EPILOGUE Part  12

“Hey, get up! If Minhee comes out and sees us, I’m in big trouble!”

At the mention of Minhee, Taejun, with a look of despair, slowly stood up.

“No, man! You should listen to the end. Here, sit next to me.”

Sangjin moved to the seat next to him and tapped the back of the chair he had been sitting on. Taejun squeezed his large frame into the old dining chair, and Sangjin reached out to pat Taejun’s shoulder.

“Taejun, do you like our Minhee that much?”

With a tone as familiar as if he were talking to Minhee, Taejun snapped his head up and looked at Sangjin with surprised eyes. Sangjin’s kind eyes, which were large for a man, crinkled with a warm smile across his entire face.

A flush of red brushed near Taejun’s cheekbones. He lowered his gaze and nodded.

“Yes, Father. I like her very much.”

“Taejun, I was actually worried that you might be too outstanding and extraordinary compared to our ordinary Minhee.”

Hearing Sangjin’s words, Taejun blinked in confusion.

“When she brought you as a prospective son-in-law, I was actually planning to show some father-in-law authority. But our girl brought home someone flawless and perfect.”

“No, Minhee is the one who’s perfect….”

Sangjin chuckled and cut him off firmly.

“I know her well because I’m her dad, but our Minhee is still a kid. Compared to you, she’s just starting out in the real world and has a lot to learn. I’ll do my best with the dowry, but it might not meet your level. So, even if our girl is lacking or falls short, it’s all my fault, so please be generous. That’s what I was going to say earlier. But then you suddenly knelt down with your massive frame, and I was really startled. Haha.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. If anything, I’m the one who should be sorry. But Taejun, could you call me ‘Dad’ instead of ‘Father’? When you call me ‘Father,’ it suddenly makes me feel like an old man. I’m still in my fifties.”

Sangjin chuckled as he pulled Taejun’s glass over and filled it with ginseng liquor. Taejun took the ginseng liquor bottle and filled Sangjin’s glass to the brim.

“Yes, …Dad.”

“Alright, Taejun. Then, shall we share some stories about our lives? I want to know what kind of man my daughter loves.”

As the two men sat with the well-aged ginseng liquor before them, the warm night at the end of summer quietly matured above them.

* * *

“Dad, what’s with your eyes? They’re all swollen! Did you cry last night?”

Minhee leaned in close to Sangjin’s face as he set a soup bowl on the table.

“Who cried? Eat up. I made spicy bean sprout and dried pollack soup.”

“Ouch!!”

Sangjin pinched and stretched Minhee’s cheek. Minhee pulled his hand away and tilted her head.

“It’s true……. When you watche those action movies about saving daughters and crying at night, this is exactly how you look in the morning, Dad.”

Pretending not to hear, Taejun lowered his head and neatly arranged the utensils.

Last night, while listening to Taejun’s life story, Sangjin had burst into tears. Taejun, flustered by Sangjin’s intense crying, awkwardly embraced him and patted his back for a long time.

“Taejun, eat a lot.”

Sangjin smiled broadly as he placed a large soup bowl and a mound of rice in front of Taejun.

“Yes, Dad.”

Minhee widened her eyes and looked back and forth between Taejun and Sangjin.

“Taejun? Dad? You two got really close while I was asleep? Leaving me out?! That’s unfair!!”

“Taejun, like I said, she’s still young. You have to understand. Go ahead and eat.”

“Yes, Dad.”

As Sangjin sat down, all three, slightly suffering from hangovers, silently ate the spicy soup.

“Today, I thought I’d take you for a drive around the island.”

Sangjin’s restaurant was closed for the day.

“Dad, thanks, but today we have to go look at houses.”

“Houses? What houses?”

“Since we’ll be visiting often, Taejun wants to buy a house on the island. We’ve already contacted a real estate agent, so we need to head out soon.”

With a bewildered expression, Sangjin looked at Taejun.

“But you can’t just buy a house like that… Where? What kind of house?”

“We’re looking at a house by the beach with a swimming pool and a guest house. It would be great if you could come with us. The agent is showing us a house on Dune Lane.”

“Dune Lane?? That’s where millionaires… Taejun, I feel dizzy.”

As Sangjin slumped against the back of his chair, Minhee, who was picking bean sprouts from her soup, pressed her head and furrowed her brow slightly.

“Dad, me too. I think it’s because of the ginseng liquor last night.”

With a serious look, Taejun poured water into a glass and handed it to Minhee, placing his large hand on her forehead.

“Minhee, drink lots of water. Does your head hurt? Does it hurt a lot? Should I get you some medicine?”

“Taejun, your hand feels cool.”

Seeing Minhee rub her forehead against Taejun’s palm, half-covering her face, Sangjin chuckled in disbelief.

