As their gazes entangled up close, his shoulders naturally shrank. Even though the man wasn’t particularly frowning, cold sweat formed on his palms. An unknown emotion rippled faintly within his calm gaze.
The eyes with a pale gray tint also gave off a somewhat mysterious atmosphere. If he kept looking, he would be sucked in, Ian thought carelessly.
“I humbly offer my condolences for the deceased.”
A pleasant voice flowed out over well-shaped lips. Unlike his charismatic appearance, the man’s voice was smooth like cream.
It was the kind of voice that would surely flow out if you turned on the radio in a car where warm afternoon sunlight filtered in.
“Th-thank you.”
Ian barely clasped his hands together and bowed. He was curious about the relationship between the man and his grandfather, but in any case, the man was a guest who had come to see off his grandfather on his final journey.
The man looked at Ian silently for a moment, then walked toward the incense burner. Thick-jointed hands picked up a stick of incense. A new stick of incense rose within the incense burner.
Through the thinly rising smoke, the man gazed for a long while at Cheolho’s face captured in the portrait photo. After a moment, the man offered a single chrysanthemum, then neatly clasped his hands together and bowed.
Restraint and elegance oozed from each movement. If it weren’t for the large men with squared postures that the man had brought with him, one might have thought he was a movie actor not well known by name. That much, the man drew people’s gazes as if seducing them.
After finishing two bows, the man rose from his place and turned his body again toward where Ian stood. The man’s face as he briefly lowered his head was calm like the surface of a lake without a single breeze.
Neither sadness for the grandfather nor compassion toward Ian showed. Only an indifferent air, as if doing what needed to be done, came through.
A subtle scent of incense flowed between Ian and the man standing face to face. Ian unconsciously swallowed dry saliva. The man had the power to make people tense with just his gaze.
Moreover, a strange scent was felt between the incense smell. Ian’s toes inside his socks secretly wriggled. Suddenly the inside of his stomach tickled, and unlike his body heating up inside, the nape of his neck became cool.
It was too strange a sensation to feel in a funeral home. Especially if it was a place where the portrait photo of his beloved grandfather was present.
When he inhaled in confusion, the man pulled out a money clip from inside his jacket. His hand calmly extended a business card stuck inside it to Ian.
“Take it.”
A low but clear voice rang in his ear. Ian hesitated for a moment, then accepted the business card.
Taehyun Construction Executive Director Tae Ganghyuk.
The name written on the business card suited the man perfectly. Ian had heard of Taehyun Construction too. The neighborhood where Ian was born had had redevelopment talk going around frequently for several years. Especially from a year ago, things were actually progressing.
Although it was on the outskirts, it belonged to Seoul, and perhaps because of the relatively cheap housing prices compared to other areas, there were many old and shabby houses clustered together.
People in the neighborhood who owned houses or land in Hyoseong-dong would talk about redevelopment whenever a few of them gathered. Since Cheolho also owned the two-story building where the soup restaurant was located, Ian had heard quite a bit by eavesdropping from the side.
Taehyun Construction was one of the companies mentioned at such times, and if he was an executive director, he must be someone quite high up. Not knowing why he was giving him such a business card, he looked around cautiously while gently pressing the sharp corners of the business card with his fingertips.
“If you run into trouble, contact me. I’ll help you at least once.”
Ganghyuk gave a supplementary explanation as if solving his curiosity. His eyes looking down at Ian closed languidly. Bewitched by the strange atmosphere, Ian put strength into his fingertips. The edge of the stiff business card crumpled slightly.
“Let’s go.”
With those words as the end, the man turned his back without lingering attachment. The large men also followed Ganghyuk and rushed out of the funeral home.
Only after the pitch-black group disappeared did the frozen air of the funeral home gradually return to normal. Soyeon, who came to her senses belatedly, approached Ian in one bound.
“Ian, are you okay? Who was that man? Do you know each other?”
Her voice asking because she had many questions was faster than usual. Okjeong also looked at Ian while calming her surprised heart.
At the gazes felt from both sides, Ian shook his head. He himself wanted to know why Ganghyuk had come here.
“I saw him for the first time today.”
At Ian’s answer, Okjeong frowned with a pondering expression. At first she was flustered, overwhelmed by the man’s atmosphere, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt déjà vu.
“Was he Old Man Yeon’s customer? Come to think of it, his face seems a bit familiar…”
“Is that kind of face common? I thought they were filming a gangster movie. He was more handsome than Geum Seongyun, who’s supposed to be the hottest these days.”
Soyeon shook her head as if it was ridiculous. Even now, when she gets some money, she frequents host bars with good prospects as if going out for drinks without her lover knowing, but she had never seen a man who looked like Ganghyuk.
Even male celebrities on TV who were praised for being handsome would probably fall short of Ganghyuk in person. Face aside, starting from his height that seemed to be 190cm, to his physique, voice, and atmosphere, there wasn’t a single thing lacking. His appearance wasn’t covered even by his somewhat very scary atmosphere.
“Come to think of it, the old man really seems to have had wide connections. Earlier, a city councilor also came and went. It’s a bit awkward to say this, but he really seems to have lived life well…”
Soyeon trailed off at Ian’s face, which had quickly become gloomy. What use is it to say someone lived well when they passed away in an accident? Especially when to Ian, he wasn’t just a grandfather but an existence like a mother and father.
“Ah, the porridge will get completely cold. Ian, let’s eat the porridge first. You have to eat to gain strength.”
Soyeon, realizing her mistake, changed the subject and pulled the tray placed beside her in front of Ian. The abalone porridge that Okjeong made herself had so much abalone in it that one could say it was half rice, half abalone.
“That’s right. Eat, child. People need to have full bellies.”
Okjeong patted Ian’s back. Ian, who put the business card in his pants pocket, gripped the spoon in his hand. Through the incense smoke, he could see his grandfather’s face smiling kindly.
The sorrow that had briefly stopped at the appearance of the stranger began to flow again. The thought that it might be better to leave this world together with his grandfather hadn’t completely disappeared, but there were still people by his side who cherished him. Recognizing that fact gave him a little strength.
Though they may not be family connected by blood, the abalone porridge placed before him contained warm affection. Though his mouth was still dry, the abalone porridge was savory and delicious. That made him sad again and his eyes reddened.
‘That’s right. Eating well, our baby. Yes. You have to eat. You have to live. Only then can your grandfather leave with peace of mind.’
At the longed-for voice that seemed to come from somewhere, Ian clamped his mouth shut. Small wrinkles like the surface of a walnut spread over his tiny chin.
ლ
“Grandfather…….”
Standing in front of the darkened store, Ian called out for the one he missed. He was on his way back from enshrining his grandfather’s urn at a tree burial site, as his grandfather had loved trees. Even using public transportation, it was a three-hour round trip from home, so the location wasn’t bad either.
It cost quite a bit for that reason, but he didn’t think about saving money. Many people had come to the funeral hall, so even after paying the funeral costs, there was money left over. Thanks to that, he was able to obtain a better spot than expected.
Ganghyuk had given a whopping ten million won as condolence money. He wondered if he should return it because it was too large an amount, but at Soyeon’s words that for someone at the level of Executive Director of Taehyun Construction, this much money was fine, he shamelessly used it all.
