#92

“Thank you! Really, thank you!”

Even though I had said I would only listen and that he shouldn’t expect any help, President Go Woonjae’s face lit up brightly. Seeing him so happy made a corner of my heart feel uncomfortable. Whether he noticed that or not, President Go Woonjae hurriedly began to speak.

“First, I assume you already know about our family circumstances. Well, it’s such a well-known story that I suppose you couldn’t not know.”

I looked at President Go Woonjae as he spoke in a self-deprecating tone. He seemed to be feeling anxious about the current situation, as his trembling fingers kept wringing each other.

“As you said, if it’s about Euiseo-ssi’s parents, I already know the story.”

“Yes. I figured you would. I thought as much.”

President Go Woonjae barely managed to lift the corners of his lips into something resembling a smile. It seemed like he was both relieved and despairing at the fact that I knew the Go family’s story. I looked at President Go Woonjae’s pale face, which bore a smile but no color, and spoke.

“But even so, there’s something I can’t help but ask. Of the things I know, which parts are actually true?”

At my calm question, President Go Woonjae blankly lifted his head to look at me. Seeing the complicated confusion in his eyes, I continued quietly.

“At the very least, I understand that the things I’ve heard did actually happen. But I won’t know which parts are true and which are lies unless I hear it directly from someone involved.”

Since I had already decided to listen to what he had to say, I at least wanted to hear a proper explanation of the situation from his own mouth. Like all rumors in the world, stories that don’t come from the actual people involved are often distorted or exaggerated.

“Not completely believing what others say and checking with the person directly—that’s a very wise thing to do.”

Murmuring like he was praising a student, President Go Woonjae let out a deep sigh and blinked slowly.

“……I don’t know exactly what rumors you’ve heard, but I’d say most of what you know is probably true. Actually, it might even be downplayed.”

“……”

“It’s true that I opposed my son’s marriage because I didn’t like the woman’s profession. It’s true that I forced them to divorce even though she didn’t want to. It’s true that I didn’t let the child take the Go family name. It’s true that I didn’t pay child support because I despised the mother and child. And it’s true that I told them, since I would never acknowledge the child as part of the Go family, they should just disappear and never show themselves again. I did all that. I was the one who did all of it.”

…….I hoped it wasn’t true, but to think all of it was. There are even things I didn’t know.

At President Go Woonjae’s confessional-like words, I looked at him with eyes chilled and sunken. But the president didn’t seem to realize how I was looking at him—he kept his gaze fixed on the teacup on the table and continued speaking.

“Back then, we were…… no, I was truly cruel. When my only precious son brought home a woman with what I saw as a lowly profession—prancing around like a clown—and said he wanted to marry her, it felt like my blood was boiling in reverse. I absolutely couldn’t allow it. So I told him it would never happen, and that if he really wanted to marry her, he’d have to kill me first. I was adamantly opposed. And would you believe it, the son who’d never once disobeyed us in his whole life ran away holding that woman’s hand. At the time, I thought that woman had bewitched my son. I couldn’t accept that my own son would do such a thing otherwise.”

“……”

“And when that runaway son said he wanted to come back…… I completely lost all sense of reason. That son who said he wanted to return, abandoning his wife and child, seemed like a brave soul finally escaping a witch’s spell. And that woman who wouldn’t let go of such a son—she looked like the most wicked being in the world to me.”

At that point, President Go Woonjae stopped speaking and shut his eyes tightly. Then he let out a long breath, as if to compose himself. I waited quietly, keeping silent until the president calmed down. It took quite a while before he opened his mouth again with difficulty.

“……That’s not how it should’ve been…… I should have knocked some sense into the son who wanted to abandon his own wife and child, even if I had to beat it into him. As a parent, I should have corrected him. But I didn’t. I just…… didn’t……”

In his powerless voice, the deep wrinkles on President Go Woonjae’s face were filled with guilt and regret. I had no idea what to say to this old man who was now so desperately remorseful over his past.

“There’s no noble or lowly job, and no one’s unworthy of love. Thinking back on it now, I was truly foolish and cruel. But I only realized that after I had lost everything. It was too late. They say regrets always come too late, and that’s exactly what happened.”

With those words, President Go Woonjae let out a hollow laugh. Compared to when he had first walked into the office, his face now looked years older and more worn down. He rubbed his face with a weary hand a few times, then slowly lifted his head and looked straight at me.

His face still looked exhausted, but his eyes held a clarity and intensity that was impossible to miss. Seeing that, my whole body tensed up. It was the kind of presence that left no other choice.

“President Goo Won. I want to atone for the wrongs I’ve committed against Euiseo and my daughter-in-law. I know it’s far too late to have these feelings now. Perhaps it really is too late to undo anything. But even so, how could I not even try? I want to bring those children back into our family, whatever it takes. And I intend to make amends for everything I’ve done wrong.”

“And you’re asking me to help you with that?”

“That’s right. I know I have no right to ask—but I’m asking all the same. Please…… help this old man, President Goo Won.”

I quietly looked at President Go Woonjae as he asked me for help. His eyes were desperate, as if there was no other way left but me. Seeing that, a sudden question popped into my mind.

“Why me?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you asking me for this? I’ve only known Euiseo-ssi for two months. I’m just his agency president.”

At my puzzled question, President Go Woonjae’s eyes wavered. I couldn’t quite understand why he was asking me, someone who had only known Yoo Euiseo for a couple of months, to take on something like this.

Of course, when it comes to opening your heart to someone, time doesn’t necessarily matter. But still, from a normal, reasonable standpoint, it’s not common to consider someone you’ve known for two months close enough to get involved in deeply personal family affairs, right?

What gave him the confidence that I could help improve his relationship with Yoo Euiseo?

“That’s……”

President Go Woonjae didn’t have an easy answer. He hesitated for quite a while, and then slowly, very carefully, opened his mouth.

“……I thought you might be able to give me good advice. You went through something similar, didn’t you? But in the end, you forgave your father.”

……What? Hold on. What did he just say?

I furrowed my brow, unable to understand what President Go Woonjae was talking about. Sensing my confusion, he quickly added more.

“Please don’t take offense. It’s not like I did some kind of background investigation. It’s just…… well, I am still the president of Korea University. You and that child are both alumni, so every now and then, some things come to my ears that others might not know.”

He seemed quite worried that I’d be offended by the fact that he knew something personal about me. But that was unnecessary. I wasn’t offended—I was just baffled by what he was saying.

“Don’t worry too much. That matter from back then is still well buried. The Haje Group handled it themselves. Something like that won’t just come back up so easily.”

Trying to reassure me, President Go Woonjae’s voice was firm, but I couldn’t help but make a strange expression.

What did he mean, something the Haje Group buried? Who was ‘that child’? And how could he say Goo Won in the game had gone through something similar……?

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly felt something strange in my chest. It was like a sharp buzz, or a dull stab—if I had to put a name to it, ‘pain’ was the closest word that fit.

Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, I instinctively raised a hand to my left chest. At that moment, President Go Woonjae apologized in a flustered voice.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. This old man was out of line. I shouldn’t have brought it up so carelessly…… I’ll be more careful from now on. So please, don’t cry.”

Don’t cry?

Puzzled by his words, I wiped my cheek. My fingers came away damp.

What the……? Am I crying?

But I don’t feel sad at all.