A Chairman Who Has No Regrets - Chapter 1



Only Krnovel

The Chairman Who Doesn’t Regret Episode 1 – Bad Dreams

When I opened my eyes again, I felt someone shaking my body.

I saw that face that I had tried so hard to forget.

“Puppy- Son- You have to eat.”

A voice that I miss so much.

That voice is still clear in my ears.

“mother?”

“What’s going on here? He’s calling me Mom, who never used to call me that.”

I was so shocked that I couldn’t even utter a single word.

At first, I was surprised.

I wondered what was going on.

But that thought was short-lived, and my heart was filled with joy at the sight of my mother’s face looking down at me with her endlessly affectionate eyes.

“mother!”

He suddenly raised his upper body and hugged his mother.

“Oh my, why is a grown man like this?”

Contrary to what I said, my mother gently patted my back with her warm hands.

“Did you have a bad dream? Wake up quickly and let’s get up and eat.”

A voice dripping with worry.

It must be my mother, Mrs. Jeong In-suk. Is it because it is a dream that she is so infinitely affectionate?

This is foul play.

Yeah, foul play.

Because it’s a dream, there must have been some corrections made.

I try to masturbate inwardly, but in the memories that flash through my mind, I only see my mother looking at me warmly.

If not, I really do.

Why on earth am I like this?

Is that how you’ve been living?

Bam!

“Put on a show from the morning.”

A sharp pain shot through the back of my head as I was held in my mother’s arms. And then I heard a familiar voice.

“Oh my, you’ve been doing this since morning! You’ve been hitting your little brother on the head!”

My mother’s tone was filled with strong reprimand, unlike when she spoke to me.

Little brother?

Whoosh, I raised my head so quickly that I didn’t care if my neck broke.

“Little sister…”

She was really standing there.

My little sister, who had been mercilessly hitting the back of my head, was looking down at me and my mother with one side of her lip pouting, still looking like a young girl.

My older sister had this side to her too.

When I see my younger sister, memories of the time I spent with her come flooding back to my mind.

I couldn’t stand it any longer.

Brrrrr.

Tears are flowing down.

Ah, so people can cry not only when they are sad, but also when they are happy. That is, they shed tears of joy.

It was the first time.

“How old is he? He’s so angry that he’s looking for his mother’s arms?”

“If you’re surprised, that might happen!”

“A high school freshman? A guy who’s going to be a high school sophomore in a few days?”

“Don’t talk back to me!”

As the mother tries to stand up threateningly, the younger sister quickly runs away from her seat.

“Oh, why! Are you saying this to me only!”

I burst out laughing at the sight of my little sister opening the old, worn-out, yellow wooden door and going out.

“Hmm? Is the river okay now?”

When I was young, I was so happy to see my little sister’s mean face, which I hated in the world, and I was so happy to see my mother’s face looking at me with a worried face. How could it not be okay?

Did he think it was strange that I was smiling but shedding tears? I nodded vigorously to reassure him, but he didn’t look reassured at all.

thud.

My little sister opens the door and comes in. Her bangs are slightly wet, as if she just washed her face.

“What’s wrong with her? Is she crying but happy? Is she happy but sad? Is that what her face looks like?”

“Are you sure nothing happened yesterday?”

In response to her mother’s prickly question, the younger sister sat down in front of a simply laid silver table and said.

“Did you see that, Mom? You were burying your nose in the desk.”

My mother stares at me with a worried expression. She is shedding tears, but her expression is good, so she tilts her head and pats the edge of my knee with her warm hand before getting up from her seat.

“Wash up quickly and come eat.”

“yes.”

Little sister too.

My mother also suddenly stiffened and looked at me.

“oh?”

“what?”

What went wrong?

Ah, it’s because of the polite language that came out of my mouth.

“Okay, I’ll wash up and come back soon.”

When I opened my mouth to speak again, pretending to be relaxed, my younger sister and mother tilted their heads while going about their business.

How did I get the opportunity?

What kind of dream did I have?

Was there a need to make my dream strange without realizing it? I tried to act as naturally as possible and opened the yellow wooden door my little sister had gone out through.

Creak.

“Hey.”

What came out of my mouth at the sight that unfolded was exclamations of admiration.

A briquette stove losing its heat, a large red rubber tub half-full of water, a small kerosene stove standing upright next to it, a small bucket on the stove that would be responsible for our meals. The bucket of unheated water, emitting a thin stream of steam as if it wanted to make its presence known, shouting, “I’m warm.”

This is a multipurpose room that serves as a kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and entrance.

