19: Their Happy Endings

Wind blew gently to a couple of father and son. The father rode a wheelchair while his son—who looks like a carbon copy of him beside his lips and pupil which he got from his mother—walked while smiling at all of his surroundings. The different scenery around him made him really happy!

“Are you happy, Soowon-ah?” Seunghyun—the father—asked his son while smiling. They couldn’t travel often because Seunghyun’s disability, so he guessed Soowon must be so happy when they travel together—just the two of them.

“I’m really happy, appa!” Soowon exclaimed while grinning. “This place is so different from Seoul. I like it!” 

Seunghyun smiled at his son’s beaming happiness. “I’m glad that you like this place. I’m fond of this place too.”

“Why are you fond of this place? I thought… you’re the type who doesn’t like to travel.”

Seunghyun put a sad smile—something that Soowon hardly sees on his father—and took Soowon’s hand. “I made very beautiful memories in this place years ago with a wonderful person who is really dear to me. She’s a person whom I wish to spend my rest of my life with.”

“Was it omma?”

Seunghyun shook his head. “Nope. It’s another person, Won-ah.” Seunghyun paused a bit before talk to his son. “I will introduce both of you when the time comes.”

Soowon—or Won, as his father called—just nodded as response. It didn’t really matter for him who that person was, anyway. What was matter for him is creating beautiful memories with his father because the trip (with only the two of them to a place faraway from Seoul) is rare and precious!

They walked on sidewalk neighboring the seashore and the sea, and it was close to 5 p.m., so the sun has started to set slowly—showing people its beauty and its greatness. At some point, Seunghyun stopped moving the wheel of his wheelchair and released his grip on Soowon’s hand.

“Do you want to play in the beach?”

Soowon nodded enthusiastically. “Can I??”

Seunghyun nodded and pushed Soowon’s shoulder lightly. “Just go! I can’t accompany you, but I will watch you around and don’t go too far, Choi Soowon. I can’t look for you by myself between the sand, okay?”

Soowon gave him a salute pose. “I got it, commander!”

Seunghyun laughed at his son’s pose. It really reminded him of the good old days when he was in army. “Just go.” And with that sentence, Soowon dashed to the beach and immediately ran around the beach while smiling and giggling. Seeing that, Seunghyun was glad that he made the decision to go to Gangneung with his son.

Gangneung, the place where he and Yoona made so much memories as lovers with the name of Choi Seunghyun and Im Yoona.

Without the title of a nurse and her patient.

Without any burden on their shoulders.

Without the responsibility of a father of an unborn son and the responsibility of a wife with a supposedly dead husband who had came home.

Those memories were safely treasured in Seunghyun’s heart. The feelings for her were safely crystallized in his heart also. He won’t let those feelings and the memories go away from his heart. Not before, not now, and not forever.

He will cherish those feelings and those memories as long as he breathes in this world.

“APPAAAAAAA!” Suddenly, a loud voice interrupted Seunghyun’s running thoughts about Gangneung. Seunghyun immediately alerted himself to his surrounding and saw Soowon walked closer to him while holding a little girl’s hand. The little girl—who was younger than Soowon by a few years—was sobbing but kept following Soowon’s lead without protest.

“What happened, Won-ah?” Seunghyun asked when Soowon and the little girl reached his place—which wasn’t far from the beach. “Who is this little girl?”

Soowon shrugged his shoulder. “I don’t know. When I was playing, this little girl came to me and we play together. But after 10-15 minutes, she suddenly cried. Perhaps, she can't find her parents around.”

“So you said…” Seunghyun made a conclusion for Soowon. “She’s a missing child?”

“Yeah.” Soowon nodded. “We should help this girl to find her parents, appa!”

Seeing his initiative, Seunghyun couldn’t help but being proud at his son. Maybe his son was only a seven years old kid, but he was so kind and smart for kids his age. Soowon was definetely smarter than Seunghyun when he was Soowon’s age.

“Alrite,” Seunghyun ruffled Soowon’s black straight hair—which he got from both of his parents. “Let’s find her mommy, shall we?”

At his father words, Soowon ran around the beach. He couldn’t ask his father to join him looking for her mother in the beach because his father’s wheelchair. He would try his best to find mommy of the lost girl. Meanwhile, Seunghyun took the little girl body to his lap and patted her shoulder.

“Don’t cry missy. My son will find your omma soon, alrite?” Seunghyun assured the girl. The girl tried to stop sobbing at the mention of omma.

