Chapter 7: Heading Home with Family

On the way to Canada, I booked business class seats again.  

The kids had just lost their mother, and I couldn’t let them travel uncomfortably.  

“Wow…”  

The kids, fascinated by the airplane, kept staring out the window.  

“Unnie! Unnie! Jiyu’s flying in the sky now!”  

“Yeah, this must be what it’s like to ride a plane. It’s amazing.”  

“I thought it’d be super shaky, but it’s not! It’s so comfy!”  

That’s because it’s business class.  

If we’d gone economy, a comfortable flight would’ve been hard to expect.  

Booking business class for four was a significant expense for me, but seeing them so happy made it worth it.  

“Excuse me, we’ll prepare your meals now.”  

“Oh, yes. Kids, let’s sit down.”  

To be precise, they weren’t standing but looking out the plane’s window, but with food coming, they couldn’t keep squirming.  

At the mention of food, the kids quickly sat down obediently.  

“Here’s the menu.”  

“Thank you.”  

The menu listed two options: Canadian in-flight meals and Korean in-flight meals.  

“Four Korean meals, please.”  

At that, Yuri, sitting next to me, raised her hand.  

“I want to try the Canadian meal!”  

“Uh… okay. Hye-yeon, what about you?”  

Hye-yeon, sitting behind me, gave an awkward smile.  

“I’ll have the Korean meal.”  

“Jiyu too!”  

I handed the menu back to the flight attendant.  

“Alright, please prepare it that way.”  

“Understood.”  

As the flight attendant took the menu, I looked at Yuri with concern.  

“Yuri, are you sure you’ll be okay?”  

“I’ll be fine!”  

The Korean meal was bulgogi bibimbap, while the Canadian meal included steak, bread, and cheese.  

Will it suit her taste…?  

I’d flown plenty in my youth, but this was Yuri’s first time, so she seemed excited about the in-flight meal.  

Hye-yeon, on the other hand, seemed to just go along with me, and Jiyu was more curious about the sky than the food.  

“Your meals are here.”  

After a short wait, the flight attendants brought the meals.  

…Huh?  

The flight attendant serving us looked oddly familiar.  

With beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes, she smiled warmly as she placed the meals on our trays.  

“Thank you…”  

“You’re welcome. Let me know if you need anything.”  

With that, she left.  

I stared at her for a while before turning to the meal.  

She looks like the one from the flight here… didn’t expect to see her again.  

She didn’t seem to recognize me.  

That was natural.  

She was strikingly beautiful, even among flight attendants, so she’d left an impression on me despite my gloomy state on the way to Korea.  

But to her, I was just another ordinary Asian passenger.  

“Let’s eat.”  

“Okay!”  

We started eating.  

Since cooking isn’t done on planes, strong-flavored foods are easier to enjoy.  

Yuri chewed the steak a few times before putting down her fork.  

The steak was tough, the cheese was pungent, and the bread was cold.  

“Yuri, want to switch?”  

“…Thank you.”  

As expected, I hadn’t touched my meal yet.  

I swapped with Yuri.  

And so, we headed to Vancouver Airport.  

The 16-hour flight from Korea to Vancouver was physically exhausting.  

The excitement the kids felt at the start had vanished, and they soon fell asleep, blinking tiredly.  

Seeing them, I quietly tucked blankets over them.  

Sleep well.  

After ensuring they were asleep, I sat back down.  

Yuri, in the seat next to me, was also fast asleep, breathing softly.  

“Would you like a drink?”  

As I settled in, the same flight attendant who served our meals approached.  

“Do you have whiskey?”  

“Yes, I’ll prepare it. Ice?”  

“That’d be great, thanks.”  

She soon brought a glass of whiskey with some simple snacks and placed them on my tray.  

The amount of snacks and whiskey seemed more generous than usual for in-flight service.  

“Thank you.”  

I thanked her, but oddly, she didn’t return to her station.  

Glancing around, she leaned in and whispered.  

“Could you… sign this for me?”  

She pulled out a book hidden under her cart.  

Startled by her sudden request, I saw the book and couldn’t help but smile.  

“Of course.”  

Her face lit up as she carefully handed me the book.  

This hadn’t happened much since moving to the countryside, but it used to occur often.  

Rat Hole, huh… unique taste.  

Also known as The Rat Hole.  

Inspired by Dr. Calhoun’s Universe 25, the rat utopia experiment.  

The experiment created a paradise with unlimited food, cleanliness, and space, yet the rats ended up destroying themselves.  

Applying that to human society, I wrote a novel about a human community living in an underground burrow.  

It’s pretty niche and grotesque… one of my most divisive works.  

Even fans of my writing were split on Rat Hole.  

The strong versus the weak.  

The worst life brought by comfort.  

The dark, heavy worldview of humans living underground frustrated some readers so much they’d close the book in irritation.  

“What’s your name?”  

