Partings Make Reunions Sweeter
Tuesday dawn. The time when heaven and earth are farthest from the sun. As most of the townsfolk had gone to bed and the house lights were nearly all extinguished, Mom slipped out the front door in secret, under cover of darkness.
Wearing a black coat to brace against the pre-dawn chill, she dragged a thick wheeled carry-on behind her. No one seeing her would mistake it for a quick errand. She looked like she was heading off to some faraway place.
"Mom! Where are you going? Ditching me and Dad for that guy again?!"
"I'm sorry, Do-young. But Mom has to go. Take care of Dad and stay healthy. Even without me... you have to be happy!"
"You said you'd come back, so why are you leaving again... Mom, you're a liar!"
"Please, Do-young. Mom has to go. Let go of my hand...."
"Don't go, Mom! Don't abandon me and Dad!"
Thwack! As I clung desperately to the hem of Mom's clothes, a heavy chestnut smacked the back of my head. Turning around, I could see the knuckles protruding from Dad's fist, still tingling.
"The neighbors will get the wrong idea, you wench."
"Hehe, sorry. I just wanted to try it once."
"Don't indulge the kid's every game, Do-young's mom."
"Heehee, sorry. Do-young looked so cute charging at me like that."
Even without any cues from me, Mom seamlessly played along with the skit I'd thrown out. We were getting pretty in sync now, weren't we?
"Did you message Ha-min? Tell him the egg rolls were delicious."
"Yeah, I sent him a little thank-you gift in return."
"Ho ho, not bad. My girl. What'd you send—some food?"
"...Yeah. Something fresh."
"Heehee, hope he likes it."
Mom was scheduled to catch a Tuesday dawn flight back to Japan, where my little sister was studying abroad. That had been the plan for her stay all along—exactly up to this point. Every meeting comes with a parting. And every farewell brings a pang of regret.
It might be a routine cycle of goodbyes and reunions for Ban Do-young, but for me, this was my first meeting—and now first farewell—with Cheok Jun-sook, Do-young's mom. We decided to pour all the joy from our time together, and the regret of sending her off today, into this moment. The title? Partings Make Reunions Sweeter. With a side of situational drama: "The Daughter Clinging Tearfully to Her Mom Fleeing Her Tyrannical Husband in the Dead of Night."
"By the way, our Do-young's got some serious acting chops. It was so realistic, it reminded me of that child actor from the old drama series."
"Aw, c'mon, not that good."
"Thinking of becoming an actress later?"
"Hmm, not a bad idea. With Mom's genes, I'd have the looks locked in."
"Always talking big. Hurry inside and get some sleep. It's cold out here."
Mom straightened the coat I'd grabbed, stroking my tousled black hair as she spoke. It had been a while since my shower, but Ban Do-young's long straight hair was still damp, quickly chilling in the outside air.
"Sorry, Mom. I should've gone to the airport with you."
"Nonsense. What if you made me late? People in athletics have to keep their schedules tight."
"Yeah, Do-young. Mom and Dad will handle the drop-off, so you go crash."
"What're you two gonna do in the car while I'm sleeping?"
Tsk. The moment I saw Dad's fist twitch upward, I reflexively clutched my head with both hands and backpedaled. Guess the "abusive husband" setup wasn't entirely off-base.
"Got everything packed?"
"Yup, everything except our daughter, who I hate to leave behind."
"Then wanna squeeze in one more hug before I go?"
"Hmm... why not?"
Mom spread her arms diagonally and pulled me into a tight embrace. As her hands wrapped around my back and our faces drew close, I could faintly hear the muffled thump of her heartbeat from deep in her chest, transmitted to mine.
"I love you, my girl."
"... "
Those words. I'll make an effort to pass them on to the real Ban Do-young someday.
"Next time, can you come pick me up with Dad?"
"Heehee, as long as you don't break that Do Ha-min kid's glasses again."
"I see. Heehee. Yeah. First things first—getting him interested. But Do-young, remember one thing."
Mom's voice trailed up like she'd just remembered something, then she whispered in my ear, soft enough to be drowned out by heartbeats.
