Grandmother's Farewell Dream
* * * *
"Waaah! Grandma~! I want meat~! Meat~!"
On a sweltering summer day when the cicadas were screeching deafeningly in the trees.
Little Ji-hoon, still in the early years of elementary school, was rolling around on the wide wooden porch.
"Aigoo~ Why does our Ji-hoon love meat so much?"
Grandma approached with a tray, giving a troubled smile.
His parents were strict about not giving him meat if he didn't eat his veggies, so during vacation at Grandma's house, Ji-hoon was like a wild colt let loose from its reins.
The scorching heat and the cicadas' cries.
And Ji-hoon wailing at the top of his lungs like he was one of them.
It was the ultimate chaotic symphony.
"You can't just eat meat, Ji-hoon. Grandma will make you delicious pork cutlets for dinner, so eat this for now, okay?"
Grandma skillfully scooped some stir-fried anchovies onto a spoonful of rice, wrapped it in seaweed, and held it to Ji-hoon's mouth.
"Waaah~! Nooo~! Meat~! Meat~!"
Ji-hoon clamped his mouth shut and turned his head away.
He was a spoiled little prince through and through.
Lying on the porch throwing a tantrum—it was the kind of scene that begged for a flick on the forehead—but Grandma patiently coaxed her grandson.
"Ji-hoon~ Grandma bought your favorite ice cream and pork cutlets. Eat this, and I'll give them to you. Okay?"
"......!"
At the word "ice cream," Ji-hoon sprang up from the floor where he'd been rolling.
"Really? You'll give me ice cream, Grandma?"
His parents always banned junk food, so ice cream was a dream treat for Ji-hoon.
He wiped away his tears as if he'd never cried.
"Sure~ Let's eat rice first, then ice cream. Here~ Ahh~"
Ji-hoon didn't like it, but he grudgingly opened his mouth and took the bite.
"Good boy~ Our Ji-hoon is so cute~"
The moment Ji-hoon swallowed, Grandma kept wrapping more rice in seaweed and feeding him without pause.
After a few bites, Ji-hoon's belly was bulging out like a tadpole's.
"Grandma~ I'm full. No more."
"Really? You finished it all?"
Grandma beamed happily at the empty rice bowl.
"Then play here. Grandma will bring the ice cream."
"Yay~! Ice cream~~!"
The little boy bounced around in excitement.
How long had it been since he'd last had ice cream?
The day was so hot; just imagining that sweetness made him tingle.
A moment later.
Grandma came back holding something in her hand.
"Here~! Ji-hoon, let's eat ice cream~"
Ji-hoon rushed over to her, full of anticipation.
But.
"....Ice cream..?"
Ji-hoon's face twisted oddly.
It was a shape he'd never seen before.
A red lump frozen solid on a wooden stick.
It looked like ice cream... but something was off.
"Grandma, where did you buy this?"
Grandma smiled quietly and kindly, handing it to him.
"Try it. It'll be tasty."
Ji-hoon bit into the red icy chunk skeptically.
Crunch.
"......"
"......Grandma, isn't this watermelon?"
Indeed.
Thinking of her grandson's health, Grandma had skewered watermelon on a stick and frozen it.
There was no soft vanilla creaminess or chocolate sweetness that Ji-hoon had dreamed of.
Just hard, cold watermelon flavor.
"It's cool, right? Eat up."
At those words, the little boy felt utterly betrayed.
To his young heart, the world seemed to crumble.
"Waaah!!! Grandma, you liar! What kind of ice cream is this! Waaah!"
Ji-hoon wailed in grief.
"Eh.. Not tasty?"
"This isn't ice cream!"
Splat!
Ji-hoon threw the painstakingly made watermelon ice cream to the floor.
Then he bolted out into the yard, tears streaming.
What a crybaby.
Watching her grandson vanish before her eyes, Grandma smiled in embarrassment—but not unkindly.
"Hmm~ Not that tasty? I thought it was good."
Kids' tastes and adults' just didn't match, it seemed.
Grandma bent down to pick up the fallen watermelon ice cream from the floor.
"Gotta fry up some tasty pork cutlets for dinner."
Time flew by like an arrow.
The scene shifted.
"Grandma, I'm getting married!"
Now a grown young man, Ji-hoon grinned as he said it.
Grandma, aged and wrinkled, lit up like a schoolgirl at the news.
"Aigoo~ Our grandson is getting married already!"
Her eldest son's second son starting a family.
She felt how mercilessly fast time had passed.
Her body ached all over from age, her strength gone.
That little bundle she'd changed diapers for was now a head of household.
"Now I can die without regrets..."
Grandma thought it sincerely.
She'd lived a long life, truly.
After that, Ji-hoon left for America, and Grandma didn't see her grandson for a long time.
"Ugh.. Is our grandson doing well?"
Even when bedridden and ill, Ji-hoon's photo was always by her bedside.
"Aigoo~ The world's gotten so good. I can see my grandson on this square thing."
Chuseok.
Through the tablet PC screen, she greeted her grandson after so long.
Clinging to that one promise, Grandma endured day by day.
And that day.
It was a rare day when her strength returned.
At an age where she should be preparing for death.
In the home where she'd lived her whole life, she ate a little of the meal her children prepared and lay down.
"......"
Her condition was good for the first time in ages.
Sleep would come easily.
Grandma lay on her familiar mattress, pulled up the blanket.
Her eyes drifted shut peacefully.
It had been years since she'd dreamed.
Before her stood her late husband.
And her parents, parted from her long ago, smiled brightly.
"Woof! Woof!"
Even the white dog from the yard wagged its tail in welcome.
