Side Story 2.4

On Children’s Day, the amusement park was packed with people, leaving barely any room to move.  

Colorful lights sparkled everywhere, and giant rides moved tirelessly. From all directions, the thrilling screams of people erupted like fireworks.  

Was this how astronauts felt when they first landed on the moon? Jeong-hyeok’s senses were overwhelmed as he tried to take everything in.  

The difference between seeing something on screen and experiencing it in real life was as vast as the sky and the earth. Everything fascinated him.  

“Well, since we’re at an amusement park, we have to start by getting headbands!”  

“Headbands?”  

Eun-sol grabbed his hand and pulled him along.  

At the souvenir shop, she enthusiastically picked out character-themed headbands. For some reason, she seemed even more excited than Ro-hee.  

“Dad, how about this fairy look for Ro-hee?”  

Ro-hee had fairy wings strapped to her back. In her hands, she held a carefully chosen magic wand.  

“You’re adorable. Too adorable.”  

He had thought fairies existed only in storybooks, but he was wrong. His very own little fairy was fluttering her wings right before his eyes.  

“Jeong-hyeok, how do I look?”  

Jeong-hyeok turned his head at the sound of Eun-sol’s voice.  

Eun-sol was wearing a headband with a large ribbon and raccoon mascot ears attached.  

Ha, this is…!  

“…It’s fine.”  

He answered a beat too late.  

He had almost cursed out loud. Who knew raccoons could look so irresistibly tempting?  

“…‘Fine’? That’s all you have to say?”  

Eun-sol’s expression showed clear disappointment.  

“No. On second thought, it’s not fine.”  

It wasn’t fine at all. He was starting to feel uncomfortable as blood rushed downward.  

“Now that I think about it, that thing really doesn’t suit you.”  

Jeong-hyeok took the raccoon headband off Eun-sol’s head. After all, they couldn’t afford to show such inappropriate behavior in this land of dreams and hopes.  

“How about this one?”  

He picked out an explorer’s hat and handed it to her.  

“Ugh, that’s so dull and plain.”  

“Anything you wear looks good.”  

***

“How about we start with that ride?”  

Jeong-hyeok’s gaze followed the direction of Eun-sol’s finger. The ride she had chosen was a hot air balloon-shaped attraction.  

Located indoors, the ride was suspended from the ceiling and made a large loop around the interior.  

It wasn’t fast at all, but it offered a cozy view of the entire amusement park from a high vantage point. 

The three of them soon joined the line for the ride.  

Even though they had purchased special tickets for quick access, it was still Children’s Day, so there was a bit of a wait.  

“Why do you keep looking at your phone? Did something happen at the boutique?”  

“No, it’s not that… Oh, actually, yes. Haha, there’s a small issue at the Jeju branch. I’ll just make a quick call.”  

When she returned after making the call nearby, Eun-sol’s cheeks were flushed red. She kept glancing at him nervously.  

“If you have something to say, just say it.”  

It really did seem like there was a problem at the boutique. Knowing how much of a workaholic Kim Eun-sol was, he thought she might be about to suggest leaving the outing to go handle it.  

At that moment, it was their turn to board the ride. The hot air balloon-shaped ride stopped in front of them, and the previous passengers disembarked.  

“Please board.”  

The staff member gestured for them to get on.  

Just as Jeong-hyeok was about to climb aboard—  

“Oh, I can’t ride this. I just remembered that Ro-hee and I both have a fear of heights.”  

Suddenly, Eun-sol pulled Ro-hee close and stepped back.  

“You’re telling me to ride alone?”  

“Not exactly alone….”  

At that moment, someone pushed through the people waiting in line behind them and appeared. The person, panting heavily as if they had been running, was—  

“…Father?”  

It was Kwon Gi-jo.  

“Please board quickly. The people behind you are waiting.” 

The staff member urged them.  

Three minutes later.  

“……”  

“……”  

The hot air balloon-shaped ride, now carrying the two men, began to move away from the boarding platform.  

At the highest point of the amusement park, inside the hot air balloon’s basket, the two men stood with their backs to each other, each looking at a different part of the scenery.  

The ride moved slowly enough to allow for a full appreciation of the view, but neither of them seemed to notice it.  

