Chapter 102
Chapter 102
My first long-distance drive wasn't as difficult or tiring as I’d expected. The driving practice Jae-gyu had made me do helped, but more than anything, the events of yesterday and today kept flashing through my mind, making me forget my physical exhaustion.
I had ended up at Shinsu High as if pushed by a current. I’d closed off my heart, thinking it was just some dead-end country school in the middle of nowhere, but…
[Teacher Bom, I fried up some chicken breast I’d bought for my diet. Come and have some with me!]
[Teacher, these are jelly vitamins. Take one a day. There’s a note inside, so make sure you read it.]
Without me even realizing it, Shinsu High had naturally woven itself into my daily life. I never imagined the affection I started sharing this year would return to me as such overwhelming love.
I had been stripped bare before the entire nation, but the profound realization that I now had "my people" kept me moving.
“Yoon Bom, let’s try calling now.”
My mother, who had become busy with her next project, had given me her manager’s contact information, and I occasionally reached out through him. According to the schedule the manager had shared, Mom had no filming or meetings today. That didn't necessarily mean she was at home, so as soon as I entered the city, I pulled over to the curb and dialed her number.
What if she doesn't pick up? What will she say if she does? Even though I had calmed down significantly, my heart couldn't help but flutter at the thought of facing her.
—Hey!
Almost immediately, a high-pitched, loud voice burst through the receiver.
“Mom…”
—Yoon Bom, you brat! I called you so many times, and you didn't pick up? Where are your manners?
Having answered before the phone could even ring twice, Mom began to scold me in an excited, high-pitched tone. As her words poured out in a relentless, angry torrent, the tension finally left the hands that had been gripping the steering wheel so tightly.
—I couldn't sleep a wink last night. My dark circles are terrible. Even concealer won't cover this. What are you going to do about it?
The sound of my mother’s frantic voice was actually pleasant to hear. She was worried about me.
[Yoon Bom, I heard you went to meet the youngest son of NK Holdings without any makeup on. Do you have any idea how rude that is? I was so embarrassed!]
[Why are you saying you can't go to the VIP charity event tomorrow? Backing out of things like this is a disgrace to the family! A disgrace!]
Perhaps influenced by my father, my mother used to be obsessed with how she appeared to others. But now, as she ranted at me, not once did she mention "family disgrace" or being "embarrassed." Her words were nothing but an explosion of pent-up worry.
Mom has changed a lot since she returned to work.
For the first time, she felt like the mother I had truly longed for. Looking back, this was how she had been when I was very young.
She was like this before my father’s coercion forced her to quit acting and even her guest appearances on short-term programs. She might have been a bit materialistic and flighty, but there were definitely times when she gave her children pure affection.
She had simply lost her true self, withering away while trapped in the house, living exactly as my father demanded. Thinking of it that way, perhaps Mom was a victim too.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I startled you, didn't I…?”
—Of course you did! Don't you dare turn your phone off again. I thought about driving down there in the middle of the night a hundred times. Honestly, you’ll be the death of me.
“It’s not that… I’m sorry about what happened on the internet.”
—Those psychos are a real headache. Ugh, they’re like flies. Didn't I tell you a long time ago? You have to be careful with broadcasts. The way those broadcasting people act is a tale as old as time.
I was so happy to see this side of my mother again that a small laugh escaped me.
—Oh my, are you laughing right now? Is this the time to laugh? Where are you?
“Mom, I’m coming to see you.”
I heard her gasp in surprise, followed by the sound of rustling nearby. It felt like someone was with her.
—Tell her to take her time.
At the sound of a man’s low murmur, Bom’s eyes widened, momentarily wondering if it was her father. But it was a voice she couldn't possibly fail to recognize, even in passing.
“Jae-gyu? Mom, that’s Jae-gyu next to you, isn't it?”
—Huh? No… You must be hearing things.
“What do you mean, hearing things? It’s definitely him. Why is he there? He’s supposed to be in China…?”
What was going on? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't piece the situation together.
Even if he had moved his flight up, it was strange that he hadn't told me, and I couldn't understand why he was suddenly meeting my mother.
—Ugh, I don't know! Talk to Son-in-law Gyu yourself.
“Son-in-law Gyu…?”
After repeatedly denying it under my questioning, Mom finally handed over the phone.
—Bom-bom. It’s me. Your hearing is top-tier.
“Ha…”
The familiar baritone I had heard just yesterday felt as welcome as if I hadn't heard it in years.
