Separation Anxiety

Inflection Point

The sound of rain outside the window was deafening. It would have been nice if the people’s voices were all drowned out by the downpour, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Even amidst the noisy rain, sharp words still managed to pierce through to the ears.

“I wonder why madam suddenly went to the company…”

People were gossiping about how strange it was that mother had unexpectedly visited the company.

“Of all times, when it was raining so heavily…”

“Even so, that road wasn’t particularly dangerous, was it?”

“Perhaps she intended to die from the start…”

“Hey, watch your mouth.”

The person who stopped the hasty remark looked around, particularly eyeing the 23-year-old chief mourner wearing black mourning clothes with an armband on his left upper arm. Dawoon followed his gaze and glanced at the chief mourner sitting beside him, his older brother Hayun. Compared to Dawoon’s tear-stained face, Hayun’s face looked pale and tired, but calm.

“Who will be the successor now?”

“Since the vice-chairman, who was the chairman’s eldest son, has passed away, they’ll have to choose from the affiliates…”

The people gossiping now were relatives gathered in black suits.

“There’s Hayun, the vice-chairman’s eldest son.”

“He’s still too young…”

Someone mentioned Hayun. Despite his name being discussed, Hayun didn’t even turn to look. Seeing his brother’s expressionless, almost cold face, and hearing talk about the next chairman at a funeral, Dawoon bowed his head deeply. Once again, his eyes stung, and tears fell steadily.

Before them was an altar surrounded by chrysanthemums, with memorial photos of their father, who had been the vice-chairman of the Haedo Group, and their mother.

Their parents had died on the same day, at the same time. They said the car had skidded while speeding on the rainy road and crashed into a roadside tree. Both died instantly. Everyone wondered why they hadn’t worn seatbelts. People were saying it was fortunate that there were no other victims as it was early morning and there wasn’t much traffic.

Who would become the next chairman, or how lucky it was that the car didn’t cross the center line and hit another car – none of that mattered. To Dawoon, who was just sixteen and only in his third year of middle school, the only important fact was that he would never see his parents again.

‘The vice-chairman and madam had an accident…’

The butler who received the call from the hospital couldn’t finish his sentence, his eyes turning red as he bit his lip hard. Even as they rushed to the hospital to identify the bodies, it didn’t feel real.

This can’t be happening. How could this suddenly happen? Why was mother driving on a rainy road? We have a chauffeur.

It was all incomprehensible. At first, the tears didn’t even come. When he came to his senses, the funeral was already underway, and the news was buzzing about his parents’ accident. There was even talk of suspecting a brake malfunction. It was such a sudden death that such speculations arose.

Waaah! A child’s cry swallowed all other noise. Dawoon jumped up and ran towards the source of the crying.

“Brother… waaah…”

Seeing Dawoon, Haram reached out his arms and cried even more sorrowfully. Dawoon quickly approached and embraced Haram.

“Mom… Mommy…”

Every time Haram called for his mom, Dawoon’s eyes grew redder. His nose stung, but he tried not to cry. He felt that if he cried too, he wouldn’t be able to comfort Haram.

“It’s okay. Your brother is here. Mom is… she just went somewhere for a bit…”

It was difficult to explain death to a three-year-old child. How could he say that they would never see their mother or father again? But he couldn’t lie and say they would be back soon, so don’t cry. How could he say anything when he himself hadn’t fully accepted his parents’ death?

All he could do was hold Haram tightly and pat the crying child’s back. That was all Dawoon could do.

“How could they leave such a young child behind…”

“Is that child really the vice-chairman’s? You know, the second one…”

Just as Dawoon was about to turn towards the voice that uttered such unspeakable words, a shadow appeared, blocking his view. Looking up, he saw it was Hayun.

“What did you just say?”

Hayun’s voice was colder than ever. Dawoon didn’t recognize this Hayun. At home, he had always been gentle and kind. He was always consistently sweet to Dawoon despite their significant age difference and adored Haram. Perhaps that’s why Hayun now seemed like a different person, feeling so chilly.

“Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”

The person Hayun confronted hesitated at his pressing words.

“Well, it’s not like I said something that isn’t true…”

“Not untrue?”

Hayun’s gaze grew even colder.

“You’ll have to take responsibility for running your mouth carelessly. We might meet in court for defamation.”

“Huh, look at this. Such a young kid acting all high and mighty…!”

