CH 17

After about 10 minutes of going down the hill, they quickly arrived at the parking lot.

Various kinds of grass sprouted up in the parking lot.

Even if there was no parking line, there was an order in its own way. The small yard of the hermitage was filled with the car of madam, and the cars of the Buddhists who arrived late were well parked in line with the invisible parking line.

Junkyung quickly looked for an expensive foreign car. Among the cars, he saw a model that young people would like, so he headed there.

“Hyung, where are you going?” Hyun-Woo turned to the opposite and called Junkyung, “My car is here.”

The car was a domestic SUV. The white car with all sorts of mud on the wheels and low body wasn’t even the latest version.

Someone who was well aware that there is a lot of money in the family is driving a third generation domestic SUV?  It really surprises people.

Hyun-Woo, who opened the trunk and loaded a fishing bag, naturally climbed into the passenger seat. Jun-kyung, who sat in the driver’s seat, pressed the ignition button and fastened the seat belt.

The more Junkyung looked at the car, the more novel it appeared. The inside of the car was a mess. There were muds on the seat and mat, cheap tissues with various gas station logos on them, and half a can of coffee. There was even a slight fishy smell. It was a typical old man’s car.

As someone who is clean, even holding the steering wheel feels filthy to Junkyung.

“You need to wash you car.”

“Will hyung do it for me?”

“Why me?” Even though he is an attendant serving his mom, he hates washing his son’s dirty car.

Jun-Kyung lowered half the window and started driving. Fresh air finally entered Jun-Kyung’s lung as he descended along the winding mountain path.

“Do you really fish often?” Since it’s awkward to drive in silence, Jun-kyung asked a question to break the silence even though he wasn’t curious.

“So so.”

“But why aren’t there any fish?”

“I catch a few and give them to the local cats, and I just throw the rest into the water. It’s annoying to cook if I bring them back.”

“That’s true.” Even the lunch box provided by his wife was bothersome to Hyun-Woo so there was no way he would cook fish.

“Then do you enjoy fishing itself?”

“Yes. When I fish, I feel at ease, but yesterday, I felt a little disturbed to fish, so I quickly ended up coming to the hermitage.”

“Why?” Junkyung asked casually without any meaning.

“The person who taught me to fish is my eldest brother. I said I had a fishing boat before. It was originally my older brother.”

If it was the older brother, it was about Min Hyun-Jun, who was found suddenly dead in the office a few years ago and caused a big stir. There was a lot of talk about murder because the successor of a affluent conglomerate would never commit suicide.

A large-scale investigation was conducted, and since it was the headquarters of a large corporation, there were CCTVs in the lobby, elevator, and parking lot. Everyone was so sure of their suspicion, but there wasn’t anything suspicious. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was acute myocardial infarction caused by blood clot.

Suspicions of poisoning were raised wondering how a young, healthy alpha male without high blood pressure suddenly develops a blood clot.

However, according to the consistent statements of the secretaries, it appear that Hyun-Jun drank too much and barely slept while attending meetings related to the new business at the time so, it was concluded that the accident was caused by the accumulation of fatigue.

“Hyung, you know what?”

Hyun-Woo, leaning his face against the seat belt in the passenger seat staring blankly out the window, suddenly opened his mouth.

“What?” Jun-Kyung wondered what he would say.

“Today is my eldest brother’s birthday.”

The atmosphere quickly became awkward. Because it was completely unexpected, Jun-kyung did not know what the proper reaction was. He looked ahead and contemplated whether or not to offer consolation, and in the end gave a nonsensical reply.

“Is it really today?”

“Lunar birthday. Because he died before parents, it is to hold an ancestral rite, so my mom holds a memorial service yearly to pray for his soul.”

“The president too?”

“My father is not a Buddhist. He just drinks by himself.”

The sudden death of a  child is not something that can be easily overcome. Even the seemingly  strong president must be in a lot of pain while secretly sipping a glass of wine. Regardless of whether you are a celebrity or a wealthy person, parents who lost their child would be devastated. Junkyung can relate because he also has an older brother who he gets along with well.

“Then Executive Director Min will also come to the parent’s house.”

“No, he doesn’t come.”

“Why? He’s also family.”

