Chapter 44
Chapter 44
Amus.e.m.e.nt Park .
It was a place filled with hope and dreams of children . In some ways, it was the closest to the fairy world imagined by children . It was a place they wanted to come with their friends and begged their parents to come here . It was a dream world that children wanted to visit again and again .
However, adults viewed the amus.e.m.e.nt park in a completely different light . It was crowded with people, and overly energetic kids ran around recklessly . Everything was expensive here . It was a tortuous place for adults . If the parents had worked late the previous night, this place would be that much more difficult to endure . Parents would go to an amus.e.m.e.nt park once or twice for the children, but most parents avoided going there if they had a choice .
Of course, there were exceptions . One such exceptions was Sungyoon . Sungyoon liked anything that his child liked .
“Dad!”
The merry-go-round spun, and s.h.i.+nhae waved when she saw Sungyoon . He quickly brought up his camera and zoomed in with the lens on s.h.i.+nhae’s cute face . He kept pressing the shutter with one hand, his other hand waving . When the merry-go-round rotated s.h.i.+nhae out of his line of sight, Sungyoon lowered his hand and camera . His bright smiling face would return to its normal blank look . However, a big smile appeared on his face when s.h.i.+nhae appeared again, and he again took pictures as he waved . Several people around him gave him odd glances, but as usual, he ignored them .
Soon, the merry-go-round stopped rotating . People got off the horses en ma.s.se . Sungyoon walked towards the exit of the merry-go-round .
“Dad!”
s.h.i.+nhae grabbed Sungyoon’s leg . Her dad put his hands under her armpits and lifted her up high into the air .
“Holy cow! My daughter! Did you have fun?”
“Yes!”
s.h.i.+nhae raised her two hands high into the air .
“The horse spun round and round!”
“Yes . It spun round and round . ”
It seemed s.h.i.+nhae was in a really good mood as she kept bursting into laughter . Sungyoon kept raising and lowering s.h.i.+nhae as if she was an airplane lifting off . s.h.i.+nhae liked it at first, but she got bored of it really quick . She rolled her feet in the air as she asked him to put her down .
“You still have a great relations.h.i.+p with her . ”
When Sungyoon let s.h.i.+nhae down, a woman approached the father and daughter .
“Unni!”
s.h.i.+nhae ran towards the woman . She was gentle as she caught s.h.i.+nhae . She lifted s.h.i.+nhae into her arms .
It was Jiyoon . After s.h.i.+nhae left the orphanage, Jiyoon had been in constant communication with s.h.i.+nhae . This was why she had been invited to join in on the father daughter amus.e.m.e.nt park trip .
“You shouldn’t run out by yourself like that . ”
She lightly pinched s.h.i.+nhae’s nose . However, the smile on her lips never left, and s.h.i.+nhae also laughed .
Sungyoon remained outside as he took pictures of s.h.i.+nhae . The one to ride most of the amus.e.m.e.nt park rides with s.h.i.+nhae was Jiyoon . s.h.i.+nhae and Jiyoon had ridden the same horse, and they had played around with each other . They looked exactly like sisters with a bit of an age gap .
s.h.i.+nhae shook her head, and she was successful in freeing her nose . She suddenly grabbed her stomach . Sungyoon’s enhanced hearing caught the rumble of her stomach .
“I’m hungry!”
s.h.i.+nhae spoke as she pulled on his s.h.i.+rt . He was a fool for his daughter, so he took immediate action .
“Yes, let’s go eat . ”
When he looked at his watch, it was about time for lunch . Sungyoon navigated the crowd with s.h.i.+nhae and Jiyoon in tow . Fortunately, since it was the weekday, there were fewer people than usual . When they arrived at the food court, Sungyoon placed his hand behind s.h.i.+nhae’s back and guided her forward .
“What would you like to eat?”
s.h.i.+nhae’s eyes became fixed to the menu on top of the counter .
“Mmm- I want to eat a hot dog, an udon, and a tonkatsu . . . ”
She placed her finger on her lips . Her eyes spun as if she was making the decision of her life . She wanted to eat a lot of things, so she was having a hard time making a decision . However, Sungyoon didn’t rush her . He was at ease as he waited for s.h.i.+nhae to make her choice .
