195 — Growing Tension II

Eun Ha's POV:

Her stomach was an endless, wobbly abyss—some pit without bottom. What a tragic thing, having her husband returning out of nowhere without any prior notice, now sitting there in that suit as though he had always been home, always belonging to that seat.

Every part of Eun Ha's being was now aching as if trying to avoid a painful outcome. It would have been a joyous occasion for others, a sense of comfort in the knowledge that the household's patriarch has returned to provide financial stability and security. But for the matriarch, it only meant an increasing frequency of her nightmares being manifested and exposed before her eyes, as though Yeong Gu could somehow sense the disturbing thoughts haunting her.

As though to taunt her further, Yeong Gu suddenly spoke up.

"You don't seem particularly happy, honey. Should I have informed you ahead of time, then?"

"Oh, n-not at all! Just surprised... I'd have made breakfast earlier..." Eun Ha chuckled and adjusted her expression to not look shaken as she was. "Umh... how long are you staying?"

The coffee pot wobbled precariously in her grip, and she quickly set it down on the counter with a clatter. It was a good thing that he had his back turned towards her, too preoccupied with reading the newspaper.

"Only for a couple of days. I have to go back to Busan for business." Yeong Gu sighed, as if he found this entire process tedious.

Right. Business. Of course.

"I see..."

As he turned a page in the newspaper, he briefly glanced around—as if looking for someone—before speaking up. "Where are the kids, anyway?"

"Mia and Su Ah are still sleeping..." Eun Ha managed to say, trying to keep her hands steady while slicing an onion. "Jae-il should be down any minute now."

"Heh..." Yeong Gu chuckled fondly, briefly putting down his newspaper and leaning back in his chair with a faint smile on his face. "That boy... he's becoming quite the name in the football world, hasn't he? I've been seeing news articles and all. I'm very proud of him."

"Hmhmm. He's been working very hard." Eun Ha tried her best to sound light and unaffected, but at least talking about their son's accomplishments kept her distracted a little and from thinking too much of how terrible she was at being a wife and mother.

"I can tell. The boy's got that same fire I had at his age." Yeong Gu mused, a self-satisfied smirk gracing his lips. "Except that he's doing way better than I ever did. Hell, my colleagues talk about Jae-il more than they do about anything else. Sealed that deal we've been chasing for months, too. Can you believe it? Hah—turns out their CEO's an absolute football nutcase, one of those guys who knows every player in the pro league, what each of them drinks and smokes in between games, their stats, even their love life... fucking hell, it's insane..." He muttered the last sentence to himself more than anything. "Of course, he also watched every single one of our boy's games. It was all we talked about at the dinner table."

He shook his head fondly as he unfolded his newspaper and returned to reading.

"Don't know how he does it, really. I always had to work ten times harder for half the recognition."

Eun Ha lowered the knife onto the board, carefully laying it beside a pile of sliced fruits that suddenly looked impossibly delicate next to her trembling fingers. Breakfast would burn if she didn't focus.

"......"

Eun Ha didn't know what to say. Of course she knew how talented and successful their son was in the professional football world, but not to such an extent that a business associate of her husband would bring him up as such in his conversations.

Her son—their son—this shining success that Yeong Gu wore like a badge.

He kept talking—details, figures, anecdotes that flowed like water off his back, while Eun Ha's knuckles turned white around the knife handle. Success. It was just another currency in their relationship, something Yeong Gu measured but never really bought into beyond how it reflected on him.

There was a lot of love for Jae-il that she couldn't deny, but she wondered if there would've been just as much if he wasn't as successful.

"M-maybe I should..." She fumbled through words, her focus on anything but him until—there. Light footsteps, tentative along the staircase; Jae-il. Definitely him.

And then he stood at the doorway to the dining area, and saw the rotund, familiar silhouette of one equally surprised Yeong Gu, newspaper gradually lowering.