“…You two are having fun.”

* * *

Taejun’s silver sports car pulled up in front of the real estate office.

[Minhee?]

As soon as she stepped out of the passenger seat, Minhee heard someone calling her name and looked around in surprise.

[Lexi!]

Recognizing the woman standing in front of the real estate office, Minhee’s eyes widened as she approached with a smile and exchanged a warm hug.

Lexi, who had attended the public high school on the island, had become close while working as a counselor at summer camp, but they hadn’t seen each other since Noah’s party. Coincidentally, it seemed that the real estate agent booked by Luca was Lexi.

[How have you been? It’s been years. Good to see you! I heard from Noah that you’re in New York.]

On Hilton Head Island, it was hard to escape the name of one Noah Brown. Feeling self-conscious, Minhee glanced at Taejun while exchanging greetings with Lexi.

[It’s been a while. Good to see you.]

With curly carrot-colored hair and freckles across her nose, Lexi was one of the few people who had left a good impression from her teenage years due to her lively and friendly nature. Her personality hadn’t changed.

[What brings you here? Looking at houses? And the people with you…?]

When Minhee introduced the two men as her father and fiancé, Lexi was taken aback.

[Oh! The client coming from New York was your fiancé. Congratulations on your engagement, Minhee!]

In the cheerful atmosphere, the four of them got into Lexi’s van and set out to look at houses.

At the first house they toured, Minhee and Sangjin marveled as they explored room after room. But when Sangjin asked about the price and Lexi answered, both of them were stunned and subdued. At that moment, Taejun quietly called Lexi aside.

[Just let me know the prices all at once after we’ve seen everything. The important thing is finding a house we like.]

Sensing a commission worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, Lexi promised to show them a hidden gem of a house not yet on the market, leading them to the heart of Dune Lane’s ‘Millionaire Mile.’ Minhee remembered that Noah’s house was nearby.

The newly built contemporary-style mansion had a modern interior and a sizable two-bedroom guest house.

With a swimming pool complete with a slide and a large treehouse, Minhee could vividly imagine Rose playing there. Perhaps even a child she and Taejun might have.

“What do you think?”

As they toured the pool area, Taejun asked, and Minhee answered honestly.

“It’s perfect. It’s amazing that a house like this exists. But….”

“But?”

“I think the price will be astronomical. How much does a house like this cost?”

“That doesn’t matter. If you like the house, that’s enough.”

Taejun called out to Sangjin, who was coming out of the guest house.

“Dad.”

Why the word ‘Dad,’ which was left with a piercing pain, came so easily to this gentle man he wasn’t even related to by blood, Taejun didn’t know.

The more he uttered the word ‘Dad,’ the more the pain that had clung to it like an inertia whenever he thought of the word dulled and faded.

“What do you think?”

Sangjin looked at Taejun with a flushed face.

“The house is amazing, Taejun. My goodness, the guest house is bigger and nicer than our home. I always wondered what kind of blessed person would live in a place like this, and it turns out it’s our Minhee and Taejun.”

“Then, let’s proceed with this house.”

“Well, that was easy. But I’ll really have to work hard to prepare a dowry (hon-su) that suits this house.”

“What do you mean, Dad? Isn’t ‘flood’ (hongsu) a flood? It’d be terrible if this house flooded!”

“Oh dear……. Not flood, dowry.”

(This dialogue plays with the similar sounds of two Korean words that have very different meanings.

홍수 (hong-su) means “flood.”

혼수 (hon-su) refers to the “marriage preparations” or “bridal gifts” or “dowry” given when people are getting married in Korean culture.)

“Dowry? Taejun, do you know what a dowry is?”

“…….”

Even Taejun silently shook his head. It was a rare occurrence.

Seeing this, Sangjin gave a wry smile.

“You both speak Korean so well that I keep forgetting how young you were when you came to America. You probably haven’t heard the term dowry. Dowry refers to all the costs involved in a wedding, from wedding gifts and offerings to the wedding ceremony, the newlywed home, and the items to go in that home.”

“Wedding gifts? Offerings?”

Minhee looked at Sangjin with a face that said she understood even less. Taejun also blinked with a puzzled expression before speaking.

“Why would you prepare the dowry, Dad…?”

“I don’t know how it is in Korea these days, but in my time, if the groom’s side bought the house, the bride’s side would furnish it. Of course, I, as Minhee’s dad….”

“Dad, I’ll take care of those things.”

Taejun cut in decisively, leaving no room for argument.

“How can you say that?”

“More importantly, could you live in the main house and manage it? We need someone to oversee the housekeeper and gardener. Please.”

As Taejun shifted the topic, Sangjin’s eyes widened at the sudden proposal.