Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law (3)
The smile never once leaves my mother’s face. She examines the luxury items she had only ever heard about, one by one with Yujin, looking as if she might faint from sheer overwhelming joy. Well, after the hard life she’s lived, how could she not be moved by such precious things?
“This one is perfume! It has a calm, elegant feel to it, so I’m sure it will get wonderful reactions when you wear it to gatherings!”
“Oh my, really?”
“Of course! Would you like to try it?”
Yujin gently takes my mother’s hand, sprays a light mist of perfume on her wrist, and invites her to smell it.
“Mmm… It matches your image perfectly, ma’am!”
“Let me see… Hmm… Oh my~ Yes, yes, it really does have that kind of feeling? Hohoho!”
While the two of them monopolize the sofa and chatter away, I sit at the dining table with Suhong-ssi, picking at fruit. I feel relieved watching them converse in a far more harmonious atmosphere than I had expected. Yujin looks delighted to have been accepted by my mother, and my mother seems endlessly grateful to Yujin for bringing all these precious gifts.
“Looks like their conversation is going to take a while longer, doesn’t it?” I ask Suhong-ssi, crunching into the pear my mother had peeled for me.
“Yes. It’s a very good atmosphere. This is the first time I’ve seen the young lady behave this way.”
“…Is that so.”
Of course, this side of Yujin feels unfamiliar to me as well. I tell myself she’s making the effort because she loves me, yet the excessive kindness she’s showing my mother bothers me more than it should.
“…Why do you think that is?”
“Is it not because she loves you, young master?”
“I suppose so.”
I shove the rest of the pear into my mouth in one bite and set the fork down. Watching the full-blown smiles blooming on their faces, I chew the sweet fruit filling my mouth.
Yujin fastens a necklace around my mother’s neck.
“Jihyun, come look at this! It’s even prettier than the one your father gave me as a honeymoon gift~”
My mother holds up the pure white, lustrous, high-end necklace and shows it off. I happily play along.
“It’s beautiful. You should brag to Dad about it.”
“I should, shouldn’t I? No, wait—if I do that, your father will think I have money and stop sending any. This has to stay a secret.”
“Ah! Ma’am… This…”
Yujin pulls an envelope from her bag. Oh dear… I don’t even need to open it to know what’s inside.
“If you see anything else you’d like to buy, please get it… I put a little something in here!”
My mother waves her hands in shock, refusing. “Oh my, I should be the one giving! You don’t have to give me money—use that to enjoy time with Jihyun.”
“No, no, please think of it as allowance from me! Once a daughter gets a boyfriend, she stops calling home and visiting often, doesn’t she? This time, because of me, you couldn’t even see Jihyun’s face… When you feel lonely without him, please use this to go out with your friends. You must spend it, okay…!”
“Oh my… How can this be… Aigoo… Thank you so much…”
My mother, moved to the point of tears, pulls Yujin into a tight hug and pats her back.
“Sigh, I really… I’ve never been treated like this before… Thank you.”
I glance at their warm embrace while rinsing the empty fruit bowl. Well… if she treats her this well, there’s no need to worry… But the moment Yujin’s heart changes, it will definitely become dangerous. If I fail to satisfy her, or if her love cools… Well, that seems impossible, but still. If I ever fail to keep her satisfied, I have no idea how this polite, dutiful girl might transform. I must stay vigilant.
Still, it should be fine. Yujin has already driven Jimin away so I can’t see her anymore, and there are no other women I know… Well, that’s not entirely true, but anyway. I need to focus only on Yujin. She really is a charming woman. I’ll look only at her and no one else. I’m not the type to cheat, but I remind myself again. The only way we can continue living like this is if I keep satisfying her with love. I must maintain that satisfaction for the rest of our lives.
“Young master, it appears you’ve already finished washing them.”
“Ah, yes…”
I set the plate down with hands that have gone cold from the running water. I can do this. There’s no need to worry. As long as I love her, she’s simply a cute and beautiful woman. I just have to be careful not to draw out her cruel, demonic side.
“Ma’am, I’ll be heading back for today.”
“Alright… Come visit again! You’re welcome anytime.”
The dense hours they spent together seem to have forged a rather strong bond between them. They share one last hug before parting.
“I’ll come again next time! Take care!”
Yujin keeps bowing her head as she says goodbye to my mother.
“Excuse us.”
Suhong-ssi also bows politely before leaving with Yujin.
