Real Man

His father spoke in a slightly stronger tone.

“Your colleagues must think the same way.”

“…”

“They’re not just helping you, they’re helping you because you’re doing well. You’ve lived well.”

Yoo-hyun was momentarily stunned by the unexpected compliment from his father.

“Father, did you drink a lot?”

“I did drink a lot.”

“Still… I liked your last words.”

“Which ones? The ones about living well?”

At his father’s question, Yoo-hyun’s lips slowly curled up as he fiddled with his glass.

“Yes. I guess I wanted to hear that. I should say no, but I can’t seem to say it.”

“You’ve lived well. You’ve done so well that you can buy such good liquor.”

“Haha. Yes. I’ll bring as much as you want.”

It was a moment when Yoo-hyun smiled happily.

His father, who had been looking at him with a smile, uttered a serious voice.

“Yoo-hyun, human relationships are not always good. There will be times when you don’t get along, and sometimes misunderstandings will arise.”

“Yes, father.”

“Especially then, don’t weigh the pros and cons and approach them first. The more sincerely you approach them, the closer they will be to you.”

His father’s words, which penetrated through life, resonated in Yoo-hyun’s heart.

Yoo-hyun made a vow in front of his father, who looked like a sage.

“Father, I will live in a way that won’t shame mother.”

“You won’t, no matter what choice you make.”

“If you go in drunk again, mother will be disappointed.”

Yoo-hyun said with a good-natured expression, and his father shook his shoulders and offered his glass.

His confident face matched well with his father’s lighter mood.

“Kid, what do you think of this old man? Haha.”

“Haha. Let’s sneak in without getting caught today.”

Clang.

The father and son laughed happily as they clinked their glasses.

Sometimes things don’t go as planned.

His father, who was intoxicated by his mood, drank too much and ended up leaning on Yoo-hyun.

His father, who was staggering along the alley with Yoo-hyun’s support, kicked the front door and shouted loudly.

“Come here.”

“Father, you’re in trouble.”

Yoo-hyun tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Creak.

The door slowly opened, revealing his mother with her arms crossed.

As Yoo-hyun flinched, his mother, who blinked her eyes, said to his father.

“I knew you would drink when you called me from work, really.”

His mother’s momentum was no joke lately.

His father’s tongue, which had been twisted until a moment ago, suddenly loosened.

“No, I only had one drink…”

“What are you doing, father? You can’t even set a good example for your son?”

“…”

“Mother, I heard a lot of good things today.”

Yoo-hyun tried to make an excuse, but his mother sighed.

“I made bean sprout soup, so eat and go to bed. You too, Yoo-hyun.”

“Honey.”

“Mother.”

The two men, who had sparkling eyes, heard an unexpected word from their mother.

“Next time, don’t hide and drink, let’s drink together.”

“Of course, our honey is generous. You deserve a big car.”

His father, who was drunk, was very touched and hugged his mother’s arm.

His mother frowned at his playful behavior, which she had never seen before.

“What are you doing? In front of Yoo-hyun.”

“What’s wrong? He’s all grown up.”

“Are you crazy, really?”

The two, who had been showing off their affection at an odd timing, went into their room.

Yoo-hyun, who was bewildered for a moment, sat down on the floor.

Thud.

He looked at the night sky, ignoring the slight noise from the room.

Under the twinkling stars, his father’s teachings crossed his mind.

-Approach them more sincerely. The more you open your heart, the closer they will be to you.

It was a word that reminded him of many things he had forgotten for a while.

“I will live like that.”

Yoo-hyun’s words, filled with a new vow, scattered in the air.

Yoo-hyun wanted to put his new vow into action the next evening at the family dinner table.

He sat at the table and looked at his father and mother in turn.

“Father, mother, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

He asked his mother, who looked puzzled.

“Don’t be too surprised, okay?”

“What’s all the fuss about?”

“I’m just telling you in case.”

Yoo-hyun was very serious, so his mother also straightened her posture.

His father, who was facing him, and his younger sister, who was sitting next to him, also listened attentively.

In the focused atmosphere, Yoo-hyun poured out his sincere story.

“I have a girlfriend.”

“Ah, I thought something big happened. It’s good to have a girlfriend.”

“I don’t think long-distance relationships are bad either. Da-hye is such a nice name…”

His father, who was continuing his words, had a moment of realization.

“Dad.”

“Honey.”

Han Jae-hee and his mother shouted as if they had made a promise.

Yoo-hyun’s head naturally turned, and Han Jae-hee instinctively put out both palms and took a defensive stance.

“I just told him a little bit about his situation. I never said anything about expressing his feelings too much, or sending heart emojis every time he drinks.”

“Wow, thanks for not telling me, thank you.”

Yoo-hyun, who bowed his head as if he was disappointed, heard his mother teasingly say.

“It’s good to be affectionate, right? Express more.”

“Well…”

Before Yoo-hyun could answer, his father intervened.

“I was like that when I first met your mother.”

“When was that?”

His father ignored his mother’s cold question and skillfully changed the direction.

“Yoo-hyun, don’t be like that and bring Da-hye over sometime.”

“She’s in the US right now. Yoo-hyun, you said you have a long vacation. You should go to the US.”

“Next time. Da-hye is busy right now.”

As Yoo-hyun defended himself from the successive advice, Han Jae-hee chimed in.