A memory that existed in the depths of a long time ago. So faint that it has been forgotten.

My house.

I vividly remember how inconvenient it was to live in a semi-basement room attached to a single-family home, with the bathroom located outside. I think I spent my high school years here.

“It’s detailed.”

Looking at the multipurpose room filled with objects that had completely disappeared from my memory, I felt that this dream was really vivid.

He raised the corners of his lips and sat down in front of a small plastic washbasin, scooping up two buckets of cold water from a large rubber basin.

“Oh, the car.”

I put my hand deep into it, and the temperature is murderous. It is a completely different weather from the quiet island in the Pacific before I fell asleep. Only then did I notice that my breath was coming out in a white puff.

Because it had been so long, I lifted the ladle with an unnatural and unfamiliar gesture and scooped up a ladleful of warm water.

Choaak.

I put my hand in and the moderate temperature made me feel good. Swish, swish. I scooped up the water quickly enough to make my cheeks feel hot and started washing my face. The feeling of each drop of water touching my cheeks, nose, and face was vivid.

“That’s amazing.”

It’s a really interesting dream.

“Shut up.”

I got up from my squatting position and my knees felt fresh. I felt so refreshed even though I washed my face in an uncomfortable position. Is it because of my young body that feels light as if I could fly?

I opened the yellow wooden door again, feeling good and wiping the water off my face. My little sister and mother were sitting in front of a silver table, staring blankly at me.

Before I know it, the corners of my mouth lift up.

“Sit down quickly and let’s eat.”

How sweet it sounds when my mother tells me to eat. I turn my head slightly and see that there is nothing special on the table.

Slightly frosted bachelor kimchi, sweet stir-fried anchovies, and a half-filled pot of kimchi stew.

The contents of kimchi stew are nothing special either.

Just overcooked kimchi, canned tuna that you can’t even tell is there or not.

Daughter.

When I picked up my spoon, my little sister and mother picked up their spoons. Even though they are not the superiors, they waited until I sat down at the table.

Was it like that originally?

I don’t remember very well.

Because I was a person who only thought about myself. Because I was the kind of person who didn’t care about anyone in this world and only cared about my own interests.

“Ah! Big sister.”

My little sister, who was about to reach for the spoon, frowns.

“Sister, you’re still sleeping. You came home late from work yesterday.”

“okay…”

It was a pity.

If possible, I would like to see my older sister too.

“Should I wake you up?”

My mother shook her head at the words that were said with some expectation.

“But shouldn’t you still eat?”

My little sister looked at me as if I found it strange and said:

“What? You’re not answering.”

“uh?”

“Since when did you start making a fuss about taking care of your sister? And waking her up now is more of a nuisance?”

“Uh huh.”

Swish!

The mother smashed her younger sister’s back.

“evil!”

“What does my younger brother think of his older sisters?”

“Since when has he been like that? It’s obvious, he either ran out of money or needs money.”

“This is really from the morning!”

“Why are you saying this to me, seriously!”

“Huh?”

My little sister, who was biting her lip, lowered her head and glared at me sharply.

I tried to be a little greedy, but it seems I’m not allowed to see my older sister.

“That’s too bad.”

My younger sister looks at me with a twinkle in her eye at the sudden monologue.

“Do you regret that your sister didn’t get hit as much? Do you really want to die?”

“Oh my! At the dinner table!”

I felt sorry for my sister’s resentful gaze, but I was happy and amused first.

Yes, my little sister was like that. Now that I think about it, the conversation between my mother and little sister feels really affectionate.

It’s a familiar sight that I’ve seen so many times, but I guess it’s nice to see you after such a long time.

I bit my lip in regret and finally picked up my spoon.

Looking at the kimchi stew on the simple silver table, I can’t help but feel excited.

“Hurrup. Ahh.”

Yes, this is kimchi stew.

When I took a sip of the soup, the salty and tangy kimchi stew was so delicious that I couldn’t believe I was in a dream, and the corners of my mouth lifted up at the vivid taste.

Neither fancy nor tasty.

But I miss you and think of you.

It’s much more humble than the fancy and luxurious kimchi stew that Sim Sang-soo had prepared before going to bed, but this is how kimchi stew should be made since ancient times.

Phew.

I put my spoon into a pile of white rice, but something different from the rice gets caught.

A fried egg with a yellow presence greets you with a smile.

“uh!”

My little sister was startled when she saw my rice bowl and quickly grabbed her own rice bowl.

“What the heck! What’s going on!”

He proudly hands me his rice bowl. Fry also smiles and greets me in his little sister’s rice bowl.

