King Of Broadcasting

11. In the name of Father (1)

"Did you come to find me?"

Lee Jinmyeong, the CEO, wore an expression of disbelief.

His clenched fists betrayed the tension within him, and his contemplative face revealed the transparency of his inner turmoil.

Sitting beside him, I observed his profile and realized how much he resembled Itaegun Teacher.

We were seated side by side on the sofa in the hospital lounge.

Beyond visiting hours, only the CEO and I remained in the lounge.

As bedtime approached, the dimness of the ward with its lights turned off, and the faint pale light emitted by the emergency lamp made the silence between us even more profound.

It was Lee Jinmyeong, the CEO, who broke the silence first.

In a subdued tone, he initiated the conversation.

"What kind of person was your father?"

"What?"

It was an unexpected question.

The CEO turned his head to look at me directly.

"I mean when you were young. You know, whether he used to play with you on holidays or was always busy with work. Those kinds of things. What kind of person was your father in your eyes?"

His tone was earnest.

Though I couldn't fathom his intention behind asking such a question out of the blue, I had a sense of what he might be aiming at.

I sifted through my childhood memories.

"He was a cheerful person. On days when he finished work early, he often played catch with me, and on days when he got drunk because he liked drinking, he would always come in shouting loudly from the front door. These days, he's abstaining from alcohol due to health reasons."

"He sounds like a good person."

"Yes, he was."

Feeling uneasy, I fell silent.

The CEO gazed into the distance with a distant look in his eyes, staring at the TV screen on the lounge wall.

Perhaps he, too, didn't realize he was digging up memories from a long time ago, just like me.

"When I was young, perhaps. Our father... was the most famous person in the world."

His voice, dry and hoarse, reached me quietly.

The boss's quiet soliloquy continued.

"For a child, the world is nothing but school, home, TV, and newspapers. Everyone, teachers, friends, neighbors, all knew that announcer Lee Tae-geon was our father."

The complexion of CEO Lee Jin-myung, immersed in contemplation, darkened.

He struggled to speak.

"But... I hated such a father... to the point of death."

What?!

I couldn't even speak properly, I was so surprised.

Thankfully, I didn't shout out in shock.

The boss smiled bitterly at me.

"I must seem strange. Hating a proud father like that."

I couldn't respond hastily and hesitated.

The boss paid no attention.

He seemed to just want to release the stories that had been accumulating in his heart for years.