Not even a moment later, though, all the young man's previous emotions gradually resurfaced. In addition, they now burned with an even stronger fire than before.
Old people used to say that, when two great enemies face each other, thunder will roar and lightning will crack the sky above. Ultimately, heaven itself will fall and earth will quake, thus signaling a great battle.
Just like that, the air between the two men suddenly became heavy, and an oppressive aura began swirling around them.
The younger man glared at the other, pouring as much hatred in his eyes as he possibly could.
"Do you think that by coming here and bringing flowers, you will ever be able to appease her soul?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"That's between your mother and I. No one else can answer for it, not even you… Ji-Won." the man replied with a composed and unaffected air.
Hearing those words spoken with such nonchalance caused Ji-Won to stumble on his feet. His insides went cold instantly, as if he had swallowed a bucket of icy water.
A couple of seconds later, the stupor dissipated and a cold laugh broke out from his throat. The sound was mirthless and sharper than a steel blade. If it were anyone else hearing it, perhaps the sound might have caused them to tremble in apprehension.
Chairman Kang, on the other hand, didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. If anything, his face wore the expression of a parent patiently waiting for his child to stop making a tantrum.
As opposed to his expectations, though, the said child didn't seem too keen on stopping any time soon.
After he got tired of laughing, Ji-Won bent down and picked up his father's bouquet of white lilies. Then, in one swift move, he threw the flowers at his father's feet.
"Screw this." He cussed through gritted teeth.
Without waiting for the other man to react, he turned around and left.
"Ji-Won, wait!" Chairman Kang shouted after him.
But Ji-Won neither stopped, nor glanced back. Instead, he hastened his steps further, as though afraid the person he had left behind could somehow reach him in a single leap.
Clenching his hands into fists, Ji-Won stomped out of the cemetery like a whirlwind and didn't slow down his pace until he was back on the main street.
Once there, he stopped next to a tree, bending down to catch his breath.
"Fuck!" he hissed, giving the trunk a heavy punch.
A searing pain came from his knuckles, but Ji-Won didn't pay any attention to it. With another inhale, he slowly evened his breathing. His eyes, though, slowly became like two bottomless pools, roiling with numerous emotions and feelings.
~~~
While Ji-Won was confronting his father like this, in a different part of the city, another man was facing his own enemy.
"I'm sorry to have to say this, but…"
Seo-Jun stopped to take a deep breath, then declared matter-of-factly.
"I'm actually gay."
After saying this to the young woman sitting across from him, Seo-Jun slowly got to his feet. He was just about to turn around and leave when the stunned woman finally found her voice.
"W-wait. What do you mean by that?"
"What do you think I mean? It's not like I'm saying that I'm merry1." Seo-Jun almost rolled his eyes at her.
Taking a moment to temper his impatience, Seo-Jun eventually continued to speak using a casual tone.
"You see, I have a very good friend, whom I love very much. But he recently started to chase after a woman, so I'm currently brokenhearted. Still, no matter how much pain I'm in, I can't forget my feelings overnight. Therefore, don't wait for me, miss. I simply can't love anyone else right now."
With that, Seo-Jun finished his repertoire and began walking towards the exit.
Along his way, countless eyes turned to stare at him. But Seo-Jun acted like he couldn't see anything.
Not once did he turn his head to look at the person he left behind, nor did he seem particularly upset or regretful for his words. If anything, he appeared to be quite satisfied with his performance.
As he pushed the door of the restaurant open, a smirk was hanging at the corner of his lips. His entire face brimmed with a sense of gratification, as though he had obtained a great victory.
Granted, deep down, Seo-Jun knew that it wasn't nice of him the way he treated the young lady. After all, she wasn't at fault for what was happening to him. If anything, she was a victim just like him. They were both caught in a web weaved by their family with little power to escape.
Nevertheless, Seo-Jun was the type of man who enjoyed even small victories like this. Although he knew the war was still far from being won, as long as he managed to buy himself some time, there was no reason to despair.
Thinking back on his bold actions just now, Seo-Jun snickered to himself.
"Let's see what those people will have to say about this. I bet it will give my uncle a heart attack when he finds out."
Like a hound sniffing the air, Seo-Jun raised his head and breathed in the fresh air.
The sky was now a dazzling white blue. The sun shone brightly, evaporating the excess rain from the previous day. A vague fragrance coming from the nearby park permeated through the air. It smelled like a combination of flowers and freshly cut grass.
All in all, it was a superb Sunday. As such, Seo-Jun felt unwilling to return to his apartment just yet. Wanting to enjoy the beautiful weather some more, he ultimately decided to roam around the city for a while. For that purpose, he abandoned his car in a parking lot and began walking towards the main bulevard.
In the beginning, Seo-Jun's steps seemed to have no direction. His feet took him from one bustling street to another. He walked past a large number of stores, restaurants, and commercial centers, but he never stopped to enter any of them.
However, after strolling around for quite a while, Seo-Jun's aimless gait unexpectedly changed into a more determined pace. And the reason for that was the fact that he suddenly recognized the area he was currently in. Along with that realization, a sudden desire to visit a certain place arose in his heart.
"Hm, if I remember correctly, that place should be around here somewhere." He muttered to himself.
Another definition of the word 'gay' in old English is to be happy, very excited, merry.. So here, Seo-Jun is merely playing with the double meaning of the word.
