Chapter 127
“Are you nervous?”
“You should’ve told me in advance. When did you get this all prepared?”
Lee Jeong-Hyuk seemed embarrassed as he adjusted his shirt and tie, as if he felt awkward dressing up after such a long time. I looked at the Lee brothers with a warm smile.
It was the day of Lee Jeong-Hyuk and Choi Da-Hye’s wedding, and everyone had been eagerly awaiting it. And of course, the two only learned this morning that they were having a wedding.
Lee Jeong-Uk fixed Lee Jeong-Hyuk's tie for him.
“There we go… Now you look more presentable.”
“Was I ever not presentable?”
“Oh boy, don’t even get me started, mister.”
Lee Jeong-Uk chuckled, and Lee Jeong-Hyuk snorted and smiled lightly. After a moment, Park Gi-Cheol entered.
“We’re ready. Let’s get the show on the road.”
“Got it!”
When Lee Jeong-Hyuk stood up, Lee Jeong-Uk caught his little brother’s wrist. He silently handed over the two rings he was holding.
Lee Jeong-Hyuk’s eyes widened as he saw the diamond rings. His lips began to quiver.
“No… Where in the world did you get these…”
“So-Yeon’s dad thought of you and Da-Hye and got a pair of pretty rings. He’s got a meticulous side to him.”
I chuckled at Lee Jeong-Uk’s comment.
“You don’t actually think I chose them, right? Hwang Ji-Hye chose them.”
“Haha, I knew it.”
Lee Jeong-Uk roared out a laugh and slapped my forearm. I let out a full-bellied laugh as well, the first in a while, and looked at Lee Jeong-Hyuk once over.
Lee Jeong-Hyuk had always stood between me and Lee Jeong-Uk, acting as the mediator. Back when I couldn’t speak, he’d always been the first to figure out what my drawings meant, and he always tried his best to make others feel a sense of comfort.
I patted Lee Jeong-Hyuk on the shoulder.
“I want to congratulate you, from the deepest place in my heart.”
“I didn’t expect you to care so much for me… I really had no clue. Thank you."
Lee Jeong-Hyuk smiled happily and bowed. I patted him on the back and guided him to the lounge entrance.
We had a simple wedding prepared for them. We removed all the extraneous formalities that we could, so that the couple could be the entire focus of the wedding. Of course, the bride’s entrance was retained, since it was the highlight of any wedding.
Lee Jeong-Uk walked to the left side of the stage, taking up his place as the officiator of the proceedings. He began to speak to all the survivors gathered in the lounge.
“Thank you to all the distinguished guests who have made it today to celebrate the wedding of Lee Jeong-Hyuk and his bride, Choi Da-Hye.”
The survivors offered Lee Jeong-Uk heartfelt smiles. Lee Jeong-Uk cleared his throat gently, then continued.
“Let’s introduce the man of the day. If the groom may enter.”
There was no background music or congratulatory song, but the survivors all applauded Lee Jeong-Hyuk as he entered the ceremonial hall.
Lee Jeong-Hyuk took large, confident strides toward the stage. Lee Jeong-Uk clapped more enthusiastically than anyone else, a hearty smile on his face.
Lee Jeong-Hyuk reached the front of the stage, and Lee Jeong-Uk looked at the entrance of the hall.
“Let us welcome the bride!”
The tightly closed doors slowly opened and Choi Da-Hye appeared, wearing a pure white dress.
The children had torn up some colored paper to substitute for flower petals, and they sprinkled them along Choi Da-Hye's path. Choi Da-hye pressed her lips together and walked toward Lee Jeong-Hyuk one step at a time.
She lowered her head slightly as though she were feeling shy, and snuck a glance at Lee Jeong-Hyuk.
I held Soyeon in my arms as I watched the bride, a warm feeling filling my heart.
"Daddy, Daddy!"
"Huh?"
“Is Aunt Da-Hye getting arried today?”
So-Yeon had lost some of her baby teeth this morning, so every time she tried to say something, she ended up saying it wrong.
She was as cute as she could be.
“So-Yeon sweetie, it’s ‘married,’ not arried.”
“Arried!”
I smiled a heartfelt smile.
"You’re right sweetie. Aunt Da-Hye and Uncle Jeong-Hyuk… They’re getting married today.”
"Married? What happens if two people get married?”
