28/07/2025
Never Healing Wound — Part 1
There was once a happy family a mother, a father, and their only son, Conghe, a four-year-old boy. They lived a normal life until tragedy struck: Conghe’s mother died in a car accident. A vehicle collided with the taxi she was riding.
When Conghe’s father, Jeol, learned of the incident, he didn’t believe it at first. The call came from his friend a fellow soldier from training. But the tone of the voice was serious. Jeol froze, not realizing his phone had fallen. He quickly picked up Conghe and rushed to the hospital. There, his world completely collapsed. He couldn’t stop crying.
Seeing his father cry, Conghe began to cry too. Jeol hugged him tightly. He had no idea what to do he loved his wife deeply. While still in the hospital, Jeol asked his friend to look after Conghe for a while so the boy could be comforted.
As Jeol sat alone in sorrow, a woman approached him and offered comforting words. She smiled, handed him a handkerchief, and gave him a hug. When Jeol and his son returned home, the pain didn’t fade. He constantly looked at Conghe and somehow, his heart felt lighter because he loved him deeply and didn’t want to lose him too.
28/07/2025
Never Healing Wound — Part 2
Jeol continued working as a waiter in a small restaurant. The salary was meager, but it used to be enough since his wife also worked in a call center. Now, with her gone, his hope felt shattered. While he worked, Conghe stayed with Jan his old friend who had informed him of the tragedy. They had a strong bond from their days in the military training camp.
Jan remained a soldier, unmarried, and without children. One day, Jeol asked Jan if he could help. His earnings were not enough, and they were about to be evicted from their rented home. Jan said he could assist but Jeol would need to return to training. Jeol hesitated he didn’t want to be away from Conghe. That was the very reason he quit training before to care for his pregnant wife.
But due to their dire situation, Jeol agreed. Fortunately, his schedule was different from Jan’s, so he still had time to take care of Conghe. During training, Jeol encountered the same woman who helped him at the hospital. He thanked her, and they reconnected. Her advice always gave him peace. Soon, they started dating.
The woman knew Jeol had a son, but still chose to love him. Jeol considered marrying her not just for himself, but so someone could help raise Conghe and he wouldn’t have to keep troubling Jan. They began living in the woman’s home. At first, she treated Conghe well, cooking meals for him. Jeol was pleased with their bond.
28/07/2025
Never Healing Wound — Part 3
Eventually, Jeol was selected for a camp assignment. His new wife and Conghe accompanied him to the train station. He cheerfully said goodbye, promising to bring toys. The child cried less because of the promise.
Though Jeol rarely came home, he always brought gifts and took Conghe out when he did. When Conghe turned five, he was a cheerful, healthy boy but he hid a terrible secret. Unknown to Jeol, Conghe’s stepmother was beating him. She acted kindly only when Jeol was around.
One day, Jeol noticed Conghe being unusually quiet. He thought the boy was just sulking. He also noticed Conghe always wearing pajamas, but assumed it was because of the cold weather. Then, he saw a large wound on Conghe’s arm. Curious, he asked what happened. The stepmother said Conghe slipped in the canal while playing in the rain. Jeol asked Conghe if it was true, but the boy said nothing and ran to his room.
His wife’s explanation convinced Jeol. He went to Conghe and told him that next time, he’d join him in the rain. The next morning, Conghe confessed: his stepmother had been hurting him. Jeol was shocked he never thought his wife could do such a thing. But out of love for his son, he yelled at his wife and confronted her. She explained herself, and things seemed to return to normal on the surface.
28/07/2025
Never Healing Wound — Part 4
What Jeol didn’t know was that the abuse started the day he left for training. It worsened when he was assigned to a farther camp. He rarely came home only five times a month. Every day, Conghe suffered silently.
When Conghe’s sixth birthday came, Jeol planned a surprise toys and his favorite food. But when he got home, water was leaking on the floor. He found his wife with another man. Ignoring them, he searched desperately for Conghe.
He found him in the bathtub lifeless.
Jeol screamed, picked up his son, and rushed to the hospital. He begged for Conghe’s life, blaming himself, but it was too late.
Jeol couldn’t accept it. He wanted to kill his wife. The autopsy revealed not just drowning, but signs of repeated abuse. That’s when Jeol realized Conghe had been telling the truth. Consumed with guilt, he nearly lost his mind.
He returned to work with Jan’s help and joined a mission to another camp. But the smile on his face was gone. On one voyage, the boat he was on met an accident. In the dark chaos, Jeol wished to die to see his son again. But he survived and woke up in a hut on an island.
As he recovered, he searched for his wallet inside was the only photo of him and Conghe. A woman from the island returned it to him. As he held it, tears fell he didn’t know why he was crying, but deep in his soul, he loved someone he could no longer remember.
Jan never told him the full story about Conghe, not wanting to deepen the wound.
Every night, Jeol cried, dreaming of Conghe. On the island, he met Shim a kind, caring woman. They fell in love, got married, and had three children: a five-year-old boy, a four-year-old girl, and a two-year-old baby.
28/07/2025
Never Healing Wound — Part 5
Their children were sweet, though Jeol wasn’t as attentive as he was with Conghe. Still, he thought of his lost son often. One night, he dreamed Conghe had grown to seventeen and arrived at the island. Conghe introduced himself and embraced Jeol tightly, crying. Jeol was confused. Then he looked at his wallet — and all the memories came flooding back.
He hugged Conghe and apologized, introducing him to his new siblings. But Conghe grew quiet, angry, and ran away. In his thoughts, Conghe felt abandoned — now knowing his father had another family while he suffered.
Jeol chased after him and found him at the river — bruised and wounded. He asked where the injuries came from, but Conghe pushed him away and entered the water
28/07/2025
Never Healing Wound — Part 6
Jeol returned home and found a notebook written by Conghe. It detailed all the abuse he had endured from his stepmother and her lovers. But all the notes were filled with love for his father — not a single word of anger.
As Jeol read, he broke down in tears and ran up a mountain, screaming apologies into the sky.
Meanwhile, Shim approached Conghe by the river.
"So you’re the one my husband loves deeply. I’m happy to finally meet you. I know what you went through. Let me care for your father — and for you too, if you’ll allow me."
Conghe smiled and accepted Shim.
Jeol was awakened by his family — tears in his eyes, mumbling, “I’m sorry, my son. Papa loves you so much.”
His wife and children heard everything, crying with him. Shim told him:
“I know how painful it is to lose a child. I know how deeply you loved him. But Conghe isn’t your only child. He has siblings who also long for a father’s love. If he were here, I know he’d say: love us, too.”
Tears streamed down Jeol’s face. Slowly, peace returned to his heart. He began healing — for his family. Though the pain of losing Conghe never disappeared, he wrote to him every day. In every family photo, Conghe’s picture remained. His siblings loved him, and he became a permanent part of their lives.
