Chapter 55

Seo-un, who was not particularly skilled at snowball fights, tightly closed her eyes and then opened them.

“I’m fine.”

“Hey, be the snowball fight captain.”

The light on the rear seat pad connected to the driver's seat came on. Seo-un, thinking it was just in time, pressed the call button first.

[We will arrive at the destination in one minute. Please check that you have not left any items behind when you get out.]

It was not the driver's voice but the automated guidance from the pad. The only luggage they had to take care of was the sword.

In Korea, even with a weapon permit, you cannot carry a real sword casually, but Mansejong could carry their registered weapons. However, due to their dark eyes, they often had conflicts with the police who conducted random checks. It would have been enough to just show the registration, but many were so full of themselves that they infused their weapons with energy.

Seo-un didn't forget to bring the registration and left the hat in the car. She didn't want to ruin her professionally styled hair. She also wanted to reassure her mother that she was doing well.

The fine dining restaurant they arrived at provided a private room for Seo-un's group. Thanks to their frequent visits before going to the Narakga, the service was as usual. Perhaps it was because the meticulous manager was still there.

The two, guided to the private room, received warm towels from the manager. When they unfolded the towels, a fragrant scent of fabric softener wafted up to their noses. Suddenly, Seo-un thought of the warm stream water Cha-haya had heated for her.

“What’s so funny about a warm towel?”

Cha-haya smiled, following Seo-un’s lead, as if he were in his rebellious teenage years.

“Thinking of the monkeys at the hot springs.”

“Cha Seo-un isn’t a monkey, he’s a mole rat from the hot springs.”

“Next time, call for a million won and save up some money.”

“If you freeze to death.”

“I hope that doesn’t happen again.”

However, despite being in a luxurious place, Seo-un felt strangely out of place, as if wearing clothes that didn’t fit. The Narakga, where everything was lacking, or the mountains where she had been homeless, seemed more like the right clothes for her now. Just as she felt more at home in Cha-haya’s slum than in the apartment she once lived in, she seemed to be naturally getting used to her changed life.

Why did it not feel bad?

The memories of wandering around the slum and laughing and chatting sincerely with each other were precious. Reflecting on the events in the tunnel this time, the joy outweighed the pain. Perhaps people feel more joy in places where they lack something.

Like how students who secretly went to internet cafes were happier than adults who had many places to go, such as bars or clubs. That didn’t mean she wanted to live in the Narakga or the rugged mountains forever.

Knock, knock. Seo-un’s face lit up as she got up at the sound of the group arriving. The person who entered through the door opened by the manager was a woman with a silk scarf around her neck. Cha-haya also stood up when he saw her.

“What, why is my mom so pretty today?”

Seo-un ran over and hugged her mother tightly.

“You haven’t even seen your mom’s face properly and you’re already saying such sweet things.”

She had tears in her eyes as she hugged her son tightly. Seo-un hugged her again and then gently held her shoulder.

“Really, even when I look closely, you’re truly beautiful.”

“...Why are you so thin, my son? I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“It’s because Cha-haya ate all my share.”

Her son’s joke made her quickly wipe her eyes.

“It’s been a while, Mother.”

She had only seen her son when she entered, but now she smiled even wider, feeling guilty.

“Goodness, Haya. How long has it been? Are you doing well?”

She approached him warmly and placed her hands on Cha-haya’s cheeks. Cha-haya lowered his height to make it easier for her to touch him.

“Seo-un, Haya also looks thinner than before. What did you steal from him?”

“Ha ha, I won’t steal from you today since Mother is here.”

To Seo-un, the guy looked no different from before, if anything, more solid. But to his mother, he looked thin.

“I only get news from the internet. Your father doesn’t talk about his work at home... Are you two getting along well?”

“Of course. Seo-un is feeding me and living with me in the Narakga and Korea.”

“By the way, Haya, I heard you donated all your wealth... Is everything okay?”

She was worried if there had been some change in his mindset.

“Mother, let’s eat first. The manager said he paid special attention because you were coming today.”

“My son only knows how to say sweet things.”

Seo-un, responding with a smile, pulled out a chair from the center of the round table. He escorted his mother and sat across from Cha-haya.

“It feels so good to see my two wonderful sons in person. I’ve been so worried that I couldn’t sleep every day.”

“Just think of it as sending us to the military. We’re on leave today.”

“There are no monsters in the military.”

“Mom, do you know cockroaches?”

She shuddered, finding the idea disgusting just by imagining it.

