At daybreak, as morning began to dawn, the people who had heard about Grandfather gathered at the funeral hall one by one.
“Mu-hyeok.”
Myeong-soo and Hyeon-seong came in together. Their suits were wrinkled, as if they had dressed in a hurry.
“You’re here?”
“Are you okay?”
Myeong-soo asked with a worried expression. I gave a small nod.
“Go pay your respects to Grandfather first.”
Hyeon-seong gently patted my shoulder. I smiled faintly at him as he comforted me without saying anything.
“Ji-young.”
Ji-young sat there in a daze, as if she had lost her soul.
“Guests have arrived. You need to get ready.”
Exhausted from crying, Ji-young struggled to her feet and stood beside me. I patted her shoulder.
“Grandfather was smiling at the end. So you should send him off with a smile, too.”
“Yeah…”
Myeong-soo and Hyeon-seong bowed to Grandfather. I watched as they placed flowers and lit incense, then said, “Let’s go out.” I led them outside.
The worry on Myeong-soo and Hyeon-seong’s faces was obvious.
“Have you eaten? Aren’t you both busy?”
“Is that important right now? Shouldn’t you be in Pyongyang? How did you get to Korea?”
“I got a call saying Grandfather was in critical condition, so I came down first.”
I said it casually as we sat at a table, but Myeong-soo’s expression changed subtly.
“…Was that even possible?”
“Well, somehow.”