Returnee’s Life Report Chapter 13

13

“It’s alright. These kids are my students. I believe that lecture will go on for about another hour. Don’t you think that’s enough ti?”

“An hour won’t be enough, sir.”

“Well then, just go and sum it up. I know you’re good at that.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that. We talked for an hour. It was quite a long conversation, but he listened intently to my story. When I finished, he sighed.

“You must have had a tiring journey.”

“…You actually believe it?”

“I do. How could I not believe you? Son, I know you well.” Mr. Go smiled. “You never lied. Even if it was about sothing foolish, you were always honest. If I had a child, I wanted him to beco like you. You were like my child, son.”

As he had ntioned, he did not have a child. It was not like he had lost one because of an accident or sothing. Instead of thinking about that, I decided to focus on his heart. It was important to respond to his words.

“I felt the sa, Mr. Go. I wanted a father like you.”

We laughed together and started to reminisce about the old days. After a while, he sighed and turned to to ask.

“Speaking of fathers, do you have any plans to et up with your actual father?”

“Who…?”

“Your birth father.”

I imdiately frowned, my eyebrows furrowing. I never thought about him. More than twenty years have passed, so it was hard to rember him. In fact, I actually thought he was dead.

“Is he still alive?”

“…Oh, you don’t know. Didn’t your brother tell you?”

“He is still suspicious of , so he never talks to .”

Mr. Go, with a calm and steady voice, said.

“Well, I guess you need to walk before you run.”

“………”

“Anyway, what are you planning to do now?”

“I’ll take a GED.”

“GED?”

“When I quit school, my mother cried a lot. I want to get a graduation certificate.”

“But as far as I rember, your mother is…”

His words were blunt, but after seeing my faint smile, he nodded. He knew that I was not a fool. I knew that I was not a fool.

“Alright. If you need any help, contact . You know that I’m a math teacher.”

“As you say, sir.”

“Good. Seems like the lecture just ended.”

I turned my head to peek through the window of the classroom. Ee-Na was coming out of the room and the bell was ringing. She smiled and greeted Mr. Go.

“You’re the teacher I t this morning, right? I finished my lecture.”

“Thanks for your job.” He then patted my back and smiled. “I know that you are busy, but don’t forget that I’m here for you. Visit whenever you want.”

“…Thank you, Mr. Go.”

“I didn’t do much. It was all your progress.”

I bowed to him. Mr. Go shook my hand and went back to his classroom. As I lifted my head, Ee-Na tried to make a comnt.

“This was your Alma Mater.”

“I told you I don’t lie much.”

It was rather strange. I had heard that her lecture would last until 2 pm, but it was just noon, which was lunchti.

“I just got a call that the lecture was shortened,” Ee-Na explained, answering my unvoiced question.

“That’s pretty odd.”

“But I guess that’s what happened.”

Maybe that was the business of civil servants. As I shrugged my shoulders, Ee-Na spoke up.

“I saw a restaurant just down there. I’ll treat you to lunch.”

“That’s a pretty nice offer from a civil servant.”

“Haven’t I told you? I earn quite a lot.”

“And you also pay rent for your house.”

“It’s Seoul. The price of a house is extrely high, especially in the capital.”

That was true. I had checked the internet and noticed that the price had indeed escalated.

“Anyway, are you coming with ? Keep in mind that I’m buying for you.”

I laughed out loud. She was indeed an interesting person.

“Let’s go. Do you an Mandarin, the Chinese restaurant?”

“You know that place?”

I nodded. I had a nostalgic mory of that place. I hoped the chef was still there, for he harbored excellent skills.

***

Mandarin was the na of a small Chinese restaurant near Ga-On High School. We went inside and ordered two bowls of jjajang noodles. The chef was staring oddly at . He was old, with white hair and a wrinkled face.

If I rembered correctly, he was still the head chef. Was it seventeen years ago when I had last been here? It must have been hard for him to work in his shop alone.

The chef, with a questioning look on his face, entered the kitchen. And a few minutes later, he had prepared our als. I grabbed a pair of chopsticks and began eating my noodles.

“Wow…” Ee-Na exclaid. I swallowed a bite of the noodles before asking.

“Why? Is it your first ti seeing a man eat so noodles?”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just surprised that you eat so well.”

