Chapter 47 ….
Yeonsu took a leave from work and went down to her family’s countryside home.
“Mom, I’m here!”
Yeonsu called out loudly as she entered, but there was no response from inside.
Passing through the main wooden hall, she opened the door to see Kyunghee lying down with her back turned.
“Mom, are you angry?”
Yeonsu cautiously approached and tried to speak, but no answer came.
Her father had gone to help in the neighboring village early in the morning, so her mother was alone at home. Normally, Kyunghee would have gone along, but she had been so upset that she ended up lying down, overwhelmed by her emotions.
“The air here is so fresh, and the view is wide open and beautiful.”
Yeonsu kept talking, but Kyunghee kept her eyes tightly closed and lips firmly sealed. Watching her mother silently, Yeonsu went out of the room and began cleaning the house.
It was a typical farmhouse.
Because it had been neglected for so long, the house was in terrible condition. Every step made the wooden floors creak, the sliding doors were torn, and due to busy farming work, the upkeep had been even worse.
Yeonsu cleared the cobwebs, swept the floors, and carried out the accumulated trash. She fixed exposed nails, replaced burned-out light bulbs, and patched up torn paper on the sliding doors.
By the time she finished, the day had grown dim.
Having worked all day without eating, her stomach began to growl loudly.
Hearing this, Kyunghee finally got up.
“No matter how upset I am, I shouldn’t let my child go hungry.”
Kyunghee quickly stoked the stove and began cooking. Soon, a simple meal was ready.
Even though it was just lettuce, cucumber, and peppers from the garden, Yeonsu’s appetite was whetted.
“Mom, this is really delicious. It’s different from what I eat in Seoul.”
Seeing her daughter deliberately shower her with compliments, Kyunghee’s heart ached. It was all her fault, all because she had been lacking in some way. She wasn’t a proper mother, and it was embarrassing to show off in front of a grand family.
Watching Yeonsu eat, Kyunghee pushed more side dishes toward her.
As the meal was nearly finished, Kyunghee finally spoke.
“Yeonsu, I’m okay. Just live your life well. We’ll live here as if we don’t exist.”
Her words tightened Yeonsu’s chest painfully, and her eyes welled up with guilt.
“Mom, it’s not that… there were some circumstances.”
Yeonsu took her mother’s hand, her voice trembling.
“What circumstances? Was it because of me or your father? Were you embarrassed? Afraid of opposing such a grand house?”
Even though she had tried to hold back, anger rose suddenly.
“….”
Yeonsu had no reply. Watching her daughter, Kyunghee let out a soft sigh and patted her.
“Just get married and live well. Don’t worry about us. I’ll watch your wedding from afar. If you don’t want that, I won’t come at all.”
“Mom, that’s not it, no… why wouldn’t you come to my wedding?”
Her tears finally broke, and Kyunghee gently patted her back.
After a while, Yeonsu’s crying slowly subsided.
At that moment, they heard movement outside.
“Your dad must have come back.”
Kyunghee slowly got up. Yeonsu wiped the remaining moisture from her eyes and went out to the yard to greet her father. There, she saw Jinhyuk.
“How did Executive Director end up here…?”
Kyunghee’s eyes shook violently at the unexpected meeting. She felt embarrassed by the shabby house and her own simple attire.
“I apologize for not greeting you in advance. My name is Do Jinhyuk.”
Jinhyuk placed a large fruit basket on the main hall.
Moments later, Kyunghee hurried to the kitchen, saying she would prepare tea. Yeonsu, leaving the unfinished table aside, asked Jinhyuk:
“How did you even know about this place?”
She had only mentioned the village name and had never given the location of the countryside home.
“I asked at the village hall. I wanted to know which household had moved from Seoul to farm here.”
Yeonsu’s eyes trembled slightly. She was grateful that he had come despite his busy schedule, yet she felt embarrassed by the bare, unprepared house. She wasn’t ashamed of her parents—they had survived hardships without giving up, giving love generously even in difficult times—but compared to Jinhyuk’s home, their countryside house was pitiful. She kept shrinking into herself, feeling embarrassed at offering so little.
“Did you cry?”
Jinhyuk looked quietly at her face and asked.
“No, who says I cried?”
Yeonsu pressed her eyes hard, startled. She didn’t want him to see her tears. Even without him saying anything, she felt oddly miserable.
At that moment, her mother came back carrying the table. On it were only barley tea and cherry tomatoes. In this house, visitors were rare, so no fancy snacks had been prepared.
“There isn’t much, huh?”
Kyunghee rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. Thinking of the well-dressed middle-aged woman she had seen yesterday, she felt even more shabby.
“No, I like tomatoes. You brought some to the company before, and I wanted them so badly then.”
Kyunghee remembered the day Jinhyuk had spilled tomatoes in front of her.
“Oh dear, I should’ve shared them instead of only giving them to Yeonsu. My mistake.”
“No, it’s my fault. I should have properly greeted you that day. I apologize, ma’am.”
Kyunghee’s face brightened gradually as Jinhyuk drank the barley tea and ate the cherry tomatoes. Seeing such a polite, wonderful young man as Yeonsu’s partner, she felt it didn’t matter that she had been upset. If her daughter was happy, she could stay hidden forever and be content.
“I heard you came yesterday. I wish you could have joined us for a meal.”
Kyunghee waved her hand.
“I didn’t even know where it was. They said it was a formal meeting, so I went without knowing anything…”
Jinhyuk looked at her intently. At first, she panicked, thinking maybe something had gone wrong at the meeting.
“A formal meeting? I think there’s been a misunderstanding. It was just a meal with some relatives.”
Jinhyuk spoke firmly. Kyunghee was speechless.
“I heard you met my aunt that day. She lives in the U.S. but came to Korea briefly. I introduced Yeonsu to her, and she was so delighted that she said she would treat her like her own daughter. Perhaps that caused the misunderstanding.”
Kyunghee’s eyes shook violently.
‘I thought it was a formal meeting… but it wasn’t?’
She had thought her daughter was hiding her marriage out of embarrassment, but that wasn’t the case. She realized her hasty judgment had hurt Yeonsu.
“Then who told you it was a formal meeting?”
Jinhyuk studied her expression.
“Well, when I visited, some young man said today was the formal meeting…”
Kyunghee hesitated. Hearing this, Jinhyuk thought for a moment and opened his phone album.
“Was it this person?”
It was a photo of the former manager.
“No, it was someone much younger, around their 20s?”
Kyunghee tilted her head. Jinhyuk flipped through more photos and showed one of Yuchan.
“Then was it this person?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
Kyunghee clapped her hands, and Jinhyuk’s eyes gleamed.
