Chapter 51 – Summit With the Final Boss
“Maybe my son’s girlfriend said she would come today… Is it?”
Dad slowly approached Hye-ji with very careful steps, as if he were a believer who had accepted the god he believed in before his eyes.
It was a very suspicious-looking motion, so I tried to stop it by talking to my dad.
“I’m a fan.”
Unexpectedly.
My father has confessed his fandom.
“I heard that you are in charge of illustrations for my son’s erotic stories.”
For a moment, Hyeji seemed unable to understand the situation and looked at me and her father alternately to see what they were thinking, but then she slowly lowered her head with an awkward smile on her face.
“Ah yes… Yes, that’s right.”
“I don’t know how many times I hit my daughter with that picture…”
“Dad, what are you talking about in front of your girlfriend?”
“No, what do you think? “You made a long speech in front of your mother, saying, ‘You can forgive dirty talk that doesn’t entertain you, but you can’t forgive dirty talk that doesn’t make you feel bad.'”
“I didn’t say that!”
Strictly speaking, he said things with a nuance such as saying that dirty talk is bad if it sucks, but for some reason, he didn’t play with sayings by modifying quotes that he might have heard in the military.
Anyway, Dad seems to have been quite impressed by Hyeji’s painting.
“Honestly, even though he is my son, even from my perspective as a reader, the story is not very good.”
“Dad?”
“But I am extremely aware of who I resemble, so I have more than once tried to watch a movie secretly in the office and ended up hitting on one of them secretly because I couldn’t resist.”
No, it’s definitely a compliment, but why is it so shameful?
“But wouldn’t it be true that my son gained wings after meeting author Satomi?”
“Thank you, father…”
“If only I had the ability to sponsor illustrators, I would have put in a thousand coins, but it’s very disappointing.”
Since 1,000 coins are worth 100,000 won, she must have been hit hard by her mother for doing such a thing.
It was clear that this was a compliment for Hyeji, but she seemed quite at a loss whether she could like it out loud or what she should do. As she kept tucking her hair behind her ear, her eyes wandered here and there, unable to focus on one place.
“Anyway, I just wanted to say that you get along really well with my son.”
Her father organized it neatly.
“Welcome to my home. And thank you for meeting my son.”
Only then did Hyeji stand with a faint smile and slightly bow her head to express her gratitude.
“Thank you for looking at me so kindly. And… Se-gwang oppa has done a lot more for me. “My brother is such a good person.”
Hyeji’s expression as she shyly confesses and glances at me is so lovely. It was to the point where I wanted to hug him right now.
“Let’s go in. “My wife is also waiting.”
After saying that, Dad turned his back and led the way. He quietly hid the cigarette in his hand in his pocket and quietly turned around.
I followed behind my father and held Hyeji’s hand tightly. Hyeji’s slightly trembling hand gradually regains her stability in my hand.
I even had a solemn feeling, as if I was strengthening my resolve with my comrades before meeting the final boss. I don’t know how my mom ended up being the final boss in my life.
If there is a barrier between Hyeji and me.
Even if it’s a demon lord in the dark at the final boss, you can only defeat it.
If we had to define this situation, would it be ‘pure love for corruption?’ My heart feels warm and majestic as if I am awakening as a fire attribute filial piety.
“Here we go.”
With the sound of a door lock, the door opens, and she steps through the front door and the middle door into the living room.
“… “You’re here.”
The devil wearing an apron… No, my mom showed up.
“It’s my first time seeing you. Nice to meet you.”
Hyeji bowed her head with a shy expression to her mother, who greeted her with an expression and tone of voice that did not welcome her at all.
“Nice to see you. My name is Shin Hye-ji.”
“Thank you for coming this long way.”
“Thank you.”
“Sit down please. “Because the meal is almost ready.”
“Ah yes. Then…”
“The bathroom is over there.”
“Okay, thank you.”
It was a cold conversation without any sense of warmth. Hye-ji washed her hands in her bathroom and came to the table, stood in front of her chair, and when she saw her mother making soup, she ran to her side and held out her hand.
“Okay, I’ll move it.”
“It’s okay.”
“No. Of course, I should do it.”
She’s not married yet, so there’s no need to go to such lengths to show her face, but her mother even said ‘of course’ and saw Hye-ji busily carrying soup and rice bowls to her table.
Quietly watches.
“…”
After seeing her father sit down and then me sit down, Hyeji pointed to her empty chair and offered it to her mother.
“Please sit down, mother.”
Her mother looked at Hyeji with a puzzled expression for a moment, then she slowly took off her apron and sat down next to her father.
