UAI Chapter 15

 Episode 15

Seongjun entered the bedroom and sat Sejin on the bed. He pulled over a chair and sat down in front of him.

"Okay. Shall we talk?"

"Hey! Who was that man earlier?"

"Huh? Director Hwang?"

"Yeah!"

"Ha! Why would you be curious about Director Hwang when we’re here? Huh?"

"Quickly!"

Sejin insisted, and despite being puzzled, Seongjun answered.

"He's a guy who works at Grandpa's company."

"Has he worked there for a long time?"

"Uh? Maybe 20 years? Wait. But why are you so curious about this?"

"Umm."

Thinking that if he was a harmful person, he should warn Seongjun, Sejin had brought him into the room. However, he suddenly didn’t know how to explain it.

‘Ah! I can’t just say to be careful because a snake is hanging around. How should I explain this?’

He thought for a moment but realized he couldn’t say everything, so he eventually spoke only part of the truth.

"I'm just saying, you should be careful."

Sejin, playing the innocent child card, decided to insist on his own reasoning.

"That uncle is giving me bad vibes!"

Seongjun, who had been waiting for an important conversation, was shocked at his response. After all the build-up, his answer was that.

‘Is this what kids are like? Since I don’t have any kids, how would I know? Is this why friends complain about the struggles of marriage and child-rearing when they drink? I should be nicer next time we meet.’

Seongjun briefly drifted into his thoughts but quickly focused back on Sejin.

"Director Hwang was bad?"

"Yeah! I saw something bad behind that uncle!"

Seongjun felt like the conversation was going in circles.

"Something bad behind him? Maybe you just saw a shadow or something?"

"No! The other time, when that bad uncle came to my hospital room, I saw it too! There was something bad behind him, and he did something bad to me! I had to tell the police."

"Mm..."

Seongjun was deep in thought after hearing Sejin's words. Was it just a child’s imagination, or did Sejin actually see something special?

"Sejin, the black thing you saw with the bad uncle, was it the same as what you saw behind Director Hwang? How did it look? Was it different from a shadow?"

"Yeah! Only bad people have it! Black clouds behind them."

"Black clouds, huh? Like a kind of black mist?"

Seeing that Seongjun was starting to listen, Sejin decided to emphasize his point even more.

"Good people don’t have it. But bad people do. And the worse they are, the bigger the cloud!"

"Really? Then, between the person who got arrested by the police last time and Director Hwang, who has the bigger cloud?"

"Director Hwang!"

"Hmm. I see."

"Yeah! He’s planning to do something bad to Grandpa! Uncle, you should deal with him!"

"Hmm. Okay. I’ll look into it and scold him."

"Okay!"

"But when did you start seeing those black clouds? Does your uncle outside know about it?"

"No! He doesn’t know! And I started seeing them after I woke up from being sick!"

"Really? Then why didn’t you tell your uncle outside?"

"I wanted to confirm it first."

"And what about me?"

"Because Grandpa is in danger!"

"Haha. Got it. But still, you should tell your uncle outside later. He might feel left out if you keep it a secret from him."

"Okay."

‘Wow, he finally said something normal?’

After the conversation ended, Seongjun picked Sejin up and carried his back to the living room.

"Um, what were you talking about with Sejin? I hope he didn’t bother you?"

As the two walked out, Hajin asked.

"Huh? Oh, no. We just had a quick man-to-man talk. It was a really pleasant conversation, so don’t worry. But why are you being so formal? If we decided to treat each other like siblings, then speak casually. Come on, call me Hyung~."

"Huh? Oh… Hyung… Hyung-nim?"

"What? Am I from the Joseon dynasty or something? Or do I look like a gangster? Hyung-nim? Just call me Hyung casually. You can even speak informally. Like I said earlier, I’m open-minded."

"No, it’s okay! I’ll stick with formal speech. It’s more comfortable."

"Alright then, but let’s at least settle on calling me Hyung. Got it, little brother?"

"Uh… Okay. Hyung."

Seeing his uncle get swept up in Seongjun’s chaotic energy, Sejin sighed in relief, realizing his earlier concerns had been momentarily forgotten.

‘Well, his chaotic behavior helps sometimes.’

Since Seongjun would take care of Director Hwang, Sejin decided to focus back on the dessert he had left unfinished. He picked up a palm-sized cookie filled with chocolate and various nuts and brought it to his mouth.

‘Wow, this chocolate tastes different from what I usually have. It’s so rich and luxurious. And it’s not overly sweet. Maybe because of all the nuts, the texture is great, and it has this deliciously nutty flavor.’

As he marveled at the cookie, Sejin grabbed another one and held it out to Hajin.

"Uncle! Eat this. It’s delicious."

"Huh? You’re giving it to me? Thanks."

Hajin took the cookie and ate it after patting Sejin on the cheek.

"Hey, Sejin. Why are you only giving cookies to your other uncle and not me? This uncle feels left out."

"Ugh… Uncle! Here you go!"

‘He’s not an uncle, he’s just a kid.’

With a sigh, Sejin picked up another cookie and handed it to Seongjun.

“Haha! Thanks, kiddo.”

Seongjun happily took the cookie and began eating it with satisfaction.

As the three of them were enjoying the cookies, Chairman Choi and Director Hwang finally emerged from the room.

“Chairman, I’ll take my leave now. I’ll handle it as per the report.”

“Alright. You may go.”

Director Hwang bowed to Chairman Choi and exited the room.

Sejin and Seongjun quietly watched him leave. As they turned their heads back, their eyes met.

‘New uncle! Don’t forget what I said!’

‘Alright, new nephew! This uncle will look into it and take care of it. When this uncle says he’ll do something, he does it.’

The two exchanged such a conversation through their gazes.

