A Fierce Showdown with the Bold Beauty (89/367)
"Son, did the movers do a good job with the trip stuff?"
Of course not. I'd told them not to come all the way up here since it was so far, but they just wouldn't listen. "You said you were coming, but are we even supposed to be here?"
My parents' eyes turned toward me. There was no way words alone could dampen their resolve. They weren't the type to back down that easily.
"Why would the people heading out on a trip tomorrow be hanging around here?"
"We figured since the flight to Incheon was already booked, we'd stop by on the way."
"Huh? It's booked for Incheon?"
I'd assumed they'd reserved something near the hometown airport for some sightseeing on the side. But nope, Seoul it was. Everything worked out somehow.
Normally, they'd start from the closest spot to home. But they'd gone and booked Incheon instead.
"So we came to check out your place and help with the move... but what's this?"
Their gazes swept over the spacious, empty apartment as they looked to me.
"Uh, I forgot. I said I was moving in but spaced on it."
It was a barren landscape with just a few random bags of stuff scattered around.
"So I've been staying at a hotel in the meantime."
"Filling this place with furniture can't cost that much, and you're staying at a hotel?"
"Huh? If they knew I'd been crashing at a hotel for a good long while now, they'd clutch their necks and keel over."
She clamped her mouth shut, her eyes fixed on me. I just soaked in the familiar nagging after so long—it was almost nostalgic.
What could I even do? Nothing, really. All I could do was wait for Mom to tire herself out.
"How could you forget something like that?"
"There's no bed! Not even a blanket! And you leave a perfectly good apartment empty to crash at a hotel? Is your money rotting away or what?!"
"Sorry..."
"Shut it! We're going furniture shopping right now!"
"Honey, calm down a bit..."
"Hurry up and get out!"
Dad tried to take my side and calm her down, but even he failed spectacularly in the end.
Looking at him shake his head at me, it was clear we'd be at this all day. What a pain.
"Ah, whatever. We can just order stuff online."
"You have to see furniture in person. What if you order randomly online and regret it later? Too much hassle?"
That seemed to be the common trait of parents' generation. They just didn't trust the internet.
These days, you could snag high-quality stuff cheaper than ever, but they refused to believe it.
"Take my car. Don't walk."
They'd probably taken the subway, winding their way here to save a buck. No surprise, given how frugally they'd always lived.
So yeah, it made sense they'd react strongly to the hotel talk. Well, except for Dad. He never sweated the small stuff. Had been that way since I was a kid—total free-range parenting.
"You handled the car reservation well, at least."
I'd seen it coming, but I kept my mouth shut to avoid another earful. Dad naturally slid into the driver's seat, and I hopped in the passenger side.
"IKEA?"
"Heard it's decent. Not too far?"
"We'll see once we drive. Should be quick with the car."
"Fill up the gas first. It's almost empty."
We stopped at a nearby station, topped off the tank, and finally hit the road. Mom nodded at the thirty-minute drive time. Anything farther would've meant griping about gas prices.
Even at IKEA, she was like, "Mom, don't be so old-fashioned about this."
My tastes clashed hard with Mom's, so shopping was predictably rough going.
"No, I told you I hate floral patterns!"
She kept trying to sneak in stuff with weird flower prints. I broke a real sweat holding her off.
"We'll take this bed."
"You're buying something this huge?"
"Beds are best when they're big, right?"
Bed, wardrobe, dresser—you name it, we loaded up. The damage was pretty hefty.
Definitely hitting the lottery this week. No doubt.
"No electronics?"
"They had an appliance section connected over there, I think?"
"Let's go."
"What about food?"
Hanging with my parents felt like being a kid again. Minus me footing the bill, anyway.
Which meant whatever opinion I tossed out, if it didn't sway them, tough luck. Food was non-negotiable.
"I'm not hungry."
"We ate on the train."
They'd scarfed down their own meals and ignored if their son was starving. And seeing them happily browsing... was this a trip to Seoul or just a shopping spree?
"Let's buy this stuff quick and eat. I haven't had anything since breakfast."
I grumbled, but it fell on deaf ears. "How's this?" "What about that?" They kept going.
With appliances too, it'd take forever.
Aaah... I wanna eat...
No clue how many hours passed. TV, microwave, gas stove, fridge, rice cooker, water purifier... and a ton more. We browsed, decided, paid.
"No computer?"
"Ah, I already ordered that one."
At least the computer was handled—I'd ordered it ages ago. And right on cue, a solid whack from Mom landed on my back.
"Ow! That hurts!"
"You little punk! You should've bought the basics here first!"
No way! That was unfair! I'd clearly ordered it online...