A Chairman Who Has No Regrets - Chapter 2



Only Krnovel

The Chairman Who Doesn’t Regret Episode 2 – Bad Dreams (2)

Swish.

Once again, the mother’s palm strokes the younger sister’s spine.

“Did you give your little brother medicine or something? Did you take medicine?”

My mother, who had been glaring sharply at my older sister, soon looked at me and spoke.

“Kang-i, what’s wrong? Why are you doing something you’ve never done before…”

I stopped laughing at my mother’s words.

I must look so different in my mother’s eyes.

Was that so?

Was I the kind of person who didn’t share even these little things with my family?

Just half a fry.

Was I that kind of person that my family was so surprised that I even shared it with them?

Ugly guy.

What kind of life of luxury and wealth did you expect to enjoy by abandoning your family like this? Past events where you hurt them with harsh words flashed before your eyes.

“Rain, rain.”

I slurped down rice and kimchi stew like crazy. No excuses, no pretexts.

I had nothing to say to my family.

I am truly unqualified.

Kimchi stew is delicious even without speed.

“What! Are you possessed?”

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

“Mr. Lee, this was a plan, huh? To surprise you and then eat it all by yourself!”

The younger sister is busy playing with the spoon.

“Oh my, you guys, eat slowly and get full!”

My older sister’s nagging feels so sweet.

Park, Park.

Before we knew it, the pot was empty due to the family’s teasing of spoons, and the war-like breakfast ended like that.

“Okay, Mom, I have to go to work now.”

Mother gets up from her seat.

It was only then that I realized, “Oh no.”

If I had known this would happen, I would have eaten a little slower. If I had, this dream would have lasted at least a second longer.

The idiot made another strange and poor choice.

I quickly got up from my seat and followed my mother, crossed the table, and hugged her tightly from behind.

“Don’t go, Mom.”

Even for a second.

Even a moment is fine.

I started to wish that this dream would continue.

My mother’s warm, small back. I was afraid that it would be the last.

Knock, knock.

My mother’s warm hands caressing my hands wrapped around her waist.

“Even though our store may not seem like much, it becomes a solid breakfast for our regular customers every morning. Thanks to them, we have a small but livable home.”

“······”

“By the way, why are my little arms so skinny? This is no good. Mom will buy some meat today.”

meat.

There was no need for that. It was incomparable to being able to eat whenever I wanted and having a family that I might not see again if not now.

Even if I had to chew on kudzu roots and tree bark, I would be satisfied with this moment where I could see all of my family.

“meat!”

Maybe you think differently than me.

The little sister makes a face like that at the word meat and shakes her butt.

My mother, who had already ripped my arm off, smiled brightly and said:

“Wash up quickly so your sisters can wash up too?”

“uh···”

Realizing that I couldn’t argue any longer, I followed my mother into the multipurpose room that served as the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room, wanting to spend some time with her.

My mother, who was just about to open the shabby iron front door leading outside, suddenly turned around.

“Don’t use up all the warm water! Your sister went out yesterday without washing her hair.”

My younger sister, who had seemed bright-eyed at the thought of meat, pouted her lips at my mother’s words.

“Did I write it all? He wrote it all.”

“Anyway, if you don’t wash your sister’s hair today, you’ll have to go to a funeral today!”

“I’m the only bad bitch! I’m the only bad bitch!”

The little sister slams the yellow door shut.

My mother, shaking her head, opens the front door and hurries to work outside, where it is still dark.

Crunch.

As the brown iron door opens, a dark, windy outside is revealed.

My mother, who went to work in the darkness, will come home from work in the darkness after the sun has set and the cold has returned.

My mother raised us three children alone, suffering so much. How heavy must the responsibility have been on her delicate shoulders.

I was so full of selfishness that I only realized it in my dreams.

“mom.”

My mother, who had just started walking, stopped when I called her name.

“Why, again.”

My heart trembles with guilt.

