A Chairman Who Has No Regrets - Chapter 15



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The Chairman Who Doesn’t Regret Episode 15 – When Tomorrow Comes (4)

My sisters and mother with happy expressions while eating meat.

I don’t even want Korean beef or pork belly, but how can a few pieces of meat be this good?

I don’t think cutting the finest steak ever gave me this feeling.

The meat may have a bit of a gamey smell and a tough texture, but the smell of charcoal and the fact that you are eating it with your family make it even more delicious. There is a saying that the market is the best side dish, but I realized for the first time that the person you are eating with is incredibly important.

I raised the corners of my lips and became curious about my older sister, whom I hadn’t seen or talked to much all day.

“Sister, how is school?”

Was this a random question?

“What’s this all of a sudden? Asking how I’m doing.”

“I was just wondering if my older sister was doing well in school.”

The eldest sister, who had been smiling, raised the corners of her lips. Although she hadn’t answered yet, it seemed as if her eyes and facial expressions were showing what she thought about her current school life.

“Okay, it seems like learning is never-ending.”

“Oh- Is it fun?”

“Yeah, it’s really fun learning things I didn’t know before.”

“Isn’t it hard working and going to school?”

My mother nods her head at my question.

“It must be hard. Studying is not an ordinary job. You have to go out at dawn and come back late at night. How can it not be hard?”

The eldest sister shook her head at her mother’s words.

“No, Mom, I’m not having a hard time at all. I’m doing it because I want to.”

I can feel the sincerity in my older sister’s words.

My older sister must have really wanted to study. Well, it makes sense since she started earning money right after graduating from middle school.

“Ugh – Mommy is so sinful.”

My mother pats my older sister on the back. My older sister lifts the corners of her lips and pours some soju into my mother’s small glass. She is four years older than me. My older sister is in her early twenties at most, but she is quite an adult even at that age.

“Hey, what did Mom do wrong? We should be thankful that she raised us like this.”

My older sister looks at us as if to say, “Why aren’t you like that?”

I nodded my head greatly at my older sister’s beautiful speech, and my younger sister nervously placed the properly cooked pork on my plate and said.

“Hey, stop talking nonsense and eat some meat.”

“yep!”

My mother and older sister both snickered at my words as I raised my hand to my eyebrows in a salute, smirking. I had never smirked for anyone before, so I thought it would be awkward, but fortunately, my family seemed to like my awkward appearance.

“I’m more grateful to Mom, our Hye-rin, Hye-ri, and Kang-i. I’m really grateful to Mom for growing up so well.”

“Issue···”

The little sister quickly turns her head.

I feel like I’m going to cry just like my little sister, so I force myself to eat the meat and garlic down my throat.

“Eat, eat! Stop talking nonsense!”

The older sister and mother laugh and clink their glasses quietly at the words of the younger sister who turns her back and speaks.

My little sister, who had a change of heart, quickly turned her head, emptied the glass of water she was drinking, put it down on the table with a thud, and reached for the bottle of soju.

“Huh? Do you want to do a portrait today?”

Mother’s sharp eyes reach her younger sister.

“No, I’m trying to follow my mom.”

Anyone can see that it wasn’t true, but the younger sister’s nonsense brings laughter to the table again.

After a while like that.

Knock, knock.

I was the first one to come out of the store, patting my stomach as if it was going to burst.

I can’t move because I feel like I’m going to throw up and tell lies because of my sisters and mother who keep pushing me the meat that’s only two pounds.

Knock knock.

The store door opens and my mother and sisters come out.

My mother’s eyes are slightly open and the corners of her mouth are raised, as if the alcohol is taking its toll on her.

It was the first time I noticed that my mother drank alcohol, and it was also the first time I realized that she had a low tolerance for alcohol.

A mother who walks a little unsteadily.

“Hey, Jeon Gang.”

My little sister called out to me as I was quietly walking behind her.

“huh?”

“Mom, please carry me.”