“……”  

“……”  

The heavy silence between them was occasionally broken by the irregular screams of thrill-seekers on other rides.  

After several such screams had passed—  

“…What brings you here? And why are you so out of breath?”  

Jeong-hyeok was the first to break the silence, still keeping his back turned.  

“…That’s because I ran here.”  

Although Kwon Gi-jo was an older man, he had once been fit enough to participate in triathlons in his youth. 

“…To be honest, it was Eun-sol who called me here. Even after arriving at the parking lot, I couldn’t muster the courage to face you. So, I turned the car around.”  

Jeong-hyeok quietly listened to his father’s voice.  

It wasn’t exactly a silent space, but it felt like the perfect place for a conversation between just the two of them.  

“But as I was driving away, I turned the car around again. The traffic was terrible. I thought I’d be too late… and if I missed this chance, I’d regret it again….”  

His father’s voice, mixed with labored breaths, trembled continuously.  

“So I got out of the car and ran here.”  

“…You ran here? …Father, just to meet me? That’s the most absurd thing I’ve heard all year.”  

Jeong-hyeok’s voice, as he repeated the words with disbelief, was cold.  

But Kwon Gi-jo noticed that his son, who had been completely turned away from him, had shifted his stance ever so slightly in his direction.  

Encouraged by this, he decided to muster a little more courage.  

“Jeong-hyeok….”  

How long had it been since I last called my son by name? Ten years? Twenty?  

He wasn’t sure of the exact number, but he was certain it had been even longer than that.  

In the 35 years they had shared, he could count on his fingers the number of times he had called his son’s name.  

Realizing this, he felt an unfamiliar tightness in his chest. Each breath seemed to make it harder to breathe.  

He had called his son a monster, a devil. He had scorned and ignored him for so long. But now, he wondered if he himself had been the one who turned his son into that.  

“I… I….”  

His legs began to tremble. Part of it was from running such a long distance, but the torrent of regret flooding back over him made it impossible to stand upright.  

“I was wrong…. It’s all my fault…. It’s all because of me….”  

Kwon Gi-jo mumbled these words as he collapsed to the ground.  

The amusement park scenery was no longer visible. His vision, blocked by the edge of the hot air balloon basket, was filled only with the sight of his son’s legs.  

“I won’t ask for your forgiveness…. I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry….”  

It was too late, but if there was anything left he could do as a father, he wanted to do it.  

But there was nothing he could give.  

His son was too grown to need love, and too wealthy to need financial support.  

So, he thought the best thing he could do for his son now was to step out of his way and disappear from his life.  

Gi-jo had already decided to return to his hometown. He had even revised his will. His entire fortune would go to Jeong-hyeok after his death. His son didn’t know this yet….  

“You won’t see me again.”  

Tears began to fall. He hadn’t intended to garner sympathy, but his emotions overwhelmed him, and he couldn’t stop the flow of tears.  

“Father, what is this….”  

Through his blurred vision, Gi-jo saw a faint, flesh-colored shape come into view.  

“What is this nonsense?”  

The flesh-colored shape was his son’s outstretched hand.  

Gi-jo stared at the hand with dazed eyes. He wiped his tears with his sleeve. As his vision cleared, his son’s face came into sharper focus.  

“Who cries like this in the land of dreams and hopes? It’s embarrassing.”  

His son’s gaze had changed. The resentment that had once filled his dark eyes was no longer there.  

Instead, the scolding tone in his voice sounded almost gentle.  

“…Are you… are you forgiving me?”  

With trembling hands, Gi-jo grasped the hand his son had extended. He was terrified that the hand might pull away.  

As his son firmly helped him to his feet, Gi-jo felt tears welling up again.  

It occurred to him that this was the first time in his life he had ever held his son’s hand.  

“Well, I don’t know about forgiveness….”  

Jeong-hyeok felt a dull ache in his chest. His father’s weight was much lighter than he had anticipated, and that realization brought a strange pang to his heart.  

“I can understand you now, Father.”  

After ensuring that Kwon Gi-jo had regained his balance, Jeong-hyeok let go of his father’s hand.  

He turned his gaze back to the amusement park scenery. The ride had already completed half its loop.  

“When I was in Akai, it was really tough. But, strangely enough, I thought about you a lot. And that gave me strength….”  

