chapter 5
< Sincerity and reciprocation >
I glanced at the clock hanging on the hallway wall.
It’s 2:40 in the morning now.
‘Will it be rude if I call you right away at this hour?’
There are no second chances for a first impression.
‘If the doctor had refused to treat my mother with hyperbaric oxygen, it would have been a different story. I’d better call later.’
Instead, he memorized his phone number.
Mr. Cheol-gu stretched out greatly.
“Hey, kid. Sleep when you’re sleepy.”
“I am not sleepy.”
“Are you really going to report it as a spy?”
“If you need.”
After yawning, Mr. Cheol-gu glanced back.
“Doctors take responsibility for treatment, right? The uncle will be guarding you here, so don’t think about doing nonsense and grow up, kid.”
“That’s Okay. I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes… ugghyaaagh!”
I got hit again!
Mr. Cheolgu clicked his tongue as he stretched out my cheeks on both sides.
“This kid is real. The bribes weren’t enough, so he threatened and even became suspicious, huh?”
“Gya -ah!”
“Believe me! Trust the doctor, trust your mother, trust this man! Is it difficult?”
“…”
I kept my mouth shut.
Her cheeks were tingling, but she didn’t step back and rub them like before.
Instead, he bowed politely.
“Why can’t I trust you, Mr. It’s late to say thank you. Thank you so much, mister.”
I am a man who will surely repay the silver.
My rule of thumb is to give back more than you get!
Mr. Cheol-gu blinked his eyes again.
Either that or not.
“Thank you for helping me today. If it hadn’t been for you, my mother might have died.”
It was going to be a really big deal.
That the grim reaper had pronounced death.
I lost my mother helplessly in the past, and it has remained a part of my life.
“It was an emergency situation, and I was really grateful that they promptly moved my mother to the hospital. Because it was curfew, there were no taxis, and it would have been difficult to rent a truck from someone else’s house in the middle of the night.”
This time, thanks to Mr. Cheol-gu’s full accelerator, the mother was able to receive treatment before it was too late.
“I know it’s not just words of gratitude. But that’s all I can do right now. thank you.”
“done. something like this.”
“Isn’t it too shabby to say thank you? Should I write a thank you letter every day? That’s my sincerity.”
“Because it’s real.”
I grinned.
“I will always repay this grace. This is my oath.”
Mr. Cheolgu tousled my hair.
“Little boy, taking a manly oath is not something you do carelessly.”
“I’m not a man who just breaks the oath I made with my mouth, right?”
I put the cigarette I had picked up earlier into the man’s mouth to block off any objections.
Then he took out a five hundred won bill from his mother’s bag.
It means that the turtle ship was drawn.
“And the requirement is low, but please treat it as my heartfelt recompense.”
“pay?”
“It’s a sad law when you don’t get a reward for your help. Are you going out right now? Are you bored with your mouth? What is it at this time? A cup of coffee from the vending machine in the break room. Follow me.”
I got down from the hospital chair and pulled Mr. Cheol-gu’s sleeve.
“I’m yulmucha, the change is Mr.’s tip, and drinking a cup of coffee and craving a cigarette would be great, right?”
“her······.”
“why? Is my sincerity too shabby?”
“No way.”
Mr. Cheolgu tousled my hair again.
“Ha, what is this kid really?”
He put his arm around my side and lifted me up.
“Ughyaaagh!”
No matter how much I struggle, I don’t budge.
The body of a seven-year-old was too light.
Mr. Cheolgu strode forward with one hand roughly stuck in his pants pocket.
Every time that happened, my body would go up and down a lot.
“Put me down!”
“Where is the little boy going barefoot? Stay still.”
Iron Man grinned.
“You believe me, uncle? Could it be that it was empty?”
“…”
this is true A man has respect.
I grunted with great displeasure, my face wrinkled.
“I feel bad because I drank coal briquette gas. Please handle it gently.”
“her······.”
Mr. Cheol-gu immediately pulled me out of his side and gave me a ride on the wooden horse.
I couldn’t keep my balance, so I grabbed the man’s head tightly.
I’m riding a wooden horse that I’ve never ridden before.
I felt very good.
Really not bad, this.
“hehehehe.”
It was a childlike laugh that was hard to believe came out of my mouth.
It was a problem because it was so awkward to hear it with my own ears.
I kept my mouth shut so that the sound of laughter would not come out, but the corners of my mouth that went up did not come down.
I feel like my stomach is tickling somehow.
“hehehehe.”
Oh dear. Failing to hold back laughter.
Damn, what a child’s body.
As Mr. Cheol-gu strode, we arrived at the hospital resting room located in the back garden in an instant.
“and.”
This is a vending machine from the 70’s!
In the 21st century, many vending machines like this have disappeared, so you can hardly see them.
In this era, it is a completely up-to-date foreign newspaper!
In 1977, Roxanne Industrial imported 400 finished coffee vending machines from Japan’s Shampoo and installed them.
I’ve heard rumors that it’s only in high-end restaurants, hotels, and Seoul Station. Do you see this at Taesung Hospital?
Recently, I heard that he received a lot of investment from the Taesung Group and increased the scale.
Like the state-of-the-art high-pressure chamber facility, as well as the coffee vending machine.