“Cockroaches can’t kill people. It’s like catching bugs.”

After saying that, Seo-un felt more guilty about the red-eyed creature.

“Mother, Seo-un yells to scare the cockroaches away. You’d be surprised if you heard it.”

Cha-haya put a foie gras cookie in his mouth. It was true that he had screamed when he found cockroaches in the guy’s house, but now it sounded like a metaphor for his ultimate spell.

“Do you have cockroaches where you live now?”

“Mom, you don’t need to worry. Our guild lives in a good place in the Narakga. We have department stores and convenience stores, just like here.”

There isn’t much that the average person knows about the Narakga.

Most Mansejong who can come to Seoul are upper-middle class or higher, so they don’t need to talk about the miserable lives of the lower class. Of course, there are upper-middle class Mansejong who help the lower class, but their numbers are woefully small.

Even if ordinary citizens knew the details of the lower class’s life in Korea, they wouldn’t have the means or reason to help them. After all, they were also seen as capable individuals.

“Then, come over often. No matter how much Seo-un says he’s fine, I worry about my son all day.”

“Okay, I will.”

Throughout the course, Seo-un kept reassuring her.

On the other hand, Cha-haya quietly listened to the two. He wasn’t trying to intrude on their emotional reunion; he was just fascinated.

Seo-un’s mother had skin so pale it was almost transparent, showing her veins. Had she ever worked a day in her life? Had she ever slept on a floor without a boiler? Had she ever been hungry?

She seemed so delicate and weak that she might wither and die after just a week in the Narakga. And Seo-un resembled her quite a bit.

When Cha Seo-un went missing, the first thing that came to mind was not disappointment but worry. Now he understood why.

He was worried that she might have starved to death somewhere.

More precisely, he was worried that her picky mouth might have rejected the food in the Narakga, leading her to choose a noble death. But when he heard that she had survived by digging for mugwort and wild garlic, Cha-haya bit his lip to suppress a laugh. It was funny now, but at first, it had made him angry. If she was going to live like that, why did she leave in the first place?

“Haya, is the food good?”

Feeling embarrassed for only talking to her son, she turned her attention to Cha-haya.

“Yes, it’s delicious.”

A piece of squid, a scallop, a piece of tuna, a piece of abalone, and a small steak were all that Cha-haya had eaten. He was eating to match their pace, but the portions were woefully small. The dishes came out slowly, and his stomach was emptying faster than it was filling.

“Oh, it says here that they pick the vegetables from their own land?”

She lightly picked up the thin paper with information about the course. She gently put it down and clasped her hands together, a very passive action.

“Should we order some vegetable bibimbap as an extra? I’m a bit full, but how about Seo-un and Haya?”

“Sure, Mom and I will share one. We’ll get a double portion for Haya.”

Seo-un playfully raised one eyebrow.

“Okay, then let’s get a double portion for Haya. Is that okay?”

Of course, Cha-haya responded with a smile. He couldn’t stop observing the two.

Watching the picture-perfect parent-child relationship, it felt like watching a family movie. Seo-un was polite and reliable, probably to match his mother.

Seo-un evenly mixed the freshly served vegetable bibimbap and gave his mother a portion. When he asked how it was, she said it was the best and looked at her son lovingly. Seo-un’s gaze was just as affectionate.

Suddenly, Cha-haya thought that Seo-un might act like this when he dated a girl.

But had Cha Seo-un ever had a girlfriend?

He wasn’t sure about his college days, but in the time he had known him, there had been none. There was no reason for him to hide a girlfriend from him, so he must not have had one.

“How did Haya grow up so well? What can I feed Seo-un to make him as strong as Haya?”

She praised Cha-haya with a smile.

“I steal all the food Seo-un eats.”

“Cha-haya, you always say that.”

He didn’t use any rough language in front of his mother. Normally, he would have said, “That guy always says that.”

“Mom knows it’s a joke.”

She had never mentioned his parents or family situation, even though she might have heard something from Cha Byung-cheon. Seo-un’s considerate nature seemed to be a trait he had learned from her.

“Haya, do you have anyone special? I’m sorry if it’s too personal.”

She was actually curious about her son’s love life but asked Cha-haya instead.

“No, not right now. I don’t think Seo-un does either.”

Cha-haya deflected the question.

“Why are you so sure about my love life?”

Seo-un looked at Cha-haya as if he was amazed.

“Are you sure?”

Cha-haya looked back with a “Then, do you?” expression.