Lee Hyeon picked up one of the drawings and studied it for a long while.
What struck him was that he could tell at a glance what it depicted. The lines were bold and the sense of volume was unmistakable. The colors laid over those rough strokes resembled the world as he saw it so closely that something stirred, quietly, inside him.
Chief Han, who had been watching him in silence, spoke up softly.
“Dano draws remarkably well.”
Lee Hyeon didn’t take his eyes off the drawing as he asked in return.
“The skill is one thing — but can children this age normally concentrate and draw for a full hour like that?”
Chief Han thought for a moment, then answered carefully.
“Generally, I don’t think they can. It is rather unusual.”
“That’s what I thought. So it wasn’t just me.”
Lee Hyeon lifted the drawing and tilted it at different angles, examining it.
“Seowoo doesn’t seem to notice, does he?”
At that, Chief Han broke into a small, uncharacteristic laugh.
“It does seem that way. Most parents catch ‘my child is a genius’ syndrome easily enough — but Seowoo seems quite level-headed about it.”
Without any particular signal between them, the two men began picking up the drawings from the floor one by one, stacking them neatly. Chief Han, watching the faint smile at the corner of Lee Hyeon’s lips, ventured a quiet question.
“Don’t you think there’s a resemblance?”
“Still going on about that.”
“Surely you’ve been thinking the same thing yourself.”
No answer came immediately to that. Chief Han watched Lee Hyeon go slightly still and chose his next words with even more care.
“If you need confirmation…… what about requesting a DNA test?”
Chief Han was holding a few fine strands of hair in his hand. Traces Dano had left behind. Lee Hyeon’s gaze touched them briefly.
“That’s not the way I want to find out. And Seowoo wouldn’t want that either.”
And even if he got a definitive answer — what then? No answer came to mind. When he painted, every brushstroke moved with something close to instinct, with conviction and certainty — but here, he simply didn’t know.
“……Why aren’t you answering the Director’s calls?”
Sensing that Lee Hyeon’s thoughts had grown heavy, Chief Han gently steered the subject elsewhere. But judging by Lee Hyeon’s expression, this topic wasn’t much more welcome.
“Is my mother making things difficult for you?”
“She is very worried — about where you are and what you’re doing. She says this is the longest she’s ever gone without being able to reach you.”
Lee Hyeon’s gaze drifted to the bundle sitting on the kitchen table. The pile of medicinal tonics Chief Han had brought. A sigh escaped him without meaning to.
“I’m not quite sure myself.”
……
He walked back to the window and looked down. There was no one in front of Blue Giraffe. Lee Hyeon pushed his fallen hair back roughly and pressed a hand to his side. A brief wave of dizziness washed over him.
“What it is I’m doing here — I’m not really sure myself.”
***
The rain stopped completely once night fell. The moisture that had been beating the ground all day clung damply to the road, making the shop signs and the passing cars’ headlights glisten and shimmer.
Seowoo bowed repeatedly in the office of the supplier’s factory.
“I’m truly sorry. I should have double-checked on my end……”
“Alright, alright. That’s enough of that.”
The factory owner, with his salt-and-pepper hair, waved a hand dismissively. His voice, tinged with a warm regional dialect, was softer than his rough appearance suggested. He pushed the ledger and calculator to the side and slipped his glasses into his front shirt pocket.
“We thought something seemed off ourselves. When the order quantity was way higher than usual, we should have given you a call — we didn’t, so there’s fault on our end too. I don’t think this is something you should be carrying entirely on your own.”
“Even so, I feel far too sorry to simply go along with what you’re suggesting……”
“Let’s split it. Losses half and half, risk half and half. And from here on out, we both check more carefully. Deal?”
“Mr. Kim……”
“Store the excess inventory in our warehouse too. We’ll just sell through it bit by bit — it’ll be fine.”
Seowoo was momentarily lost for words. Could it really be resolved this easily? The weight pressing down on his chest seemed to lift all at once, and his shoulders dropped limply. Donghyeok, too, looked like he’d finally exhaled — he kept bowing and thanking him with unsteady legs.
“Mr. Kim, truly, truly, thank you. Really.”
“Oh, knock it off. You’re making me embarrassed. Why are you two looking so dejected? You’re both so young.”
Mr. Kim laughed heartily and rose from his seat.
“It’s getting late — stay and eat before you go. On a night like this, parting ways without a drink just doesn’t sit right. Feels unfinished, you know.”