The mother waves her hand at the little sister’s words.

“Oh my, Mom, it’s heavy. It’s okay. It’s okay. I can walk.”

He nodded happily, praising his little sister inwardly, and knelt down on one knee in front of his mother.

“Carry on, Mom.”

“Oh my, what a luxury this is-”

My mother must not hate me, because she hugs me tightly on my back.

My older sister quickly helps me get up next to me in case I fall.

“Heh heh heh.”

The little sister laughs.

My legs were shaking as I stood up, carrying my mother on my back.

Soon, the older sister also picked it up and burst into laughter.

“Oh my gosh- my little boy has a weak lower body. What good is that?”

Even my mother laughs and jokes.

I clenched my teeth and took a few steps forward. My lower body was screaming at me to put my mother down right now.

My mother’s weight probably doesn’t exceed 60kg, but this weak lower body can’t even support that.

“Ugh- It was my fault.”

The mother who used to joke around is now blaming herself.

“Why is this Mom’s fault again?”

I nodded at my little sister’s words.

“He’s a bad guy.”

“Isn’t it because I didn’t eat enough to grow up like this?”

“Again, that’s a weird thing to say. Just enjoy your time.”

The older sister and the mother both burst into laughter at the younger sister’s nagging.

I endured the pain and took a few more steps, hoping that it would comfort my mother’s sad heart even a little.

Knock, knock.

“Okay, okay. Put it down.”

My mother tries to dissuade me from doing that.

it’s a shame.

I wish I had a slightly stronger lower body.

Rather than saying that I grew up starving like my mother said, it could not be helped since my body only studied and did not engage in any outside activities.

Since your genes and health are not bad, wouldn’t your body still be able to take a few dozen steps like this?

So, this is not my mother’s fault, but rather my own lack of effort.

Yeah, I should have started working out harder from then on, but I realized too late that if you lose your health, you lose everything.

I finally put my mother down, sweating profusely. I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment.

“Okay! Can you hold my hand, son?”

I nodded and clasped my mother’s dry hand in mine.

My mother smiled happily and held out her other hand as she looked at my younger and older sisters. Before I knew it, my older sister was holding my left hand and my younger sister was holding my mother’s right hand.

A night street without a curfew.

Some people passing by looked at our family walking up and down the street with curious eyes and snickered.

No matter what they think of us, the smiles on the faces of the families never cease.

Maybe, originally, our family was like this. At least, that’s how the family lived. Maybe I was the only one who was wandering around. It’s not that something is not precious because it’s familiar, but maybe I even took that preciousness for granted and got used to it.

“Tsk.”

While I was blaming myself and thinking about this and that, my regretful night walk finally ended when I arrived home.

I wish my mother’s store was a little further away. I smack my lips while thinking selfishly that it’s a shame it’s only a 40-minute walk away.

Squeak.

As we open the iron door, the first thing that catches our eye is the shabby but cozy basement of our single-family home.

“Mom, I’ll go to the bathroom first.”

“I’ll go with you, Mom.”

My older sister and mother headed to the outside bathroom, and my younger sister and I went down the four short steps and stood in front of the door.

My little sister, with a familiar look on her face, takes out the key from under the flower pot where I had hidden it, opens the brown front door, and then quickly turns her head to look at me.

“hey.”

“huh?”

“Be good to your sister and mom. Study hard.”

I tilted my head at the sudden nagging, but I soon nodded because every word was correct.

Why do I only talk about my older sister and mother and not myself? If I could, I would treat my younger sister well too. I am still not satisfied with just changing one small lunch box.

My sisters and mother were preparing for bed in a flash. Their busy movements were so familiar. The warmth of people in the living room that I was using alone was gone. That was because my sisters and mother had gone into the small room, which was about 2 pyeong in size.

I leaned against the door next to them, watching them huddle together, staring at the unlit fluorescent lights.

If I were a woman, if I were a daughter.

