Dirty Sweet Baby Chapter 58

“So you’ve come.”

Mister Kwon Il also came out to the entryway to greet them. I quickly bowed my head and greeted him.

“Yes, have you been well?”

It was as if time had passed him by; though it was the first time I had seen him in five years, he was exactly as I remembered him. His dark black hair, exceptionally black eyes, and strong-featured face were so similar to Cha Moogyul’s it was as if he had been copied and pasted. They resembled each other so much that one could not doubt they were father and son.

“Yes, Heeheon. I’ve missed you very much. I thought of you so often… You even appeared in my dreams sometimes.”

Mister Kwon Il responded with a kind smile. Their appearances were similar, but the moment an expression appeared on Mister Kwon Il’s face, the difference became clear. Cha Moogyul had a sharp, cold impression, as if he could cut you, but his father had a warm and generous impression. In reality, his personality was also very family-oriented, and he was single-mindedly devoted to my mother.

“Honey, look at this. Heeheon brought flowers. Aren’t they so pretty?”

My mother didn’t hide her excitement. She showed the flower basket to Mister Kwon Il and boasted about it to her heart’s content. I glanced at Cha Moogyul standing next to me. It was a good thing he had suggested stopping by the flower shop. A feeling of gratitude slowly welled up from deep within my chest.

I mouthed a small thank you to him. I had said, ‘Thanks,’ but Cha Moogyul just gave a small smirk upon seeing it and didn’t react otherwise.

“Now, we should all go eat. We shouldn’t be doing this in the entryway.”

“Oh, my! The food will get cold. I prepared radish soup and white kimchi, which Heeheon likes.”

“Yes, then let’s go eat quickly.”

“Heeheon, Gyeol, are you two hungry? I ended up preparing quite a lot of this and that…”

I could no longer remember what it felt like to eat at the same table with my mother; all that remained was longing. As a single mother, she had raised Baek Heeheon, who was a picky eater, by coaxing and soothing him, and sometimes scolding him sternly. That’s how I had grown up…

They closed the front door and all went inside the house. The ceramics and sculptures decorating the hallway were still the same.

However, in the spot where an abstract painting used to hang, there was now a new frame. Heeheon’s eyes widened.

There was a family photo.

It was a photo taken on my mother and Mister Kwon Il’s wedding day. On either side of my mother in a wedding dress and Mister Kwon Il in a tuxedo, stood a 17-year-old Baek Heeheon and a 16-year-old Cha Moogyul, dressed in suits.

Baek Heeheon aside, seeing a vivid photo of the 16-year-old Cha Moogyul again made me gasp and involuntarily take a sharp breath. Compared to his mature and complete appearance now, he certainly looked much younger and more boyish.

I could read a raw, wild, and untamed aura from him. Unlike the three smiling people, his delicate face staring at the lens with no expression and his position, standing half a step apart from the others, also stood out.

In this photo, Cha Moogyul looked like a brilliant rebel.

In a sense, he stood out even more than my mother in her dazzling wedding dress.

‘Goodness, I can’t believe they hung a photo like this in the living room…’

Heeheon tried to hide his bewilderment and entered the dining room. All four seats at the table were filled. And as my mother had announced, a feast was set on the table. From one to a hundred, every dish was something my mother had personally cooked for Heeheon when he was young.

Beef and radish soup, boiled pork slices, pan-fried tofu, white kimchi, spicy stir-fried pork, braised chicken and potatoes, japchae, fried tofu pockets with steamed egg, sweet and sour lotus root, braised mackerel and radish, soy-marinated crab, king oyster mushrooms braised with perilla seeds, seasoned deodeok root, stir-fried dried shrimp, rolled omelet, abalone in soy sauce, crispy seaweed sheets, pan-fried shiitake mushrooms… The table was so packed with bowls and plates that there seemed to be hardly any room to place their spoons and chopsticks.

As soon as he saw the packed table, a deep sense of gratitude and anticipation bloomed. Heeheon calmed his trembling heart and calmly picked up his spoon and chopsticks. Sipping the warm soup first naturally spread a faint smile on his lips. All the other side dishes looked delicious too. Admiring the diverse textures and flavors, they all began to eat.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am that Gyeol and Heeheon seem to be getting along so well these days. The news about you two is on every time I turn on the TV, and the internet is full of talk about you…”

The conversation topic mostly flowed toward the exploits of Baek Heeheon and Cha Moogyul. Cha Moogyul remained silent, focusing only on his meal, while Baek Heeheon did all the answering.

“Seeing the two of you getting along so harmoniously like this, it’s so heartwarming and nice to see. It makes me so proud. I’m so proud of you.”

“Yes…”

“You really never know what life has in store for you, do you? It’s such a relief. Things turned out well.”

As the meal was in full swing, Heeheon cautiously brought up the news he had been waiting to share.

“Um, Mother. I have some news to tell you.”

