Daughter, I'm Sorry… Would It Be Okay If Just the Four of Us Went Tomorrow?
Areum was showing Sarang around the house while Dad sat on the living room sofa watching TV.
And I was hovering near Mom in the kitchen as she peeled fruit, whispering so softly it barely counted as a voice.
"…Mom."
"Ugh, would you get away from me? You're being disgusting."
"Aren't you being a little harsh on your own son?"
"Son, stop doing things you never do and get out of the way. Mom's holding a knife right now."
"Haa… that's not it. I just have something to ask."
"Then just ask it. What is it that you need to whisper in my ear for?"
She must have known full well I was going to ask about Sarang, but her reaction was completely unbothered.
"Anyway, why is Sarang suddenly here? And without a single word of warning, at that."
"Oh my, listen to this kid. Is Sarang not allowed to come here? And is this your house? Didn't Mom and Dad make this home for you?"
"That's not what I'm saying right now."
At that, Mom let out a deep sigh.
"Aigoo… you already know the situation without me saying it, don't you?"
"Ah, well… more or less."
From what I'd heard over the phone, it was all heavy stuff — the car accident that took Sarang's parents, both of them gone, Sarang left alone. Not a single part of it was light.
"You know how close Dad and Uncle Sangpil used to be, right?"
"Yeah. He used to come over to our place a lot back in the day."
"Just come over? Your dad went over there plenty too. And when he stayed out late, Sarang's mom would call me and tell me not to worry, take care of him, even put him in a taxi home."
"…Yeah."
The conversation seemed to be drifting off course, and then, as if she'd suddenly sunk into old memories, she started unspooling stories from years ago.
"One time your dad just wouldn't come home, so I went to drag him out myself — and I ended up getting drunk too, and we both took a taxi back together. And that little Sarang even made me honey water, you know?"
"Ha… so drinking honey water from a kid is something to brag about?"
"Hey! It means she was that sharp and thoughtful. Anyway — with Sangpil and his wife ending up like that, can you imagine how hard it's been for Sarang all alone? That kid who used to hold back her tears in front of people was crying her eyes out by herself in the bathroom."
"…She was? Must've been rough on her, being alone. She's twenty this year, right?"
"If she were twenty I wouldn't be this worried. She's a senior in high school. Senior year. Right when everything matters most…"
Mom set down the apple she'd been peeling and her face filled with pure sadness.
Looking at that expression made me feel gloomy right along with her.
"So what's Sarang supposed to do by herself? She still has to finish school. Are relatives taking her in?"
"Haa… that family really is in a tough spot. I'd gotten a feeling about it from conversations we had before, but apparently there's not a single relative who can look after her. Whew… it just makes me think of our Areum, and Mom's heart aches even more."
I'd heard this kind of routine before.
"Ah… so Mom's going to take her in again?"
"Take her in? What am I supposed to do with a kid who's already practically grown? I'm just going to feed her and make sure she finishes school."
"Haha… Mom, you're something else. So she's living here with us?"
"Yeah. She said she just couldn't stay alone in the house she used to live in, so she packed a few clothes and her personal things and moved them over to our place."
Mom and Dad had probably felt the same way looking at Areum when she was little.
Mom's decision felt a little like overstepping, but if that was Sarang's choice too, then I was willing to respect it.
"You'll figure it out on your own, but get along with Sarang too. Okay?"
"Yeah. I will."
"Here, take this. Mom'll clean up and come out."
I took the plate she held out.
Colorful cut fruit, and five little forks lined up beside it.
Crisp apple flesh released a sweet-and-tart flavor with every crunch.
The juice lingering on the tip of my tongue kept my fork moving without a pause.
"Sarang, you should eat some too."
"Ah, thank you."
Sarang looked more mature than a high school senior had any right to.
I didn't know if kids these days all developed this well, but at a glance she was clearly taller than Areum.
"Haha! Seeing everyone gathered like this takes me back to when you kids were little."
Dad laughed heartily, though a faint sadness sat in his smile.
"It really does. Our kids kind of drifted apart starting in high school, didn't they? You all kept in touch, though, right?"
"…No. Not really, separately."
"Well, so what? It's good to start staying in touch more from now on. Did you exchange numbers?"
Mom and Dad were being unusually pushy.
Their worry for Sarang, left all alone, must have been enormous.
"Ah… o-oppa and I haven't yet…"
"Our son's just shy, that's all. Sarang, can you cut him some slack?"
"Y-yes…"
I remembered her being a lot more lively when we were kids.
Clinging to me, teasing me, hitting me, running away… those old memories came flooding back unbidden.
But the way she was now, weighed down by everything complicated in her heart, every little movement looked passive and withdrawn.
"Give me your phone. I'll put my number in."
"Ah, yes, yes! Here…"
Figuring I should be the one to reach out first in a moment like this, I held out my hand to Sarang.
She looked somehow embarrassed, but handed over her phone right away.
"Here. If anyone at school bothers you, call me. Oppa'll take care of them."