“Hmm…”
Her question was rather difficult for me to answer. I wasn’t sure how to describe the concept of marriage, or what a married couple was.
As I looked around a little anxiously for some help, Han Seon-Hui, who had been clapping her hands, gave So-Yeon a warm smile.
“It means that they’re going to become a family,” she said.
“Family? Aren’t we already family?”
"Hmm… Let’s say that they’re becoming a little bit of a special family.”
“A special family?”
“When So-Yeon meets someone you really love, then when you get married. Then that person would be more special than anyone else, right?”
Han Seon-Hui smiled brightly and stroked So-Yeon's hair. So-Yeon nodded eagerly and let out a contented gurgle. Then she pinched my cheek.
"Daddy!"
"Hmm?"
“Marry me!”
Soyeon smiled and giggled.
Han Seon-Hui laughed and covered her mouth with her right hand, as if she thought So-Yeon was cute. I gave So-Yeon my brightest smile, one that was not like any other.
“Yes, yes. So So-Yeon wants to marry Daddy?”
“Yeah!”
“You promise you’re not going to like another boy and leave Daddy by himself?”
"Yep!"
So-Yeon smiled and buried her face in my chest. I smiled so fiercely that my cheekbones began to hurt.
I couldn't keep myself from smiling.
* * *
The principal, who officiated the ceremony, wove several inspiring quotes into his speech, and after that, Lee Jeong-Hyuk and Choi Da-Hye slipped the rings on each other's fingers and promised eternal love.
After the shortened wedding ceremony, the survivors gathered in the ceremonial hall and drank away the liquor and wine that had been laid out on the tables.
The leaders had agreed to provide wine and liquor so that everyone could eat well and enjoy the day. Of course, there wasn’t enough liquor for them to get drunk on and go wild, but it was enough for them to have a good time, and to be able to enjoy a drink after such a long time.
I hoped that all the survivors would treasure the memory of this day in their hearts, and that it would spur them on to continue to strive to live.
So-Yeon sat on my lap and chewed on the dried squid that had been served. As I looked at her with a satisfied smile, Lee Jeong-Uk came over.
“So-Yeon’s dad.”
“Uh, what’s up?”
“Can you drink?”
“Do you think someone who can’t even drink water can drink alcohol?”
I smacked my lips out of sadness, and Lee Jeong-Uk nodded.
“Well, that’s too bad. Then don’t mind me if I drink some of yours.”
I lowered my voice and frowned.
“Don’t drink too much. If you get yourself drunk…”
So-Yeon, who was sitting in my lap, turned around and stared at me blankly while making a whooshing sound.
I glanced down at So-Yeon, then addressed Lee Jeong-Uk again.
“If you get drunk… I’m going to scold you.”
“Oh, no, no! So-Yeon’s dad is too scary. I shall only drink a little bit!”
Lee Jeong-Uk stroked So-Yeon's hair and poured the liquor from the table into a glass. I sighed and shook my head.
Everyone was enjoying the wedding banquet. After drinking, eating, and chatting for about two hours, the banquet finally came to an end. The survivors cleaned up after themselves and returned to their rooms. As we started tidying things up, Lee Jeong-Hyuk suddenly came up to me.
“Hey, So-Yeon’s father.”
“It’s all good. Go and get some rest. The groom isn’t supposed to help clean up and leave his wife alone on her wedding day.”
“Oh, no… It’s not that. Have you seen my brother?”
“Jeong-Uk?”
“Yes, I haven’t seen him in a while.”
I looked around to see if Lee Jeong-Uk was nearby. I didn't even know that he had disappeared because I’d been occupied with So-Yeon.
My expression grew troubled. And Han Seon-Hui, who was next to me, spoke up.
“I’ll take care of So-Yeon.”
“If you could.”
I got up and searched every nook and cranny, trying to find Lee Jeong-Uk.
He wasn’t in the lounge. I started to feel cold sweat trickling down my forehead. I was worried something might’ve happened to him.
My first guess was that he’d gone outside after getting drunk, but I didn’t feel the presence of anyone when I looked out the windows. After that, I considered whether he could be sleeping somewhere in the stairwell of the emergency exit.
After running through several scenarios, I finally found Lee Jeong-Uk in the family suite located on the fifteenth floor. The people of Shelter Hae-Young had occupied two large suites on the fifteenth floor of the hotel.
Each room housed over twenty people living together.
