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nChapter 154

nGetting out of Kim’s car, Suhyuk looked at the large garden.

nHe came back to this place after such a long time.

n“Let’s go in.”

nWhen Suhyuk followed him into the house, he heard a familiar but pleasant sound.

nBark! Bark!

nThat big dog resembling a lion.

nShe looked even bigger than last time, as Suhyuk saw her for the first time in a long time.

nWhen he approached, she wagged her tail.

n“You remember me.”

nWhen he stroked her head, she lay down on her back and acted cute.

n“Come on in, Suhyuk,” said Kim.

nThere was nothing that changed about the big living room.

nHe recalled lots of memories here in the past, such as keeping the mother company and studying there.

n“Do you still play games?” asked Suhyuk.

nTaking out import alcoholic, Kim said with a smile, “Sure I do.”

n“Hey, let me offer this,” said Kim, filling a cup for him.

nKim filled the gla.s.s and put some ice in it by himself.

nIt looked like the import alcohol cost more than one million won.

nHow could he disguise himself as a jobless man to her?

n“You must be busy these days, right?” asked Kim.

n“Business as usual, sir.”

n“I’m proud of you, man,” said Kim, taking a sip of it and looking at him proudly.

nThough he said Suhyuk was smart, he never thought he would go as far as to receive a n.o.bel Prize. Suddenly he recalled the first time he met Suhyuk. Those medical staff at the emergency room were like scarecrows. It was the student Suhyuk who actually found out that the real cause of his mother’s disease was appendicitis.

n“Seeing as you received a n.o.bel Prize, now you could open a private hospital,” said Kim.

nSuhyuk just smiled at his compliment.

nThen a door opened and his mother came out.

nSuhyuk rose from his seat with a smile.

n“How have you been?”

n“Mom, were you disturbed by the noise here?”

nDespite Kim’s asking she fixed her eyes on Suhyuk and then rolled up her sleeves.

n“Have you eaten, honey?”

nThen she went to the refrigerator and opened it.

nKim let out a short sigh at that with a smile, saying,

n“Looks like she sees her late husband in you.”

nRising from the seat, Kim went to her and said,

n“Yes, mom. He said he ate already.”

n“You still don’t know who your daddy is. He just drinks alcohol with his business friends without eating anything.”

nStanding behind her Kim just made a bitter smile.

nHe could feel her affectionate feelings toward her late husband through her voice.

n“Honey, don’t take any more alcohol and sit. Let me cook delicious spicy Kimchi soup with pork neck. I know you like it a lot,” said she to Suhyuk.

nSeated at the table, Suhyuk opened his mouth, looking at her,

n“Thanks so much. I like Kimchi soup very much.”

nTurning her back, she looked at him, saying,

n“Ooops, don’t use honorific words with me. You seem very drunk to say things like that to me.”

nLooking at Suhyuk with a warm smile, she began chopping Kimchi again.

nKim took a seat on the opposite side of Suhyuk and said, “Thanks.”

nBowls of rice and side dishes were soon put down on the table.

nShe rubbed her belly as if she felt something uncomfortable.

n“Looks like the ramen I had before is still in my stomach. Just go ahead.”

n“Okay, let me see my mom’s cooking skills then.”

nWhen was the last time she cooked for him like this?

nKim began moving the chopsticks, picking up some side dishes.

n“It’s really delicious, mom,” said Kim.

nIn the meantime she did not take her eyes off from Suhyuk.

nThen she suddenly said, “I feel sleepy now.”

nInstantly she turned into a child, typical of dementia symptoms.

nRising from the seat, Kim approached her, saying,

n“Shall we go back to the room for sleep, my queen?”

n“Yeah, I want to sleep.”

nNodding his head, Kim lifted her up cautiously, and headed to the master bedroom.

nUntil Suhyuk was done with eating, Kim did not come back.

nIt seemed he was putting her to sleep.

nSuhyuk looked at Kim’s seat on the opposite side of the dining table.

nKim had already emptied a bowl of rice as if he was very hungry.

nAt that moment Kim came back, “Sorry to have kept you waiting a long time…”

nWhen Kim came back into the living room, Suhyuk had disappeared already.

nDing dong.

nKim moved to the sofa at the sound of his cellphone alarm.

nIt was a message from Suhyuk.

n< p=””>

nPlease drop by the hospital with your mother one of these days. Let me schedule a comprehensive test for her. Of course for free!>

nKim made a smile at that. That’s why his mother liked him.

