< Sincerity and Reward >
I glanced at the clock on the hallway wall.
It’s now 2:40 in the morning.
‘Would it be rude to call you at this hour?’
There are no second chances for a first impression.
‘It would have been different if the doctor had refused to give my mother hyperbaric oxygen. I guess I’ll call him later.’
Instead, I memorized the phone number.
Mr. Cheolgu stretched his body loudly.
“Hey, kid. If you’re sleepy, go to sleep.”
“I’m not sleepy.”
“If it comes down to it, are you really going to report me as a spy?”
“If necessary.”
Mr. Cheolgu suddenly turned around without yawning.
“The doctor will take responsibility for the treatment. I will be here to watch over you, so don’t think about making a fuss and just go to sleep now, little one.”
“Okay. I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes… Ughhhh!”
I’ve been scammed again!
Mr. Cheolgu clicked his tongue while stretching my cheeks on both sides.
“This little brat is for real. Not only does he bribe, he also threatens and is suspicious. Huh?”
“Gyaaangeuek···!”
“Trust me, just a little! Trust the doctor, trust your mother, trust this man! Is that hard?”
“······.”
I kept my mouth shut.
Both of my cheeks were cold, but I didn’t move away and rub them like before.
Instead, he bowed politely.
“Why can’t I trust you, sir? I’m late in thanking you. Thank you so much, sir.”
I am a man who always repays favors.
My rule is to give back more than you receive!
Mr. Cheolgu blinked his eyes again.
Whatever.
“Thank you for helping me today. If it weren’t for you, my mother might have died.”
I almost got into big trouble.
The grim reaper had pronounced a death sentence.
I lost my mother helplessly in the past, and that remained a regret for the rest of my life.
“It was an emergency situation that required immediate attention, and I was very grateful that they rushed my mother to the hospital. There were no taxis coming and going during curfew, and it would have been difficult to borrow someone else’s truck in the middle of the night.”
This time, thanks to Mr. Cheolgu stepping on the accelerator and driving, my mother was able to receive treatment before it was too late.
“I know it’s not something I can express in words, but this is all I can do right now. Thank you so much.”
“Okay. Something like this.”
“Isn’t this thank you too shabby? Should I write a thank you letter every day? I’ll consider it my sincerity.”
“I told you it really happened.”
I smiled brightly.
“I will repay this favor someday. This is my pledge.”
Mr. Cheolgu messed up my hair.
“Little kid, a man’s oath is not something you make lightly.”
“I’m not the kind of man who would carelessly break a promise made with my own mouth, am I?”
I put the cigarette I had picked up earlier into the old man’s mouth to block any objections.
Then she took out a five hundred won note from her mother’s bag.
I’m talking about the turtle ship drawing.
“And please consider this as my sincere gratitude, even though it is not much.”
“pay?”
“It’s a shame when help is not repaid. Are you hungry? Are you hungry? What do you want in a situation like this? A cup of coffee from the vending machine in the break room. Follow me.”
I got down from the hospital chair and grabbed Mr. Cheol-gu’s sleeve.
“I’ll have a cup of yulmu tea, the change is for the uncle’s tip, and if I drink a cup of coffee and smoke a cigarette, that’ll be it.”
“her······.”
“Why? My sincerity is too shabby.”
“No way.”
Mr. Cheolgu messed up my hair again.
“Ha, what is this kid really like?”
The man put his arm around my side and lifted me up.
“Eww!”
No matter how much I struggle, it doesn’t budge.
The seven-year-old’s body was so light.
Mr. Cheolgu walked briskly with one hand roughly put in his pants pocket.
Every time that happened, my body would go up and down greatly.
“Give me down!”
“Where is the little one going with bare feet? Stay still.”
Mr. Cheolgu smiled brightly.
“You believe me, sir? Are you sure that wasn’t just empty words?”
“······.”
This guy is really manly.
I muttered with a very dissatisfied look on my face.
“I feel sick because I inhaled coal gas earlier. Please be gentle with me.”
“her······.”
Mr. Cheolgu immediately took me out from his side and gave me a ride on the horse.
I couldn’t keep my balance, so I grabbed the old man’s head tightly.
I’m riding a wooden horse like this, something I’ve never ridden before.
I felt pretty good.
This isn’t really that bad.
“Hehehe.”
It was such a childish laugh that it was hard to believe it came from my mouth.
The problem was that it was so awkward to hear it with my own ears.
I kept my mouth shut so that I wouldn’t laugh, but the corners of my lips wouldn’t go down.
I feel like my stomach is tickling for some reason.
“Hehehe.”
Oh, man. I failed miserably at holding back laughter.
Damn, what a child’s body.
As Mr. Cheolgu walked briskly, we arrived at the hospital lounge located in the backyard in no time.
“and.”
This is a vending machine from the 70s!
In the 21st century, these types of vending machines have largely disappeared and are hard to find.
In this day and age, it is a completely new, state-of-the-art foreign product!
In 1977, Roxanne Industries imported and installed 400 finished coffee vending machines from a Japanese shampoo company.
I’ve heard rumors that they only put it in high-end restaurants, hotels, and places like Seoul Station, but I’m seeing this at Taesung Hospital?
I heard that the company recently received a lot of investment from Taesung Group and grew in size.
We have state-of-the-art high-pressure chamber facilities and coffee vending machines.
