Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 50
Chapter 50
Cha Yeowoon’s father swung his arm widely, pulling open the drawers.
Items neatly arranged inside spilled out, glinting metallic as they cascaded down.
He hurriedly inspected the belongings. A nearly empty paper banknote was swiftly discarded, a ceramic piggy bank found its way into his hands. The bills Cha Yeowoon had put in an envelope also went into his pocket.
Finally, what was lifted up all at once with a pull of the string was Cha Yeowoon’s medals. These were from the track and field competitions since middle school until now.
Medals of silver and gold collided mid-air with a clinking sound.
“Give them to me.”
Cha Yeowoon blocked his father who was about to leave the room.
His father pushed past, ignoring him. Cha Yeowoon staggered but caught up with his father.
“Give me! Those belong to Grandma, and I’ve never touched them before. Besides, there are only coins inside.”
What Cha Yeowoon grabbed wasn’t the medals but the piggy bank. His father violently pushed him away.
The piggy bank, knocked to the floor with Cha Yeowoon, made a loud crashing sound and shattered, sending the coins inside spilling in all directions.
Boom, Boom–
Sounds of stomping faded away. His father left the door without closing it properly, letting in the wind.
Cha Yeowoon collapsed, fumbling in the messy room.
Old coins were scattered on the floor like tiny medals.
There was no thought of picking up the scattered coins as he buried his head on the dusty floor.
He wanted to stand up.
His knees were throbbing. His body was too heavy to stand.
It was always like this.
No matter how much he tried to run, it was like this.
Borrowed hope spilled all over the floor. The worn-out coins looked pathetic. 5, 20, 40 cents. That was all.
What could he change by collecting such things?
It wasn’t like life could be changed.
“Heuk…”
His throat trembled. Something hot welled up and he found it hard to breathe.
He wanted to give up on everything. At times like this, when everything collapsed.
Everything.
“Cha Yeowoon, are you crying, dude?”
It was that moment.
Someone softly called his name.
A person he never expected to appear.
The only person who always found him.
“…Why is senior here?”
Cha Yeowoon couldn’t believe it and wanted to clench his thighs. He would have done that if his body could move properly. A faint tremor, like static electricity, was binding his muscles.
Tae Myeongha shook the plastic bag hanging from his wrist.
“I heard you came to my house yesterday. That’s why I’m here. To give you a lunchbox.”
“Lunchbox?”
“From the lunchbox shop where I work part-time. Hey, Yeowoon.”
Tae Myeongha placed the lunchbox next to the sink and returned to Cha Yeowoon.
“Yeowoon, buy this lunch for 40 cents.”
“40 cents?”
“Ehm. Buy it.”
It was a strange request. Tae Myeongha always had an inexplicable aspect to him, but it didn’t suit him to insist forcefully like this. Despite Cha Yeowoon’s confusion, he nodded his head.
He couldn’t refuse what Tae Myeongha wanted. It seemed to be his destiny now. After Tae Myeongha barged into his despair like a god playing with fate, it was as if he had come to possess him.
Tae Myeongha smiled as he picked up the scattered coins from the floor.
* * *
I grasped the 40 cents that had come into my hand.
[ Sub-Mission: $2250 ($2250) ]
[ Sub-Mission cleared. ]
[ Reward triggered. ]
[ You can see what is causing Cha Yeowoon the most difficulty right now. ]
[ Would you like to check now? ]
Next, I checked the messages that appeared one after another and answered to myself. Yes.
Suddenly there was a terrible smell of odor and alcohol.
* * *
There was a round coin mark when I opened my palm. Looking at the bright red and round imprint, I began picking up the remaining coins.
“Let’s tidy up the place and take out the trash together.”
“Just leave. I can clean up alone later.”
“It’s faster if we do it together.”
“I don’t want to…”
“Yeowoon.”
“…”
“Don’t be stubborn and trust me.”
Cha Yeowoon quickly became obedient. He cleaned the room diligently, collecting the broken and scattered items into a bag.
With both of us, cleaning was quickly finished.
After wiping the floor and putting the drawer with the coins back, I walked down to the garbage disposal with Cha Yeowoon.
“Why is your home like this?”
I finally spoke after coming down. We hadn’t spoken earlier while cleaning.
“It’s because of my father.”
“He’s still around?”
“I don’t know, that’s…”
It was an impolite answer, but I knew everything. There was a reason why Cha Yeowoon had left his house and was walking aimlessly the day we were together in front of the convenience store.
Why couldn’t we choose our families?
I often thought about it. The idea that people who lived together, without having chosen each other, getting along and loving one another might be novel.
Cha Yeowoon was a good child, so it would have been great if he could have lived with more love in his life.
I climbed the stairs slowly and paused. Cha Yeowoon was following behind me.
“Yeowoon, if you need money…”
“Senior.”
I couldn’t get the words out. Cha Yeowoon seemed to have anticipated how I would approach the topic.