Pig Government Official Side Story

-14-

Won Seongje is currently staying at the main family house in Seongbuk-dong. This is because countless eyewitness accounts from Korean tourists had flooded the internet claiming they saw him living extravagantly in Macau, losing thousands at the casino. Since this happened during the crucial period when Won Youngjae was being promoted to vice chairman of Won Electronics, it was perhaps inevitable that Seongje was practically kidnapped and brought back to Korea.

Seongje couldn’t go outside in Korea either and had to stay confined in the family home under Won Youngjae’s 24-hour surveillance. Seongje protested violently, asking how they could imprison someone his age and threatening to report them, but when Won Youngjae calmly suggested it might be time to officially remove him from the family register, Seongje decided to just enjoy his detention life with three proper meals a day.

“What are you looking at?”

“Uncle.”

“What? You’re looking at me?”

“Yeah.”

This included his three-year-old nephew, Won Youngjae. Youngjae had been left at the family home while Jeonggwan and Junjae went abroad alone for their wedding anniversary, which was 99 percent Won Youngjae’s idea. Although there would have been no problem with just the two live-in nannies who had been caring for Youngjae as much as Jeonggwan and Junjae since he was young, Won Youngjae insisted on bringing Youngjae to the family home, expressing concern about leaving him in others’ care for an extended period.

Being a mild-tempered child since infancy, Youngjae ate well with his grandparents, played happily, and waited for his dads to return. But before his dads came back, he met Seongje, who claimed to be his uncle even though Youngjae had never seen him before.

“He looks exactly like Junjae!”

That was the first thing Seongje said when he saw Youngjae. Junjae had been exceptionally bright-eyed as a child, foreshadowing his current handsome appearance, and Youngjae looked exactly like baby Junjae. It was as if Junjae had planted Junjae.

Additionally, whether it was normal for three-year-olds to speak well or Youngjae was particularly advanced, he responded fluently to Seongje’s questions without hesitation.

“What’s your name?” “Youngjae.”

“How old are you?” “Three.”

“Do you know who I am?” “Uncle.”

Though his pronunciation was limited, he gave clever answers promptly.

Plus, the child was so mild-mannered that when Seongje teased him by pressing his forehead with a finger to push him back, Youngjae simply fell backward. There was a baby mat on the floor so Youngjae wouldn’t get hurt, but Seongje was surprised that Youngjae actually fell back so willingly, and quickly helped him sit up again.

“Are you stupid? Why did you just let me do that?”

“What’s ‘stupid’?”

“Huh?”

One always had to be careful with words around children. Youngjae seemed to be hearing the word “stupid” for the first time and asked what it meant with an innocent face. Seongje found it awkward to explain but also didn’t want to ignore the curious question, so he just blurted out whatever came to mind.

“It means I like you.”

“…”

“Really.”

But whether Youngjae knew this wasn’t true or for some other reason, he just stared silently at Seongje, who became embarrassed, cleared his throat with a loud “ahem,” and tried to distract him by pulling over some blocks and telling him to play with them.

“Uncle.”

“Huh?”

“Do you like Youngjae?”

“…Huh?”

But apparently this was what Youngjae had been curious about, as the sudden question caught Seongje off guard, making him roll his eyes around more nervously than when Youngjae had asked about the meaning of “stupid.” He couldn’t tell the child he didn’t like him after just saying “stupid” meant “I like you,” and those expectant eyes looked quite cute, so Seongje graciously gave a straightforward answer.

“Yes. I like you.”

This prompted a typical childish giggle from Youngjae, and before Seongje could react, Youngjae stretched out his arms and hugged him.

“…”

And thus Seongje experienced his first heart flutter, as the number of people obsessed with their nephew increased from three to four.

That day, thanks to Youngjae, Seongje was able to escape from the family home.

Won Youngjae, who had rushed to Seongbuk-dong right after work to see his grandson, even declining a friend’s offer to play golf, sat with Youngjae on his knee while waiting for dinner and asked what he had played that day. Youngjae counted on his tiny fingers one by one, folding them as he mentioned blocks, puzzles, dinosaurs, and more, making Won Youngjae’s face bloom with smiles.

“You had fun today, didn’t you?”

“Yeah! With uncle…!”

“…With uncle?”

“Yeah.”

That guy played with him? Won Youngjae looked at the current number one person of concern who was sitting in the corner of the living room sofa, looking somewhat embarrassed as Youngjae mentioned him. Won Youngjae felt a surge of emotion that almost softened his heart, but a person of concern was still a person of concern. Knowing that loosening surveillance could lead to more trouble, Won Youngjae hardened his resolve again and stroked Youngjae’s head in his arms.

“Shall we go see the carp after dinner?”

