CHAPTER 12: Burden

Seongwoo repeatedly apologizes to Minhyun along the way to the apartment. Because of his foolishness, all his coworkers had to work hard, when actually there was an easy way to get information about Kim Soojung. Minhyun did get annoyed, but his frustration only briefly, because after that he said, "It's okay, Sean. What important is that you find your brother.”

Seongwoo was getting more excited to hear it from Minhyun. He felt he had to find Euigeon soon to repay their kindness. Therefore, Seongwoo cannot wait for morning to come.

And by morning, he was seen sitting on the bus to the crematorium building where his father's ashes were stored.

Seongwoo ran into the office and immediately asked the officer who has the ownership of his father's ash compartment. The officer was initially unwilling to provide information, but after Seongwoo explained his relationship with the deceased, the officer finally wanted to help him.

"Compartment No. 32 room 101 with the name of the late Kang Daesang, the owner named Kim Soojung."

Minhyun's guess about this is right. Seongwoo asked again to be sure. "Kim Soojung?"

"Yeah, right. There's also an address and her phone number." Said the officer who was immediately greeted with a smile of relief from Seongwoo.

He immediately took his cell phone and wrote all the data about Kim Soojung in it.

Soon after, he immediately called her.

Seongwoo's heart pounded as he waited for someone on the other side to pick up her phone.

"Hello?" A raspy voice of a woman greeted Seongwoo.

Seongwoo took a deep breath before starting to speak. "Hello .. Good morning, is this really Kim Soojung ssi's number?"

"Yeah, who's this?" The woman's response was less friendly.

"I am Kang Seongwoo. Kang Daesang’s oldest son. Would we meet?"

Instantly the woman across the phone fell silent, surprised to get a call from someone she did not suspect.

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Although not friendly, but eventually Seongwoo managed to make an appointment to meet her. Immediately, he went to Kim Soojung's house. He was a bit regret why he had not borrowed Aaron's car this morning, because now he had to go around by bus, when he wanted to see Euigeon right away. And it turned out, Kim Soojung was already not living in Itaewon. A fact that might upset his colleagues who had helped him. You fool, Seongwoo!

He stopped at a bus stop in a suburb of Seoul, preparing to find the address of the woman named Kim Soojung. He walked down the alley until he found a small house that appears to be squeezed between two other houses next to it.

Seongwoo knocked on the door several times and waited for someone to open it. After waiting long enough, finally the door was opened. The thin, pale-faced woman invited Seongwoo to enter.

The house was quite narrow and messy, until Seongwoo confused where to sit. But he managed to put aside some of the stacked clothes to sit down. He was a bit surprised because despite the plight of her house, her clothes are branded enough, indicating the owner has experienced a period of glory.

The woman returned with a bottle of soju and a shot glass, putting it on a small table in front of Seongwoo. "Drink, I just have this."

Seongwoo was surprised by her offer. She gives me soju in broad daylight like this?

"Woah, Jiwoo Unnie's son is very handsome .. Of course .. His mother is also very beautiful." The woman's commented casually after litting her cigarette, making the small, inadequately ventilated house become stuffy.

Seongwoo didn’t want to linger so he went straight to the conversation. "I came here to meet Euigeon .."

"Euigeon?" The woman looked confused when Seongwoo mentioned her son's name. He thought for a moment, then remembered, "Ah! That boy?"

Boy? Seongwoo was more confused. But he tried to keep up with the flow of her conversation. "Yes, I want to meet Kang Euigeon .."

"I haven’t lived with him .." the woman replied casually before taking a deep breath of cigarette on her fingers and exhaling the smoke. "Already years ago I didn’t take care of him anymore .."

That fact startled Seongwoo. During this time he thought, Euigeon still lives with his mother. "Where does he live now?"

"I don’t know .. I left him in the orphanage shortly after Oppa died."

The woman's statement made Seongwoo's eyes wide open. "Orphanage??"

"Yes .. you must know how the story from Unnie, right? I never want him."

The woman said it very casually, making Seongwoo's heart hurt. How could she say such a cruel thing very casually? But Seongwoo tried to put his mind aside and stay focused on his goal. "What .. can you tell me where the orphanage is?"

"Mmm .. wait a moment .." The woman closed her eyes looking for a memory inside her head. "Ooh .. Incheon Orphanage, the orphanage in Incheon."

Seongwoo straightened up, eager to get there. "Ah, well, thank you." He bowed a little to the woman, keeping his manner, before then getting ready to stand up.

But the woman held him back with question, "Are you sure you want to see him?"

Seongwoo sat back and answered her question. "Yes, I really want to see him."

Hearing Seongwoo's answer, the woman laughed out loud "Are you too kind or too naive? Do you think he wants to see you?"

Words thrown by the woman's succeeded to make Seongwoo frown. Why didn’t he want to see me?

As if she could read Seongwoo's thoughts, the woman added, "He must be very embarrassed in front of you."

"Embarrassed?" Now Seongwoo could no longer hold himself back.

"Yes, he's the cause of everything, right? He must have felt so bad and guilty when he saw you."

Seongwoo was struggling to suppress his emotions while responding slowly but deeply, "All of this is not his fault."

But she just laughed. "How it isn’t? Thanks to him, your mother asked for a divorce, right?" She chuckled again. "Your father should have let me have an abortion, he innocently convinced me to keep him, that the baby in my stomach would not bother me and be his son."

Hearing it all, Seongwoo tightened his fist. He was angry to hear the woman casually talking his family's problems. And his emotions overflowed when she added the sentence, "I think now oppa must have regretted his decision at the time."

Seongwoo stood up and told her. "I'm sure Appa never regretted his decision How could he let a life go away? It's not Euigeon's fault, but your fault! You're a lax, irresponsible of your own deeds! If you can take care of yourself, this tragedy won’t ever happened. You are the one who GUILTY here, not Euigeon. " Seongwoo said it aloud even though he was still trying to hold his temper.

The woman had also stood up to Seongwoo and was preparing to slap him. "Damn you ing boy! How dare you talk like that to me?!"

Seongwoo held her hand while staring at her deeply. "If I remember what you did to Euigeon and my family, I could have avenged you. But I try to hold back because I see you were the age of my mother, I remember my mother raising me not for revenge, I don’t want to get my hands dirty."

Seongwoo let go of her hand to her and said, "Thanks for sending Euigon to the orphanage, what he would be like to grow up here with you.” He ended his sentence by still greeting. "Excuse me."

Seongwoo walked briskly out of the house, listening to the curse that the woman had directed him. His heart was sore, not for hearing her curse, but for imagining what Euigeon had gone through all this time.

What has happened to you, Geon ah?

Seongwoo couldn’t help but cry imagining what his brother had gone through. After he and his mother went to America, Euigeon must have had to live alone with his father, and his father then left him so he had to live with that heartless woman. He had not imagined how much Euigeon's heart would have been hurt through all of this series of unfortunate events at his very young age. I should have taken you with me, Geon ah..

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Seongwoo tried to calm himself before going to Incheon, to the orphanage where Euigeon had been entrusted.

Seongwoo had thought of Daniel. Why Euigeon's fate must be similar to Daniel. Are they really the same person? But Seongwoo pu