The House of Three Chapter 7.3

The problem was his father. At some point, his father, who had fallen into gambling, gradually gave up on being human. It was a given that he drank and smoked to a sickening degree, and on days when he lost money, he would not hesitate to take his anger out on his younger brother, even resorting to physical violence.

To the weakest and youngest being, he would spew nonsensical words like how life was hard because there was one more mouth to feed because of him.

Although his younger brother had appeared suddenly, Heeyoung cherished Himin dearly. Having someone by his side was a great comfort, and he spent his teenage years relying on his younger brother as they relied on each other. During those times, it was all thanks to his younger brother that he could endure while unreasonably juggling part-time jobs and studying.

But his father kept picking on his younger brother, so Heeyoung could not just stand by and watch. Thus, even if it was unfair and dirty, he catered to his father’s whims and offered up the part-time wages he had worked so hard to earn. Getting beaten in his younger brother’s place naturally became his role as well.

He did not rebel. He had realized that talking back would only fuel his father’s anger, so after that, he tried to end things with just getting hit a few times or having his money taken.

Heeyoung immersed himself in his studies with the sole determination to save money as quickly as possible and become independent with his younger brother. Around the time he had managed to get into the university he had aimed for with such difficulty and was getting closer to his dream of becoming a kindergarten teacher, some thugs started visiting his house.

And not long after, his father stamped Heeyoung’s fingerprint on a debt guarantee document. It happened when Heeyoung, who had returned home only in the early morning after his part-time job ended, had collapsed into sleep.

Heeyoung, who found out about it belatedly, tried to run away with his younger brother. He had intended to cut ties with his father and live on, but the man who was his father had beaten him to it.

He threatened Heeyoung, using the young Himin as a hostage. Do you want to die alone, or should we all die together. This little brat, are you going to let him fall into the hands of those gangster bastards? he had said.

His younger brother, unable to move with the back of his neck caught in his father’s hand, cried quietly. As if he knew what was happening, he shed tears drop by drop, looking at Heeyoung pitifully, calling, Hyeong, Hyung.

As Heeyoung, who was forced to shoulder everything alone, stood frozen, unable to do this or that, his father seized the opportunity and began to flee. The sight of his back as he hoisted the crying child over his shoulder and ran away in a hurry is still vivid in his mind.

Heeyoung, who had been frozen, recalled something and frantically chased after him.

His father was definitely drunk. And in that state, he was getting into a car he had brought from somewhere.

‘No! Don’t start the engine! I, I’ll take care of all the debt, so stop!’

He shouted until his throat was raw, but there was no way his voice could have reached. His father, who started the engine anyway, stepped on the accelerator, and Heeyoung, sensing a crisis, ran with all his might, chasing after the car.

But tragedy was bound to happen.

The car carrying his younger brother was hit by a dump truck less than a minute after it started.

CRASH! Right after a deafening roar echoed across the empty road, a horrific scene unfolded before his eyes.

His younger brother, who had been perfectly alive just a few minutes ago, his younger brother who had been calling him, ‘Hyung, Hyung……,’ fell silent, not even crying to be saved or that he was in so much pain.

Unable to believe it, Heeyoung, who was wandering near the car that was beginning to be engulfed in flames, could only barely see a finger hanging out of the car door.

Soon, ambulances and fire trucks rushed in, and after extinguishing the fire, they began to pull people out of the crumpled car. Heeyoung was plunged into shock upon facing the sight of his younger brother, which was too difficult to bear.

That incident remained as a great trauma. He does not even know how he managed to hold the funerals for his younger brother and father after the accident.

If there is anything he remembers clearly, it would be his uncle, who had always been close with his father, coming and expressing his sorrow.

He, who came alone to the funeral home where no one else visited, felt endlessly sorry for his nephew, Heeyoung. What am I to do with you, he asked, you’ve lost both your mother and father, and even your half-brother whom you raised so well is gone, so what am I to do with you.

His uncle, wiping away his tears, told him that there was land that he and his brother had bought together, that it was where their grandfather’s grave was, and since the land was so vast, it would be more than enough to bury two people, and arranged the burial site for him.

Heeyoung was so out of his mind that he simply moved as his uncle told him to.

After sending his father and younger brother off, Heeyoung could not seem to escape from the shock. When he closed his eyes, the scene of the accident would come to mind, and he had to cry in agony every single day.

