Returnee’s Life Report

13

“It’s alright. These kids are my students. I believe that lecture will go on for about another hour. Don’t you think that’s enough time?”

“An hour won’t be enough, sir.”

“Well then, just go and sum it up. I know you’re good at that.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that. We talked for an hour. It was quite a long conversation, but he listened intently to my story. When I finished, he sighed.

“You must have had a tiring journey.”

“…You actually believe it?”

“I do. How could I not believe you? Son, I know you well.” Mr. Go smiled. “You never lied. Even if it was about something foolish, you were always honest. If I had a child, I wanted him to become like you. You were like my child, son.”

As he had mentioned, he did not have a child. It was not like he had lost one because of an accident or something. Instead of thinking about that, I decided to focus on his heart. It was important to respond to his words.

“I felt the same, Mr. Go. I wanted a father like you.”

We laughed together and started to reminisce about the old days. After a while, he sighed and turned to me to ask.

“Speaking of fathers, do you have any plans to meet up with your actual father?”

“Who…?”

“Your birth father.”

I immediately frowned, my eyebrows furrowing. I never thought about him. More than twenty years have passed, so it was hard to remember him. In fact, I actually thought he was dead.

“Is he still alive?”

“…Oh, you don’t know. Didn’t your brother tell you?”

“He is still suspicious of me, so he never talks to me.”

Mr. Go, with a calm and steady voice, said.

“Well, I guess you need to walk before you run.”

“………”

“Anyway, what are you planning to do now?”

“I’ll take a GED.”

“GED?”

“When I quit school, my mother cried a lot. I want to get a graduation certificate.”

“But as far as I remember, your mother is…”

His words were blunt, but after seeing my faint smile, he nodded. He knew that I was not a fool. I knew that I was not a fool.

“Alright. If you need any help, contact me. You know that I’m a math teacher.”

“As you say, sir.”

“Good. Seems like the lecture just ended.”

I turned my head to peek through the window of the classroom. Ee-Na was coming out of the room and the bell was ringing. She smiled and greeted Mr. Go.

“You’re the teacher I met this morning, right? I finished my lecture.”

“Thanks for your job.” He then patted my back and smiled. “I know that you are busy, but don’t forget that I’m here for you. Visit me whenever you want.”

“…Thank you, Mr. Go.”

“I didn’t do much. It was all your progress.”

I bowed to him. Mr. Go shook my hand and went back to his classroom. As I lifted my head, Ee-Na tried to make a comment.

“This was your Alma Mater.”

“I told you I don’t lie much.”

It was rather strange. I had heard that her lecture would last until 2 pm, but it was just noon, which was lunchtime.

“I just got a call that the lecture was shortened,” Ee-Na explained, answering my unvoiced question.

“That’s pretty odd.”

“But I guess that’s what happened.”

Maybe that was the business of civil servants. As I shrugged my shoulders, Ee-Na spoke up.

“I saw a restaurant just down there. I’ll treat you to lunch.”

“That’s a pretty nice offer from a civil servant.”

“Haven’t I told you? I earn quite a lot.”

“And you also pay rent for your house.”

“It’s Seoul. The price of a house is extremely high, especially in the capital.”

That was true. I had checked the internet and noticed that the price had indeed escalated.

“Anyway, are you coming with me? Keep in mind that I’m buying for you.”

I laughed out loud. She was indeed an interesting person.

“Let’s go. Do you mean Mandarin, the Chinese restaurant?”

“You know that place?”

I nodded. I had a nostalgic memory of that place. I hoped the chef was still there, for he harbored excellent skills.

***

Mandarin was the name of a small Chinese restaurant near Ga-On High School. We went inside and ordered two bowls of jjajang noodles. The chef was staring oddly at me. He was old, with white hair and a wrinkled face.

If I remembered correctly, he was still the head chef. Was it seventeen years ago when I had last been here? It must have been hard for him to work in his shop alone.

The chef, with a questioning look on his face, entered the kitchen. And a few minutes later, he had prepared our meals. I grabbed a pair of chopsticks and began eating my noodles.

“Wow…” Ee-Na exclaimed. I swallowed a bite of the noodles before asking.

“Why? Is it your first time seeing a man eat some noodles?”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just surprised that you eat so well.”

