Chapter 235: Oddball
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Barely a few seconds later, she raised a hand in the air. Caught between her fingers there was a picture similar to the one from before.
The only difference between the two was that, in this second one, the tall man's position resembled that of his son. He was sitting crossed-legged next to the little boy, with his eyes closed and both palms pressed together in prayer. Just like Min-Jun's, his father's expression, too, was very serious.
Next, Su-Jin fished out a third photograph.
This time, the adult had only one eye opened, and was grinning mischievously at the camera. He had a finger in front of his lips, as if trying to ask the other people present to keep quiet.
The little 'traveler' next to him was completely unaware of any of this, as he continued to have both his eyes tightly closed.
Seeing this image, Su-Jin's expression softened even further. Carrying the traces of a warm smile, her lips parted and she continued to speak slowly.
"Just like this, my father used to indulge Min-Jun a lot, allowing him to believe all sorts of fantastic things were actually true. Even when mother asked him what he would say, if one day Min-Jun wanted to become a Buddhist monk and travel the world, father merely laughed and said only one sentence."
Su-Jin paused. Then, she raised her other hand and began to recite in a deep voice.
'Since he takes after me, he would surely be a tall, handsome monk, with a boundless sense of humor'.
"That's what my father replied." she finished with a small giggle.
Pinching one corner of the photograph between her index finger and thumb, Su-Jin let out a long sigh. Her tone when she continued speaking was soft and nostalgic.
"After he grew up, Min-Jun told me that, in his opinion, father used to be even sillier than him. Enabling a small child to act as he wanted would surely make him spoiled."
"That's not necessarily true." Ji-Won suddenly interjected in a low voice. "As long as parents make sure children keep a good grasp on reality as well, I don't see any harm in allowing some bits of fantasy."
"I guess you're right." Su-Jin nodded, then looked up with a smile. "Besides, during those years, Min-Jun was the type of child who couldn't be persuaded otherwise unless you showed him proof."
"Then, how did your father prove the gate to another world didn't exist?"
"He didn't." Su-Jin giggled. "At one point Min-Jun simply grew out of it, I guess."
Ji-Won was speechless. He blinked rapidly, thinking about the young man's peculiar character.
'Oh well, I guess we all have our quirks every now and then. Park Min-Jun can be an oddball if he wants. Who am I to judge him for it?' Ji-Won eventually concluded to himself.
No sooner had Ji-Won finished his thought, that another quirky oddball made his presence known.
His phone rang and, when he glanced down at the screen, his eyebrows instantly furrowed into a deep frown. A low groan came out of his throat as he pondered on whether to answer or not.
"Is that Deputy Director Kim?" Su-Jin ventured a guess.
Based on her boss's darkened expression, it really wasn't that difficult to guess the name of that person.
"Mh, it's him alright." Ji-Won replied with a grimace.
For some reason, seeing him look so disgruntled amused Su-Jin. An unexpected giggle burst out of her and she quickly raised a hand to cover her mouth.
"Uhm, you should pick that up. It might be something urgent."
Saying that, she got up and gestured with her hand towards the back area of the restaurant.
"In the meantime, I'll go to the restroom real quick."
Distracted, Ji-Won gave a small nod.
After Su-Jin left, he lowered his eyes to stare at the name flashing on the screen.
"Wasn't Seo-Jun busy visiting his family today? What is he doing, calling me at this time…" Ji-Won muttered.
Although he kept scolding Seo-Jun in his heart, Ji-Won still answered the phone.
"Yes?" he said warily.
As soon as he spoke, the voice on the other end exploded in his ears like a gong.
"Crown Prince Kang, please allow this lowly servant to get wasted on your royal couch tonight!"
'Ah, what a headache!' Ji-Won thought in vexation.
He slowly leaned back in his seat, then raised a hand to rub the place between his eyebrows.
"What happened?"
"It's a long story."
"Make it short."
"My wicked step uncle is forcing me to go on a blind date tomorrow. I need booze to summon the fairy godfather so I can escape my pitiful fate."
There was a short pause from Ji-Won's side, before he eventually let out a long, tired sigh.
"Make sure you bring your own booze. I'll order the food." He drawled in defeat.
