“Achoo!”
Patter-patter!
Jinho hyung1 calmly wiped the ramen and grains of rice from his face with a wet tissue.
“If you don’t like it, say so. Use your words.”
“It’s not like that. It just came out of nowhere.”
“Don’t make excuses. You only look more pathetic.”
But I was telling the truth. Instead of answering, I rubbed my nose.
Is someone badmouthing me?
Come to think of it, there is one guy with good reason to.
If it was Im Changsoo, he had more than enough motive. Still, he was the Santa Claus who had given me four billion won,2 so I was happy to take a few insults.
I wasn’t sure he would, but the bastard actually kept his promise.
I remembered the text message I had received that morning. The banking app installed on my smartphone notified me of every deposit and withdrawal without exception.
4,000,000,000 won2 has been deposited into Jin Taekyung’s account, 110--.
The only minor mishap was that Jinho hyung1 had discovered it before I did. Leaving my smartphone in the room when I went to take a shower had been a mistake.
“You’ve got plenty of money, and you’re eating ramen? Ramen?”
“You sure talk a lot. I put beef in it. Don’t you like beef ramen?”
“That’s not what I mean, you punk.”
Bang!
Jinho hyung1 roughly set down his utensils.
Of course, he hadn’t done it to make a point. He was just full.
“I mean, you’ve got four billion won2 in your bank account, so why are you eating ramen in a goshiwon?3”
“What’s it to you? I’ll do what I want.”
“…Fair enough.”
“And the money only came in an hour ago, all right? I don’t know what to do with it either, so be quiet and let me think.”
I was pretending to be fine, but I had been dazed for a while now. I had worked myself to the bone like a worker ant, but there had always been somewhere the money needed to go.
Then a fortune had dropped out of the sky.
Four billion won2 was enough to do a lot of things. Naturally, it gave me a lot to think about.
“What are you thinking so hard about? There must have been something you wanted to do first as soon as you got money.”
The first thing I wanted to do…
There is one thing.
Slurp.
I sucked down the last strand of noodles and rose from my seat.
Before leaving the room, I made sure to give Jinho hyung1 one last parting remark.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Don’t forget to wash the pot. I’m off.”
“Hey! Hey!”
“Huh?”
Hayeon’s eyes went round when she saw me outside the front door.
“So it really is you. I saw you on the intercom and thought, no way.”
“…If it wasn’t really me, what would I be?”
“Hmm. Computer graphics?”
“Is that any way to talk to your older brother after not seeing him for so long?”
“What are you talking about? You were here the day before yesterday.”
Oh, right. Hardly any time had passed in the real world.
The time difference was so large that even I got confused sometimes. I took off my shoes and asked, “What were you doing?”
“Studying.”
“Come to think of it, what about school? It’s a weekday.”
Hayeon answered in a nasal voice.
“They said my fever was thirty-nine degrees Celsius.4 I stuck it out until second period, then left early. Summer vacation starts tomorrow anyway, and we’ve been doing nothing but self-study lately.”
“You’re already on vacation? No, wait. You left school early because you were sick, and you’re studying?”
Somehow, she seemed even more impressive than a Peak master. Whenever I got really sick at school, my illness mysteriously vanished the moment I left early and got home.
She had a raging fever, yet she was still studying. Did we really have different DNA?
“There is no end to learning.”
Leaving Hayeon, who sounded like a school disciplinarian, behind, I entered the living room. Apart from the two of us, there wasn’t a sign of anyone else in the house.
“Where’s Mom?”
“The bank.”
“You had that answer ready.”
“It’s true.”
“Did Mom tell you to say that?”
“Huh? Tell me to say what?”
I wondered who she took after. Her acting was so natural that if I hadn’t already known the truth, I would have fallen for it completely.
I should’ve told Mom sooner.
A bitter smile escaped me before I could stop it. As I turned back toward the entrance, Hayeon grabbed me.
“Where are you going?”
“To find Mom.”
“There are tons of banks around here. I’ll make you something to eat, so stay here. She’ll be home soon.”
“It’s fine. I’m not going to the bank.”
