Chapter 119: Establishing (7)

Chapter 119: Establishing (7)

Kang Jin-Ho spoke in a serious voice, “It's about my sister, Eun-Yeong.”

“...Oh. Of course. What happened?” Jo Gyu-Min replied, barely managing to hide his disappointment.

“She frequently doesn't come home at night.”

“...Oh.” Jo Gyu-Min sighed under his breath.

'Yup, he's starting again...'

Why did Jo Gyu-Min get the feeling that talking to Kang Jin-Ho sometimes was similar to convincing an obstinate grandpa? And that feeling seemed to get a lot more... intense when the topic was Kang Eun-Yeong.

Even though Kang Jin-Ho looked like a handsome modern young man, why did he have to be so stuffy and old-fashioned

Jo Gyu-Min took a deep breath, then was about to reply with, “Mister Jin-Ho, it's her schedule that's—”

However, he was abruptly cut off by Kang Jin-Ho. “Mister Gyu-Min, a high school student is not coming home at night.”

“But, as an idol—”

“Home. At night.”

Jo Gyu-Min clamped his mouth shut since he knew what Kang Jin-Ho wanted to hear was right now. He was thinking of standing his ground and refusing to humor Kang Jin-Ho this time, but... Now that this young man had come out so strongly like this, what choice did Jo Gyu-Min have? “...I'll adjust her schedule so that she will come home on time from now on.”

“I'll leave it to you.”

Jo Gyu-Min's head faltered, his face reddening from all the dissatisfaction. He finally managed to rein in his unhappiness before asking, “But, Mister Jin-Ho?”

“Yes?”

“Right now could be the most crucial period in Miss Eun-Yeong's career. You do know that I'm not trying to get rich by overstuffing her schedule with a ton of work, don't you?”

“Of course.” Kang Jin-Ho nodded. Kang Eun-Yeong making a killing didn't mean Jo Gyu-Min would reap the benefits, after all.

“If you understand that, please also try to understand how important a single photo or a video shoot can be for Miss Eun—”

“I told you, she is not coming home at night.”

“...I see.” Jo Gyu-Min's head faltered again. Talking to a wall might be more productive than this. While feeling pity for Kang Eun-Yeong's career and sympathy for himself, Jo Gyu-Min slowly nodded in resignation. “Sure thing. I'll adjust her schedule.”

Well, what choice did Jo Gyu-Min have? When told to jump, it was his job to ask, “How high?” anyway. However, he had something to say, “By the way, Chairman Hwang wishes to treat you to a meal sometime. Can you find some spare time before you go back?”

“No.”

“Huh...” Jo Gyu-Min dazedly muttered. He had asked for formality's sake, but to think he would be refused this quickly and resolutely! In all honesty, he had never even expected to be rejected in the first place. And that left him rather flustered. “W-why? Are you that busy? H-how about tomorrow evening?”

“I'll be spending it with my family.”

“...Your family?”

Of course, spending some quality time with one's family was important. However, hadn't Kang Jin-Ho spent almost ten days nonstop with his family until now

To think that a South Korean would outright refuse an opportunity of a lifetime called 'Being treated to a nice meal by Chairman Hwang Jeong-Hu!’ Even the President of Korea would unhesitantly seize this chance as if his life depended on it. Jo Gyu-Min felt an onset of migraine approaching him while imagining himself explaining this to Hwang Jeong-Hu.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Jo Gyu-Min sitting there like a dumbstruck moron, then got up to leave. “Well, then. I'll get going first.”

“A-allow me to accompany you.”

“No, it's fine. I brought my bicycle with me. Ah, I almost forgot. Please take my bicycle in for repairs after I go back to the army. It's creaking a lot recently.”

‘...Mister Jin-Ho, you can buy a new one, you know? You're swimming in money, so why...‘

‘Why are you thinking about repairing and stuff ’

Jo Gyu-Min quashed the voice in his heart and said something else, “I'll take care of it.”

“Well, then.” Kang Jin-Ho briefly bowed his head and exited the cafe.

Jo Gyu-Min gulped down the cup of half-melted iced Americano in one go and groaned deeply. “Keuh...”

That tasted quite bitter.

“...I guess the magical girl concept is out of the question, then.”

It seemed Jo Gyu-Min would have to let go of one of his dreams.

***

A couple of days later, in front of the Kang family's residence...

Baek Hyeon-Jeong worriedly addressed her son, “Be careful on your way back, son.”

Kang Jin-Ho coolly nodded. “Yes, Mother.”

Kang Yu-Hwan was next. “Jin-Ho, you know I can drive you there.”

“No, Father. It's fine. I'd like to stop by somewhere while on my way, after all. That's why... You don't have to come with me.”

“You won't have trouble finding your way back, right?”

“Yes. Please don't worry.”

Kang Eun-Yeong, with a deeply pouting face, decided that now was a good time to land some blows and went on the offensive. “Wowsers, Oppa? Now that you're in your uniform, you look like a dummy!”

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged his shoulders. “I don't care.”

“You're totally an uncle now! An ahjussi!”

“I mean, you're returning to the service, yet you look so calm about it, you see.”

“I don't see a reason why I should be nervous.”

