Chapter 60 - Understanding Is Born From Empathy (1/2)

At the heartwarming display of affection exhibited by their two superiors, Su-Jin and Yeon-Ah felt speechless. The two exchanged stunned glances, unable to make sense of the situation.

Granted, it wasn't really such a surprising thing coming from the ever-cheerful Kim Seo-Jun. One could easily imagine him running around, playing with children and laughing foolishly.

However, seeing the cold-hearted Kang Ji-Won looking so affectionate while picking up a young girl, even twirling her into the air twice, was a very strange sight indeed.

Su-Jin stared at Ji-Won, watching in disbelief as his icy mask melted before her very eyes.

At that moment, Ji-Won suddenly looked like a very different person altogether. His eyes were sparkling with delight and his cheeks gained a faint tinge of pink.

Sure enough, he didn't resemble the Grim Reaper Su-Jin had thought him to be, but rather a warm-blooded human being.

This was such a rare sight that Su-Jin could barely wrap her mind around it. She was so stunned that she almost failed to react when two little boys ran very close to her, almost knocking her into Yeon-Ah.

While Ji-Won and Seo-Jun were thus engaged in catching up with the kids, Su-Jin eventually turned towards Director Cha. The old woman had also retreated to the back of the room and was now gazing at the cheerful group with motherly affection.

”I see the children like Director Kang very much.” Su-Jin said in a quiet voice.

By bringing up the subject in this manner, she was hoping to find out more about that person. For a moment, though, Su-Jin worried that Director Cha might find her words to be slightly rude.

But to her luck, Su-Jin saw the old woman smiling fondly.

”Yes, indeed they love him very much. Up until two months ago, they only knew him by name and considered him a sort of mysterious Santa Clause. They never saw him, but they always received his gifts with joy and pleasure. Two months ago, though, Ji-Won personally came to see me.”

Reaching up to here, Director Cha stopped speaking for a moment.

The tender smile from her lips now reached her eyes as well. When her eyes settled on Ji-Won, she seemed to be the embodiment of a mother, gazing warmly at her child. Yet, there was a shadow veiling her warm affection.

Looking carefully, Su-Jin could recognize it as being grief. Director Cha was clearly thinking of something sad as she watched Ji-Won playing with the children.

After a short pause, Director Cha's voice sounded next to Su-Jin in the same steady manner as before.

”That time was the first I had seen Ji-Won in more than ten years. Instead of a young boy, he was now a man. With his now tall and dashing figure he seemed unlike his past scrawny self. But even if his body had grown, to me he looked the same as the last time I had seen him, when he was barely fourteen years old. Especially that gaze inside his pitch-black eyes was just as intense as before. His face and hair… Everything was very familiar. He looked so much like her, except for his eyes.” the old woman finished the last words in an undertone.

'Her? I wonder who Director Cha is talking about. Could it be his mother?'

The woman's words had definitely caught Su-Jin's attention and she wanted to know more about it. But then she thought that asking about such a personal matter directly might be considered rude. After all, her relationship to Director Kang was merely that of boss and subordinate, so there were things she couldn't easily talk about.

In the end, Su-Jin decided to inquire about something else that had piqued her curiosity.