An Unbearable Marriage (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7

“Are you really sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. The kids kept begging me to play soccer with them, so I joined and got a little hurt.”“Soccer at your age, Dad?”“I can still handle it.”Cheol Jung rolled his shoulder once and smiled brightly. Just looking at his cheerful face, you’d think nothing was wrong.Da Jung pulled over a chair from the corner and sat down.“From now on, Dad, you can just be the substitute.”“What’s so embarrassing about being a substitute?”“Fine, then be the referee.”Cheol Jung nodded as if to say he would, then started asking the same obvious questions he always asked.Whether anything hurt, whether flying was too hard on her. Even though he’d asked the same things thousands of times, he never seemed tired of it.After Da Jung had said “I’m okay” about ten times, he finally changed the subject. Of course, it was another all-too-familiar question.“Is Young Jin doing well too?”“Of course. She’s always doing great.”“Good. As long as everyone’s doing well. But… Da Jung, why do you look like that?”“What’s wrong with my face?”“It’s full of worry.”“…”She thought she’d hidden it, but apparently it showed all over her face. Da Jung slowly let the forced smile drop from her lips.There were words she didn’t want to say but had to—the uncomfortable ones. It was time.“…Dad, is something going on at the orphanage?”“What do you mean, something? There’s nothing.”“I heard everything from Young Jin. You pushed yourself too hard and got hurt. Are things at the orphanage not good right now?”“Da Jung.”Cheol Jung’s warm voice settled heavily. He crinkled the corners of his eyes and continued calmly.“You need to stop worrying about here and live your own life now. How long are you going to keep looking after this family?”“How can you say that? By that logic, you didn’t live your own life either—why did you raise all of us then?”The words came out sharp from feeling hurt. But Cheol Jung only smiled gently and showed no particular reaction.A baby’s cry drifted in from beyond the door. Come to think of it, just around the corner in the hallway was the room where the babies who couldn’t even walk yet stayed.“Tell me. I’m family too. I have a right to know.”Da Jung pulled her chair closer and stared straight at Cheol Jung. Finally, as if he had no choice, he slowly opened his mouth.“Government support has been cut a lot. Sponsorships too. So things have been tight lately.”“Again? What more is there to cut… Anyway, as soon as this month’s salary comes in, I’ll—”“Da Jung, don’t say ridiculous things.”Cheol Jung pressed his lips into a straight line and spoke sternly. She was used to getting nagged over the phone whenever she sent money, but seeing his angry face in person was pretty scary.“Take care of the people you’re responsible for first. That’s your job.”“You mean Young Jin? Even if you dropped her in the middle of Siberia, she’d survive just fine while being sarcastic. You know that.”“Not Young Jin.”“…?”“I’m talking about you, Da Jung. You’re endlessly kind to everyone else, but why not to yourself? Have you ever once spent the money you earned on yourself?”“Dad…”His words—mixed with worry and scolding—poked sharply at a corner of her heart.But the years she had lived as both older sister and mother to her younger siblings were far too long to put herself first now.Even hearing this now, she didn’t know what to do. All she could think was that taking care of Director Dad, who had been a fence for her and Young Jin, was the same as cherishing herself.Da Jung decided to be stubborn one more time.“Dad, still…”At that moment, the door burst open and a familiar voice flew into the director’s office.“Director, you need to come to the baby room… Oh, Da Jung-ssi, you’re here?”“Hello, Teacher Eun Hye.”Da Jung greeted the woman who entered with a happy smile. She was a childcare teacher who had started looking after the children at Hope Home last year.Wearing an apron dotted with formula stains, she walked in with a cheerful smile.“You must be really busy.”“You have no idea.”“I’m off today, so I’ll help out a bit before I leave.”“That would be wonderful.”“This kid really never changes.”Cheol Jung, who had been quietly listening, sighed and joined the conversation. Eun Hye quickly turned her head and spoke hurriedly.“The new baby won’t stop crying. It seems like he keeps looking for the director.”“The little one must be scared of unfamiliar arms. I’ll go.”“Ugh.” Cheol Jung stood up with a groan, said he’d be right back, and left the office.“Da Jung-ssi, see you later.”“Teacher, wait a second.”“Yes?”“Can we talk for a moment…”“Ah… I’m actually a bit busy right now. I’ll help the director and then…”Eun Hye, guessing what it was about, tried to slip away. Da Jung quickly grabbed her arms, locked them, and pulled her deeper into the office.Da Jung sat Eun Hye down in the big leather chair and placed both hands firmly on the armrests.“D-Da Jung-ssi?”“Teacher, please be honest with me.”“About what…?”“Is something going on at the orphanage?”