And by the time he had finally shaken off the pain and returned to reality, he was dragged away to Ignis.

His hands and feet still trembled when he recalled that day when his innocent younger brother had to die so unfairly. Heeyoung had never thought he would be reminded of his younger brother’s death in this way, at such an unexpected moment. Was that why? His startled heart did not calm down easily.

“Haa……”

He let out an unstable, trembling breath and covered his face with both hands. Tears squeezed out due to the terrible memory he had inadvertently recalled. It was when he was biting his lip hard and swallowing his sobs silently.

His upper body tilted as someone pulled his shoulder. Since it happened so suddenly without any presence, Heeyoung had to be pulled along powerlessly.

A moment later, a hard object touched his forehead, and an arm wrapped around his back. Startled, he looked up and saw the face of Gyojin, who had approached at some point and was now hugging him.

The immediate thought was not ‘Why is the Boss out here?’ or ‘Why is the Boss hugging me?’.

Feeling the body heat through his thin clothes, this thought suddenly occurred to him. When I was having a hard time, has anyone ever hugged me like this? He searched his memory in detail, but there had not been a single time.

Not when his mother was sick and he felt his insides rot and fester alone as a child, not when he was beaten by his father instead of protecting his younger brother, not even at his own family’s funeral. While he had countless memories of hugging his younger brother, it was the first time he had been held like this.

Realizing that fact, all his senses became unfamiliar. His body stiffened, and he felt awkward at the strangely blooming, warm emotion. Heeyoung then finally pushed Gyojin’s chest away. It was a reflexive action.

“I’m alright.”

He did not know why his chest felt so heavy as he uttered the words that were like a habit. As he stared wide-eyed to hold back his tears, Gyojin pulled Heeyoung’s body more strongly and hugged him again. As if to say, stop with that ridiculous nonsense, very resolutely.

“Have you never been comforted before? When you’re having a hard time, you’re supposed to know how to lean on and rely on people. Not push them away saying, I’m okay, I’m really okayyy.”

He advised, playfully imitating Heeyoung’s way of speaking. The attitude of telling him not to find it difficult to be held by him, spoken with a touch of playfulness, made a weak laugh escape. Of course, that was only for a moment, and a walnut-like wrinkle formed on Heeyoung’s chin.

Does being comforted like this make anyone burst into tears? He was so embarrassed from crying so much just now, and he really did not want to cry anymore. But as if trying to pour out every last drop of water left, a surge of sorrow welled up.

“Hk, ugh……”

To the comfortable and subtle pheromone scent of Gyojin felt up close, to the warmth of the arm that warmly wrapped around his back, to Gyojin’s heartbeat faintly transmitted through his forehead. Heeyoung could not resist and crumbled. It felt as if all the emotions he had held back his entire life were finally exploding.

“What have you been so sad about since a while ago. Fine, just cry it all out. Cry until there’s nothing left to squeeze out.”

Gyojin acted as if he would fiercely scold him if he did not cry immediately, patting Heeyoung’s back with firm, thudding strokes. The gesture was forceful but not painful; rather, it felt stabilizing.

In the end, Heeyoung clung tightly to Gyojin’s body, which stood like a wall, and cried. Like a person who had never cried once in his life. Awkwardly, but so very sorrowfully.

For a moment, it seemed Gyojin’s body flinched and stiffened, but soon his large frame wrapped around Heeyoung, leaving no gaps.

Heeyoung cried as he poured out the story of Himin incoherently.

My younger brother, that day, was caught by my father, my father was drunk, he put my younger brother in the car, there was an accident, I’m so heartbroken, it’s still so shocking…….

It was so choppy that it was hard to understand what he was saying, but Gyojin reacted as if he understood everything. Your father was a son of a bitch who deserved to die. Right, your younger brother, umm……. he would say.

When it seemed he could not even utter words of comfort, he would gently wipe Heeyoung’s damp eyes with his thumb or pat his back.

After crying his heart out and pouring out the story inside him, at some point Heeyoung started saying, But I’m really okay. I’m okay now. Really. After his reason returned a little, he quickly fixed his messy hair and scrubbed his ruined face with his sleeve.

Once even the residual whimpers stopped, he glanced at Gyojin with a look that said he was embarrassed about having cried just now.