I tried to suppress my anxious heart and looked at my mother’s face, whom I wanted to see just once more, with an awkward expression on my face.

“Please sell a lot today too.”

My mother nodded her head as if she would do that, smiling, and went outside. With a swoosh, the front door closed. I could see my mother’s small but large back through the crack in the door and shouted to myself.

‘See you again.’

please.

I was standing there blankly for a while when a rough towel blew against the back of my head with the sound of the wind.

“Hey! Wash up quickly!”

“Huh? Huh.”

thud.

My little sister closed the yellow wooden door again and disappeared into the room.

I had no choice but to squat down in front of the small plastic basin I had used to wash myself in earlier, mix some cold water with some warm water, and start washing in an unfamiliar but familiar way.

Choaaaak, choaaaak.

A multipurpose room where even the sound of water is soothing.

Washing in this place, where white steam comes out with each exhalation, is quite uncomfortable and difficult.

The series of movements of squatting, craning my neck like a giraffe, and pouring lukewarm water from a ladle onto my head is so uncomfortable, but why does it feel better to me than a shower?

“Good.”

Even joints that don’t scream.

Unlike the mind that was hazy due to the power of painkillers and sleeping pills, a clear mind.

A young body that can withstand the cold.

Above all, the warmth of family felt in this space.

Everything was fine.

“Shut up.”

As I opened the door while wiping my hair, my little sister came out as if she had been waiting.

“Hey, hey, spray me with water.”

“uh?”

My little sister pretends to lie face down on the cold cement floor.

“What the heck? Sprinkle some water on your head to wash it!”

The series of movements is very skillful, as if it were something that happened often.

At the moment when I was about to scoop up a ladle of hot water into the washbasin, I chuckled at my little sister’s unique way of speaking.

“Hey hey!”

My little sister gets up and calls me in an irritated voice.

“why?”

“No, not that! Just use cold water.”

“what?”

My gaze quickly turns to the red rubber tub. The water is so cold that even ice can be seen.

Earlier, when I put my finger in the water to check the temperature, it was a temperature that made me feel a tingling pain. Is this what I’m going to use to wash my hair?

“With this?”

“Hey, kid! Hurry up and spray, your hands are cold.”

“Then die.”

I guess it’s a bit harsh, but I wonder if that metaphor isn’t appropriate.

Chuck, chuck.

The little sister again lay face down with both hands on the cold cement.

“Sister, you need to wash your hair.”

“You can just boil it again.”

Swish.

My little sister hitting the bottom of my calf.

“Hey, hey? The price of oil is as high as gold! What do you mean, in a country where not a single drop of oil is produced?”

I frowned at the answer that was so unlike a high school girl. The stench of poverty was deeply embedded in my dreams.

“Okay, spray it quickly! I’ll take a deep breath?”

Phew, ha, phew, ha.

My sister took a deep breath and nodded her head vigorously as if she was mentally prepared.

I bit my lips hard and poured bone-chilling cold water on my little sister’s head.

Choaak.

“Ugh.”

The back of my neck was trembling and both hands were supporting the floor. Even though I hadn’t experienced it, I felt like the pain of my scalp splitting open was being transmitted to me.

Please also compensate for poverty.

Still, it’s a dream.

The little sister washes her hair diligently, blowing on her hands without any speed.

“What are you doing? Spray it quickly!”

I forcibly sprinkled cold water on my sister’s head with my trembling hands as she lay face down again.

“Oh, good!”

That can’t be good.

My little sister, whose lips were so red from the cold that they were almost swollen, said that she was fine.

In my memory, I don’t remember ever washing with such cold water. I always washed with warm water.

“Sister! Wash up quickly- There’s a lot of water left-”

What’s so great about it?

As I watched my little sister shouting brightly with a proud face, I felt like I was going to burst into flames.

Ugly little kid, stupid little kid.

Just how selfishly have I been living?

Every second was precious, and I wanted to see my family for even a moment longer, but it wasn’t easy.