“What?”
“The restaurant at the intersection in front of the supermarket. Right?”
The strength slowly drained from Hayeon’s hand.
“…You knew?”
“Yeah. For a long time.”
“Mom asked me to keep it a secret.”
“I know that too.”
“Oppa,5 can’t you stay?”
It was one of Hayeon’s longtime habits. Whenever she had an important favor to ask, she always put oppa5 first.
“I’ll be back.”
I ruffled Hayeon’s hair and left the house.
As the elevator carried me down, I quietly thought about her warmth still lingering in my hand—and why she was studying even while her forehead was burning up.
A person had only one name on their resident registration card, but they went by many names over the course of their life. Kim Jeonghee, who had turned exactly fifty that year, was no different.
“Ajumma,6 two more servings of pork belly over here.”
“Yes, just a moment.”
The name she was called most often these days was ajumma.6 Before that, it had been “Hayeon’s mom.” Before that, “Taekyung’s mom.” Once the children had grown up and work had become busy, she had stopped hearing those names.
The one person who had called her by her real name had passed away long ago.
“Jeonghee-ssi.”7
She had met him when she was twenty-two. He had been kind and affectionate. Amid the chaos of the Great Cataclysm, a man and a woman met in a shelter and fell in love at once.
Their marriage had been a happy one. Even as the years passed, he continued to call her by name.
“Jeonghee.”
Sometimes, embarrassed to hear him call her by name in front of other people, she had asked him about it.
“Why do you only call me Jeonghee? Other husbands call their wives ‘so-and-so’s mom,’ ‘honey,’ or ‘the missus.’ That’s what everyone else does.”
“You don’t like it?”
“No, it’s not that. I was just curious. We’re getting older too, you know.”
“What does age have to do with it? I call you Jeonghee because I love Jeonghee more than I love Taekyung’s mom.”
“Why are you acting like this in front of the kids?”
“Huh? Mom’s cheeks are red. Mom, do you and Dad wrestle in the mornings too? You do it every night.”
“…Taekyung, starting today, go to bed early.”
Their parting came sooner than expected. A Gate opened in the middle of downtown without warning, and the two children lost their father while she lost her husband—the only person who had called her by name.
“Ajumma!6”
Kim Jeonghee jolted back to reality. A middle-aged woman with permed hair and flashy earrings was glaring at her.
“Oh, yes, ma’am.”
“What were you doing that you couldn’t even hear me calling you?”
“I’m sorry.”
“What about the grill plates? Are you done washing them?”
“Well, the thing is…”
Her hands had stopped while she was lost in thought. The owner checked the sink and glared at her.
“Ajumma,6 is this how you’re going to work?”
“…”
“Honestly. If you’re going to work like this, I might as well do it myself. Why would I pay good money to hire you? Am I wrong?”
Kim Jeonghee bowed her head while the other kitchen workers kept working, pretending not to hear the owner.
Good money, my ass. She works us at minimum wage during the busiest hours.
She’s old enough to know better. She knows perfectly well that no amount of caked-on makeup and dressing up will make her a match for Jeonghee ajumma,6 so she’s taking it out on her.
She should watch the counter properly herself in the first place. How many orders did Jeonghee take while she was off having fun?
They had plenty to say, but they could only keep it to themselves. The kitchen ajumma6 who had finally lost her patience and stood up for Kim Jeonghee had been fired the previous week.
“How am I supposed to feel comfortable leaving this place in your hands?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“I heard your son is a Hunter. He should be making decent money, so why don’t you just stay home and cook? Why come all the way here and be a nuisance to someone else’s business? Ah, is his income not very good because he’s an F-rank Hunter?”
The moment a sneer appeared at the corners of the owner’s mouth, Kim Jeonghee slowly raised her bowed head.
“Boss. You’ve gone too far.”
“What?”
“I said you went too far.”
“Are you saying I said something wrong?”
“Yes.”
The unfamiliar sensation left the owner speechless. Kim Jeonghee had always been quiet and gentle, but now her eyes had sunk into a deep stare.
