Chapter 9
**CHAPTER 9: The Shopping Date with Mother-in-Law**
The shopping date with her mother-in-law continued without end. They bought a car, purchased a watch, bought clothes, shoes, and a new wallet. Luxury items that anyone would recognize just by hearing the name. How much had they spent in total?
Kim Seok-hun had no intention of asking for the price or thinking about it. Instead, he accepted everything according to his mother-in-law’s wish to choose items that suited him best. Most of the deliveries were arranged to be sent directly to their home from the stores, with the promised delivery time shifted to tomorrow. After completing all the shopping, the two of them naturally moved on to dinner. “Seobang-nim, are you hungry?”
“Sigh… Yes, it was no joke. I think I now understand why husbands fear their wives’ shopping.” “Ho ho ho ho, indeed.” “Hehe, but it was still fun.” “Really? That’s good. I was worried you might have been having all the fun by yourself.”
The place they visited for dinner was a quiet meat restaurant. Well, it wasn’t actually quiet. The private room they reserved was quiet, though. It was a famous high-end hanwoo restaurant in Seoul, and the price range was far beyond imagination. It was perfect for the two of them to enjoy a quiet meal. After the meat arrived and the staff tried to cook it themselves, Mother-in-law Lee Yeon-seo refused. “Let me handle it. Go outside for a bit.” “Yes, customer. Enjoy your meal…”
As soon as the staff left, Mother-in-law Lee Yeon-seo placed the meat on the grill and began cooking it herself with her small, delicate hands. But Kim Seok-hun could not just watch. “I’ll do it.” “Huh? No, of course I have to cook it.” “Hehe, no. Please.” “Aigoo, it’s fine.” Since he had already received so much, he insisted once more. “It’s only natural for men to cook outside and women inside!” “Eh…? W-w-what… man?” “Yes! So please. Why would a woman cook meat outside?” “Um… Th-that’s true?”
Slightly flustered by the son-in-law’s words, Mother-in-law Lee Yeon-seo blushed and handed over the tongs. Kim Seok-hun smiled happily and began grilling the meat with the tongs. Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle— He cooked the tender beef to perfection while once again expressing his gratitude to Mother-in-law Lee Yeon-seo. “It’s really delicious. Thank you so much.” “Aigoo, what’s there to thank… It’s just that I have nothing else.” “Still, thank you. Mother-in-law, do you like me?” “Eh…? O-of course I do?”
This was the first time he had asked so seriously. The image of the son-in-law grilling the meat, his serious expression while asking… It was quite cool, wasn’t it? “Will you tell me?” “Huh? Tell you what?” “Why you permitted me that day.” “Ah…” He had been curious from the beginning. Honestly, with no decent job and only a handsome face, a healthy body, endless sexual stamina, and an exceptionally large penis. Was that really enough to give his daughter to him? He wasn’t saying Mother-in-law didn’t love Seul-ah, but still… why? “Why did you permit me that very moment just by looking at me?” “Hm… Did it seem that obvious?” “Yes.” While grilling the perfectly cooked meat, Mother-in-law Lee Yeon-seo slowly revealed her thoughts. “I permitted it because I liked you… Person…?” “Yes, I…” The first honest story from Mother-in-law. She already knew that Mother-in-law had given birth to Seul-ah and Jin-ah at a young age. But she knew nothing about why they divorced or why she returned to Korea. Thus began the mother-in-law’s story. She said she met a man when she was young. A man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Only fifteen at the time, but love transcends age, she claimed. She believed in him and wanted to be with him. Their love had started that way. Although they had to hide it because it would have caused legal problems in the U.S., they believed it transcended even that. But… one year after Jin-ah was born, hell had come to Mother-in-law. The hell was betrayal. Or rather, abandonment? The man she loved turned out to be the heir to a well-known family in the U.S., and he was only a momentary fling before inheriting the position. Thus, her first love was torn apart by pain and suffering beyond failure. Yet despite the pain, she could not abandon Seul-ah and Jin-ah. She demanded money from the man she loved, and with enormous compensation, he was neatly dealt with. After that, she returned to Korea, raised her two daughters, and met many people, but none had ever come to her with sincerity. Even her own daughters. In the end, Mother-in-law had decided to hide her wealth, and when she did, half of the men who approached her left. The remaining half only looked at her with lustful eyes, so she cut them off too. One day, her daughter told her she wanted to get married… “Mom! I can only marry this brother!!” “Seul-ah…?” Due to Seul-ah’s strong insistence, she decided to meet the