“I’m sorry, Boss, you must have been more surprised by the news about Cheonghyun……”

He was the one who was truly shocked and mentally dazed due to his trauma, yet he expressed his awkwardness as if he had overreacted to someone else’s situation. Seeing that, Gyojin, in his own way, felt his heart ache.

He had guessed that something must have happened when Heeyoung started wailing, but it was a situation where he had lost his family in a car accident. And it was an accident involving his younger brother, with whom he felt a deep affection and relied on.

From what he had observed on the way to the hospital, it seemed Heeyoung still carried the trauma of that day. He had been shivering like a patient with chills and could not even breathe properly, and now he was out in the hallway crying alone, wasn’t he. Nevertheless, his attitude of pretending to be fine, pretending to be okay, looked nothing but pitiful in Gyojin’s eyes.

Lee Heeyoung was definitely an upright, warm, and gentle person. But it seemed he did not allow himself even a little bit of that warmth. To put it nicely, he was clumsy at taking care of himself, and to put it badly, he was foolish to no end.

Gyojin’s head began to ache a bit now that he had a grasp of Heeyoung’s personality. It was by no means that he was dissatisfied with Heeyoung’s foolishness. He was just annoyed at his own indifference until now.

Even if it was before any feelings for Heeyoung had developed, Gyojin was bothered by the fact that he had brought a defenseless Heeyoung into his home and made him face Lee Seowon. Wouldn’t he have quietly let it pass, thinking he was okay, just like now, even if something had happened to him?

His chest felt tight. It felt as if he had placed an even greater burden and wound on someone who was already living a hard life, on someone who had not even overcome his trauma, and it made him think a lot.

“Boss, are you listening? I’m really okay now. Ju-just now, I, I was just suddenly overcome with emotion, I’m not usually like this……”

As Gyojin, lost in thought, remained silent, Heeyoung broke the silence and came up with an excuse. He spoke while constantly sneaking glances, even though Gyojin had not said anything. It was probably the first time this had happened to him too, so he seemed quite flustered; it was just pitiful to see him trembling, unable to control his emotions.

That sight was pitiful. To the point where he could not just leave him be. Gyojin watched Heeyoung and wondered countless times what he should do.

Somehow, he felt anxious and his insides seemed to churn. He felt frustrated and strangely angry, but it was not anger directed at Heeyoung. Lately, he had been feeling this subtle, unknown emotion more frequently. They were all feelings that arose whenever he saw Lee Heeyoung.

His complicated insides churned chaotically, and a strange nausea rose from his lower abdomen. His chest felt ticklish. It was still a mystery why these symptoms had suddenly appeared, but Gyojin had deduced one certain answer.

That he wanted to hug the Lee Heeyoung in front of him even tighter than now. That he wanted to embrace him until his body was crushed and his breath was caught, and share all of his warmth.

Once his head was simply organized, emotion and instinct took precedence over reason. Unfortunately, Gyojin’s personality was not cool-headed and rational enough to endure it.

As he bent his waist, their eye levels instantly matched. Subsequently, lips met lips.

It felt as though he could not bear it if he did not do it.

So, instead of an answer, he kissed him impulsively. With the selfish thought and dark impulse that this was the only way to instantly erase the dark memories stuck in Lee Heeyoung’s heart.

Hheup. Heeyoung’s surprised breath escaped between their pressed lips. Gyojin tilted his head, pressing down on the soft lips, and naturally slid his tongue through the parted lips.

Heeyoung, pinned against the wall and unable to escape, could only receive the act in a rigid posture. He had no time to feel whether he liked it or not. He could not judge what to do with the tongue roving around inside his mouth, so he just let it violate him like that.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His heart pumped violently as if it would burst. Tschup, with each wet sound of lips and each time his head was bent back, a tingle shot through his toes.

Heeyoung, who was blankly opening his mouth and feeling the hot breath passing through, suddenly pushed Gyojin’s chest away weakly. Rather than not liking it…… it just felt like he should. He was quite flustered.

When pushed with feeble strength, Gyojin fell back without a word, sucking on his own lips, which were glistening with saliva, with a jjop sound. He would naturally move back since he was pushed, but he seemed quite reluctant to part their joined lips.

Did he not know that such an action made a person more embarrassed than mixing tongues promiscuously? Every time the wet sound of friction pierced his ears, Heeyoung’s shoulders flinched.