“Please apologize for what you just said.”
“A-apologize?”
“Right here. Right now.”
“O-oh my. Fine, then. What part of what I said was wrong? Your son really is an F-rank Hunter!”
“Is his rank really that important?”
“Of course it is. What good is an F-rank Hunter? You have to be at least my son’s caliber to make good money and have women lining up for you. This shop, too…”
“Your son, the D-rank Hunter, opened it for you. I know. I’ve heard it dozens—no, hundreds—of times.”
The employees, who had pricked up their ears, unconsciously nodded.
The owner’s bragging about her son was a familiar routine they heard several times a day.
How much he made, how big his house was, what kind of car he drove, and how filial he was—so filial that he had even opened a shop for his mother to have something to do. She had repeated it so often that even the regular customers were sick of hearing it.
“Then you know all about it. I run this place as a hobby, but you’re different, aren’t you? You’re working in the kitchen because your son doesn’t make enough money, aren’t you?”
“No. That’s not why.”
Kim Jeonghee continued calmly.
“Our Taekyung grew up right. He never once caused his parents any trouble, even when he was little. He’s still working hard for his family. Money? He earns more than enough.”
“That’s all an excuse.”
“An excuse? This is money my child earned by risking his life. How could I, as his parent, accept it and spend it?”
“Ajumma,6 was that meant for me to hear?”
“That depends on how you choose to take it. And since we’re on the subject, when does that amazing son of yours ever show his face?”
“Wh-what?”
“I’ve worked here for over a year, but that devoted son of yours hasn’t visited even once. He does at least call you, doesn’t he?”
The kitchen fell deathly silent. The owner’s face turned bright red, and her eyes bulged.
“Where does a bitch with such a pathetic son get off—”
The employees knew what was coming next. Along with the owner’s machine-gun burst of abuse, the word “fired” was bound to come flying out.
But none of them could have predicted Kim Jeonghee’s reaction.
“Watch your mouth, you goddamn bitch.”
“…!”
“…!”
It was as if a bomb had gone off.
A deathly silence descended as everyone’s eyes trembled with disbelief. Every person in the kitchen wondered if they had heard correctly.
What did I just hear?
Did Jeonghee ajumma6 just swear? My God.
Kim Jeonghee had always been gentle and quick to smile. Even when the owner picked fights with her day after day, she had bowed her head without a single word of complaint.
Now she glared at the owner with eyes as cold as ice.
“W-what did you say? What did you just call me?”
“I called you a goddamn bitch, you fucking bitch.”
“F-fucking bitch?!”
Before the shock had even faded, a second bomb went off. The owner’s shriek rang all the way out into the dining area.
“Did someone just swear?”
“You heard that too? I think someone just called somebody a fucking bitch.”
“What the hell? Are the employees fighting?”
The murmuring grew louder. Customers and employees alike turned their attention toward the kitchen.
That was when it happened.
Thud. Thud.
A large young man with his cap pulled low. No one had noticed when he entered, or how long he had been standing there. Not until he started walking toward the kitchen.
“S-sir. I’ll take your order…”
The young man smiled faintly at the male employee who hurried to block his path.
“It’s all right. I’m not here to order.”
“No, but still, right now…”
“Excuse me.”
Tap.
It was only a gentle push, but the burly employee staggered and fell. Without hesitation, the young man shoved the half-open kitchen door wide.
And then…
“Mom.”
He came face-to-face with the person he loved most in the world.
Footnotes
-
Hyung is a term a man uses for an older brother or an older male friend. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
-
Four billion Korean won is about $2.9 million or €2.6 million at the project conversion rates. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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A goshiwon is a tiny, inexpensive room-for-rent housing arrangement, often with shared facilities. ↩
-
Thirty-nine degrees Celsius is about 102 degrees Fahrenheit. ↩
-
Oppa is a term a woman uses for an older brother or an older male friend. ↩ ↩2
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Ajumma is a familiar Korean term for a married or middle-aged woman, commonly used to address service workers. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8
-
-Ssi is a polite Korean suffix attached to a person’s name. ↩
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