"Father?" Jae-il's eyebrows were slightly raised, before a smile broke out on that impeccably handsome, morning visage. "Welcome home, didn't know you were back."

Yeong Gu was already standing, pushing his chair back loudly. The smile splitting his face came naturally as he moved to close the distance and wrap Jae-il in a tight, masculine embrace.

"Fucking hell, son...! Look at you—photos do you zero justice!—" Two solid, appreciative slaps on the small of his back for emphasis. Jae-il laughed and returned the hug. "Well done, son! Well done! I've been watching every single match, you killed it out there! Hahaha!"

It was infectious; the boisterous laughter, the congratulatory high-five; that connection between father and son that would've been more genuine and appreciated a couple of years ago, when there was still some love between Eun Ha and her husband.

Now, all she saw was the mistake she married into, and the mistake she fell in love with.

Jae-il tightened his hold on his old man, nearly lifting Yeong Gu off the floor in a cheeky fashion that evoked a belly laugh.

Eun Ha huffed at the sight, amused.

"Oof! You're so strong already! How's this even possible!" Another exclamation, accompanied with a light punch on Jae-il's chest.

"I eat my greens." Jae-il grinned.

Yeong Gu scoffed and put his arm over their son, giving him another one-sided, good-natured slap on the back.

"Sit. Talk to your ol' man. Ohh, my boy's going places, son. Everyone knows you! Got offers left and right already, eh?"

Eun Ha could just picture his keen expression and nod. "Looks like there have been a few scouts, yes. The Academy Director said he'd like to speak to us soon enough."

"I'm so proud of you, boy." Yeong Gu sighed, placing his coffee cup firmly down.

"Thanks. Mom did the hardest job looking after me, though."

Jae-il flashed a look and his brightest smile towards Eun Ha who nearly dropped the pan as soon as that affectionate gaze fell on her.

A guilty look appeared, and she turned away immediately before it lingered too long.

Yeong Gu chuckled, his prized newspaper temporarily abandoned. "Don't I know it, boy. Your mom's the reason the world turns." Eun Ha came just in time to set the food down. "Speaking of which, I better step up my game. Don't want her feeling undervalued in any shape or form, lest a scoundrel swoops in and tries to win her over with a nice watch."

He feigned the kind of nervousness Eun Ha would've found attractive and charming once upon a time.

"Anyone is free to try." Eun Ha casually replied, barely managing not to look at Jae-il as she said so. "I'm not the type to leave just because someone's bank account is smaller or the roses are not expensive enough. No man will win me by using things to get my attention."

Jae-il blinked in surprise, while Yeong Gu rubbed the back of his head with that big, fat grin of his. Eun Ha quietly returned to the kitchen, still stealing glimpses at the duo on the table.

A moment of silence passed.

"That reminds me..." He then snapped his finger before turning and facing his wife fully. "We should go on a vacation. The last time we did that was well, how long—five years ago?"

"P-perhaps..."

Eun Ha's thinned into a line.

"The resort is still up and running, isn't it? That place in Jeju? Remember, the place you wanted to see so badly when we got married. I was thinking that maybe we could go visit, the five of us. We should totally go sometime. They'll surely enjoy themselves a lot! Oh, after the World Cup, of course! I wouldn't want to interrupt our son's schedule."

She stood there, mindlessly going through the motions. Wasn't she also planning a trip with the kids? Of course, in her plan she didn't account for Yeong Gu's presence, mostly because she didn't feel comfortable around him anymore.

Ironically, she felt the same for Jae-il, but sought his presence in every way nonetheless.

"Ah, yes. Maybe..."

Yeong Gu clapped his hands and rubbed them together, while Jae-il and Yeong Gu made small chat over breakfast.

Just as Eun Ha was finally able to turn around and let out the tiniest exhale of relief, Yeong Gu took a good, appraising and appreciating look at his son, and...

"Say, son... you seeing anyone right now?"