Traveling back in time to take care of Sung Deok-sun

Chapter 235 Forms of Love

Phoenix Hall Watch Shop

Cui Wusheng sat in a chair, holding Pearl, listening to the news broadcast on the radio.

Aze's match is still going on intensely.

"Brother, why are you calling me?"

Just as Choi Moo-sung was listening attentively to the radio, Seon-young walked in.

"Pearl, are you having fun?"

Sun-young teased Pearl with a smile.

Pearl nodded happily.

“This child now makes a fuss about coming to you even when he's at home.”

"Pearl seems to be very close to you."

Sun-young smiled at Choi Moo-sung.

"By the way, bro, why did you call me?"

Sun-young recalled the question she had asked at the beginning.

"Oh, Sun-young, wait a minute."

Cui Wusheng placed the pearl on the seat temporarily, comforted her with a word, and turned to walk towards the back door of the shop.

"Oh dear, this person."

"What exactly happened?"

"呲流~"

As she spoke, Sun-young unconsciously blew her nose.

.........

Phoenix Hall Hutong

Sunwoo, carrying the medicine, walked along the road, gently stroking his stomach.

It seems like indigestion really makes you feel bloated and uncomfortable.

Just as they were about to pass the watch shop, Sunwoo spotted his mother and Jinju.

Just as he was about to go in and say hello, he saw Cui Wusheng come out, and the voices inside began to pick up.

"what is this?"

Sun-young looked at the small bag that Choi Moo-sung was holding with curiosity, her face full of doubt.

"For you."

“It’s medicine.”

Cui Wusheng handed her the medicine, then turned around and carried Zhenzhu out of the inner seat.

Sunwoo, standing outside the door, looked in astonishment at the cold medicine in his hand.

"Ouch~"

"Brother, should I say thank you?"

Sun-young asked with a smile.

"Haha~"

"No need, don't be so polite with me."

Cui Wusheng waved his hand, sat down beside her with the pearl in his arms, and urged her on.

"Eat it quickly."

Sun-young took out a bottle of cough syrup, reached out and twisted it hard, but couldn't open it right away.

Just as she was moving her wrist, Cui Wusheng reached out and snatched it away.

"I can handle this. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Really."

Cui Wusheng unscrewed the bottle cap and handed it to her.

Sun-young smiled, took the bottle, and took a sip. Just as she was enjoying the tangy taste of the syrup, she accidentally dripped some onto her clothes.

"Oh dear~ Look at me."

"He can't do anything right."

Sun-young made a self-deprecating remark and looked at Choi Moo-seong with a smile.

"Leave it alone, I'll do it."

Cui Wusheng gently placed the pearl on the chair next to him, then reached out and grabbed a few tissues to gently wipe away the stains on her clothes.

Looking at Choi Moo-sung in front of her, Sun-young glanced at his white hair and gently brushed it aside.

"Brother, let Soo-kyung's sister dye your hair."

"He's almost an old man."

Sun-young said softly.

"Forget it, I'm too old for this, why bother dyeing my hair?"

"Hahaha~"

After wiping himself down, Cui Wusheng stood up and looked at her with a smile.

"You're not old at all, you're only in your forties."

"He just looks older than his age."

"Right, bro? Hahaha~~"

After saying that, Sun-young couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

"By the way, brother, you look older when you smile."

"Hahaha~"

"Hahaha~"

Sunwoo, standing outside the door, had dropped the medicine in his hand. He looked at his mother, who depended on him for everything, chatting with Taek's father as if nothing had happened before, and he found it hard to accept.

It felt as if something most precious to me had been taken away.

Sunwoo, who already lacked a father's love, and Sunyoung, who lost her husband at a young age.

The two had relied on each other for many years and had long since developed a dependence on one another.

Neither of them could bear to hurt the other.

Sunwoo gripped the bag of medicine tightly, finding it hard to accept.

He has always had only one mother and one father in his heart. Although they have passed away, the memories that remain in Sunwoo's heart are irreplaceable and cannot be shaken by anyone, not even his mother who was his only family.

Just then, as Sunwoo turned to leave, he encountered an unexpected person in the alley.

"Sunwoo?"

"Why are you back?"

Paula looked at him curiously, but when Sunwoo didn't respond, Paula walked closer, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then looked at Sunwoo carefully.

Seeing that his eyes seemed to be filled with tears, Paul stretched out his hand and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

"What's wrong, Sunwoo?"

"Did something happen?"

"Is it at home?"

"Mother?"

"pearl?"

Paula asked tentatively, again and again.

Sunwoo simply shook his head and remained silent.

Paula was filled with doubt.

Sunwoo opened his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Hey, Sunwoo!"

"Not here!"

"this......"

Paula wanted to push him away, but before she could finish her sentence, she felt tears falling down her neck.

Her voice softened immediately.

"The neighbors are still awake."

Paula looked around the street helplessly and nervously, afraid of being seen by her neighbors who suddenly came out.

"Hey, let's talk outside."

"Noodle stall!"

Paula suggested.

Sunwoo released her and nodded.

Paula quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him away.

"what?"

Who was that over there just now?