"You want to get closer to Ha-min, right?"
"Mm... yeah, that's the plan for now."
I had no choice but to answer yes to wanting to get closer to Do Ha-min. It was the only way to reach this webtoon's proper ending right now—and the most likely path back to my original world.
"So, you like Ha-min?"
"Mm... "
But liking Do Ha-min? That was harder to answer rashly. That was an emotion the real Ban Do-young should have, not me. Everything I was doing was just picking what I thought a pure-love heroine would do in each situation.
Of course, since I had to live as the original heroine Ban Do-young, there were times when Ha-min wasn't around that I just followed my own whims. But up to now, everything with Ha-min had stayed within what I figured was heroine-appropriate behavior.
Mom calling my acting skills top-notch wasn't entirely wrong, either. I was just playing the role of the eldest daughter of Ban Do-che and Cheok Jun-sook, the main heroine of Half Half Island—a pure-love-only story—destined to end up with this story's protagonist, Do Ha-min.
If asked whether the emotions and actions born from that acting held any truth—if questioned if those feelings were "real"—what could I say?
"I like him... probably."
The answer was set. Even if it wasn't true, the me possessing Ban Do-young had to say yes. That's what the original main heroine in this pure-love tale would say.
And if Mom had phrased it differently, like "You don't hate Ha-min, right?" I'd have answered, "Yeah. Not at all."
He's nice to have around, maybe not full-on "like" yet, but definitely not hate—and fun to hang with. That level of feeling should suffice for now. We've got time.
"If you really like him, just teasing won't cut it—you won't make it all the way."
"... "
Mom winked at my hesitant "like," grinning as she spoke.
"You need to show your true feelings at least once, properly. If you keep it all as jokes, even in the big moments, he might think your heart's not in it. You get what I mean, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Good. Take that with you. My girl's not the type to blush over confessing to someone."
"Yeah, I think so too."
"See? All talk."
Mom ended our farewell hug and loaded her carry-on into the trunk of the car, where Dad had the engine running. After the clunk of the trunk locking, she opened the passenger door.
"Alright, Do-young. Mom's off."
"Yeah, safe travels. Next time, bring back that superstar little sis."
"Of course. I'll even grab her international tournament trophy—look forward to it."
"Ooh."
Not just national power-level trophy—planetary power-level. That's kinda badass.
"Oh, right."
Mom, buckled in with the door closed, suddenly remembered something and rolled down the window, poking her head out.
"What's up?"
"Hang on... come here..."
She seemed about to hand something over, but the revving engine drowned her out. Gesturing for me to come closer, I leaned toward the passenger window to hear.
"Here."
Plop. With that, Mom placed a small green box from her handbag into my hand.
"...What's this?"
"Wear it whenever you do it."
"...What?"
Mom's earnest advice, the familiar size and shape of the box, pulled from an easy-to-carry handbag—it all gave me strong certainty about what I held.
"Lime-flavored condoms."
Whoosh. A solid fireball surged up from deep in my chest.
Even if it was a possibility I'd never considered, once the words hit my ears, the mind conjures the image. Whether it was serious motherly counsel or petty revenge for what I'd put her through these past days—I had no way to know.
"U, ugh...."
But the effect of Mom's little curveball was tremendous. The fireball lodged in my throat, flushing my cheeks and ears beet red.
"Mom...!"
My burning eyes blurred my vision, and I yelled at the mom right in front of me. In that instant, nothing else existed. That fiery frustration blazing through my mind for a moment? I'd call it shame, bubbling up from the depths.
"Huhu. If you're gonna stab someone else, you should've known it'd come back around."
So it was revenge. Smart old lady.
"...Mom, that's sexual harassment!"
"It's fine. Mom's a girl too."
What was that? Sounded like a cruder version of some line I'd heard somewhere. From who? Some ridiculously pretty girl who kinda looked like this lady.
"Alright, Mom's heading out? Stay healthy till we meet again!"
With that, Mom rode off with Dad, vanishing into the distance down the street.
"...Mirror therapy is scary."