Some Kind of Wonderful (Heungsoon Edition)

Chapter 12

"Let's live like I'm already dead."

That was the only thing his father said when Oh Jung Ho visited him in his holding cell at the police station the night he left the hospital. There were no excuses, no apologies. Jung Ho did not expect any but neither did he expect his father to totally cut off ties with him. He thought... he thought maybe his father would finally realize what his alcoholism had brought down upon them and try to salvage that they had left because the fact that he hadn't left his father despite the beatings he had received should be an indicator that Jung Ho hadn't really lost hope.

Until now.

What his father's punches, kicks, slaps and verbal abuse had not achieved, his one sentence that was delivered coldly and without any recognition of the family that they once were finally pulled the wool from Jung Ho's eyes.

And Jung Ho felt so goddamned lost that he didn't know how to move forward.

On top of that he lost his job as a parking lot attendant because the new manager is a prick who didn't think his hospital stay excused his absences.

He couldn't exactly look for a new job without getting rejected considering the state of his face and body. He looked every inch the gangster he was before, rough and bruised all over. What shopkeeper or manager in his right mind would hire him without thinking of being robbed or their establishment being destroyed?

His savings are close to non-existent since he was the one basically putting food on their table while his father drank half his salary away.

He needed a safe haven. Somewhere he could continue to heal without being too much of a burden. That immediately eliminated Ji Hoon and Yi Kyung.

Go Namsoon may like to pretend he doesn't care but he actually cares too damned much that's why he always gets into certain situations and Jung Ho's sense of self-preservation took advantage of that. The look of relief on Namsoon's face when he opened the door alleviated whatever guilt Jung Ho was feeling then.

Jung Ho had already been staying at Namsoon's house for a week when Kang Joo heard about it. She shook with righteous anger as she pounded on the wooden door that separated her and that ungrateful bastard. Her mind was racing to organize her jumbled thoughts. It was difficult because she was just too angry.

"Oh, Lee Kang Joo!" Ji Hoon let out a surprised sound when he answered the door.

Kang Joo ignored him and pushed her way in. The scene in the living room before her was ... festive. Namsoon and Heungsoo were laughing at each other and mock-dueling with chicken drumsticks. Yi Kyung was talking loudly to no one in particular while helping himself to more chicken. Jung Ho sat quietly in the middle chewing a chicken wing. The atmosphere felt almost celebratory and Kang Joo thought she'd pop a blood vessel right then and there.

"Yah, Oh Jung Ho!"

Everybody looked up startled to see their classmate storm in and sit in front of Jung Ho.

"You're an asshole, do you know that?" Kang Joo poked Jung Ho's chest with her finger, her eyes blazing with fury.

The other people in the room grew tense, afraid how Jung Ho would react to such an unexpected assault. Namsoon, who was the closest to Jung Ho, looked poised to hold Jung Ho back at his slightest movement. Yi Kyung's mouth fell open at Kang Joo's audacity as she pulled the tiger's tail in his face.

"I can't believe you!" Kang Joo continued berating Jung Ho. "Ha Kyung went out of her way to help you. She finally stood up against her mother and she defended you. But what did you do? You threw it back in her face. You didn't even call!"