VDN Ch 37
by STAR“Did you really plan to study abroad?”
Nam-woon looked at Seo-oh with a flustered expression and then half-heartedly replied,
“Uh, yes.”
There was a time when Seok Nam-woon wanted to go going to study abroad. It made sense. With his grades at the bottom, there was no chance he could get into a good university in our country.
However, Chairman Seok never invested in something that was doomed from the start. Sending him abroad for study would only mean spending money recklessly and possibly interfering with the business. That’s how Nam-woon’s study abroad plans were frustrated.
Young Seo-oh felt a great disappointment. If only he could go abroad, he and his father would be much more comfortable than now.
Seo-oh gazed at Nam-woon’s face, illuminated by the faint light of the laptop. He had a puzzled look about him. He was handsome, but not what you’d call cute. Seo-oh’s eyes have been strange these days. He seemed cute to him.
Suddenly, Seo-oh thought that if Seok Nam-woon had gone abroad, they wouldn’t be facing each other under the same roof like this. With a strange feeling, Seo-oh quietly asked,
“Do you still want to go? To study abroad?”
“No, I mean, I can’t go.”
“What if you could? Would you go?”
“No, I just can’t go.”
“But if you could?”
“Even if I could, I wouldn’t go.”
Their argument went on for a bit. Like a machine stuck in a loop, Nam-woon kept repeating that he couldn’t go, but after Seo-oh’s persistent questioning, he pondered and answered,
“If I had the money… and if my English was good… maybe I would want to go. It seems like it would be fun to go abroad.”
At that answer, Seo-oh suddenly felt down. Nam-woon asked,
“Don’t you want to study abroad?”
Of course, I wanted to go. Before. But living overseas was a dream itself… and now there was one more person he cared about.
“If you go.”
“You’re saying you’ll go if I do?”
Nam-woon chuckled. You really don’t like losing to your Hyung, do you? he added.
“Think about it seriously later. Isn’t there a system for that?”
“……”
When Seo-oh didn’t answer, Nam-woon soon said “Ah” and made a vague face. It seemed he was considering Seo-oh’s current situation.
“What do you think would happen if I went to study abroad?”
“What do you mean?”
“…Just. How would you feel?”
After a moment of thought, Nam-woon spoke in a light tone.
“Well, wouldn’t it feel good?”
Seo-oh bit his lip at Nam-woon’s words. Would he finally feel good about me disappearing from his sight? Because he could gain all of Chairman Seok’s trust? Because he could get rid of me, the thorn in his eye? Whether he knew Seo-oh’s feelings or not, Nam-woon added with a grin,
“You’re smart, so you’d do well if you studied abroad. Studying abroad is good, but let’s go to sleep now. You have to go to school early tomorrow.”
Nam-woon got up from beside Seo-oh and slipped into the blanket. A little later, Seo-oh turned off the stand light and lay down next to Se-han. The space was spacious when it was just Se-han and him, but with Nam-woon back, the blanket was filled again. He was pleased with that.
Turning over, Seo-oh looked at Se-han once and then scanned Nam-woon’s profile with his eyes. I wish he would feel anxious if I wasn’t here. Seo-oh closed his eyes, thinking about his conversation with Nam-woon.
***
The next day, after a long sleep, Nam-woon withdrew about seven hundred thousand won in cash on his way to the office. It was for Seo-oh. These days, the rent in expensive parts of Seoul are about sixty or seventy, even some are a hundred. Nam-woon also eats at Seo-oh’s place. He should give more later.
He put the money in an envelope and stopped by the office. As he sat guarding his spot, Yong-deuk handed him a notebook.
“What’s this?”
“I was going to get approval first, but last time you told me to just use it and show the receipt later.”
Nam-woon flipped through the notebook quickly. 24-hour Grandma’s Sundae Shop, Bone Flavorful Gamjatang, SX Convenience Store, SX Convenience Store, SX Convenience Store—more than 50% were convenience stores.
“Why are there so many convenience stores?”
“Ah, it’s for the kids’ snacks… No, for office snacks.”
“Is that so?”
As Nam-woon closed the notebook, he sharply scanned the cigarette pack on the table in front of the sofa where Deokchil and Jang-mi were sitting. Nam-woon silently handed the notebook back to Yong-deuk, who looked puzzled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Where’s the money?”
“What money?”
“I paid for this with my own money. The young master said he would pay me back later.”
Gasping, Nam-woon snatched the notebook back from Yong-deuk and urgently checked the total amount. 602,500 won. Oh no. I’ve lost all my money. Nam-woon took money out of the envelope with trembling hands.
“From now on, our office is a no-smoking zone.”
“What?”
“What?!”
Deok-chil and Jang-mi turned to Nam-woon with expressions as if the world had collapsed. But Nam-woon firmly declared that the office would be a no-smoking zone and after giving a ten-minute lecture on the dangers of smoking, he crumpled the now-thin envelope into his pocket and left the office.
