Chapter 82: Dutiful Daughter (2)
Kang Ra-Eun knew as soon as her father refused without hesitation that this was going to be a hard battle to win. Like Kang Ra-Hyuk had mentioned in the call, their father listened to almost everything that she would ask. That was how much he treasured her. However, that was not the case for anything related to the house.
“Your brother also brought that up last time. Ra-Hyuk, did you ask Ra-Eun to persuade me in your place?”
“U-Um...” Ra-Hyuk stuttered in confusion.
Ra-Eun interjected, “No. Rather, I was the one who asked him to bring up the subject to you.”
She told her father everything about how they had been considering the house moving. Ra-Hyuk had been thinking of taking all the blame since he was the older brother, but that chance had been stolen now that Ra-Eun had laid everything bare on the table.
Their father lightly sighed and asked, “Why are you considering something like that?”
“Because this house is old,” Ra-Eun answered.
They had plenty of money; it was human instinct to live in a better place if they could afford it. It was perfectly natural for a human to pursue better food, clothing and shelter. However, their father did not seem to have even a little of such basic human desires, which Ra-Eun could not understand at all.
“We’ve paid off all our debt, and there’s no more reason for us to save money. Moving to a new house isn’t much trouble for us financially, so please take this opportunity to move to someplace better with oppa.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Ra-Eun proposed the move once again, but their father flatly refused. His gaze then shifted to Ra-Hyuk.
“Ra-Hyuk, do you want to move to a better place?”
“I, well... yes.”
It was obvious. If Ra-Hyuk had felt the same way as their father, he would have refused once his little sister even brought up the subject.
Their father sighed and said to Ra-Hyuk, “If you want to move, then you should also take this chance to live independently. I won’t be against it.”
Their father suggested that Ra-Hyuk move out instead. Ra-Hyuk was inwardly happy, but he could not openly express it because Ra-Eun was fiercely glaring at him.
‘This dim-witted twat.’
Ra-Eun needed to remind herself that she wasn’t here to help her older brother receive approval for his independence. She had gotten curious about her father’s refusal to move.
“Why do you want to stay here so much?” she asked.
Only after knowing the reason could she come up with a solution.
“It’s complicated.”
However, their father did not seem to have any intention of telling them why.
“Let’s eat,” he said as he picked up his spoon.
They could not bring it up any more for today. They needed to wait for another opportunity.
***
Once their father went to bed early, Ra-Eun visited Starlight Road after a long time with Ra-Hyuk. It was practically empty because it was quite late at night. Yi-Jun at the counter blinked repeatedly in surprise as soon as they entered the cafe.
“R-Ra-Eun noona? Why are you here?”
“We’re here for a family meeting. Don’t mind us and keep doing your job.”
They ordered two iced americanos and sat at the furthest table possible. No one would hear them since there weren’t any other customers in the cafe, but they sat at the most remote place possible just in case.
The contents of their meeting was very simple; it was about why their father wouldn’t move houses.
“I’ve been thinking hard about it,” Ra-Eun voiced her opinion first. “Could it be because that house was the first one that he’d bought with his own money?”
No matter how old and low in value something was, there were some items that held great meaning in one’s life. That house could be one of such things for their father. After much thought, Ra-Eun had put it up as one of the potential reasons.
Ra-Hyuk objected, “That wasn’t his first house. I once heard him say that he and mom used to live in a small studio apartment, but sold it and moved to our current home.”
“Oh... really?”
If it wasn’t special because it was the first house that he had ever bought, then...
“Could it be because the place is filled with his memories with Mom?” Ra-Eun conjectured for a second time.
Ra-Hyuk said in possible agreement, “Yeah, I’m sure Dad has lots of memories with Mom in that house that we don’t know about. We’ve also lived there during the time that Mom passed away.”
There were a few points that meshed together. They didn’t know exactly what sort of memories that their father had with their mother in that house. Such memories were their own little secret.
“He doesn’t want to move, so shouldn’t we just let him be? It’s not like there’s a reason that he needs to move no matter what.”
It was simply because the house was old. Like Ra-Hyuk had said, there was no other reason but that.
“Wait,” Ra-Eun expressed.
Refusing to yield, she called her hands and legs, Ma Yeong-Jun.
“Mister. You introduced me to a real estate agent last time. Do you know any other real estate agents in the area where I used to live? If you do, then send me their number.”