"Oh, Crown Prince, your grace is truly immeasurable! This lowly servant shall follow you for the rest of his life!" Seo-Jun spoke with a historical dialect.
In order to stick to this role even better, as soon as the call ended, Seo-Jun sent an emoji with a man kowtowing.
Ji-Won's eyebrows twitched in annoyance.
[Stupid.]
After typing that single word, Ji-Won thought for a moment, then added another sentence.
[Here's my current location. Come pick me up from the nearest subway station in an hour.]
The moment he saw that line, Seo-Jun instantly went into a frenzy.
As a consequence, Ji-Won's phone exploded with notifications, sounding even worse than an old pager.
[Eeeh?!]
[Pick you up?]
[Why are you there?]
[What's going on?]
…
[Ji-Won, why aren't you replying to me?]
[Hey, Ji-Won?!]
[KANG JI-WON!]
…
But not only did Ji-Won not reply to his best friend, he actually set his phone on silent mode. For the next period of time, he ignored the man completely.
Meanwhile, Su-Jin had returned from the restroom. As she took a seat, she tried to gauge the situation by carefully examining her boss's expression.
"I hope nothing serious happened." She said.
"With that person, nothing is ever serious." Ji-Won scoffed.
"Indeed, that's quite true." Su-Jin laughed.
Afterwards, the two of them spent the next few minutes talking about their project and other work related stuff.
In all likelihood, they both silently agreed to take a leaf out of Kim Seo-Jun's book and leave more serious subjects for another time.
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Barely a few seconds later, she raised a hand in the air. Caught between her fingers there was a picture similar to the one from before.
The only difference between the two was that, in this second one, the tall man's position resembled that of his son. He was sitting crossed-legged next to the little boy, with his eyes closed and both palms pressed together in prayer. Just like Min-Jun's, his father's expression, too, was very serious.
Next, Su-Jin fished out a third photograph.
This time, the adult had only one eye opened, and was grinning mischievously at the camera. He had a finger in front of his lips, as if trying to ask the other people present to keep quiet.
The little 'traveler' next to him was completely unaware of any of this, as he continued to have both his eyes tightly closed.
Seeing this image, Su-Jin's expression softened even further. Carrying the traces of a warm smile, her lips parted and she continued to speak slowly.
"Just like this, my father used to indulge Min-Jun a lot, allowing him to believe all sorts of fantastic things were actually true. Even when mother asked him what he would say, if one day Min-Jun wanted to become a Buddhist monk and travel the world, father merely laughed and said only one sentence."
Su-Jin paused. Then, she raised her other hand and began to recite in a deep voice.
'Since he takes after me, he would surely be a tall, handsome monk, with a boundless sense of humor'.
"That's what my father replied." she finished with a small giggle.
Pinching one corner of the photograph between her index finger and thumb, Su-Jin let out a long sigh. Her tone when she continued speaking was soft and nostalgic.
"After he grew up, Min-Jun told me that, in his opinion, father used to be even sillier than him. Enabling a small child to act as he wanted would surely make him spoiled."
"That's not necessarily true." Ji-Won suddenly interjected in a low voice. "As long as parents make sure children keep a good grasp on reality as well, I don't see any harm in allowing some bits of fantasy."
"I guess you're right." Su-Jin nodded, then looked up with a smile. "Besides, during those years, Min-Jun was the type of child who couldn't be persuaded otherwise unless you showed him proof."
"Then, how did your father prove the gate to another world didn't exist?"
"He didn't." Su-Jin giggled. "At one point Min-Jun simply grew out of it, I guess."
Ji-Won was speechless. He blinked rapidly, thinking about the young man's peculiar character.
'Oh well, I guess we all have our quirks every now and then. Park Min-Jun can be an oddball if he wants. Who am I to judge him for it?' Ji-Won eventually concluded to himself.
No sooner had Ji-Won finished his thought, that another quirky oddball made his presence known.
His phone rang and, when he glanced down at the screen, his eyebrows instantly furrowed into a deep frown. A low groan came out of his throat as he pondered on whether to answer or not.
"Is that Deputy Director Kim?" Su-Jin ventured a guess.