“Yes, let’s.”
Seowoo accepted the offer of drinks without hesitation, which wasn’t like him at all. It was late, and he had left a crying Dano with Donghyeok’s mother to make the trip out here. He knew perfectly well that drinking while a child waited for him at home wasn’t a good choice.
But perhaps it was because every nerve that had been pulled taut from head to toe had all released at once — the relief of having avoided the worst made him go loose.
Donghyeok murmured beside him.
“I’ll call my mom. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I wanted a drink too.”
“Yeah, let’s just have one.”
“Just one.”
“One drink.”
“Okay.”
They both knew exactly how hollow that promise was.
***
“No, so — pfft, I — this idiot, why, WHY did he put an extra zero on there. Huh?!”
“Okay, stop. Say it one more time and I’m done.”
“I’m just so sorry, honestly. Our Seowoo.”
“Stop saying that too.”
“I really am so sorry though. Seowoo. Seowoooo. Our good, sweet Seowoo!”
“……I get it. If you’re sorry, shut up for once — that’d actually help.”
Seowoo leaned his elbow on the table, his face flushed deep with alcohol. It was late into the night, and the shabby little barbecue place near the factory had no customers left except Seowoo, Donghyeok, and Mr. Kim. The restaurant owner, who clearly knew Mr. Kim well as a regular, was sitting in the spot with the best view of the TV, nodding off.
Seowoo tipped a full glass of soju straight down his throat in one go. The taste that hit his tongue was less bitter than it was sweet. Empty soju bottles had been stacking up neatly under the table.
Mr. Kim, flushed and thoroughly drunk, was rambling about old business contacts, while Donghyeok sat beside him refilling glasses and nodding along dutifully.
He’d never been much of a drinker to begin with. After finding out he was pregnant with Dano, giving birth, and then living tied to suppressants because of his condition — he’d barely touched alcohol since. His body, receiving it again after so long, surrendered far faster than expected.
His face was warm, and his vision had begun to soften at the edges.
“It would be better to avoid heavy drinking, Seowoo.”
Whether from the alcohol, he couldn’t say — but Lee Hyeon’s voice drifted suddenly into his ear out of nowhere.
“Just for tonight, I’ll drink. I’m sorry, Lee Hyeon.”
He dipped his head toward the grill in apology, and Donghyeok looked at him with a bewildered expression.
“Are you drunk, Yoon Seowoo? You drunk?”
“Of course I’m drunk, what did you expect. How many bottles have we gone through. One, two, three, four……”
He was pointing at the floor counting the soju bottles when Lee Hyeon’s voice slipped into his ear again, uninvited.
“Seowoo, are you drunk? How much have you had?”
That flustered expression of his had been something to see.
Ssss…… Seowoo drew an irritated breath and refilled his glass. Donghyeok snatched it out of the way just as he was bringing it to his lips, and cold soju splashed across his hand and clothes.
“Hey, you’re done.”
“I’m fine.”
“You really don’t look fine.”
While he and Donghyeok were squabbling over the glass, the phone sitting on the table buzzed insistently. Wondering if it might be something about Dano, he peered at it with unsteady eyes — and of all things, it was a message from Lee Hyeon.
[ When are you coming back? ]
“……Hmm.”
Seowoo started to type a reply and then stopped. He was fairly sure he’d explained the situation before heading out. And being fully aware that he was thoroughly drunk, he decided it was better not to reply than to make some careless mistake.
But the moment he set the phone down, it started ringing.
“I’m sorry, Lee Hyeon. I’m not in my right mind at the moment.”
Seowoo apologized to thin air and let three calls go unanswered.
“Donghyeok, what’s going on with him.”
“There’s someone calling who I really can’t afford to make a mistake with.”
His words came out slow and drawn out at the ends. Whether it was the alcohol or the exhaustion he’d been suppressing all this time, he couldn’t tell. Seowoo gave up on the glass and stared blankly at the tip of his spoon.
It was true that he’d been extremely tense on the way here. Whenever he made a mistake that drained his account, it felt like he was gnawing away at Dano’s future. But it had resolved itself almost like magic, and with it came a feeling that the last three years hadn’t been wasted after all.
“I feel kind of overwhelmed.”
Donghyeok clicked his tongue at Seowoo’s words.
“Yep, he’s drunk.”
