Chapter 61

61

* * * *

The evening of July 5th.

Baek Myung-hee, who had brought out the minced meat made from a cow slaughtered on the same day to celebrate Gang Seok's graduation exhibition, tilted her head.

‘Was this kid always this happy?’

Gang Seok was generally more on the quiet side. When he painted, he showed an undeniable joy, but in everyday life, he enjoyed being taciturn.

It was like a switch that turned on and off.

Regardless, he wasn't the type to curl his lips while eating.

Baek Myung-hee's eyes narrowed. The minced meat was indeed one of Gang Seok's favorite dishes, but even so, the way he was shaking his chopsticks was unusually enthusiastic.

‘Did something good happen?’

Baek Myung-hee quickly placed the minced meat, the sauce, and the side dishes on the table. Gang Chae-young was dishing out the rice. Baek Myung-hee's gaze returned to Gang Seok's closed room.

“Why isn't your dad coming out of your room?”

Gang Seok, who was pouring water for everyone, looked up at that moment. His lips curled again. It was a very subtle curl, but as his mother, Baek Myung-hee knew him well. She recognized the expression immediately.

‘That expression is the one right before he shows a really good painting. What did he draw this time?’

Lately, he hadn't been showing his best paintings as often as before, which was strangely disappointing. Baek Myung-hee's lips curved into a smile.

Sitting opposite the empty chair, facing the kitchen balcony, Baek Myung-hee propped her chin up.

“Mom, here you go.”

“Thank you.”

“Here’s your brother’s too.”

“Thanks.”

Thud, thud. Gang Chae-young placed the rice bowls on the empty seats of Gang Hyun-do and herself, looking puzzled. It was unusual not to see Gang Hyun-do, who was usually there.

“Is Dad still not out?”

“Yeah. He’s not coming out... Hey! Come eat! The food is ready!”

‘Oh!’

In a house where soundproofing was non-existent, Gang Hyun-do's voice carried over from the other side of the door. Soon, Gang Hyun-do opened the door and came into the kitchen. His lips were curling just like Gang Seok's.

Baek Myung-hee, propping her chin, moved her eyes to follow Gang Hyun-do. When their eyes met, Gang Seok's lips curled in the same way.

‘Did he draw something?’

Baek Myung-hee thought quietly. Meanwhile, Gang Hyun-do, apologizing for being late, quickly picked up his spoon. Only then did Gang Seok and Gang Chae-young start to eat.

Baek Myung-hee, who had been watching the whole process, spoke up.

“...What is it?”

Her curiosity, which she couldn't contain, burst out. With a serious expression, Baek Myung-hee alternated her gaze between Gang Hyun-do and Gang Seok.

Gang Seok and Gang Hyun-do, like dopplegangers, were dipping the minced meat into the sauce and bringing it to their mouths. Gang Chae-young, glancing at them as if they were a still frame, took a large spoonful of rice.

Mumbling.

Gang Chae-young's mouth moved.

“What is it?”

“What is it?”

Baek Myung-hee's eyes narrowed. It was a look that said, "Don't even think about lying to me."

“You’re hiding something, right? Seok, you’re an accomplice too?”

I’m not an accomplice, I’m the main culprit. Gang Seok swallowed his words. His lips curled again. His mother, Baek Myung-hee, was quite expressive. If you gave her a 1, she would react with at least a 4.

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about either.”

With a nonchalant expression, the two of them, father and son, exchanged glances as they brought the minced meat to their mouths.

‘Well packaged, huh?’

‘Of course.’

Gang Seok, swallowing the minced meat that melted in his mouth, looked over Baek Myung-hee’s shoulder. Inside his room, a chair, hidden like in a spy movie, was prepared. He had disassembled it once to bring it home and was now reassembling it and putting it in a box.

Excited that his mother would like it, Gang Seok's lips curled again. His chopsticks moved toward the minced meat. The texture was firm and springy, unlike anything else.

Dipping a piece of minced meat into the sauce made with minced garlic, sesame oil, red pepper powder, and his mother's secret recipe, and then wrapping it in a lettuce leaf, it was incredibly delicious.

This is the taste.