"Heehee… okay."
It was the first smile I'd seen from her since she walked through the door.
The flash of white teeth between her lips was striking — neat, even rows, and cute dimples that sank into both cheeks.
"Those dimples are cute. Did you have them when you were little too?"
"Ah… I don't know. I think they've just always been there. Heehee…"
"Yeah?"
In that small smile, bits of the old her started to show through.
It was such an old memory, and I'd clearly remembered her as the cute type back then — but now, with all the baby fat gone, she had the kind of face that made people call her pretty no matter where she went.
"Oh my, listen to our son saying all kinds of things to Sarang. Can't you see your own sister's dimples?"
"Ha… Mom, what are you talking about. It was just something I said."
"Oh my, oh my, is he getting embarrassed right now?"
At Mom's half-joke, half-not comment, Dad let out that hearty laugh again.
Sarang covered her mouth and smiled softly too — and looking at those pretty crescent-moon eyes, I figured teasing like this was fine to take.
"Ha! Enough. Just eat the fruit."
"Changing the subject, are we. Sarang is pretty, though, right? When you were little we used to talk about marrying you two off."
"…Mom, saying weird stuff in front of the kids again."
My pointless grumbling only seemed to egg Mom's teasing on a little longer — until Areum suddenly shot up from her seat, and every eye in the room locked onto her.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
I met Areum's slightly darkened expression, and a chill ran down my spine.
I tensed up, half-afraid that lunatic was about to open her mouth and say something right here, with Sarang sitting right there.
"Ah… I was just going to the bathroom."
"Hoho, our daughter must be in a real hurry?"
"I-I'll be right back."
As Areum bolted from her seat, our eyes met one more time.
It felt like she was trying to tell me something with her gaze, but I had no way of reading it.
And so Areum disappeared toward the bathroom, and the conversation turned to this coming weekend.
"Tomorrow's Saturday — do you kids have anywhere to be?"
"…I don't. Her, I wouldn't know."
"Then how about we all go out somewhere as a family?"
"Ah… hold on a second."
"What's there to think about? You just said you have nowhere to go."
Mom's question came flying in so suddenly my head went blank.
Areum and I were barely managing to keep a straight face — we were a bomb that could go off at any second without it being strange.
"Ah, Areum doesn't know yet. Ask her first."
I handed the choice over to Areum for now.
I'd already said I had no plans, so making excuses was a little awkward for me.
And I figured Areum would read the room and handle it.
"Yeah? So our son's fine with it, then?"
"…Yeah. I-I'm fine."
I wanted to dodge this as much as possible.
Areum and I still had things we needed to sort out just the two of us, so a big family outing was not the ideal choice.
"Ah… I wish Unnie could come too…"
Sarang's little murmur from beside me made a corner of my chest twist uncomfortably — but either way, with Areum in the driver's seat, this plan was clearly destined to fall apart.
Creeeak— clack—
Thud— thud— thud—
Areum's footsteps approaching from down the hall.
Worried Mom and Dad might get the jump on me, I opened my mouth first.
"Hey! You got plans tomorrow? Mom wants us all to go on a trip or something."
"…A trip?"
"Yeah, just the family going out together. You don't have plans tomorrow, right?"
Please, please, please…
I prayed and prayed inside my head.
Please let Areum blow this plan to pieces.
I wanted to be free of this feeling of standing on thin ice, one wrong step from falling through.
"Ah, I do actually have plans tomorrow…"
The second Areum finished speaking, I was cheering on the inside.
"Is that so? Aigoo… what do we do."
"Is it an important appointment?"
"Yes… i-it's a little important."
The way she held her ground even against Dad's question was almost impressive.
I let out a big breath of relief and sank back comfortably into the sofa.
"We booked this on short notice too, so it can't be helped."
"Ah… Unnie can't come?"
I'd been sure it would fall through.
Mom and Dad had always been careful about this kind of thing — no matter what, the four of them went together, so no one would ever feel left out.
"Honey, I'm sorry… but would it be okay if just the four of us went tomorrow and came back? We already made the reservation yesterday, and we could use a little change of scenery."
Mom looked apologetically at Areum as she stroked Sarang's hair.
"Ah…… the four of you?"
I wasn't the only one stunned by Mom and Dad's unexpected reaction.
The idea that they'd actually go without her must have been just as far outside Areum's expectations.
"W-wait a second."
I watched Areum's back as she disappeared again with a strange look on her face.
Honestly, the two of us splitting off like this wouldn't have been such a bad picture either…
"I-I… I canceled my plans for tomorrow. I-it's our first family trip and all… it felt a little weird for just me to sit it out…"
"Oh my! Really? You don't have to push yourself, you know."
"Yeah. Like Mom said, you don't have to force yourself to cancel on our account."
Areum answered with an awkward, embarrassed look, but Mom and Dad seemed preoccupied with something else entirely.
"I-it's really fine… I'll go too."
Areum's face flushed a deep red.