“You should order too, Ms . Jiyoon . I’m paying . ”
Jiyoon looked at Sungyoon as if he was an odd duck . How could a person instantly change so much? He gave off a feeling of being a fool for his daughter . He showed all kinds of love and smile towards his daughter, but as soon as his gaze landed on someone else, all of that disappeared . Still, instead of being displeased by it, a strong curiosity in regards to him arose within Jiyoon .
“No . I brought my own money . ”
Sungyoon had already paid for the entrance ticket, and other various costs related to her being here . She should be the one buying lunch for the father and daughter pair . She was reluctant to let him buy her food . However, Sungyoon was firm .
“It’s fine . It is recompense for taking care of s.h.i.+nhae . I’ve made a good amount of money this time around . ”
‘Oh right . This guy is a Connector . ’
Jiyoon looked at Sungyoon in a new light . When they had first met, he had been a dirty and gloomy middle aged man . But now, that middle-aged man was nowhere to be seen, and a pretty handsome man in his mid to late 20s was standing in place of him . s.h.i.+nhae, who had worn old clothes pa.s.sed down by other children in the orphanage, was now wearing expensive clothes . The two of them had changed a lot since she had first met them .
“Dad, I want that!”
It seemed s.h.i.+nhae had made up her mind . She pointed towards the menu and picked tonkatsu and hotdog . It was clearly too much food for a child to eat, but Sungyoon said ok without hesitation . If there were leftovers, he would eat it .
“What would you like to eat, Ms . Jiyoon?”
Sungyoon asked as he took out a card from his wallet . She thought it would be rude if she continued to decline, so she picked an item from the menu .
The three of them sat at a desk, and they waited for the food to come out . s.h.i.+nhae’s face was full of antic.i.p.ation as she held a fork and knife in each hand .
When their number blinked on, Sungyoon and Jiyoon got up to get their own food . Of course, Sungyoon brought s.h.i.+nhae’s food too .
“Do you want me to cut it for you?”
Sugyoon asked as he watched steam rise from the tonkatsu . However, s.h.i.+nhae shook her head from side to side .
“I’m going to cut it and eat it!”
When one grew old, the act of cutting steak or tonkatsu became tiresome . However, for children, it was a fun experience . As if she thought he was going to take her fork and knife away, s.h.i.+nhae tightened her grip .
“It would have been great if Jimin unni came too . ”
s.h.i.+nhae excitedley cut into her tonkatsu . She suddenly spoke after she placed a slice into her mouth . It seemed she had been looking forward to it, and there was a great amount of disappointment on her face .
“Unni has work to do . ”
Sungyoon comforted s.h.i.+nhae by patting her back . Thanks to Jimin’s threat, Sungyoon was diligent in using the t.i.tle unni when referring to Jimin .
“Jimin unni?”
“Yes! She is an unni that is close to me!”
s.h.i.+nhae’s sauce-covered-mouth moved busily . Thankfully, she didn’t speak with her mouth full anymore . She was trying hard to follow the etiquette learned in kindergarten .
Jiyoon took out a tissue from her handbag, and she wiped s.h.i.+nhae’s mouth .
“Really? Are you close to this unni?”
“Yes!”
A playful smile appeared on Jiyoon’s lips .
“Who do you like better? Do you like Jimin unni or me?”
s.h.i.+nhae froze in place .
“Uh . Mmm . That is . . . ”
s.h.i.+nhae’s eyes went from Jiyoon, the empty air and the desk . Her eyes continued to wander in every direction . It was an action that expressed the child’s anguish .
“Huh? Huh? Who do you like better?”
It seemed Jiyoon was having fun . Her smile deepened, and she asked the question again . This question was on the same level as ‘Do you like your mom or dad?’ to s.h.i.+nhhae . She looked like she was about to cry as she looked up towards Sungyoon .
“You should stop there, Ms . Jiyoon . ”
“Oh my . I’m sorry . s.h.i.+nhae was too cute . I couldn’t help it . ”
Jinyoon had a soft smile on her face as she apologized to s.h.i.+nhae . However, s.h.i.+nhae was miffed . She ignored Jiyoon and focused on attacking the tonkatsu . Jiyoon attempted to speak to s.h.i.+nhae a couple more times, but she sniffed each time as she refused to raise her head towards Jiyoon . In the end, Jiyoon had to carefully soothe s.h.i.+nhae for five minutes .
After she was finally able to placate s.h.i.+nhae, Jiyoon turned her gaze towards Sungyoon .
