Chapter 7.1

“Did you win this and brought it back, Dad? Beating Mr. Jang?”  

Su-eon’s sign language, filled with surprise, was almost godlike in its speed. Having come straight home from Yeouido, Su-eon went out to eat with her father. It was because she hadn’t been able to visit him last weekend.  

Feeling apologetic, Su-eon sat in front of Seon-tae, who dramatically pulled out three black, opaque envelopes he had cherished in his arms and exclaimed, “Ta-da!” Watching her father, Su-eon was utterly shocked, her eyes wide. Seon-tae nodded with a proud smile.  

{Yes, I beat Mr. Jang to get these for my princess.}  

“…Dad, this is amazing.”  

Looking at the photo cards of the group ‘Black’ that her father had placed in front of her, Su-eon’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and she was momentarily speechless.  

The whole story is this. There was an event where buying a box of cola would get you a random photo card of ‘Black’. At the employee dormitory, three boxes had been purchased. The ordering lady, thinking the cards were trash, was about to throw them away, but Seon-tae, with his genius instincts, salvaged them. However, Mr. Jang, whose granddaughter was also a huge fan of ‘Black’, also wanted the photo cards.  

In the end, the two men played a game of Go to win the idol group’s photo cards for their daughters and granddaughters. The winner was Su-eon’s father. Judging by the crumpled edges of the black plastic, one could imagine how intense the battle must have been.  

“Dad, this is incredible. Even I couldn’t get my hands on these.”  

{Hurry and open them.}  

Seon-tae urged her. Nodding, Su-eon carefully picked one of the three envelopes and gently tore at the edge. She regretted not having scissors. Inside the bag were photo cards of three out of the five members.  

“Oh, it’s Cha Ji-wook!”  

{Is that the leader?}  

“Yeah, he’s a genius producer.”  

{The one you like the most, the good dancer—he’s not here?}  

“Exactly, my Gi-ha isn’t here.”  

Disappointed, she shook the bag as if more cards might fall out. Then, without hesitation, she tore open the other envelopes.  

“Here he is, Dad. I found him. This is Gi-ha, ‘Black’’s main dancer.”  

{His face is so pale. He looks like a girl.}  

Seon-tae’s reaction was lukewarm. His opinion of Gi-ha had always been consistently low.  

“His face might look like a girl’s, but his body isn’t.”  

{His body is skinny too—what are you talking about?}  

“No way, Dad. Look at this inverted triangle here. Even Pythagoras would be impressed by his perfect physique.”  

{Still, a man should have a sturdier presence. This one here looks better.}  

Seon-tae pointed to Jin-han, the oldest member of the group.  

“Dad, my boys don’t need to be sturdy. It’s not like I’m going to live with them, so why care about sturdiness? They just need to have pretty faces and do whatever they want.”  

The father and daughter huddled together, laying out the idol group’s photo cards one by one and arguing over whose favorite was better.  

“Ah, I thought I heard Su-eon’s voice—it turns out I was right. You’re out on a date with your father.”  

A man wearing an apron approached their table and greeted them. He was the owner and head chef of the wood-fired pizza restaurant that the father and daughter had been regulars at for a long time. Although he rarely showed himself in the dining area, today he personally came out holding a plate.  

“Have you been well, Sir?”  

Su-eon carefully and quickly organized the photo cards laid out on the table, ensuring not to leave fingerprints on them, and then greeted the owner.  

“You still like idols, I see.”  

“Like them? Not really. I just think the young kids are cute, so I watch them.”  

As the owner placed the dish on the table, Seon-tae adjusted it slightly to make it easier to eat. Su-eon answered with a smile.  

“If it’s about looks, I’m not one to lose, but I fall short when it comes to age. What a shame.”  

The man joked, his face radiating a confident smile. Su-eon simply smiled quietly without replying.  

Seon-tae tapped her arm. When she looked at him, his hands moved quickly.  

{He looks like one of those pampered noble boys.}  

Su-eon let out a small laugh. The owner, curious, asked, 

“What did your father say?”  

“Oh, he said you’re very handsome.”  

{When did I say that? I said he looks like one of those pampered noble boys!}  

Seon-tae protested, tapping Su-eon’s arm again.  

“Ah, I knew it. Your father has a great eye. That’s probably why he raised such a beautiful daughter.”  

