Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Trouble at Mom's Diner
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‘So, you’re switching from me to him now?’
Seo Jae-kyeom’s question sounded laced with sarcasm, but I had just one thing to say in response.
‘None of your business?’
Honestly, though.
Whether I dated Jeong Eun-seong or Jang Wu-san, what did it have to do with Seo Jae-kyeom?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “Aigoo.”
What a long day.
Started with getting dumped in the morning, then digging up my dark past, fighting with some delinquents in the cafeteria at lunch.
And during fifth period, Seo Jae-kyeom kept trying to talk to me from the seat next to mine, draining my energy.
After I shot back ‘None of your business?’ to his ‘Switching rides?’ question, he didn’t say much more. But whenever Jeong Eun-seong and I interacted after that, Seo Jae-kyeom’s expression got weird.
He probably thought I was rubbing it in his face—dumping him just to parade around with another guy right in front of him.
Like I was using Jeong Eun-seong to make him jealous or something.
Come to think of it, Seo Jae-kyeom had a bit of a self-importance complex.
Maybe because he’d lived his entire 18 years as the popular guy.
“If I had enough charm to drag Jeong Eun-seong into some jealousy ploy, I would’ve reeled you in ages ago, Seo Jae-kyeom.”
I muttered to myself as I turned into the alley leading to my neighborhood.
After lunch, fifth, sixth, seventh periods, and homeroom.
I’d been on edge all afternoon, bracing for Song Yeo-reum to drag me to the bathroom during the next break or grab me by the hair. But thankfully, nothing happened.
She wasn’t even waiting at the school gate to kidnap me on my way out.
Still, just in case, I kept my eyes peeled in every direction as I headed home. Ready to chuck my bag and bolt if I had to.
While waiting at the crosswalk for the light to turn green, I pulled out my smartphone and jotted down my study plan in the notes app.
“First, check how much math I’ve forgotten and grind through it step by step. Korean and English, just drill problem-solving...”
“Hey, Da-hye! Kang Da-hye!”
“Huh? Oh... hello.”
“School’s out already?”
“Yeah.”
The ones calling me were a group of aunties lounging on plastic chairs in front of the hair salon.
Gray towels wrapped around their heads, the sharp smell of chemicals wafting over. The table cluttered with paper cups stained with lipstick, old snacks, and dried squid.
“School ends early these days, huh?”
It took another comment from one of them for me to place her.
She was the landlady of our apartment building.
I didn’t recognize her at first.
She looks so much younger now.
“Getting your hair done?”
“Yep, dyeing the grays. Might as well relax a bit while I’m at it~.”
“Having some coffee?”
“Not coffee—soju! Want a shot, Da-hye?”
“Ugh, you’ll say anything to a kid!”
The hair salon lady next to her smacked the landlady on the back, laughing.
“Don’t drink this stuff when you grow up, Da-hye. It tastes awful! And it’ll make you gain weight!”
I’ve had plenty already.
I swallowed the retort and accepted a piece of squid leg.
In about five years, the landlady would move to the countryside to help raise her granddaughter and become a rare sight around here. She was this neighborhood’s ultimate gossip hub.
No one she didn’t know, no rumor she hadn’t heard—and her voice carried. Get on her bad side, and you were in for it.
For reference, when she found out I was the top student in first year, here’s what she said:
‘Good grades? Doesn’t matter. If you don’t believe in Jesus, it’s straight to hell.’
And when some random old guy grabbed me by the hair and shattered my mental state, tanking my college entrance exam? She said:
‘Let’s overcome it with prayer. It’s all part of God’s plan to use you differently, Da-hye...’
“Anyway, heading home?”
“Yeah. Gonna eat and head to the library.”
“Don’t kids do late-night cram sessions anymore? My daughter used to eat dinner at school and not get home till eleven.”
“Ugh, Ji-eun’s mom! Kids these days don’t do that. They go to cafes, order a strawberry yogurt blended, and study. Strawberry yogurt blended.”
“What? Strawberry yogurt what?”
“I know! Strawberry yogurt blended!”
“Oh my gosh! What’s that?!”
“Hohoho! Mind blown!”
“Hahaha... gotta go...”
I backed away as their voices grew louder.
“Hey, Da-hye! That box of trash by the utility pole isn’t yours, right?! No one’s gonna take it if it’s left there!”
“Nope, not ours~.”