…The once-noisy house is now quiet with just me and my mother.
“So, did you like her?”
“Like what?”
“The things Yujin gave you.”
“I love them~ My friends are going to die from jealousy.”
“Yeah, I’m glad.”
“…More importantly, is she really okay?”
“…Yeah.”
“She doesn’t hit you?”
“No.”
“Sigh… Alright, fine.”
My mother turns back toward the sofa.
“It’s wonderful that she brings things like this, and she seems so sweet, but I’m worried she might be strange in some way.”
…My mother’s words sting. I lower my head for a moment to collect myself. As long as I do well, no one will get hurt…
“Since she gave it as allowance, let’s go out for a nice meal after so long. How much is in… here…”
My mother’s words cut off.
“…What’s wrong?”
When I look up, I see her frozen, staring inside the envelope.
“What… what is this?”
She reaches into the noticeably thick envelope and pulls out the contents. Even if it had been filled with ten-thousand-won bills, it would have been a huge amount—but every single note in my mother’s hand is a fifty-thousand-won bill.
“How much is this in total…? What is this??”
I can hear the tremble in her voice. Confusion, excitement, elation, and utter disbelief all spill out of her at once.
If you stuff the envelope as full as possible, it could probably hold around a hundred bills. That would mean…
“About five million won.”
“She gave this as allowance? Not five hundred thousand, but five million? Even five hundred thousand would be a lot!”
“…Yujin’s family is quite wealthy.”
My mother clutches her head. Even back when my father used to bring home his monthly salary, she had never received this much at once.
“This… this won’t do. The gifts, the allowance—we’re too different. The income gap between our families is too big. When we meet her parents later, we’ll definitely be humiliated and thrown out.”
She shakes her head and begins putting the money back into the envelope.
“You’ve already suffered so much. This path is clearly full of thorns. I’ll return everything she brought today, so tell her not to send things like this anymore…”
“Mom, I didn’t tell you before, but I’ve already met Yujin’s parents.”
“What? How… how did it go? No matter how rich they are, if they looked down on you, Mom won’t just—”
“No, first listen to me. Her parents actually want me to marry her…”
“…?? What are you talking about? You’re both not even thirty yet. And she’s clearly a chaebol daughter. In those circles, marriages are always arranged between matching families, aren’t they?”
“That’s not the important part right now… Anyway, her family likes me. But the important thing is…”
Wait. Before the words leave my mouth, I pause to think. Could our conversations in this house be heard by Yujin’s family? I glance around the room.
…It’s better not to say anything right now. The feeling is bad.
“What’s the important thing?”
“That…”
Should I tell her? That because of her obsession with me, if things go wrong she could kill everyone around me—and that Mom could be in danger too? Would telling her actually help her…?
“So…”
“Tell me! What is it?”
Even if my mother learned the truth and tried to help me, it wouldn’t do any good. She might even become the first target for getting in the way.
…I should just let it slide.
“It’s nothing. Unlike my last girlfriend, she’s kind…”
“Really? Well, for a rich kid she does have good manners. I thought they were all rude, but maybe dramas aren’t accurate.”
“Yeah, right?”
“Yeah. If her family likes you too, that’s fortunate. Marrying someone so capable and wealthy would turn your life around. Usually people like that are at least unattractive, but she’s pretty on top of everything?”
“Yeah, she is…”
“See… A person’s life isn’t always doomed to be difficult. After all the hardship you’ve endured, maybe good fortune has finally come your way…”
My mother pulls the envelope out again and takes all the money out.
“Here, use half of this. I wouldn’t even know how to spend this much.”
“No, I don’t need money anymore.”
“Enough. Take it and use it.”
“…Did she give it to you?”
“…Something like that.”
“You’re not dating her for the money, are you?”
“Do I even have the ability to seduce someone for money?”
“How would I know? Maybe girls these days like short boys like you.”
“Mom, you’re shorter than me. Anyway, use that money to give some to your friends or something. Or take them on a luxury vacation—”
That’s right. I had promised to take my mother as well…
“…Yeah, go on a nice luxury trip. Yujin knows a good hotel. I stayed there a few nights. It was really nice.”
“What do you mean sleeping at a hotel? Those expensive places just make your body ache.”
“No, go with your friends once. It’s honestly great. I’ll arrange it next time.”
Even if I don’t say anything, it feels like she’s already listening right now.