OMH Chapter 77
by VolareColorful neon signs glittered brilliantly in the darkened streets.
The restaurant they entered also had a flashy sign and was crowded with numerous customers inside.
Inside the restaurant, soft lighting and upbeat, old pop songs flowed.
Cha Woojin found this setting, where people enjoyed their food and conversations amidst the chatter, unfamiliar.
He had been to restaurants in Downtown with Gang Hana a few times, but somehow the feeling was different from then.
Was it because his circumstances had changed?
Cha Woojin looked around at the people sitting with him. He realized his position as the group’s eyes were solely on him.
He was no longer here as Gang Hana’s guest.
He was here as a proud member of this society, with his boss and family.
Cha Wooreen spoke to him, sensing his unfamiliarity.
“I want to sit here.”
His young sister, who had been sitting next to him, crawled onto his lap.
“You’re seven years old now, you should sit by yourself.”
“I had a hard time waiting for you today, so I want to sit here.”
Cha Woojin suddenly realized that the tables and chairs, firmly fixed to the walls and floor of the restaurant, were too high for his young sister.
Feeling sorry for his sister, he indulged her.
“Alright. Just for today.”
“Ehehe.”
Cha Wooreen laughed without a care and hugged her brother.
At that moment, the bag that Cha Wooreen had taken off and placed next to her wiggled and made a sound.
-Beeep…….
“Ah, Bleep Bleep! Oppa, can I take out Bleep Bleep?”
“No. Absolutely not, don’t even look at the bag. While we’re eating, it’s goodbye to the monster, okay?”
Gang Hana suddenly interjected, stopping Cha Wooreen.
Annoyed that she was being stopped from doing what she wanted, Cha Wooreen grumbled.
“I didn’t ask Hana Oppa. I asked my Oppa. Oppa, can I take out Bleep Bleep?”
“Oppa also doesn’t want you to take out Bleep Bleep. You’re not supposed to bring it in the first place.”
“The food is here.”
Just as his sister was about to grumble, the food arrived at the perfect moment.
“Here’s the fries Wooreen likes. I’ll put some on your plate.”
Cha Woojin tried to divert his sister’s attention with the food.
But his sister, who had been eating the food her brother gave her like a baby bird, was still looking at the bag.
After swallowing all the fries in her mouth, Cha Wooreen asked.
“Can I give this to Bleep Bleep too?”
“Huh? Well, yeah…you have to feed it too, so you can give it.”
“Bleep Bleep, I’ll give you food. Eat a lot.”
As soon as she got permission, Cha Wooreen pulled on the bag strap and hugged it.
It was a rough action that didn’t consider the living thing inside, but since the thing inside was a monster, he was confused as to whether he should scold his sister.
Even in the midst of all that, his sister grabbed a handful of fries and put them in the bag for the monster.
‘My sister likes it so much and wants to take care of it, shouldn’t I teach her how to respect it properly if possible?’
Having made up his mind, Cha Woojin said to his sister.
“If you hold the bag like that, it will shake a lot and Bleep Bleep will have a hard time. Hold the wide side so it doesn’t shake. Don’t try to put it in its mouth, let Bleep Bleep eat it by itself. Yeah, like that. Wooreen is doing great.”
Kim Sanghyuk said to him, who was only looking at his sister.
“Wow, Team Leader Cha is so sweet.”
Cha Woojin, who had only been looking at his sister, raised his head and looked at him.
“Oh my~ You’re having a hard time taking care of the kid and can’t even eat? Honey, get off Oppa’s lap now.”
“No.”
“The kid is so annoying.”
“What is ‘annoying’?”
“Hmm, that’s what you hear when you make Oppa tired. You haven’t let Oppa eat a single bite yet. Woojin, have this.”
Gang Hana held out a plate full of hamburger pieces cut into bite-sized pieces and fixed with toothpicks.
“I was wondering what you were doing since a while ago, you did this for her?”
“What do you mean ‘doing’? I washed my hands thoroughly with a wet wipe and cut it with a knife! It’s hygienic, so you can eat it with confidence, Woojin! Ah! You don’t have a free hand because you’re holding the kid. Say ‘ah’~”
Gang Hana brought a piece of hamburger directly to Cha Woojin’s mouth.
Cha Woojin was embarrassed by Gang Hana’s actions, but it was also true that he didn’t have time to pick up food, so he took the food that Gang Hana gave him into his mouth.
Kim Sanghyuk, who was sitting across from him, frowned at the sight.
“You guys are very loving. I think I should leave you alone?”
“That’s why I told you to just give me a bonus. Why are you butting in and ruining the atmosphere?”
“What, man? This is a conversation between me and Team Leader Cha, and I’m letting you guys join. Don’t you know that company dinners are an extension of work?”
“How can you still have such outdated values even after the world has collapsed once, Chief Kim? Let’s just have a comfortable meal. Have a drink.”
“Hey, you rascal. You have to tilt it when pouring beer.”
Gang Hana skillfully diverted the embarrassing conversation.
Cha Woojin quietly watched Gang Hana.
If he was with this person, would such a peaceful daily life always be possible?
It was a simple and naive thought, like that of a child, but it was also true that a comfortable life was possible only after he was with him.
When he was with him, the misfortunes he had experienced so far felt like distant memories.
The night streets filled with colorful lights, people chatting comfortably with each other, and a space where music that promoted comfort flowed.
It was such a familiar and longed-for scene that the fact that the world had been destroyed by monsters felt like a lie.
