I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 192



Only Krnovel

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (192)

“Let’s have a family funeral… and keep it short.”

This is Gyeongseong,

Even in the face of the sorrow of his mother’s death, Park Sang-ui remained faithful to his role as the eldest son.

In the face of death, all people are equal. What difference would there be if she were the grandmother of the head of state?

Inviting people and creating a noisy atmosphere only upsets the bereaved family, so they decided to hold the funeral with the family as per the deceased’s will.

“I don’t want to cause trouble to my family on the way to the elderly home.”

This is my mother’s will. Will she make her daughter-in-law suffer until the end by taking care of her mother-in-law until she is over 90?

More than anything, thinking about my grandson who was busy with state affairs and my family who couldn’t sleep for days, I couldn’t afford to be a nuisance even after I died.

My mother’s wish was to be buried in the ground right away, but this country does not allow that.

Because of the law that states that a dead person must be buried after 24 hours, my mother even joked that we should follow the laws of the country.

“I’m sorry, it looks like you’ll have to suffer one day because of me.”

This joke made the family even more heartbroken.

He says he wants to be buried quickly, but if he sends his family away like that, will the people left behind feel at ease?

The heart comes second, and there are formalities and procedures.

Even common people hold a three-day funeral when a family member dies, but a family that produced a head of state holds a funeral for their family member in one day?

Park Jeong-ui ignored the deceased’s will and his older brother’s wishes and insisted on a three-day funeral.

“Brother, this is not someone else’s funeral, but our mother’s funeral. How can you finish this in one day?”

“Think of your sister-in-law who has been taking care of your parents-in-law for a long time. Your mother also said that she did not want to make her daughter-in-law and her family suffer. And you would leave your mother’s body in that cold freezer for three days? I think that would be wrong.”

Here a conflict of opinion arose between the brothers.

It is the way for children who originally had many sins to cry sadly in front of their parents’ graves, and they even discuss the procedures of ‘the funeral should be done this way and that way.’

But would a daughter-in-law who has taken care of her in-laws all her life come forward?

Park Sang-ui simply quietly prepared for the funeral and drew the line, telling his younger brother that he was not in a position to tell him what to do.

“When you go out and do politics, your sister-in-law is the one who takes care of your parents. If you think you can tell your mother to do this or that just because you are her son, you are mistaken.”

“Ha… but… .”

“I will do as you wish, Mother, so just know that.”

Park Jeong-ui was speechless at his brother’s cold attitude.

I am your son, and you say you have no right to attend the funeral. Was I that unfilial?

If you think about it, it’s not wrong.

“You punk!! Shouldn’t you be coming home now that the semester is over?!!”

“Ah, mother, how did you get here?”

“Your wife has been practicing solitude for months and I’m just going to sit by and watch her? You damn guy!!”

A mother who came a long way because her son didn’t come home even though the semester was over, no matter how much she hated seeing her wife, did she really have to make her mother suffer like that?

In addition, he went to Manchuria without telling his family, saying that he would enroll in the Japanese Military Academy.

My mother didn’t understand my brother’s opposition because she was afraid of it. That period was 4 years. What did my mother think during that long time?

What on earth made a child leave his mother’s side?

If you think about it, he lived his life as he pleased, and he drove a nail into not only his wife’s heart, but also his mother’s heart. Does this kind of person have the right to shed tears in front of his mother’s memorial tablet?

Thinking back on the years that have passed, I only have regrets. My brother’s words that I have no right to meddle in my mother’s funeral struck me hard.

Since he had no face to show, he just followed his wife’s wishes, but something unexpected happened here.

My wife refused the one-day market and chose the three-day market. Even though my brother tried to stop her, my wife insisted on the three-day market.

“I’ve served you for over 40 years, so how can I not serve you for just three days?”

“But, Sister-in-law… It’s Mother’s will… .”

“Uncle, just let me do what I want. Even though Mom said the same thing, I think she would rather stay with her family and go.”

The 3-day market was decided like this,

When his wife came out like this, Park Jeong-ui was locked in an iron cage from which he could not escape.

If I had chosen the one-day market, I would have felt a little less sorry towards my wife, but now that I have to take care of my mother until the end, it is time for me to admit that I am a man who deserves to die.

But saying it out loud was a separate issue. I’ve never said I was sorry in my entire life, so I just opened my mouth.

But now is the time to say something I would never be able to say again, and I decided to ask for forgiveness from my wife, as my mother had told me to do.

“Master, please talk to me for a moment.”

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing much, just come out for a moment.”

He moved to a deserted place, avoiding the eyes of his family, and his heart, which had been tightly closed for 40 years, began to open.

“Master, have I been too indifferent? I apologize.”

“Now? That’s okay. This won’t fix our relationship.”

“Why are you saying that? It takes courage for a person to apologize….”

“That’s fine. If you were a human being, you must have been going through a lot of emotional pain.”

Park Jeong-ui looked like he had been hit in the head with a hammer.