“Do you mind if I ask what it was like on the moon?”
Sungyoon, who had been busy eating his ramen, looked towards Jiyoon . There was a twinkle in her eyes .
“I’m sorry if my question was rude . However, my goal is to go to the moon . ”
“Is Ms . Jiyoon a Connector too?”
“No, I’m going to take the state exam, and I would like to be a.s.signed to man a post on the moon . ”
Sungyoon thought about one of the receptionists at his Support Center . She was a government employee sent to the moon by the Korean government . Jiyoon probably wanted something similar to that .
“The moon…”
He was conflicted . He wondered what he should say . His eyes drifted upwards . Jiyoon looked a little nervous and excited as she watched Sungyoon .
The main reason why she had come out today was to play with s.h.i.+nhae, whom she had gotten really close to . However, she had also wanted to ask Sungyoon about the moon .
“First, it isn’t like the fairytales . ”
Sungyoon thought about the gray landscape and the high cost of living .
“I heard some stories about it . It isn’t a place overflowing with dreams and hope . ”
“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but it is much worse than what you have heard . ”
Sungyoon had a decent amount of information in regards to the moon . From his personal experience, the moon was ruthless . It was a scary place .
At Sungyoon’s firm words, Jiyoon’s expression stiffend a little bit .
“Mmm . As expected, I should harden my resolve a bit . I want to look up and see the earth and s.p.a.ce from the moon . I want to experience it once . ”
“That is a commendable goal . ”
There was the dark s.p.a.ce filled with stars, and the earth shone blue in the midst of it all . It had been a memorable sight . Just the thought of the image inside his mind made his heart ache .
“I heard the trip to the moon is expensive . That is why I want a job that"ll allow me to experience it with no costs to me . Is it really that expensive?”
“In order to celebrate my first labyrinth exploration run, the president of my company bought me a meal . It was a steak, and the dish cost her around ten thousand dollars . ”
She had been twirling spaghetti around her fork . Jiyoon came to a stop .
“Uh . H . . . how much?”
“Ten thousand dollars . ”
Sungyoon was used to the unreasonable price now, so he could keep a straight face as he talked about it . However, Jiyoon became lost for words .
“If your goal is tourism, it’ll be very difficult for you to get there . That is the reality of the Lunar city Armstrong . ”
Sungyoon spoke those words, then he ate another bite of ramen with his chopsticks .
Jiyoon shut her mouth . She was from a wealthy family, but even she wasn’t rich enough to spend 10 thousand dollars on a single meal while sightseeing .
“W . . . Wasn’t that just exceptionally expensive food?”
Her question contained her last grasp at hope . However, the answer she received from him was ruthless .
“I was told that is the average price in Armstrong . ”
In the end, Jiyoon let out a sigh .
“Ha-ah! It is beyond expensive . How’s your life up there, Mr . Sungyoon?”
According to what she knew, Sungyoon had become a Connector not too long ago . Even if a Connector earned a lot of money, she didn’t think he could afford to eat a 10 thousand dollar meal three times a day .
“Our country supports the beginner Connectors . They support us by providing daily water allowance and vitamin packs . I’m using those to hang in there . ”
He spoke as if it was no big deal, but his words almost made Jiyoon choke on her pasta .
“I . . . I see . ”
‘Is it really ok to eat food bought by this man? Should I pay him back right now?’
While Jiyoon was lost in her thoughts, Sungyoon turned to s.h.i.+nhae . s.h.i.+nhae was tapping his knee and was begging him for a story . It seemed the topic of their conversation interested her . Of course, Sungyoon started giving an explanation with a smile on his face . However, it was a different story compared to the brutal reality of the real moon . He spoke about a moon that might appear in a children’s fairytale . He spoke about a fantasy .
Until a moment ago, he had ruthlessly broken Jiyoon’s fantasy about the moon . And watching this same man make all kinds of imaginative stories about the moon, she was a bit baffled . However, the affection shown between the father and daughter was picture perfect . In the end, Jiyoon could only smirk as she watched them .
‘He really is a strange person . ’
She had never felt so at ease with a man that wasn’t her father . This was why Jiyoon hadn’t felt conflicted when she was asked to come out here .
Sungyoon was using exaggerated gestures and fantastical stories to describe the moon . s.h.i.+nhae listened as she gasped in wonder . Jiyoon quietly watched both of them .