Chapter 2

The Successful Eldest Daughter (2)

After enjoying a good meal of grilled meat for the first time in a long while,

I got into the car with my eldest daughter and headed somewhere.

The place we were going was a café located in downtown Cheongju.

It was Ifrit Gagyeong Branch.

The man called Driver Kang personally opened the car door for me.

“You can get out now.”

“Ah, thank you.”

I had received this kind of escort at the restaurant too.

‘I still can’t get used to this.’

The very existence of a personal driver treating me like this felt awkward.

I had always been the one taking care of other people. I had never once been treated this way by someone else.

That made it even more embarrassing.

Jinhye, wearing an outer coat that looked like mink, looked up at the four-story Ifrit Gagyeong Branch.

“Does Dad come here often?”

“Not often. I’ve only seen it once or twice while passing by. It feels a little strange to sit alone in a café.”

“Oh, Dad. So many people go to cafés alone these days. I sometimes go to a café by myself when I need to clear my head, too. And I personally took care of everything when I built this Gagyeong Branch, even the interior design. I put a lot of effort into it, so if you ever come here, make sure you stop by.”

“I heard the main branch is in Seoul. Was it really necessary to put so much effort into this place?”

It was not that I was looking down on the area.

But objectively speaking, Seoul had a much larger population than Cheongju and was much more developed.

At least, that was what I knew.

Even so, there was only one reason Jinhye had put so much attention into the Gagyeong Branch.

“Because this is where Dad, Seonhye, Mihae, and I used to live together.”

A hometown of the heart, filled with memories of our family.

That was why Jinhye had put so much effort into this place.

“And I invested a lot here because I thought Dad might come here often. It’s a café where my daughter is the CEO, after all. I should at least do this much for you.”

“If I had known this was a place my daughter built, I would have come more often.”

“You know now, so you can come from now on. Come on, Dad. Let’s go inside.”

Jinhye naturally linked her arm with mine.

Now that she was a grown woman, walking arm-in-arm with my daughter somehow made me feel a little embarrassed.

As soon as we entered the store,

the branch manager and all the employees suddenly came out to greet the two of us.

“Welcome, CEO! And welcome, sir!”

“We sincerely welcome you to our store!”

“Please think of this as your own home. Relax, enjoy yourself, and take your time!”

At first, I wondered what was going on.

You know that blank expression celebrities make when they are being pranked and finally discover that everything was a hidden-camera prank?

My expression must have looked exactly like theirs.

Unlike me, Jinhye seemed to have known about this welcome beforehand, because she reacted calmly.

“I told you that you didn’t have to do this. You’re making me feel embarrassed.”

The branch manager strongly shook his head.

“No, CEO! How could we simply greet you when you came all the way from Seoul?”

“Anyway, thank you. Oh, right. Let me introduce you. This is my father.”

“Nice to meet you! My name is Yoon Seongguk, and I’m the manager of the Gagyeong Branch! I heard that you live around here, sir. If you ever want some coffee, please just let us know! We’ll take care of you with our utmost sincerity!”

Manager Yoon continued speaking as if he were about to kneel before me like a loyal general swearing allegiance to his lord.

At this point, I could no longer doubt that Jinhye had become extremely successful in business.

‘Honestly, I was a little suspicious at first.’

My eldest daughter, Lee Jinhye, had returned after becoming successful.

And thanks to her, her father was enjoying a luxury I had never expected.

While drinking coffee alone with Jinhye,

“Seonhye and Mihae miss Dad a lot too.”

The conversation turned to my second and third daughters.

I had been wanting to ask about Seonhye and Mihae as well.

“How is Seonhye doing? And Mihae? Are they both healthy?”

“They’re both healthy. And Seonhye and Mihae are making a lot of money too, just like me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The house I showed you earlier was actually bought by Mihae.”

“……??”

What was she talking about now?

I had naturally assumed that Jinhye, who had become successful in business, had bought the house.

But she was telling me that the expensive house had been bought with Mihae’s money.

I could not understand it.

“What money could Mihae possibly have? Isn’t she still a university student?”

As far as I remembered, she was supposed to graduate this year.

“Yes, that’s right. She only has one semester left before graduation. But these days, she’s taking a leave of absence and staying home all the time. Seonhye and I keep telling her to go outside and exercise, but she says she doesn’t want to and just lies around at home.”

“Then where did a girl who stays home all day get that kind of money?”

“That……”

Jinhye trailed off and suddenly gave me a meaningful smile.

“It’s a secret.”

Before I could even ask why, Jinhye spoke first.

“Seonhye and Mihae want to tell Dad themselves. I think it’s better for them to tell you their own stories, so I decided to keep it a secret until then.”

“Then you won’t tell me what your second daughter is doing either?”

“As for my second sister…… If Dad watches TV often, you would have figured it out without me telling you.”

The problem was that I hardly watched TV.

Even when I did, I mostly watched baseball or soccer.

I only watched when there was a sports game. Otherwise, I read books or went for walks.

That was about it.

Thinking about it now, my life was actually quite boring.