“…You… you thought about me? I gave you strength?”  

Kwon Gi-jo blinked as if he had just heard a foreign language.  

“When I thought about it, my suffering was nothing compared to yours.”  

The only reason Jeong-hyeok had been able to survive his time in Akai without losing his mind was because there were people he wanted to reclaim—his woman and his daughter.  

But what about his father?  

“I tried to imagine how despairing it must have been for you, Father, to lose even the place you could return to….”  

His father had lost his first love, so desperately cherished, due to his mother’s schemes. And as an irreversible reminder of that loss, Jeong-hyeok himself had been born.  

For his father, it must have felt like the road back had been completely severed.  

“Unexpectedly, your misfortune became my strength. My situation was far better than yours. And it was… satisfying. Much more so than when I exacted my ambitious revenge on you.”  

It had been a deeply satisfying feeling, one that chilled him to the bone. So much so that it left his very bones aching.  

“Life is really funny, isn’t it? Who would’ve thought I’d feel a sense of kinship with you, of all people?”  

Until then, he had refused to acknowledge his father’s love. To him, it had always seemed like something grotesque and filthy, like a cockroach.  

But even his father’s feelings had been love.  

Once he accepted that fact, other things began to fall into place—like understanding the heart of a father who had hated him so deeply.  

“Does… does that mean you forgive me?”  

Jeong-hyeok steadied his faintly uneven breaths.  

“Forgiveness. That’s something you should ask from the cruel god who played this twisted joke.”  

If loving too much was a sin, then both he and his father were guilty of it.  

Jeong-hyeok tilted his head back.  

“I’d like to curse at God, but I can’t even see the sky.”  

He muttered the words jokingly. In that moment, the moisture glistening at the corners of his eyes caught the light and disappeared.  

By now, the ride was nearing its end.  

Ahead, he saw Eun-sol and Ro-hee waiting for them at the disembarkation point.  

“Daddy! Grandpa!”  

Ro-hee waved her hands excitedly, her face beaming with joy. In contrast, Eun-sol’s expression was tense with nervousness.  

Seeing her face reminded him of something she had slipped into his pocket before the ride.  

“If you’re really angry… just look at this and think it over again.”  

He reached into his pocket. His fingers brushed against something long and hard.  

He pulled it out slightly to take a look.  

“Ha.”  

It was a pregnancy test, tied with a small ribbon. Two bold lines were clearly visible.  

“…Jeong-hyeok?”  

Eun-sol sidled up to him, gently prodding his side. Only then did he realize he had been standing frozen for quite some time.  

“Did you see it?”  

“…Yeah.”  

Eun-sol twisted her body shyly, clearly embarrassed.  

“Let’s go to the OB-GYN together tomorrow. They said we’ll be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat. If the baby takes after you, the heartbeat will probably be perfectly on rhythm. Ro-hee’s was like that too.”  

“…….”  

Words didn’t come out.  

For the first time, Jeong-hyeok realized that when you’re too happy, you can be at a loss for words.  

“Ah, we promised to ride the carousel. Look, Ro-hee is already going ahead with the Chairman.”  

At that moment, Ro-hee, who was walking ahead, turned around and called out.  

“Mom, Dad. Why are you so slow?”  

Ro-hee, who had been pulling Kwon Gi-jo’s hand, now returned to Jeong-hyeok and grabbed his hand as well.  

With Ro-hee in the middle, the two father and son’s hands naturally came together, holding hers.  

The four of them walked in a line, holding hands. They adjusted their pace to match one another, walking slowly….  

“Oh no, the balloon is flying away!”  

Looking up, Eun-sol exclaimed. A red helium balloon, one that someone must have let go of, was floating up into the sky.  

Jeong-hyeok smiled faintly.  

A page from the problematic fairy tale book he had read as a child came to mind.  

The picture of a child holding tightly to their mother and father’s hands, with a red balloon flying above their heads.  

This very moment felt like it had come straight out of that storybook.  

His heart swelled. It felt as if he could become a balloon himself and float away without a care.  

Everything was so bright. And yet, there was no sunlight here—it was indoors.  

But he could say with absolute certainty:  

Today was the most perfect Children’s Day of his entire life.