“If you see who did it, tell this auntie, okay? Promise!”
“Sure~.”
I hurried off and slipped into my familiar apartment building.
“Ugh. Starving.”
Skipping lunch had me ravenous.
I dumped my bag on the floor and headed to the kitchen, opening the fridge.
But.
“Nothing to eat.”
All that was left was kimchi with just a bit of liquid and a nearly empty tub of gochujang. I was about to make do, but there wasn’t even rice.
“Should’ve bought some ramen.”
But I’d spent my last coins on chocolate milk with Ji-su at the canteen after fifth period...
I peered into the humming, rattling fridge for a moment, then shut it and slung my bag back on.
“Gotta go to Mom’s shop to eat.”
Back when I was little, Mom worked as a housekeeper at Seo Jae-kyeom’s house. Now she ran a three-table diner in the market.
Your lady boss could be a bit capricious, but she’s a good person. When I quit because of my back pain, she even gave me severance. That’s how we could open the shop.
That’s what Mom still called Seo Jae-kyeom’s mom—“Madam.”
For the record, neither Seo Jae-kyeom nor I had dads around.
Mine bailed when I was young... and his? No idea. Probably at the family estate by now.
“I’ll play it cool and ask for ten thousand won. For workbooks.”
Muttering about how much better it was when I could earn my own money in college, I entered the market entrance.
One more block, and I’d be at my old middle school.
That’s why all my middle school classmates knew Kang Da-hye was the daughter of the market tteokbokki shop lady.
We’d run into each other at the shop sometimes.
Before my regression, I was so embarrassed I’d starve before eating there. But now?
Why not? The tteokbokki’s delicious.
Spicy rice cakes with sweet potato noodles, topped with sesame seeds on japchae tteokbokki. Order some sundae on the side, dip it in the broth—best thing ever. You have to try it!
“Mom!”
I pushed open the rusty iron door that looked more like a mill than a diner.
“Mom, I’m ho—...me?”
My cheerful shout trailed off.
The cramped shop was a total mess.
A table must’ve tipped over, spilling everything—tteokbokki, sundae, cola cans, and eggs rolling on the floor, kimbap fillings scattered everywhere.
Green plastic plates covered in vinyl and styrofoam bowls lay overturned under the tables.
Broth splattered all the way up the walls.
And in the middle, Mom was on her hands and knees, picking up the spilled tteokbokki and kimbap with her bare hands.
“Aigoo, my daughter’s here?”
Mom spotted me and wiped her hands on her apron, standing up with an embarrassed look.
“Mom, you okay? Not hurt?”
I grabbed the tissue box from a nearby table and rushed over.
“What happened? Did you drop something?”
“No, a customer had their leg sticking out under the table and I didn’t see it... Leave it, Mom’s got it. Sit down.”
“Why are you doing it with your bare hands? Here, let me get a rag.”
“It’s fine. Faster this way. I was just distracted...”
“Mom, you’ll burn your hand!”
I tried to stop her as she reached into the steaming broth.
“Auntie, so where’s our tteokbokki? How long are we supposed to wait?”
A sharp voice cut down over me and Mom, who were crouched low.
At the same time, a pair of white sneakers stomped on the tteokbokki Mom was picking up.
A black footprint marred the red-sauced rice cake.
“Ugh, my shoe’s dirty now. Auntie, clean this up first.”
“Give us some wet wipes too.”
Click.
A faint camera shutter sound.
They heard it too and stifled giggles.
I slowly looked up.
Three girls seated at the table right in front of where Mom and I were squatting.
Familiar uniforms. Hair straightened with a curling iron in the bathroom during break, hair rollers peeking from their foreheads. Faces I hadn’t noticed before.
“Ugh, she caught on.”
“Duh, idiot. That click was obvious.”
“Haha, hilarious. Kang Da-hye’s mom on her knees in front of us.”
“Look at her nails. Sundae stuck on them—gross, makes me wanna puke.”
It was Song Yeo-reum and her friends.
The one who’d warned me I’d end up on [High Teen Mom] if I kept going like this showed her phone screen to Song Yeo-reum.
“This is gold. Look at this pic. She looks so stupid.”
“Whatever~ What about my shoe? It’s covered in broth!!!!! It’ll cost more than this whole shop to replace!”
Song Yeo-reum stomped around in the spilled broth on the floor.
Splashes hit my eyes.
She locked eyes with me and burst into laughter.