After Hyeji sat down, and she saw that all of her family members, including me, were holding spoons, her mother frowned and spoke quietly when she saw Hyeji holding up spoons.
She said, “I guess I pay a lot of attention to etiquette. Not like young people these days.”
Even as she said that, her mother’s eyes were focused on Hyeji’s chopsticks. Her mother nodded her head quietly as she watched Hyeji move her chopsticks at a stable trapezoidal angle without crossing them arbitrarily or standing stiffly.
“Did you learn how to use chopsticks from your parents?”
“Yes? Oh, that’s right.”
“They are great people.”
Hyeji bowed her head with a puzzled expression. Mom picked up the roasted croaker placed in her middle, placed it in Hyeji’s rice bowl without saying a word, and continued eating.
In response to her unexpected favor, Hyeji put down her chopsticks for a moment and bowed her head more politely than before to express her gratitude.
“Okay, I’ll eat well.”
Mom didn’t really answer.
It may just be a feeling, but the atmosphere seems a little better than before.
I thought she was stuck because she was a Confucian girl, but did Hye-ji’s politeness actually give her an added bonus?
In any case, her premonition was not bad.
She was worried that the whole time she was eating, she would bombard her with questions, creating an atmosphere like a personnel hearing, but fortunately, her mother wasn’t that bad either. She didn’t attack at all and just focused on her meal calmly.
“Do you need more soup?”
“Oh, well, I appreciate your words, but I ate almost all of it.”
“Or should I give you more food?”
“Maybe it’s because the side dishes were delicious, but I ate a lot more than usual. “I’m sorry.”
Hyeji literally picked out only her best answers and presented them to her mother. Of course, this level of speaking style can be said to be basic for social life.
“You said you were into painting, right? “A bit of obscene type of pictures.”
“Uh, um… Yes, that’s right.”
“Actually, I had some prejudices, but the image is different from what I thought.”
It was clear that Hyeji’s attitude was working well for her mother.
“Let’s have a cup of coffee each.”
“Yes, I like it.”
“For your information, we only have mixed coffee.”
“It’s okay. I also like that mixed coffee.”
“Then burn them while I do the dishes.”
“Mom, I will do the dishes.”
“It’s because I have my own way, so please make me coffee.”
“Where is the cup by any chance?”
“I’ll take it out.”
Surprisingly, even though the two people were stuck together in a small kitchen, they carried out their tasks quite harmoniously without interfering with each other. Did the bright and proactive Hyeji look perfect?
After a while, by the time Hyeji finished her coffee and brought it to the table, her mother had also finished washing her dishes. Her mother sat in her previous seat and sipped the coffee that Hyeji had made for her.
“… “I’m not good at coffee.”
For the first time, he gave a harsh review.
Honestly, this is a part where the shield doesn’t work. Hyeji may be polite, but her handling of food was so serious that it was the worst. The reason she knows how to cook ramen and rice is because as long as she measures the amount of water accurately, there is nothing else to do.
To be honest, the coffee Hyeji brewed was a bit bland.
Hye-ji also smiled sheepishly and lowered her head as if she acknowledged that part.
“I’m not good at making food… “I had no talent.”
“Like I said earlier, I should have made the coffee myself.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not saying I’m sorry.”
She was worried that her mother would do something drastic, such as throwing coffee on Hye-ji’s face, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.
Unexpectedly, a very peaceful meeting was unfolding.
My father kept looking at me with an expression of uncertainty, probably because he didn’t expect me to feel this way. I, too, was still more worried than feeling fortunate.
I wouldn’t have called for it to end like this.
What on earth is this?
What kind of story are we taking this time to talk about?
“Oh, by the way, did you say your name was Shin Hye-ji?”
Her mother was the first to open her mouth, breaking the ominous silence like the eye of a typhoon. To that question, Hedge responded, “Yes, that’s right.” And let her nod.
“By any chance, is Mr. Shin somewhere?”
I asked Hyeji a completely useless question.
What kind of census is happening out of the blue? Thinking like that, I took a deep breath and was about to drink coffee.
One thing she had forgotten suddenly crossed her mind.
‘Wait, but now that I think about it… ‘
Usually, rather than saving her mother as a name, she often saves it as ‘Mom’, and of course at home she uses the title ‘Mom’ rather than her mother’s real name, so it takes a moment to remember her mother’s real name.
By the way.
‘Mom, you’re from Shin too, right?’
Mrs. Shin Soo-hee.
The moment I remembered my mother’s name, whom I had not called for a while.
It’s difficult to put into words, but an uneasy and uneasy feeling began to bloom in her heart.