“You know what? Even if they are family, sometimes it’s better to keep a distance than to be close. Especially on the birthday of the eldest son who was loved by the parents.”

Hyun-woo smiled bitterly at Junkyung who did not understand.

“Have you ever heard of that? When the child you love the most dies, that resentment goes to the child who survived. If someone is going to die anyway, it should be you or something like that.”

It was a terrible story. It is not right to arbitrarily talk about other people’s family affairs. Still, Jun-kyung had to say, “I don’t think the president and his wife are like that.”

“Not my mom. But what about my father? Because he really liked the older brother, he resents the younger son.”

Junkyung had no idea that the president thought that way about Director Min.

“You know, Hyun-seung Hyung is a bit cold and hard to understand. The older hyung wasn’t like that. He had a nice personality, so there were a lot of people around him. My mom also likes the older hyung more than her own son.”

Hyeonu’s voice showed pride and longing for his older brother. Hyun-Woo misses his dead older brother even if he doesn’t say anything. He must have been waiting for his mother by going to the hermitage on his brother’s birthday and calm his anxiety by fishing at night.

I thought he was a thoughtless person, but he had a surprisingly delicate side.

“I wish I could be like my mom, but my father sees it as a weakness. He calms himself down by quietly slurping alcohol. The more he drank, the more he became more resentful and was particularly cold to the Hyun-Seung hyung. So, on a day like today, it would be better for Hyun-Seung hyung to not come home or else there is a big fight.”

“So instead, you go to your parents’ house.”

“Well, I hate being nagged at, but today is the exception. The house will only be peaceful if I act as my father’s drinking partner.”

Finding that out was surprising in many ways for Jun-Kyung. “You are a better son than you look.”

“What do you mean ‘more than you look?’ What’s wrong with me?”

“I thought you were a rotten meat.”

“You’re so mean, really.”

His thick fists hit Junkyung’s shoulder. The strike wasn’t hard. Still, with a sense of playfulness, Junkyung slightly bent the steering wheel and trembled in a playful manner.

“Hey, you are going to cause an accident.”

“There’s nothing a young brother can’t say to his older hyung.”

Junkyung smirked while Hyun-Woo threw a tantrum.

They quickly entered Seoul while chatting. Hyun-Woo, who had been dozing off from the moment they entered the freeway, suddenly opened his eyes.

Junkyung decided to park the car in the alley so that the car would not block the entrance. He noticed a car in a place that wasn’t usually parked. It was a luxury British sedan priced at hundreds of millions of won. Even if this is his first time seeing the car, he knows the license number. It was the personal vehicle of managing director Hyun-Seung Min.

“I guess the director is here too.”

As soon as he parked the car, he got off immediately. At the same time, Executive Director Min also got out of the car. Although it is a very large sedan, it looked like a medium-sized sedan probably because the Executive Director was tall. It feels like the car even’t keep up with the owner.

“Hello, Director.”

“Mr. Jun-Kyung Ho?”

Min Hyeon-seung, who saw Jun-kyung bowing politely, gave a look of surprise. Seeing his younger brother slowly getting out of the passenger seat, he asked, “Why are you here? What about mother?”

“Madam is in Seonjeongam. She’s coming separately later.”

“What are you doing here, hyung?” It was not a pleasant attitude to give to an older brother who he hadn’t seen for a long time. If Junkyung had to exaggerate a little, he even sound like speaking to an uninvited guest.

Even though they were half-brothers, Director Min was at a level far superior. Even with his lips slightly raised at the corner, Junkyung sees a large cat and a wild beast.

“Can I not come to this house?”

“That’s not what I meant.  On a day like today, it’s also good for you to not come. “

Managing Director Hyun-seung Min immediately recognized his brother’s concerns. No, he may have known from the beginning but pretended not to know.

“The president called me.”

“Father? Why?”

“I wondered that too.”

The Executive Director doesn’t seem to know the answer. Hyun-Woo looked at Junkyung as if he has the answer, but Junkyung couldn’t know what he didn’t know either.

“I’ll go in first.”

Managing Director Min Hyun-seung disappeared inside the gate. Hearing about the family dynamic on the way, Jun-kyung wanted to wait in the car as much as possible. However, Hyun-woo did not let him do that.