“It could be unrequited love. You know, the farther away from the eyes, the farther away from the heart.”

“That shouldn’t happen.”

Yoo-hyun looked at Han Jae-hee, leaving behind his worried mother.

The source of all the trouble was in that mouth.

“Jae-hee, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“What, stop eating. Come on, let’s have a cozy meal.”

“Sigh.”

Yoo-hyun looked at Han Jae-hee incredulously and eventually sighed.

Everyone except Yoo-hyun had a smile on their faces.

Regardless of Yoo-hyun’s sincere approach, the surroundings moved fast.

Yoo-hyun checked the results he received by email one by one in his room at his hometown.

Click.

The members of the Innovation Strategy Team were carrying out their plans on schedule.

They needed to lower the acquisition price of Shinwa Semiconductor as much as possible to win the game, so they were struggling to find their weaknesses.

It was a tough task to analyze the trends of Micron and overseas consulting firms, as well as Shinwa Semiconductor, in detail.

Click.

Kwon Se-jung and Jang Junsik were also faithfully performing their assigned tasks.

Yoo-hyun skimmed through the email that Jang Junsik sent.

-Here is the summary of the semiconductor display data you requested. Please let me know if there are any revisions, and I will reflect them and deliver them to the development team.

He organized the data neatly in a shorter time than expected.

Yoo-hyun smiled as he saw the report that showed his progress.

“This should be enough.”

It lacked specific details, but the development team would fill them in.

Kim Hyun-min, the executive director, had moved for this, and Yoo-hyun also planned to go to Ulsan soon.

It was then.

Ring.

The sliding door opened and Han Jae-hee shouted.

“Why are you working here?”

“I just looked at it for a moment. Why?”

“You have to go to mom’s side dish store. Don’t you have to pay for your food?”

“What’s going on?”

Yoo-hyun got up from his seat.

He was going to visit the expanded store anyway.

His mother’s side dish store had grown so big that it took up the whole first floor of the building.

The sign that Han Jae-hee made was also very cool, and the interior was neat.

There were quite a few employees as well.

Yoo-hyun greeted the familiar ladies and looked around.

Han Jae-hee pointed out the lacking parts with sharp eyes.

“Mom, you should change the arrangement here a little…”

“That’s right. It would look much neater.”

“And here, you should put a simple notification message or something…”

Han Jae-hee’s style was to pretend not to care, but actually care more than anyone else.

Thanks to her, Yoo-hyun also received a lot of help from his sister.

His mother, who had noticed that a long time ago, gently praised her daughter.

“Oh, then Jae-hee, you can help her.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Just help her once. Our daughter is the best, the best.”

“Sigh. Fine, fine.”

As his mother coaxed her, Han Jae-hee reluctantly sat down and got to work.

She might blurt out something later, but for now, she acted as if it was her own job.

Yoo-hyun didn’t just eat and play either.

As much as he had a new contract, he made sure to check the contract part.

“Mother, in this contract…”

“Do I have to worry about that too?”

“You might miss it later, so it’s better to prepare in advance.”

“Okay. Our son is also the best, the best.”

He didn’t have to do this, as he was doing well enough, but he wanted to take care of them.

That was his feeling for his family, Yoo-hyun realized anew.

He finished his schedule and prepared to leave.

He got up in the morning and said goodbye to his father and mother by giving them some money.

There was no gift as reassuring as money.

“Oh, you don’t have to do this…”

While saying no, his father quickly took the envelope and went to work.

His mother was also happy.

“Yoo-hyun, I’ll use it well. Be careful on your way back.”

“Yes, mother. Don’t overdo it and take care of your health.”

“Of course. I won’t be a burden to you, so don’t worry.”

“I’ll call you when I get there.”

He smiled and sent off his mother, who was going to work.

He then put an envelope of money on Han Jae-hee’s bedside.

She had a cheeky side, but he was more grateful for her efforts behind his back.

Yoo-hyun expressed his sincere feelings.

“I put some transportation money in there too. Go back safely.”

“Hmm.”

Han Jae-hee, who had drunk with her friends until late last night, had no answer, but Yoo-hyun’s heart was warm.

He packed his bag and went outside.

His destination was Kim Hyunsoo’s car center.

He arrived at the car center and approached Kim Hyunsoo, who was squatting down.

He was fixing Yoo-hyun’s car until the last minute.

He admired the repaired car exterior.

“It’s like a new car.”

“It is a new car. You haven’t had it for long.”

“I saw you replaced the side and the bottom, what the hell.”

“That’s nothing. I had all the parts. I’ve done the inspection too, so you can just drive it.”

“Anyway. Thanks for everything.”

He reached for his bag to show his gratitude, but Kim Hyunsoo waved his hand.

“You don’t have to pay me. There’s nothing in there that costs money.”

“Nothing? Come on. Do you know more about cars than me? Just take it. If you don’t like it, throw it away.”

He handed him a small box instead.

Kim Hyunsoo blinked his eyes as he took it.

“What is this?”

“What do you think, a phone. It’s free from the company, but I have nowhere to give it.”

“Free? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you know more about the company than me? Just take it. If you don’t like it, throw it away.”

-If you don’t like it, throw it away.

It was the same words they exchanged when Yoo-hyun lent Kim Hyunsoo money for his mother’s treatment, and when Kim Hyunsoo paid him back.