Nha Trang
On the drive home, I was yawning myself half to death just trying to crawl free of the gridlocked boulevard in front of Goldeworld.
“Don’t worry about what happened earlier.”
“...?”
After the tearful father-daughter reconciliation, Harin had stayed silent the whole way. Now she finally spoke, though she still couldn’t look at me or lift her head—more like a guilty convict than anything else. It was a little heartbreaking.
“Earlier what?”
“The things I said, the way I acted… I was just being sensitive. You don’t need to read anything into it.”
“Read into it…? You just had things you wanted to say, right? And none of it was completely wrong. Call it a sense of debt toward your mother—something like that had been weighing on me. But like I said earlier, that’s not true anymore. Right now it’s not your mother I care about more, it’s y—”
“Stop…”
Harin clamped her hands over her ears and shouted STOP. Oh boy… I must have gotten carried away again.
Kids her age just want to move past things cleanly, but here I was still clinging to it like the middle-aged man I am.
“Anyway, I don’t think much of it. I feel like I’ve been demanding too much from you. From now on I’m going to ease up and let you do things your way. Of course…”
The words please reconsider running away from home stopped right at the tip of my throat. We had only just calmed things down; I couldn’t go planting new seeds of trouble.
Gurgle…
Thankfully my stomach clock chimed in to save the awkward moment. Come to think of it, I’d at least scored some toast, while Harin had been living on snacks all day.
“Hungry, Harin?”
“A little…?”
“We’re already out. Let’s eat before we head home. What do you want?”
“I’m fine with anything. What do you want?”
“I can eat anything, so you pick—”
“Last time we got what I wanted. So this time I want to do the opposite.”
“…”
Even on a rare night out she was still thinking of her dad first. What a good kid… In that case, this worked out perfectly. While we were at it, I could knock out one more piece of unfinished business.
Jingle!
“Welcome—”
The moment we stepped into the shop, Aunt’s face froze solid. I rubbed the bridge of my nose sheepishly while Harin, sensing the thin-ice atmosphere, carefully bowed her head in greeting.
“I’m home, Grandma.”
“Harin’s here? Did the two of you go somewhere nice today?”
Aunt didn’t so much as blink as she slipped into the role of the kindly grandmother. Of course the real grudge was aimed at me, not Harin, so there was no need for her to show any hostility.
“We went to Goldeworld.”
“Just the two of you with Dad? How on earth did that happen?”
Was I imagining the faint sound of grinding molars at the end of that sentence? She was clearly convinced I had ignored her advice and dragged Harin along by force.
“Haha! Just the two of them having some quality time, that’s all. All right, Grandma will take care of Harin. What about you?”
“You’re just going to give me whatever’s left over anyway, right? I don’t know what it is, but I’ll take it.”
Thud!
Before I’d even finished speaking, Uncle dropped a piece of fried food onto the counter like he was tossing a soda can into the trash. Let’s see…
Too small to be hire, too round to be roast—this was definitely…
A kids’ meal.
I’d committed the crime, so I had to eat whatever they served. I was diligently mixing salad and sauce when Aunt came over and sat beside Harin.
“How’d you end up going all the way there with your dad?”
“Dad bought tickets and didn’t have anyone to go with, so I tagged along.”
“Really? None of your friends free?”
“Nobody I particularly wanted to go with.”
Two liars putting on a poker-faced con job. Sure, the fact that her crush had turned her down was true, but there was no need to make it sound like I’d been her only option from the start.
“Oh right! You said you needed to get the sauce containers down, didn’t you?”
“Huh? When did I—”
“You said so yesterday. Your back hurt and you couldn’t reach them. Perfect timing. You—come with Auntie.”
“…”
Right on cue, the summons arrived. Without even touching the kids’ meal, I trailed after Aunt into the back storage room.
Thud!
The second we stepped inside, Aunt shut the door. Couldn’t she at least turn on a light…?
“What do you think you’re doing showing your face here?”
“Aunt? I know you’re mad, but we’re still family. We can’t keep treating each other like strangers forever…”
“Have you ever once said you were sorry? Did you go to your sister’s grave and beg forgiveness? Did you go to your brother and apologize?”
“Well, Mom already knows why I did it. And there’s no way my brother doesn’t know.”
Mom was one thing, but if my brother had any conscience at all he would have figured everything out the moment he called home. From the pitch-black darkness came the sound of Aunt snorting through her nose.
“You still think this is a joke? You think I’m going to forgive you?”
“I’m sorry! I really committed a capital offense! And you’re right about everything. I admit I was clinging to Harin because of Yu Jiyeon and my brother. She even figured that out herself.”
“What!?”
Click! Aunt finally flipped the light on and stared at me with wide eyes. My own gaze, however, locked onto the empty sauce container clutched in her hand.
“A-Aunt? Could we maybe put that down first and talk?”
