Grandma's House!
Grandma's house! Rattle, rattle, rattle. Whether it was because the car was so old or the engine was finally reaching the end of its life, the vehicle trembled subtly. Even idling with the engine running, the whole body shook faintly, like someone with a fever.
I was gazing out the window from the back seat of that rickety old car. A moment later, the car came to a slow stop. With a faint whine from the brakes, it halted completely.
"We're here."
Dad's voice rang out. I peered out the window. It was a tall apartment complex, the parking lot packed with cars—a classic apartment block scene. Most people picture a countryside home when they think of grandma's house, but ours was different. It was an urban apartment.
By the 2020s, hardly anyone would go to the countryside anymore. That's because everyone living there would have migrated to the cities by then. It was a well-known fact that city life was better than rural. And the parents of those born in 1990 who married around that time were already city folk anyway.
In any case, we'd arrived at my paternal grandparents' place—Dad's parents.
I slipped quietly out of the car. The weather had warmed up, so it wasn't cold outside anymore. Not that it was good news. It was proof that summer was coming. Summer was truly grueling—a season of real hardship. But now, it didn't matter. Living without AC was a thing of the past.
There was a reason I tried to look good to both my paternal and maternal grandmas. I even pulled out my rarely used aegyo, and I genuinely liked them. It wasn't just some longing for a grandma that never existed in my old life—though that played a part too.
The biggest reason was that they had played the most crucial role in saving my life. You could say they did almost everything. They even dug into their own pocket money to lend us cash for my medicine.
My paternal grandpa had been a schoolteacher, and my maternal grandpa ran a shopping mall business. Both had solid foundations to build up savings. From what I'd heard, they'd collectively lent us close to 600 million won between the two families. Split evenly, that's 300 million each, an enormous sum. Especially in this era.
Of course, that included the house Mom and Dad already owned, but since the grandmas had provided it, it counted as their money. Pure cash alone probably came to nearly 400 million from both sides. They'd made an incredible effort to save me.
"Sora, let's go in!"
Dad said. I beamed and replied,
"Yes!"
Holding hands with both Dad and Mom, I stepped into Grandma's home. Dad pressed the doorbell with a big grin. Ding-dong! The cheerful, lively chime echoed down the hallway. Footsteps thudded from inside, and the door swung open.
Whoosh! Grandma appeared in the doorway. She glanced at Dad first. For exactly one second. Then her eyes naturally shifted to me, completely ignoring him.
She had a stern look that might scare some, but not me. Soon, her face broke into a warm smile, and she threw her arms wide.
"Aigoo, my Sora! You're here~ Come into Grandma's arms!"
I nestled right into her embrace. She had that uniquely cozy grandma scent. Smiling, I greeted her.
"Hello, Grandma!"
She immediately replied,
"Aigoo, Sora! I told you to speak casually with Grandma!"
"Heehee."
I let out a playful giggle. Grandma's expression melted completely—a face utterly smitten with her granddaughter. To be honest, I was pretty cute.
"Aigoo, Da-som! Come on in!"
Grandma tended to me first, then Mom. Dad—her own son—came dead last. Was it the head-of-household responsibility? Or just the weight men carried? Society saw it as natural for men to be looked after last. That's why there's "ladies first."
Grandma pinched and stretched my cheeks in delight. I let her, and honestly, it didn't feel bad. If anything, it felt nice. But worried she'd get tired holding me too long—I wasn't a kindergartener or baby anymore, after all—I said,
"Grandma, please put me down."
"Aigoo, alright, Sora! Grandma got too greedy!"
She gently set me down. Mom had already vanished into the kitchen, probably to fetch fruit or snacks. I snuggled back into Grandma's lap—not clinging this time, but lightly perching on her thigh as she sat.
Only after finishing up talk about me and Mom did she turn to Dad.
"Tae-yoon, how's the new job?"
Dad grinned at her question.
"It's good, Mom. Busy, sure, but... it's what I used to do. And they make sure weekends are off, even if there's overtime during the week."
"Oh? That's better then! You can play with Sora on weekends. Don't just flop on the sofa alone!"
Dad chuckled awkwardly.
"Got it, Mom. If anything, Sora's the busy one."
Grandma's eyes widened.
"How's that even possible? How busy can an eight-year-old get?"
I bowed my head at her words. Sorry, Grandma, but I was busier than Dad. My France trip alone was proof—like a full week's business trip. She knew I appeared on TV, but not the details. Only Mom and Dad knew the full story.
I shook my head at Dad, and he nodded back knowingly. Who knew what Grandma would say if she found out I was working and traveling? If I guessed her reaction...
"Sora's only eight now, and you're dragging a kid around to make money like this?!?!"
It was my choice, but from her perspective, it might look different. So Dad and I shared a silent agreement.
"Anyway, Mom... I can finally pay you back now. I've saved up enough."
Grandma looked at him skeptically, almost scoffing.
"Where'd you get the money? You're not borrowing from somewhere else to pay me, are you? If that's the case, don't bother. Better to borrow interest-free from Mom than pay interest to others."
She seemed to think he was juggling debts—like the card rollover game. Paying one card with another.
"Or just pay it to your in-laws. They run a business; they'll need cash."
Paternal Grandma didn't pinch pennies since Grandpa the teacher had provided stability. She had plenty saved. But the maternal side was different—they'd even gone into debt for us. For business owners, that was huge.
Dad smiled at her words.
"I'll pay your side back with plenty of interest, too. Just take it, Mom. You need money yourself. And it's not like I'm borrowing elsewhere."
"Hmmm...?"
Her eyes narrowed. After nearly ten years without repayment, of course she'd be suspicious.
To dispel her doubts, I chimed in.
"Grandma! Dad's right! We've made a lot of money at home, so we can pay it all back now. You need money too!"
Her eyes went wide.
"Oh? Really, Sora? You're worrying about Grandma?"
Her face lit up completely.
"Yes!"
Grandma melted utterly.
"Aigoo, so cute! Who'd our Sora take after to be this adorable? Must be from her mom! My son only passed down his flaws!"
Dad pouted at that. Grandmas preferring grandkids over grown sons was common. Sons were all lanky and gross now; grandkids were still soft and squishy. Natural order.
And she'd helped our family a ton—bringing food often, even recently suggesting we all live together. Dad had refused, of course. Mom said it was fine, but he insisted against it. From her view, living with in-laws would be awkward.
But now, it was a non-issue. We had our own home!
Anyway, that's how dire things had been. Few families lived with in-laws—almost none. Newlyweds were expected to move out and live separately.