EPILOGUE Part  11

“Is there anything I can help with…?”

“No, no, it’s fine. Just sit at the table.”

“Please, speak informally with me, Father.”

“Oh? Oh. Yes, alright. Just go sit down first. Minhee, you sit too. Just set the utensils and glasses.”

As Minhee dragged Taejun to sit down and busily set the table, Sangjin filled it with an abundance of prepared appetizers.

When Minhee sat next to Taejun, Sangjin hugged the bottle of ginseng liquor like a child and sat across from Taejun.

“Wow. I never thought this day would really come. I thought I’d have my daughter for another five years.”

Sangjin smacked his lips and glanced at the photo of his wife on the living room cabinet.

“Dear, I’m opening this today. I’ll drink well with my son-in-law.”

He twisted the tightly sealed cap of the ginseng liquor with all his might and opened the sealed cover. The sharp aroma already tickled his nose.

“Wow… The aroma is perfect!”

Sangjin held the bottle out to Taejun, as if to let him smell it. Taejun sniffed the bottle and smiled brightly.

“The aroma is very good.”

“Wow, when you smile, your handsome face just lights up, like a halo.”

“Oh, uh… Th-thank you.”

Seeing Taejun stammer in embarrassment, Minhee giggled and linked her arm with his, leaning on his shoulder.

“Taejun, me too, me too!”

When Taejun held the bottle to Minhee’s nose, she wrinkled her nose and frowned.

“It smells like medicine or something?”

“Our daughter has a keen nose. It’s ginseng liquor, so it’s medicinal.”

Sangjin chuckled, took the bottle, and filled Taejun and Minhee’s glasses. Taejun politely poured a drink for Sangjin, who then raised his glass.

“Though it’s late, congratulations on your engagement!”

The three clinked their glasses with a ‘cheers’ and emptied them simultaneously. For a moment, only the clinking of chopsticks picking up appetizers could be heard over the table.

“So, when’s the wedding date set for?”

“February 14th, Valentine’s Day! It’s the day I first met Taejun.”

Sangjin’s eyes widened in surprise at Minhee’s answer.

“Valentine’s Day?! You’ve known each other for quite a while then? I thought I heard you got a boyfriend just a few months ago, and I was worried you were rushing.”

“Ah, well, we started dating at the end of May…”

“By the way, where’s your niece? Didn’t you say you were raising her?”

Sangjin directed his question to Taejun. Taejun’s shoulders tensed noticeably.

“Yes. I’m Rose’s legal guardian. When Minhee became Rose’s teacher at school, I asked her to help as a live-in tutor. With Minhee’s help, I took care of Rose until June, and now she’s staying at her grandparents’ house in Korea. She’ll be there for a year and return to New York next August.”

“It’s not easy for an unmarried man to raise a child alone. Was Minhee of help to you?”

“Yes. Without Minhee, I could never have done it alone.”

Sangjin refilled the empty glasses, pausing in thought for a moment.

“Dad, do you want to see a picture of Rose? She’s so cute. If a pink strawberry candy were a person, it would be Rose.”

Minhee offered her phone with a photo to Sangjin, who squinted his aging eyes and held the phone at a distance.

The photo showed Rose with chocolate smeared around her mouth, smiling brightly. Sangjin chuckled as he looked at the photo.

“Is her name Rose? Look at those cheeks. Lately, kids this age are so adorable. Maybe I’m meant to have a grandchild soon…”

“Dad, since Rose went to Korea, her Korean has improved so much in just three months. I don’t know if she inherited a good memory gene, but once she hears something, she never forgets it. She’s so smart and clever. Oh! Did I tell you? Taejun is a genius!”

“Minhee, that’s…”

The red tint on Taejun’s ears seemed not to be from the alcohol.

“Oh, Seol Minhee. You’re such a doting fool.”

Sangjin laughed as if he couldn’t believe it, and Minhee put on a serious face.

“Doting fool? Isn’t that something you eat?”

Sangjin sighed deeply and emptied his glass.

“Seol Minhee, you’re embarrassing me to death. I should’ve taught you Chinese characters…”

“It’s okay if I don’t know them because Taejun knows them well. What’s it called, ‘Sajaseungeo’? Taejun knows all those things.”

(Sajaseungeo = four-character Chinese idioms used in Korean)

Minhee boasted about Taejun with a bright smile. The two men, embarrassed on her behalf, clinked their glasses. Sangjin jokingly asked Taejun.

“Are you really a genius?”

“…No, I’m not.”

Minhee looked back and forth between Sangjin and Taejun with an indignant expression, protesting.

“Taejun, you solve difficult math formulas in your head, write complex, what’s it called, quant? Those computer programs, and even while multitasking at work, you catch chart errors and remember everything you’ve seen once. Isn’t that what a genius is? You even found the restaurant without using GPS!”