Based on her boss's darkened expression, it really wasn't that difficult to guess the name of that person.
"Mh, it's him alright." Ji-Won replied with a grimace.
For some reason, seeing him look so disgruntled amused Su-Jin. An unexpected giggle burst out of her and she quickly raised a hand to cover her mouth.
"Uhm, you should pick that up. It might be something urgent."
Saying that, she got up and gestured with her hand towards the back area of the restaurant.
"In the meantime, I'll go to the restroom real quick."
Distracted, Ji-Won gave a small nod.
After Su-Jin left, he lowered his eyes to stare at the name flashing on the screen.
"Wasn't Seo-Jun busy visiting his family today? What is he doing, calling me at this time…" Ji-Won muttered.
Although he kept scolding Seo-Jun in his heart, Ji-Won still answered the phone.
"Yes?" he said warily.
As soon as he spoke, the voice on the other end exploded in his ears like a gong.
"Crown Prince Kang, please allow this lowly servant to get wasted on your royal couch tonight!"
'Ah, what a headache!' Ji-Won thought in vexation.
He slowly leaned back in his seat, then raised a hand to rub the place between his eyebrows.
"What happened?"
"It's a long story."
"Make it short."
"My wicked step uncle is forcing me to go on a blind date tomorrow. I need booze to summon the fairy godfather so I can escape my pitiful fate."
There was a short pause from Ji-Won's side, before he eventually let out a long, tired sigh.
"Make sure you bring your own booze. I'll order the food." He drawled in defeat.
"Oh, Crown Prince, your grace is truly immeasurable! This lowly servant shall follow you for the rest of his life!" Seo-Jun spoke with a historical dialect.
In order to stick to this role even better, as soon as the call ended, Seo-Jun sent an emoji with a man kowtowing.
Ji-Won's eyebrows twitched in annoyance.
[Stupid.]
After typing that single word, Ji-Won thought for a moment, then added another sentence.
[Here's my current location. Come pick me up from the nearest subway station in an hour.]
The moment he saw that line, Seo-Jun instantly went into a frenzy.
As a consequence, Ji-Won's phone exploded with notifications, sounding even worse than an old pager.
[Eeeh?!]
[Pick you up?]
[Why are you there?]
[What's going on?]
…
[Ji-Won, why aren't you replying to me?]
[Hey, Ji-Won?!]
[KANG JI-WON!]
…
But not only did Ji-Won not reply to his best friend, he actually set his phone on silent mode. For the next period of time, he ignored the man completely.
Meanwhile, Su-Jin had returned from the restroom. As she took a seat, she tried to gauge the situation by carefully examining her boss's expression.
"I hope nothing serious happened." She said.
"With that person, nothing is ever serious." Ji-Won scoffed.
"Indeed, that's quite true." Su-Jin laughed.
Afterwards, the two of them spent the next few minutes talking about their project and other work related stuff.
In all likelihood, they both silently agreed to take a leaf out of Kim Seo-Jun's book and leave more serious subjects for another time.
