At the End of That Memory

Chapter 34

“…What are you…?”

“Who are you watching?”

The sound of whispering words rang in my ears. I could feel Minjae opening his eyes wide and looking at me and Kwon Yido alternately. My mother and Seoyoung’s faces turned pale, and I let out a shallow breath and looked away from them.

“…”

My heart felt like it was pounding. The back of my neck was hot, and my chest was hot as if I had swallowed a fireball.

Maybe he wasn’t smiling at me. Maybe I just had a funny thought, or maybe I discovered someone other than myself. But was it because I became overly shameless during my time with him that I feel excited?

He soon sat down as if nothing had happened. Belatedly, his older sister, Kwon Yikyung, turned to look at me, but she too quickly lost interest. I swallowed dry saliva and lowered my head, and my heart, which had started pounding, could not easily calm down.

The founding ceremony was held according to a pre-announced order. The emcee told the history of Seonho Group, and Vice Chairman Kwon Sangmi gave a brief greeting (She apologized for Chairman’s absence and thanked the guests) and presented an employee award ceremony. After all the processes were completed, there was a cutting ceremony for a huge three-layered cake.

My father returned after the first part of the ceremony and when we took a short break. I looked up at the smell of cigarettes passing through my nose, and couldn’t hide my embarrassment when I saw his emaciated face. Not only did his eyelids become sunken, but he also seemed to have lost a lot of weight.

“…”

What on earth happened in just 15 days? There is no reason for my father, who attached great importance to social prestige, to appear at an event like this with such a distraught face.

However, my mother and younger siblings did not mind seeing my father like that at all. My mother frowned at him for a moment, but even that was short lived. Well, unlike me, who was seeing my father for the first time in a long time, they would have always seen each other in the same house.

“…”

So I just kept my mouth shut without saying anything. I was in a situation where I needed to ask how well he was, but we weren’t in the mood to talk warmly. It felt like walking on a frozen lake, if I made a mistake, everything would break apart.

Throughout the second leg of the ceremony, I calmed down my complicated feelings and watched my father. My father didn’t even look at me, and that actually made me more nervous. Are you angry or are you just ignoring me? Or maybe it was something else, I couldn’t figure out.

“I hope you enjoy the food we prepared and have a comfortable time.”

Finally, after all the ceremonies were over, thunderous applause broke out. In a separate, empty banquet hall, chefs invited from Seonho Group prepared food in a buffet style. There were glasses of champagne and finger foods lined up, but most people started to gather in groups without even paying attention.

“Sejin, follow me.”

It was only then that my father spoke to me for the first time. His voice was calm, but fortunately he didn’t sound angry. I neatly adjusted my jacket and followed him as if nothing had happened. What are you trying to tell me, or what business do you have? I didn’t know how much I thought about it in that short period of time.

“Chairman, it’s been a while since I saw you.”

However, the moment my father spoke to someone with a business smile, the whole situation surprisingly made sense. The three or four people gathered together were faces I knew well.