Chapter 42

42

Let's ask. Kang Chae-young stood up from her seat. As she was about to quickly open Kang Seok's door, she suddenly felt something strange. Kang Chae-young's head turned to the left.

It was dark. The bedroom light was off.

Why isn't he here? Usually, when Mom comes home, Dad comes home too. Kang Chae-young glanced at the bedroom as she walked toward Kang Seok's door.

"Mom, Dad didn't come home?"

"Ah, yeah. He has somewhere to go today."

"Somewhere to go?"

Maybe he got a new furniture order. As Kang Chae-young was about to open Kang Seok's door, holding the doorknob, she didn't feel any movement inside the room.

Knock knock.

"Brother?"

Could it be that Brother isn't here either? Click. When she opened the door, the unique chill of winter crept up the walls.

Kang Chae-young looked around the dark room, and from the kitchen, Baek Myung-hee's voice was heard.

"Seok also went out. He'll be back late."

Clunk, clunk. The sound of dishes being placed on the table was heard. Baek Myung-hee's hands, preparing dinner, were more relaxed than usual. Probably because she only had to prepare for two instead of four.

Kang Chae-young walked into the kitchen with a frown. Since there were only two of them, she sat in the spot where Baek Myung-hee usually sat. Thud. Kang Chae-young sat down heavily and received a bowl of rice.

"Thank you. So where did Brother and Dad go?"

As she was about to eat a piece of egg custard with her spoon, Baek Myung-hee gave a strange smile. Baek Myung-hee, with a mischievous expression like a playful girl, lifted her chopsticks.

"They went to meet Grandpa."

"Grandpa?"

Where is our grandpa? Kang Chae-young had a puzzled look.

"It's been a long time since both my maternal and paternal grandfathers passed away. What grandpa?"

Kang Chae-young stared at the silent Baek Myung-hee, pouring barley tea. As she watched the barley tea fill the glass, Kang Chae-young suddenly lifted her head.

"Could it be Professor Lee Min-hyuk's father?"

Baek Myung-hee smiled without a word.

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Indigo sky.

A crescent moon appeared between the clouds on a night.

A crane sped down the road, heading towards Seongbuk-dong. A truck followed the crane, heading in the same direction during the evening.

The truck had "Seok's Furniture Store" written on it.

━ Draw the lines straight down, as if the branches are extending from top to bottom...

Kang Hyun-do glanced to the side as the sound of rapid-fire rap flowed from the phone speaker. Kang Seok was staring intently at the screen.

Though he couldn't understand everything due to the speed, it seemed to be a video teaching how to apply makeup.

Why is Seok watching this? Curious, but instead of asking, Kang Hyun-do chose to remain silent, not wanting to disturb him.

'Judging from his behavior since he came back from the orientation, it seems related to the human anatomy project...'

Kang Hyun-do drove, formulating various hypotheses in his mind, paying extra attention. The truck bed carried a ginseng owl sculpture.

Despite securing the sculpture and the transport cart, and wrapping it in bubble wrap and styrofoam, he couldn't help but feel tense every time they took a turn.

Kang Hyun-do looked ahead, trying to calm his thumping heart.

The crane was also speeding down the road. The crane, a special vehicle brought in to place a large sculpture that couldn't fit through the door into a second-floor room of a single-family home in Seongbuk-dong.

'I hope Professor Lee Min-hyuk's father likes Seok's work...'

Objectively, it was an incredible piece. So much so that it made him consider changing his major to Western painting. Kang Seok's work was truly remarkable.

He had a drink that evening, secretly admiring the completed ginseng owl sculpture.

A drink of joy as a father, a drink of envy as a fellow sculptor, and a drink of self-disgust from deep within.

Having had several drinks, he felt most regretful for not recognizing such talent.

Regardless, the ginseng owl sculpture was so impressive that it made him drink, but he had heard that Professor Lee Min-hyuk's father was suffering from severe apathy.

Would someone with apathy have the mental space to admire a sculpture? Kang Hyun-do was skeptical. Once the mind starts to deteriorate, the surroundings become invisible.

Kang Hyun-do gripped the steering wheel tightly, preparing to turn again.

* * * *

Depressed.

Lee Young-hyuk felt a heavy depression weighing on his body, but he suppressed it with a sigh. Leaning back against the headboard, Lee Young-hyuk turned his head to look out the window.

For some reason, his daughter-in-law and son were unusually quiet today. Watching them, who seemed reluctant to leave, Lee Young-hyuk subtly hinted.

"Aren't you going home?"

At this, his daughter-in-law, Choi Mi-jung, who was peeling fruit, looked up in surprise. Why is she reacting like that? As he watched Choi Mi-jung, who had poked a fork into an apple, she whispered in a flustered manner.

"Father, we decided to stay a bit later because the sculpture is arriving today."

"Is that so?"

