Chapter 203 (1/2)
“What about Seoul?” Su-hyeun asked Kim Dae-ho. “Why do you ask?”
“Just cause. Just answer me.”
Kim Dae-ho pressed for an answer and Su-hyeun hesitated a little bit. It was a different question than his past life. He didn’t expect Kim Dae-ho to ask about Seoul.
“Well…Seoul is a great place to live,” Su-hyeun said.
“In what way?”
“Lots of people, lots of convenience facilities. The transportation system is well established, so it’s easy to get places. Families with kids prefer Seoul because of its better education system. Most of all, again, there are a lot of people.”
“Lots of people? Hmm…”
“But they’re all meaningless to you. You hate crowds. The only convenient facility you need is a supermarket. Also, you don’t usually move around a lot, so you don’t need good transportation.”
“Yea, that’s right.”
“One good thing is, you could easily get all the materials you need for your workshop. Since Seoul is the most active place for trading and auctioning items and Ether stones in Korea.”
“Oh, yea?”
Kim Dae-ho’s face brightened a little bit. He liked that, at least.
Su-hyeun asked quietly, “Are you thinking about coming to Seoul?”
“Yes. I’m thinking about it.”
“Why? Is it uncomfortable to live here?”
“No.” Kim Dae-ho shook his head. “This is the best place for me.”
“Is there a particular reason you insist on this place?”
Su-hyeun already knew the reason, but he asked anyway. He knew Kim Dae-ho would tell his next story after he finished talking about the reason he lived there.
“I’m too old to hold onto things. It’s all because of memories.”
Kim Dae-ho got up from his seat. He walked toward a drawer on one side of the room. He opened the third one from the top and took out a picture frame.
“I was a man who only liked fire and metals. I didn’t deserve her.”
Kim Dae-ho looked at the two people in the picture. They were a young Kim Dae-ho, looking uncomfortable, and a younger woman riding on his back.
“But she told me I looked awesome when I worked with a hammer. I told her I like living in the middle of nowhere, like here, and she said then she liked it here, too.”
“Did you have a family?”
“No. We weren’t together long, anyway. We lived together for about three years. At that time, I was even crazier about working. My wife didn’t get a baby and passed away.” Kim Dae-ho wiped the dirt off the picture frame with his sleeve. “And this is the only picture I have: just this one black and white photo. I regret not taking more pictures with her. And I even didn’t look at this picture often.”
“Why?”
“What’s the use? It won’t bring her back. Thinking back to that time still makes me…I’m not sure how to feel.”
Kim Dae-ho rubbed the glass part of the frame. No tears came out. Everything had happened too long ago to shed tears again now. That was fortunate at least, Kim Dae-ho thought.
“So, I couldn’t leave here. I never went to Seoul. Everyone goes to Seoul. I turned my back on the world and lived only for her. It’s been 20 years since she passed.”
“You’re a romantic.”
“Romantic? No. It’s just a lingering affection and stubbornness.”
“Are you better now?”
“You know the saying, ‘Time heals all wounds.’ I don’t know who said that, but I think whoever it was was an idiot. I thought time would help me, too. But longing was like drops of water. The water kept pouring in but not evaporating. So, I just had to work harder, like a crazy person.”
“Then, why now?”
“Because I’m ashamed.” Kim Dae-ho put the picture back in the drawer and looked at Su-hyeun. “When I look at you, I feel ashamed, and I can’t stand it.”
“Me?”
“Yea. Although I live in the middle of these mountains, I still have ears, man. Whenever I turn the TV on, people talk about you all the time. When I see you, I feel ashamed and embarrassed.”
“There’s no reason to be ashamed. It is your life, and you live like this because you want to. It’s not like you committed a crime or anything.”
“I didn’t say I feel ashamed because of you, man,” Kim Dae-ho retorted and looked back at the drawer. Soon, he sat back opposite Su-hyeun, looking calmer.
“Anyway, I grumbled at my sad plight for twenty years, and I thought it was time to stop. That way, I will be less ashamed.”
“Are you saying—”
“I want to live like you. I’ll no longer turn my back on the world. I’ll stand tall. And I’ll stop hiding my children behind my back and show them to the world.”
“Have you made up your mind, then?”
“Yes.”
At Kim Dae-ho’s answer, Su-hyeun got up from his seat.
“I’ll find you a house then. Just pack your stuff. I’ll find a nicer workshop than here, too.”
“Hey. I have money, too. Why do you treat me like a beggar?”
“Houses in Seoul aren’t cheap. And I have been getting equipment from you for so long, the least I can do is pay you back in this way.”
“What do you mean? You gave me more stuff. Thanks to you, I enjoyed all the best materials and even made my dream hammer.”
“Then, that’s better. I’m happy for you, and you are happy for me. Win-win, isn’t it?”
Kim Dae-ho laughed a little bit at Su-hyeun’s easy words.
“Wow. Did you put honey on your mouth?”
“Then, you agree with me, right?”
“Okay, okay.” Kim Dae-ho slammed the table in front of him and said, “Let’s go, Seoul!”
Act 3
Su-hyeun went back to Seoul immediately. At first, he went to Gangnam District. Gangnam was the area where the most Ether stone auction houses were. Also, it had the highest floating population in Korea. So, Su-hyeun thought it would be good to find a house in Gangnam for Kim Dae-ho to get materials for his workshop.