Only after Heeyoung pushed his upper body with more force, as if telling him to stop feeling any more regret, did Gyojin completely pull away.

The two stared at each other silently for a while. Heeyoung, in particular, scrutinized Gyojin’s face. He wanted to know the meaning of the kiss just now. Thus, he persistently examined every single facial muscle, but it was hard to read his thoughts.

His eyelids blinked rapidly in bewilderment. He could not even manage his mouth, which was hanging open foolishly, going, uh, uh.

Unlike Heeyoung himself, who was visibly flustered, Gyojin was calm. He was the one who mixed tongues first, and it seemed to have been a very impulsive act, yet his eyes showed no sign of surprise whatsoever.

Hiccup.

Heeyoung, who had been staring blankly, hiccupped with a large heave of his chest. Hk, geup, he took a couple of gasping breaths and stared intently at Gyojin’s face. But no matter how much he looked up, there were no words.

It became Heeyoung’s role to ramble on with unasked-for excuses. Even though someone else was the one who should be making excuses right now.

“Th-the reason I feel particularly fond of Cheonghyun and adore him like my own family, is because he reminds me of my younger brother who died so tragically. I, because I couldn’t protect my younger brother until the end, that regret is so great that I was just trying to treat him better. So, it’s not that there was any other meaning, but……”

Heeyoung continued to speak, not even knowing what he was saying.

“Uh, this is my fi-first time experiencing something like this, and I don’t quite understand, and it’s so sudden. I wonder if, Boss, you misunderstood something……”

Hilkkeum, he kept fidgeting with his fingers while constantly sneaking glances. It was genuinely hard to grasp Gyojin’s inner thoughts, so his head kept tilting to the side. Why on earth, for what reason, did you kiss me.

Heeyoung, who was squeezing out words with all his might, once again glanced up. Gyojin, the tips of his ears flushed red, was looking this way with a placid expression.

Thus, he quickly averted his gaze, pretending not to have made eye contact. A blazing heat rose from his neck, and his face grew hot.

Heeyoung, who was about to be swept away by the strange atmosphere, hurriedly turned his back. Scrub, scrub. He wiped the saliva left on his lips with the sleeve he had used to wipe his tears. He no longer had a clue what to say or what expression to make.

Should I confront him? But he did not have the guts to hold Gyojin down and ask why he kissed him. Then should I get angry and ask what the hell he thinks he’s doing? No, that was even more impossible.

The most natural and comfortable response was…… ultimately, avoidance.

Heeyoung, who had been taking one step, two steps, slowly backing away as if testing the waters and creating distance, left the motionless Gyojin standing there and escaped the hallway as quickly as possible.

Tap. Tap. The slow footsteps soon turned into the sound of frantic running, and soon even that sound faded into the distance.

Before long, a stuffy silence filled the hallway.

Gyojin watched Heeyoung’s back disappear into a dot before roughly wiping his dry face. Every time his palm swept up his face, a deep sigh escaped.

“Haaaa, are you even a human being, Cha Gyojin……?”

As reason returned, a sense of shame also washed over him like a tide. I shouldn’t have done that right now. I haven’t even sorted things out around me. Why did I, right now.

The fact that he had ‘kissed him’ was not the problem at all. A kiss, well, he was planning to do that with Lee Heeyoung at some point later anyway, and to take it a step further, he was even thinking of things beyond that. But the problem was the timing. It was something that should not have been done impulsively, at least not now.

Heeyoung’s expression, so surprised that his mouth hung open as he stuttered, was vivid. It was a face that said, Why are you kissing me?

Making him suck his dick before even confessing, and now kissing him under the pretext of comforting him. Even to himself, he seemed like a complete bastard, a motherfucking asshole.

So what could he do? He had to clean up the mess before he became an even bigger bastard.

Turning his body in the direction Heeyoung had disappeared, Gyojin slowly started walking that way. He intended to close the distance so he wouldn’t get further away, and to pull out Heeyoung, who must be hiding somewhere, to talk.

Vvvoong. Vvvoong.

But the phone in his inner pocket began to vibrate loudly. Gyojin thought that the timing of phone calls today was not good in many ways and checked the screen.

[Chairman]

After confirming the caller, he slowly came to a halt.

Hmm. This time, the timing was okay. Gyojin answered the call without hesitation. It was time for a cleanup.