Worried that Se-han might be waiting, he returned home early, only to find Seo-oh absent. Se-han, who had skipped Taekwondo class again without his brother’s knowledge, begged Nam-woon to buy him ice cream.
When they arrived in front of Namnam Supermarket, Se-han stuck close to an old-fashioned claw machine, observing it intently. Then he suddenly shouted,
“Oh, Oh!”
“What is it?”
Nam-woon also stuck close to the claw machine. Se-han pointed his finger at a stuffed animal inside.
“There!”
It was a doll that looked like the stuffed dog attached to Se-han’s bag, but it was a different color. Se-han’s was white and the one in the machine was yellow.
“That’s Bulk-kong!”
Se-han’s eyes sparkled as he stood in front of the claw machine, he didn’t think of moving his eyes away from the doll. Nam-woon took out a white envelope from his pocket.
“Shall we give it a try?”
“Just a little more!”
“Oh no!”
Se-han cried out. It was already the eleventh attempt, and they had wasted 5,500 won in just a few minutes. Se-han let go of the control keys and looked up at Nam-woon.
“Let’s go, Hyung.”
“No.”
Nam-woon couldn’t just walk away after seeing Se-han’s face. He took another bill out of the envelope. He was glad that he had cash today.
“Let me try again.”
“Oh, no!”
He failed again. Nam-woon rummaged through his pockets. When did he spend all the money? He naturally grabbed the envelope again. Then Se-han stopped him.
“Hyung, I think we should stop now.”
“Kwon Se-han. You shouldn’t give up that easily.”
“But we already spent a lot of money.”
“I think we can get it with just a little more.”
Nam-woon, whose eyes were bloodshot red and bulging like those of a gambling addict and fiddled with a coin in his hand. Click. His hands had become skilled after at least thirty attempts and he moved quickly.
After a few minutes, the lifeless claw finally grabbed the toy with a pop. Se-han, standing beside him, raised his voice in excitement. Nam-woon’s mouth was dry, and he licked his lips. However, the toy didn’t fall into the exit but got stuck on a small barrier that separated the exit from the rest of the toys.
“Oh, what do we do now?”
After several attempts, it seemed they had finally succeeded. Se-han, checking the position of the toy, began to cry. Nam-woon looked at the child with a determined expression.
“Se-han, go see what Grandpa Namnam is doing.”
With innocent eyes, Se-han looked up at Nam-woon and then ran to the supermarket to peer through the clear window. Returning quickly, Se-han said,
“Grandpa Namnam is sleeping.”
Indeed, a drama was playing on the small TV, and Grandpa Namnam, propped up by his arm, hadn’t moved for several minutes. Nam-woon crouched down and grabbed both ends of the claw machine. Se-han’s eyes widened at this strange posture.
“What are you doing, Hyung?”
Ignoring Se-han’s anxious look, Nam-woon put all his strength into his arms and shook the machine like crazy. Bang, clank, clatter, thud! The loud noise seemed to shake the ground. It felt like any moment now, Grandpa Namnam would wake up with fire in his eyes and run out of the store. Startled, Se-han cried out,
“Hyung, stop it!”
Bang, clank, thud, thud, thud!
“Stop it now!”
As Se-han grabbed Nam-woon’s forearm, there was a soft pop, and the toy fell into the exit.
“….!”
Nam-woon and Se-han locked eyes. They did it! Se-han, with a bright smile, ran to the claw machine exit, reached in, and pulled out the toy.
“What the hell are you doing!”
Nam-woon and Se-han turned pale. Grandpa Namnam, with a terrifying face, walked over and shouted,
“Are you crazy? Why are you shaking this? I thought it was breaking down often but it’s because you shake it like this that it keeps breaking!”
“This is the first time.”
Nam-woon replied calmly. Grandpa Namnam raised his voice,
“What are you talking back for?!”
“I’m sorry…”
Se-han whimpered.
The more mature Se-han apologized first to Grandpa Namnam, with tears welling up in his eyes. Then Grandpa Namnam pointed and yelled,
“Why are you apologizing? What did you do wrong? It’s that guy, that guy is the problem!”
Grandpa Namnam glared at Nam-woon and walked over, smacking him on the back.
“Are you eating your age through your butt, huh? Aren’t you ashamed of having a young kid watching?!”
Nam-woon cried out in response, “Ah! Ah! It hurts!” Se-han, with tears welling up in his eyes, tried to stop Grandpa Nam-nam, saying, “I’m sorry, Grandpa…”Se-han tried to stop his grandfather. Breathing heavily, Grandpa Nam-nam warned them with the words they feared most,
“If I see you shaking this one more time, I’ll tell Kwon Seo-oh everything!”
“Who will you tell?”
The three of them turned their gazes toward one man. It was Kwon Seo-oh.