Sangjin looked at Taejun with a half-doubtful gaze and asked.

“Is that true?”

“It is, I tell you!!”

Minhee answered for him, and Sangjin waved his hand dismissively.

“Be quiet for a moment.”

“…I have a slightly good memory.”

Sangjin suddenly stood up and pulled a book from the living room bookshelf. The blue hardcover book with worn edges was a reference book he used when he was a history teacher.

Opening to the page with the Joseon Dynasty chronology, Sangjin asked.

“Can you memorize this right away too?”

“…Yes.”

With a skeptical expression, Sangjin pushed the book toward Taejun, who quietly studied the chronology. Minhee swallowed dryly.

Before long, Taejun looked up, closed the book, and handed it back to Sangjin. Sangjin laughed awkwardly and raised his glass.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. How could anyone memorize all this? Even while teaching kids, I couldn’t memorize it. Minhee just made you nervous for no reason. Let’s have a drink!”

“I memorized it, Father.”

“……..”

Sangjin, lost for words, put down his glass and opened the book.

“1636.”

“The Manchu War of 1636. The war between Joseon and Qing. Joseon’s King Injo. Qing Empire’s Emperor Hong Taiji. Joseon’s defeat.”

A moment of silence fell over the table. Sangjin, his mouth agape in astonishment, closed it with a snap.

“Was that too easy? Someone interested in history might already know about the Manchu War, so then…”

As Taejun answered more questions Sangjin posed without hesitation, Sangjin opened to a page with a more complex diagram and had Taejun memorize it. When Taejun correctly answered all of Sangjin’s questions after closing the book, Sangjin’s eyes widened.

Minhee, her head spinning from three glasses of ginseng liquor, propped her chin and watched the scene with a smirk until her arm slipped. Taejun quickly reached out to support her head.

Sangjin tapped the table with his fingertips, looking at Minhee.

“Seol Minhee. If you’re sleepy, go to bed.”

“Yes, Minhee.”

Minhee yawned and stretched, then leaned her head on Taejun’s shoulder as if collapsing. The high-proof alcohol seemed to relax her after the tension she had been holding.

“What about Taejun?”

“Your ‘Taejun’ has something to discuss with your dad, so you go to bed first.”

Minhee lifted her head sharply, glaring at her dad with a face as red as an apple.

“Dad! Don’t bother Taejun while I’m gone!”

“Huh!”

Sangjin let out a laugh as if he couldn’t believe it, and Taejun gently patted Minhee’s hand.

“Minhee, let’s get up. I’ll take you.”

As Taejun helped Minhee up by supporting her waist, she reluctantly clung to him as they stood.

“Oh my, it’s only a few steps to the room…”

Minhee stuck her tongue out at Sangjin and smiled bashfully at Taejun, while Sangjin sighed deeply and clicked his tongue.

“That… that…! How old are you now? I’m so embarrassed in front of my son-in-law I can’t live.”

Taejun bit his lip to hold back laughter and escorted Minhee to her room. When he returned to the table, a serious-faced Sangjin was waiting for him.

Sangjin quietly watched Taejun for a moment before refilling his glass. With Minhee, the soft and fluffy buffer, gone, a heavy silence settled between the two men as they silently exchanged drinks.

During that time, which felt both long and short, Taejun wondered if this was how his father felt when he first met his maternal grandfather.

When Sangjin finally spoke, his voice was gentle but serious and careful.

“Don’t misunderstand me. In my eyes, my daughter is the most beautiful. Even though I raised her without a mother, as someone lacking like me, she’s grown up to be kind, smart, and without fault. She’s a precious daughter with no flaws. But, perhaps I can’t help being materialistic, and compared to you—”

At that moment, Taejun, who had turned pale, suddenly knelt in front of Sangjin.

“Oh my! Why all of a sudden—”

Taejun placed his hands on his thighs and bowed his head.

“Father, please don’t!! I…”

“Huh? No, please stand—”

Sangjin stood up and tried to pull Taejun up by the arm.

But Taejun looked up at Sangjin with eyes filled with desperation and solemnity, as if a sharp dagger were about to pierce his neck.

Sangjin flinched and sank back into his chair.

“I know I’m lacking compared to Minhee. I grew up struggling on my own after losing my parents early, but thanks to Minhee, I learned what it means to live like a human being. I’m clumsy at loving and being loved, so I’ve caused Minhee heartache. If someone like me, who lacks so much, asked for a daughter like Minhee, I would have kicked him out immediately. But I will fix my shortcomings. I will fill in the gaps. I will cherish and love Minhee for the rest of my life. I’ve only now found hope that I can be happy. So please, allow me. Father, I… I really can’t live without Minhee.”

Taejun’s urgent voice faded into a poignant plea.