Whether they truly understood each other’s thoughts was uncertain, but it seemed their intentions had aligned.

With a solemn exchange of nods, they had likely reached a mutual understanding.

As Chairman Choi returned and continued chatting with them, Hajin checked his watch and spoke up.

“Thank you for inviting us today. It’s been a while, and you should rest, Chairman, so we’ll take our leave.”

“Oh, time really flew by. I had a wonderful time with our Sejin and Hajin. It’s been ages since I’ve enjoyed myself this much.”

"Not at all. We had a great time too. You even prepared so many snacks that Sejin here practically indulged in them."

“Haha. Kids should eat plenty at their age. I’ll have the leftovers packed and sent to your room through Secretary Park.”

“Thank you very much. We’ll be off now. Sejin, say goodbye to Grandpa, Uncle, and the secretary.”

“Yes, Grandpa, Uncle, Secretary! Thank you for having us today. The snacks were delicious too.”

Sejin placed his hands over his stomach and bowed deeply.

“Haha. Alright, Sejin. Rest well when you get back, and come visit again. Got it?”

“Yes~~!”

Hajin held Sejin’s hand, bid his farewells, and left the room. Seongjun followed them out.

“Hajin, can I call you by your name?”

“Yes, Hyung.”

“Great. Before you go, can you give me your contact information?”

Seongjun handed his phone to Hajin.

Hajin took the phone, entered his number, saved it, and returned it.

Seongjun called Hajin’s number to show it was his and said, 

“This is my number, so save it. Let’s meet again. I’ll contact you.”

“Alright, see you next time.”

“Take care, kiddo.”

Seongjun winked at Sejin, signaling that he shouldn’t worry about what had happened earlier.

“Yes, Uncle! Bye-bye~~”

As Hajin held his hand, Sejin waved at Seongjun while walking. Soon, they arrived at Sejin’s hospital room.

“Did you have fun, Sejin?”

“Yes!”

The guard at the door opened it for them and greeted Sejin warmly.

As they entered the room, the caregiver welcomed them cheerfully.

“Oh my, you’re back? Did you have fun?”

“Yes. Did you enjoy your meal, Auntie?”

“Hoho. I sure did. I had a delicious meal and even took a walk around before coming back up.”

“That’s great to hear.”

While Hajin chatted with the caregiver, he led Sejin to the bathroom.

“Alright, Sejin. You were eating with your hands earlier, so let’s wash them. You can shower later before bed. Oh! And let’s brush your teeth too. You ate a lot of sweets, so we need to clean them.”

“Okay.”

After washing his hands and brushing his teeth, Sejin came out just as Secretary Park entered the room holding a bag.

“This is from our Chairman. He wanted me to bring it to you. It’s the leftover desserts Sejin had earlier. You can store them in the fridge and eat them later.”

Secretary Park placed the bag on the coffee table in the living room as he spoke.

“Oh! Thank you so much. Please let the Chairman know we’ll enjoy them.”

“Certainly. I’ll be off now. Have a good evening.”

“Bye-bye, Mister~”

After Secretary Park bowed and left the room, the caregiver approached the bag to check its contents.

“Oh my, there’s so much in here!”

“These are the desserts the Chairman prepared during the invitation earlier. He said there were plenty left, so he sent them for Sejin to enjoy.”

“Oh dear. Did so much really go uneaten?”

“Haha. Yes. They prepared quite a lot. Since there’s so much, please feel free to take some home when you leave later, Auntie.”

“Oh no, that’s alright. We can just keep them in the fridge and give them to Sejin as snacks one at a time. I don’t really like sweet things, so I’ll pass.”

“I tried them earlier, and they’re not as sweet as the ones sold in stores. They’re really tasty. Anyway, there’s too much here for Sejin to eat alone. I’ll pack some for you later.”

Sejin, overhearing the conversation, chimed in.

“Grandma, it’s yummy! Take some with you later. I can’t eat all of it.”

“See? Even Sejin wants you to. Don’t feel pressured and just take some home.”

“Alright, then I’ll gladly take some. But don’t pack too much for me. There’s no one at home to eat it anyway.”

“Got it. I won’t pack too much.”

As the conversation wrapped up, Sejin let out a yawn.

Seeing this, Hajin gently patted Sejin’s head and said, 

“Sejin, are you tired?”

“Yeah. I’m sleepy.”

“Well, you missed your nap time because we went out earlier, so it makes sense. But dinner is in about an hour. Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I’m full. I’ll eat later.”

“Well, you did have a lot of snacks and drinks earlier. Alright then, take a short nap and we’ll eat dinner when you wake up. Deal?”

“Okay. Haaah~~”

Sejin yawned loudly as he answered, which made Hajin laugh. He picked his up and carried his to the bedroom.

After laying his on the bed and tucking his in snugly, Sejin drowsily murmured, 

“Uncle… Teddy too.”

“Hm? You want to sleep with your teddy bear?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, got it. Wait a moment. Uncle will get it for you.”

Remembering Sejin playing with his teddy bear in the living room earlier, Hajin stepped out of the bedroom.

He retrieved the teddy bear from the living room sofa and returned to Sejin.

As he approached the bed, he noticed that Sejin had already fallen asleep.

Carefully lifting the blanket, Hajin placed the teddy bear in his arms.

Sejin instinctively hugged the bear tightly, sinking into an even deeper sleep. Smiling at the sight, Hajin gently brushed the hair from Sejin’s face.

Watching his nephew sleep peacefully, or chatter brightly during the day, always filled Hajin with overwhelming emotions.

Sometimes, he pinched his cheek to make sure it wasn’t all a dream.

Although there had been many sad and challenging moments, seeing his nephew healthy and happy seemed to gradually heal his heart.

He had a miracle right in front of him.

And so, Hajin sat by Sejin’s side for a long time.

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