Chapter 4 (1/2)

“Aaaaargh!”

The saain

In which what had happened three ht

On a daily basis I awoke fro the dread moment of death just as vividly

It was like enduring unspeakable hardshi+ps…

I would only hope this dream would not recur for life

A little before 6

I sat up in bed before the alarm went off; I had set it for 6

I slipped out of bed and took my pajamas off I went in the bathroom, adjacent to my bedroom and had a quick shower

I changed into my school uniform and stepped out of the bedroom In another room across from mine, my brother was sound asleep

Descending stairs into the living roo from the kitchen Bean sprouts soup

In the kitchen, abreakfast

Bean sprouts soup was largely a repeat of the breakfast menu as my father would be plastered every day and the soup was his favorite hangover cure

As I walked out the front door, the green grass was glittering, soaking up the sun

I bent over to pick up three papers that were sprawled out on the grass, then quietly went upstairs to my bedroom

I read through two of them, one was a daily paper and the other was a financial one

A big picture of a protest shrouded with tear gas and fireboe of the daily paper Dated 26th June, 1987

Today, 29th, the protest continued, and it would not abate until the ime surrendered

As I finished reading and folded the papers,

“Do-jun,” the

She brought lass of milk and a cup of coffee

For three months, I had been called by the name

Jin Do-jun

That I was still not accustomed to

“You don’t have to bring theo downstairs…” I said

“I know you could, but if your parents caught you drinking coffee, they would tell you off,” she said

I thanked her

With a fond look on her face, she watchedmy coffee

She liked how I all of a sudden had been transformed from a spoiled brat into a respectable 10-year-old:

I honoured elders, was not fussy about food and helped clean up the house

She couldn’t help liking me

“Oh, you know today is your grandfather’s birthday? You are going to have dinner at his place,” she said, then grabbing the elass, empty cup, and the folded papers, walked out the door

At last, today

Threebeen reincarnated as 10-year-old Jin Do-jun, I finally got a chance to -cheol, founder and chair

I had neverto sit down to dinner with him

66-year-old grandfather and 10-year-old grandson

What does it ’s founder, whose eldest son killed me?

Has God granted e?

Or one of forgiving them as they are now my family?

Oddly enough, it was a quiet breakfast

My usually loquacious 12-year-old brother, Jin Sang-jun, without saying a word, stuffed food into his mouth

My hangovered father ate small spoonfuls of the soup

And…

Oh!

My beautiful mother

She was far much more beautiful than the Ferrari lady!

She was the same as Olivia Hussey, star of Romeo and Juliet, and she had been an acclaimed actress called Olivia Hussey of Korea

In the early 1970’s, as soon as she debuted in a fil fans and disappeared fro screen

That lucky randfather, Jin Yang-cheol

Their reatest love stories of the century

At this ti its business into the electronics field, catching up with japan

Even if she had been an actress of exceptional beauty, she was, nochaebol

The grandfather was opposed theirthat he would have the father’s na theirinside my mother’s belly

I had known these details of the chaebol fah experience

The fas

The grandfather had rery with the father until the day he died, and when the eldest son inherited Sunyang, ot very small shares

When other brothers quarreled over the inheritance, my father just watched them from a distance