“What meal? Uncle doesn’t even eat properly himself.”
“….”
This is a disaster. Cha Taeha has no intention of shutting his mouth. The atmosphere is flowing strangely, but no one is stopping this situation.
“Tsk tsk, you’re an adult and you’re not even ashamed of being a picky eater in front of your nephew?”
At Cha Taeha’s nagging, even the Chairman joined in and began attacking me, and I have nothing to say.
‘Cha Taehan, say something.’
I looked at Cha Taehan with the heart of grasping at straws, but even after seeing my eyes, Cha Taehan showed a reaction like ‘so what?’ He didn’t join this strange conversation and just watched the situation.
‘Ha…. It’s finally over.’
In the end, the two people’s nagging continued until the meal was over, and throughout the meal I had to keep hearing things like eat properly, don’t cause trouble, what are you thinking living like this. It was a time when I could realize that being treated like an invisible person was much better than nagging attacks.
“You went for a walk, right? The doctor must have told you. You need to go out and get some sun and such for a fast recovery.”
I was walking down the corridor trying to return to my room when now Cha Taehan stopped me and started nagging with incomprehensible intent.
I get it now. There are many ways to torment a person. Since I changed, it seems the family here also changed their way of tormenting me.
“Yes, Executive Director. I went out this morning….”
“I must look like a fool to you. What’s the reason for telling such lies?”
I thought he wouldn’t know, but Cha Taehan detected the lie like a ghost and became serious. How the hell does he know whether I took a walk or not? Since it was obvious he’d hold me back and get angrier if I made excuses, I decided to confess honestly.
“I apologize. I’ll go out right now.”
“Go down to the garden right now. Bring the wheelchair too.”
“Yes.”
What’s this about a wheelchair for a person walking perfectly fine on two legs? But I didn’t want to continue the conversation, so I answered immediately and returned to my room.
‘Yeah, looking at the sky the weather’s nice, so walking alone wouldn’t be bad either.’
I might catch Cha Taehan’s eye, so just in case I brought down the unnecessary wheelchair too, but Cha Taehan and Cha Taeha were waiting for me in the garden. Ah…. It was a walk together.
“Sit.”
Cha Taehan made me sit in the wheelchair with an authoritative attitude. My two legs are perfectly fine, so what kind of behavior is this? No matter how much I think about it, I can only think it’s nothing more than a new type of torment. While inwardly repeating countless times that I want to walk on my two legs, I plopped down in the wheelchair.
“Uncle, can I sit on your lap?”
Cha Taeha asked me with a bright smile. They say kids get less cute as they grow, but this one seems to get more affectionate and cuter as he grows. I thought it was really fortunate that at least Cha Taeha came out.
“Of course you can.”
“No. Uncle is a patient. Don’t make it hard for him.”
I was about to lift Cha Taeha and seat him on my lap, but Cha Taehan blocked me. Speaking so coldly to his 7-year-old son—even watching it upset me.
“Executive Director, I’m fine. Taeha-ya, come here.”
“I said no. It’ll spoil the kid.”
Cha Taehan glared at me so strongly that I had no choice but to stop. Concerned, I glanced at Cha Taeha, but the kid’s expression was peaceful. This situation seemed quite familiar to him. Seeing the kid seem okay made my heart ache even more.
* * *
‘I shouldn’t have worried about Cha Taeha.’
When will this ridiculous walk end? Even after Cha Taeha left, Cha Taehan continued pushing the wheelchair around the garden.
Bright sunshine, cool breeze, an incredibly well-maintained garden. It would have been quite nice if I’d walked alone, but being with Cha Taehan, I couldn’t feel anything, couldn’t see anything. The situation itself is very uncomfortable, like wearing ill-fitting clothes.
“Executive Director, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule. I think you can go in now.”
“Even when pretending to be obedient, you’re still stubborn. How long has it been that you want to go in?”
“….”
“Um…. Executive Director, I have something to tell you.”
Just when I thought a silent garden walk would resume, a housekeeper ajumma from behind stopped Cha Taehan.
“Yes, please speak.”
I pricked up my ears to hear what was going on, but the ajumma whispered near Cha Taehan, making it impossible to hear.
‘What is it?’
However, one thing was certain. Something happened that made him quite uncomfortable. As soon as he heard the ajumma’s words, Cha Taehan’s expression hardened. That expression is one he often makes when angry.
“Cha Jaehyun.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be away for a moment, so wait here.”
“Understood.”
He made a scary face and hurriedly left. What on earth happened that he’d leave me abandoned here and rush off like that?
‘I wanted to walk alone anyway, so this worked out well.’
