Chapter 41
Chapter 41
“Wake up, s.h.i.+nhae . We have to go home . ”
Sungyoon shook s.h.i.+nhae’s body . However, s.h.i.+nhae just groaned, and she didn’t show any signs of opening her eyes . s.h.i.+nhae slapped his arm when he continued to shake her . Sungyoon got a strong sense that she hadn’t wanted to get up . She made her displeasure known . Sungyoon shook his head from side to side to show that it couldn’t be helped . He took s.h.i.+nhae into his arms . s.h.i.+nhae looked like a baby koala stuck to its mother .
He picked up his luggage with s.h.i.+nhae clinging to him . He moved towards the driver seat . The driver seat window was all the way open, and he could see Jimin .
“Thank you, president . ”
“It is nothing . ”
Jimin spoke through the open window .
“You should get good rest for a week or so . You should go out with s.h.i.+nhae too . I’ll contact you after that . ”
“Understood . ”
After Sungyoon gave a short reply, Jimin tried to close the window . Her business was done here . However, a voice stopped Jimin from saying her farewell .
“Where are you going, unni?”
s.h.i.+nhae, who had her head buried in Sungyoon’s chest, slightly turned her head to speak . She was still half-asleep . Her eyes were half closed, and she sounded sleepy . However, it was clear that she was looking towards Jimin .
“Unni has to go home now . ”
Jimin spoke softly as she answered s.h.i.+nhae’s question .
“You should sleep over . ”
s.h.i.+nhae extended a hand towards Jimin, but Jimin just shook her head from side to side . She thought it would be for the best if the father and daughter spent their time together alone .
“I"ll sleep over next time . Ok?”
“Heeng!”
s.h.i.+nhae looked like she was about to cry . Jimin unbuckled her seatbelt as she leaned out the window . She brushed s.h.i.+nhae’s hair .
“Let’s do that next time . Unni will play with you . ”
“It’s a promise . ”
It was unknown as to where she had learned this, but s.h.i.+nhae extended her pinky out towards her . Jimin laughed if she had no choice . She extended her hand to make a pinky promise .
“Yes, I promise . ”
s.h.i.+nhae’s small pinky intertwined with Jimin’s slim pinky . They used their thumbs to seal the deal . Afterwards, Jimin settled back into the car .
“Let’s sleep together next time, unni! Promise!”
s.h.i.+nhae yelled out as the car window went up . Jimin let out a big laughter as she nodded her head .
s.h.i.+nhae’s whining could be viewed as a bit annoying . However, Jimin didn’t feel that way at all . In fact, her mood improved .
‘She still wants me to come back to her house . ’
She had become very close to s.h.i.+nhae in the past couple days . However, she was merely a stand in for Sugyoon, who had gone to the moon for work . It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she was obsolete now that he was back . However, s.h.i.+nhae had complained when Jimin had tried to leave . That meant she had a place in s.h.i.+nhae’s heart irregardless of Sungyoon being present or not . It was definite proof .
Sungyoon held s.h.i.+nhae in his arms, and s.h.i.+nhae kept waving towards Jimin . Jimin gave a final goodbye before she drove home .
It wasn’t rush hour, so she was able to get home quickly . She parked the car in the garage, and she went into her home .
Click!
She turned on the light to the house . She had occasionally visited this place, but for the past two weeks, she had basically lived in Sungyoon’s house . This was why her house looked a bit foreign to her . Her house was clean, and nothing was out of place . Still, she had left this place unattended for the past couple days, so a small layer of dust had acc.u.mulated on the floor .
‘I’ll eat first and clean later . ’
Fortunately, she had washed her clothes when she washed s.h.i.+nhae’s clothes . She didn’t have any unwashed laundry .
Her steps were heavy as she walked towards the refrigerator . When she opened the door, she found the refrigerator nearly empty . She only had a couple bottles of water, eggs and kimchi . She had some frozen food, but most of the refrigerator was occupied by cold air . Jimin closed the refrigerator .
