Epilogue: Family
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
At Jo Joseph’s words, Kim Min-gyu nodded.
“Right? Who would’ve thought Kim Jae-heon would ever get married.”
The thought, That Kim Jae-heon? rose in both their minds.
He was far from aloof, but he was a friend who was like a block of wood.
No. Not even a block of wood.
“He was… close, yet felt distant somehow.”
“Yeah.”
He was somewhat distant from being mysterious, too.
If he had to put it into words…
“The feeling that he needlessly stood on ceremony?”
“That’s it. But the way he actually talked was something you could only say to a close friend, anyone could see that.”
Having reached their conclusion, the two men looked at each other.
“Anyway, to think that guy is getting married too.”
“Well, so did we.”
“…I’m genuinely worried.”
“Hey, marriage is no big deal. It’s just, well. Uh. Yeah. Just. Yeah.”
“What’s with you?”
“It’s nothing.”
At Jo Joseph’s words, Kim Min-gyu made a dubious expression.
“Anyway, that’s how it is, I guess.”
“Honey. Do you regret marrying me?”
Just then, Park Yeon-jin, who had been standing beside Jo Joseph until now, shot him a look, and Jo Joseph let out a fake cough.
“Just kidding, sweetie.”
As their conversation continued, the sound of jingling and footsteps reached them.
“Quite a few people are comi…”
Jo Joseph stopped mid-sentence, and Kim Min-gyu also turned his gaze, then found himself unable to look away, rooted to the spot.
“…What the?”
And it was understandable, because they were stunning beauties.
The brown-haired woman at the front had an air of refinement—or something like it—that suggested experience beyond her looks, to the point where you couldn’t tell if her eyes were open or closed.
The blonde woman behind her was petite and neat, but possessed a beauty with an inexplicable charisma.
The black-haired woman had a body that clearly showed she worked out hard, and her bright, smiling expression was lovely.
The purple-haired woman was slender but had a confident appearance and a cute face that kept drawing their gaze.
Then there was one who looked to be about high school age.
And finally.
“…”
“…”
“…”
One beauty so stunning it could make all three men’s jaws drop.
Her white hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight, and she had a figure that would look good in anything.
“…Celebrities?”
“Prettier than celebrities.”
Kim Min-gyu answered Jo Joseph’s mutter without taking his eyes off them, and even Park Yeon-jin couldn’t bring herself to ask why they were staring. If women with looks like that were passing by, staring was just too natural.
“…Why are they coming this way?”
And as the group started walking towards them, the three of them were also momentarily at a loss for words.
Why are they coming?
Is there a problem?
Did we get the reservation wrong?
Such thoughts lasted only a moment.
“Excuse me, is this…”
The brown-haired woman slowly opened her mouth.
“…the table for Mr. Jo Joseph and Mr. Kim Min-gyu?”
“…Y-yes, it is.”
“Yes, that’s right…”
“…Honey, do you know them?”
“N-no, I don’t.”
While Jo Joseph and Park Yeon-jin were whispering to each other, an awkwardly laughing voice came from behind the group.
This voice…
“Hello.”
The two looked up towards the source of the familiar voice.
Kim Jae-heon was waving his hand with an uncomfortable smile.
“Well, you see…”
As if he didn’t know what to say, Kim Jae-heon repeatedly opened and closed his eyes before letting out a deep sigh.
“They’re my wives.”
“…What?”
Wives?
“Which one is your wife?”
Which one among them was his wife?
There were so many people here to begin with.
But what did he mea—
“They’re all my wives.”
Hearing Kim Jae-heon’s answer, Jo Joseph and Kim Min-gyu exchanged looks.
Either Kim Jae-heon had gone crazy, or they themselves had gone crazy. It had to be one or the other.
“No, hey. How can they all be your wives?”
“These ladies will get angry. Take it back now.”
The two men were of one mind as they scolded Kim Jae-heon.
“Right? I kind of think so too,” Kim Jae-heon said with a wry smile, and the purple-haired woman, who had been standing with her arms crossed until then, tapped him on the temple.
Tapped him on the temple?
That aside.
The two men exchanged looks again.
It didn’t make sense.
How did he get so many women…?
“Did you pick them all up at once?”
“Exactly.”
It was amazing.
Incredible.
Enviable.
The thought, Is that even possible? crossed their minds, but only briefly.
All that remained in their hearts was envy.
And so, the reunion with long-lost friends began.
*
“Ah, I see.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Jo Joseph was talking with a woman named Yu Daon.
Her beaming smile was, what could he say? Just based on her smile alone, she seemed prettier than anyone.
And her words, which seemed to understand others, were like that too.
“So how did you two meet?”
“Well, you see…”
Even as he recounted his love story, she listened with wide eyes as if hearing it for the first time, a sight that somehow left him with a regretful feeling, as if he’d gotten married for no good reason.
Of course, even if he expressed that regret, all that awaited him would be a shiny divorce papers, so he didn’t say anything.
Kim Min-gyu was in a similar situation.
“It… it was like that.”
“Yes.”
“Um, your… name is…”
“It’s Jang Chae-yeon.”