“Carp!”

“Let’s go after dinner.”

“Yeah! Uncle!”

“…You want uncle to come too?”

Apparently Seongje had played so well with him today that when it came to visiting the carp in the family home’s garden pond, Youngjae’s eyes sparkled as he insisted uncle should come too. Won Youngjae nodded, as if it was natural to grant his only grandson’s request.

“Okay. Uncle can come too.”

“Yeah!”

“Good?”

“Yeah! Grandpa stupid!”

“…Huh?”

But when strange words came out of Youngjae’s mouth, Won Youngjae thought his ears must be deceiving him. Wondering if he had misheard, Won Youngjae asked, “What did you say?” But the answer came from elsewhere.

“Father, dinner…! Dinner is ready!”

Seongje suddenly jumped up and loudly announced it was time to go to the dining room, trying to lead Won Youngjae away. Normally, Won Youngjae would have told him to stay put, but he was so shocked by what had come out of his grandson’s mouth that he just stood up bewildered, holding Youngjae.

“Grandpa stupid.”

Like a proper Confucian baby, Youngjae waited for his uncle Seongje to finish speaking before boldly answering his grandfather’s question again.

That’s how Seongje was able to escape from the family home that day. More accurately, he was kicked out. Even more accurately, after being hit on the head three times by Won Youngjae, he was banished to a mountain villa in Gangwon Province where meals were much worse than at the family home and security was even stricter.

“We’re here.”

“Won Youngjae-! Did you have a good time?”

“Daddy!”

Two days later, when Junjae and Jeonggwan returned from their trip, Won Youngjae was breaking into a cold sweat trying to re-educate Youngjae so that they wouldn’t think he had used a word like “stupid.”

He had thought the child only resembled Junjae in appearance, but Youngjae was smart too, and he kept bombarding everyone with questions like “Uncle said ‘stupid’ means he likes Youngjae, so does uncle not like me?” To resolve this, Won Youngjae had to arrange another call with Seongje, who was confined in the Gangwon Province villa, causing quite a scene. Still, Won Youngjae was relieved, knowing that Youngjae now properly understood that “stupid” wasn’t a positive word and wouldn’t use it again.

“Wow-. Won Youngjae, my boy. Looks like you’ve been having some wonderful meals.”

Jeonggwan lifted up the running Youngjae, immediately feeling the truth in the saying that children return twice as big after staying at their grandmother’s house. With his chubby cheeks and increased weight, he looked more like a four-year-old than a three-year-old. As Jeonggwan readjusted his hold on Youngjae with an “oof,” Junjae reached out to hold him too and asked his mother:

“What about Won Seongje? I heard he was here.”

“Ah… well…”

“Uncle left.”

“Oh? Uncle left? Where to?”

“Grandpa went ‘you bastard!’ to him.”

“Oh my, did he? I wonder why-.”

Junjae and Jeonggwan pretended to ask Youngjae, but they weren’t really expecting an answer. They just thought, “I guess Won Seongje caused trouble again,” and since Youngjae clearly wouldn’t know the details, they were just making conversation. But:

“Uncle called Youngjae ‘stupid’.”

“Huh?”

“So Youngjae told grandpa ‘stupid’.”

“…Huh?”

“So grandpa went like this, this, and this to uncle!”

Huh??? Youngjae imitated his grandfather by hitting Junjae’s head three times with quite a forceful motion, and Junjae froze in place while being hit by his son. Junjae’s mother, Heejin, covered her mouth saying, “Oh my goodness, what can we do?” and left the room, while Jeonggwan burst out laughing at the sight of Junjae being helplessly smacked.

And the remaining Won Youngjae blatantly avoided Junjae’s fierce gaze, which seemed to say he could never forgive a father who showed such violent behavior to his son, even more unforgivable than Seongje who had called him “stupid.”

“…”

Fearing that Youngjae might be startled by his fierce expression, Junjae quickly handed him over to Jeonggwan, then approached his father and quietly warned him, also concerned that Youngjae might overhear:

“I’m never leaving Youngjae here again.”

“…I was trying to scold Seongje for using such words with the child, and I didn’t think about the fact that the child was watching…”

Hurt by the statement that his precious grandson would never be left with him again, Won Youngjae showed a weakness he had never shown his son before and tried to explain, but Junjae looked more resolute and firm than ever.

“We’re leaving.”

Won Youngjae couldn’t remember the last time his son had been so stern with him, and the realization that his grandson might never stay overnight at his house again was truly saddening. Won Youngjae’s face instantly became gloomy, but he couldn’t maintain a stiff expression when Youngjae cheerfully waved goodbye with a bright “Bye-bye, grandpa!” So he forced a smile and waved back.