Gang Seok's chopsticks danced.

It was a joyful dinner.

.

.

.

After a hearty dinner.

The family gathered in the living room, where the fan was now running because it was summer.

Just as Gang Seok was resolving to put the fan in storage and get an air conditioner when he moved, Gang Hyun-do came in with a large box.

The box was tied with a beautifully tied ribbon. It was a ribbon-tying technique that Gang Hyun-do had learned quickly from the flower shop lady in front of the furniture store.

Baek Myung-hee, looking at the large delivery box with a color reminiscent of a baguette, turned to Gang Seok with a surprised expression.

“What is this?”

Instinctively, she knew that the person who prepared the gift was Gang Seok. Even though Gang Hyun-do brought the box and tied the ribbon, a woman's intuition is scary.

“It’s a gift.”

“A gift? What kind of gift?”

Baek Myung-hee asked, as if wondering why he would prepare a gift when it wasn’t her birthday or anything to celebrate.

“Open it.”

“Yeah, Mom, open it.”

Gang Chae-young, as if she had received a gift herself, waved her fork with an apple on it like a cheerleader. Baek Myung-hee, encouraged by Gang Chae-young, awkwardly got up from her seat.

She glanced at the proud-looking Gang Hyun-do and carefully placed her hand on the box. As soon as she pulled the ribbon, the box flaps, which weren’t taped, opened like a door.

Naturally, Baek Myung-hee's gaze fell.

It was a chair.

“...A chair?”

It was a vibrant flame orange elastomer mesh chair that Baek Myung-hee thought she would like. Having worked at a furniture store with Gang Hyun-do, she scanned the chair.

Instinctively, to check the brand.

‘Where is it from?’

It was a design she had never seen before. As Baek Myung-hee tried to recall the furniture and chair brands she knew, Gang Hyun-do quickly disassembled the delivery box.

The overall shape of the chair was naturally revealed.

A somewhat unique flame orange elastomer mesh.

A headrest in the form of a curved neck rest.

Aluminum legs.

Nylon wheels that made minimal noise when rolled.

Just by looking at these, it was clear that this was not an ordinary chair, and that was just the beginning.

Even a cursory glance showed that the chair could be finely adjusted in terms of height, headrest, recline angle, seat depth and angle, and lumbar support.

The chair was clearly designed for precise adjustments.

Most importantly, the size felt just right, as if it would perfectly fit her body.

Just by looking at it, it was clearly a custom-made, high-end chair.

‘Did my dad choose it? It was definitely prepared by Seok, but how did he pick such a perfect one?’

She had been feeling joint and back pain lately. Even for someone who didn’t have a particular love for chairs like Gang Hyun-do, this was a heart-pounding chair.

The curves seemed to wrap around the human form. Despite not being grand in size, it had a regal presence.

It felt almost reverent.

‘Strong and, this is almost... like a sculpture Seok made.’

It was similar to the feeling she got from a sculpture of an owl about to take flight, or the back of the statue of Volcanus and the human face.

“Can I sit in this?”

In a word, it was a work of art.

“It’s made to be sat in.”

Made? No way? Baek Myung-hee, looking at Gang Seok with a doubtful gaze, shook her head. No way. It was too much. Clearing her thoughts, she cautiously reached out to the chair. Her fingertips touched the armrest.

Indeed, the lines were a work of art.

Should I sit down?

Baek Myung-hee, pondering when to sit without looking silly, gently stroked the armrest. How did he know she liked this color and design? It was touching.

Her high school son, who had grown up so quickly, from health check-ups to finding a new home, seemed to have grown up in the blink of an eye.

“The design is so beautiful... Where did you buy this?”

To a short question, Gang Seok replied with a peculiar expression.

“...It doesn’t have a specific brand, but the name is Stergo (στ?ργω).”

“Stergo?”

“It’s Greek. It means the love between parents and children.”

More precisely, the love between parents and children or among family members.

Love between parents and children? Baek Myung-hee, listening quietly, turned to Gang Hyun-do with a look of renewed suspicion.

“Could it be...”

Gang Hyun-do, unable to hold back his curiosity, blurted out.

“Yeah. This chair, Seok made it for you.”