“How did Harin find out? That almost sounds like she knows you’re not her real—”
“Whoa whoa! Even if this is a storage room, your voice is way too loud! Of course Harin doesn’t know anything like that. It’s more like… she thought the reason I left home and wandered around was because of Yu Jiyeon. That after things went south with Yu Jiyeon I took it out on her. That’s why she kept her distance. She was hurt thinking I didn’t care about her as a daughter—just saw her as Yu Jiyeon’s substitute.”
“Haa… That poor little thing, how much must she have suffered… But you little bastard, this is all your fault! If you’d just gotten your head on straight from the beginning, the two of you could’ve been a perfectly happy uncle and niece. You know that, right?”
“Of course I know. But the milk’s already spilled—what am I supposed to do? So from now on I’m going to try to do better. I won’t cling to Harin the way you and Uncle have been worrying about. If we keep a healthy distance and just live naturally like father and daughter, maybe she’ll drop the idea of running away.”
“I’m going to lose my mind… If it weren’t for Harin I was going to beat your skull in with this container today. This is your absolute last chance. You’re not hiding anything else from me, are you?”
“I don’t… think so?”
“Are you kidding me? If there’s nothing, say there’s nothing. What’s with the ‘I don’t think so’?”
“Nothing related to the family. But my own private secrets? Obviously there are things I can’t tell even you—”
“Who the hell asked about that crap!? Get out. Go act like nothing happened in front of Harin and shove some food in your face!”
“…”
I deserved the scolding, but telling me to go eat after dressing me down like that felt a little unfair. Still, the sauce container remained firmly in Aunt’s grip, so I quickly opened the door and escaped back into the shop.
Whew… At least I’d managed to make peace with Aunt.
Vroom~
Monday morning. I headed to work feeling lighter than I had in a long time.
Yesterday’s amusement-park trip had yielded a lot. Harin and I had finally spoken our true feelings, and I’d secured a solid clue for redefining our relationship.
Harin was neither a stand-in for Yu Jiyeon nor the embodiment of my guilt toward my brother. Maybe it started that way, but to me now she was my one and only family.
So calling her the most precious person in my life was never wrong.
At the same time I decided to acknowledge the pain she must have gone through. I would humbly accept that distance still existed between us and, without rushing, slowly build a real father-daughter bond.
Thud!
“…”
But the moment I arrived at the office, a whole new problem presented itself. Eom Chaewon had clearly been waiting; she slammed a box down on my desk hard enough to crush it, then stomped over to her own seat huffing and puffing.
Hold on… If she was going to give me something anyway, she could have just left it before I got here. No matter how I looked at it, this was pure performative protest.
“Um… Ms. Eom Chaewon? What is this?”
“P-pumpkin candy? Ms. Eom, if you slam yeot down that hard it’s all going to shatter—”
“…”
This kid still hadn’t gotten over Friday. But that was all a misunderstanding!
“Ms. Eom? I admit I made a mistake that day. But I have something to say too—anyone looking at that situation would have gotten the wrong idea—”
“Misunderstanding? When someone says no, you’re supposed to stop right there. What kind of eyes have you been looking at me with that you even thought about following me home?”
Eom Chaewon spun around and snapped at me like she couldn’t take it anymore. Was her voice a little too loud, though?
Murmur murmur…
She hadn’t forgotten this was a tiny office with barely more than ten people, right? The department head was out, but every other team leader and staff member had just heard every word.
“Uh, Ms. Eom? Can we talk about this quietly later, somewhere private?”
“Private? I have zero interest in doing anything private with you, so please wake up. Team Leader, do you have a criminal record? Like, were you arrested a few times for dating violence or something?”
“No! What on earth are you talking about?”
But the murmuring… By now the entire office had already branded me a rotten bastard who not only stalked a female employee ten years younger but also had a prior for dating violence.
So how was I supposed to work with her after this?
In the end we didn’t exchange a single word for the rest of the shift. After finishing the port work I came back, knocked out a bit of light paperwork, and that was it.
Whew… With the rumor already spreading through the office, keeping the team together was going to be tough. For all I knew she’d already asked the department head for a transfer.
Maybe that was for the best? Working with someone I didn’t click with had been exhausting anyway. Starting over with a new teammate wouldn’t be so bad.
Hmm… Then who would I get? Preferably a guy.
Team Leader Yoon had been quietly angling to team up with Eom Chaewon, so maybe I’d end up with Deputy Jung…
“Ugh… What the hell are you doing that you’re only coming out now?”
“...?”
What was this now? Eom Chaewon was waiting for me in the parking lot like always.
Granted, she was glaring at me with eyes even more venomously irritated than usual.
“Huh? What are you doing here?”
“What do you think? Waiting to go home. Do you ever think about anyone but yourself, Team Leader? Maybe you can just go home, wash your feet, and sleep, but I’ve still got a mountain of work left.”
“…”
She’d just labeled me a stalker with a criminal record, yet she still insisted on carpooling to the bitter end? Wasn’t this whole mess caused by the carpool in the first place?
Vroom~
But what choice did I have? It was already late, and sending her off alone didn’t sit right with me either. Reluctantly I loaded Eom Chaewon in and headed for Seoul.
“Um… Ms. Eom? Are we at least allowed to have a conversation?”