The owner, throwing in a few more flattering remarks, finally turned back to the kitchen at the sound of someone calling him. Seon-tae tore off a piece of the wood-fired pizza and placed it on Su-eon’s plate.  

{Hurry up and eat. It’s already getting cold.}  

Blaming the owner for distracting them, Seon-tae glanced at the kitchen and urged her to eat before it got colder. Su-eon, finding her father adorable, laughed and took a bite of the pizza. The thin, Neapolitan-style crust baked in the wood-fired oven stretched delightfully in her mouth.  

After finishing their meal and receiving the owner’s generous farewell, the two left the restaurant arm in arm, walking down the alley.  

“Oh, Su-eon, you’re here?”  

The dry cleaner’s owner, standing in the doorway with the shop wide open and a steam iron in hand, stuck his head out to greet her.  

“Your dad went to the bathhouse early this morning and even got a haircut. I guess because his daughter was coming. Honestly, how could anyone live without a daughter?”  

“Of course, daughters are the best. What’s the point of having sons?”  

The fruit store owner chimed in, stepping out of his shop. Seon-tae waved his hands dismissively, as if shooing away noisy troublemakers. While neither of them knew sign language, having lived in the same neighborhood for so long, they had developed an instinctive understanding of each other.  

“Here, Su-eon, have a peach.”  

The fruit store owner picked out a perfectly ripe peach and handed it to her. Su-eon accepted it with both hands and bowed in gratitude.  

“Thank you.”  

“Come by more often. Your dad pretends not to care so you won’t feel pressured, but he’s always worrying about when you’ll visit, whether you’re eating properly, and everything else.”  

“Sh-shut up! S-stop saying…nonsense…!”  

For once, Seon-tae raised his voice angrily. But even so, the dry cleaner’s owner and the fruit store owner simply teased him more, calling him a doting dad.  

“Let’s go, Su-eon!”  

Fuming, Seon-tae grabbed her hand and began to pull her away. Su-eon quickly bowed to the two shop owners, asking them to take care of her father, and then hurried after him.  

“Why are you so upset, Dad?”  

As Seon-tae stomped down the street in anger, Su-eon tugged on his arm, trying to calm him down with both her voice and her hands.  

“They’re your friends, and they’re just saying it for your sake…”  

Seon-tae didn’t even bother properly watching Su-eon’s sign language and instead poured out what he wanted to say.  

{They’re not friends. They’re just guys who say whatever they want because they have mouths.}  

“Dad.”  

{Anyone who hurts you isn’t my friend.}  

“……”  

{Don’t pay attention to them. There’s no need to listen to nonsense like that. You just need to live the way you want to.}  

With a firm expression, Seon-tae moved his hands and arms quickly, delivering his message to his daughter in the only silent language he had. His hands, desperate to convey his sincerity, moved much more forcefully than usual, forming the shapes of the letters. Watching the slight tremble in her father’s fingertips, Su-eon swallowed her words.  

“……”  

It was so quiet. There wasn’t a single sound. Her father didn’t even open his mouth anymore, embarrassed by the sound of his own voice. Yet, the words he spoke came alive through his fingertips, resonating vividly in her heart, as if they were echoing directly in her ears.  

[Live the way you want to, Su-eon.]  

Taking a deep breath, Su-eon looked at her father.  

“Dad, I’m going to quit the hotel.”  

“……”  

“I’ve already told them I’m moving out of the apartment too.”  

After another deep breath, she gathered her courage to say the words that wouldn’t come out easily.  

“So, Dad… can you quit your job too? I looked into it, and there are youth loans available. If we combine that with what you’ve saved and your retirement money, we could open a small flower shop. Can’t we start over together with that?”  

“……”  

“I know you’ve lived in this neighborhood your whole life. I know it must be so hard for you to leave now.”  

As Su-eon struggled to get the words out, one by one, her father silently watched her. Then, without saying a word, he took her hand and shook his head, as if to tell her to stop.  

Su-eon dropped her head. She couldn’t lift it, weighed down by guilt. She was taking everything away from her father—his home, his work. To ask him, at his age, when he should be thinking about retirement, and with his hearing disability, to move to an unfamiliar place and start anew, was unbearably selfish.  

I just need to endure it. Like back then, I can just endure it.