The person Hayun was addressing was the president of a Haedo Group subsidiary and a distant relative, much older than them. Seeing Hayun stare at such a person so coldly and speak sharply, the other person let out an exasperated breath.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

Everyone turned at the sound of the heavy voice. They all stood up and bowed as they saw Jeong Tae-seong standing at the entrance of the funeral hall. He was the grandfather of Jeong Hayun, Jeong Dawoon, and Jeong Haram, and the chairman of the Haedo Group.

“Tsk. Gathering like vultures, coveting the position as soon as Seo-hoo dies.”

Jeong Tae-seong clicked his tongue as he looked around at everyone.

“Hayun, come see me separately after the funeral.”

Jeong Tae-seong singled out Hayun.

“Father! You’re not planning to hand everything over to Hayun, are you? He’s still a student! He’s too young!”

Jeong Seo-in, who was their aunt and Jeong Seo-hoo’s sister, stepped forward. Others nodded as if agreeing with her words.

“It seems you already see me as a toothless tiger.”

Jeong Tae-seong turned to look at Jeong Seo-in as he replied. His gaze towards his daughter was cold. Only then did Jeong Seo-in swallow hard and step back.

“I’m still holding onto Haedo, and you dare to be so greedy!”

He shouted loudly. The funeral hall fell silent as if cold water had been poured on everyone. Even Haram, who had been continuously sniffling and crying, opened his eyes wide in surprise. But soon, the surprise exploded into even greater sorrow.

“Waaaaaah!”

As Haram burst into loud tears, Jeong Tae-seong’s gaze turned towards him. His brow furrowed deeply as if the child’s crying bothered him.

“Haram, don’t cry. It’s okay. Okay? Stop!”

Feeling uncomfortable with his grandfather’s piercing gaze, Dawoon tried harder to comfort Haram. But Haram showed no sign of stopping his cries. Thinking it wouldn’t do, Dawoon was about to carry Haram out when Hayun grabbed his arm.

“You don’t need to leave. Stay here. This is our parents’ funeral. There’s no problem with Haram crying here. You’re not the one who needs to leave.”

Hayun’s gaze turned towards the relatives who had been gossiping. Those who met Hayun’s eyes coughed awkwardly one by one and turned their heads with embarrassed expressions. Watching this, Jeong Tae-seong clicked his tongue again. It was unclear whether he was displeased with the relatives showing their self-interest even at a funeral, or with Haram crying loudly.

Dawoon bit his lip and lowered his head. He too wanted to cry freely like Haram. Forcibly holding back his tears made his chest feel tight and his head throb. But he couldn’t cry. The unkind gazes of the relatives and the presence of his grandfather, who had always been cold to him for some reason since he was young, were difficult and burdensome.

“Dawoon.”

He raised his eyes at the call, and Hayun’s face was right in front of him. Unlike when he had been glaring at the relatives, his voice was gentle now. As their eyes met, a bitter smile spread across Hayun’s face.

“Let’s go in and rest for a bit.”

Hayun nodded towards the chief mourners’ rest area next to the funeral hall. If he had told Dawoon to go in with just Haram, Dawoon would have hesitated, but when Hayun said he would go with them, Dawoon shook his head. Hayun was a chief mourner. Dawoon knew enough to understand that he shouldn’t leave his post.

“It’s okay now that grandfather is here.”

Hayun added another word, as if reading Dawoon’s mind. Then he looked at Jeong Tae-seong. Understanding his grandson’s intention, Jeong Tae-seong nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Hayun wrapped one arm around Dawoon’s shoulders and led him to the rest area. After Hayun, Dawoon, and Haram entered the rest area and the door closed, the child’s crying became distant. Jeong Tae-seong looked at the closed door and let out a long sigh.

“What are you going to do with them?”

Jeong Seo-in spoke up. Jeong Tae-seong turned to her with an expression that seemed to ask what she meant.

“I mean Hayun is one thing, but what about Dawoon and Haram? They’re not even my brother’s children.”

“Jeong Seo-in.”

Jeong Tae-seong’s eyes sharpened. He silently pressured Jeong Seo-in with his gaze, as if telling her not to say unnecessary things.

“Well, I’m not sure about Haram, but Dawoon is definitely my brother’s child…”

Seeing deep wrinkles form between Jeong Tae-seong’s brows, Jeong Seo-in trailed off. As she turned away, saying she didn’t know either, Jeong Tae-seong’s gaze returned to the room where the children had entered. No emotion could be read on his face. Only his gaze remained calmly settled.