“What did you talk about with my mom?”
I tried speaking just in case, and she jumped on it like she’d been waiting. Looking back, she’d been fretting this whole time that her mother and I had badmouthed her that day.
“Nothing much. Your family home is in Gaepo-dong, right?”
“Why would Mom tell you something like that? What else did she say?”
“I heard your parents even took out a loan for the deposit on the place you’re living in now. Isn’t that a huge waste of money? Wouldn’t it be more comfortable living at home where you don’t even have to do housework?”
“Who are you to tell me how to live my private life?”
“I’m not telling you how to live, I’m just saying—”
“What makes you think you can correct my grammar too? What else did she say?”
“Just that she was worried you only ever order delivery… and that the house was such a mess there wasn’t even room to set foot, so cleaning took forever.”
“Oh my god, seriously! There are things you say and things you don’t—why trash your own daughter in front of someone she barely knows? Fine, whatever. Turn the car around. We’re going to Gaepo-dong.”
“What?”
But Eom Chaewon was dead serious. She wanted me to turn the wheel toward Gaepo-dong instead of home so she could confront her parents about last Friday’s incident.
Screech…
Since my place was nearby anyway, I did as she said. We entered an older-looking apartment complex and parked in front of Building 1201 as instructed.
“Whew… Then have a good talk with your parents, Ms. Eom. I’ll see you Wednesday—”
“What are you talking about? Aren’t you getting out?”
“Wh…at? Why would I get out here?”
“So I’m supposed to go confront them alone with no witness? Get out right now. I said get out!”
Pinch! Pinch! Eom Chaewon started viciously pinching my side with those surprisingly strong fingers. Was this even making sense?
Last Friday I’d followed her down and this whole disaster started. Now the same person who called me a stalker wanted to drag me into her family home?
“Okay, okay! I’ll get out, just stop already!”
She pinched so hard I surrendered several seconds faster than when Park Changsu had pointed a gun at me. I finally peeled her off and climbed out, still unable to process the situation.
Whirr!
We got in the elevator. I still couldn’t accept this was reality. Unable to take it, I immediately asked Eom Chaewon:
“Ms. Eom? It’s almost eleven at night. Isn’t barging in like this incredibly rude?”
“Rude? The rude one is my mom for grabbing you and trash-talking her own daughter. And Mom and Dad usually stay up late anyway, so it’s fine.”
“Staying up late is one thing, but I don’t think they’ll be thrilled about a stranger showing up unannounced. Plus, when you visit adults’ house for the first time you should at least bring a box of Bacchus or something—”
“It’s fine. I already ordered Coupang Eats.”
“...?”
Ding-dong!
The elevator doors opened. Snap! Eom Chaewon snatched up the bag of mala xiang guo sitting in front of the door and punched in the passcode. Beep-beep!
Clunk!
The second the lock released she strode inside like a king making a royal entrance. Wait, was I actually supposed to follow her in?
“Mom! Dad! I’m home!”
Eom Chaewon kicked open the entryway and bellowed at the top of her lungs. This was turning out far more disastrous than I’d expected.
The living-room lights were completely off. In other words, her parents had already finished their evening and gone to bed. If they suddenly discovered I’d shown up out of nowhere, how was I supposed to handle that level of shame…
“Huh? Why is nobody here?”
“...?”
No matter how many times she called, her parents didn’t appear. Sensing something off, Eom Chaewon immediately pulled out her phone.
“Mom! I’m at the house right now. Why aren’t you here? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Really? Okay.”
Click!
After barely a few words she seemed to have the full picture and hung up. Completely deflated, I walked over and asked:
“Um… Did your parents go out somewhere?”
“They said they’re in Nha Trang.”
“I see… Wait, no! Nha Trang is in Vietnam, right? So your parents are on an overseas trip right now? And they didn’t even tell you?”
“Looks like they did mention it in the family group chat.”
“…”
Only then did Eom Chaewon check the group chat from two days ago. Was this some kind of joke? There was a limit to how much of a late-night circus you could put on.
Still—whew… At least we hadn’t run into the absolute worst-case scenario. Situation resolved. Time to leave.
“Then I’ll be going. Since you’re at the family home for the first time in a while, get some good rest and I’ll see you Wednesday—”
“Where do you think you’re going? You have to eat this first.”
“Wh…at? Mala xiang guo? Why would I eat that?”
Had she lost her mind? Because of her stalker-parrot act I’d dragged myself all the way here against my will. And now I had to eat something?
“Then wait over there. This stuff tastes terrible once it gets cold, so I have to eat it now.”
“What the… So you’re saying I have to drive you back home after this? If that’s the case, I’ll take you now and you can reheat it—”
“Ugh… Don’t you know reheating mala xiang guo kills the acidity? I’m so hungry I could die, so either eat with me or wait until I’m finished. Pick one.”
“…”
This was straight-up tyranny. Ignoring my existence entirely, Eom Chaewon started unpacking the mala xiang guo bag on the table.
Gurgle…
I was hungry, though. If I had to wait whether I ate or not, wasn’t eating the better deal?