allonlinenovel Chapter 170 The Conflict Between Soul and Reality
Chapter 170 The Conflict Between Soul and Reality
Early morning, Phoenix Hall Alley.
Before dawn, the lights still hadn't caught the sun's turn.
Cheng Dongri walked out of the gate with a bamboo broom in his hand.
He exhaled a breath, felt the cold wind, and shivered, straightening his body. Then he picked up a broom and began doing what Choi Moo-sung did every day.
When he reached Sunwoo's house and saw the burnt-out coal briquettes next to the trash can, Sung Dong-il jumped up and stomped on one of them, turning it into nothing but ashes.
"Pearl~~~" Sung Dong-il called out Pearl's name in regret, his expression as if he were recounting something that caused him great pain.
........
"Happy birthday to you~"
"Happy birthday to you~!"
Happy birthday, Dad (or husband)!
A table laden with sumptuous and exquisite dishes, the birthday song playing, and Kim Sung-kyun sat in front of a cake with lit candles.
With the blessings of Ms. Leopard, Jung-bong, and Jung-hwan, Kim Sung-kyun forced a smile as he looked at them, his face somewhat melancholy.
"Hurry up and blow out the candles!" Ms. Leopard glanced at him cautiously and, seeing that he didn't seem very interested, quickly said.
Kim Sung-kyun blew out the candles, and the family clapped happily.
"Dad, this is our gift for you~" Jung-bong quickly took out the gift he and Jung-hwan had prepared.
No, it should be the second one. The first one should be the car that Ms. Leopard gave him...
"Oh my, the children have all grown up! They even know how to give gifts now!" Ms. Leopard said with a smile. "What are they?"
"Honey, hurry up and open it!" Ms. Leopard looked at him with a smile. Since she woke up today, it was as if she had swapped souls with Kim Sung-kyun. She kept smiling and trying to get Kim Sung-kyun to smile again.
"I'll dismantle it later. Let's eat first." Kim Sung-kyun forced a smile and gestured for everyone to eat.
Ms. Leopard reluctantly stopped smiling and glanced at Jung-hwan, who was also looking at her.
Both of them were helpless. For some reason, their father (husband) would become listless and dispirited on his birthday.
Kim Sung-kyun was no longer smiling and playful as usual. Instead, the atmosphere at the dinner table was rather quiet, with only the sounds of spoons, chopsticks, and bowls reaching their ears.
"I'm done eating~" Kim Sung-kyun said, getting up and going back to his room.
Ms. Leopard also put down her chopsticks and sighed as she looked at Kim Sung-kyun who had entered the room.
.........
Deok-sun's House
"Mom, I'm not eating anymore~" Deok-sun greeted her mother.
"Aigoo, this girl~" Lee Il-hwa turned around in the kitchen and saw Deok-sun run out.
"Honey~ are you done yet? We still have to go over to celebrate Jung-hwan's dad's birthday later~!" Sung Dong-il poked his head out.
"Alright, alright~ What's the rush? It's so early~" Li Yihua was frying pancakes when she looked at the basket next to her. There were already quite a few, so it should be enough.
"Paula, Yu Hui, time to eat!"
Li Yihua shouted into the house~
........
"Deok-sun~ Time for breakfast~"
Liu Shuyu brought breakfast to Deok-sun, who was sitting at the table eagerly waiting.
Mmm~! It's so delicious~
"Shuyu, why do you rarely eat breakfast?"
Deok-sun suddenly asked a question out of curiosity.
"Oh~ I still prefer Chinese food~"
"Breakfast there is generally not like lunch and dinner."
Liu Shuyu explained~
"Oh, right! Last time I went there, we had this for breakfast too!" Deok-sun suddenly remembered.
"Eat quickly! Let's leave after we finish eating!" Liu Shuyu ladled out a bowl of porridge and started eating it with some steamed buns.
“Oh right~ your clothes~” Deok-sun pointed to the sofa.
"Oh~ that's exactly what I wanted to say to you last night..." Liu Shuyu said, swallowing a bite of his steamed bun.
"Ah! So that's how it is!" Deok-sun's ears turned red instantly, and she quickly took a few more bites of the bun.
Deok-sun: So I misunderstood~~ Really~, that's strange? Why do I feel embarrassed even after I know it was a misunderstanding?
Liu Shuyu: I don't know, but I'm really happy~~~~
........
"Are you unhappy again?"
Ms. Leopard pushed open the door and entered the room. She looked at Kim Sung-kyun sitting on the floor, as if she hadn't expected it.
"It's so strange, I always feel particularly down on my birthday." Kim Sung-kyun replied to himself without looking at her.
"Was it because you were beaten on your birthday when you were a child?" Ms. Leopard joked.
Faced with Ms. Leopard's teasing, Kim Sung-kyun did not laugh as happily as usual, but simply glanced at her calmly.
"You weren't like this when you were young, were you?" Ms. Leopard asked curiously when she saw that he didn't react. "It's become more and more obvious lately."
“Yeah…I don’t know…” Kim Sung-kyun sighed.
"Are you thinking about your deceased mother?" Ms. Leopard asked again.
“No, my mother has been gone for over ten years, I’m used to it now,” Kim Sung-jun shook his head again.
"So, was it because you were dumped on your birthday when you were in school?" Ms. Leopard asked, her questions becoming increasingly absurd.
"Hehe~" Kim Sung-kyun was rarely amused by her. "What's wrong? If I say I have some, will you bring it to me?"
"Sure, anything that makes you happy is fine with me~" Ms. Leopard said seriously, "I'll make room for both of you~"
As Ms. Leopard spoke, she couldn't help but laugh. No one knew her husband better than she did.
"Alright~ Stop joking~ There can only be one woman in my life~" Jin Chengjun's sudden words made Ms. Leopard secretly gloat.
"Could you get me the blanket?" After saying this, Kim Sung-kyun lay down on his side.
Ms. Leopard, who was in a good mood, got up and opened the wardrobe. Seeing a pile of old things inside, she couldn't help but look at Kim Sung-kyun behind her.
"I said, let's throw these old things away."
"What are you keeping it for?" Ms. Leopard looked speechlessly at even Jung-hwan's old baby bottle from when he was a child...
"Just leave it there, you'll need it eventually," Kim Sung-kyun said calmly.
Ms. Leopard, however, had no intention of listening to him. Seeing him lying with his back to her, she quietly took a few items.
"Leave them, don't throw any away, or I'll get angry," Jin Chengjun's voice came again.
Ms. Leopard pouted, then reluctantly put down the old things, grabbed a blanket from above, and tossed it to him.
Kim Sung-kyun was acting really strange today, whether it was facing Ms. Leopard's teasing, provocation, or concern.
He remained calm, showing little emotional fluctuation, let alone the usual excited demeanor.
Perhaps because he's turned a year older with each birthday, Kim Sung-kyun, who is already middle-aged, still has the same playful and childlike mentality.
It was his interesting soul and childlike heart that made him truly realize he was a middle-aged man on his birthday.
The slight conflict between his perceived age and his psychological age is what caused his low mood.
Like an Alzheimer's patient, with an 80-year-old body, but suddenly only remembering things before the age of 18, looking at the old body and the frail old spouse in the mirror.
And then there are "unfamiliar" children who look older than themselves—it's hard for anyone to accept that...
..........