Barely a few seconds later, she raised a hand in the air. Caught between her fingers there was a picture similar to the one from before. The only difference between the two was that, in this second one, the tall man's position resembled that of his son. He was sitting crossed-legged next to the little boy, with his eyes closed and both palms pressed together in prayer. Just like Min-Jun's, his father's expression, too, was very serious.Next, Su-Jin fished out a third photograph. This time, the adult had only one eye opened, and was grinning mischievously at the camera. He had a finger in front of his lips, as if trying to ask the other people present to keep quiet. The little 'traveler' next to him was completely unaware of any of this, as he continued to have both his eyes tightly closed.Seeing this image, Su-Jin's expression softened even further. Carrying the traces of a warm smile, her lips parted and she continued to speak slowly."Just like this, my father used to indulge Min-Jun a lot, allowing him to believe all sorts of fantastic things were actually true. Even when mother asked him what he would say, if one day Min-Jun wanted to become a Buddhist monk and travel the world, father merely laughed and said only one sentence."Su-Jin paused. Then, she raised her other hand and began to recite in a deep voice. 'Since he takes after me, he would surely be a tall, handsome monk, with a boundless sense of humor'. "That's what my father replied." she finished with a small giggle.Pinching one corner of the photograph between her index finger and thumb, Su-Jin let out a long sigh. Her tone when she continued speaking was soft and nostalgic."After he grew up, Min-Jun told me that, in his opinion, father used to be even sillier than him. Enabling a small child to act as he wanted would surely make him spoiled.""That's not necessarily true." Ji-Won suddenly interjected in a low voice. "As long as parents make sure children keep a good grasp on reality as well, I don't see any harm in allowing some bits of fantasy.""I guess you're right." Su-Jin nodded, then looked up with a smile. "Besides, during those years, Min-Jun was the type of child who couldn't be persuaded otherwise unless you showed him proof.""Then, how did your father prove the gate to another world didn't exist?" "He didn't." Su-Jin giggled. "At one point Min-Jun simply grew out of it, I guess."Ji-Won was speechless. He blinked rapidly, thinking about the young man's peculiar character.'Oh well, I guess we all have our quirks every now and then. Park Min-Jun can be an oddball if he wants. Who am I to judge him for it?' Ji-Won eventually concluded to himself.No sooner had Ji-Won finished his thought, that another quirky oddball made his presence known. His phone rang and, when he glanced down at the screen, his eyebrows instantly furrowed into a deep frown. A low groan came out of his throat as he pondered on whether to answer or not."Is that Deputy Director Kim?" Su-Jin ventured a guess. Based on her boss's darkened expression, it really wasn't that difficult to guess the name of that person."Mh, it's him alright." Ji-Won replied with a grimace.For some reason, seeing him look so disgruntled amused Su-Jin. An unexpected giggle burst out of her and she quickly raised a hand to cover her mouth."Uhm, you should pick that up. It might be something urgent." Saying that, she got up and gestured with her hand towards the back area of the restaurant. "In the meantime, I'll go to the restroom real quick."Distracted, Ji-Won gave a small nod.After Su-Jin left, he lowered his eyes to stare at the name flashing on the screen."Wasn't Seo-Jun busy visiting his family today? What is he doing, calling me at this time" Ji-Won muttered.Although he kept scolding Seo-Jun in his heart, Ji-Won still answered the phone."Yes?" he said warily.As soon as he spoke, the voice on the other end exploded in his ears like a gong."Crown Prince Kang, please allow this lowly servant to get wasted on your royal couch tonight!"'Ah, what a headache!' Ji-Won thought in vexation.He slowly leaned back in his seat, then raised a hand to rub the place between his eyebrows. "What happened?" "It's a long story.""Make it short.""My wicked step uncle is forcing me to go on a blind date tomorrow. I need booze to summon the fairy godfather so I can escape my pitiful fate."There was a short pause from Ji-Won's side, before he eventually let out a long, tired sigh."Make sure you bring your own booze. I'll order the food." He drawled in defeat."Oh, Crown Prince, your grace is truly immeasurable! This lowly servant shall follow you for the rest of his life!" Seo-Jun spoke with a historical dialect.In order to stick to this role even better, as soon as the call ended, Seo-Jun sent an emoji with a man kowtowing.Ji-Won's eyebrows twitched in annoyance.Stupid.After typing that single word, Ji-Won thought for a moment, then added another sentence.Here's my current location. Come pick me up from the nearest subway station in an hour.The moment he saw that line, Seo-Jun instantly went into a frenzy. As a consequence, Ji-Won's phone exploded with notifications, sounding even worse than an old pager.Eeeh?!Pick you up? Why are you there?What's going on?Ji-Won, why aren't you replying to me? Hey, Ji-Won?! KANG JI-WON!But not only did Ji-Won not reply to his best friend, he actually set his phone on silent mode. For the next period of time, he ignored the man completely.Meanwhile, Su-Jin had returned from the restroom. As she took a seat, she tried to gauge the situation by carefully examining her boss's expression."I hope nothing serious happened." She said."With that person, nothing is ever serious." Ji-Won scoffed."Indeed, that's quite true." Su-Jin laughed.Afterwards, the two of them spent the next few minutes talking about their project and other work related stuff. In all likelihood, they both silently agreed to take a leaf out of Kim Seo-Jun's book and leave more serious subjects for another time.