Come to think of it; I did eat a lot. I chuckled a little before replying, “I do eat a lot of food. If you’re not going to eat that, then give it to me. I’ll take it.”

Ee-Na quickly shook her head. We continued scarfing down our meals, and it took only about eight minutes for us to finish our food. When we headed to the counter to pay, the chef came out to confirm the bill and accept our payment. While doing that, he hesitated for a bit before eventually turning to look at me.

“I know this might sound rude, but have we met before?”

I suppose he remembered me as well.

“It was seventeen years ago. You still remember me?”

His eyes widened. With surprise evident in his voice, he answered. “I still remember. You ordered two jjajang noodles, right?”

I smiled in response to his question. “Even after seventeen years, you still remember it accurately.”

“Of course. I remember three customers coming in and only the two children were eating. Your mother’s eyes were full of tears while watching you guys eat. It is rare to see something like that… Oh, dear. Sorry if I was rude.”

It was the same memory that I had. I smiled at him.

“It was two jjajang noodles and one Chinese sweet and sour pork. Am I correct?”

It was, but it turns out that he had given the pork dish for free. He mentioned that mom only ordered two jjajang noodles. There were three of us, but we did not have enough money to buy meals for everyone. The pork dish was much more expensive than noodles; how could I have not known?

“Thank you for your kindness.”

“I don’t even remember it for that. I only remember that a family was enjoying my food so well.”

We exchanged smiles. For a chef, seeing his customers enjoying his food was the greatest gift. If the food was meaningful to the guest, that was even better for the chef. I suppose he was also happy to provide us some form of service.

When we walked out of the restaurant, Ee-Na smiled and turned to me.

“He was a kind person.”

Indeed. I smiled as well. Meanwhile, I thought of my family and my brother. We had a nice time back then. When would he stop his suspicions?

The next morning, Lee Ho came back.

He told me that he would be returning in three days, but he was already here. Then, he offered me a sudden proposal.

“Let’s go somewhere.”

“Where?”

“To the cemetery.”

Chapter 5

It all happened so suddenly.

Lee Ho had returned earlier than he told me; it took him just one day before he came back. Not only that, but he also asked me to visit the cemetery together. I was surprised at first, but I had no choice but to say yes.

We were going to use his car to get there. The driver was Jeong Gi-Hoon, the S-rated hunter I had met before. The car door had a strange way of opening. My brother and I sat at the back together, but we did not talk; we were both not in the mood to. Why were we visiting the cemetery anyway?

However, deep down, I already knew the reason. That was why I remained silent, and so did he.

We arrived at a memorial cemetery located in Seocho, Seoul. We went down from the car and Lee Ho led the way, with me following close behind.

I was not sure when they arrived, but there were about sixty men wearing black suits all around us. Everyone was from Cheon-Myeong and they all had quite strong auras. Jong-Geun Hong was present, along with his colleagues who were considerably weaker than him. They had a strength more similar to Jeong Gi-Hoon, who was also there. Among all the men, four of them were about as strong as Gi-Hoon.

They approached us as a unit but stopped when they were about three hundred meters away from us.

Lee Ho and I entered from the side. He then pointed to a specific grave. As I walked closer to it, I felt as if time had stopped.

I knew this all along; this was just a confirmation. It was even on Wikipedia, but I didn’t want to rely on a website. This was one of the most significant events in my life; I wanted to hear the news from my brother himself, my own family.

While I was staring at the urn, he spoke to me.

“She passed away when you were gone. A month after you left, actually.”

There were letters engraved on the urn, and the name caught my attention.

Kim Ee-Na. My mother’s name.

One of the reasons why I was so interested in Yoo Ee-Na was because she had the same first name as my mother. That was why. She shared a name with the person I missed so much.

Ho observed my reaction for a while before placing something in my hand. It was a cigarette. His eyes were telling me to smoke it.

I thought that the cigarette I had in Valhalla would be my last, but as it turned out, it was not. Quitting smoking was quite a difficult task to do, anyway.

As I placed the cigarette in my mouth, he reached out and lit a fire for me. Taking a deep puff from the cigarette, I asked him.

“How did she pass away?”

“Her surgery didn’t go well.”

My mother had cancer, stomach cancer.

“Back then, it was difficult to earn money. I was working hard to try to earn enough, but it was too late.”