Chapter 6: Interview (1)
I was turning over in my mind how I should explain things to my mom.
Did I quit my company? No. If I just blurted it out like that, I’d be in for a three-hour scolding marathon.
“Son?”
But I didn’t have time to overthink it.
“Um, Mom. Don’t come to Ha-eun’s Noona’s cafe, okay?”
“Cafe? You don’t have a company anymore?”
“Um… I’ll tell you when I get there. Then you’ll know I’m coming?”
At the same time as Mom’s cheerful “Got it—,” I frantically hung up on her call.
“Suhwan, you didn’t tell your mom, did you?”
Even though it wasn’t on speakerphone, the quiet and the closeness made it feel like Noona had overheard every word.
“I blanked out…”
“You have other things to blank out.”
I had no choice but to wash my face dryly with Noona’s words.
It wasn’t that I was deliberately forgetting.
I swallowed the words that wouldn’t come out and started brainstorming. I had to come up with some excuse that Mom would accept.
But the worry was pointless from the start.
“What are you worrying about? Just tell her the truth. You quit because you got a better opportunity, right? It’s not because you don’t want to work, and your mom wouldn’t get angry over something like that.”
After hearing Noona’s advice, I nodded.
When it came to this, straight-on honesty was the way to go. As Noona said, since I hadn’t quit for bad reasons, there was nothing to scold me for.
That’s right. I wasn’t some clueless social newbie. Hmm.
Thanks to Noona, the knot in my chest loosened. Shoulders full of confidence, I took a sip of coffee.
“Son!”
While I was finishing my coffee and cake and chatting with Noona, Mom arrived at the cafe.
“You’re here?”
“Mom, you came?”
Unlike me, who was slumped in my seat waving my hand, Noona approached with a bright smile.
“Did the trip tire you out? The sun was blazing today.”
“It was so hot I almost walked, but I took a taxi instead.”
“Good thing. Want something to drink?”
“Yeah, please.”
Mom already treated Noona like a daughter-in-law, her demeanor completely natural.
“Yeongji, just one lukewarm decaf Americano!”
“Neeng! Namcat’s waiting!”
On Noona’s order, Mom patted Noona’s arm with a pleased look.
Because I always ordered the same thing, but Mom loved the sight. She said it felt like being treated as a mother-in-law?
Anyway, Mom approached with Noona’s warm welcome and immediately got to the point.
“Son. What day is it today? The company?”
“Ah. I quit—wait! Don’t misunderstand!”
Before I could finish, Mom’s eyebrows twitched, so I had no choice but to explain.
“This time I awakened a new superpower, and it’s an incredibly good one. Staying at the company or earning with the superpower is better.”
“What kind of ability?”
On Mom’s question, I didn’t answer but held out my phone. It had a photo of my new superpower certificate I’d taken in advance.
“Animal Communicator…?”
Mom wasn’t someone with much knowledge of superpowers either. Eventually, like Noona had explained to her own mother, I gave Mom the same explanation.
“Hmm, can you really make a living with that? You’re getting married to Ha-eun now. Marriage costs money, and raising kids after that costs even more.”
“Don’t worry. With this ability, even ten kids would be fine.”
“…Is it settled? You can’t just say it’s not you giving birth.”
The analogy I’d made probably stung Mom’s feelings.
Mom suddenly unleashed a scolding barrage.
“Do you know how much I suffered giving birth to you? Your dad’s genes made your head too big, and it should have been a C-section. But what? Ten kids? If your head’s as big as yours, Ha-eun will suffer until she dies.”
It was a line I’d heard dozens of times, but I had no choice but to stay silent and take it.
I wished Noona would help, but she just smiled faintly, as if it were amusing.
Eventually, while enduring Mom’s scolding, I just nodded. In the middle, Yeongji brought the coffee, but instead of stopping, she even moistened my throat, making the scolding drag on longer.
“So, you’re not going to show this superpower to Mom?”
On Mom’s question signaling the end of the scolding, I quickly led her to the back door.
There, Namcat was playing with Yeongji.
“This is the stray cat I trained myself. I can make any ordinary puppy do everything, so let’s try it.”
Mom looked a little doubtful, but soon gave instructions like she would to puppies.
She sat, stood, lay down—basics—and even turned around or fetched things thrown. She did it all very well.
“Play dead!”
Following Yeongji’s command, Namcat fell over and played dead. Mom’s expression was one of pure shock.
“Son, you could just hire a trainer, right?”
“That’s right? With this real superpower, I can make a living. I checked—lots of houses these days have pets.”