Grandma looked down at her aged, sickly body.
The wrinkles were gone, her back straight—she was the healthy girl from those days.
She knew instinctively.
Ah, it's time to go.
Grandma smiled and said,
"It's been a while."
"......"
"I missed you all."
The matriarch, mother, and grandmother slowly walked toward her loved ones.
Bright light enveloped the space.
A warm, cozy light.
Grandma's figure slowly faded into the light.
And finally.
Her words for her beloved grandson scattered into the air.
Our grandson. Live happily. Grandma will come to greet you later.
"......!"
Ji-hoon snapped his eyes open.
His chest ached as if it were tearing apart.
His vision blurred.
Tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.
The pillow was already soaked.
"......"
Ji-hoon stared blankly at the ceiling.
Outside the window, the pale dawn light was spreading.
He glanced beside him—Lily was sleeping soundly, exhausted.
She hadn't woken even to his sobs; she must have been deeply asleep.
Thank goodness.
Ji-hoon wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
But they wouldn't stop.
A dream.
Yes, Grandma's dream.
From his childish tantrums as a kid to her final departing figure.
Her life's footprints flashed by like a panorama.
The one who had cared for him with infinite love.
He regretted not visiting more; it pierced his bones.
That foolish day he'd thrown the watermelon ice cream—it struck his heart now.
'Live happily. I'll come greet you later.'
Those final words lingered in his ears, refusing to fade.
Ji-hoon bit his lip hard to swallow his sobs.
His eyes were so swollen from crying they barely opened.
Gazing at the dawn outside, he offered a final goodbye in his heart.
'...Grandma. Thank you. Much later... I'll come see you, and apologize properly.'
Ji-hoon quietly closed his eyes.
One corner of his heart felt hollow and raw, yet something warm filled it at the same time.
Thus, Ji-hoon buried his beloved grandmother in his heart. * * * *
The gears of the Republic of Korea government began spinning at breakneck speed.
The reason was simple.
Money.
The US State Department's announcement of "visa restrictions and deportation reviews" had triggered a seizure in the nation's economic bloodstream—the capital markets.
Businessmen unable to travel to the US?
Overseas branches grinding to a halt?
In an export-dependent nation, this was the harbinger of national bankruptcy.
Every minute, every second, was bloodcurdling.
Trillions were evaporating from the stock market, and the Blue House hotlines blazed with desperate pleas from conglomerate chairmen.
"Fix this fast! Whatever it takes!"
The president's thunderous order came down.
The government immediately launched the "Kim Ji-hoon Incident Truth-Finding Task Force."
One goal: Complete the timeline for Kim Ji-hoon's demands.
Without lies, without omissions, thoroughly.
The quicker the resolution, the less the damage.
The government mobilized aces from every investigative agency: NIS, prosecution, Board of Audit.
Investigations that would normally take months had to wrap in hours.
Incheon Yeongjong Police Station.
A usually quiet morning.
Several black vans swarmed the station yard.
"National Intelligence Service. Executing search and seizure warrant."
Suit-clad NIS agents stormed in.
The main gate nearly shattered.
"Wh-what is this!"
A patrol officer tried to block them, but the agents shoved past like he was invisible.
Their target was clear.
The cybercrime unit.
"Secure every computer, document, personal phone."
"Yes, sir!"
Detective Park and Officer Kim Min-ji's desks were stripped bare in seconds.
"Why my phone..."
Kim Min-ji protested with a pout, but the agent glared down coldly.
"Officer Kim Min-ji, support team. Suspected false reporting and abuse of authority. Shut up and unlock it."
"......!"
The NIS agents showed no mercy.
CCTV originals, call recordings, messenger chats.
Even deleted data, recovered on-site with forensic gear.
What they uncovered were ugly shards of truth.
Traces of their plot to harass Kim Ji-hoon and abuse the law lay exposed in stark detail.
At the same time, Government Seoul Complex annex.
A storm hit the Ministry of Gender Equality building too.
"Board of Audit Special Investigations. Starting with the minister's office."
Audit officials barged in; ministry staff turned pale and trembled.
They'd always strutted on women's rights, but before a crisis threatening the nation's survival, their bravado vanished.
"Call logs with Ji-su, funding transfers, pressure docs to her agency... You really went all out, huh?"
"......"
The ministry's scripted show was dissected piece by piece. * * * *
Task Force conference room.
Elites from every ministry gathered.
A massive screen displayed real-time intel compiled into a timeline.
Gender Ministry Kim Section Chief → Instigates lawsuit against Ji-su.
→ Choi Hyun-jin Judge → Warrant request to Judge Kim Min-su confirmed (call records secured).
Incheon Airport immigration counter, entry restriction alert triggered.
→ Yeongjong Station Detective Park, on-site response. Ignores consular access rights.
→ Officer Kim Min-ji, false legal advice (recording secured).
As the puzzle pieces fit, the room's air grew icy.
"Ha... What a total shitshow."
The State Affairs Coordination Office director rubbed his forehead.
It was worse than imagined.
They'd expected some grand conspiracy, but peeling it back revealed just personal ambition, ministry selfishness, and sheer incompetence.
"Can we really report this as-is? It's... too embarrassing."
One investigator asked cautiously.
Advertising the national system's flimsiness to the world.
But the director shook his head firmly.
"No holding back. Embarrassing? If visas get blocked, we're all dead."
He remembered Ji-hoon's warning.
'Any lie, and no negotiation.'
Half-assed fabrications wouldn't fly.
"Names, ranks, charges. Attach photos too."
The director drew a red line at the top of the timeline.