“There’s always something. There’s too much work and the kids keep getting into trouble.”“…If you don’t tell me, I’ll come down every day off and bother you. I’ll call every day too.”Da Jung narrowed her eyes and leaned in close. Her naturally round puppy eyes weren’t very threatening, but they were enough to show she was serious.“Aigoo… Fine, fine, just relax your eyes. It’s not even scary anyway.”Unable to bear the clumsy interrogation, Eun Hye waved her hands to say stop.Feeling a bit embarrassed, Da Jung quietly sat down on the opposite chair. Eun Hye lightly cleared her throat and began the uncomfortable story.“Da Jung-ssi, you probably heard the same thing from the director, but don’t get too caught up in the orphanage’s affairs.”“How can I not? Dad’s health isn’t good, and things are only getting harder…”“That’s why they’re going to get even harder. Much harder—so don’t worry about it.”“…What do you mean?”“Our orphanage is going to disappear. No—it will disappear.”“What? Why all of a sudden?”“Because the land price suddenly shot up.”“The… land price?”“Yes. You know we’ve been using this orphanage land practically for free, right, Da Jung-ssi?”“Of course. It was leased to us by a sponsor.”“Hope Home was built on private land. The land was provided by a sponsor who supported charity, and for the past thirty years we’ve been paying a small monthly rent.”“That sponsor passed away last year, and the land went to their children. Until then they said they’d honor their mother’s wishes and didn’t raise the rent.”“Then there shouldn’t be any problem… Ah!”A short gasp escaped Da Jung’s mouth as she was speaking quickly.The many cargo trucks she’d seen on the way here, the “No Entry” fences hanging everywhere.It had seemed strange that construction was happening in such a quiet neighborhood with few people, but now everything clicked.Eun Hye opened her mouth again with a calm expression, as Da Jung slowly raised her gaze hoping it wasn’t true.“They’re pushing for redevelopment in this area. Land prices here have skyrocketed too.”“That’s…”“So don’t even think about stepping up to help. Even if you gathered every won you have—and all of ours together—it still wouldn’t be enough.”“W-what if we pay higher rent? Then they might let us stay…”“They’re asking for ten million won a month.”“What? Ten million won?”“Yes.”Da Jung froze, eyes wide.Ten million won—was that an amount someone could say so casually? Her sense of money instantly became foggy.“It’s basically telling us to get out. There’s no way we can pay that kind of money. Every month, at that.”“…”“So Da Jung-ssi, don’t get too deeply involved. Anyway… next month we all have to leave. I’m the only childcare teacher left now.”“You’re the only one, Teacher Eun Hye? Then who’s going to do all that work?”“Who do you think.”Eun Hye gave a bitter smile and looked toward the baby room.There were more than thirty children living at Hope Home, from infants to high schoolers. To think she had been looking after all of them alone.Da Jung suddenly felt furious at Director Dad’s words to take care of herself first. She clenched her teeth and raised her head.“I’ll contact the landowner myself. No matter what, next month is too soon. There’s only half a month left… If I explain the situation, they’ll at least give us a little more time.”“It’s no use. The director has already tried every possible plea and persuasion.”“That can’t be…”“These days the director is driving, doing caregiving, working like he has ten bodies. He hurt his shoulder fixing the boiler himself because he didn’t want to call someone, and that’s why he went to the hospital.”“…”Thinking of how hard Director Dad must have worked made her throat tighten. At the same time, a wave of helplessness that she could do nothing wrapped around her whole body.The same Cheol Jung who had always told the children they could do and become anything they wanted.Yet the place he had devoted his entire life to building was about to collapse in an instant.Her hands unconsciously clenched tight when she heard faint footsteps in the hallway. Eun Hye glanced at the door, grabbed Da Jung’s hand, and spoke quickly.“This conversation is an absolute secret in front of the director, okay? He begged me not to tell you because he knew you’d worry.”“…Yes, I understand.”It was a story too painful to even say out loud anyway. Da Jung answered in a mumble, shoulders drooping.A moment later, the door opened and Cheol Jung came back in.In his arms was a baby who looked about eight months old, lying quietly. Drool had soaked his chest, but Cheol Jung didn’t mind at all.“The baby doesn’t fuss about sleep but is picky about whose arms he’s in.”“Looks like he really was looking for the director.”“I was the one holding him the first few days.”“I’ll take care of the other kids.”Eun Hye winked at Da Jung once and hurried out.“This little one… does he have a name yet?”Da Jung, barely managing her expression, asked with a faint smile.“Not yet. I’m still thinking about what to name him. Hey, Da Jung, do you want to name him?”“Me?”