Chick 318
by Cristae318
“Joorim… did I do something wrong?”
On Ijo clung to Joorim like a slime, his face stricken with shock.
“…Maybe you did?”
Joorim was just as flustered.
She couldn’t say she didn’t feel a certain relief at being called “uncle.” She was also, admittedly, a bit uplifted.
But the shock was real too.
Because it sounded as if the child was refusing to recognize On Ijo as her real father.
The brothers were left shrunken and awkward before Groo.
“Groo, I’m your dad. Dad.”
Ijo pointed to himself as he spoke.
“He’s your biological father. I told you before, remember?”
Joorim hastened to add.
Groo kept her lips pressed tight, eyes rolling as she faced the two stammering brothers.
On Ijo pointed to himself again, while Joorim used both hands to indicate On Ijo with exaggerated emphasis.
They spoke at once.
“I’m your dad.”
“Your father.”
Groo looked up at Ijo with her wide eyes, nodded as if she understood.
“…Yes.”
Her slender reply brought a heavy silence to the room.
The siblings exchanged meaningful glances, each urging the other to do something.
On Ijo was the first to speak, ventriloquist-soft.
“Um, did we shock her too much?”
“I told you, why did you have to come back alive?”
“Hey, isn’t that a bit much?!”
“You’re the one who overstepped the line.”
With their mouths opening and closing as they argued in hushed tones, Groo looked up at the brothers, jaw slightly open.
Their eyes met Groo’s gaze, and this time the siblings were the ones to look away, fiddling in discomfort.
After a beat, On Ijo scratched his eyebrow, seemingly in distress.
“…Joorim, what did you tell Groo?”
Joorim frowned at the question.
“Are you asking if I badmouthed you or something?”
“That’s not it. I’m just saying, let’s think back for a second.”
“Of course you would.”
“Joorim, I’m trying to have an important conversation here. Do you have to be so belligerent?”
“Oh, really? Want to retrace every step? Maybe start with whatever the hell you decided to do without a word?”
“Meaning, what I chose to do?”
On Ijo continued, a slight smile on his lips.
“Joorim, don’t get above yourself. It’s not your place to comment on this.”
‘Above yourself?’ ‘Not your place?’
Suddenly, anger bloomed hot to the crown of On Joorim’s head.
“‘Above myself?’ Weren’t we family—even brothers, not just comrades? And you have the nerve to talk to me like that?!”
The increasingly emotional exchange made Groo’s shoulders tense up.
It was a third voice who stopped the two, cutting through their agitation.
“What on earth do you two think you’re doing in front of the child!”
On Suhyeong’s thunderous voice made both Ijo and Joorim freeze.
On Suhyeong lifted Groo into his arms.
“Father? When did you get here?”
“…Father, we—”
Both On Ijo and On Joorim started to speak, but On Suhyeong interrupted, his voice tightly controlled.
“I saw it all from the beginning. Don’t make excuses. You’re both pitiful.”
Instantly, the brothers went silent, as if their mouths had been glued shut.
“You two know best what you did wrong.”
On Ijo sighed and bowed his head, Joorim swept a hand over her face.
“I’ll take Groo for a little walk—clear your heads while I’m gone.”
Bang!
The door closed with an emphatic slam.
“…”
“…”
In the silence, Joorim moved first.
Still reeling, she sank powerlessly onto the sofa.
She never imagined such old feelings would burst out so abruptly.
Just not beating On Ijo to death at their first reunion had seemed, until now, like good self-control.
On Joorim put her hands together like a tower, resting her face against them.
Why had she lost her temper in front of the child? Groo must have been so startled.
The regret ached deep in her gut.
Just then, On Ijo slumped into a seat opposite and spoke.
“Joorim.”
“…Yeah.”
“Are you angry at me?”
“You really know how to be annoying, you know that?”
“Haha! So, are you?”
Joorim’s lips twisted in irritation.
Angry? Could that even be described with such a soft little word?
Angry, yes.
Was that all? He hated his brother.
But he knew most of that feeling stemmed from guilt.
“I don’t hate you.”
“Mm.”
“It’s just… every time I see you, I get so damn mad.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
On Ijo looked genuinely puzzled, so Joorim gave a mirthless laugh.
“Yes. It’s the same thing, you idiot.”
Both of them held back laughter for a moment.
Then On Ijo finally voiced what he truly wanted to say.
“Do you think Groo resents me too?”
That was a hard question.
Joorim hesitated, then answered.
“She’s probably just not used to you yet. Not just Groo—even I feel awkward.”
“What? You too?”
Finding this adorable, On Ijo reached out and cupped Joorim’s cheeks with both hands.
“After all this time, you’re shy around me?”
When Joorim, frowning, tried to shake him off, On Ijo burst into laughter.
“Ahaha!”
As his only sibling, and the person who had spent the most time with him,
Joorim could say: On Ijo was exactly the same as ever.
Not a single thing about him had changed from the man he once was.
The thought caught him off guard; words spilled out.
“…Sorry. I was out of line.”
Joorim apologized first? On Ijo’s eyes went round with surprise.
“Joorim’s grown up now?”
Joorim narrowed his eyes.
“I’m the one lowering my head and you’re still acting like this?”
“Look at how cute your tone is.”
On Ijo beamed.
On Ijo was still On Ijo.
Joorim stared at him for a long moment, then lowered his head.
“I’m sorry—about Chloe Han, too.”
This, too, was something they needed to talk about.
“It wasn’t your fault. I was the one who was too late.”
On Ijo, who had slipped over to the seat next to him, put an arm around Joorim’s shoulders.
“Sorry for coming back so late.”
“…Yeah.”
After a long pause, Joorim let out a deep breath.
“My Groo, you must have been startled, weren’t you?”
Seated in the hospital’s rooftop garden, Groo shook her head as she accepted the orange juice On Suhyeong offered.
“I’m okay now.”
Though she had been a little scared.
Groo stuck out her lower lip.
On Suhyeong sat down beside her and patted her gently.
“It’s confusing, isn’t it?”
“…”
“It’s all right. Of course you’d feel that way.”
“Is everyone mad because… because I called Dad ‘uncle’…?”
“Of course not. They just got worked up since it’s been a long time since they’ve met. They weren’t upset because of you. So don’t think like that, all right?”
Groo nodded.
“I stepped out for a while so they can work through some feelings together.”
“Okay…”
“Is there something you want to say to Grandpa?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Groo spoke, careful and uncertain, as On Suhyeong waited patiently.
“Dad and Groo… how do we end up now?”
“You mean with Joorim?”
“Yes…”
Groo rubbed her hands together anxiously.
“It’s just… what if Dad isn’t Dad anymore…?”
What if Dad became an uncle…
If their relationship had to be redrawn all of a sudden, maybe all the affection she’d felt would vanish in an instant.
That was why, even though she knew Ijo was awkward with it, the word “Dad” wouldn’t come out so easily.
“That won’t happen. Joorim loves you more than anything. He’ll always be your dad.”
“Even though my real dad came back?”
“Joorim Dad and Ijo Dad will both always be good fathers to you. You don’t have to choose.”
“If I call my dad ‘uncle,’ will he still be my dad?”
“You can call him whatever you like. You’re family, no matter what.”
Groo nodded, deep in thought.
“Let’s go back inside once you finish your juice.”
“Yep.”
“How did I end up with such a lovely granddaughter? I must be a truly lucky man.”
He kissed Groo on the cheek, and after letting a little more time pass, they returned to the hospital room.