On Mom’s words, she seemed to trust me. She stopped talking about quitting the company or making a living. Instead, she smiled softly and only added new pressure.
“Then you don’t have to worry about retirement? You can play with your dad?”
On Mom’s words wanting to see her son, I nodded with a smile.
“Aigoo, this is when you have to think carefully. There’s a wife right next to you—what if I just bite?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“If you take care of Noona’s parents, that’s enough, what…”
On my words, Mom looked at me with a pleased expression, and Noona looked deeply moved.
“Yeah, then it’s settled. Mom will go now, so work hard.”
Mom immediately grabbed her handbag and phone and left with a whoosh.
Watching Noona see her off to the cafe entrance, I had one question on my mind.
“…So why did she come?”
I felt incredibly aggrieved that I hadn’t heard the reason for her visit, only the scolding.
But the question was quickly answered. Thanks to the text Mom sent.
[You suddenly made strange noises and I forgot. My sister who knows, a reporter, asked to tell her your number. She was asking why she was looking for you, I thought it was because of your superpower. Call her once.]
Mom left a phone number with a long text.
[Ah, if she says nonsense, tell her Mom will go and pull out all her hair.]
And I could recall the stories Mom used to tell sometimes.
The story of how she always followed celebrities but ended up becoming an entertainment reporter and still followed them even after aging, dishing friends.
Of course, even so, since she directly gave the number, it was someone I could trust. Mom valued family more than thirty years of friendship.
I immediately called the number Mom gave.
“Hello— Today Ilbo Entertainment Department, Lee Jangmi speaking.”
“Ah, um… I heard you contacted my mom. Kim Jooyeon.”
“Oh my, Jooyeon-unnie’s son?”
The voice that had been business-like brightened instantly at the mention of Mom’s name.
Lee Jangmi, Mom’s known sister, looked very happy and seemed ready to run over right away.
But since it was already afternoon and the sun was setting, I made an appointment to meet her the next day.
Of course, the meeting place was Noona’s cafe.
“Isn’t this cafe yours?”
“What’s wrong with that. When we get married, it’ll be ours. No, Noona is mine, so is the cafe mine?”
With a soft embrace, Noona’s face turned bright red as she pushed me lightly.
She fled to the counter fanning her face with her hand and greeted a customer who came in, avoiding my gaze.
Thanks to Noona avoiding my gaze, I could stretch my fingers that had shrunk even though I was lying.
And the next day, I arrived at the cafe leisurely and met Jangmi-ahjuma, who had arrived earlier than me.
“Hi? Ahjuma, I saw you when I was little, right?”
“Ahaha… Hello.”
The ahjuma smiled brightly and waved her hand, and I recalled memories of seeing her a few times when I was little. She had even brought a female idol bromide as a gift.
“First, thank you. The editor-in-chief is already pinching me because there are no articles lately, how annoying. And congratulations. You awakened a superpower that few in the world have, right?”
At the same time as the congratulations, the ahjuma took out a recorder.
“It’s a recorder, don’t worry. I’m not going to write a bad article about Jooyeon-unnie’s son? I’d get my hair pulled out until I’m bald.”
On ahjuma’s words, I wondered what actions Mom had done to make such stories come out.
But because the tension was relieved, I could talk comfortably.
“By the way, ahjuma. How did I learn that I awakened a superpower? A few reporters called, but most were tabloid press so I ignored them.”
“Ah, that. At first, someone bribed a civil servant to extract it, and since you didn’t answer calls, it seems they sold it around. When I saw your name, I remembered Jooyeon-unnie and called her. I just asked, but I didn’t know it was true.”
On ahjuma’s words, Mom’s messenger status message came to mind.
My name decorated with all sorts of emoticons, hearts, stars, etc. was Mom’s status message.
Among those connected with Mom via messenger, many people would recall Mom when hearing my name.
And in the middle of that, ahjuma accidentally got it.
I nodded my head enough to understand the story of how the ahjuma I hadn’t seen since childhood found me.
“Yeah, among the people Mom knows, there are no people who don’t know my name.”
“That’s right? Jooyeon-unnie is amazing too. She changes her status message almost every week? One day it’s ‘my love’, another day it’s ‘reliable one’.”
I had no choice but to smile awkwardly at ahjuma’s words.
“Anyway, are your curiosities solved? Then, can you solve ahjuma’s curiosity too?”
“Ah, yes. Ask.”
With my permission, the ahjuma manipulated the recorder again and started pulling out questions prepared in advance.