n—–

nSunday.

nSuhyuk was busy looking for a building for sale.

nHe did all the legwork trying to find one he liked from morning till evening.

nHe had been doing so for almost five hours.

nEven the real estate agents found themselves in a difficult spot as time went by.

nA large and good-looking building.

nThey showed him around many such ones.

nOn such occasions, however, Suhyuk asked them to show him some other ones.

nWas he looking for one commanding a good landscape?

nIn a way he seemed to think that way because he examined the outside landscape after a quick look at the building.

nSuhyuk went on to find one until 6pm, and finally he could find one that he liked.

n“I’d like to make a contract on this building.”

nThe real estate agent was so happy to hear Suhyuk’s go-ahead, who was looking out the window. After a long legwork on a sultry day, he made a decision in the end.

nIf he had not been a n.o.bel Prize recipient, the agent would have called it quits and gone home.

n“You’ve made a great choice. As it was for short sale, it’s cheap.”

nHaving said that, the agent made a suspicious look.

nGiven that he was a n.o.bel Prize winner, the building was such a nondescript and humble place.

nOf course it was not old or shabby because it was built only three years ago.

nThe only thing that bothered him was that it was hard to get to, and there was no convenience store nearby.

n“By the way, what are you doing here?”

nAt the agent’s asking Suhyuk just smiled.

nOne week pa.s.sed. There was lots of renovation work going on inside the building.

nMany people were curious about the use of the building, but n.o.body knew the answer.

nIn the meantime Suhyuk was walking along a crowded street with Hana.

nThere were lots of students after school and company employees after the day’s work.

n“Did you leave the office early?” asked Hana.

n“Yes, I’m going to leave at exactly 6pm from now on,” replied Suhyuk.

nHana’s eyes became wide at his remarks, for Suhyuk was a workaholic.

n“Suhyuk, is there anything wrong with you?”

nSuhyuk, walking ahead, said with a smile,

n“We’re almost there now.”

nThen he stopped before a luxurious restaurant.

n“Isn’t it very expensive here?”

n“Let’s go inside.”

nSuhyuk went in while Hana was at a loss for the moment.

nShe knew this place because she had been here before. She just came out immediately after seeing the expensive price of the menu, which was still vivid in her memory.

n“This place is really expensive!”

nMurmuring to herself she went inside.

n“Come on in. You are here with a gentleman, right? Please come this way.”

nThe waiter escorted her to the table Suhyuk was seated at.

n“Please call me when I’m needed,” said the waiter.

nHe then placed a sign outside the restaurant, which read “Closed”.

n“Let’s go out, Suhyuk. It’s too expensive here.”

nSuhyuk shook his head, saying, “We can’t, because I can’t cancel it.”

n“What are you talking about?”

n“Well, I rented the whole restaurant.”

nAt Suhyuk’s calm remarks, she opened her eyes wide and looked around.

nThere were n.o.body around except for those carrying violins to the stage.

nHana said quickly, “Are you crazy? Let’s go out. You can get back half the money you paid for this. Can I go and ask?”

nThis time Suhyuk shook his head.

n“I heard I can’t.”

nShe let out a long sigh.

nSuhyuk said, with a smile,

n“Hana, let’s have a date like other lovers, which is just too common to them.”

nShaking her head, she swept up her long hair and said,

n“Do you think this kind of date is common?”

n“Don’t you see it in a TV soap opera sometimes? They just rent out a whole coffee shop or restaurant. Even in the movies…”

n“Yeah, it’s conceivable in the movies…”

n“Hana, we’ve come a long way like this. We can have this kind of special date just one time. Yeah, just one time…”

nHaving said that he looked at the stage.

nA soft music filling the restaurant stopped suddenly and the violin players took their seats.

nAnd they started playing music.

nThe music was so soft that she could not say anything.

n“Are you moved to tears already? Really?”

n“No, dude. Because I just feel the money for this has been wasted…”

n“No way…”

nSuhyuk took out something from his pocket.

nIt was none other than a ring box.

n“It seemed common that boys put the ring in an ice cream before proposing, but I could not bring myself to do it…”

nThe ring was plain. Neither expensive nor cheap.

n“Will you marry me, Hana?”

nThe music played as softly as ever, and Hana’s heart was beating hard, when the waiters shouted cheers and clapped their hands at his proposal to her.

n