It wasn’t the first time in his life that Gil Taeseo had been away from home. Naturally, he was a busy man. It was just easy to overlook that fact since he kept clinging and calling so persistently.
‘I’ll probably be away for about three days. Don’t even think about doing anything stupid.’
But the Gil Taeseo from before had definitely given him notice every single time. In fact, even without that notice, he could roughly predict it.
As if to make up for being away, the man would act particularly tenacious every time.
Naturally, these conversations would take place while dealing with the aftermath of the previous night. There was something infuriating about those times too. Specifically, the difference in their conditions.
‘Why are you telling me that? If you’re going, you go; if you’re coming back, you come back. Who are you teasing right now?’
Saehyeon would typically be stuck lying in bed without being able to move. It was an unavoidable situation thanks to his back creaking like it had been smashed to pieces—no exaggeration—and his completely loosened legs.
Stuck to the bed like a slime in that humiliating position, he would grind his teeth while looking at Gil Taeseo, who, unlike himself, appeared pristine as if nothing had happened.
And was he merely pristine? As if he’d shaken off a lingering hangover, like a well-fed beast. Gil Taeseo’s face would shine even more radiantly than usual.
The early morning sunlight seeping in from outside the window would hit his face, breaking and scattering like fragments of glass.
‘In case someone somewhere who’s been counting the days waiting for me develops an anger illness.’
Those fragments would faintly pool in the corners of his slightly upturned lips.
Of course, there were unavoidable cases. Human affairs don’t always go as expected. Urgent matters could suddenly arise, couldn’t they?
‘The Director has had something urgent come up, so he’ll be away for a few days.’
In those cases, news of his absence would be brought by his subordinates below. They were like carrier pigeons delivering war reports, no different.
Thanks to the big guys led by Yoon Changwook, who acted as dedicated carrier pigeons, Saehyeon could naturally know the enemy’s position even without any mention from the man himself.
Without particularly trying, without intending to, just naturally.
‘They kept pushing it on me even when I said I wasn’t interested.’
Thinking about it carefully, people were truly cunning. He’d been annoyed when forcibly having his arm shoved into the sleeve, but now that they were taking it back from his pocket, it wasn’t particularly pleasant either. Did one develop an attachment even to things forcibly given?
What came next went without saying. When he’d try to enjoy the benefits of this nice house with peace of mind upon news of the enemy’s outing, the man would return like a ghost. Sometimes he’d come back much faster than he’d indicated. Anyone watching would think he’d hidden a honey pot at home or something.
Considering that track record, not coming and not even sending word… this was definitely a strange situation. It wasn’t that Saehyeon himself was being oversensitive.
“Daddy, we do brushie-brushie?”
At the clear voice resonating cheerfully, Saehyeon snapped back to attention. Taesol, whose side hair was slightly wet from finishing washing his face, was looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Oh, yeah, we need to brush our teeth. Thoroughly up and down, not too hard, like this….”
Saehyeon lowered his head while awkwardly curling up the corners of his mouth. Even looking in the mirror, it was truly an awkward, bizarre smile.
Whether it was because he rarely had reason to smile, or because of the stubborn set of his mouth inherited from his father, he didn’t know.
Despite such an expression, the child smiled brightly at him, and Saehyeon went through his daily routine as usual. Eating meals, playing around, attending home tutoring together. Of course, he wasn’t the one learning—he just listened from a slight distance.
“Please have some pear.”
“…Yes.”
Saehyeon, who had been sitting at the table glancing sideways toward the sofa, flinched and trembled. It was clearly the appearance of someone being reserved and uncomfortable, but the housekeeper didn’t become uncomfortable in turn or ask why. She simply peeled fruit warmly.
Neatly peeled white flesh piled up in layers on the plate. When he stabbed a piece with a fork, put it in his mouth, and chewed, sweet juice oozed out after a texture that crumbled like sorbet. It was a feeling Saehyeon particularly liked.
Even while slowly chewing what was in his mouth, his gaze remained fixed on Taesol.
Before the sofa that had been sitting empty, a fluffy rug had been laid down at some point. The child leaned over a folding table spread in front of it, scribbling something diligently.
“He’s truly mature and kind.”
“Cough, what?”
At the voice that suddenly came in, Saehyeon gulped down the piece he’d been chewing and coughed a few times. Fortunately, he’d already chewed it a lot, so he could avoid the Heimlich maneuver.