Seeing the money going in, I can clearly see how well the hospital has grown.
“Yeah.”
A coffee costs as much as 100 won!
A bowl of jajangmyeon costs 300 won, and a haircut costs 200 won. How can coffee from a vending machine cost 100 won per cup?
‘Still, when I write, I have to write.’
Mr. Cheolgu tried to turn the cash lever.
“What kind of vending machine coffee costs 100 won? With this money, I’ll drink coffee at a coffee shop.”
But I spread my palm and blocked it.
“When a man repays you with gratitude for his invaluable help, you shouldn’t save pennies. I decided to be extravagant today.”
“Can I just patronize with my mother’s money?”
“My mother’s life is not worth 500 won. I don’t mind giving away all my possessions.”
I closed my eyes and pressed the yulmu tea button.
It’s only 50 won.
“If you don’t speak quickly, the uncle will also pick up adlay tea. By the way, this is very stuffy.”
“Coffee is black after all.”
Click.
The black coffee flavor was really good.
In the 70’s, they said they ground coffee beans.
“As for a cigarette, don’t notice it in the corner over there and smoke it leisurely.”
Dalgrak.
The old man is turning the change change lever.
“Why aren’t you coming out?”
Clack clack, thump.
The moment the man hits the coffee vending machine with his fist.
charrr
The coffee machine started spitting out coins frantically.
Coins of 10 won, 50 won, and 100 won were pouring in all directions.
“…”
“…”
At a glance, Mr. Cheol-gu laughed at the coin, which seemed to be worth 10,000 won.
“Did you ask me to tip the change earlier?”
Did the sky show sincerity to my shabby sincerity?
* * *
‘Good mood.’
It was a warm embrace.
A fragrant and nostalgic smell.
Soft and soft to the touch.
The young woman’s soft laugh tickled his ears.
Yes, my mother used to laugh just like that…
‘uh?’
I was sobered up.
The last thing I remembered was dozing off next to my mother who had moved to a general hospital room the night before.
My mother, who put me to sleep in her arms, smiled broadly.
“My son, did you sleep well?”
“…!”
It’s been 45 years.
I met my mother again, whom I longed for like Han, even in my dreams.
I didn’t say anything like an idiot.
“Uh, uh…”
He opened his mouth like a goldfish.
There was only strength in the hand holding the hem of her mother’s clothes.
Just like when I was breathing again, my breathing became rapid.
The determination to meticulously examine the mother’s face, which has now become blurry even in memory, and stop it disappears.
My eyes were just blurry.
“Oh, Mom…!”
Because the skin we touched was warm.
I was thrilled to hear the beating of my heart.
It made me sad to see myself reflected in my mother’s brightly shining eyes.
“Mom…!”
I buried my head in my mother’s arms and cried.
My mother hugged me tightly and kissed me on the cheek.
He stroked his hair and brushed his back.
He spoke in a soft voice mixed with laughter.
“Mom is fine now. Was my son very surprised yesterday?”
“······huh.”
It was scary.
I’m afraid my mother will die.
I’m afraid I won’t be able to open my eyes again.
“Sorry. A mother should protect my son, but he fell asleep like an idiot.”
Mother held out her little finger.
“There will never be anything like that in the future. Mommy will promise you.”
Even though he clearly knew that there was no way he could prevent death from coming by promising such a thing.
I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand and hung my little finger wildly.
“I promised.”
“Hold the seal.”
Originally, a promise is a document, not a word, and it is a law that is completed only by stamping with the thumb, not the pinky finger.
“hehehehe.”
I laughed as if I had gained the whole world with the promise of my little finger.
Ah, what a real child’s body.
cororok.
It was a rumbling in my stomach.
“hungry? Is there anything my son would like to eat?”
“…or.”
“huh? what?”
“I like anything my mom does.”
I didn’t know before.
I always grumbled that my mother’s rice was not delicious.
It wasn’t until after losing my mother that I realized that there was no way I could even eat that again.
I hugged my mother tightly.
“I missed you.”
Mother, it’s been 45 years.
“mom I love you.”
When we meet again, I really wanted to say this.
“Mom loves our Jeonghyeok too. the best in the world Very very much.”
My mother also smiled broadly as she hugged me tightly.
It was a dazzlingly beautiful smile.
“huh?”
Mother suddenly noticed a jewelry box protruding from the bag and hardened her complexion.
It was supposed to be in the depths of our closet.
“Junghyuk, you were in here…!”
“This one?”
I took a Vacheron Constantin Patrimony 1970 Special Edition from my pocket.
“Is this your father’s watch?”
My mother pursed her lips with a puzzled look on her face.
Still, I waited patiently.
After hesitating for a long time, the mother opened her mouth with a long sigh.
“okay.”
Ha, you mean that?
“Then where is Daddy? My mom is sick, why isn’t she coming? Why aren’t you coming to see me?”
“Jeonghyeok, your father is…”
drooling.
Then, the door to the hospital room opened without hesitation, and the smell of cigarettes hit me.
‘no way······!’
Did your father come running after hearing that your mother was taken to the hospital?
If my father’s family is the Taesung Group, this is Taesung Hospital.
So maybe…
I glanced back.
“Ah, that’s an old man!”
A body as large as a bear entered the room and flinched.
< Sincerity and reciprocation > End