“Anyway, I’ll pick a day and come down to Cheongju with Seonhye soon. As for Mihae, I think you’ll see her when Dad goes up to Seoul.”

“Seoul……”

“Are you still thinking about it?”

Even while we were eating, Jinhye had asked me dozens of times to move to Seoul and live with them.

But I still had not been able to make a decision.

Was it really okay for me to rely on my daughters?

Did I really deserve to enjoy such luxury?

Those thoughts made me hesitate every time, like a speed bump suddenly appearing in my path.

Jinhye seemed to know that I was struggling with these thoughts.

“Okay, Dad. Then I’ll change my suggestion.”

Jinhye’s expression became serious.

“We’ll come down to Cheongju. That’s okay, right?”

Her words immediately snapped me back to reality.

“What about that six-billion-won house?”

“We can just sell it.”

“You said you only bought it recently.”

“It’s okay. We’ll have to spend some money on things like the interior and moving costs, but it’s not a large amount of money for us.”

No, that couldn’t be true.

Even those costs alone would probably be tens of millions of won.

Seeing Jinhye say that she was willing to come down to Cheongju despite accepting that loss, I strongly objected.

“Absolutely not. You said that house was bought with the youngest one’s money, right? Then it would be a huge problem if you sold it!”

I did not know where or how Mihae had gotten that huge amount of money, but whatever the amount was, it was her precious money.

And as her father, I had no intention of making my daughters go through such trouble for my sake.

“Fine. If that’s what you girls want…… I’ll seriously think about it.”

In any case, I did not have much keeping me attached to Cheongju.

I barely had any close friends here.

And I had not even been working as an apartment security guard for very long, so there was no reason I had to stay here.

Of course, I would be happy to live with my daughters.

Even though they were not daughters I had given birth to, they were still the children I had raised with all my heart.

If Jinhye, Seonhye, and Mihae did not feel uncomfortable living with me,

and if they actually wanted to live with me—

‘Then maybe it would be okay.’

There was no parent who could defeat their own children forever.

For the first time in a long while, I truly understood that saying.

After taking me home, Jinhye held my hand again.

“I’ll come down again with Seonhye around the weekend. Until then, Dad, please seriously consider coming to Seoul.”

“Okay. I will.”

“I was so happy to see you again after such a long time, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you too. Be careful on your way home.”

“Yes!”

I stood outside my house, watching until the car Jinhye was riding in completely disappeared from sight.

Just then, the front door of the building opened, and the landlady looked at me strangely.

“Well, well, young man. You’re quite capable. You’re even dating such a nice young lady.”

“We’re not dating, ma’am.”

“Then what are you?”

“She’s my daughter.”

The landlady looked completely shocked.

“Young man, you have a daughter?”

“Yes. That’s how things turned out.”

I think from now on, I should brag about my daughters a little more.

“Haah, haah, haah……”

My breath had reached my throat.

I felt as if if I collapsed even once, I would never be able to get back up.

Even so, I pushed through the flames and kept moving forward.

“Is anyone there?!”

After beginning the search on the second floor, I moved through every corner of the burning house, searching for survivors.

Just in case, I even opened the bathroom door.

I was worried someone might have passed out because of the smoke.

‘Good. No one’s here!’

Only one last house remained on the second floor.

Just then, I heard the radio.

―Hey, Lee Gichan! Where are you right now?!

“I’m about to search the last house on the second floor, Team Leader.”

―Finish quickly and get out! I have a bad feeling about this!

The team leader had very good instincts.

In fact, there had been several people whose lives had been saved because of his instincts.

I felt a wave of anxiety.

But—

‘I can’t just leave!’

Saving people was my job.

I could not abandon my duty simply because I had a bad feeling.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I pounded hard on the front door.

“Is anyone inside?! Answer me if you’re there!”

Then—

Crash!

Burned debris suddenly came tumbling down beside me.

Fear came rushing toward me.

Maybe there was no one inside.

Should I just leave?

That thought naturally crossed my mind.

But—

‘There might be someone inside!’

I forced the front door open.

The moment I stepped inside, I checked the bathroom right beside the entrance.

The first thing that caught my eye was……

“……Damn it.”

The half-burned body of a person.

It was the body of a man who looked to be in his early forties.

If only I had arrived a little earlier.

Could I have saved him?

A sense of guilt slowly began creeping into my heart.

‘More importantly, I need to check if there are any other survivors!’

Right now, action had to come before hesitation.

The kitchen, living room, and balcony.

I checked everything.

‘No, there’s one more room!’

A small room.

I grabbed the doorknob and tried to turn it, but it would not move. It seemed the door had been locked from the inside.

“Fuck……!”

A curse slipped out of my mouth.

Boom! Bang!

Just like before, I kicked the door.

Crack!

Through the broken gap in the door, I saw a small silhouette.

Three girls were trembling in fear as they held each other tightly.

At that moment, the team leader’s voice came through the radio again.

―Get out quickly, Lee Gichan! Do you want to die?!

Of course, I did not want to die either.

But—

“Survivors…… I found survivors.”

Even after seeing these children,

I could not simply leave them behind.