“We have to hold Grandfather’s 49th-day memorial service.”
“You remembered?”
“Yeah.”
Ganghyuk kept his promise. Ian thought he had just fallen asleep and woken up briefly, but he found himself clean and wearing fresh hospital clothes, lying in bed, while Ganghyuk sat in a chair watching him sleep.
From that moment on, Ian scattered gentle laughter into the air like flower petals without tiring. He woke up close to lunchtime and ate heartily.
The lunchbox Ganghyuk had packed was so beautiful it was satisfying just to look at.
Inside the three-tiered container was a bounty of nourishing foods: abalone and grilled eel, steamed chicken breast with ginseng, jujubes, and chestnuts, beef bulgogi, braised king oyster mushrooms, braised lotus root, seasoned deodeok, multigrain rice, and more.
After eating his fill and naturally settling into Ganghyuk’s arms to chat warmly, that’s when Ganghyuk brought up Grandfather’s 49th-day memorial service.
“It’s already tomorrow…”
He had remembered, but after being suddenly kidnapped, his mind had been in chaos. If Ganghyuk hadn’t rescued him in time, Grandfather’s 49th-day memorial might have overlapped with his own funeral date.
At that thought, his fingertips grew cold. But when Ganghyuk took his hand and rubbed each finger, warmth returned.
“I’m planning to order the food. Is there anything special you’d like on the memorial table?”
“Hmm…”
What food had Grandfather liked?
He had always prioritized Ian’s preferences over his own, so not much immediately came to mind. Ian furrowed his brow and thought hard before saying what he could remember.
“He liked Korean sweets, and he tried macarons once and said they were delicious. Um, sikhye and sujeonggwa, and he ate well when I made soft tofu with just egg in it. He said it was mild.”
“I’ll have everything prepared. He even ate macarons—Grandfather was modern.”
“He tried to like whatever I liked… He was truly kind and wonderful.”
To the point where it was hard to believe his biological father was trash, Grandfather was the person Ian respected most in the world. Not just Ian, but many people in Hyoseong-dong wanted to emulate him.
Everyone who came to the funeral home said Grandfather was a good person. Their expressions were uniformly sad as they added how heartbreaking it was that he left so suddenly.
“…The hit-and-run driver who killed Grandfather. Have you found them yet?”
Ian asked, clutching tightly at Ganghyuk’s clothes. The police had nearly given up on the case, but he had asked, thinking maybe Ganghyuk could do it.
“Not yet. Do you want to know that badly?”
“…Yes.”
He was curious what kind of person could hit someone and leave them without even reporting it. Even if seeing them directly and resenting them wouldn’t bring Grandfather back to life, perhaps it could make his final journey a little more peaceful.
Grandfather would also want the person who made him that way to receive proper punishment. As the 49th-day memorial approached, he hated that person whose face and name he didn’t know. Thinking that they were probably living comfortably somewhere with their legs stretched out made his blood boil.
“I’ll have them look into it faster.”
The promising voice rang sweetly in his ear. The hand stroking his head was so gentle that Ian calmed his upset heart.
Even then, he never imagined that knowing the culprit would be more painful. He couldn’t know the future.
ლ
The sound of a clean moktak echoed through the hall. Ian, wearing a black suit instead of hospital clothes, looked at Grandfather’s memorial tablet and photo with a sad face. In the photo, Grandfather wore his usual benevolent smile.
‘My baby.’
It was as if he could hear that affectionate voice from somewhere. A deep fragrance brushed past his nose. The billowing smoke passed over Grandfather’s face as if comforting him.
The elderly monk kneeling and striking the moktak opened his wrinkled lips.
“The spirit of Yeon Cheolho.”
The ritual calling Grandfather’s spirit began. Ian clasped his hands together and listened carefully to the Diamond Sutra the monk chanted.
“Musangsimsiммimyobeop baekcheonmangeobnanjo-u ageonmungyeondeuксuji wonhaeyeoraejinsirui…”
The monk’s voice, neither fast nor slow, harmonized with the moktak. A solemn atmosphere flowed through the dharma hall. Okjeong bowed with respect.
Just as Ian felt like tears might flow and tensed his eyes, warm body heat touched his fingertips.
When he raised his head, Ganghyuk was looking down at Ian with an impassive face. Even without saying anything, Ian could feel that he was comforting him.