When you see the money coming in, you can really see how poor the hospital is.
“Hey.”
Coffee costs a whopping 100 won!
A bowl of Jajangmyeon costs 300 won, a haircut costs 200 won, and how can a cup of vending machine coffee cost 100 won?
‘But you have to use it when you have to.’
Mr. Cheolgu tried to turn the cash lever.
“What vending machine coffee costs 100 won? I’d rather drink coffee at a cafe for that amount of money.”
But I blocked it with my open palm.
“When a man shows his gratitude for someone’s valuable help, he should not skimp on the small change. I have decided to splurge today.”
“Can I just use my mom’s money to do charity work?”
“My mother’s life is not worth a mere 500 won. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t mind giving away all my assets.”
I closed my eyes tightly and pressed the Yulmu tea button.
This only cost 50 won.
“If you don’t speak up soon, I’m going to pull out a teacup for you. By the way, this is really rough.”
“Coffee is best when it’s black.”
Click.
The black coffee smelled really good.
I heard that in the 70s, they ground the coffee beans and brewed it.
“You can smoke your cigarettes in the corner without worrying about what other people think.”
Dalgrak.
The old man turns the change lever.
“Why aren’t you coming out?”
Clang clang clang, thud.
The moment when the old man hits the coffee vending machine with his fist.
Urrrrrrr.
The coffee machine started spitting out coins like crazy.
10 won, 50 won, and 100 won coins rained down, tinkling in all directions.
“······.”
“······.”
Mr. Cheol-gu let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the coin that looked like it was worth at least ten thousand won at a glance.
“Didn’t you tell me to tip you the change I gave you earlier?”
Did heaven add sincerity to my pitiful sincerity?
* * *
‘I feel good.’
It was a warm embrace.
A fragrant and nostalgic smell.
Soft and smooth texture.
A young woman’s soft laughter tickled my ears.
Yeah, my mother used to laugh just like that······.
‘uh?’
I came to my senses.
The last thing I remember was dozing off next to my mother who had been moved to a general ward the previous night.
My mother, who had been holding me in her arms and putting me to sleep, smiled brightly.
“Did you sleep well, my son?”
“······!”
It’s been a whole 45 years.
I met my mother again, whom I had missed so much, even if only in my dreams.
I was speechless like an idiot.
“Uh, uh······.”
He just opened his mouth like a goldfish.
The hand holding the hem of her mother’s clothes was tightly clenched.
My breathing became increasingly rapid, just like when I first started breathing again.
Now, the determination to carefully examine my mother’s face, which has become a blurry memory, has disappeared without a trace.
My vision just became blurry.
“Oh, Mom······!”
Because our skins touching each other are warm.
I was so touched by the sound of my heart pounding.
I felt sad because I saw myself reflected in my mother’s bright eyes.
“Mom······!”
I buried my head in my mother’s arms and cried.
My mother hugged me tightly and rubbed my cheek.
He patted my head and brushed my back.
He spoke in a soft voice mixed with laughter.
“Mom, are you okay now? Was our son really surprised yesterday?”
“······huh.”
I was scared.
I’m afraid my mother will pass away.
I’m afraid I’ll never be able to open my eyes again.
“I’m sorry. Mom was supposed to be protecting our son, but I fell asleep like an idiot.”
Mother held out her little finger.
“That will never happen again. I promise.”
Even though I knew full well that promising something like that wouldn’t be able to stop the death that was coming.
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and crossed my little fingers.
“I promised.”
“Press the seal.”
Originally, a promise was made in writing, not by words, and was completed by making a thumbprint, not a pinky.
“Hehehe.”
I laughed as if I had won the world with my pinky promise.
Oh, what a child’s body.
Chorok.
It was a sound coming from my stomach.
“Are you hungry? Does our son want to eat anything?”
“······Or.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I like anything my mom makes.”
I didn’t know before.
I always complained that my mom’s cooking was tasteless.
It was only after losing my mother that I realized that I would never be able to eat that again.
I hugged my mother tightly.
“I missed you.”
Mom, it’s been 45 years.
“I love you, Mom.”
When we meet again, I really wanted to say this first.
“Mom loves our Jeong-hyeok too. The most in the world. Very, very much.”
My mother also smiled brightly and hugged me tightly.
It was a dazzlingly beautiful smile.
“huh?”
Suddenly, the mother noticed a jewelry box bulging out of the bag and her face hardened.
Because that was something that should have been deep in the closet of our house.
“Jeonghyeok, you were in here······!”
“This one?”
I took the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony 1970 Special Edition out of my pocket.
“Is this your father’s watch?”
My mother just moved her lips with an embarrassed expression.
Still, I waited patiently.
After hesitating for a while, the mother opened her mouth with a long sigh.
“okay.”
Oh, is that so?
“Then where is Dad? Why isn’t Mom here when she’s sick? Why isn’t she coming to see me?”
“Jeonghyeok, your father······.”
Knock knock.
At that moment, the hospital room door opened without hesitation and the smell of cigarettes wafted in.
‘no way······!’
Did your father come running after hearing the news that your mother had been taken to the hospital?
If my father’s family is Taesung Group, then this is Taesung Hospital.
So maybe······.
I looked back quickly.
“Hey, it’s you, old man!”
A large body like a bear flinched as it entered the hospital room.
< Sincerity and Repayment > End
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