Chapter Text
As soon as Sangyeon wheels his suitcase into the side room of the family suite there is a knock at his door. Expecting the kids might have wanted to ditch their suitcases in the ondol room, Sangyeon is surprised to see his son staring at him with determination on his face. Glancing past Eric he can see the two shifty friends who have come to the resort with them. He already has an idea of what this might be about.
"What's wrong Eric?"
"Can I hang out with just my friends? You probably won't have fun if you need to look after us the whole time."
Sangyeon's hunch was right but he is apprehensive about agreeing to this. "You won't leave the resort, will you? I don't want you to go anywhere without supervision."
"Yeah," Eric shrugs, like he isn't even listening. "Cool. Thanks, dad."
Before Sangyeon can ask for confirmation, Eric is off, bursting out of the main room with his friends hot on his heels. Sprinting down the corridor with his friends, Eric is totally unresponsive to Sangyeon's calls. There is nothing for it but to give up. It doesn't bode well that Sangyeon notices Eric's key card on the carpet in the corridor.
Sighing, Sangyeon retrieves Eric's key card. They have a week at the resort so Sangyeon isn't in as big a rush as Eric to get the holiday started before necessary. Sangyeon unpacks his things into the closet and spots his bedding along with the extra pillows. He steps out into the main suite and wonders whether the kids took a moment to consider leaving their suitcases anywhere other than the middle of the floor.
Sangyeon pushes the suitcases against the sofa. He doesn't make much space at all. The room is nice albeit designed for a different sort of guest. Neither Eric nor his friends volunteered any input on where everyone should sleep so everything is up to Sangyeon. The windowless ondol side room is good enough for Sangyeon, though he wonders whether he is being too protective by deciding that Eric should sleep in the main bedroom. From the main bedroom the ocean view is nice. The privacy element is more important to Sangyeon. He doesn't know quite what Eric's relationship with his friends looks like, but it seems better to err on the side of caution.
The only room left is the main room. The cute attic above the kitchenette looks exciting for young kids. Asking two teenagers to share that bed sets guilt gnawing at Sangyeon's insides, but this is the best compromise. The competition which won this holiday for Sangyeon came with some tricky terms and conditions. He will do his best to stay out of their way. This is all about letting Eric get closer to his friends.
He is glad to see Eric settling in so well at school despite how much he withholds when it comes to their homelife. Sangyeon will do anything he must to see him happy. Unpacking Eric's belongings into the main bedroom doesn't take much time at all seeing as every garment is painstakingly folded away and ready to be neatly put away in the wardrobe and the drawers. Looking at the clothes Eric has now, Sangyeon thinks about the years he missed. The relationship between the two of them hadn't seemed to mean much to Eric whilst he was living with his mom.
In a life spent moving into new homes more frequently than anyone should have to, Sangyeon was just another person who wasn't around. Oceans and timezones parted them for much of Eric's life and Sangyeon wasn't much more than a name in the card that accompanied birthday presents. The distance grew when Eric's mom married someone who wanted Eric to share a name with him and fit into the family more easily. Divorce hadn't put things back the way they were even if the upheaval had nudged Eric to try out life with his biological dad for a while.
So far, Sangyeon doesn't think he has done much to impress Eric. This chance holiday came just when Sangyeon thought he might need something big enough to impress Eric, but now that it is happening he thinks this is a mistake. He will find something else, he thinks, but he is not sure what the answer will be.
By the time Sangyeon has finished unpacking Eric's suitcase, he doesn't think that an answer will come so easily. He has had sixteen years to think of ways to impress his son. He has spent just as many years failing to make Eric think that he is fun, or cool, or even just a normal dad.
Fatherhood is an option Sangyeon had thought was taken from him. He was stupid enough to believe it and he hadn't thought to prepare for Eric reappearing in his life. There is no way that Sangyeon can blame a lack of time or proximity for the way things are turning out. This is all his own fault.
Whilst aware that he has only just arrived at the resort, he doesn't think a drink or two would hurt. Eric and his friends are keeping themselves busy and there is no need for Sangyeon to supervise them. Nobody else is here to tell Sangyeon how irresponsible he is being. He can treat himself and sober up before dinnertime.
A draught beer and a fun little cocktail. Sangyeon isn't shameless enough to make his solitude obvious. He only hopes that Eric and his friends won't end up in this hotel bar for their lunch.
"What is that you're drinking?"
Sangyeon glances up and is almost disappointed to discover that he really is being asked. The man asking is sitting two tables away against the stylishly exposed wall. Considering his seat is facing Sangyeon, it stands to chance that he could have peered over his laptop screen and seen Sangyeon sample both the beer and the cocktail. This makes responding difficult. Sangyeon peers down at the drinks in front of him. He hadn't predicted he would be embarrassed so soon.
"I'm not trying anything on," the man from two tables away says quickly. "I was just taking an informal survey about what the resort guests are drinking. It's just some background for next quarter's newsletter."
Sangyeon understands even less. Answering might save him. It might not. Right now, Sangyeon is planning on escaping as soon as possible and moping about being a terrible father in his own room.
"I just asked for beer. They gave me whatever because I wasn't sure about the brands stocked here. The cocktail is just a bog standard pornstar martini," Sangyeon says. This is apparently important enough for the man to type up the response before he glances up at Sangyeon once more. After a moment too long, the strange man speaks.