“Nicole.”  

I signed the book and wrote her name.  

When I handed it back, Nicole hugged it excitedly.  

“Thank you! I wanted to ask for your autograph on the flight to South Korea, but you looked so tired, I couldn’t bring myself to!”  

“Shh! Shh!”  

“Oh… sorry, sorry.”  

Meeting a favorite author and getting their autograph on a beloved book was thrilling, but with the kids sleeping, we had to keep quiet.  

Thankfully, we were the only ones in business class.  

“Your taste in books is quite unique. This is my most polarizing work.”  

Seeing Nicole calm down, I spoke again.  

“Is it? I actually loved it because it felt so realistic.”  

“Realistic…”  

A smile crept onto my face.  

That was my main focus when writing it—making readers feel the reality.  

Knowing she appreciated that meant a lot.  

“Aren’t you writing anymore? It’s been over three years.”  

Fans often asked me that.  

I used to publish at least once a year.  

“The Seven Virtues series is still…” She stopped herself. “Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t say that.”  

“It’s fine.”  

I’d fled to the countryside to escape my writer’s block.  

My fans knew this, so Nicole kept apologizing, bowing her head.  

“Sorry… Oh, do you need anything? I can bring more snacks.”  

“Haha, really, it’s okay. Don’t worry. But if you feel bad…”  

I glanced at the kids.  

They had blankets, but they seemed cold, curling up.  

“Could you bring more blankets? The kids look chilly.”  

“ ”  

Nicole gave a faint smile and nodded.  

“As many as you need.”  

After arriving in Vancouver, we disembarked and boarded a flight to Saskatchewan.  

The kids’ faces stiffened at the thought of another flight, but we safely reached Saskatchewan Airport.  

“Uncle.”  

“Yeah? What?”  

“What’s that you’ve been holding?”  

“Oh, it’s nothing.”  

Hye-yeon looked at the paper in my hand.  

Since I’d been holding it, she was curious.  

I quickly stuffed it into my pocket before the kids could see.  

An SNS ID…  

Just before we disembarked, Nicole had slipped me a note with her SNS ID and a message to DM her.  

It’s been a while.  

During my writing career, I’d been approached by women in various places.  

Some gave me their contact info on paper or handkerchiefs; others even found my hotel.  

But I always turned them away and disposed of their contacts discreetly.  

It could be risky.  

It could lead to complications, and I wanted to focus on my writing.  

I pushed away everything for my work and ended up alone.  

Should I throw it away?  

Normally, I would.  

With kids now, I figured dating would be tough.  

But strangely, I couldn’t loosen my grip on the note.  

I’ll just… keep it for now.  

I wouldn’t contact her yet, but I’d hold onto it.  

Shifting my focus from the note, I looked at the kids.  

Bundled up in puffy coats, they looked adorable.  

“Kids, are you cold?”  

“Sniff… Jiyu’s okay! This is totally a winter kingdom! Jiyu wants to make a snowman!”  

“Hahaha, hold on a bit. Uncle’s house has tons of snow.”  

It piles up faster than you can clear it.  

The snow and blizzards here were relentless.  

“How long do we have to stay here?”  

We’d been waiting at the airport for over an hour, and the kids, tired from the long flight, were visibly exhausted.  

“They said they’re coming soon… Oh, there they Cobra.”  

At my words, the kids turned around.  

Then, startled, they hid behind me.  

“Fuxk! Damn traffic!”  

“Ryan, you’re late.”  

“It’s the snow. If you hadn’t insisted on the Colorado… Who are those kids?”  

Ryan tilted his head, looking at the kids behind me.  

“Oh, they’re going to live with me from now on.”  

“Whoa… crazy. With you?”  

“Yeah. Kids, say hi. He’s Uncle’s friend. He speaks Korean.”  

At that, the kids peeked out from behind me.  

“H-Hello…”  

“Nice to meet you…”  

A bald Black man, 190 cm tall, with a massive build and tattoos on his face.  

His intimidating appearance naturally scared the kids.  

“Hi! I’m Jiyu! Black Uncle!”  

“Ooh, cute kid! Jiyu, huh? How old are you?”  

“Four!”  

“Four? Same as my kid! Haha, you should play with my kid sometime!”  

“Huh? Uncle has a kid?”  

“Of course! Looks just like me, super cute!”  

Jiyu tilted her head.  

“Uncle’s not cute! You’re scary!”  

“ ”  

“Haha… ha.”  

Hye-yeon quickly pulled Jiyu behind her.  

“S-Sorry. She’s young. Sorry.”  

“It’s fine. My kid says the same about me.”  

Ryan said it was okay, but his face crumpled, clearly struggling to keep it together.  

It was pitiful to watch.  

“Come on, it’s cold. Let’s go home.”  

“Alright, let’s do it.”  

As Ryan headed out of the airport, I followed with the kids.  

And so, we left the airport and headed home.