Eighteen’s Bed Novel Completed - Chapter 35 Prayer at the Apex

It was a weekend right before winter break. The cold air rippled through the atmosphere, as if snow was imminent. After my tutoring session, I was heading out, thinking of going to a bookstore in the remaining evening hours, when I coincidentally saw an unfamiliar spire. It was definitely a building that had been there even before I moved here, but it only now caught my eye. As if possessed, I headed towards the spire.

The cathedral, said to be the only one built in the entire district, was large and magnificent. The white plaster statue at the entrance had the graceful face of a woman. Built with dark brown bricks, the cathedral was quiet.

I cautiously approached the largest building and pushed open a door that seemed twice my height. As the door opened, dozens of heads, neatly bowed forward, appeared before my eyes.

“The Lord be with you.”

“And with your spirit.”

The people slowly and lightly touched their foreheads with their fingers. The light gesture continued to their chests, then tapped their left shoulder, then their right, before bringing their hands together. The orange light, filtering through the stained-glass windows, illuminated the floor.

White clothes placed intermittently among the black hair caught my eye. A grand musical sound, whether from an organ or something else, filled the space. I flinched at the sound.

This doesn’t feel like my place. And the timing, of all things. Why did I come when it was full of people? My face involuntarily grew hot. Embarrassment surged to the top of my head. To escape this place, I pulled the door. But my luck wasn’t good today either.

“Oh dear.”

“Ah, I’m, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright.”

Because I suddenly pulled the door, a middle-aged man who was pushing the door from the other side lost his balance and stumbled for a moment. Unable to hide my embarrassment, I grabbed the man’s arm.

Fortunately, the man had a massive physique that didn’t seem middle-aged, and through the slightly thick, luxurious fabric of his arm, I could feel firm skin. If I hadn’t seen the wrinkles around his eyes, marks of time, while holding him, I might have thought he was in his late thirties, not middle-aged.

“…”

The man lightly took my hand that was holding his arm. I felt a strong grip as he grasped my hand and gently pulled it away. He seemed to be a naturally strong person. His unusually strong and large hand released my hand as if throwing it, like the claw of a claw machine in an arcade.

Feeling strange, I fiddled with the hand that had been held. When I looked up at his face, the gaze looking down at me was incredibly cold. It wasn’t a look of hatred or contempt, though. It was just that kind of gaze: like looking at an inanimate object, devoid of interest or curiosity. After scanning me with precisely that kind of look, the man casually threw out an everyday question that anyone might ask.

“Are you a student who attends here? I haven’t seen you before.”

“Ah, just.”

“Just?”

“I live nearby…”

“Nearby?”

The man’s slender eyes widened slightly. I smiled awkwardly. Indeed, this neighborhood, for all its talk, mostly consisted of large houses with few residents, perhaps because the houses were so big compared to the neighborhood’s area. Judging by the man’s attire and speech, he also seemed to live nearby.

“Uh, well. The brown-roofed house. On the second alley…”

“The brown-roofed house on the second alley? You don’t mean SE Global?”

This time, his widened eyes curved beautifully into a half-moon shape. His cold gaze softened, and his indifferent look turned into warm interest. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end at the change. How could his expression change so drastically? I just nodded, fearing a metallic sound if I opened my mouth.

“So you’re President Kang’s son.”

“Yes? Yes. Hello.”

“Right. I’ve heard a lot about you, coming and going. They say you’re good at studying?”

“I just do enough not to be lacking.”

“So. What rank are you in the whole school?”

He heard about me coming and going? From where, exactly? I had intended to offer a modest greeting and pass by, but what kind of audacity was it to outright ask my rank?

Waiting for my answer, the man took off the black leather gloves he was wearing. A plain silver ring was visible between his unusually long fingers. He draped the gloves over the pocket of his long coat. It seemed he was intent on having a serious conversation with me. I pressed my lips together slightly and smiled faintly.

“First place.”

The corners of the man’s eyes curved until his pupils almost disappeared. What about my words made him so happy? The man slowly rubbed his hands together, and his long lips curved upwards in a parabola. Even the wrinkles around his mouth were those of a refined middle-aged man.

“I heard you were amazing. You really are amazing.”

“Thank you.”

“Right. For you, first place in the whole school is ‘just enough not to be lacking,’ huh.”

His words were slightly irritating. Was he being sarcastic? However, even when I raised my head after bowing to express gratitude, all I saw was a gaze overflowing with warm interest.

“That means you’re more focused on your national ranking than your school ranking, I suppose.”

What? I don’t know why the conversation jumped there.

“Indeed, the school’s location is good, but even commoners get in. The real competition is with kids from autonomous private high schools and special-purpose high schools.”

“…Yes.”

“My son goes to the same school as you, but he’s so bad at studying. I’ve long since given up on him.”

“…”

“How I wish you were my son. Smart. Ambitious. Handsome…”

The man lightly brushed my cheek with the back of his hand.

“This is the first time I’ve ever envied President Kang.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

“Other kids are probably studying their guts out even on weekends just to get first place. But you’re even coming to church like this. How admirable.”

“No. I just stopped by because I saw the church while passing by.”

At my words, the man smiled even brighter.

