Although Jeong Tae-ui wasn't at all pleased to see him, he couldn't ignore his uncle's request for food when he said he was hungry. Reluctantly, Jeong Tae-ui scooped another bowl of rice and placed it on the half-eaten meal. His appetite had vanished long ago, but he sat down opposite his uncle at the table anyway.
“What’s with this sad meal?”
His uncle chuckled when he saw the simple meal of barley rice, clear soup, and a few side dishes.
“What do you expect from a poor young man who lives alone? Uncle’s army only serves fancy meals it seems.”
“Of course. If life is already tough and the food is bad too, there's going to be a riot. But I don't work for the military.”
“Well, from what I heard, it’s not much different from the military. If the rumors are true, then it’s harsher than the military.”
“Still, people are lining up from the other side of the world to get in. Even the name itself is respectable, the United Nations Human Resources Development Organization.”
“I already said this before but I can’t memorize such a long name.”
“Having a simple meal like this for the first time in a long time isn’t so bad,” his uncle rambled on, making it unclear whether he was praising or complaining about the food. Watching his uncle, Jeong Tae-ui sighed and picked up his spoon again. I don’t think I have an appetite after I put my chopsticks down once. I guess I’ll just have a few spoonfuls of soup and call it a day.
While he was scooping up some clear soup, his gaze suddenly stopped at the chopsticks moving in front of him. I've thought this before a long time ago, but uncle holds his chopsticks so nicely. The way his hands move when he holds his chopsticks is elegant. It’s similar to Hyung’s.
While thinking such thoughts, Jeong Tae-ui looked up at his uncle's face. His neat appearance, and in some ways, gentle nature resembles Hyung as well.
Of course, he resembles him. After all, he’s our father genetically speaking. Though I don't resemble him.
“Isn’t it my Hyung’s 3 year memorial next month?”
Even though there was no way he would have known what Jeong Tae-ui was thinking about, his uncle suddenly blurted out.
“Yes. It’s on the 20th day of the lunar calendar. Are you coming?”
“I don’t think I can.”
Come to think of it, the last time I saw Uncle Chang-in was at Father's funeral. He hasn't come since, not even for memorial services, but I understand because he's such a busy person.
To Jeong Tae-ui, this person was a bothersome and inconvenient guest, but in reality, he was someone who received excellent treatment wherever he went in the world.
“I don't know when Hyung will be back, but should I tell him to contact uncle when he comes?”
Even though I knew it would be faster if my uncle just hired someone to look for him, I asked anyway. Of course, my lucky Hyung would never be found if the outcome was likely to be bad for him.
“No…… we don't have a lot of time.”
Having quickly finished a bowl of rice, the uncle wiped his mouth with his fingertips and mumbled. Then he stared intently at Jeong Tae-ui.
A chill ran down my spine as a bad feeling I had forgotten about came back again.
“Jeong Tae-ui.”
“Uncle……. I don't know why you're looking for Hyung, but you know how different he and I are, right? He's the kind of person who wouldn't even understand a chemical formula that my brother solved when he was five, even if you put it right in front of him.”
Jeong Tae-ui quickly responded gruffly, and his uncle, as he had before, slightly squinted his eyes, seeming amused.
“You know that originally, between you and Jae-ui, one of you was supposed to be my child, right?”
The words that the uncle uttered were a topic that Jeong Tae-ui had never expected. No matter what words he had spoken, it would have been unexpected, but I hadn't expected him to say something like that in this context. Jeong Tae-ui looked at his uncle and sighed as he spoke.
“Well. It’s not just one of us. Both of us are your sons, genetically. I already know that. Why did you bring that up?”
It's not a secret. It's something I heard directly from my father when I was young. I guess he thought we were old enough to understand. He sat us down and explained it slowly. He told us he couldn't have children of his own, so he and my uncle had arranged for us to be born.
Nothing much changed. My father was still my father, my uncle was still my uncle. It's a fact that there can be many truths to a single event.
However, at that time, my father also said, ‘So, if your uncle ever says something strange later on, give him the benefit of the doubt and just do as he says.’
It wasn't entirely because of those words, but because of our father's advice, we brothers followed our uncle well. In fact, except for the occasional trouble he caused, our uncle was a cheerful and good person. But Father, in heaven, you know how our uncle often says strange things.
“No, not both, but one. We knew you were twins before you were even born, and my Hyung said he would give me one of you. So originally, you guys were supposed to be separated at birth and grow up as cousins. ……But because the two of you were so attached to each other right from birth, I gave up on taking one of you, so you two avoided being separated.”
Look, your uncle is saying something strange again. When Jeong Tae-ui looked at him with disbelief, sensing his gaze, the uncle immediately turned serious. He is emphasizing, 'It's true, I'm telling you,' but he seemed a bit suspicious. I had a feeling he might be exaggerating a bit.