—Oh, our Managing Director Cha.

As soon as he put the phone to his ear, Chairman Baek’s cheerful voice came through. It seemed the European trip he had hastily decided on to postpone the appointment date as much as possible was quite satisfactory.

Normally, Gyojin would have continued the small talk with a friendly remark like, ‘You must have enjoyed your trip,’ but today, he gave a blunt reply.

“Yes, Chairman.”

It was a tone that urged him to get straight to the point, as there was no need for useless chatter. The chairman, unbothered, chattered on about his recent activities.

—I just got back yesterday. Maybe because I’m old, but the fatigue from one trip abroad just won’t go away.

It was all lies and excuses. What a funny old man. He spun such transparent lies so nonchalantly. Gyojin snorted silently, Heo.

“When was it you said that even though you’re old, your body is still going strong. Why do you talk like a dying old man?”

When he threw a barb mixed in with a slick reply, a hearty laugh rang out from the other side of the phone.

—Anyway, this bastard, still as rude as ever to an elder who’s like a father to him.

Hahaha, Chairman Baek laughed and then naturally brought up the main topic.

—I’m getting old, you see. About that appointment we talked about then, shall we take our time with it?

Sure enough, he was planning to postpone the appointment again. This slithering-past-the-problem-like-a-snake attitude had happened once or twice too many. Gyojin had not the slightest intention of waiting any longer.

His patience had long run out. Lee Seowon’s conduct was not proper enough for him to sit back and quietly endure it, either. He was also certain that there was no chance of developing feelings for Lee Seowon in the time remaining.

Besides this, there were more than enough reasons to break his promise with Chairman Baek.

“No, let’s meet tomorrow. You said you’re tired, so sometime in the afternoon would be suitable. I can’t wait any longer.”

Gyojin stated his intentions firmly, as if he would not make any more concessions. Since he had even set the date and time, hammering it in, Chairman Baek had no choice but to take a step back.

—This fellow, so impatient. Alright, I understand. I’ll decide on the place and contact you.

Heo-heo, a bitter feeling was thoroughly mixed in at the end of Chairman Baek’s weak laughter. Although he did not say it directly, he must be feeling sorry for his nephew who would have to leave Gyojin’s house as if being kicked out.

But that was their problem. Gyojin added a comment that was like rubbing salt in a wound. Even if he were to be cursed at for being a rude bastard, he had to finish things properly.

“Yes, well, let’s meet wherever is convenient for you, Chairman. And you’ll need to prepare an extra car when you come.”

He was, in his own way, politely telling him to take Lee Seowon and get lost tomorrow, if possible.

He was planning to kick him out today anyway, but there was no way Lee Seowon would listen to him. It was a kind of warning and a final courtesy, saying that if the Chairman didn’t want to see his precious nephew get kicked out miserably, he should take him away nicely.

Although the Chairman would usually laugh off Gyojin’s impolite behavior, even he could not respond amiably to the last remark, letting out a displeased cough, keum keum.

—…Let’s see each other tomorrow, tomorrow. Oh, by the way, I heard you took a vacation. What’s up with Managing Director Cha, who never even took a proper vacation before?

The Chairman lightly glossed over the uncomfortable topic and changed the subject. It was his way of saying, I get the gist of what’s happening with Lee Seowon, so let’s talk about what you’ve been up to.

It was not a scheme to subtly postpone the appointment like last time, or to try and coax the turned-away Gyojin’s heart.

The Chairman, who truly thought of Gyojin as his own son, often enjoyed calling him for personal conversations. The frequency of his calls had increased after he got older and stepped back a bit from the front lines.

Seeing that he wanted to have a conversation as a father and son, Gyojin suppressed his sharp temper and played along.

“I need a day off too. And Cheonghyun got hurt.”

In truth, the real purpose of the vacation was to monitor Lee Seowon and watch over Lee Heeyoung from up close. But Gyojin gave a vague excuse.

The Chairman was startled by the news that Cheonghyun was hurt and shouted. The old man’s voice was so loud. The phone speaker vibrated from the thunderous voice.

—What! Why our Cheonghyun! How did he get hurt? Is he badly hurt?

It seemed his eyes were flipping out at the news that his cherished grandson was hurt. Gyojin wondered what his reaction would be if he found out that the nephew he cherished so much had been tormenting his grandson, and answered.