‘I’ll order some food . ’
After ordering some food on her phone, she sat on the large sofa . She turned on the tv, and a very generic drama appeared on screen . She didn’t pay much attention to what was on as she flipped through the channels . She clicked past movies, variety shows, and news . However, none of the programs held her interest . In the end, she had to settle on watching a movie channel . It was the least boring thing on . Her bored eyes were fixed on the tv .
She didn"t plan on turning off her tv . Jimin’s house was large and luxurious . However, it was quiet . The large size of the house amplified the silence .
‘When I was with s.h.i.+nhae, it wasn’t quiet like this’
s.h.i.+nhae was always bright and energetic . When she talked about her day in kindergarten, she spoke like a proud hero, who had come back from an adventure . However, this wasn’t Sungyoon’s house . She was at her own house . s.h.i.+nhae wasn’t here .
Sungyoon’s house had been small and a bit run down . However, it was full of laughter and sound . Her large house felt empty .
* * *
s.h.i.+nhae’s eyes shot open . She kicked her blanket off, and she got to her feet . She was still sleepy, so her eyelids felt heavy . However, she paid no attention to it .
“Wake up, s.h.i.+nhae!”
It was, because she had heard her father’s voice from outside her room .
“I’m awake!”
She jumped down from her bed and ran to the kitchen . She hadn’t been able to see her father for a long time, and it was only a few days ago that she had finally been able to reunite with him . s.h.i.+nhae ran up towards him as if he was going to run away somewhere . She stood next to his leg, and she took a firm grip of his pant leg .
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes!”
“Wait a bit . We’ll eat . ”
Sungyoon took out the side dishes from the refrigerator, and he placed them on the dining table . He had made rice in the morning, so he scooped up a heaping bowl of steaming rice . s.h.i.+nhae was already sitting atop the dining chair . She swung her leg as she sang, ‘Rice~♬ Rice~♬’ .
When the table was set, Sungyoon sat in front of the dining table .
“Let’s eat . ”
“Yes!”
s.h.i.+nhae scooped up a lot of rice on her spoon and placed a piece of the side dish on top of the rice . She opened up her mouth wide as she put the food into her mouth .
Sungyoon had a warm expression on his face as he watched her eat . He had gone through many hards.h.i.+ps within the labyrinth, yet all his stress from it melted away from watching s.h.i.+nhae right now . s.h.i.+nhae’s cheeks were stuffed like a chipmunk as she chewed her food .
“Here . You should eat this too . ”
For breakfast, he had reheated one of the side dishes containing meat . He placed the piece of meat in her rice bowl . s.h.i.+nhae scooped up the rice alongside the meat .
“Nyam!”
The food once again disappeared into the child’s mouth . Sungyoon placed another meat on top of s.h.i.+nhae’s rice . Her mouth was full, yet s.h.i.+nhae spoke .
“It is bad to be picky! I have to eat vegetables with the meat!”
“Is that true?”
“Yes . It is true!”
s.h.i.+nhae moved the meat to the side of her bowl . This time he placed spinach on top of her rice .
“Ah!”
She made an odd exclamation as if she realized something .
“What?”
“Teacher said I shouldn’t talk with my mouth full . ”
s.h.i.+nhae quickly put food in her mouth, and she placed both hands over her mouth . While she held that pose, she continued to chew her food . She was so cute that Sungyoon broke out in laughter .
* * *
When Sungyoon left for the moon, s.h.i.+nhae had to go out by herself to the bus stop . Her shoulders had always been slumped . There was a constant shadow present on her face . When Jimin started to take s.h.i.+nhae to the bus station every morning, she didn’t hunch in on herself . The shadow present on her face went away . Currently, she was going to the bus stop with her father in hand . It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she was walking tall and proud .
She continued to be that way even as she waited for the bus . Her disposition didn’t change when the teacher took her into the bus . She didn’t retract into herself as she waved her hand through the window . Of course, he matched her gesture . He waved back .
