Chapter 10
THE ROAD TAKENYoonA blinks hard, staring in shock at the man in the wheelchair. It takes a good while for all senses to come back to her.
“Good morning.” That smile, those eyes, bring back the memory of Seungri into the room. But now that YoonA has passed the initial stupor, she can tell that he's probably another relative of Kai's father. The resemblances might look uncanny at first but the man is way too old to be the real Seungri.
YoonA saw the man somewhere before, she knows it. She just can't put a name on that wise, fatherly face. His hair is all white. The wrinkles adoring his face tells the tale of longevity and wisdom. She might have saw the man on TV, she's not sure.
“You must be Kai. You look so much like your grandfather.” The man extends his hand to touch Kai's feet. The boy shifts away, hand gripping YoonA's arm in fear as he takes shield behind her.
“Ah. I'm sorry. Should have introduced myself first.” The man smiles again. “I'm Lee Nakhoon. I'm your grandfather too.”
YoonA gasps, now she knows who the man is. He was Lee Nakhoon, a former-minister of health, a public figure well-known for his dedication to improve health-service throughout the nation.
“Your father, Lee Seungri, used to call me Uncle Birdie.” His eyes glinting as he tries to get Kai's attention.
“Birdie?” Kai peeks from behind YoonA.
“Birdie from birds. I love birds. I collect them.”
“Birds?” Clearly interested, Kai let his face shown.
“Yep. Birds.” The old man grins, lifting his finger to point outside the window. “On top of that hill, I have a huge terrarium filled with every kind of birds you can imagine. Your father visited that terrarium often as a kid. You can visit too, you know?”
“Want to see birds.” Kai tugs at YoonA's forefinger. “Let's go. Let's go.”
The man laughs. “Patient is not your virtue, I guess? Just like your father. We'll get to see all the birds later. Right now I want to know if you are okay, little Seungri?”
Kai looks up at YoonA, clearly confused by who Seungri is.
“He's getting better.” YoonA croaks, caressing Kai's hair. “Doctor took his IV off a few minutes ago.”
“Good.” The man averts his attention to YoonA. “And you must be Im YoonA.”
“Yes. I'm.... Nice to meet you Mr. Lee.” YoonA bows. Or at least trying to with Kai clinging to her.
“Please accept my apology Miss Im.” The man bows even deeper. “In the name of my father, I deeply apologize for all that both you and your son have gone through.”
“Seungri's mother has taken family business too far away from it's initial purpose and now it's nearly impossible to save this family's name. What worst is you and Kai, innocence as you both are, have to get tangled in this mess.”
“Once again, I'm sorry.”
YoonA rounds the bed, leaving Kai who squeaks his protest. She arrives in front of the wheelchair, stopping the man from bowing any deeper.
“Please get up, Mr. Lee. I... I don't even really understand what's going on.” The man's shoulders seem so frail under YoonA's palm, betraying his strong look. “I just want to be left with my son, living our life like we used to do.”
“I understand, Miss Im.” The man takes off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I really hope that everything will be settled soon. My father, Lord have mercy on his soul, would have been so disappointed to see our family fall apart because of money.”
“Changwook is here to stop all this madness. His mother was my oldest sibling. The one who had stood by my father through thick and thin as he worked hard to built the corporation. If there's anyone who deserves all the fruits from my father's hardwork, it's Changwook.”
The man is about to say more. YoonA is waiting for more. But Kai starts to fuss, calling out for more cereal.
“I'm hungry.” The little boy frowns. “Want to see birds too.”
“See, just like his father.” The man laughs, steering the wheelchair to the edge of the bed and reach out his hands to cup Kai's face. “I really-really missed your father, little boy. There were days when he's the only reason why I smile. And my dear brother, your grandfather? He would have been so proud seeing you like this.”
He kisses Kai's forehead, earning a grimace of disapproval from the clueless boy. “Go, eat. Eat a lot. You'll need extra energy to run around the terrarium and trust me, you will run around a lot. There are so many things to see.”
“Tell the maid when both of you are ready, Miss Im. I'm so looking forward to have a good time with Kai.” The man leaves. His electric wheelchair whirls softly as a maid open the door for him.
Kai is having the time of his life. YoonA has to remind him to slow down from time to time, worrying about his weak heart. Of course the boy doesn't listen, pointing at every direction, asking about every little thing.
The man on the wheelchair, who now YoonA knows as the uncle of both Seungri and Changwook, seems so happy too. He doesn't wait a beat to answer Kai's incessant inquiry, smiling and laughing as he does so.
The two of them, followed by a maid and YoonA, take a thorough tour in the terrarium. There are hornbills, toucans, Parrots and all sort of birds YoonA can't even identify. Seeing Kai happily feed his curiosity is enough entertainment for YoonA. She smiles at the sight of Kai's smile. She laughs when he laughs.
YoonA can't keep up. She loses the both of them, and the maid, at one corner by a huge cage of an exotic long-beaked bird. She turns on her spot, clearly in panic.
“Kai!” She calls out. “Mr. Lee?”
No answer. Her heartbeat is racing now, chill runs down her spine. What if Kai....? YoonA doesn't even have the courage to think about it.
“Kai! Kai!”
“Hey!” Someone grabs her hand from behind. “No yelling.”
It's Changwook. YoonA puffs out a breath, elated at the sight of him.
“In this terrarium, rule number one is not to startle the feathery occupants.” With a smile, he gives the glass of the huge cage gentle taps.
“I lost Kai. Your uncle... I can't-”
“Ssssh. Don't panic.” Soothingly, he rubs her shoulder. “Uncle Birdie is probably showing him the flamingos at the moment.”
“But-”
“It's okay. You can trust him. Trust us.”
YoonA takes a deep breath. It doesn't feel right to let Kai goes out of her sight.
“I have a good news for you.” Still holding her hand, he starts to walk for a bench under elk tree. “The meeting came out fruitful.”
“Meeting?”
“You see. I left this morning to have a meeting with another uncle of mine. His name i
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