The Woman Who Stole My Flower
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
#36.
Before he knew it, Hyung-sik found himself clinging to Joo-heon and boasting away.
“She was exceptionally clever ever since she was little. If we had only been able to educate her properly, she easily could have gone to Hankuk University. But our family was in such dire straits that I couldn’t support her the way I should have… And when she heard the national scholarship wouldn’t cover the full tuition, she set her sights much lower to go somewhere that offered a full ride.”
“What did she major in?”
“She did English and Social Welfare together. What do they call it, a double major? Her grades were top-notch in both.”
Hyung-sik knew full well that people usually despised hearing others brag about their children. But far from disliking it, Kang Joo-heon looked as though he couldn’t get enough, no matter how much Hyung-sik talked. It wasn’t mere polite accommodation; Hyung-sik could genuinely feel his desire to listen. Thanks to that, Hyung-sik was able to brag about his daughter to his heart’s content for the first time in his life.
“Ever since she was young, the moment school ended, she’d come straight home to wash dishes at the restaurant, never once getting to play with her friends. Even now, she skips company dinners, leaves work right on the dot every day, and heads straight home to look for the rubber gloves.”
The boasting gradually gave way to a sigh.
“She never went through a rebellious phase during puberty, and she grew up without ever causing me a single moment of worry up to that age. That’s the kind of daughter she is.”
“Then, if you don’t mind me asking… what about Ms. Jung Yeon-seo’s mother…?”
Joo-heon asked carefully.
“Her mother left home when she was young. It’s all because of my shortcomings. Yeon-seo probably doesn’t even remember her face.”
As Hyung-sik let out a sigh, Joo-heon’s background suddenly came to mind.
“You lost your parents early too, didn’t you, Player Kang Joo-heon?”
“Yes. That’s why I miss parental affection very much.”
Hyung-sik couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. He wanted to invite him in and cook him a warm meal with his own hands, but this was Kang Joo-heon. Wondering if it would be overstepping his bounds just because the man had treated him kindly, Hyung-sik ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Before long, they arrived home. In the wheelchair the manager brought down, Joo-heon once again lifted Hyung-sik and gently seated him.
“Thank you so very much, Player Kang Joo-heon.”
It was time to part ways. Hyung-sik barely swallowed back the request for an autograph that rose to the tip of his tongue. The busy athlete had been so incredibly kind today; asking for that much would be shameless. They hadn’t met as fan and player, but as his daughter’s boss, so he didn’t dare speak up.
Still, wouldn’t a handshake be alright? Just as Hyung-sik hesitated for a long moment and finally gathered the courage to speak, Joo-heon opened his mouth first.
“Um, Father.”
His tone was exceedingly cautious.
“If it’s alright with you, may I give you an autograph?”
“Pardon?”
Because Joo-heon looked so hesitant, as if walking on eggshells wondering if this was okay, Hyung-sik momentarily grew confused. Was he Kang Joo-heon and the other man Jung Hyung-sik?
“I mean, it would be an absolute honor if you did, but…”
The moment the words left his mouth, Joo-heon rushed over to the car trunk and returned with an armful of items.
“What in the world is all this?”
Joo-heon pointed them out one by one as he explained.
“These are the cleats I wore during the Champions League final. This is the jersey I wore during our FA Cup victory match. And this is the official match ball from the last World Cup, signed by all the other national team members as well.”
Hyung-sik’s eyes went wide.
“Are you building a museum or something?”
“No, I’d like to give them to you, if you want them.”
“To me?”
“Yes. You may not need them yourself, Father, but your customers will love it if you put them on display in the shop.”
“Good heavens, what are you saying!”
Shocked, Hyung-sik waved both arms wildly.
“Things like these should be displayed at Gloucester Home Stadium! Why in our little shop!”
Taking it as a rejection, Joo-heon’s expression turned glum.
“Even though I played for Gloucester for a long time… I’m not that bad of a person.”
Anyone who plays for Gloucester is a good person. As Hyung-sik wondered what that could possibly mean, Joo-heon glanced at him cautiously and added,
“I’m also considering a move to Everpool.”
“What? Everpool?”
Hyung-sik, a die-hard Gloucester fan, completely lost his mind.
“You cannot! No matter how much money they offer, absolutely not Everpool!”
He nearly jumped right out of his wheelchair.
“For a Gloucester legend to go to Everpool of all teams, that is simply out of the question!”