Only after answering several times that he was fine to her startled inquiries while covering his mouth did the conversation finally resume.
“Who said… what?”
Saehyeon asked cautiously while rolling his eyes. Dealing with burly men was an incredible ordeal, but women weren’t exactly easy either.
Especially the condition of being a middle-aged woman was a magical combination that made Saehyeon endlessly fumble. It was the result of an age that reminded him of his mother combined with an unfamiliar gender.
“The young master. Since he’s so mature and kind, you must be happy.”
“Mature… you mean.”
It was true, and definitely a compliment. But for some reason, only things completely opposite to that expression flashed through Saehyeon’s mind. Examples included the squawking appearance that came out when clashing with Gil Taeseo, or his face messy with tears and snot.
‘This might be a well-fed complaint, but… it would be okay if he were a little less mature.’
Lately, his whining had increased somewhat, but the child still seemed excessively accustomed to handling and managing things. As if it had deeply become a habit.
Saehyeon, whose head was filled with identical father and son, rolled it around before hesitantly opening his mouth.
“Um… do you happen to have… anything busy today?”
“Oh my. I don’t, but… why do you ask?”
It was because of preparation for the upcoming decisive battle. If it were a time when he had unavoidable livelihood work, or when he didn’t know the child well, it might be different. But he couldn’t go out leaving the child alone in this vast house.
In fact, she had already often stayed longer than her regular working hours considering the employer’s frequently delayed schedule, so it wasn’t a random request.
How the child would take it was still an unknown quantity. That was the real ambush.
From beside the child lying in bed, Saehyeon rolled his eyes as if gauging the situation. In his hands was a fairy tale book that Taesol particularly liked. It was a storybook with a dragon, demon king, and hero.
“So, Daddy is… going to go out somewhere briefly later.”
His fingers and toes alike kept curling and his body kept twisting. Half was being concerned about Taesol’s reaction, half was this kind of thing being awkward.
The former had a simple solution. Saehyeon had already finished preparing himself to just lie down next to Taesol and endure the anger illness.
If the child showed even a little anxiety, if he looked up with moist eyes and grabbed the edge of his clothes. Nothing else would matter much.
However, the latter wasn’t easy to be calm about since it was a matter of accumulated experience and personality. Saehyeon had never said this kind of thing to anyone.
It was the result of naturally accepting cold control while being nailed to schedules set by someone since childhood.
It was the same during his time going out to work from the single room. The child understood that he had to work, and Saehyeon himself had no awareness that he needed to say anything.
With that composed, indifferent farewell continuing countless times, what meaning would it have to be like this now…….
“Then when you come?”
“Huh? Umm….”
The child asked back unexpectedly calmly. Saehyeon hesitated for a moment at those bright, round eyes.
He might just return empty-handed. But at the same time, he couldn’t rule out the possibility of having his stamina and vitality squeezed to the very last drop by Gil Taeseo who’d caught him red-handed. In that case, he’d be moved to this house while unconscious, so he’d probably return in the morning.
“Probably by the time Taesol wakes up, I’ll be back.”
“Really? Promise?”
Amidst the dimly turned-off lights, the only light source was the lamp on the table. Small didn’t mean insufficient. The warm-colored light softly settled in the large eyes.
“You’ll come back to Taesol?”
It was a straight gaze. It was solid to be called that of a young child, but at the same time, it showed the purity and uprightness that tainted adults don’t have.
Anyone who didn’t surrender to those eyes was definitely a psychopath.
“I’ll come as quickly as possible. If I can come earlier, no, I’ll come early.”
“Okay!”
The child who secured the promise dozed off blinking during the slowly read fairy tale. Looking down at the clear face, Saehyeon firmly resolved.
From now on, it was a speed battle. Like a shopping tribe running an opening rush, he just needed to run out, do what he had to do, and come back. He didn’t forget to pack the thick parenting book he’d newly brought out before leaving. According to precedents he’d checked somewhere before, books weren’t considered weapons.
After turning off the lamp on the table and going to the doorway, Saehyeon looked back at the room one last time. He’d be back soon, but for some reason, his feet didn’t easily move. As if he were a person departing on a path he wouldn’t return from for a while.
‘Another useless thought.’
Saehyeon shook his head, forcibly deflecting the strange thoughts. Into the space emptied that way, he also inserted the fierce version of himself that had settled down while facing the child. Soon his pale, thin hand firmly grasped the front door.