Co to think of it; I did eat a lot. I chuckled a little before replying, “I do eat a lot of food. If you’re not going to eat that, then give it to . I’ll take it.”

Ee-Na quickly shook her head. We continued scarfing down our als, and it took only about eight minutes for us to finish our food. When we headed to the counter to pay, the chef ca out to confirm the bill and accept our paynt. While doing that, he hesitated for a bit before eventually turning to look at .

“I know this might sound rude, but have we t before?”

I suppose he rembered as well.

“It was seventeen years ago. You still rember ?”

His eyes widened. With surprise evident in his voice, he answered. “I still rember. You ordered two jjajang noodles, right?”

I smiled in response to his question. “Even after seventeen years, you still rember it accurately.”

“Of course. I rember three custors coming in and only the two children were eating. Your mother’s eyes were full of tears while watching you guys eat. It is rare to see sothing like that… Oh, dear. Sorry if I was rude.”

It was the sa mory that I had. I smiled at him.

“It was two jjajang noodles and one Chinese sweet and sour pork. Am I correct?”

It was, but it turns out that he had given the pork dish for free. He ntioned that mom only ordered two jjajang noodles. There were three of us, but we did not have enough money to buy als for everyone. The pork dish was much more expensive than noodles; how could I have not known?

“Thank you for your kindness.”

“I don’t even rember it for that. I only rember that a family was enjoying my food so well.”

We exchanged smiles. For a chef, seeing his custors enjoying his food was the greatest gift. If the food was aningful to the guest, that was even better for the chef. I suppose he was also happy to provide us so form of service.

When we walked out of the restaurant, Ee-Na smiled and turned to .

“He was a kind person.”

Indeed. I smiled as well. anwhile, I thought of my family and my brother. We had a nice ti back then. When would he stop his suspicions?

The next morning, Lee Ho ca back.

He told that he would be returning in three days, but he was already here. Then, he offered a sudden proposal.

“Let’s go sowhere.”

“Where?”

“To the cetery.”

Chapter 5

It all happened so suddenly.

Lee Ho had returned earlier than he told ; it took him just one day before he ca back. Not only that, but he also asked to visit the cetery together. I was surprised at first, but I had no choice but to say yes.

We were going to use his car to get there. The driver was Jeong Gi-Hoon, the S-rated hunter I had t before. The car door had a strange way of opening. My brother and I sat at the back together, but we did not talk; we were both not in the mood to. Why were we visiting the cetery anyway?

However, deep down, I already knew the reason. That was why I remained silent, and so did he.

We arrived at a morial cetery located in Seocho, Seoul. We went down from the car and Lee Ho led the way, with following close behind.

I was not sure when they arrived, but there were about sixty n wearing black suits all around us. Everyone was from Cheon-Myeong and they all had quite strong auras. Jong-Geun Hong was present, along with his colleagues who were considerably weaker than him. They had a strength more similar to Jeong Gi-Hoon, who was also there. Among all the n, four of them were about as strong as Gi-Hoon.

They approached us as a unit but stopped when they were about three hundred ters away from us.

Lee Ho and I entered from the side. He then pointed to a specific grave. As I walked closer to it, I felt as if ti had stopped.

I knew this all along; this was just a confirmation. It was even on Wikipedia, but I didn’t want to rely on a website. This was one of the most significant events in my life; I wanted to hear the news from my brother himself, my own family.

While I was staring at the urn, he spoke to .

“She passed away when you were gone. A month after you left, actually.”

There were letters engraved on the urn, and the na caught my attention.

Kim Ee-Na. My mother’s na.

One of the reasons why I was so interested in Yoo Ee-Na was because she had the sa first na as my mother. That was why. She shared a na with the person I missed so much.

Ho observed my reaction for a while before placing sothing in my hand. It was a cigarette. His eyes were telling to smoke it.

I thought that the cigarette I had in Valhalla would be my last, but as it turned out, it was not. Quitting smoking was quite a difficult task to do, anyway.

As I placed the cigarette in my mouth, he reached out and lit a fire for . Taking a deep puff from the cigarette, I asked him.

“How did she pass away?”

“Her surgery didn’t go well.”

My mother had cancer, stomach cancer.

“Back then, it was difficult to earn money. I was working hard to try to earn enough, but it was too late.”