After a short amount of time, the bus left . s.h.i.+nhae, who had been looking out through the window, was gone too .
‘Should I head back?’
Sungyoon had been a doting dad a moment ago, but his face turned blank . In some ways, his expression could be described as being cold . The ajummas around him kept glancing at Sungyoon’s face .
Sungyoon returned home . He had been in a hurry to send s.h.i.+nhae off, so he had put off doing the daily ch.o.r.es . He washed the dishes, then he cleaned the house . While he was at it, he did the laundry . Afterwards, he drank a cup of coffee . He looked blankly into the empty air as he sat in a chair .
‘It is peaceful . ’
If he was on the moon, he would already be in his full armor . He would be moving through the labyrinth on full alert . Currently, he was slumped in his chair . He was slumped so far that it almost looked like he was lying on the chair .
‘It is comfortable . ’
He took a sip of coffee . It was as if the fragrant smell of the coffee erased the smell of blood, which he had constantly smelled within the labyrinth . He only received 1 . 5L of water everyday on the moon, and he was now able to use water to his heart’s content . Instead of the tasteless vitamin packs and the cold food brought to him by Chelsea, he was able to eat hot and tasty food . When night came, he didn’t have to go into the small capsule where he didn’t even have a blanket . He was able to sleep on a soft and fluffy bed .
Earth was the home of humanity . It was the cradle of mankind . He had returned from a barren land called the moon . He had suffered there and earth had welcomed him back with a very warm embrace . If he compared it to the hards.h.i.+ps faced within the labyrinth, it wasn"t too much of an exaggeration to say that he was in heaven right now .
Was this the fate of a Connector? Sungyoon gripped his chest .
‘I want to go to the moon . ’
It was really faint, but that thought started to appear within his head .
* * *
It was as if Sungyoon was given a reward for going to the moon for two week . He was able to rest properly in his home . He only went outside to shop for groceries or for a walk . His trips only lasted an hour . He also gave the housekeeper a break . The ajumma had cleaned the house when Sungyoon was on the moon, and she had made food for s.h.i.+nhae .
However, Sungyoon wasn’t bored at all . He continued to play with s.h.i.+nhae inside the house, so he didn’t have the chance to be bored .
It happened when he was one week into his break . Finally, Jimin contacted him . It meant the one week vacation, which wasn’t technically a vacation, had come to an end .
On the next day, Sungyoon headed towards the company . He was contracted under this company, but it didn’t feel that way . It was to be expected . He rarely visited the company’s office . He had spent most of his time killing monsters on the moon .
Of course, he used public transportation to get around . He was in debt . Car was a luxury for him .
He was still not familiar with the location of the office, so he took some wrong turns in getting to his destination . When he arrived in front of the familiar door of the company, he carefully opened it .
“Excuse me . ”
There was no answer . Jimin was probably in her office again, so Sungyoon was about to enter into the company building .
“Get out of here right now!”
He heard a loud noise from the office . Sungyoon was a bit surprised as he turned his gaze towards the office .
‘That’s the president’s voice . ’
From what he knew about Hahn Jimin, she was a cold woman . She rarely revealed her inner thoughts and emotions . However, Jimin was expressing her emotions right now . She was expressing negative emotions . It was surprising .
‘I don’t think she was talking to me . ’
The shout had emanated as soon as he entered the building, so he was a bit suspicious . Maybe, it was directed at him . However, he soon realized that he was under a misunderstanding . He heard another voice speak .
“How dare you talk to me like that! Who taught you manners!”
It was a sharp voice filled with hysteria . When he heard the voice, he immediately frowned . The voice was so sharp that it hurt his eardrums . It wasn’t a pleasant voice . However, there was a fundamental problem beyond the shrillness of the voice .
He had heard this voice for the first time, but for some reason, it sounded familiar . The voice reminded him of his ex-wife Lee Miyun, who had terribly betrayed s.h.i.+nhae and Sungyoon .