From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 6.2

With the arrival of Artist Kim Woon’s paintings, the gallery finally opened. Since not many people knew about the opening, I didn’t expect a crowd, but thanks to the team members, my younger sister, my mother, the interior contractors, and the artists, the opening ceremony—which could have been lonely—became quite bustling.

“Jaekyung-ah.”

“Oppa!”

While I was talking to the interior design manager, my mother and sister arrived. Jaekyung greeted the two of them joyfully. As soon as his mother saw Jaekyung, she held his hands tightly and patted his back.

“When did you put all this together?”

“I’ve been preparing little by little.”

“You should have told Mom. There must have been something I could do.”

“No. I wanted to try doing it on my own.”

His mother’s eyes quickly well up with tears. Jaekyung is sufficiently happy right now, but in his mother’s eyes, he is still a son who looks unhappy. Because he disliked that look, Jaekyung forced a smile, and then another.

“Mom, why are you crying on such a good day? Don’t cry.”

Jaeyoung held their mother’s hand tightly and comforted her. It was likely because she knew Jaekyung was feeling troubled. Grateful for his sister’s quick-witted behavior, Jaekyung smiled at her, and she smiled back with her eyes.

“Mr. Park Jaekyung!”

At the sound of a voice boisterously calling Jaekyung’s name from outside, he asked his mother and sister for their understanding and went out to find several celebratory flower pots had arrived. One was in Jaeyoung’s name, and another was in the name of the team members’ company. Jaekyung was surprised by how large they were.

“Ah, I guess they’ve arrived?”

Instead of the surprised Jaekyung, Jaeyoung signed for them and instructed the delivery Mister where to place them.

“Why did you send something like this?”

“A shop that’s opening definitely needs things like this. Wreaths are a pain to deal with later, so I sent pots. They say they’re good for air purification too.”

“Thank you. I’ve prepared food inside. Take Mom in and eat.”

There was a living room area inside the shop, where a professional catering company had been called to set up a snack buffet. It was prepared as a small token of gratitude for those who came. Soon after, the artists also arrived and greeted Jaekyung; Jaekyung explained to each of them how their paintings were exhibited and thanked them once again for providing their work.

In the meantime, the team members also arrived and gave Jaekyung bouquets and small gifts. Gwak Haeshin also bought perfume and handed it to Jaekyung. As Jaekyung thanked him and was guiding them to the living room, the Mister who had finished the flower pot delivery came back into the gallery.

“Ah, Mr. Park Jaekyung!”

“Ah, yes.”

“I didn’t give you this.”

What the Mister held out was a small flower pot that fit right in one’s arms, but it looked quite like a tree with lush leaves. Unlike the other gift pots, it was the perfect size to put on Jaekyung’s desk.

“Oh? It’s a Happy Tree.”

Ms. Youngeun approached with sparkling eyes and told him the name of the tree.

“A Happy Tree?”

“Yes, it’s named that because it’s said to bring happiness. How thoughtful. Who sent it?”

Ms. Youngeun looked all over the pot, but the sender’s name was nowhere to be seen. He tried to ask the Mister who sent it, but the Mister had already gotten the signature and vanished, so Jaekyung couldn’t catch him again. Holding the pot like Matilda, Jaekyung went in and placed it on his office desk before coming back out. He joined the crowd, which was much more bustling than before, and exchanged many stories. He talked about life with his mother, pleasant things with his sister, work with the interior company, gratitude and creation with the artists, and future tasks with the team members.

Before he knew it, time had flown by, and it was time to turn off the gallery lights. As people left the gallery one or two at a time, Jaekyung, who was doing the final tidying up and about to turn off the office lights, looked at the small Happy Tree sitting on his desk.

「It’s so desolate.」 Ah.

「Even if—… it’s an office, there isn’t even a single flower pot.」

A room he had never seen before flickers before his eyes. A large office that couldn’t even be compared to his current one… In that big room that looked so gloomy, rigid, and lonely, Jaekyung had held out a small flower pot.

「It’s a Happy Tree. Keep it on your desk. It purifies the air… and it will bring you happiness too.」

It was the first gift he had ever given him. What should I give as a gift? A gift given after agonizing over it again and again. What did that man say when he received that gift? What kind of face was he making? Holding the two hands that held out the pot tightly, he—….

—RRRRR

“Ah.”

Jaekyung was startled by the ringtone of his phone. The moments that had been unfolding before his eyes just now disappeared like smoke. What was I thinking about? Ah, the Happy Tree… the Happy Tree made him think of him. But there’s no way. It isn’t something he sent. If it’s that family, they would certainly know that he had set up a gallery here. Even so, they wouldn’t send a gift or flowers. Rather, they would be mocking him. For opening a gallery at that level.

—RRRRRR

Since Jaekyung didn’t answer the phone, it rang incessantly. The caller was his sister. As soon as Jaekyung answered, he calmed her down as she got angry asking why he wasn’t picking up, then he turned off the office lights and left the gallery. In the room that the owner had briefly departed, a single small Happy Tree was swaying gently in the moonlight.

◆

[I’m thinking of taking Oppa to the hospital soon. Since I need to check if he’s okay.]

“Yes, I understand.”

[…Even if we go to any hospital, that record won’t come up, right?]

“Yes.”

[Understood. Then.]

Jaeyoung’s call cut off with a click, and Han Taesuk held the phone silently. He wanted to ask if the opening went well, if that person looked happy, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. The questions lingered in his mouth as he kept the disconnected phone to his ear with lingering regret. A text had arrived saying the flower pot was delivered successfully, but still, though he knew he shouldn’t, he wanted to be there. He wanted to congratulate him.

Sitting alone in the empty bedroom drinking liquor, Han Taesuk stared at the empty window. Now, he couldn’t feel his pheromones in this room anymore. Feeling that the space that used to be the only thing that let him breathe was gradually becoming accompanied by longing and pain, tightening around his throat, Han Taesuk closed his eyes.

◆

Jaekyung, who had been asleep since returning home from the hospital, did not wake up even when the next morning came. Han Taesuk sat in a chair beside him, staying up all night while diligently giving him pheromones. When he still hadn’t woken up by the afternoon, he called the lady, and she scolded Taesuk for not contacting the doctor and called the doctor herself. The doctor said it was likely a symptom coming from his body relaxing and feeling comfortable, and since it could be like that for a day, he told him to keep giving pheromones steadily.

Relieved, Han Taesuk sat back in the chair and gave him pheromones for a couple of hours. Feeling physically fatigued, he stepped out of the room to have a sip of water just as Secretary Oh was entering the house.

「Did you get some rest?」

「Yeah.」

Though his body was tired, his mind was strangely at ease. Park Jaekyung’s complexion, which he saw before leaving the room, had improved a lot, his breathing was even, and his face showed no signs of suffering. In the hospital, he had struggled even when receiving pheromones and had moaned in pain with cold sweats even while sleeping, but today there was no sign of that at all. It seemed he had done well to discharge him. No, rather, a sense of regret remained that he should have been discharged sooner. If he had, perhaps the time he had to be stuck here would have been reduced, even if just by a little.