"I just realised that I'm not helping my case," he says. "I can explain. I work for ZaPar Holdings. I have some business cards somewhere. We have an initiative where employees can redeem points for rewards and a holiday to the Week& resort. If this initiative goes well we might partner with more resorts like this one. Well the initiative hasn't started yet. I just need to write up something for the newsletter to encourage employees across all of the subsidiaries to participate. What better way to write the copy than experiencing it for myself? Coming on a holiday by myself seems a bit disingenuous, you know? I don't know what to do with myself because I am working. I just wanted to ask other people who are actually here to enjoy themselves to see what I should be writing up. And you look like you know what you're doing whilst holidaying alone."
Everything the man says sounds far too elaborate for a lie. Sangyeon believes him. It sounds rough. Although Sangyeon isn't used to his current situation, he thinks he should clarify something.
"I'm not alone. I'm actually here with my son and his friends. No, they're not in here-here. I am cramping their style so they ditched me as soon as we arrived."
The man a few tables away nods blandly, entirely obfuscating any twitches of his actual reaction. "I see. Did your, um, wife not want to come on holiday with you?"
If Sangyeon is honest with himself, he doesn't mind admitting the entire truth to a stranger, however he is worried that this man will write down the things he says. It might be the drinks, or it might be frustration tearing his inhibitions away from his sensibility; whatever the cause, very little separates Sangyeon's thoughts and his words.
"Will my answer end up in your newsletter?"
The man slams his laptop shut, his cheeks already pink as he looks over at Sangyeon. "Sorry. No. I'm being nosy. Ignore me."
Sangyeon shakes his head. If anyone did choose to shame him it would be well deserved. He is sitting around in full view of the world with two drinks and a face like a smacked bum.
"If I had a wife, I would hope that she would come with me. There isn't anyone. My son's mother lives abroad. She wouldn't come with me anyway. It's just me and the kids."
The man at the other table nods. There is some hesitation and Sangyeon supposes it makes sense. Sangyeon hasn't offered much in the way of fun conversation. At least if he is left alone, Sangyeon can think about how to manufacture some bonding opportunities with his son.
The man two tables away opens up his laptop and types for a handful of seconds before stopping. He stares at his laptop screen, almost completely unmoving. Sangyeon needs to stop paying attention to this stranger. He is being strange as it is.
Sitting in a quiet bar, Sangyeon can't work out what Eric might be doing right now. After all these years of distance, Sangyeon doesn't have a clue what Eric likes or what would interest him. In fact, Sangyeon doesn't know what this resort even offers. He hadn't heard of The Week& resort previously but just finding a space in the car park let Sangyeon know it is far outside of his financial means. He hasn't been on holiday for years. Whenever he gets time off from work he tends to bum around at home. Having Eric around will change things.
Sangyeon hadn't asked anything but he can only imagine that Eric is accustomed to fun and exciting holidays. He might have even holidayed abroad. Well. Abroad from abroad. Being in Korea might be novel enough at this stage that this trip seems like a foreign holiday considering Eric hasn't been here for long.
At this point, Sangyeon knows that he is spiralling and he will inevitably do something terribly stupid. The only reason he could bring Eric on a holiday like this is because the most recent Terribly Stupid Thing he did was bulk buy enough off-brand Spam that he won the competition the local convenience store was having on the very first day. He had been spiralling, not having the foggiest idea what Eric liked to eat and reasoning that he was pretty sure Spam was sold abroad.
Intuition suggests that the next Terribly Stupid Thing Sangyeon does won't result in a free holiday. Hoping to avoid another disaster which might further strain the relationship with his son, Sangyeon does something reasonably sensible: he asks for help.
"Hey, Newsletter," Sangyeon calls. He can't be sure that leaning forwards in his seat makes it obvious enough that Sangyeon is trying to attract the attention of the man two tables away so he waves his arm above his head for good measure. The man's gaze shifts from his laptop to Sangyeon. He looks almost dazed as he lifts a finger to point towards itself. There is nobody else around so Sangyeon thinks that this should all be obvious.
"I just wanted to ask. You must have done a fair bit of research. What sort of activities does the Week& resort have that teenagers will think are cool? Even if my son tells me I'm too embarrassing to tag along, I'd at least like to give him some advice."
The ZaPar newsletter man stares awkwardly for a moment. He says, "You want help from me?"
"Or some pointers," Sangyeon shrugs. He isn't trying to be overbearing. That's not the impression he wants to give to his son, his son's friends, or even a stranger. "If you could just point out if there are any leaflets around, I'd be grateful. You're probably too busy to get sidetracked with my nonsense."
"No. I can help. I'll help you. This might actually work out better for my article. I haven't had a proper look around. We could kill two birds with one stone."
Sangyeon doesn't quite know what to make of this man rushing to pack away his laptop, his keyboard, and the scraps of paper that are scattered around the table he is occupying. The man isn't quite clumsy but there is something frantic about his willingness to help that makes Sangyeon hesitant to accept the offer. Already Eric has made his opinion on Sangyeon clear. Sangyeon is decidedly uncool. The man writing the newsletter might just be earnest enough to be considered uncool. For now the help is appreciated.
Walking alongside the newsletter man, Sangyeon is grateful at the very least.
"Thank you for helping me out," Sangyeon says. "I wouldn't know where to start on my own."
"This really is helpful for me too," the newsletter man offers. "Getting the perspective of a parent might help me to relate to the employees who have children. Although you might be on the young end of that demographic."
Sangyeon snorts. "I think that's the first time anyone has called someone who is almost forty 'young'."
"Oh. Well I don't tend to consider people my age to be old. I suppose I probably should, shouldn't I? I'm the one not acting my age."
The self-deprecating delivery doesn't convince Sangyeon that the man he just met really wants to joke about where he is in life. Sangyeon wonders how he looks, a man with a teenaged son holidaying at an urban resort close enough to enjoy everything Incheon has to offer.