Max-Level Son of a Chaebol Family - Chapter 28

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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28. Father and Son

I stood in front of the living room glass window and looked outside.

Heavy snow was still falling steadily.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the backs of Mother and Father sitting side by side on the garden bench.

Heavy snowflakes gently scattered over my parents’ heads.

It looked like a painting.

‘They must be cold.’

I wanted to bring them a scarf to wrap around them.

I wanted to bring them a shawl to cover them with.

But I couldn’t bring myself to run into that beautiful picture.

‘They haven’t been able to meet for so long, they must have so much to talk about.’

My parents needed time to share the stories they hadn’t been able to tell.

I watched Mother’s laughter and Father’s gaze through the glass window.

Just looking at them was beautiful.

They were beautiful lovers.

‘Mother really loves Father.’

I had guessed Mother’s feelings from how she treasured the watch Father left behind.

But seeing Mother make such an excited expression in front of Father, I could really feel that love.

Mother would smile gracefully but rarely laugh out loud.

But in front of Father, she burst into laughter like a fully bloomed rose.

As if she was happy like she owned the whole world.

‘It seems our Father is the same way.’

And what about Father looking at Mother?

The man who rarely smiled couldn’t take his eyes off Mother.

Completely unlike his cold, hard, taciturn, and heavy atmosphere.

Father gazed intently at Mother with eyes dripping with honey.

As if only one person existed in the world, so passionately.

‘They’re a well-matched pair.’

I felt pleased.

Just watching from afar was wonderful.

‘Mother was twenty-seven or twenty-eight this year, wasn’t she? She gave birth to me during the most beautiful time of her life.’

A young woman giving birth to me and raising me all alone.

How much hardship must she have endured.

Mother dedicated her twenties, the most beautiful age of her life, for my sake.

That’s why I was grateful, and that’s why I felt sorry.

Mother, who left me with so many beautiful and warm memories until the day I died.

For 45 years, I had hoped to meet Mother again, even if only in dreams.

I had hoped for Mother’s happiness.

‘Come to think of it, how old is Father?’

Now that I think about it, I don’t know anything about Father.

What I know is Father’s three-character name and that he was the youngest son of the Taeseong Group chairman.

Also that he was scheduled to take over Taeseong Construction but died young in a plane crash.

As soon as I realized this anew, something welled up somewhere in my chest.

‘That person was my father.’

He was a man who looked impressive even from behind.

Tall and handsome, from a good family, and seemed intelligent too.

From his walking gait to his posture.

There was nothing to criticize.

I could sense the refined dignity and commanding presence of someone properly educated and raised upright.

‘No wonder Mother couldn’t forget him.’

I gazed down at Father’s Watch.

‘I wonder if he’d be happy if I returned this to Father. Telling him it’s Father’s Property that Mother cherished so dearly…’

That’s why I had quietly taken it from the Master Bedroom.

But I shook my head.

‘Even when the time comes to return it, it should be Mother who returns it to him, not me. That would be right.’

I gazed down at the Watch.

‘Come to think of it, I came all this way trusting only this Watch.’

Just a poor seven-year-old child.

What I trusted as my last resort was ultimately this Father’s Watch.

To save Mother’s life.

I had considered giving this to Jae-ho’s Father to borrow his truck and go to the Hospital.

When I wanted to finish the oxygen treatment early, I had thought about offering this watch as a bribe to persuade the Doctor.

I had taken this watch to the Pawn Shop to use as collateral to buy this house.

When Mother said she would do dishwashing work in the Kitchen, I had also considered exchanging this watch for living expenses.

‘I’m glad I didn’t sell it.’

I know that in reality, this is just an object.

But this watch contained not only Father and Mother’s memories, but also Mother’s heart completely intact.

‘How beautiful. Our parents.’

I kept wiping the window glass that was becoming blurry from steam with my palm.

“Hey, kid. Don’t act all pitiful here and just go ask them to let you join in. You’re family, aren’t you.”

“It’s fine.”

Instead of running to the Garden to leave clear footprints in the white snow, I chose to watch them from inside the blurry window while wiping away the steam.

Uncle Cheol-gu stood beside me in front of the Living Room window and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Didn’t you miss Father?”

“I missed him.”

“Then run over and suddenly hug him tight.”

“How could I do that.”

I smiled bitterly.

“I’ve been imagining our Father thinking he was somewhere out there. But maybe our Father didn’t even know I existed.”

Otherwise, when I became an orphan at seven years old in the past, there’s no way not a single person would have come looking for me.

“But if a child he’s never seen before suddenly runs up saying ‘Father, I missed you!’ how burdensome would that be.”

I caressed Father beyond the window with my fingertips.

The cold air of midwinter and the moisture from the steam came through.

“You think too much for a little kid.”

Uncle Cheol-gu roughly tousled my hair.

“A seven-year-old kid can ignore adult circumstances. That’s a child’s privilege.”

Uncle Cheol-gu held out a lollipop to me.

“Want some?”

For some reason, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

This man who drinks his coffee black and grimaced when I put chocolate in his mouth.

Why would he buy something as unsuitable as a lollipop?

I took the candy and bit into it with a grin.

“I’m a man who doesn’t refuse kindness.”

“If you’re a man, go straight ahead. Just charge in and give him a big hug – that’s all it takes!”

I pretended not to understand and sucked on the lollipop.

