Chapter 8

Heading to Seoul (2)

As soon as I finished my night shift, I immediately hurried to prepare to go to Seoul.

I had barely slept at all.

‘I can sleep on the bus anyway.’

Rather than getting some sleep, I chose to go to the house where my daughters were staying as quickly as possible.

And—

‘I want to see my youngest daughter’s face, too.’

It had been two years since I had seen my youngest daughter.

I was extremely curious about how much she had changed.

Was she eating properly?

Was there anywhere on her body that was hurting?

I couldn’t help but worry about her.

“Is this enough?”

I looked at the huge amount of luggage packed into my suitcase.

I had decided to stay in Seoul for about three days before coming back.

Even so, the reason I had so much luggage was because most of it was things I wanted to give to my daughters.

The pajamas my eldest daughter had left behind when she went to Seoul.

My second daughter’s accessories.

And my youngest daughter’s stuffed animals.

Of all of them, the ones taking up the most space were, of course……

“It looks like my youngest daughter’s things are taking up more space than my own luggage.”

Mihye had loved collecting stuffed animals ever since she was little.

I remembered that she didn’t really like dolls like Barbie dolls. Instead, she especially loved animal stuffed toys.

Even at home, there were still many stuffed animals that my youngest daughter had been unable to take with her to Seoul.

So, since I was going to Seoul anyway, I planned to take a few of Mihye’s stuffed animals with me.

“Did I pack almost everything…… Ah!”

I had almost forgotten something important.

I had forgotten to bring the ingredients for my youngest daughter’s favorite foods—Dad-style kimchi pancakes and fried sweet potatoes.

Worried that the smell might leak out, I wrapped everything tightly in plastic wrap and bags.

“Good. Perfect.”

Now, all I had to do was leave.

I had luggage in both hands.

Normally, I would have walked or taken a city bus to save money.

But I had too much luggage, and the terminal was quite far away, so I had no choice but to take a taxi.

I called a taxi and loaded all my luggage into the trunk.

After getting into the back seat, the taxi driver looked at me through the rearview mirror and asked,

“Looks like you’re going on a trip?”

At those words, I answered with a meaningful smile.

“No. I’m going to see my daughters.”

“Ah! I see! No wonder. Looking at your expression, you seem really excited. At first, I thought you were excited because you were going on a trip.”

A trip would be nice, too.

But today, I was going somewhere that made me even happier than a trip.

So there was no way I couldn’t be excited.

‘If I get on the bus right away, I should arrive in Seoul around lunchtime.’

Jinhye and Seonhye had said they wouldn’t be home because of work.

But they said the youngest would be at home.

‘Then I can make lunch for my youngest and eat with her.’

I had already made a plan in my head.

However, after arriving at the terminal, I was reminded once again that life doesn’t always go smoothly according to plan.

“What? There are no tickets?”

I was completely dumbfounded.

I had assumed there would naturally be tickets, so I hadn’t bothered to book one in advance.

When the employee told me there were no tickets and I couldn’t get one, I wondered if I had heard correctly.

“I’m sorry. All the morning buses are sold out.”

“Then what’s the earliest time available?”

“One moment, please. There’s an express bus at 1:30 p.m.”

1:30 p.m. was too late.

I seemed to have no choice but to wait and hope that someone canceled their ticket.

‘But going to take the train instead would be awkward, too.’

My youngest daughter might be waiting for me while starving herself because she hadn’t eaten until I arrived.

First, I decided to call my youngest daughter and explain the situation.

However—

Beep— Beep— Beep—

I could only hear the ringing tone. I couldn’t hear my youngest daughter’s voice.

‘Is she still sleeping?’

Seonhye had said she had some kind of radio recording this morning.

‘I should try Jinhye.’

Unlike Mihye, Jinhye answered my call right away.

—Yes, Dad.

“Hey, Jinhye. I came to the terminal to get a bus ticket, but they said all the morning buses are sold out. Looks like I’ll have to take an afternoon bus.”

—That’s unusual. I remember there were usually tickets left in the morning.

“I thought so, too. Anyway, Mihye isn’t answering her phone. If you haven’t gone to work yet, could you tell her that Dad will be late?”

—Wait a moment. Dad, are you at the terminal right now?

“Yeah. I’m waiting in case a canceled ticket becomes available.”

Sometimes people canceled their reservations.

I planned to take my chances and wait.

That was when Jinhye told me about another option.

—Please wait there for about fifteen minutes. I’ll send a car over. Take that and come here.

“A car? No, it’s okay. I can just take the bus.”

—You have to have lunch with Mihye.

Mihye.

That was a very strong hostage.

Well, I couldn’t exactly let my youngest daughter starve.

“Okay, fine. I understand. I’ll do that.”

For now, I decided to follow my eldest daughter’s suggestion.

But still—

‘What does she mean by sending a car?’

Was she talking about a taxi?

I was also curious how much it would cost to take a taxi from Cheongju to Seoul.

Thinking over what Jinhye had said, I spent fifteen minutes waiting at the terminal.

Then, I heard the voices of people entering through the terminal doors.

“Honey. Did you see that car outside just now?”

“Yeah. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen a car like that since we started living here.”