“It’s nothing major. He just fell in front of a car and got a few scrapes.”

When he replied with a faint sigh, a voice blaming Gyojin immediately came back.

—You punk, that is a major thing! How were you watching the child that he fell in front of a car? Goodness, it’s a miracle he wasn’t hit by the car. How scared that young, small child must have been.

For a moment, he lamented sincerely for the young Cheonghyun, and then the chairman’s voice changed completely as he spoke with determination.

—This won’t do, grandpa has to do something for him. Did you have the kid admitted to the hospital? Which hospital is it.

Just as he thought he heard some rustling noises in a distracting manner, it seemed the old man had already finished his preparations to leave. He was poised to come here right away, so Gyojin hurriedly calmed the anxious chairman down.

“He’s going to be discharged after one day, so you don’t really need to come. Why would someone who says they’re tired come all the way here? The kid’s perfectly fine. If something was really wrong with him, do you think the man who is his father would be leisurely on the phone?”

As the call continued, his polite manner of speaking gradually turned more and more thuggish. It was an attitude for which he would have no excuse even if he got a smack on the head for being insolent, but the chairman did not point that out at all. The reason was that his attention was fixed on Cheonghyun.

He was busy pouring out a stream of worries, like a grandfather blinded by his love for his grandson.

—Is that so? He’s being discharged after one day, you say. What a relief he wasn’t seriously hurt. Then I’ll send some allowance and, uh, some food for the kid to eat. Huh? Feed Cheonghyun well, and look closely at his wound so it doesn’t leave a scar. No matter if he’s your son, you punk, don’t raise him by being too rough on him!

As befitting a man who was crazy about Cheonghyun, his worries were excessive. Probably, in the near future, herbal medicines said to be good for the body and all sorts of nourishing foods would be piled up like a mountain in front of the house.

Gyojin silently swallowed a rising sigh and replied.

“I appreciate the concern. I’ll take good care of him, so don’t worry too much. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

—This damn punk, with his temper…….

“I’m hanging up.”

Tsk, tsk, tsk, he hung up the phone, leaving behind the sound of the chairman clucking his tongue. If he had dragged the conversation on any longer, he would have been nagged for an hour. Since they had to discuss matters that would be uncomfortable for both of them tomorrow, it was right to end the call here.

Gyojin put his phone away with a much lighter heart.

From a societal perspective, Chairman Baek was certainly not a good person, but he had a side to him that was endlessly soft when it came to his own people. Being an old-fashioned person, he was especially full of affection and knew how to cherish his family dearly.

Naturally, Gyojin was one of the chairman’s ‘people’ and was like family, even without mixed blood. To Chairman Baek, who was not married, Gyojin might have felt like his only son. No, at times, he even referred to himself directly as ‘father,’ so in his heart, he probably already thought of himself as Gyojin’s biological father.

Was it because of that? Gyojin predicted that breaking his promise with the chairman and getting rid of Lee Seowon would not be that difficult.

Because while Chairman Baek was Lee Seowon’s uncle, he was also a father-like figure to him, and a person who did not spare sincere concern at the mere mention of Cheonghyun being hurt.

Tomorrow, I’ll end it all.

He would put an end to the uncomfortable relationship and once again reclaim his peaceful and happy family.

The hallway, now left alone. Gyojin walked with an emotionless face. In his long strides forward, there was an unspoken conviction.

As he turned the corner with a stoic face, a single-person room with the three characters of Cheonghyun’s name on it appeared. Peeking inside through the window on the door, he saw a single round back of a head.

Lee Heeyoung, sitting in front of the bed and opening a drink, and Cha Cheonghyun, holding out his hand and grinning. It was a combination that warmed the heart just by looking at them.

Seeing them like this, they looked just like a family…… and the two of them even looked strangely similar.

The impression of their facial features was distinctly different, but the way their eyes folded into a round shape whenever they smiled brightly, or the way their cheeks puffed up like sticky rice cakes when seen from the side. To exaggerate, one might even think that Lee Heeyoung had given birth to Cha Cheonghyun.

Instead of hesitating further, Gyojin opened the door wide and entered. Simultaneously, the facial muscles that had been stiff like some gangster punk’s softened gently. A slick smile naturally floated onto his face.

It was the image of a normal father, warmly greeting his family.