Like most Koreans, the reason he had become a Gloucester fan in the first place was because Kang Joo-heon played there. So even if he transferred to another club, Hyung-sik would continue to support him, but Everpool of all places? How on earth did he plan to handle the backlash?
“I understand.”
Did I react too sternly? Seeing Joo-heon’s dejected face, Hyung-sik belatedly realized his place. Whether it was Everpool or anywhere else, a player went where he wanted to go—who was he to lecture him on where he could or couldn’t go?
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. I was just so shocked that I…”
When Hyung-sik apologized, Joo-heon replied gloomily.
“No, it’s fine. It’s natural you wouldn’t like it since you’re an Everpool fan.”
“Pardon? Who is?”
“I heard that you are an Everpool fan, Father.”
“Me?”
They said seeing is believing. Feeling terribly wronged, Hyung-sik opened the closed restaurant door and pointed inside.
“Look for yourself.”
Joo-heon’s eyes widened upon seeing the beer commercial poster bearing his own face prominently displayed inside the shop. Next to it hung a Gloucester jersey boldly printed with his squad number and name. And beside that was his national team jersey.
“I have never once been an Everpool fan in my entire life. Never, not even for a second!”
“……”
After being struck speechless for a long moment, Joo-heon asked,
“Then… are you perhaps a fan of mine?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Only now did Hyung-sik display his fandom to his heart’s content.
“How could any Korean not cheer for Player Kang Joo-heon!”
In that moment, Hyung-sik saw it. The deeply moved expression spreading across Kang Joo-heon’s face.
Without a word, Joo-heon returned to the car, grabbed a marker, and strode right into the shop. Then, without hesitation, he signed the poster. Next came the jerseys.
Hyung-sik was astonished all over again to see that he had even written out his name, Jung Hyung-sik. How on earth did he know his name?
After signing the club jersey followed by the national team jersey, Joo-heon looked around. His eyes seemed to search for anywhere else left to sign.
“Um, if it’s alright with you, maybe on the wall as well…”
And so, even on the grease-stained, worn wall of the snack shop, the large signature of world-class athlete Kang Joo-heon shone brightly.
“Thank you for your support.”
“By the way, are you really going to Everpool?”
Joo-heon declared with solemn resolve.
“No. Not even if they give me all the money in the world.”
Only then did Hyung-sik breathe a sigh of relief. Phew!
When Joo-heon tried to leave the match-worn championship cleats and jerseys in the shop as well, Hyung-sik broke into a cold sweat trying to stop him.
“It’s truly alright. Those should be displayed at Gloucester Stadium for all the fans to see together.”
In the end, they compromised on getting a signature on a separate Gloucester Treble commemorative jersey that Joo-heon had brought along.
To Hyung-sik, it felt like a total dream. But the serial autograph fiend was by no means satisfied with just one. He brought over an entire armful of jerseys and attempted to sign every single one.
“No, I’m already so grateful for just one, why so many…?”
“Please hand the rest out to your friends.”
Only after thrusting nearly ten signed jerseys into his arms did Joo-heon finally cap the marker.
“By the way, where is your daughter…?”
As Joo-heon looked around, Hyung-sik pointed toward the living quarters inside the shop.
“She’s probably holed up in her room.”
*
With eyes swollen puffy from crying so much, Yeon-seo was buried under the blankets in her room.
Since she couldn’t tell the truth and reveal that Kang Joo-heon was the one who gave it to her anyway, there was no way to clear her name. In that case, quitting was her only option, but what would Kang Joo-heon say if she told him she was resigning?
‘He’d probably get angry and tell me to find his first love before leaving, just as I promised, wouldn’t he?’
Yet she didn’t want to go to the company for even one more day. Everyone must already think of her as a thief. Her body trembled uncontrollably at the sheer thought of going to work. What on earth should she do?
As she was trapped in this agonizing dilemma, a knock suddenly sounded.
“Dad, I’m sorry, but could you leave me alone for a bit…”
“It’s me.”
At the unexpected voice, Yeon-seo choked on her breath. This voice…?
“I know you feel wronged and upset.”
A person who couldn’t possibly be here was saying words she couldn’t possibly be hearing. There was no way Kang Joo-heon was here, and even if he were, there was no reason for him to say such things to her…
“Even so, come to work tomorrow morning.”
To Yeon-seo, who couldn’t even breathe, let alone answer, Joo-heon spoke with quiet emphasis.
“Make sure you come.”