“Mrs. Jeong! Are you finally starting to feel like taking care of your youngest daughter? Huh? Whoa!”

The little sister, very excited about one fry, hurriedly brought the spoon to her mouth.

widely!

Mother’s spicy hands interrupt it, and the rice and fries that had reached near her mouth fall back into the rice bowl.

“Why!”

“It was switched with my sister’s.”

“Mr. Lee…”

Soon, the mother places another bowl of rice in front of her younger sister.

“Eat this.”

Swish, swish.

My little sister moved the spoon around, but the fry was nowhere to be seen.

“No, why not? Why!”

The little sister, with her eyes wide open, looks at her mother.

“There were only two eggs.”

“Then, I’ll be next after you, Unnie! I’m higher than that guy, Kang!”

My mother said as if she found my sister’s words funny.

“Then what about Mom?”

“uh?”

The little sister is very embarrassed.

“Isn’t mom the most senior person?”

“Oh, right?”

“Yes, so there’s one mom and one older sister. Mom gave it to the youngest.”

“Me? He’s the mouth and I’m the snout?”

widely.

My mother put her chopsticks down on the silver plate with a click and looked at my younger sister.

“Do you want to get scolded in the morning?”

“Why are you discriminating against me? Just me!”

“What kind of discrimination is this?”

“It’s discrimination, discrimination. Always, son, son!”

“Oh my, this is really it!”

“I won’t eat it! I won’t eat it!”

I burst out laughing at the sight of the breakfast table scene that was buried somewhere in my memory being vividly reproduced.

“Ugh.”

My mother and younger sister, who had been bickering for a while, looked at me with strange eyes.

Still, I couldn’t stop laughing.

The moment I saw my little sister’s regular repertoire, “Only I Discriminate,” the joy hidden deep in my heart burst out, and it was something I couldn’t hold back.

It’s like an unconditional reflex that makes your leg lift when you hit the bottom of your knee.

It was just a natural burst of laughter, because it felt good.

“Hey, why is it so loud?”

I saw my eldest sister’s shaky figure coming out of the room with the unpleasant squeak of the hinge.

“Sister!”

iced coffee.

Gulp again.

Tears are flowing down.

“Sister! Kang is weird! And Mom is discriminating against me again!”

Like a little child running towards her older sister, the older sister shook her head at her younger sister’s nagging and then looked at me.

“Is Kang okay? What’s wrong with your face? You’re sad when you smile, or sad when you smile? What’s that?”

It’s okay.

I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to see my older sister again, but it’s okay.

I feel like I’ve achieved one of my wishes, so that’s okay.

The older sister’s question, which resembles the younger sister very much, makes people laugh even more.

“Because I like it, because I like it.”

“What’s so good about it that you’re laughing and crying like that?”

“Just, that’s it.”

“huh?”

“Look, isn’t he weird, sis?”

The older sister nods and sits down in front of the table.

“Did you have a nice dream…”

The eldest sister’s monologue.

Yes, this is a really pleasant dream.

It was so good that I wish this dream could last forever.

“ruler.”

My older sister gives the fries from her bowl to my younger sister. It happens so often that it’s not awkward for me to do it.

“Oh my, this kid. He’s having a hard time working.”

The mother tried to dissuade the older sister, but she put fried food on the younger sister’s bowl as if it was okay.

The little sister swallowed hard and seemed to think for a moment, then picked up the fried food with her chopsticks and placed it on top of her mother’s rice bowl.

“Okay! This belongs to my mom who works hard to earn money.”

The older sister looks at the younger sister as if she is proud.

I didn’t know.

Unlike my rice bowl, which was always steaming white, the rice grains in my mother’s rice bowl had lost their shine and turned a bit yellow.

Cold rice.

My mother ate cold rice and gave me warm rice.

“Hey, why are they like this so early in the morning?”

Mother seems pleased, but soon cuts the egg in half and places it on her younger and older sisters’ bowls.

“I hate the sight of making dozens or hundreds of fries a day.”

“Ouch, I’ve gained weight!”

The mother bursts into laughter at the little sister’s words.

“There was a lot of talk earlier about discrimination and such.”

“No, that’s…”

I smiled and cut the fries in my rice in half and put them on my mother’s rice bowl.

My older sister, younger sister, and even my mother look at me with strange faces.

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you like that?”

The older sister and mother nodded vigorously at the younger sister’s words.

Is it really that surprising that he gave me half a fry?

“just.”

“Did you take your medicine?”

“Kekekeke.”

My little sister’s words made me laugh again.

happiness.

Yeah, is this happiness?

It was the first time.

This kind of happiness too.