Ra-Eun was extremely competitive. Once she started something, she could only rest after seeing it through to the end. And of course, that also applied to family circumstances.
***
Ra-Eun once again went to her father and brother’s house on the next day. Since she had received noise complaints from pulling up on her sports car last time, she pulled up on a regular sedan this time. She called for her father as soon as she got out of the car and opened the front door.
“Dad. Could you come out here for a second?”
He came out of the house in puzzlement with Ra-Eun.
Ra-Eun said as she pointed at the vacant lot next to them, “I bought this plot of land, and I’m going to build a house based completely on your preferences. What do you think?”
She was planning on building a new house right next to the home that he did not want to move from, with the thought that her father could live in the new house and just keep the old house in good shape.
Ra-Hyuk who had followed his father out on impulse was lost for words by his little sister’s will to act. She had come up with such an idea in just a single day.
Their father expressed with a bitter smile, “Thank you, my baby girl. But you see...”
He fixed his gaze not on the plot of land that the new house would be built on, but the old house that he was living in.
“I like this house much better.”
He refused despite Ra-Eun’s proposal to build him a house right next door.
“Is it about money? If it is, then you don’t have to worry, Dad. I have more than enough money left over.”
Ra-Eun wondered if their father was acting like this because he was bothered by using the money that his children had earned. However, that was not the reason.
“It’s because this house holds special meaning to me,” their father remarked.
It was as the siblings had expected. Ra-Hyuk brought up what he had discussed with Ra-Eun yesterday.
“Is it because this house is full of memories you’d made with Mom?”
That seemed to be the most plausible.
Their father said, “You’re not wrong, but...”
Memories even more precious than those he had made with his wife were dwelling in this house.
“This is also where you two were born.”
“...Huh?”
The siblings were both shocked. It was not like they ran a maternity clinic.
“We were born... in this house?”
“Yes.”
Their father started unpacking the bag of past stories that they had no idea about.
“There weren’t any maternity clinics in the area at the time. There was only one hospital far downtown. Ra-Hyuk, you came out a lot faster than scheduled, so we ended up having you here. You were born safely thanks to the help from the neighborhood ladies.”
“I see...”
It was the first time Ra-Hyuk had heard of it. However, that was not the end of the story.
“Then was Ra-Eun also...?”
Their father nodded.
“We were determined to go to a hospital to have Ra-Eun, but things happened and you ended up being born here as well.”
It was a strange turn of fate. This old detached home was not only filled with memories with his wife, but also the place where he first met his children. Hence, their father could not bring himself to leave this home, nor would he ever sell it to someone else.
Ra-Eun sighed after hearing the story. Now that she had heard the reason, there was no way that she could persuade him to move.
***
Ra-Eun gave up on getting him to move houses, but...
“Is a refurbishment okay, then?”
She had still not given up. This was the final form of compromise that she could offer. Ra-Hyuk admired his little sister’s tenacity. Their father laughed loudly and finally decided to accept Ra-Eun’s goodwill.
“Okay, fine. What sort of father would I be to refuse when my precious daughter is going so far for me? I sure have a dutiful daughter.”
He felt so great that he couldn’t stop smiling.
While their father went to the bathroom, Ra-Hyuk asked his little sister, “You really wanted to see it through to the end, huh?”
“You’re goddamn right.”
Ra-Eun’s competitive spirit could not be broken even after hearing their home’s circumstances. She wanted to do whatever it took to come to a result that she could be satisfied with. A refurbishment was barely within the lines of satisfaction.
“What are you gonna do?” Ra-Eun asked Ra-Hyuk.
“Me?”
“Dad said yesterday that you can move out if you want.”
Ra-Hyuk answered immediately as if he had already made up his mind long ago, “I should move out. My friends were asking when I was going to.”
“Why?”
“Something about wanting to make our own hideout.”
It was a man thing. If a friend moved out of their parents’ house to somewhere close by and was living alone, that place would be designated as their hideout. Ra-Hyuk also looked like he was secretly wanting it.
“Have you thought about where?” Ra-Eun asked.
“I was thinking somewhere near your place. I’m sure Dad would like it, since he always says an older brother should protect his little sister.”
“I can take care of myself, so worry about yourself first.”
She had come to help her father move houses, but had ended up helping her brother move out instead.
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