I wonder if I could sleep well tonight in that cramped space, feeling the warmth of my sisters and mother.

it’s a shame.

For the first time, I realized I was a man.

As I was chuckling at the pointless thought, I heard my sisters and mother whispering softly from inside the room.

“Today, Mr. Kang’s homeroom teacher called me.”

I hear my older sister’s reply to my mother’s words.

“Why? What did I do wrong?”

“No, I said my score on the English test this time was lower than last time.”

“Oh really? The river must have been upset.”

“The teacher said that it would be a good idea to send the students to an English academy, even if it’s just a short course… For the top students, each and every problem is important.”

“ah···”

“hmm···”

Neither my younger sister nor my older sister had much of an answer.

A memory that suddenly came to mind.

Now that I think about it, I actually started going to an English academy around this time. I guess there was a reason for that. I don’t need an English academy now.

“I guess Kang-i has been acting strange since this morning… Could it be that he wants to go to school?”

Ah, my mother was watching me help out at the restaurant, and she seemed to be not only happy, but was also thinking something like that. My heart aches because I feel like I’ve worried her for nothing.

After my mother’s words, the room was quiet for a long time. Only the sound of breathing could be heard. No one could answer rashly, because going to school was a financial burden to our family.

“mom.”

Little sister’s voice.

“huh?”

“The teacher said… to think about college.”

Silence fell into the room again.

As surprised as I was by my younger sister’s words, my older sister and mother were probably surprised as well. The younger sister I know was a high school graduate. I remember her working hard as a bank teller.

“How is our daughter? Does she want to go to college?”

“hmm···”

The younger sister hesitates to answer her mother’s question, and then the older sister’s voice is heard.

“I think it’s good for you to learn when you can, Hye-ri.”

I nodded.

Yes, if you can, it’s right to go to college. In the Korean society that I know, there are many cases where you are treated as a person only if you graduate from college.

“Because Kang-i studies better than me… I think it would be better for me to just get a job at a bank…”

Her voice was unconfident, unusual for a younger sister. I could tell from her voice that she wanted to go to college.

“My daughter… wants to go to school?”

As expected, my mother, who has a lot of experience, seems to think the same way as me.

“No way? Man, college is expensive, and if you go, you’ll end up a weird criminal with a criminal record like a protester or something.”

The mother is speechless at her younger sister’s nonsense.

“And Kang-i studies better than me, and judging from what he did today, he should be able to send his son to college. Mom! How cool is it to be an older sister who pays for her younger brother’s tuition? Isn’t that great, sis?”

All day long.

I told you my little sister looked strange. Was that the reason?

Please correct me, did I really have to smell the stench of poverty in this dream too? I shouted to myself as I looked up at the ceiling filled with darkness and nothingness.

I thought, why can’t I just be a little happy?

“That’s right, that’s cool, the older sister who pays for her younger sibling’s tuition.”

“right?”

“So, Hye-ri, you, go to college.”

“uh?”

“I already had a hard time going to school after work, so this is great. It’s a good excuse, right? Just like you said, Hye-ri.”

“Don’t lie, you want to go to school, sis.”

“No? I’m not going to college anyway.”

Little by little, little by little.

The two older sisters raise their voices.

“Child, why is Mom crying again all of a sudden?”

“Mom… I’m sorry, Mom…”

“Ah- I don’t know! I’m going to the bank, so my sister and mom should know that!”

Why, why on earth.

Is there only sacrifice and compromise for my family? Why is there no option for them to not have me go to school?

Gulp.

Tears flow nonstop.

I wanted to open the door and scream at him right away. Stop thinking about me and be selfish.

Stop giving in, stop sacrificing.

To live their own lives.

I cried and cried without saying a word.

Praying, cursing God, cursing myself, praying again. How much time passed like that?

Tweet- Tweet-

Tomorrow has arrived with the sound of sparrows chirping.

Swish!

I slapped my cheek hard, but the scenery before my eyes remained unchanged.

Tomorrow has come.

Now you can change it.