Ian grasped Ganghyuk’s hand. He intertwined his fingers between those thicker than his own and clasped them together.
After the sutra recitation that eliminated the spirit’s karma and prayed for rebirth in paradise ended, the ceremonial food offering began. It was a ritual of offering food to the spirit.
In front of the Buddhist altar, vegetarian foods like rice, soup, vegetables, fruits, and rice cakes were neatly arranged. Uniquely, colorful macarons also occupied a corner.
There was also a stew with soft tofu and egg. Sikhye and sujeonggwa, along with the foods Ian had told Ganghyuk about, were placed next to Grandfather’s memorial tablet.
Soyeon and Okjeong held their breath with palms pressed together. Ian bit his lip tightly to hold back tears as he watched the monk lift incense and circle it three times in front of the altar.
“Namu sambosiyeo, today may the spirit of Yeon Cheolho and all wandering souls come to this dharma assembly to receive the teachings and offerings.”
Following this, the monk chanted mantras along with the sound of the moktak.
“Om garaditya svaha. Om mani padme hum.”
The ritual continued afterward in a quiet atmosphere. After the food offering, the monk gave a short sermon. The impermanence of life, the meaning of paradise, the attitude toward life that the remaining family should cultivate, and so on.
Ian took all those words to heart as he prayed for Grandfather’s rebirth in paradise. Ian didn’t have any particular religion. But since he had heard Grandfather take out Buddhist scriptures and chant when his mind was troubled, it wasn’t unfamiliar.
Since Buddha is a compassionate being, wouldn’t he embrace Grandfather’s soul, who died unjustly, even more tenderly?
It felt like Grandfather was greeting him from somewhere, so Ian smiled instead of crying. The Grandfather he knew was someone who hurt more than anyone at his grandson’s tears.
After the ritual ended, they all moved to the dining hall together to eat. Ian sat side by side with Ganghyuk. Across from them sat Okjeong and Soyeon.
The two had shaken off their gloomy mood and now revealed their curiosity about Ganghyuk. Even though two pairs of probing eyes were directed at him, Ganghyuk remained indifferent.
He transferred food from the dishes in front of him to a small plate in easy-to-eat portions and offered it to Ian. Feeling embarrassed, Ian fidgeted with his ear. He could feel the heated skin at his fingertips.
“Please eat plenty.”
Only after taking care of Ian did Ganghyuk greet Okjeong and Soyeon. At the sight of the two who got along better than expected, Soyeon sent Ian a subtle look.
Even with the large age gap, his outstanding appearance definitely didn’t come across as a drawback. Moreover, she had heard that Ganghyuk was the one who prepared today’s 49th-day memorial.
She liked that he was meticulous despite his appearance, and watching him up close, there was something embarrassingly sweet about his actions toward Ian.
Especially the way he looked at Ian was warm. His actions, in stark contrast to his cold-looking face, made hearts flutter like watching a romance drama.
Soyeon had good social skills. Perhaps because she felt she had become somewhat acquainted with Ganghyuk, she actively started a conversation first.
“What do you find so pretty about our Ian?”
Flustered, Ian’s eyes widened as he desperately shook his head, but Soyeon’s mischievous smile only deepened.
“Everything is pretty.”
Ian was the only embarrassed person in this situation. Soyeon nodded with satisfaction, pleased with the concise answer for some reason.
“Hmm, what if Ian said he liked someone else?”
“Noona!”
Ian raised his voice looking at Soyeon, who was throwing increasingly difficult questions to answer. Glancing over, Ganghyuk’s eyes had darkened. The surrounding air even felt somewhat chilly, making his body tense automatically.
“You won’t do things like confine him or mistreat him, right? Tae Ganghyuk-ssi is in his thirties, but our Ian is still only twenty. Wouldn’t it be too unfair to see only one person?”
“Ah, noona, please…”
The person in question was fine with it, so why was Soyeon stepping in? Ian had never even imagined liking and dating someone other than Ganghyuk.
The series of incidents had instilled in Ian a fear of alphas and adult men. Especially after being kidnapped the second time, even in the hospital room, his body reflexively stiffened when he saw anyone other than Ganghyuk.
He tensed up even when seeing Jaehyun and the doctor, causing awkward situations several times. Watching them feel uncomfortable, Ian tried not to show his anxious state, but it wasn’t something that could be controlled by will alone.