If he went out into the street, it felt like public transportation would still be running, and if he took it home, it felt like his living parents would greet him.
Cha Woojin was lost in vague longing and looked out the window.
But it wasn’t the street he knew.
He looked at the unfamiliar low-rise buildings packed together and remembered what Kim Sanghyuk had said.
That this place used to be Gwanghwamun Plaza.
The world he longed for no longer exists.
This is another world created by people like him whose lives were brutally destroyed by monsters.
Even if he wants to feel like it didn’t happen because his body is comfortable right now, his parents are gone, and even today he fought a giant monster.
The world has changed.
He had to accept the reality that he had been fighting for over 7 years now.
The old world will not return.
We, the survivors, will only re-establish the glory of the past.
Cha Woojin, who was looking out the window, looked at his young sister, who was in his arms.
He always felt guilty towards his sister.
This child will live her whole life without knowing the comfortable world where monsters didn’t exist.
Whenever he thought of that, he felt endlessly sorry for his sister.
Cha Woojin hugged his sister in his arms tightly. His sister also snuggled into his arms.
Gang Hana said to him.
“Woojin, what’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Does the food not suit your taste? But if you don’t eat too much, you’ll be tired, so eat at least a little.”
Gang Hana once again brought a small piece of hamburger to Cha Woojin’s mouth.
Slightly embarrassed, Cha Woojin hastily made an excuse.
“Ah, no. It’s just snowing a lot. I’m worried that Wooreen might be cold.”
“It’s been snowing since we came out earlier. But if you eat well, you won’t be cold. Eat this. Ah~”
Cha Woojin obediently accepted the food at Gang Hana’s urging.
White snow was falling endlessly in the dark sky outside the window.
*
He was walking through a snowfield that had turned the whole world white.
Pure white snowflakes were piled up, warmly covering even the hideous buildings with exposed steel bars.
The world covered in white was elegant and peaceful, as if no disaster had ever happened.
Cha Woojin walked alone through the snowfields where no one had passed, going forward.
The stairs made of stacked stones were slippery because they were thickly covered with snow, but he calmly stepped up one step at a time, heading upwards.
In front of him, a half-collapsed old cathedral stood indifferently in a graceful manner.
The emerald-colored high spire, which still retained its shape, greeted him serenely along with the accumulated snow.
Somehow, it felt like an old song was ringing in his ears.
Cha Woojin reached the front of the cathedral door.
But the large wooden door seemed to have disappeared a long time ago, and the entrance of the cathedral revealed the interior covered in hazy dust.
To make matters worse, the right wall had completely collapsed, but Cha Woojin entered through the original entrance.
Even though the wall had collapsed, the cathedral’s magnificent interior remained the same.
Sunlight was pouring down through the stained glass between the high ceiling and the white walls.
This building, called Myeongdong Cathedral, still retained its piety even after people left and it was destroyed.
As he entered, the singing he thought was a faint hallucination became clearer.
A phonograph placed on the altar of the cathedral was playing.
The faint singing created by the phonograph filled the interior of the destroyed cathedral.
How much joy it is to me that we are together like this today-
The horn of the phonograph was playing an old song he had occasionally heard in his father’s study.
It was an old Korean song that his father liked.
Cha Woojin thought as he watched the scene.
‘Why is the phonograph here?’
He was pleased to be able to hear a song that reminded him of his father after a long time thanks to the phonograph, but it was unnatural for the phonograph to be playing in such ruins.
He approached the phonograph to check the situation.
The straight floor leading to the altar was cluttered with debris from the collapsed building, but he walked steadily.
When he had approached the altar to some extent, someone walked out from behind a pillar next to the altar.
“Cha Woojin. I’m glad to meet you. How is the song? Isn’t it elegant and beautiful? In the old days, they sang a lot about such poetic sensibilities, but it’s a pity that they don’t do that these days.”
A middle-aged man with a neat appearance walked slowly towards Cha Woojin.
In contrast to the collapsing cathedral, the man, who didn’t have a single speck of dust on his shoes, was very out of place.
Cha Woojin instinctively felt wary of the man.
He took a step back to avoid the approaching man.
But the man, as if he had already expected such a situation, shrugged as if it were nothing and began to speak.
“Well, even if you’re wary of me, I like you. I heard that we had a common interest in music, so I carefully selected this song. I hope you enjoy listening to it.”
I want to be anything in the world for you-
Ironically, the lyrics of the song that was playing gave strength to the middle-aged man’s words.
But Cha Woojin’s guard didn’t drop.
When he took another step back, the man shrugged as if he couldn’t help it and stepped back from his spot.
“I’ll say it again, I like you. I hope it will be more enjoyable when we meet next time.”
The man completely turned his body and waved his hand at Cha Woojin behind him as he walked away.
As he watched his receding figure, his mind gradually became faint.
As his vision finally darkened, Cha Woojin was startled and gasped.
“Huff.”
In his bewildered eyes, the familiar ceiling was submerged in darkness. It was Gang Hana’s room.
Cha Woojin, realizing that he had been dreaming, turned his head and looked to the side. His sister was sleeping with her back turned.
When he turned his head to the opposite side, he saw Gang Hana’s face.
Even in the bluish dawn light, her youthful features were clearly visible.
When morning comes, this man will open his eyes and greet him as he always has.
Cha Woojin closed his eyes for tomorrow.
Somehow, the lyrics of the old song he heard in his dream lingered in his head.
※ The rights to this work belong to the copyright holder. Copying, reproducing, modifying, or distributing the work may result in criminal punishment and civil liability.
(77)============================================================