151 Chapter 151 (1/2)
Looking at Hana for a moment, Suhyuk smiled at her.
She did not say anything, just looked at him.
”Please give me a bottle of soju!” shouted a customer.
”Yeah…” Hana replied as if she were murmuring.
Standing up from his seat faster than her, he took out a bottle of soju and put it down on the customer's table.
He came back to his seat, asking her, ”Won't you go with me?”
At his repeated asking, she opened her mouth,
”What about dinner? Did you eat?”
Suhyuk smiled, shaking his head.
”Wait a minute.”
She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a bowl of rice and soup for him.
Steam rolled up from the bowl filled with delicious toppings of vegetable and meat.
”Thanks.”
Suhyuk began eating quietly. Everytime he touched the food, he looked at her with a smile.
They were looking at each other without saying any words.
They could sense each other's feeling without talking.
They knew that they went through all sorts of ups and downs along the way in their relationship.
They were standing face to face with each other all the time, but could not come closer to each other because of an invisible wall between them.
Suhyuk always felt a sense of guiltiness that he hurt her father's legs, which made him feel at the same time that Hana, his daughter, was like a heavy wall standing before him.
”Let me pay the bill,” said a customer.
”Sure, I'll come,” said Hana.
When she was about to stand up, her father stopped her shoulder, saying,
”Let me take care of it. Didn't Suhyuk say he wanted another bottle of soju?”
”Oh, you're right…”
Hana's father moved to the counter, and she offered a cup of soju to Suhyuk.
Suhyuk drank it in a gulp, with a pleasant smile.
”Let me offer you soju, aunt!”
”Call me an aunt again?”
Narrowing her eyes she received a cup of soju from him.
Looking at them with a satisfactory look, Hana's father nodded his head slowly.
After all they were supposed to be united like that.
He just felt nervous all along that their relationship would be estranged because of him.
”Check, please,” said the last customer.
After he got paid, Hana's father said at the entrance door,
”Let me go home first, Hana, as I'm a bit tired today. So, clean up for me.”
”Are you going, sir?”
When Suhyuk approached him, he waved his hand.
”I'm going to take a taxi from near here, so don't see me off.”
Then he looked at Hana, asking her to shut the door without fail.
Now Suhyuk and Hana were left alone in the restaurant.
At that moment their eyes met simultaneously.
”Why, why?”
She tried to avoid some sort of awkward situation by raising her voice and began cleaning the table.
At that moment Suhyuk pulled her wrist toward him gently.
Her eyes became wide. She could not say anything.
She could feel his warmth entirely.
Suhyuk's soft voice went into her ear.
”Sorry. I've kept you waiting for so long.”
Held in his arms, she closed her eyes and shook her head slowly.
He smelled something pleasant from her trembling hair.
She snuggled into his arms as if she was hugging a soft pillow.
***
The next day.
Suhyuk got on a car to give a briefing session on stem cells at the request of the Korean Doctors Association.
As many doctors around the country were gathering for the event, the hall was huge.
Walking up to the podium, he moistened his dry throat with some natural spring water.
Then a text message appeared on his cellphone.
<cheer up!=””>
It was a message from Hana.
With a slight smile he looked around at the large audience. The noisy audience became quiet soon, with doctors seating one by one.
Some photographers began clicking shutters.
Suhyuk tapped on the microphone with one finger. Everybody became silent in just a moment.
”Hello, my name is Lee Suhyuk.”
The sound of clapping hands spread like waves into the hall.
When the sound became quiet, he opened his mouth,
”Thanks so much for coming to this place. Let me start now.”