Chapter 54. Metal - Saeyoung

Saeyoung had never spent much time speaking with their grandfather—it was always Saeran. Gardening was one of the connections they had with one another and lately even cooking had been added onto the list of things they enjoyed doing.

Even Hyun hit it off with grandfather very well. It seemed that they both shared a love for health and fitness. He listened to grandfather's advices on his daily routines to maintaining a healthy lifestyle like a puppy, while he showcased his muscles to prove his point—Saeyoung now understood his mom a little better.

As for Saeyoung, he felt awkward around the older man—he was tan and well built despite his age due to his active lifestyle. There was nothing he could think about to talk with him. There didn't seem to be anything he could relate to the older man with and yet here they were home alone working on some kind of project.

"Ông ngoại… What exactly are we doing…?" Saeyoung reluctantly asked.

"We're going to weld you a work station."

What?

Saeyoung spent the day learning how to weld from his grandfather—how to build something from nothing—with just scraps of metal. It was amazing.

Ông ngoại is amazing.

"Saeyoung... There's something I came across that I wanted to buy for you..."


"What is that?" Ran's voice was flat as she asked this question.

"It's a car." Her father stated simply as if she were stupid.

"I know it's a car, but what is it doing in our house?" There was a hint of frustration in Ran's voice as she asked her father.

"I bought it for Saeyoung."

"He's 13, he can't have a car." Ran said resigned, pinching the area between her eyes to ward off the headache that was sure to come.

"I had a car when I was 13." Her father sounded petulant as he stated this fact.

"THAT WAS IN VIETNAM! THIS IS KOREA! There are laws! He can't even drive it until he's 18!" Ran yelled exasperated with her father.

"Relax. It doesn't even work, yet. Right now, it's just a project for him to work on for a few years. He'll gain a better understanding about cars and by the time he's done he'll be of age." Her father assured her.

It was with that comment that she finally sighed and let go of the issue. Her father winked at Saeyoung giving him a thumbs up to which Saeyoung could only grin happily. He loved his ông ngoại!

Of course none of them realized it would only take Saeyoung two years to fix up the car much to Ran's horror and her father's utter delight.


AN. Italics - Another language

Ông ngoại - (Vietnamese) Maternal Grandfather

I struggled a bit with this. I had an idea of what things were happening, but not how to word it. I had it all up for a while and then my ông ngoại died. Although this was about my dad being one. I'd like to dedicate this to him, because everyone I know in my life is a source of inspiration to me. I didn't get to spend much time with him, but I won't forget the times that we did.