Chapter 27 - Talk With Kim Min-seok
As he sat on his seat once again, he noticed the frozen Jung-hwa, once again with her mouth open, sarong at the practice happening in the middle. He couldn't help but shake his head and think, 'Does this girl really like to eat flies and insects? She gets shocked every single time for small things.'
He once again knocked her chin up as she finally turned towards him and asked, "Did you know what you just did? Should we go to the hospital and get you checked?" As her frozen, face turned into complete worry.
He shook his head and didn't bother explaining to her. She noticed his calmness and reminded him, "You should be careful. She is fairly popular and her family is well off compared to ours. She is a very vengeful person." And stood up to do another part, as they called her.
The day continued and Joon-won got called for the only other scene he had, which was with another student who looked more like a teacher with a thick beard. This time there weren't any fights and surprisingly Roh Ji was able to control herself when he ignored her.
Joon-won didn't find a reason to stay any longer and so he packed the bag, texted Jung-hwa who was preparing for a part, and walked out of the class. Checking the time, he noticed it was only 5 in the evening and took his time to reach home.
After taking a bath as he had the time, he fell on the couch and took out Eum Kyung's book once again to read. After an hour, he closed it and kept it aside. His phone was ringing and noticed it was his dad, Kim Min-seok.
After hesitating once again, he picked up the phone. He decided to embrace Kim Joon-won's life, and his family was a big part of it.
"Ah! Joon-won, you picked up. I was hesitating to call you are not. Are your classes done for the day?" Kim Min-seok's voice came from the other side Joon-won smiled hearing his voice. Something inside him felt good hearing someone care for him and he felt very familiar with this man, even the last time he was talking to him.
"I am fine. You don't need to hesitate to call me. I can answer it at all times. There are no classes this week, didn't I tell you already my final exam is this weekend. It's a drama from the entire class and they will mark us on how we act in it." briefly explaining it to him. His voice was completely slow and normal, Jung-hwa would be shocked if she hears him now compared to his usual detached voice.
"Oh! You already told me? It seems like my old age is catching up to me. Well, do your best to pass your year. You wouldn't want to stay with juniors, believe me. Anyway, are you low on money right now? I can send you some." Min-seok changed the topic.
Joon-won could only shake his head at how low his dad had expectations of him. He didn't bother to explain to him and replied, "No, don't send any money. Isn't Yun-hee in her last year of high school right now. If she decides to continue her studies, we would need money. I'm ok here so don't send money."
Kim Yun-hee was the third member of their small family and his younger sister. She was much more talented than the old Joon-won from what he could see in his memories. She is more intelligent and has top prospects. A person like that should not be held back.
"Ah, don't talk about Yun-hee. I don't even know what that girl is doing these days. She is always outside and comes home late. I don't even know if she is studying well these days. I'm very concerned about her." expressing his worries to his son.
Hearing his worried, Joon-won went silent for a second and replied, "Don't worry too much about it. I am sure she has a reason, she is more intelligent and sensible than me. I'll try to talk to her. Don't be worried, she is destined for something good." trying to calm him down.
The worst thing for a parent is when their child takes the wrong path in life and to see later how they regret it. It's heartbreaking, and he felt the same even when he was a king. He was so scared that he created a special force to follow his children around so he can know what they were doing. But luckily all his children turned out to be gems, making him sigh in relief.
"I hope what you said is true Joon-won. I only have both of you and the last thing I want to see is anyone of you wasting your lives." as his voice quivered.
"Don't feel too much pressure about it. Now are you out of work?" he tried to change the topic.
"Yes, I left early today and am at home"
Kim Min-seok worked in a mid-tier company and has enough salary to keep their family of three afloat by meeting ends every month. Even though his job was small and their family was the lower middle class, he had high hopes for both his children as they were smarter than him.
"How is your body keeping up? Is everything fine?"
"Don't look down on your father, kid. I still feel like I'm in my youth. So just continue doing what you are doing and try to achieve your dream of becoming an actor." he scoffed.
Joon-won knew he was only saying to calm him down. Min-seok was already in his late 40s and his body can't handle any work. But their family was not in a position where he can advise him to stop working.