Chapter 5 (2/2)

”Why haven't you come to see me sooner?” in a friendly voice, he said

I started to wonder why he was being so nice to me

How should I react?

Without giving it ht, he lifted me in his arms and said

”I’ve got so to show you,”

da on?

He took me to a room upstairs, in which there was a pony in a corner of the room

Of course it was not real, but a toy

I assumed there would be a switch or control that would enable me to activate the toy

I could see the as plugged in

Besides,

The room was packed with various toys

”What do you think? Isn’t that what you said you wanted?” he asked, putting me down

I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure yet, but he seemed to like me

His cold heart could be warmed

Maybe he was sorry He had felt the weight of guilt treating my father as if he was not his

So henice to me

I wanted to test him to see how much he liked me

I petted the toy pony I looked up at hiht smile

”I like all things real, grandfather,” I said

He tilted his head

”I want to ride a real pony, not a toy I want to drive a real car on the road and sail a real shi+p on the sea,” I said

He must have been taken aback

Though I couldn’t see his face behind the steel mask

”Real… Do you even know theof real?” he asked

”Yes,” I answered, as innocently as i could muster ”Yours”

This time I could see that he was taken aback

”All you have is real,” I went on, ”Your shi+p, car and TV those are all real and I want them too”

Would he translate this into adult language?

Hoould he feel about this?

His face looked hardened

”Hmm, Do-jun?”

”Yes, grandfather” I answered

”If you want so real, you have to work hard And youthat is not real, all you have to do is enjoy it,” he said

So scarier than the death that I had faced?

He went on and presented me with an array of unsolicited advice

”First, you need to learn,” he said

”At school, you mean?”

”For now, right,”

”If I win first place at school, you will get me a real pony?”

”What?” he laughed out loud

”A real pony is very pricey… well, if you get straight A’s for a year, I will buy you one for your birthday, how about that?”

It was predictable

All he was asking was for a 10-year-old to study hard What else could it be?

I tilted my head and said, ”Well”

”Are you giving up already?”

”No, it is so easy I thought it was until I graduated But for a year, I can do that easily,” I said, with a grin

He seeed

”All right I will look forward to it, then Straight A’s,” he said, and his hearty laugh ensued

He stretched his hand out and said

”Let’s go downstairs Have dinner and play with your cousins”

I held his hand in a tight grip