Seo Eunho hated his father. He’d wandered around outside since he was young, and whenever he occasionally stopped by the house, he’d just steal the money his mother had scraped together. Was that all? His father was also violent. Whenever he drank alcohol, it only got worse.
Even when his mother’s body weakened and became ill, his father’s attitude didn’t change. Seo Eunho and his mother were neglected like that.
Because he was so young at the time, all Seo Eunho could do was cry. His mother would hold him with her bruised face. Seo Eunho clearly remembers how his mother’s shoulders shook back then. Despite it being an unfathomably old memory.
It would be nice if something had changed over time. Seo Eunho was busy living desperately just as his mother had. And his father was still living however he pleased.
At least, unlike his mother, should he be grateful that he didn’t expect money from him? He didn’t know how it would be after he became an adult, though.
Well, even so, it didn’t really matter much, did it? Seo Eunho would leave this house the moment he became an adult. He always resolved that he wouldn’t act foolishly like his mother.
“……”
But whether it was just how people’s hearts were, or whether he was particularly soft-hearted. Seo Eunho felt an indescribably subtle feeling at the words that his father was looking for him.
It was surprising that he remembered the school he attended, and it was also curious that he’d contacted him saying he wasn’t coming in much.
Since it didn’t exactly upset him, Seo Eunho, who’d been hurrying to his home after a long time, smiled bitterly. Though he resembled his mother a lot, he wondered if he needed to resemble her in this way too.
“I’m ho—”
It was truly a pathetic sentiment. Even knowing how useless something like a glimmer of hope was. Even though he’d found his mother so frustrating for not letting go of it.
Maybe, just a little, he was worried about him. The expectation that only brought out mockery even thinking about it again completely vanished the moment he opened the front door and saw a woman’s shoes.
Seo Eunho’s face hardened instantly. The greeting no longer came out. In the meantime, perhaps sensing that he’d returned, a person came out from inside. It wasn’t his father.
“Are you Eunho?”
A woman with a flashy impression. However, from her expression to her attitude with a face completely devoid of makeup, she was like the owner of this house. She was acting like the owner inside his home despite being someone he’d never seen before in his life.
It shouldn’t even be surprising, but Seo Eunho felt instantly irritated. It was like that every moment he encountered a strange woman by his father’s side. Maybe he felt it more so because this was the first time a woman had been brought into the house.
Seo Eunho bit his lips tightly before barely opening his mouth.
“Who are you?”
It wasn’t friendly, but it wasn’t an agitated tone either. At the forcibly feigned calm voice, the other person smiled quite kindly.
But there was no time to stare blankly. Suddenly his vision went pitch black and his head spun. It was because his father, who’d suddenly appeared, struck Seo Eunho on the head without warning.
“Why are you suddenly hitting the kid!”
“This bastard, instead of staying home, where have you been wandering around to just show up now?”
It wasn’t even a drunk voice, but had he lost his mind? It was complete bullshit. The one not staying home and wandering around wasn’t him but his father. Since he was young, Seo Eunho had always been home alone.
“……Why did you call me?”
Isn’t that not something father should say—about to say that, Seo Eunho just changed his words. It was pointless anyway. He was the type who wouldn’t listen to his words at all and would raise his hand again and more for talking back.
What was he expecting? Seo Eunho held back the smirk that was about to emerge. He was repeating exactly the same expectations his mother had held while enduring in this house until the day she died.
“Let’s sit down and talk first. Why are you hitting your handsome son’s face?”
“Kids that age only listen when they’re hit.”
“Are you going to do that later when we have our kid too?”
“Kid?”
“Aren’t we going to have kids? No. If you’re going to hit them like this, I won’t have any.”
“No, no. How could that be? I’m just saying. How could I do that to our kid?”
His father seemed not even to recognize who was in front of him. Or he had no intention of doing so.
Seo Eunho sighed while watching his father laughing merrily.
Come to think of it, his father was in decent shape for once. While staying at this house, he’d never looked like a proper person, but he must have known that anyone would run away if he showed that side.