“Are you interested in Catholicism?”

“Yes? Yes, a little.”

It was a reflexive answer, as always. The man seemed quite pleased with it. It showed in his softened expression.

“Right… I see.”

The man’s cool hand brushed my cheek even more gently.

“Study hard. I hope to see you often.”

Saying that, the middle-aged man lightly tapped my cheek, which he had been stroking. The hardened flesh from age felt rough against my skin. The man took out the gloves he had draped in his pocket. I quickly bowed my head.

“Goodbye.”

“Yes. Right.”

Receiving my greeting with just a wave of his hand, the man exuded a strange aura and disappeared into the crowd. He must have blended in with one of those black heads. I scratched the back of my neck. It wasn’t any particular emotion, just a thought that he resembled someone. That thought just made me feel ticklish. I couldn’t quite recall who it was.

Coming out of the cathedral, I looked up at the sky. White snow was falling heavily from the now dark sky. Snowflakes scattered under the orange streetlights. The night had grown short. It was the beginning of winter.

The moment I stepped into the house, I was startled by the sudden sound of small firecrackers. The housekeeper was holding a large cake, and my mother was holding a firecracker emitting grey smoke.

“Our dear son, Dad congratulates you on getting first place.”

“What did Mom tell you? Not to stress too much, right? I knew our Jun would make it.”

“How did he grow up so well and upright? We haven’t even done anything for him. Such a thoughtful child.”

My father lightly pinched my cheek. It happened to be the same direction the middle-aged man had stroked earlier. Suddenly, I realized that the middle-aged man’s skin felt like this. My father stroked my back, standing awkwardly in the hallway, and ushered me inside. My mother told the housekeeper to hold the cake higher.

“Son, what are you doing? Hurry up and blow them out.”

“Ah, yes. Okay.”

I awkwardly walked and stood in front of the housekeeper. I saw nineteen candles. Nineteen? At that moment, I realized that this cake wasn’t just brought out to celebrate my grades.

I gently blew. The flames quietly died down. My mother and father clapped as soon as the candles went out. Because of the sound, the hallway light, which had been off, turned on and off repeatedly with a loud clatter. I laughed because the sight was funny.

“Our son. Let’s eat quickly. Dinner’s all ready. Ma’am, have you finished boiling the seaweed soup?”

“Yes, ma’am. Shall I bring it out now?”

“Please serve it quickly. Our son might be hungry. Have you prepared the other side dishes well too?”

“Yes.”

Despite her urging tone, her actions were the opposite. My mother was slowly pulling the candles from the cake. If she pulled the candles like that, she couldn’t even put the cake down, could she?

But it probably wasn’t intentional. She wasn’t that kind of person. She was just a bit oblivious when it came to housework. Knowing that, the housekeeper just waited patiently.

There was no helping it. I decided to willingly offer kindness. It was a good day, after all.

“No, you can prepare slowly. I’ll be down after putting my things in my room anyway.”

“Really? Honey. Then I should cut some cake for dessert. Please, ma’am.”

My mother said, placing the pulled candles in a corner of the cake. Only then could the housekeeper take the cake to the kitchen. As she turned to the kitchen, the housekeeper said,

“You’re blessed with a son.”

My parents seemed quite pleased with that remark and smiled brightly.

During dinner, my parents said they had to go abroad again tomorrow. I nodded, unfazed. I knew it just by seeing the seaweed soup and the nineteen candles. I expected it.

It happened every time anyway, so it wasn’t surprising. In fact, it was more awkward when my parents were home. However, perhaps my composed attitude stimulated their guilt, as they consoled me with a very apologetic tone.

“We wanted to be with you at least for your birthday and the end of the year, but company work is just like that, isn’t it?”

“Right. Dad has to work hard to keep this company healthy so our son can inherit it.”

“I’m fine.”

I lightly scraped the rice with my spoon and replied.

“There’s a time for everything, isn’t there? Now is the time when work is more important than family. You don’t have to worry.”

“Wow, I really raised a good son.”

“Then, is there anything our son wants? Just say the word. Dad and Mom will buy you everything. You can take your friends out and buy whatever you want to eat. Do you have the card Mom gave you?”

“Yes.”

Honestly, I find my parents’ attitude uncomfortable. They never celebrate my birthday but always apologize for it. From the start, I never expected to spend my birthday or the year-end/new-year with my parents. Even as a child, I never felt compelled to be with them. I thought clinging to a future that wouldn’t change was pathetic, so I never threw tantrums.

“I will.”

“Don’t hang out with strange friends. Our son’s dignity might fall.”

I nodded. Then, I suddenly thought of the middle-aged man who had dismissed his own son. Come to think of it, yes. Would that man’s son also be included in the category of ‘strange friends who lower one’s dignity’?

Just hearing the words, the image of Han Junwoo came to mind. Rich and bad at studying. There weren’t just one or two kids like that in our school, but my parents disliked Han Junwoo. So it was natural that I brought up the man who acted like he knew my father.

“Mom, Dad. Do you happen to know a very tall, sharp-looking, white-haired man? He lives in this neighborhood and wears a long coat.”

“Are there one or two such people in this neighborhood?”

“He also said he goes to church…”

“Church?”