Perhaps Dad didn't want to directly tell us that he had agreed to give one of us to my uncle. Could that be the strange thing he was talking about? I remember now, after a pause, he quietly added...
Then my father was silent for a while and then added in a low voice,
‘When the time comes, you should treat your uncle as if he were your father.’
He said "When the time comes, you should do so" . I wonder if he meant when the uncle requests of it.
I can't say for sure. But since Dad agreed with this, I’m not going to argue against it. And my Hyung, if he were here, would probably agree with me as well. Jeong Tae-ui is pretty easygoing. You could say he's good at going with the flow or adapting to new situations.
“Yes, uncle……. Unfortunately, my cousin just went out. Should I tell him to give you a call when he gets back?”
When Jeong Tae-ui spoke, the uncle laughed out loud. His smiling face resembles that of Hyung. In fact, if they look like that, there would be no difficulty in saying that he is the biological father. In fact, they seem to have similar personalities.
By the way, Jae-ui will be surprised when he comes back this time that he has a new dad. Or, maybe he won’t be surprised. Jeong Tae-ui didn’t remember seeing his Hyung surprised by anything, at least showing his surprise in appearance.
“There's no time to look for someone who's not here. From today on, Tae-ui, you're my son. Let's go together. Pack your things. They'll give you everything else you need there, so just pack the essentials lightly.”
Uncle, rubbing his chin in a somewhat amused manner, spoke. There was a hint of laughter in his voice. However, Jeong Tae-ui, who heard those words, wasn't amused at all. Hearing such strange remarks about a romantic relationship, almost back-to-back on the same day, is a rare experience for me, but it isn't a pleasant one.
“Me?”
“Yes, Jeong Tae-ui. My son.”
It felt as if a heavy burden was about to be placed on my shoulders. It was then that Jeong Tae-ui, with a serious expression, looked directly at his uncle and frowned.
Not only is it strange that my uncle, who has never said a word until now, suddenly appears and claims the rights of a father, but what could be the reason for a single uncle, who has been living well without a wife, suddenly needing a son?
“Can’t I not follow you?”
“Fulfill your filial duty to me, my son.”
“I’d rather not, Dad. Can’t I just be a bad son?”
Uncle laughed heartily. There was a significant age gap between Uncle and Father, so the difference in age between Uncle and Father was only three years less than the difference between Uncle and Jeong Tae-ui. Because of this, Uncle felt more like an older brother than an uncle.
Uncle laughed heartily and then got up and approached Jungtae. He then suddenly slapped Jungtae, who was looking at him suspiciously. It was a violent act that could hardly be described by the cute term 'love tap'.
“Ouch!”
Jeong Tae-ui glared at him, covering his head with his hands in annoyance, but the uncle continued to smile calmly and said.
“This ungrateful brat, I went to all the trouble of getting you discharged from the military, and not only do you not show any gratitude, you dare speak about not doing your filial duties? You deserve a few more punches.”
“Ow! Ah! Ack! It hurts, uncle! That really hurts!”
Even his hands are as hot as my Hyung's. Hyung would be a better fit to be this man's son after all. His Hyung, due to his naturally languid personality, had nothing to do with violence, but whenever he patted Jeong Tae-ui on the back to wake him from a daze or slapped him to wake him from being sleep-paralyzed, his hands felt extremely hot.
After giving Jeong Tae-ui a good beating, the uncle rubbed his hands as if nothing had happened and calmly sat back down. Jeong Tae-ui rubbed his beaten head and muttered sullenly.
“I was wondering why I was discharged when I still had time left in my mandatory military service?…… Did uncle help me?”
“Unn. Yes. That's what Jae-ui said. That his younger brother, who is physically and mentally being torn apart, is crying in the military.”
“……. What…… That’s even more dramatic.”
I almost died in the military hospital, and all the guys around me picked fights with me, so I did go through some mental anguish, but to say I was completely torn apart……, …… I guess maybe I was.
The problem was that I ended up being assigned to the same unit as the guys I hated the most from the military academy. It ended with me almost killing someone and almost getting killed myself. I was discharged, and now we have completely cut off all contact. I don't want to think about it anymore, and there's nothing left to think about.
Jeong Tae-ui sighed quietly, feeling depressed as forgotten memories resurfaced. Four months ago, I was discharged from the military and is currently unemployed. Although my leg still aches on bad days, it's fully healed now, and my overall health is good. Just when I was thinking it was time to start doing something.
“Okay. So why do you suddenly need a son? Where are you planning to send him?”
When Jeong Tae-ui asked in a somewhat subdued tone, his uncle managed a smile that was anything but playful.
“A son is fine with me anyway since I don’t care much. The point is, I need someone useful. We lost a lot of people in a big fight with the European branch recently. We need to fill up the numbers.”
“…….”
“……that's just an excuse. The truth is, I need someone who's lucky.”
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Tâmago
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