“So what if Father is a bit flustered? You’re his son anyway. Right? Are you planning to just watch from afar like this for the rest of your life?”

Just then, my parents who had been sitting side by side on the garden bench stood up.

They walked toward us together.

Step by step.

The closer they got to the front door, the faster my heart began to pound.

Click.

The front door opened.

“Please come in, Senior Agent.”

“Then I won’t refuse.”

Father stepped inside with confident strides.

The moment our eyes met, Father smiled warmly.

“Cha Jeong-hyeok.”

In that instant, it felt like my wildly beating heart dropped.

It was the first time Father had called my name.

A dizzying feeling as if only Father and I remained in the world.

I couldn’t move, like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web.

Father knelt on one knee and matched my eye level.

“My name is Cha Seong-jun.”

I couldn’t think of anything.

Uncle Cheol-gu’s words, all the worries I’d had, and the encouragement from the Taeseong Group Security Guards.

Like pure white snowflakes, my mind went completely blank and nothing came to mind.

“I don’t know if you heard from your mother, but I am your······.”

“Father!”

I was running toward Father with both arms spread wide.

“Yes.”

Father opened both his arms.

I threw myself into his embrace.

I hugged Father’s neck tightly.

“Father, I missed you!”

“Yes.”

The heavy, sophisticated, and luxurious scent of Men’s Cologne hit me.

As if that was our Father’s scent.

I buried my face in Father’s neck, breathing it in deeply.

“I missed you too.”

Father also embraced me and laughed softly.

It was a pleasant laugh.

I wanted to smile prettily for Father like that too.

But for some reason, tears welled up first.

“Father, Father······!”

From the day I opened my eyes in this world until the moment I closed them.

No, even in the Underworld, whenever I met Father, I always wanted to tell him this.

“I am Father’s son. I’m Cha Jeong-hyeok.”

Actually, there were so many things I wanted to ask Father when I met him.

Who he was, how he came to know of my existence, why he left Mother and Child like that.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask and so much resentment I should have expressed.

But at this moment, not a single one of those things came to mind.

“I love you.”

The words I had promised myself I would definitely say if Father ever came to find me.

Words I had never once spoken aloud, only vaguely imagining in my heart.

Words I believed I could never say because it was awkward meeting Father for the first time, unlike with Mother.

Words that had remained like a lifelong resentment in my chest, but once I finally spoke them aloud.

Tears welled up without me realizing it.

“Father, I love you.”

Sobbing and choking up isn’t my style.

“My son······.”

I simply loved Father’s heavy and warm embrace.

“Jeong-hyeok.”

I simply loved hearing Father call my name.

“Thank you.”

I cried in Father’s arms, sobbing loudly.

Damn this child’s body.

* * *

Throughout the meal, laughter never ceased at the dining table.

Mother poured water for Father and asked.

“Does the food suit your taste?”

“Yes.”

“What tastes the best?”

“Everything.”

Fortunately, Landlady Grandmother made this morning’s meal.

Landlady Grandmother’s cooking skills were famous enough to be considered the best in Guro-dong Shantytown.

If she had opened a restaurant, it probably would have been a huge success or something.

‘This is a first in my life. Eating with both Father and Mother.’

Father was a man of few words.

In contrast, Mother was extremely excited, chattering about this and that.

‘I think this is also the first time I’ve seen our Mother talking so excitedly.’

Mother was barely eating, having turned her body completely toward Father.

Father nodded and quietly listened to Mother’s stories.

Just like he always had from the beginning until now.

Like lovers reuniting after 7 hours rather than 7 years.

They looked wonderful, like people who had never stopped loving each other for even a single moment during those 7 years.

“Do you like galbi, Jeong-hyeok?”

“Yes.”

Father placed galbi on top of my rice bowl.

I smiled brightly and gratefully accepted Father’s kindness.

“It’s delicious.”

“I wonder if you dislike japchae?”

“No. I like everything. I’m not picky.”

“What a good boy.”

Father carefully selected only the side dishes that a child would like and placed various things on my spoon.

Watching this, Mother smiled warmly.

“Jeong-hyeok usually has a small appetite, but he’s eating really well today.”

Mother, I don’t have a small appetite – I just couldn’t eat your cooking well.

“Jeong-hyeok, shall we build a snowman together after we finish eating?”

“A snowman? I’d love to!”

I answered excitedly right away.

It felt like a dream.

I wanted to finish eating quickly and play together outside.

I would hold Father’s and Mother’s hands and leave clear footprints on the pure white snow that had fallen in the garden.

Ding dong! Ding dong ding dong!

It was the doorbell.

The quick-witted Taeseong Group Bodyguard, self-proclaimed Number Two, ran over and whispered quietly in my ear.

“Secretary Kim has brought the bribe.”

This quickly?

He said it would take 3 days to prepare the bribe.

The bribe I had demanded back then consisted of four things.

Apologizing to Mother for his rudeness, permitting the marriage, bringing Father here, and obtaining 100 million won worth of Taeseong Stocks.

“Chairman Cha has arrived as well.”

I realized why the bribe preparation, which had seemed impossible, was proceeding so smoothly.

As soon as those words ended, the front door burst open.

“Jeong-hyeok, Grandpa’s here!”

A booming but clearly affectionate voice.

It was Chairman Cha.

“Father?”

Father looked extremely bewildered as he shot up from his seat.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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