The Divine Twilight’s Return

hought bitterly ‘Of course she would feel that way…’

For several years, Chang-Sun had been her wayward son.
On top of that, Chang-Sun had to have been sleeping outside for several days.
The neighbors had been making noise due to the opening of the Jamsil Gate.
Thus, Chang-Sun’s mother must have been worried sick about him.

Nevertheless, Chang-Sun’s mother did not ask him anything.
She did not even scold him.
As if nothing had happened, she just asked whether Chang-Sun was hungry.
That was how much she trusted her youngest son.

Chang-Sun could only nod silently in response.

“…I’m home,” he eventually said quietly.

Chang-Sun was merely repeating the words he had said before, but unbeknownst to anyone, it carried a completely different meaning the second time around.

* * *

“…”

“…”

“…”

Perhaps because Chang-Sun had met his gentle mother first, it took him a while to realize how cold the rest of his family was toward him.

The entire family, including Chang-Sun, had begun eating breakfast.
Although Chang-Sun had been missing for several days, no one asked him about where he had been or what he had been doing.
They all quietly emptied their rice bowls and the accompanying banchan[3].

‘Yeah, this is why I tried to stay away from home,’ Chang-Sun thought as he awkwardly shoved a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

His father’s family ran a big business, big enough to be called semi-chaebol[4].
His father was the youngest son, who had gone to a medical school and inherited a large hospital without any issues.
On the other hand, his mother came from a famous family of scholars.
Several well-known legal professionals and diplomats came from that side of the family.

Chang-Sun’s family was a typical upper-class family, just like the ones often seen in TV dramas.
Due to his family background, Chang-Sun had been treated like a freak for choosing a different path.

His brother had gone to medical school, just like their father.
Meanwhile, his sister had studied music abroad in the Netherlands, and had even won a few awards in music competitions.
However, Chang-Sun was very different from both his brother and sister.
He had been unusually obsessed with games because of his strong desire to win, and tried to forge his own path in life.

‘I remembered my family too fondly… Right, this is why I had no lingering feelings for them.’

At this point in his past, he had become completely dejected after being half-forced to retire.
Afterward, his family had begun to look at him disapprovingly.

‘Still, one of their family members has just returned home after several days, looking worse for wear.
How could no one worry about me?’ Chang-Sun thought in disbelief.

He suddenly wondered whether it was worth going through so much just to return to such a cold family.
However, the next thought that came to mind was that his old self had truly been trash, the primary source of discord within his family.

“I will be going,” Chang-Sun’s brother said as he put down his spoon.

“I will be going too,” Chang-Sun’s sister said after drinking some water.

After emptying their rice bowls to a certain extent, they took their jackets and stood up.
However, they did not look in Chang-Sun’s direction even once.

“Are you going to be late again today?” Chang-Sun’s mother asked worriedly.

“There is a surgery scheduled in the evening, so I think I will be a little late,” Chang-Sun’s brother said with a shrug.

“I will be traveling out of Seoul to give a lecture, so I cannot say for sure.
Just have dinner without me,” Chang-Sun’s sister added.

“Is that so?” Chang-Sun’s mother said as she saw the two out to the front door.
When they climbed into the elevator, she sighed lightly.
As all her children had become adults, it was very difficult to have dinner together.

‘I’m a total stranger here,’ Chang-Sun could not help but think bitterly.
He could clearly sense his mother’s anxiety.
To him, he felt as if his family had become total strangers.

Thud!

Chang-Sun’s father had been eating slowly, but he abruptly dropped his spoon onto the table.
For the first time, he looked at Chang-Sun and said angrily, “You said nothing until the end of the meal.
You could have at least apologized.
We have all been distraught for the past few days because of you.”

“H-Honey,” Chang-Sun’s mother began, trying to stop his father.

“You stop right there.
He is always like this because you keep coddling him,” Chang-Sun’s father interrupted his nervous mother, making her sit down.
His wrinkled face, which Chang-Sun could see past his glasses, was full of anger.

Chang-Sun felt as if he had been hit with a blunt weapon in the back of the head.
Only after he had heard his father’s words did he realize that he had made a mistake.
The entire time, he had been waiting for his family to say they were worried about him.
He had never thought of giving them an explanation first.

Chang-Sun had kept some distance from his family just because he felt awkward.
However, it had made his father—no, his family—angry.

“Do you know that your mother fainted when that Jamsil Gate thing opened up? Someone from the Council even came here saying you might have gotten entangled in the Gate.
It was a big mess!” Chang-Sun’s father shouted angrily at him.

“…”

“We were worried because no matter how many times we called, you never answered.
We thought you might have been in an emergency room, so your brother called every hospital in Seoul.
Your sister did not even get to go on her business trip abroad because she was helping your mother search various places to find you,” Chang-Sun’s father continued to yell, but Chang-Sun could say nothing in response.

He continued, “Yes, you finally returned home after several days, looking like a beggar.
And yet, you just began eating without giving us any explanation? How could you even think about eating right now? Are you even human? An animal would be more decent than you!”

Thump!

His father sprang out of his seat, yelling, “If you are going to keep living this way, I will just get you a house, so go live alone! Stop making your mother and siblings worry!”

“…”

“Chang-Sun, say something.
Your father worried a lot about you.
And honey, you should stop too.
He’s just sorry, that’s all,” Chang-Sun’s mother said, trying to mediate the conflict.
However, Chang-Sun remained frozen, unable to say anything.

Seemingly unwilling to listen to his youngest son’s belated excuses, Chang-Sun’s father picked up his briefcase and stormed out of the house.
Chang-Sun could hear his mother hurriedly following his father to the front door.

“…”

Chang-Sun covered his face with one hand, feeling as if his limbs had turned to jelly.
He finally realized how much he had hurt his family in his past… The price of his selfishness was too great.

His relationship with his family was like a tangled knot, complicated almost beyond comprehension.
Chang-Sun was unsure as to how he could even begin untangling it.

1.
A traditional Korean dish; this is a stew made with soybean paste.
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2.
In Korean schools, there are events in which teachers let parents observe classes.
Parents do not do much during these classes; they simply watch to see how their children are doing in school.
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3.
Korean side dishes; a staple of traditional Korean meals, usually served as an assortment of small food items.
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4.
’Chaebol’ is a Korean term that usually refers to a large industrial conglomerate owned by a family.
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