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

Chapter 37 Birthday Gift

"Hey~ let's go! We're starving!" the salamander said quickly. This foodie was now very enthusiastic, and you couldn't see the scared look on his face from the fight earlier.

"Shuyu, I'll sleep at your place tonight after we finish eating!" the giant salamander said as he walked.

"Yes, that's fine. I have plenty of empty rooms here," Liu Shuyu replied.

"So, may I drink alcohol?" The salamander's true intentions were revealed...

"If you sleep at my house, you won't have to worry about the head of discipline seeing you. Okay!"

“I’ll sleep at your place too!” Jung-hwan’s eyes lit up.

Meow~~~~~~ Liu Shuyu and the dollfish turned to stare at Zheng Huan, who quickly walked towards Liu Shuyu's house.

......

Sunwoo pushed open the iron gate and went inside. His mother was lying on her side in front of the television, dozing off.

Sunwoo couldn't help but smile, and was about to grab his schoolbag when his expression suddenly changed; he hadn't eaten his lunch yet.

If I bring it home, Mom will probably think he doesn't like it, and Mom will be sad, right?

Sunwoo hesitated for a moment, then walked to the steps on the rooftop, opened the bento box, and found the sausage and fried eggs his mother had made that day.

He couldn't help but smile, picked up a piece of sausage and put it in his mouth to eat. After eating two pieces, he unsurprisingly spat out a piece of egg skin.

The bento box was simple and ordinary. It wasn't as delicious as other mothers', nor as fancy as the ones sold outside. But Sunwoo never complained about it. Sunwoo would always finish his bento box. Even if he forgot to eat it that day, he would still finish it before going home because the bento box contained his mother's love for him, and he didn't want to make his mother sad.

Even a small bento box, as long as it makes Mom feel like a happy cooking king, is something she'll swallow, no matter how bad it tastes. Sunwoo is a sensible child, always has been, whether his dad is here or not...

"I am back!"

"Oh! My son is back!"

"Oh dear, my son!"

"Mom! I'm going to wash up first! You go to sleep first!"

"Oh!"

"Oh dear~ I've finished my bento! Was it good?"

“Mmm! Delicious!”

......

"Choi Taek, 6-dan, defeated his opponent in a narrow victory of half a game, after playing a total of 343 games... Choi Taek, 6-dan, returned to Korea via Gimpo Airport this morning... Today also happens to be Choi Taek, 6-dan's 18th birthday..."

The news was on TV, reporting Taek's victory, and Paula's parents were sitting at a small table watching it.

"Aze's mother must be overjoyed in heaven. What woman could be more pleased than her?" Paula's mother said with some emotion as she calculated the family's expenses and made notes in her notebook.

"Sigh~ What's the use of a dead person? It's only good to see them when they're alive!" Paula's dad teases Paula's mom as usual.

"Luckily, Mom came to Seoul. Otherwise, if she were in the countryside, we wouldn't even know if she got sick. Sigh..." Paula's dad seemed to be regretting that he wasn't at home with his mother, and also blaming himself for not being able to bring her to live with him and take care of her.

"Alright, alright! He's perfectly fine, what's with all the sentimentality? He's cured, the real problem is how to pay back the money! Sigh..." Paula's mom became more and more worried as she calculated the accounts. Paula's dad had half his salary deducted every month because of his guarantee, and they already owed tens of millions in debt. She really didn't know when they would ever be able to pay it all off...

Misfortunes never come singly. Just as I was lamenting the tragedy of my family, the living room light flickered twice before going out completely.

"Is there a power outage?" Paula's mother asked, puzzled.

"It looks like the light bulb is broken."

"Give me the money, I'll go buy it."

"Buy 200 yuan worth of bean sprouts on your way back, we'll make soup for tomorrow morning." Paula's mom took out a bill from her wallet and gave it to Paula's dad.

"Don't drink anymore!" Paula's mother said, seeing Paula's father get up.

"Okay." Paula's dad left without looking back...

In the alley, Paula's father was carrying bean sprouts and a bottle of wine back home.

Sure enough, Paula's mom guessed right. Although he didn't drink it, he bought it and drank it right away. Paula's dad is a man who knows how to exploit bugs...

Paula's father, who was carrying things, was walking in the alley when he happened to run into Aze, who was returning from the chess academy.

"Oh my, Master Cui!" Paula's father said with a big smile, bowing to Aze.

"Hello!" Aze returned the greeting with a smile and a bow.

"Hehehe~ You're just getting off work now?" Paula's dad chuckled as he looked at Aze.

"Okay!" Aze nodded.

"Hey! Want to have a drink with your uncle?" Paula's dad raised his hand.

Aze smiled.

On the large wooden bed outside the courtyard, Aze saw Paula's father reaching for a bottle of wine and poured him a glass first.

"Oh my, Aze has grown up so much." Paula's dad smiled as he watched Aze pour the wine.

"When did you grow up so much!"

"They've all grown up, they've all grown up, hehehe~~"

Paula's dad murmured.

"Uncle, has your mother been discharged from the hospital?"

“Yeah, I can’t even be there to take care of my own mom more often, haha~ I’m not going to say anymore, it makes me miss my mom.” Paula’s dad sighed.

"Aze, do you miss your mother?"

"I think about it all the time," Aze replied with his head down when Paula's father asked.

Tears streamed down Aze's face. Every year on his birthday, he could only spend it with his father. His father loved him very much, but his mother was always the person he longed to see most...

Paula's father also sighed deeply. In the alley, two men of such different ages were both missing their mothers at the same time.

The two sat under the dim streetlights, and Paula's father reached out and patted Aze's head reassuringly...

......

Happy birthday! Happy birthday, dear Aze! Happy birthday!

"Ughhhhh!!!"

When Taek returned home and opened the door, he saw Jung-hwan, Sun-woo, Dong-ryong, Yoo Seo-woo, and Deok-sun standing behind the door singing him a birthday song.

Aze smiled, and the sadness he felt while drinking with Paula's father earlier was largely dispelled.

The group pulled Taek down to sit, and Deok-sun skillfully put a birthday hat on him.

"It would be so nice to go home soon!" Deok-sun couldn't resist complaining that Taek was coming home too late.

"Look here! Look here!" Jung-hwan held up his camera.

"Hey kid, change your clothes! You look like an old man." Jung-hwan couldn't help but tease Taek.

"I was starving while waiting for you! I even called the Go Association!" Sunwoo's third rant.

"Ah-Ze! I cooked you birthday noodles!" Liu Shuyu handed over the noodles, and Deok-sun took them and placed them in front of Ah-Ze.

"Thank you!" Aze smiled and nodded to Liu Shuyu.

"Hurry up and blow out the candles, they're almost burned out!" the salamander urged.

"Hurry up! One, two, three!"

"Whoosh~~" Aze blew out the candle in one breath.

"Whoa~~~" The group cheered and clapped.

"Here you go, a gift!" Deok-sun handed it over.

Aze took it; it was a cassette tape of his favorite singer that the others had prepared for him.