Not even a moment later, though, all the young man's previous emotions gradually resurfaced. In addition, they now burned with an even stronger fire than before.
Old people used to say that, when two great enemies face each other, thunder will roar and lightning will crack the sky above. Ultimately, heaven itself will fall and earth will quake, thus signaling a great battle.
Just like that, the air between the two men suddenly became heavy, and an oppressive aura began swirling around them.
The younger man glared at the other, pouring as much hatred in his eyes as he possibly could.
"Do you think that by coming here and bringing flowers, you will ever be able to appease her soul?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"That's between your mother and I. No one else can answer for it, not even you… Ji-Won." the man replied with a composed and unaffected air.
Hearing those words spoken with such nonchalance caused Ji-Won to stumble on his feet. His insides went cold instantly, as if he had swallowed a bucket of icy water.
A couple of seconds later, the stupor dissipated and a cold laugh broke out from his throat. The sound was mirthless and sharper than a steel blade. If it were anyone else hearing it, perhaps the sound might have caused them to tremble in apprehension.
Chairman Kang, on the other hand, didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. If anything, his face wore the expression of a parent patiently waiting for his child to stop making a tantrum.
As opposed to his expectations, though, the said child didn't seem too keen on stopping any time soon.
After he got tired of laughing, Ji-Won bent down and picked up his father's bouquet of white lilies. Then, in one swift move, he threw the flowers at his father's feet.
"Screw this." He cussed through gritted teeth.
Without waiting for the other man to react, he turned around and left.
"Ji-Won, wait!" Chairman Kang shouted after him.
But Ji-Won neither stopped, nor glanced back. Instead, he hastened his steps further, as though afraid the person he had left behind could somehow reach him in a single leap.
Clenching his hands into fists, Ji-Won stomped out of the cemetery like a whirlwind and didn't slow down his pace until he was back on the main street.
Once there, he stopped next to a tree, bending down to catch his breath.
"Fuck!" he hissed, giving the trunk a heavy punch.
A searing pain came from his knuckles, but Ji-Won didn't pay any attention to it. With another inhale, he slowly evened his breathing. His eyes, though, slowly became like two bottomless pools, roiling with numerous emotions and feelings.
~~~
While Ji-Won was confronting his father like this, in a different part of the city, another man was facing his own enemy.
"I'm sorry to have to say this, but…"
Seo-Jun stopped to take a deep breath, then declared matter-of-factly.
"I'm actually gay."
After saying this to the young woman sitting across from him, Seo-Jun slowly got to his feet. He was just about to turn around and leave when the stunned woman finally found her voice.
"W-wait. What do you mean by that?"
"What do you think I mean? It's not like I'm saying that I'm merry1." Seo-Jun almost rolled his eyes at her.
Taking a moment to temper his impatience, Seo-Jun eventually continued to speak using a casual tone.
"You see, I have a very good friend, whom I love very much. But he recently started to chase after a woman, so I'm currently brokenhearted. Still, no matter how much pain I'm in, I can't forget my feelings overnight. Therefore, don't wait for me, miss. I simply can't love anyone else right now."
With that, Seo-Jun finished his repertoire and began walking towards the exit.
Along his way, countless eyes turned to stare at him. But Seo-Jun acted like he couldn't see anything.
Not once did he turn his head to look at the person he left behind, nor did he seem particularly upset or regretful for his words. If anything, he appeared to be quite satisfied with his performance.
As he pushed the door of the restaurant open, a smirk was hanging at the corner of his lips. His entire face brimmed with a sense of gratification, as though he had obtained a great victory.
Granted, deep down, Seo-Jun knew that it wasn't nice of him the way he treated the young lady. After all, she wasn't at fault for what was happening to him. If anything, she was a victim just like him. They were both caught in a web weaved by their family with little power to escape.
Nevertheless, Seo-Jun was the type of man who enjoyed even small victories like this. Although he knew the war was still far from being won, as long as he managed to buy himself some time, there was no reason to despair.
Thinking back on his bold actions just now, Seo-Jun snickered to himself.
"Let's see what those people will have to say about this. I bet it will give my uncle a heart attack when he finds out."
Like a hound sniffing the air, Seo-Jun raised his head and breathed in the fresh air.
The sky was now a dazzling white blue. The sun shone brightly, evaporating the excess rain from the previous day. A vague fragrance coming from the nearby park permeated through the air. It smelled like a combination of flowers and freshly cut grass.
All in all, it was a superb Sunday. As such, Seo-Jun felt unwilling to return to his apartment just yet. Wanting to enjoy the beautiful weather some more, he ultimately decided to roam around the city for a while. For that purpose, he abandoned his car in a parking lot and began walking towards the main bulevard.
In the beginning, Seo-Jun's steps seemed to have no direction. His feet took him from one bustling street to another. He walked past a large number of stores, restaurants, and commercial centers, but he never stopped to enter any of them.
However, after strolling around for quite a while, Seo-Jun's aimless gait unexpectedly changed into a more determined pace. And the reason for that was the fact that he suddenly recognized the area he was currently in. Along with that realization, a sudden desire to visit a certain place arose in his heart.
"Hm, if I remember correctly, that place should be around here somewhere." He muttered to himself.
Another definition of the word 'gay' in old English is to be happy, very excited, merry.. So here, Seo-Jun is merely playing with the double meaning of the word.