After confirming his retreating figure disappeared, I jumped up from the wheelchair and began walking the garden alone. Beautiful flowers and plants whose names I didn’t know filled one side of the garden.
‘They must have spent quite a bit of money.’
“Cha Jaehyun, do you think this house is like a neighborhood mart or something?”
About 5 minutes passed? I had stopped walking for a moment and was touching flower petals when I heard a chilling voice from behind. Cha Taehan had returned.
“Executive Director. I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
‘What about the neighborhood mart?’
What on earth happened in the brief time he went out that he came back with such an uncomfortable mood? Just looking at his face, it seemed like I’d catch the fallout too.
“Ha…. You’ve always chosen to do only things I don’t like.”
My only crime is waiting after being told to wait, but it looks like I’ll be blamed while hearing incomprehensible words. Thinking that I’ll have to continue living in situations like this made me start thinking again that prison would really be better.
‘Don’t be intimidated.’
I got annoyed without realizing it at Cha Taehan’s irritability, and I recalled what Seo Hanryul said the day before. Yeah, I can’t go to America anyway, so there’s no reason for me to be submissive.
“If you suddenly come and say such things, I can’t grasp the situation. Please tell me first what this is about.”
“What?”
Seeing his reaction, I realized I had misjudged. Perhaps I went crazy after entering this strange world and lost my fear. I talked back to Cha Taehan with a colder attitude and more serious expression than I intended.
I’ve gone mad. But the water has already been spilled. Cha Taehan was emitting hot heat from his eyes.
“…Are you talking back right now?”
Looking at his face, there seems to be no way to quell his anger. In this ruined situation, I thought I should at least hear the reason even if I’m going to get scolded.
“No. However, if you could explain the situation….”
“Are you in your right mind? Why did you give your home address to that guy called Seo Hanryul or whatever?”
‘Ah, it was my fault after all.’
Seo Hanryul. That stupid bastard. After seeing the Chairman and Executive Director’s personalities at the hospital, he still thought of coming to the house. Right now Cha Taehan must have come back after chasing Seo Hanryul away. I have nothing to say.
“…I apologize. I have nothing to say. Last time he said he wanted to see if I was okay once, so I gave him the house address, but I really didn’t know he’d actually come.”
“You call that an excuse?”
Cha Taehan stared piercingly at my eyes, demanding additional explanation. I’m really at a loss for what more to say. He saw me yesterday, yet thought to visit again today. What courage made him come all the way to the house—he’s really a hopeless bastard.
“Ha…. I thought you’d matured a bit….”
“I’m truly sorry. I’ll make sure this never happens again.”
“Cut the parrot-like words. What’s the reason you’re being dragged around by a mere celebrity? It’s pathetically beyond belief. Explain.”
In the past it was right that I was forcibly dragged around, but not now. Being dragged around—what truly ridiculous words. Moreover, why is Cha Taehan acting like this when he already knows all about my relationship with Seo Hanryul?
‘Could this be leading interrogation?’
“Being dragged around? That’s an absurd statement.”
“Good grief…. I was watching to see how long the idiot strategy would last, but you’ve really become an idiot….”
I thought he was very angry, but it seems it’s not as serious as I thought. He pressed his forehead and sighed, and unlike before, his eyes seemed to have calmed down considerably. I thought I’d get thoroughly chewed out, but if it turns out like this, that’s good for me.
“Get a grip. How long are you going to do such stupid things?”
“….”
Ah, it wasn’t over. The Executive Director yelled at me again. What answer does he want from me? Even trying to think of a model answer, nothing suitable comes to mind.
“What weakness does that bastard have on you to make you get swayed around so stupidly? Tell me. Right now.”
“Weakness? There’s no such thing….”
“You pathetic bastard. I don’t know what weakness that opportunist has on you, but do you think one celebrity can compare to Daejin? Don’t suffer in silence like an idiot and tell me if something’s wrong. …I can’t understand you being that bastard’s manager either. Cha Jaehyun, what’s your relationship with that bastard?”
This is the first time Cha Taehan has spoken to me at such length. I began to feel anxious, thinking he must have decided to step in directly since he couldn’t get information from Han Woojin. I absolutely must not get caught up in a leading interrogation.
“We’re nothing to each other. I quit as manager too.”
“If something like this happens again, then we’ll have a three-way confrontation with that fox-like bastard.”
After that he continued saying things I couldn’t tell were nagging or anger, then perhaps exhausted himself, he left me and went into the house first. Well, even I would be tired if I talked that much.
‘A fox-like bastard….’
It’s clearly a serious situation, but laughter escapes me. A fox. A snicker came out at the thought that he reads people quite well.
