The unsightly buildings that stood on Kuroda's lot began to crumble when the heavy vehicle operator destroyed them .
Jisook Han, Hyunwoo's mother, already had a blueprint on the extension of the existing factory . Along with the factory's extension began the construction of a new dormitory . Originally, she wanted to have it built in a stylish way, but the grandmothers who would be housed there wanted a fast construction rather than a stylish dormitory .
“Okay, then . Let me change the original blueprint . Please let me know which story and how many rooms you want, ” said the builder Sanggon Ahn
“I want a two-story building with four rooms for two on the ground floor and six single-person rooms on the second floor . Is it spacious enough?” asked Jisook .
“Sure . If the new factory and dormitory are built on the existing lot, you will see no more space on the lot . I think it's better to build a bigger building by using the available spare space on the lot . ”
“Yes, please go ahead . ”
The grandmothers who would be working there visited the construction site every day to watch it . Some of them told Jisook about their wishes .
“I'm so bored these days . ”
“Why?”
“I've got nothing to do all day long . I wish I could move in as soon as possible,” said one of them .
Hearing that, another one said, “Hey, don't keep an eye on it . One of the rooms is mine . ”
Though the new dormitory would be built big enough, Jisook wasn't sure if it was spacious enough to house them all .
“Phew…It looks like there will be a big quarrel among them after the dormitory is completed,” murmured Jisook to herself .
The construction continued even into the evening .
At that moment, there was heard a familiar voice outside .
“Hyunwoo, I'm here . ”
Stunned, Hyunwoo turned his head and said, “Why did you come at this hour? Ah . . you got here with your parents . ”
Not only Jisook but also his father Duyoung Jang and Kuroda quickly came out .
They were already on good terms with each other as they went to the same alternative school to help the kids there and got to know each other well .
“You got here at the right time . I was going to prepare dinner now,” said Jisook and escorted them into the living room .
Mrs . Kong quickly swung her hand and said, “Oh, no . We just came here for a fresh air outside . We can have dinner after we get back home . ”
“We would feel very sorry about it if you did so,” said Jisook, and insisted they have dinner together .
Only then did Suji dig her mother in the ribs gently, “Right, mom . It would be discourteous if you came as far as here and went away without having dinner . ”
“Oh, I didn't know that! Anyway, we didn't come here for dinner . ”
Jisook went to the kitchen to prepare dinner and Mrs . Kong followed her to chip in .
In the meantime, Suji came to Hyunwoo and said, “It's noisy here and dusty . ”
“Shall we go out for a walk then?” said Hyunwoo .
Suji had no reason to refuse his suggestion .
“Great . Daddy, I'll be back soon,” said Suji .
“Alright . ”
Suji was excited, while Taeho felt rather awkward as he was left alone there, but it was an unfounded concern because Duyoung Jang and Kuroda kept his company .
“It's cold here . Shall we go inside?”
“Sure . Thanks . ”
They showed Taeho into the main room . While moving to that place, Taeho noticed two container houses .
“By the way, what are they for? They don't look like warehouses . ”
“Oh, they are our personal research rooms . One is mine, and the other is Kuroda's . ”
“Personal research room?”
At that moment, Taeho's eyes popped up . Actually, he seemed to have lost the direction of his life after his university cut off his research funding, but now he seemed to have found it .
Hyunwoo and Suji strolled through the ally of the country village for an hour . Though there were street lights here and there, there were more dark places .
“It's a bit scary,” said Suji and then came closer to Hyunwoo, naturally wrapping an arm around his .
Hyunwoo gently pulled his arm free and instead hugged her shoulder tight with one arm .
“Why is it scary when I'm here with you?”
Suji giggled at that and then gently held his hand .
“How is your life in Seoul? Interesting?” asked Suji .
“Not really . ”
“There are lots of beautiful women there, right?”
“Well, no matter how hard I try, I can't find one as beautiful as you . ”
“No kidding . You sound glib to me,” said Suji, nudging him in the ribs, but she was all smiles .
After chattering away for some time, they came back for dinner, but Taeho seemed gloomy while he was eating . It looked as if he was lost in thinking about something .
Mrs . Kong, nudging him in the ribs, said, “Don't think about the research stuff while you're eating!”
“Oh, I'm so sorry . Ha ha . ”
After dinner, they had delicious apples .