“What?”

“What?”

Who made what?

Baek Myung-hee and Gang Chae-young, surprised, looked at Gang Hyun-do and Gang Seok.

It looked like a mass-produced chair, but Seok made it? How is that possible, even if Gang Hyun-do, who runs a furniture store, could tell the manufacturer?

“Was the week you spent in the workshop all for this?”

Is it too much to give so much to one person? Baek Myung-hee, surprised, looked at Gang Seok.

Gang Seok, blushing, gestured to her.

“Don’t just stand there, sit down first. Okay?”

“Yeah, you need to sit to really feel it.”

“Right, right. Mom, sit down first.”

Encouraged by Gang Hyun-do and Gang Chae-young, Baek Myung-hee, with slightly flushed cheeks, sat down on the chair. As she pushed her buttocks to the end of the seat, her feet touched the floor, and her knees formed a right angle with the seat edge.

Ah, it’s different.

A different sense of comfort enveloped Baek Myung-hee, unlike anything she had experienced before.

Comfort.

It was comfortable even while maintaining a proper posture, like slipping into a custom-made cushioned suit. She felt satisfied.

“What is this?”

Baek Myung-hee, surprised, asked. Her arms were already resting comfortably on the armrests. The curve of the headrest naturally pulled her chin back, making her neck feel as comfortable as if it were resting on a pillow.

It was a comfort that made her wonder why there were so many fine adjustment features.

“It’s so good...”

It’s really good? The feeling of not wanting to get up from a chair, not even a bed, was overwhelming. Baek Myung-hee, unable to forget the words, closed her eyes. She looked as if she were receiving a massage.

“Mom, do you like it? I want to sit too. I want to.”

“Chae-young, you might not feel the same way as Mom.”

“...Is that so?”

Gang Chae-young, looking at the chair with a disappointed expression, was watched by Gang Seok, who smiled. He didn’t want to say that he would make one for her before moving, as it would spoil the surprise.

A surprise is the best, isn’t it?

“Does it meet your expectations, Mom?”

“Of course. I don’t want to get up... It’s really good. Really.”

Hearing this, Gang Seok subtly looked at Gang Hyun-do. Gang Hyun-do quietly smiled and gave a thumbs up. Without words, he knew what his father wanted to say.

‘You’re the best, son.’

Gang Seok, responding to the smile, cautiously gave a thumbs up. It also meant that his father was cool.

As the father and son strengthened their bond.

Baek Myung-hee, who had been quietly feeling the chair, smiled. She was recalling the time she saw Gang Hyun-do deeply engrossed in an advertisement.

— Chairs change life.

A company had once used this slogan. They presented it as a belief, using it in every advertisement.

One day.

Gang Hyun-do, seeing the advertisement, was deeply moved and excited. He said that chairs and beds were the furniture that could change the quality of life, and that he wanted to make such furniture someday, with great enthusiasm.

At that time, Baek Myung-hee thought.

How could a change in a chair change life and the quality of life?

No, it wasn’t like that.

With her eyes closed, Baek Myung-hee finally felt she could fully understand Gang Hyun-do.

And why people spend so much money on beds and chairs. She understood.

Everyone does this to show off, to show off.

Ah.

It’s good.

With a sweet smile, Baek Myung-hee slowly fell into a deep sleep.

It was heaven.

* * * *

A few days later.

The family began to prepare for the move. They started looking at furniture. Although Gang Seok wanted to make the furniture himself, they needed a lot of furniture to live immediately, so he decided to wait.

‘We can fill it up gradually.’

He could replace them as he made them. Thinking this, Gang Seok turned his head. The blue sky. The lush greenery of summer filled the streets, and birds and butterflies were flying.

Gang Seok took a slow step.

It was a slow pace, as if a scholar was walking.

“Master, why are we suddenly going to the ecological park?”

“To see something.”

“To see what?”

“Butterflies.”

“Butterflies?”

Jang Dong-beom, holding the snacks his mother Baek Myung-hee had packed, chased after Gang Seok with a puzzled look.

— “Take care of Seok. This is a snack.”

— “Ah, yes, thank you. But, your face looks much brighter, is