“Hm? News?”

“Yes… I received a special promotion this time. I’m a First Lieutenant now.”

“My goodness, really? Oh, Heeheon. Congratulations. That’s wonderful!”

As expected, his mother was happier than if it were her own accomplishment and smiled brightly. Mister Cha Kwon Il also offered words of blessing to Heeheon.

“That’s wonderful. It’s the happiest news I’ve heard all year.”

“If I had known in advance by phone, I would have prepared a congratulatory gift. Making your mom surprised like this. Did you know?”

“Well, I… I knew.”

“If you knew, you should have given me a hint…!”

“But it’s more joyful for you to hear it from Heeheon than from me. And I’ve already prepared a gift on your behalf as well. Heeheon, I got you something small. It’s nothing much.”

“Thank you. But, it’s not something that warrants a gift. Your congratulations are more than enough.”

“Knowing you would refuse so strongly, I’ve already had it shipped to the special district. It should have arrived at your address there by now.”

“Ah…”

“It’s nothing much. Really small. Now, let’s eat. Honey, I think the pan-fried shiitake mushrooms are the most delicious.”

…Anyway. Mister Kwon Il was as gentlemanly as ever. And it was really nice to see that he and my mother were still getting along so lovingly. The two of them had always been so compatible, so I actually had no worries in that department.

‘If only Cha Moogyul was even half as good-natured as Mister Kwon Il…’

Heeheon quietly let his eyes drift to the side and glanced at Cha Moogyul sitting next to him. He was using his chopsticks neatly, adhering to perfect table manners. His posture was upright and proper, and he ate his food so neatly that it was enough to make one mistake this place for a high-end Korean restaurant instead of a home.

‘He’s eating well. He said he doesn’t like food made by others…’

Could it be that what he said back then was also a lie? Like the lily allergy.

‘Nah, it couldn’t be that far.’

For that to be the case, Cha Moogyul’s cooking skills were too outstanding. Heeheon cleanly erased the budding suspicion and focused on the meal.

Fortunately, the atmosphere continued to be warm and friendly, as if the long gap had never existed. Cha Moogyul was quiet and distant, alone like in the wedding photo, but Heeheon, his mother, and his stepfather continued to chat and laugh without a break in conversation.

After the meal, they moved to the living room for dessert. There was a full assortment of fruits as well. The table was covered with so much fruit that one might mistake the place for an orchard or a department store’s fruit section. Heeheon was quite full, but as he chatted amiably with his mother and Mister Kwon Il, his joyful mood made him eat a little more, a slice of apple here, a grape there.

“So this kid was causing a commotion, saying he was missing, and we searched the entire neighborhood, can you believe it? I still sigh just thinking about that time.”

“When was that? Mother, really.”

“You were so absorbed in chasing a puppy that you threw your bag and textbooks on the street and, as a little kid, just disappeared. You think a mother wouldn’t worry? Anyway…”

After catching up on recent events, the conversation continued for a long while on the topic of childhood memories. They talked about the troublemaker young Heeheon was, and then they also reminisced about their first meeting with Mister Kwon Il.

“Heeheon wasn’t the type of kid to be friendly with unfamiliar adults, but you two got along so well from the very beginning. It’s strange, isn’t it?”

“I know. I don’t remember it well either, but I felt comfortable with Mister Kwon Il from the start for some reason.”

“Haha, well, I did try a little too hard to win points with Heeheon.”

“You did? What kind of effort did you…”

In the middle of the conversation, Heeheon unconsciously turned to his side out of habit. Cha Moogyul’s seat was empty; he didn’t know when he had disappeared.

Seeing the empty chair, Heeheon slowly blinked once.

‘Cha Moogyul… where did he go?’

He must have been so engrossed in the conversation that he hadn’t even noticed he was gone. Heeheon lightly gripped the armrest of the sofa. His posture, which had been relaxed and comfortable, suddenly tensed and his body leaned forward slightly. As if ready to stand up at any moment.

“It wasn’t anything grand, um. I just thought you wouldn’t meet me without Heeheon’s permission.”

Heeheon slowly looked around his surroundings. Strangely, from the moment he saw the empty chair, he couldn’t hear a single word of his mother and Mister Kwon Il’s conversation. He could hear their voices, but they were perceived only as a muffled, mumbling sound, as if he were underwater.

‘Where…?’

His bright expression slowly grew calm.

His excited heart also gradually settled and calmed down. Was it really necessary to look for him this much just from seeing an empty chair? He probably had something else to take care of, he’ll be back soon, he thought, yet his eyes kept scanning the living room, his gaze wandering.

‘Well, right. Cha Moogyul is busy.’

Maybe something urgent came up. Maybe he got a call. His schedule in the general residential district seemed extremely tight, so perhaps he didn’t have time to just sit around like this.

‘He wouldn’t have left without me… without a word…’