man, but she was moved by the way Seok-hun looked—shocked, flustered, happy, scared, yet refusing to give up. “Ah… Did it really look like that?” “It did to my eyes. So I permitted it, and now here we are.” “Ah…” Kim Seok-hun truly did not know of Seul-ah’s wealth. To be precise, it was Mother-in-law’s wealth, but he had never known. He had only chosen her because he enjoyed spending time with her and because their sex was wonderful. “Even the expression on Seok-hun’s face when he heard about the house I was going to give him still lingers. Oho ho.” “Mother-in-law is really something… Of course! A twenty-billion-won house like that…” “Ho ho, twenty billion or a hundred billion, it’s not a loss to Seok-hun.” “Even just hearing your words makes me grateful beyond words.” “Roughly, after returning to Korea, I bought several buildings, and the current value of those buildings is said to be beyond imagination. From those buildings alone, I’ve vaguely heard that the monthly rent exceeds ten billion won a year, but I never knew the exact figure. Anyway,”
“Really, thank you, Mother-in-law.” “I thank you too.” “Ah! Hurry and eat! It’s going to get cold!” “Yes!! Then shall we?” Ho ho ho. For the first time, Mother-in-law’s honest words made her seem strangely light-hearted, and for his part, learning of her pain made Kim Seok-hun feel even more deeply drawn to her. “Hoo… I’m full!” “Ho ho ho, me too. It’s been a long time since I overate. What now?” “Shall we go burn off the calories?” “Burn off the calories?” “Yes!!” A satisfying meal. Eating with the best person was the best dinner Kim Seok-hun had had since his divorce. “Burn off the calories? Exercise?” “Aigoo, if I overeat and then exercise intensely, it’s bad. Instead, let’s go to karaoke!” “Ka-ra-o-ke? But I don’t sing…” “Singing is just singing happily!” “R-really?” The date course of shopping — dinner — and then karaoke. A basic course, yet one Mother-in-law had never experienced before. “Let’s go!” “Yes!!” With Mother-in-law’s hand in his, the two left the store. The hands that naturally fit together felt perfectly natural. “Did you enjoy the meal?” “Yes, it was delicious.” “Ho ho ho, thank you. I’m truly happy to be able to treat a couple that looks so happy.” “Eh…?” Couple…? At that moment, Kim Seok-hun slowly turned his head to look at Mother-in-law. For some reason, she said nothing and only lowered her head. “Oh my, you two aren’t a couple?” “Y-yes, not yet.” “Oh my! Then you’re lovers! Ho ho ho.” “Hehe, thank you.” “Yes~ Come again next time.” “Yes!!” Since Mother-in-law made no excuse or correction, Kim Seok-hun answered with a mix of jest and sincerity, “Not yet,” and once again Mother-in-law did not deny it. Walking toward the karaoke after leaving the store, there was a brief moment of silence. “A couple… Do we really look like one?” “Aigoo, it was probably just a service line.” “Hehe, really?” “Yes, did it make Seok-hun feel bad? Me, an auntie like me, calling you husband…” Had that been the reason Mother-in-law had lowered her head? “No? I was happy though.” “Eh? Really?” “Yes, were you unhappy, Mother-in-law?” “Of course not!” “Hehe, that means it looked like we got along well. We really suit each other.” “Really?” Even while listening to Seok-hun’s words, Mother-in-law could not relax her pounding heart. So… they arrived at the karaoke room. “Then… shall we play?” “I-I’ll just watch…” “Hehe hehe!!! Aigoo!!” They began to have a lively time. Lively… live…
Thirty minutes passed. While Kim Seok-hun sang mostly upbeat dance songs and called out to Mother-in-law Lee Yeon-seo, “Mother-in-law,” “Huh?” “Let’s sing this together.” “Um… Shall we?” The song Kim Seok-hun chose was a gentle ballad, a famous song that couples usually sang together. The only difference was that he gently wrapped his arms around Mother-in-law’s shoulders as she came to the front of the table to sing. Softly— twitch— “It’s fine, right?” “Eh…? Y-yes, of course!” The warmth of the son-in-law enveloped her. Warm and wide… a desire surged to hold him deeper. Somewhere, somehow, the son-in-law felt steady, and having his arms around her shoulders felt good. It felt… wonderful. La la la la la la la la la la la la la— After the thrilling moment ended, when the screen showed the score while a song flowed out! [100 points!! Bippa ra bam!! Congratulations! You are already a singer!] “Waaa!!! 100 points!!!” “Kyahahah Kim Seobang!!” “Mother-in-law!!!” With the 100-point score displayed on the screen, without waiting for each other, they hugged each other. “Haa… It’s nice.” “Me too, really nice.” Yes, for today… for this moment… maybe it was okay for a woman to be happy. It was the moment when, somewhere inside Lee Yeon-seo, the ‘mother-in-law’ awakened as the ‘woman’ Lee Yeon-seo. And so… “It was fun today. Are you tired?” “Yes, a little.” “Ho ho, then sleep well and see you tomorrow.” “Yes, sleep well!!” Night had come.