Suddenly, Taeho asked, “By the way, what type of research are you doing?”
At that moment Hyunwoo had a tense look on his face . Obviously, they must have talked about the purpose of the container houses while he and Suji were out for a walk .
“Nothing particular . As my specialty is chemistry, I'm reading relevant books,” said Duyoung to distract his attention . Hyunwoo let out a sigh of relief .
“I'm currently doing research on a new type of car engine, but I'm afraid I won't finish the research during my lifetime, ha ha ha,” said Kuroda .
“I see . I envy you as you have a private research room like that,” said Taeho .
What he said was not empty talk . His eyes were full of envy, and it looked like he wanted to do his own research along with them .
And Mrs . Kong clearly read his mind . She spoke in a hysterical voice so that everybody could hear, “No! Stop talking about research! I'm just sick and tired of it even when I hear the first character 'r' of research!”
“Sorry, honey . ”
After dinner, Suji's family drove back home .
Taeho didn't say a single word all along . Even after he arrived home he hardened his face . Obviously, he was totally occupied with thinking about the private research rooms of Duyoung and Kuroda .
Suddenly, Suji asked, “Do you want a private research room beside theirs?”
Not only Taeho but also Mrs . Kong were surprised by her sudden question .
“Can I?” said Taeho .
“Are you crazy? No way,” said Mrs . Kong curtly .
But Suji had an idea of her own to make it work . Despite Mrs . Kong's repeated disapproval, Suji didn't budge at all . Rather she went one step further and suggested, “Why don't we move to that place? Then daddy could do the research more conveniently . ”
“Hey, Suji . What's the matter with you?” shouted Mrs . Kong . She was so embarrassed, she couldn't even pronounce properly .
To soothe her troubled heart Suji instantly said, “There is a condition for that, though . ”
“Condition? What is it?”
Mrs . Kong and Taeho looked at Suji with a curious look .
“In return for daddy doing the research there, he should put aside family time . On weekdays he has to spend time with us from 11 pm until it's time to sleep, and on weekends from 6 pm . And once a month he has to come on a family trip . Of course, these conditions can be adjusted between mom and daddy . How about it?”
“Family trip?” asked Mrs . Kong, brightening her face, and looked at Taeho .
“How about it? Can you promise, honey?”
“Of course . As a matter of fact, I've been so sorry to you, but I couldn't give up the research . Now, if I do as Suji suggests, I think I can continue to do the research and have family time . What a good idea!”
“Done deal! Let's move to that place, then . Suji, can you find a house there?” said Mrs . Kong .
Suji already set her heart on one house . It was the house right beside Hyunwoo's, but she pretended an air of innocence .
“Okay . Let me find one as soon as possible . ”
Suji gave Hyunwoo a call, who was surfing the computer at the moment .
He always welcomed any call or text message from her .
“Hi, Suji . I guess you safely arrived home . ”
“Oh, yes . By the way, the house next to yours is still available, isn't it? How much is it?”
Hyunwoo's eyes opened wide .
“Why did you suddenly ask that question?”
“Well, my mom and daddy want to move to that house despite my objection . He wants to do research along with your daddy and Kuroda . ”
At that moment, he felt his heart sank .
Though he didn't doubt Taeho, there was a real possibility that Taeho's resumption of research could draw the attention of many people to Duyoung's research . His Dad was very concerned his research would be revealed to the outside world .
Hyunwoo hastily cooked up some excuse to discourage her,
“It's too old to live there . ”
“We're planning to build a new house there,” said Suji casually .
“But it will cost a lot . ”
“We can afford to finance that . ”
“In fact, you will find lots of inconveniences if you buy a single home such as disposal of garbage, etc…” said Hyunwoo, citing several shortcomings of a single home .
However, Suji reacted icily, “You don't want me to move to your place?”
“Oh, no, no,” said Hyunwoo quickly to soothe her .
But he went too far to do so because Suji was completely upset .
“Enough is enough . Let me find out from the realtor myself . I'm sorry I called you . ”
It looked as if she already decided to move .
There was no point in trying to dissuade her in that situation .
“Suji, I know someone who is the president of a realtor company . Let me find it out for you as soon as possible . ”
Suji paused for several seconds . She seemed to think over whether to forgive him or not .
Fortunately, her voice began to soften .
“Okay, then . Let me give you one more chance . ”
Chapter end
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