also, do you know any property for sale used as a workshop? If there is one, I would like to buy it as it is . ”

Su-hyeun was planning to spend some of the money that he had earned on this occasion .

Anyway, money didn’t mean much to Su-hyeun . To him, it didn’t matter if he had money or not . Also, there was still a lot of chances to make money if he needed it .

“I-I don’t deal with workshops, but I can ask around for you . ”

“Then, please . ”

“Okay . For the house, I’ll call the owner right now . How much can you put down for the mortgage?”

“I won’t use a mortgage . ”

“Okay, sir . Then, give me a minute, please . ”

The realtor rushed away to make the call . Immediately, he called the landlord and began to prepare the sale . Su-hyeun sat down for a moment and waited for the realtor . About that time, he could feel a vibration in his pocket .

Bvvvrrrr, bvvrrrr—

“Oh, one sec . ”

Su-hyeun quickly checked his phone . There was a message .

It was a sudden contact . He checked the message and frowned slightly .

He muttered in a small voice, “Geneva?”

***

In the middle of Gangnam Street . Among a crowd of people, there was a crude-looking, middle-aged man in old, worn-out clothes . It was Kim Dae-ho . He arrived at Gangnam Street with Lee Ju-ho . He had a picture in his hand .

“Honey . How is the air in Seoul?”

He talked to the picture for the first time . Of course, there was no answer, but Kim Dae-ho went on muttering, “I don’t like it so much . It’s stuffy and not fresh . I hate crowded places, but I’m sure you will like it here . ”

Although he said he didn’t like it, a smile hung on his face .

“People say this is the best neighborhood in Seoul . You know the old saying, ‘Follow a friend to Gangnam . ’ I have no idea why people would follow a friend to this noisy town, but apparently, it was a thing . So, how is it? Are you satisfied? Do you want to look around more?”

Kim Dae-ho spoke with a loud voice while looking at the picture, but soon his voice became thick with emotion .

“I’m sorry . Sorry to be late . You asked me to go to Seoul with you, once, just once . I am late by twenty years . ”

Twenty years . It was a long time . Lee Ju-ho, who came with Kim Dae-ho, stepped aside at his muttering . He thought he should give Kim Dae-ho a moment alone .

“I did it because I was scared . If I came here, I would think about you, and that would tear my heart apart . So, I’ve been hiding all the time . But…” Kim Dae-ho hung down his arms with the picture . “But I won’t hide anymore . ”

He looked around at Seoul . Everyone was rushing around . Kim Dae-ho went on, as he looking at them, “Everyone here lives busily . People young enough to be my grandchildren live busier and fiercer than me . The man I got to know recently keep reminding me of that . ”

Kim Dae-ho thought about Su-hyeun . He thought about when he saw him on the TV and what Su-hyeun had been doing . He lived really busy and fiercely, and that made Kim Dae-ho feel ashamed .

“I’m sorry, honey . ”

And Su-hyeun lit up the fire in Kim Dae-ho’s heart that had been dead for so long .

“I’ll let you go now . Good-bye . ”

Kim Dae-ho had a smile playing about his lips . He had expected Seoul would make him sad, but now he felt glad .