Lee Young-hyuk asked Choi Mi-jung with a look that suggested he didn't remember. Choi Mi-jung glanced at Lee Min-hyuk. Seeing her cautious gaze, Lee Min-hyuk couldn't hide his solemn expression.

Lee Young-hyuk knew better than anyone why his father was acting this way. Memory loss, along with apathy, was the cause.

Lee Young-hyuk, who had suffered from geriatric depression and apathy, had lost the vibrant energy of his former self, like a withered leaf.

After retiring from his teaching position, ceasing his research, and spending each day at home, he had rapidly aged. His attending physician had said it was a common occurrence in the elderly, but why did it have to happen to his father?

Lee Min-hyuk, who had relied on his father for much of his life, felt drained.

He wanted to suggest that his father start working again, but his father had refused to get out of bed for weeks.

He sighed constantly, looking at the ginseng owl photos and the sky, afraid of the outside, finding it difficult to walk, suffering from chills, and losing his appetite.

Recently, his health had rapidly deteriorated, and he was experiencing respiratory problems.

"Father, don't you remember?"

At Lee Min-hyuk's cautious question, Lee Young-hyuk straightened his head.

It did seem familiar. A sculpture... Now that he thought about it, Lee Min-hyuk had ordered a sculpture. Why did he order it?

A vague memory of Lee Min-hyuk earnestly asking him for something flashed in his mind. What was it again? Lee Young-hyuk looked at Lee Min-hyuk.

With his gaze still on the window, Lee Young-hyuk slowly turned his head. He seemed to have noticed something and tried to recall the day of the request.

"Father, the sculptor said he would determine the price of the sculpture based on your reaction."

"Based on my reaction?"

His throat felt dry from the respiratory problems. Still, why did Lee Min-hyuk need his reaction for the sculpture he ordered?

What a strange sculptor.

At that moment, Lee Min-hyuk, reading his father's expression, poked his stomach with a fork and said,

"It might be a lot to ask, but I hope he gets the reward he deserves for his efforts. Even if you're depressed, please express your surprise honestly."

"You expect me to be surprised."

"You can't help but be surprised."

Lee Min-hyuk, lost in thought, recalled the day the sculpture was completed.

When he arrived at the furniture store with high expectations and entered the workshop, he saw the ginseng owl with its wings spread as if about to fly.

Even he, who knew little about sculpture, was moved. His father would surely be pleased. It was as if the soul of the ginseng owl he had been searching for was embedded in the sculpture.

"Father."

"Yes."

"Why do you want to see the ginseng owl? You didn't only study the ginseng owl, did you?"

Ornithologists don't study just one bird. His father, who had spent his life studying birds, had researched hundreds of species. He was once a walking encyclopedia of ornithology.

Why is he so fixated on the ginseng owl, not an eagle, not a hawk, not an owl? Lee Min-hyuk suddenly wondered.

After touching the ginseng owl photo, Lee Young-hyuk said in a weak, self-mocking voice,

"Maybe it's because it looks like me."

At that moment, Lee Min-hyuk's phone rang loudly. Instinctively, he quickly took it out.

It was a call from Kang Seok.

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Recalling Lee Min-hyuk running out to answer the call, Lee Young-hyuk followed the open door with his eyes. Despite his pudgy appearance, Lee Min-hyuk was surprisingly quick. He must have taken after his younger self.

Lee Young-hyuk thought this as he lowered his gaze. His body, which no longer gained weight, made him smile bitterly.

Then,

"Slowly! To the side! More to the side! Oh! It needs to move more to fit! Oh! Just pull it out to the side!"

A strange man's voice echoed from the second-floor hallway, near the window leading to the outdoor terrace. Lee Young-hyuk turned to Choi Mi-jung in surprise.

"What's that noise?"

"It sounds like they're bringing in the sculpture."

"Oh, the sculpture."

The sculpture seemed quite large. Looking out the window, he saw the crane in the yard. How big must it be to need to be lifted through the outdoor terrace? Lee Young-hyuk's head poked out.

At the same time, a thud echoed through the house. It was a cautious sound, but inevitable given the weight. They must have already brought the sculpture inside.

Lee Young-hyuk's head retreated to the headboard. He would see it eventually.

With a sense of anticipation, Lee Young-hyuk turned to the door. Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud. The sound of something being untied echoed around. They must be unwrapping the sculpture. Lee Young-hyuk nodded.

The footsteps of several adult men carrying the sculpture were heard through the open door. Choi Mi-jung was already by the door, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"They must be bringing it in now."

Curiosity. It was a feeling that had also taken hold of Lee Young-hyuk.

Soon, the door creaked open, and the smell of wood filled the room. Unconsciously, Lee Young-hyuk gripped the blanket tightly.

Why can I feel my heart beating?

Lee Young-hyuk, long steeped in depression