“Why did you call me?”
Extreme fatigue pressed down on his shoulders. Whatever state his father was in, it was no longer related to him. He just wanted to quickly return to Tae Shinwoo’s house. He’d come to this house for nothing. What on earth had he believed in?
In the midst of that, the fact that he’d come without saying anything to Tae Shinwoo came to mind. What an absurd thing. How excited must he have been to run over without even thinking to tell Tae Shinwoo?
Just to see this spectacle.
“I said I wanted to see you.”
The answer to Seo Eunho’s words came from the woman. The eyes that gently curved the moment they met his looked somewhat docile.
“We’re going to be family, so I felt really sad not being able to see your face even once.”
Family.
Seo Eunho chewed on those words. It was a word that existed in a world completely removed from himself.
“She’s going to be your mom.”
His father added from beside him.
What mom? Seo Eunho openly raised the corners of his mouth and sneered. Did that woman know? That people he’d seen like this easily numbered five or more.
Of course, this was the first person brought into the house, but Seo Eunho knew she wouldn’t be very different from those he’d seen.
He’d probably mess around appropriately then dump her. Of course, the one being dumped would be his father. He didn’t know what they saw in his father to be bewitched, but after some time passed, the women would leave his father on their own. There weren’t many foolish people like his mother.
“I want to get along well.”
A child who was already eighteen was being added—just how had he seduced her to be this nonchalant? Seo Eunho was the type of person he couldn’t understand.
“I’m going to live here from now on too.”
Having nothing to say in response, Seo Eunho closed his mouth. His father yelled at Seo Eunho, asking if he was ignoring him now. Seo Eunho had no choice but to blurt out words curtly.
“The house is small.”
“Is it very inconvenient?”
“It wouldn’t be comfortable.”
“Seo Eunho!”
“I’m staying at a friend’s house anyway. I’ll keep living there, so you two can live comfortably. You don’t need to bother getting along with me.”
As soon as the words ended, another blow flew. However, Seo Eunho wasn’t obediently taking it. Rather, he grabbed his wrist and even pushed him away forcefully. His father seemed quite flustered, but the woman was just smiling.
“Then since I saw your face, that’s enough, right? I’ll be going.”
Seo Eunho immediately turned away from the woman’s very unsettling face. Then he walked straight outside. Even when he heard his father’s voice erupting in rage belatedly, he ignored it. Well, what was he supposed to do? As the subtle expectations he’d held crumbled, only anger remained in their place.
“Eunho-ya, wait a moment!”
Seo Eunho left the house with quick steps. But he couldn’t walk any further at the voice following him. It was because the woman had followed him.
“What?”
Seo Eunho said, openly showing that he didn’t want to deal with her. The woman smiled brightly at Seo Eunho who’d stopped and quickly held out a shopping bag. Seo Eunho just stared at her intently.
“It’s a phone. Your father bought it.”
“……”
“Still, you’re eighteen and don’t have a single phone, so I told him to buy one. It’s good that you’re living at a friend’s house, but family should at least be able to contact each other, right?”
How does the word “family” come out this easily? Seo Eunho didn’t understand the woman. Rather, because she was acting friendly, it felt like he should be more on guard.
“Hurry and take it.”
The woman stubbornly pressed the shopping bag into Seo Eunho’s hands.
“If your friend’s house is uncomfortable, come here anytime. I won’t make things too uncomfortable for you.”
Perhaps not particularly expecting Seo Eunho’s answer, the woman immediately turned back. Seo Eunho stood upright in that spot before belatedly stepping away.
Tae Shinwoo must be looking for him. Seo Eunho consciously brought Tae Shinwoo’s name into his mind.
Only that way did it seem he could settle this bad feeling, the nauseous stomach he felt seeing the kind person. He needed Tae Shinwoo. He had to see his face right away.
Seo Eunho hurried his steps. There had never been a time when he needed Tae Shinwoo as desperately as now.