Just as Sun-young was walking out of the watch shop, she seemed to see two figures flash by at the end of the street.

"Is it Sunwoo?"

"That's impossible, Sunwoo is still at school."

"Is it Shuyu?"

"Still Deok-sun?"

"Hey~ That's weird, could it be a thief?"

Thinking of this, Sun-young's first reaction was to hurry back.

Perhaps, this time, it's not just the only man in the family who can give her a sense of security.

..........

面摊

Paula looked at the two bowls of udon noodles that were served, reached out and handed them to Sunwoo, then broke the chopsticks and placed them on top.

"Thank you," Sunwoo said.

"Heh~, I thought you'd forgotten how to talk."

"Tell me, what's going on?"

Paula, seeing that he had been holding back for a while, quickly pressed him for an answer.

"What's in your hands?"

"Like medicine?"

Paula glanced at the bag in his hand.

"I bought it for my mom."

"But she doesn't need it anymore."

Sunwoo placed it on the side of the table.

The bag had been torn apart by a clenched fist.

"What's wrong, mom?"

Paula seemed to have found a blind spot; she reached for the bag, opened it, and took a look.

"Do you have a cold?"

Paula asked.

Sunwoo nodded.

"Sister, I really didn't expect this to happen."

"Mom has never acted like that before!"

"Just like I used to do with my dad!"

Sunwoo said in a hurried tone.

Seeing his anxious tone, Paula listened quietly, but since she hadn't yet figured out what was going on, she chose to remain silent.

"Why is it Aze's dad? Why?"

"Wouldn't Dad be heartbroken if he knew this from heaven?"

Sunwoo spoke in a hurried tone.

"What's wrong with Aze's dad?" Paula asked, seizing the key point.

"Aze's dad and mom..."

Sunwoo hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say, and then spoke after a while.

"They are too close."

"What?" Paula asked, puzzled.

"They're...they're almost like you and me."

Sunwoo didn't know how to say it, so he could only use a metaphor.

"Huh?" Paula finally understood what had happened.

She was utterly astonished, never expecting that the examples she had made up earlier would actually come true.

Seeing Sunwoo's condition, Bora didn't know what to say, so she reached out and patted Sunwoo's breathing to help him catch his breath.

"I don't need my mother to do anything."

"I don't want her to suffer either."

"Even though Dad is gone, I've grown up."

"I can take good care of her for Dad too!"

"why."

"Why is it Aze's dad?"

Sunwoo cried out in despair, completely ignoring the diners at the two tables around him who were listening to the gossip.

Paula comforted him.

"Sunwoo, don't rush, have some water."

Paula poured him a glass of water and handed it to him, taking the opportunity to interrupt his shouting.

While drinking water, Sunwoo finally caught his breath.

Seeing that he had calmed down, Paula spoke slowly.

“Sunwoo, Mom has her own ideas.”

"You can't impose your own ideas on your mother."

"You love your dad, and your mom loves your dad too."

"You have someone you love, so why can't Mom have someone she loves?"

"Is your possessiveness really that selfish?"

"Is it what you want to see: your mother remaining immersed in the world of losing her husband?"

Sunwoo looked at Bora, unsure how to answer her, but his eyes were full of denial; he didn't think that way at all.

"If Mom doesn't approve of me being with you, would you be willing to break up with me?"

Paula pressed for an answer.

“No way!” Sunwoo said firmly.

"Why?" Paula smiled faintly.

“I like my older sister,” Sunwoo said firmly.

“What if Mommy likes Daddy Ze?” Paula asked quickly.

“Well…” Sunwoo opened his mouth, but then didn’t know what to say.

For a moment, Sunwoo stood there, stunned.

"Love cannot be defined arbitrarily."

"Your love for your mother is a form of love."

"Your mother's love for you is also a form of love."

Everyone hopes to meet the one they love.

"This is a kind of luck."

"Instead of a disaster."

Paula pushed the udon noodles towards him and picked up her chopsticks to eat them herself.

Sunwoo looked at the chopsticks laid out in front of him and the water poured into the glass next to him.

Everything he had done for Paula in the past, Paula did for him in this moment.

Sunwoo looked down at the udon noodles, which were of varying lengths and coiled up in the bowl.

The noodles are intertwined with countless strands, just as family ties are bound together in countless ways.

Sunwoo looked at Bora.

"What are you looking at? Eat up!" Paula urged. "It'll get soggy if you don't eat now."

Sunwoo smiled with relief, reached out and picked up his chopsticks, then put the chrysanthemum greens that Bora had pushed to the side of her bowl into his own.

Paula smiled at him. Sunwoo had come to terms with it and stopped worrying about his mother. He returned Paula's smile.

…………

Love is a complex emotion; it can be selfless or possessive.

It can be gentle, or it can be intense.

Love can be familial affection, friendship, or the deep and sincere tolerance and attachment between two people.

Sunwoo's inexplicable anger, Bora's occasional yelling and tenderness towards Sunwoo, Deoksun and Seowoo's playful banter and mutual care, and Jungbong and Jang Mi-ok's unrequited love for each other...

These are all just expressions of love.

..........