“You think so, too? Me too.”

I wondered what they had seen to make them talk like that.

Just then, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.

“Hello?”

—Hello. You’re CEO Lee Jinhye’s father, correct?

“Yes, that’s right.”

—I was told that you had been informed that CEO Lee would be sending a car. The car is waiting at the entrance of the terminal right now. You can come outside.

“Oh, yes. I’ll be right out.”

Just as Jinhye had said, the car really had arrived in only fifteen minutes.

The moment I picked up my luggage and walked out to the entrance of the bus terminal—

“……”

I was speechless.

The moment I saw the long black vehicle, one word immediately came to mind.

A limousine.

A young man who had been waiting nearby approached me.

He was wearing a neat suit and white gloves.

He bowed at a 90-degree angle and greeted me.

“You’re Lee Gichan, correct? Please give me your luggage.”

“Don’t tell me…… I’m taking that to Seoul?”

“Yes, sir.”

My eldest daughter had sent me an incredible car.

In my entire life, I had never once ridden in a limousine.

Perhaps that was why everything felt so amazing.

The spacious interior.

The huge TV mounted right in front of me.

And one more thing.

There was something that amazed me the most.

“If you press the button beside you, champagne will be prepared.”

Following the driver’s instructions, I pressed the button.

A bottle of champagne with an obviously luxurious design appeared.

It even had a cooling function.

‘My goodness. What kind of car is this?’

It felt like I had entered a completely new world.

“If you need anything else, please press the bell and let me know at any time. I hope you have a pleasant journey.”

The partition separating the driver’s seat from the back seat closed.

In the meantime, I took out my smartphone and contacted my eldest daughter.

—Dad. Did you get into the car safely?

“I did, but isn’t a limousine a little too much?”

At this rate, taking a taxi would probably have been cheaper.

—It was the only car available right away. Since you’re coming all the way to Seoul, it’s better for you to travel comfortably, isn’t it?

“An express bus would have been comfortable enough.”

My body was comfortable in the limousine, but somehow, I felt uneasy.

It didn’t feel like I was someone who should be enjoying this kind of luxury.

—Don’t feel too burdened by it, Dad. You’ll probably have plenty of chances to ride in limousines from now on.

This was only the beginning.

My eldest daughter seemed to be declaring exactly that to me.

—And it’s about time Mihye gets up, so you’ll probably be able to see her as soon as you arrive home.

“Really?”

—Yes. She was really happy when I told her Dad was coming.

Hearing those words, I naturally smiled.

I felt happier thinking about seeing my youngest daughter than I did about riding in the limousine.

My eldest and second daughters said they would be home before dinner.

‘Then I’ll feed my youngest lunch first, and after that, I can prepare dinner for the girls.’

Today, I decided that this father would personally become the cook for his daughters.

When the driver told me that we had arrived, he personally opened the limousine door for me.

He had already taken all my luggage out, too.

As I watched the limousine drive away into the distance, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

“I should have taken a picture.”

An experience like this.

Seeing something like this.

It wasn’t something I could easily experience again.

I had even thought about taking a picture later and showing it off to my acquaintances.

“Well, whatever.”

What was missed was missed.

For now, I decided to go inside the house where my daughters lived.

I entered the password Jinhye had given me, and the entrance door to the building opened.

“She said it was the 17th floor.”

I didn’t have to wait long before the elevator quickly came down to the first floor.

I pressed the button for the 17th floor and waited for a moment.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened.

“It’s really fast.”

In the apartment where I used to live, I had to wait forever just for an elevator.

The destination was Apartment 1701.

I stood in front of the door marked 1701 and repeatedly pressed the doorbell, but the door still showed no sign of opening.

“She said the youngest would be home.”

Had she gone out for a while because she had somewhere to go?

Or maybe she was in the bathroom and couldn’t come out.

Knowing something like this might happen, I had gotten the house password from Jinhye beforehand.

Beep!

I entered the password, and the lock was released.

The moment I carefully opened the door and stepped inside—

“Wow……”

The first thing that greeted me was a long hallway and, at the end of it, a beautiful view of the Han River.

The house was also incredibly large.

“You could play soccer in here.”

I wasn’t joking.

I was being completely serious.

The kitchen was also extremely spacious.

Just this kitchen alone was about the same size as the house I was living in.

“But where is my youngest?”

First, I decided to look for Mihye.

Perhaps because the house was so large, I felt like I had entered a maze.

Then I heard a small noise coming from somewhere inside the maze.

Tap, tap! Tap!

The sound of something being tapped had been coming continuously from the end of the hallway on the right.

A faint light was also leaking out.

I could hear the sound of a chair creaking, too……

‘Is that my youngest daughter’s room?’

I slowly walked toward it.

The door to my youngest daughter’s room was slightly open.

Knock, knock, knock.

I deliberately knocked loudly, but there was still no response.

‘They say you shouldn’t just open the door of your grown-up daughter’s room without permission.’

But I couldn’t keep standing there forever.

After silently asking my youngest daughter for forgiveness, even though she couldn’t possibly hear me—

I grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.

At that moment—

“What is this?!”

I was completely stunned by the incredible sight that appeared before my eyes.