My wife seemed to have seen right through me, and the following words were even more shocking.

“You have nothing to feel sorry about. The best revenge I could give you was to take good care of your mother. If I had thrown away my in-laws because I was angry, would I have been treated well in this house? Because I did my job as a daughter-in-law, my father-in-law took my side and my mother considered my position. You probably didn’t feel comfortable watching that… If you think about it, I was filial to get revenge.”

“Ah… no, sir… .”

“Are you feeling relieved too? Since I said this, you don’t have to feel sorry for me, right?”

Park Jeong-ui was speechless.

Is this true or is there something else going on?

What is clear is that my wife has taken care of my mother faithfully for 40 years, and no matter what anyone says, that fact will not change.

***

“Grandma, rest in peace now.”

“Mother~ Oh my~.”

“Sob sob~ Mother… .”

This is a hospital in Seoul,

I watched my grandmother’s funeral with my family.

Since he lived to be well over 90, I thought I could send him off with peace of mind, but when it actually happened, that wasn’t the case.

My father and uncle, who were holding onto the coffin and crying like children, also wiped away their tears nearby.

My mother and aunt were equally immersed in grief, and I observed my aunt’s reaction during this time.

After serving my mother-in-law for 40 years, why would it be so sad to send her away? I have served the people and the country for 25 years as the head of state, but honestly, I think I would feel relieved if I stepped down from this position.

That means the filial piety towards the country is not deep.

No, to be exact, it’s starting to feel burdensome now.

Since I couldn’t leave when the applause began, I won’t know how my end will be recorded until the coffin lid is closed.

On the other hand, the sister-in-law will remain a filial daughter-in-law until the end. Since she has fulfilled her duty as a daughter-in-law, can she now live comfortably?

I’m such an unfilial guy for thinking like this at my grandmother’s funeral, but that’s just how I am.

Who advised his sister-in-law to get a divorce when her uncle had an affair and had an illegitimate child? He even encouraged her to start a new life with this money, saying that she had suffered a lot in this house.

With my personality, I cannot understand my aunt’s filial piety. How could she serve and devote herself to such an extent?

Not long ago, I even applied for foster care, and I thought, shouldn’t respect be given to someone like that, not a villain like me?

But after a while, I came to know my sister-in-law’s true feelings.

“Sister-in-law, are you still sad that your grandmother passed away?”

“Well… I feel sad and sorry at the same time…”

“Are you sorry?”

“Hmm~ Master, I haven’t told anyone about this except my husband. So, Master, please keep it to yourself.”

“What is that?”

“I used filial piety to get revenge. If I abandoned my in-laws and family because my husband cheated on me, I would be the only one who would kill myself. That’s why I didn’t get a divorce. How relieved would my husband have been if I divorced him? He would have been happy because his aching tooth had fallen out. So I took care of my mother as if it were nothing. I thought that if you’re a person, you’ll feel guilty someday.”

I was left dizzy from the relentless onslaught.

What kind of person has my aunt been treating my uncle like all this time? No, if you think about it, this is real revenge.

It’s easy to cut off the neck of a criminal, but it’s another matter to make the criminal feel guilty. In fact, my uncle said sorry in front of my aunt, and wasn’t that the development she had hoped for?

It took 40 years of filial piety for this, and the saying that a gentleman’s revenge is not too late even if it takes 10 years lingered in my head.

But why did the aunt feel sorry towards the grandmother? There was a reason for that too.

“They say I did it for revenge, but… when I think about it, my mother was always on my side. But I used her for revenge… I’m a bad daughter-in-law.”

“Don’t say that. If you lived with that kind of guilt in your heart, then you are a good person, Aunt.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, if I were in your position, I would have divorced you and gone my own way. How many daughters-in-law in this day and age can handle that? But you have fulfilled your role as a daughter-in-law, a wife to one man, and a mother to two children. That alone is enough to deserve to be treated well in our family.”

“Thank you, my lord. I feel a little better when you say it like that.”

The aunt wiped away her tears again.

How can I release in one day the words that have been buried in my heart for the past 40 years?

But if there is someone who understands my position, I can endure it. That is the secret to how I was able to endure the heavy duty of being the head of state for 25 years.

Wouldn’t there be anyone who would object to what I do?

There will be many who will curse you and call you a dictator. There will also be those who will ridicule you and say that you are not a servant of your country and people, but an ambitious person who simply wants to rule over them.

So what should I do?

All you have to do is show that you are working for the country.

My aunt spent 40 years on the big picture, so this is only about 25 years.

We can do this for another 15 years, or even 25 years.

‘Yes, I may be a dictator who reigns over my country and people, but just wait and see, even though I am a dictator, I will ultimately go down in history as a hero.’

That’s how the battle with myself began.

Will I be able to portray myself as a hero in the future? I am proud to say that I am a hero who set this country straight, but I have not shown it off to the public.

Those words only have meaning when they are said by someone else. My aunt never said that she was a filial daughter.

I just waited for others to acknowledge it,

I also led the people to praise me.