At the same time, a sense of relief washed over me.
Even though he knew everything now, I realized through his voice alone—without needing a long conversation—that Jae-gyu hadn't changed.
“Jae-gyu, I left school early today.”
—Good job. Our Bom must have suffered so much in all that chaos.
His warm, comforting voice made me well up with emotion. To be honest, it had been so hard. I wanted to act like a child and tell him I wanted everyone punished.
“You saw everything on the internet too, didn't I, Jae-gyu?”
—I saw it. It’s about you, after all. I’ve already picked out the ones who deserve to be thrown in jail.
“You must know by now that my reputation isn't exactly great. You know, my likability rating was actually zero.”
—Isn't my reputation in my hometown that of a total scoundrel? My likability is minus one hundred over there.
Jae-gyu, who accepted even the ugly and embarrassing parts of me that I wanted to hide as just another part of who I am, cracked a joke like he always did.
It was exactly what he used to say habitually: that we can't always show only our pretty and good sides.
I thought he was just talking about physical appearance, but I see now that wasn't the essence of it. Wasn't Jae-gyu’s point that we should share even the hideous, dark things we want to hide and lean on each other? He had been saying that much more often since our trip to his hometown, Haechon Village.
“But Jae-gyu, why are you in Seoul?”
Bom asked the question she’d been wondering about, unconsciously wiping away the tears that had started to fall again.
—It was an emergency, so I flew in on a dawn flight and just finished meeting with your mother. Oh, wait a second.
I heard him ask my mother, “Would you like a Strawberry Salt Frappe?” Even though he was speaking calmly on the phone, the atmosphere seemed busy, so Bom set aside her curiosity and got straight to the point.
“So, where are you?”
—…Top secret.
“What?”
—It shouldn't take long here, so why don't you go home and rest? It’s a private matter, so I’ll tell you once I’ve finished cleaning things up. Let’s see, it shouldn't even take two hours, since I’ve mostly sorted it out.
“I’m asking where you are.”
This time, no matter how stubborn she was, he wouldn't give her an answer. Bom hung up for now and searched for the menu item she’d overheard.
<Seoul Strawberry Salt Frappe Cafe>
Fortunately, thanks to the unique menu item, she easily found the cafe where Jae-gyu was. After looking up the cafe’s location on a map app, Bom swallowed hard.
So that’s why he told me not to come.
It was a large, single-story cafe located right in front of the QBS Broadcasting Station. It was easy to guess why Jae-gyu had shown up there with her mother in tow.
He was probably there to confront that PD or the writer. Recalling how they had been completely intimidated by Jae-gyu’s presence at Pipi House, she felt deeply uneasy.
If an angry Jae-gyu so much as swung a fist, he’d be hauled away. She doubted he would go that far, but you never knew.
She had never actually seen him use violence. However, given his towering height and extraordinary strength, even a slight shove from Jae-gyu would likely send them flying like sheets of paper.
An ominous thought took hold. They might call the police, blow things out of proportion, and make Jae-gyu their next target, just as they had done to her.
Once her thoughts reached that point, Bom couldn't just sit still. Jae-gyu had told her to trust him and wait at home, but she hadn't driven all the way from Shinsu-eup to Seoul just for that.
I don't know what he’s planning, but I’m going. I have to at least see what’s happening.
Trying to soothe her rising anxiety, she entered QBS Broadcasting Station into the navigation.
Even on a weekday afternoon, downtown Seoul was crowded with cars and people. Shaking her head at the bustling city scenery that felt so foreign now, Bom’s thoughts deepened. Too much about her had changed for her to live in Seoul again.
She now preferred the quiet roads, the warm greetings from passersby, and the local hills and streams over sophisticated buildings.
It’s better to just visit Seoul like this once in a while.
Once this matter was settled, she decided she would stop suffering alone and have a proper discussion with her family. She could already imagine her father scowling and shouting, and her mother glancing at him while subtly taking her side. Her brother would probably just fan the flames next to her angry father, though.
Come to think of it, her brother was strangely quiet. She didn't know if he was just too busy starting his business with the funds from their father to care, but either way, it was a relief.
He was the type to say hurtful things without a second thought, always claiming he was just being "objective." While it was a shame the accident happened on the day he came to pick her up, she had more than paid off that emotional debt by now.
Bom decided to think positively. Perhaps one day, when her brother’s business stabilized and he found some peace of mind, he would change like their mother had.
There it is.
While she was lost in thought, she reached her destination.