“He will find omma?”

Seunghyun nodded and smiled. He wiped her tears with his thumb. “What’s your name pretty girl?”

“My name is Dana, ahjussi.”

“And how old are you?”

“I’m 4!” Dana showed Seunghyun four of her chubby fingers. “What’s your name ahjussi?”

“Call me Seunghyun-ahjussi, Dana-ya.”

“Seunghun-ahjussi?”

“No. My name is Seung-hyun-ahjussi.”

But suddenly, before Dana could spell Seunghyun’s name correctly, there was a loud woman voice calling Dana’s name and sound of rushed footsteps following the voice. Seunghyun and Dana immediately looked at the beach and saw Soowon ran with a woman following him. Seunghyun couldn’t see the woman’s face clearly but he could see worry radiating from her while relieve radiated from Soowon.

“OMMA!” Dana hoped from Seunghyun’s lap to the ground and rushed to her mom—which immediately welcomed her with a big, tight hug. Soowon ran to his father side and saw Dana’s omma picked her up—with Dana still hugging her body—and walked to his and his father’s place.

“Thank you so much, thank you so much!” Dana’s mom said while bowing to Seunghyun and Soowon. “I’m so thankful to both of you. I can’t imagine how my life without your help!” Dana’s mom finally raised her head and saw people who helped her finding her daughter.

Due to her movement, Seunghyun finally could see Dana’s omma’s face. But when he did, he got really really shocked.

“YOONA?”
“SEUNGHYUN?”

xxx

Surprised at the sudden encounter, Seunghyun and Yoona couldn’t say anything. Their lips were sealed, with only smile appeared on their faces.

It’s not they don’t have a thing to say to each other.

Instead, they have too much to say; to ask; and to tell to each other and they couldn’t even choose what to say first.

So, with awkward smile on their faces, they both sat on a bench nearby bench while watching their kids play together. The atmosphere was awkward at first, but Seunghyun managed to open a conversation with Yoona after 7 years of separation.

“So… how are you, Yoona?” Seunghyun asked. It wasn’t easy for him to talk with Yoona—who completely own his heart since 7 years ago and been missing since 7 years ago too. “How is life treating you? Are you still a nurse at the rehabilitation center?”

Yoona shrugged her shoulder. They didn’t exactly look at each other’s eyes, but they kept stealing glances to each other direction. “It certainly gives me happiness,” Yoona said. “But life is a cycle, isn’t it? Happiness and sadness come and go.” Then, she took a breath before answering Seunghyun’s question. “No, I’m not a nurse anymore. Now I teach and train students at nursing academy.”

Seunghyun nodded and eventually smiled as he imagined how she will look like in front of hundred of students, giving lecture. But his imagination was being cut by her question. “What are you doing now for life Seunghyun? Do you still work in machinery like the old days with Hyunsuk-samchon?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Now I become a motivation trainer. I went around to many places to motivate people to rise and stand stronger than before.”

Yoona was obviously overjoyed at his current job. That was clearly the sign that Seunghyun had risen from his deepest pit in his life and rose stronger than before. But her overjoy in her heart was interrupted by his sudden question. “What are you doing at Gangneung, Yoona? This isn’t exactly a tourism spot, right?”

“I and Dana come to Gangneung for Yunho’s relative’s wedding.”

At the mention of Yunho, Seunghyun didn’t say anything more. To be honest, he wasn’t exactly prepared to see Yoona here—to hear her story with Yunho and their kid which will certainly hurt his heart. Heck, he didn’t think he will meet Yoona again!

Sensing the silence, Yoona broke it this time. “Well, how is your life? Are you happy with your life?”

“Well, my life certainly has its ups and downs,” Seunghyun paused. “But having Soowon is certainly greatest joy in my life. I didn’t know having kid will bring me so much happiness.”

“So his name is Soowon?” Yoona asked. “He is a great kid, just like his appa.”

“Don’t exaggerate Yoong. He did what he should do.” Seunghyun might be say that, but his lips curved into a proud smile. “Dana is wonderful kid as well. She is so cute.”

“She certainly got that cuteness from her parents.”

Of course Yoong. You and Yunho are so gorgeous and good looking. Dana must have inherit the good look and the cuteness from her parents, Seunghyun said in his heart.

They spent a good few minutes in silence. The voices they heard were only the sound of sea wave and their kid’s laughter. They watched the sun slowl