Lee Jeong-Uk was lying on the bed, sleeping curled up like a shrimp. He had taken his clothes off, and was shivering in his socks and underwear. Even while he was drunk, he’d still followed his instincts and made it back to his room.
“Geez… Making others worry about you.”
I walked over to Lee Jeong-Uk's bedside, muttering to myself. I thought about tucking him in under some blankets, but I stopped in my tracks when I saw his face.
There were tears trickling down from his eyes.
I wondered if he had fallen asleep while crying. My gaze fell on a wrinkled photo in his hands.
I carefully retrieved the photo. In it, I saw a young man and woman smiling brightly, standing on either side of their daughter, who had yet to learn to walk.
It was Lee Jeong-Uk—with the brightest smile I’ve ever seen—and his deceased wife. Seeing the two of them looking so happy made my chest tighten and my heart sink.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, furrowing my brow.
I couldn't bear to look at them. The image of mother and daughter falling from their apartment suddenly flashed through my mind.
When I slowly opened my eyes with a sigh, I saw Lee Jeong-Uk still weeping, looking terribly pitiful. He muttered something unintelligible.
I wondered if he was dreaming.
If he was, the way he was crying even while sleeping meant that whatever dream he was having wasn’t a good one.
I couldn’t fathom how much pain he had been in so far. He couldn't tell anyone about his pain, and it seemed like he’d been trying to soothe his loneliness and bitterness by looking at this photo by himself.
“So-Jin… Honey…”
His voice was full of anguish. I could tell that he was missing her dearly.
With a heavy, grieving heart, I tucked the blankets around Lee Jeong-Uk and laid his family photo gently on the bedside table.
He always seemed so strong in front of me and the others, and I always thought that he was okay.
But… Lee Jeong-Uk was also an ordinary person who had lost his family to this upside-down world. It seemed like the alcohol had loosened his control, and he’d poured out all the emotions he had been keeping to himself.
I let out a deep breath and gently massaged my temples.
I… I felt like the right thing to do was to leave Lee Jeong-Uk alone. Even if he was having a painful, heartbreaking dream… At least he was able to see his dead wife and daughter in his dreams.
I hoped that this would help him to miss them a little less, even though it was painful for him. I left with a heavy heart, knowing what Lee Jeong-Uk was going through.
I wondered what meaning we could find in this damned world. Regardless if one was dead or alive… I couldn’t come up with anything. No matter how much I thought about it, I could find no clear answer.
This world was full of nothing but cruelty.
* * *
I went outside to soothe my troubled mind.
I looked out at the Han River and took a couple of deep breaths, letting the cool river breeze fill me and soothe my heart, which had sunk into deep, deep waters.
The blue sky overhead seemed oblivious to all that was going on on the surface of the damned world beneath it. Its callousness left a void in my heart.
Just then, I heard someone exhaling, and the musty smell of cigarettes wafted over toward me and tickled my nose. I looked around and spotted Hwang Ji-Hye smoking and looking into the distance, out beyond the Han River.
I walked to Hwang Ji-Hye's side with both of my hands in my pockets.
Hwang Ji-Hye took a moment to sense my presence. When she did, she looked at my face and coughed violently. She must have swallowed the cigarette smoke in surprise.
“…Lee Hyun-Deok... I didn’t even notice…” she managed in between coughs.
“I just came out. Since when did you smoke?”
“Oh this… It just so happened to cross my mind.”
Hwang Ji-Hye tossed the cigarette she was holding onto the ground as a tear leaked out the corner of her eye from all the coughing. I smiled at her.
“Why waste a cigarette? There’s nothing wrong with smoking."
“No, no. I’ve quit already.”
Hwang Ji-Hye avoided my gaze with an embarrassed smile.
It seemed like Lee Jeong-Hyuk and Choi Da-Hye’s wedding had a special meaning for a lot of people.
It was both the motivation to live for tomorrow and an opportunity to look back on the past. Of course, I knew that it wasn’t possible for everyone to only have happy memories.
I wanted everyone to become happy.
I didn’t want anyone to go through more pain or sadness.
At this new shelter, I wanted our future to be filled with laughter.
I brushed aside some dirt from the ground and sat down. Hwang Ji-Hye joined me and stared out at the Han River.
We both looked across the Han River silently.
We stayed there for a long time, both lost in our own thoughts, both feeling uneasy about the peaceful moment we were enjoying.
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