“I’ll go sprinkle some coal ash.”

I try to hide the tears that are about to flow as I turn around, but I hear my older sister and younger sister talking.

“Wow, he’s really weird, sis.”

“Again, why.”

“No, I’m going to sprinkle some charcoal briquette ash that I didn’t use before.”

“Really? Is Kang-i mature?”

“Didn’t the sun rise in the west today? Should I go and check?”

“Stop talking nonsense and get ready for school.”

“Tch.”

Before my older sister came out, I quickly burned up all the briquettes, grabbed the remaining ones, and quickly went out the front door.

“Phew.”

I want to take a deep breath and blow away my guilt, but it’s not easy.

When I slowly raise my head, which had been bowed down, I can finally see the scenery outside the house.

Four steps, covered in snow and looking dangerous, and light beige coal ash sprinkled on top. Between them, my mother’s footprints are visible.

“What the heck.”

Why are dreams so detailed?

If the passengers had sprinkled the charcoal briquettes first, wouldn’t the charcoal briquettes they brought out look shabby?

The guilt also surges in like a tidal wave as the consideration surges without giving me time to breathe. It would have been better if it had been a bit more detailed.

Crackle, crackle.

Following my mother’s footsteps, I climb four stairs and pass through a small yard, where I see a blue iron gate.

Squeak.

As I opened the iron gate and went out, a steep hillside path appeared where the darkness had not yet subsided. I dropped briquettes onto the snow that had piled up as deep as the soles of my shoes.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

I stomped on it with all my might and broke it.

Less force would have been enough, but that’s what I wanted now.

Crumb, cradle.

I crushed the briquettes even more vigorously. The series of events seemed to help me organize my complicated thoughts a little.

Sweep, sweep.

As I was using a plastic broom to scatter the coal briquette ash, crushed finer than sand, over the area that would become the icy road, the front door opened and the landlord came out.

“Huh? Kang-i came out?”

“Hello, sir.”

I greeted him, pretending to know him as if it was unexpected, and felt my mind becoming complicated again.

What on earth is this dream?

The face of the landlord, who seems so unfamiliar even when I look at him again, is so vivid.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

Whether he knows what I’m thinking or not, he keeps throwing and breaking the used briquettes here and there.

Unlike him, who seems to be good at following along, I feel extremely awkward.

Well, I guess I’m stupid. I’ve never done anything like this before, so it’s bound to be awkward.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

Sweep, sweep.

I concentrated on breaking up briquettes and scattering the briquette ashes for a long time. When I focus on simple tasks, all the complicated thoughts disappear, and I feel a little sweaty, which makes me feel good.

The briquettes I brought and the briquettes he brought were both burned.

“Shut up.”

As I straightened my back, an old-man-like sound came out of my mouth out of habit.

The owner of the house looks at me with a happy smile.

“Is the view nice?”

“yes?”

As I follow the old man’s fingers, a sight that makes me exclaim in admiration greets me.

A view of irregular but strangely charming houses clustered together at the bottom of a slightly curved hill, with the shantytown of Sanggye-dong clearly visible in the distance below.

If the roofs weren’t covered in white snow, each house would have been a colorful sight, but as the sun rose, the sparkling white roofs barely showed off their shapes.

“This is a great place to see the sunrise, a great place.”

I nodded without realizing it.

Because it’s definitely a sight I’ve never seen before.

This scenery was also something that could never exist in my memory, because I had never been outside at this time.

I have never seen or imagined it.

‘What is this?’

Is this a dream or not?

If not a dream, then what is it?

Out of curiosity, I suddenly felt like hitting him hard in the face to wake him up from his dream, but I quickly shook my head.

No matter if I spend every day in tears, no matter if many hardships come.

I am.

‘I don’t want to wake up from this dream.’

This dream was too happy to wake up out of mere curiosity.

“Isn’t it good?”

I nodded to the landlord’s question.

“Yes, that’s good.”