“Ah, Ms. Jang Chae-yeon…”
He couldn’t say he’d fallen in love.
To begin with, the way the woman who called herself Jang Chae-yeon looked at Kim Jae-heon was completely different.
He thought the expression ‘honey dripping from one’s eyes’ was just a literary turn of phrase, but it turned out it was a real thing.
Thinking that, he continued the conversation.
She wasn’t very talkative, but just talking to her was enjoyable.
Probably because she was pretty, he thought.
As if being drawn in, Kim Min-gyu conversed with Jang Chae-yeon.
And it wasn’t just the men.
“Oh my, really?”
“Yes, really.”
Her purple hair rustled and swayed with every word, and even though the woman was conversing comfortably…
“…”
Comfortable.
That was the only way she could think of it.
Park Yeon-jin pinched her own cheek slightly.
“Is something the matter?”
“Ah, no. It’s just… it feels like magic.”
“Magic?”
The purple-haired woman, who called herself Song A-rin, tilted her head, and Park Yeon-jin continued with a full-faced smile.
“You’re the first person I’ve met who I can talk to so easily, like a friend I’ve known all my life.”
“…Ah. Yes.”
Song A-rin gave a small smile.
“Don’t you think so too?”
“Yes, I think so too.”
“Oh my, really? Should we get close, even starting now? I’ll contact you!”
“…Yes, shall we?”
“Great! How old are you?”
“Twenty-one… I guess.”
“So young! Can I call you unnie?”
“…”
“Ah, sorry. Would that be uncomfortable? Then, um. Let’s call each other by our names! Like in the West! Call me Yeon-jin, A-rin! I look forward to getting to know you!”
“…Okay, nice to meet you.”
Watching Song A-rin, whose wry smile gradually turned into a sigh, Park Yeon-jin felt a pang of anxiety.
Was she starting to dislike me? Is that why she’s making that face?
If so, that would be really sad.
As she thought this and Park Yeon-jin was about to speak again.
“Hello.”
A calm but resolute voice broke her train of thought.
She turned her gaze and saw a woman with dull blonde hair, a foreigner, speaking fluent Korean.
“I’m Eileen. Nice to meet you.”
“Ah, yes…!”
She felt slightly, as if she had been released from a spell.
*
“…”
I watched the people chatting noisily.
“How is it?”
Manual sat down next to me and asked.
How should I put it?
“It feels like I’ve come a long way.”
“Huh?”
“There are times like that. Times when you look back and feel like an immense distance has opened up between you and the friends you thought you’d be with forever.”
Nothing is eternal.
At the very least, it seemed my friendships weren’t eternal.
From the atmosphere of fun and chatter we had back then, it felt like only I had drifted too far away.
It was different from others moving on while I remained stuck.
It was a strange feeling, as if everyone else was moving forward, while I alone had flown into the air and was watching them from a different position.
So…
“It’s a bit bittersweet.”
“…”
Hearing my words, Manual closed her eyes.
Eyes closed, as if recalling something. Or as if thinking, she maintained a silence before opening her mouth.
“You have me.”
“…”
“Still, I am your friend. And, well, your wife too. But I am your friend who won’t change.”
Saying that, she looked up at me.
“And it’s not that you’re changing. Or drifting apart.”
“Is that so?”
“If you drift apart from someone, there will be others who grow that much closer to you.”
Manual turned her head.
I looked to where she was looking.
The Branch Chief laughing heartily. Yu Daon talking cheerfully, Jang Chae-yeon talking with a smile, Eileen conversing with a nonchalant expression, and even Song A-rin eating food.
“See.”
She turned her head back.
Manual was looking at me and smiling.
“If you drift apart, there are people who grow closer, right?”
“Well, I guess so.”
“And. We don’t even need to worry about drifting apart.”
“Why?”
“Why, you ask?”
At my question, Manual looked at me as if to ask why I was bringing up something so obvious.
“We’re family. We may not share blood. But we’ll create children who will share blood. A family that shares the past and future together.”
“…”
“So, cheer up.”
She used her finger to lift the corners of my mouth into a smile.
“The future father of a child shouldn’t have such a long face.”
“Was I making a long face?”
“No. You’ve never made a long face.”
“One of my strong points.”
“That’s funny.”
Manual chuckled.
Well, maybe it’s not so bad.
No. It might even be good.
“And, once the others all have babies, I’m next.”
“…I know.”
I answered quietly to Manual’s whisper.
Somehow, it seems there’s still so much busy work ahead.
*
Time passed. And inevitably, holidays came around too.
And our holidays were bound to be a little noisier.
“Six orphans going to make jeon for the holidays…”
“Saying it like that makes us sound so pathetic.”
“I’m the one driving, so everyone please be quiet.”
I’m already scared.
“How much spending money did you prepare for your mother-in-law? I didn’t put in too much, just about a hundred million won!”
“Isn’t that too little? I prepared three hundred million.”
“I also prepared three hundred million.”
“…Four hundred million.”
“I prepared six hundred million!”
“Everyone, hand over your money.”
Do you need to buy an apartment?