“...As expected of you, Mister Jin-Ho.” Jo Gyu-Min chuckled and shifted his focus back to the road ahead.

Kang Jin-Ho stared outside the car's window. Their vehicle had already driven past the Civilian Control Line to keep traveling up north. The sun was still blazing up in the middle of the sky, but they were inching ever closer to Kang Jin-Ho's base. However, he didn't particularly feel unhappy about it.

Of course, that didn't mean he had stopped thinking about the loose ends he was leaving behind. Such as... Sister Yi and Han Se-Yeon.

For Sister Yi, there wasn't much Kang Jin-Ho could do now. It was impossible for him to stay and watch until the end of her surgery, as he was a soldier. Besides, he had done everything he could already. For now, he had to trust other people to finish the job.

However, the matter with Han Se-Yeon was different.

'Because we were immature, huh...'

Han Se-Yeon said that what happened between them was because of how young and immature they were. That argument might apply to her but not to Kang Jin-Ho. His real mental age was even older than his own father's, after all.

Maybe it happened due to Kang Jin-Ho's lack of readiness to accept other people. And this led to unintentionally hurting Han Se-Yeon. He couldn't help but think this way—that he should have done better somehow.

'I still have a long way to go...'

He was still lacking in so many areas. He lacked understanding of other people and the world in general. However, he wasn’t in a hurry to understand everything.

It was as Sister Yi had said. Rather than impatiently rushing ahead to achieve something, Kang Jin-Ho now knew that there was another way. And that was to step back and wait—to persevere. Kang Jin-Ho wasn't going to mindlessly adhere to that logic, of course. However, knowing he had more choices now had calmed his heart down, helping him to be more at ease.

'It's too late now...'

Even if there had been another way to deal with Han Se-Yeon's matter, it was too late to mull over it now. Getting hung up over the past was foolish, anyway.

Kang Jin-Ho leaned back and closed his eyes. He should start focusing on living out his military life instead.

***

Jo Won-Gu warmly greeted Kang Jin-Ho back in their living quarter. “Hey~, Jin-Ho. How was your leave?”

Kang Jin-Ho replied in his usual flat tone, “It was fine, sir.”

“Did you get to eat lots of delicious food?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jeon Hyeok-Su butted in. “This brat! Sir, look how much fatter he got during his leave! Even though it has only been ten days!”

Jo Won-Gu stared weirdly at Jeon Hyeok-Su. “You dumbass. Can't you see that Jin-Ho has actually gotten thinner?”

“Eh Oh, now that you mention it... Hey, Jin-Ho, what were you doing outside? Did you find yourself a girlfriend or something?”

Jo Won-Gu tutted loudly. “You dumbass! Jin-Ho already has a girlfriend!”

“Oh, really? This brat never said anything, so I had no idea, sir. Heeeh~, could the reason for your weight loss be that you were busy doing you-know-what?” Jeon Hyeok-Su sneakily asked with a nudge-nudge, wink-wink.

Jo Won-Gu nearly blew his top just then. “You moron! What are you saying to a kid?!”

“Eii~. But sir, Jin-Ho isn't a kid, you know. I mean, he's over twenty now, isn't he? Even if we call him our dear maknae, he's still a man leading a love life, no?”

Jo Won-Gu kicked Jeon Hyeok-Su's backside. Not out of malice, though. “You and your big mouth...!”

Despite getting his ass kicked, Jeon Hyeok-Su still cackled away as he asked Kang Jin-Ho, “Okay, so~, did you have lots of fun with your girl?”

Kang Jin-Ho replied flatly, “We broke up, sir.”

“Yeah, of course. You had... Eh ”

“Sir, we broke up.”

The surrounding atmosphere cooled down in an instant.

.

“O-oh, I see. Sorry to hear that.”

Everyone in the room began sending gazes of pity in Kang Jin-Ho's way. However, the person in question was puzzled by their sympathy and had to look around himself. “What's the matter, sirs?”

“No, well... You know.” Jeon Hyeok-Su sheepishly looked away.

“Kuh-hmm.” Jo Won-Gu suddenly cleared his throat and approached Kang Jin-Ho. “Hey, maknae. Come with me for a sec. I gotta interview you.”

“Sir? I think I misheard you.”

“I gotta interview you. You know, a face-to-face talk.”

“Oh, I see. Of course, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho was practically dragged away by the squad commander to somewhere more private and had to explain how and why he had to break up with his 'girlfriend.’ That wasn't the end, however, as he also had to prove that he wasn’t psychologically impacted by the breakup.

When the 'interview' was done, Jo Won-Gu wrapped his arm around Kang Jin-Ho's shoulders and spoke in a reassuring voice, “I'm not doing this because we're scared of you going AWOL, Jin-Ho.”

“...Understood, sir.”

“Every soldier who breaks up with their girl goes through this process, you see? We have plenty of hot-headed morons in this place, after all. You get what I'm saying, don't you?”

“I do, sir.”

“Good. Anyway, be strong, soldier.”

“...Yes, sir.”

Later that night, Kang Jin-Ho's seniors suddenly began buying him all sorts of frozen foods and ramen. He stared at the unexpected pile of food before him and sighed deeply.

'...I shouldn't have said anything.'

Today had to be the first time since his return to the modern era that other people were looking at him with such pity.