episode_0120

Due to the stain, both my husband and I were uncomfortable on our way to my in-laws’ house, but the one who pointed out the stain is all smiles.

It was the first time we went out together, so I felt good about it.

I feel a bit uncomfortable being in the receiving end, but what can I say to a three-year-old? I have to be the adult here.

“Unni, it’s been a while!”

“Our daughter is late, sorry about that. Did you wait long?”

As we were enjoying a leisurely cup of tea in the comfortable rocking chairs, some familiar guests arrived. It was my mom and Minjeong.

“Grandma! And Aunt! Hello!”

Seonga rushed ahead of me to greet the two before me.

The two adults, who saw our smart and polite daughter, looked at Seonga with smiles on their faces.

“Yes, our Seonga has grown a lot since we last saw her. Have you been well?”

“Wow… Mom, did you hear that? Seonga called me Aunt!”

The two adults showed slightly different reactions. Come to think of it, Minjeong didn’t have many chances to see Seonga.

But today was a day for our family of three to spend time together. Unfortunately, we had to leave Seonga with Sujin.

After exchanging light greetings, the three of us took our seats at the table and engaged the servants in conversation.

We talked about our recent activities without any awkwardness. Unlike my mom, who I’ve seen several times, Minjeong, who had entered a famous university, didn’t have many chances to see her.

Although I had given up on going to university, Minjeong’s words about university left a strong impression on me, except for the terrible things like exams and assignments.

“So after the midterms, my friends wanted to go out for drinks, but they’re being cautious and not letting me drink.”

“Minjeong, your friends seem more cautious than you.”

“What do you mean by that, Mom?”

There was an unpleasant atmosphere between Minjeong, who was about to argue, and Mom, who tried to laugh it off.

What’s going on here? Have there been such moments between the always close two of them? I anxiously watched, fearing that a fight might break out.

Talking about friends… just hearing about friends makes me feel down again.

The wedding is coming up soon, and the bride is nervous because she doesn’t have any friends to invite as guests. This is unacceptable to my husband and family, but if it doesn’t work out, I’m seriously considering recruiting wedding guests as part-time workers…

“I’m already feeling down because we couldn’t have a proper after-party, and now Mom is like this?”

“That’s why we decided to have the after-party with Mom and Unni, right?”

“Even so, doing it with family is different from doing it with friends…”

Minjeong, who seemed resigned to persuasion rather than convincing, blurred the end of her sentence.

Seeing my sister, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, looking so listless made me feel uneasy.

“Isn’t it boring just talking? How about we have a drink?”

In times like this, alcohol is the answer. And since Minjeong can’t drink, isn’t this a good opportunity?

“I’m all for it, but… I’m not sure if it’s okay to drink at this house…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I already got permission from this unni in advance.”

Just chatting while having a cup of tea with my mom and sister after seeing them for a long time? I can’t stand the boredom.

And it’s been years since I couldn’t even touch alcohol, but now I miss it.

“In fact, Mom wanted to have a drink with our daughters.”

Saying that, Mom took out a bottle of beer and placed it on the table.

…There was such a side to my mother. It’s a series of surprises.

“Mom? Drinking alcohol?”

“Why? What’s the problem?”

“I thought Mom didn’t like alcohol. She’s never come home after drinking before.”

Oh, really? But looking at Mom’s expression now, it seems like she not only doesn’t dislike it, but actually enjoys it?

“We have to be careful in front of you. We can’t show our daughters a bad side.”

I see… I guess parents who care for their children are different, their mindset is different.

In that sense, I also don’t emulate such a great mother.

“Don’t think about leaving me out, Unnie.”

It should be fine, right?

It’s time for Sung-ah to rest, and there are plenty of people to take care of her, so it’s okay to be a little tipsy today!

I’ll leave the rest to you, Sujin!

#

While Eunhye was spending time with her family, I invited Eunhye’s brother, or more precisely, her stepbrother Junseok, to the house.

Although we spend a lot of time together as colleagues, we only meet in formal settings and this is the first time we’re spending time together in a private setting.

“Father-in-law, can I stay with you?”

Junseok asked cautiously, with a somewhat stiff attitude, as if he’s not used to such gatherings.

Perhaps he’s not someone I can easily get along with.

Well, it’s only natural for me to feel intimidated by someone who physically assaulted me from the first meeting.

But I don’t think my actions were wrong at that time.

“It’s okay. I’m spending time with my family after a long time, so having me around would only be a hindrance. And sometimes, you need to spend time with your brother-in-law like this.”

Although he’s not technically my brother-in-law, he’s someone Eunhye cherishes like an older brother.

If he’s special to Eunhye, then he’s special to me too, almost like family.

“But still, we’re not really brothers-in-law.”

“If you say that, I’ll feel sad. I think of you as a younger brother.”

I handed Junseok a glass of alcohol with a natural smile.

As if knowing that my words weren’t empty, his face brightened a bit as he took the glass.

“Brother-in-law, shall we toast?”

“Yes, let’s…”

We clinked our glasses and almost simultaneously downed the contents.

The strong spirit of the alcohol burned down my throat and a strange warmth spread throughout my body.

“Thank you, Father-in-law.”

As I enjoyed the feeling of drinking after several years, Junseok suddenly spoke in a subdued voice.

“Thank you. For everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything from one to ten. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to bury Eunseok in a good place, wouldn’t have met Eunhye, wouldn’t have had a stable job. And…”

Junseok’s voice faltered for a moment, then he bowed his head deeply and continued.

“…I wouldn’t have known that my parents were such trash.”

Saying that, Junseok forced a bitter smile.

It’s a natural reaction. Even excluding what happened to his sister, finding out that the parents who gave birth to him abused children in an orphanage, leading to their deaths, and his father helped cover it up, it’s no wonder he’s shocked.

From what we’ve uncovered in Taebaek, there were only seven orphanage children who were killed, but if we include the missing children, the number would be around twenty.

“Are you okay? They’re still your birth parents after all.”

“I’m not okay.”

Perhaps due to the alcohol, Junseok’s voice was louder than before as he quickly downed the drink I poured for him and said in a low voice.

“But it doesn’t matter. I won’t see them as parents anymore. I want to extract every drop of their blood that flows through my body. I want to get rid of it all.”

There is a tendency for a somewhat rough tone, but I don’t think it’s bad.

Surely, you must have been bottling up your feelings without being able to confide in anyone. Sometimes relying on alcohol like this isn’t so bad.

“I’m sorry. I got a little carried away.”

Junseok, who calmed down the anger, suddenly offered an apology.

“It’s okay. There’s nothing to apologize for between us.”

I patted his back and continued the conversation with him, looking much more relieved.

As we shared our hardships and joys, our conversation naturally deepened into a meaningful dialogue.

“Hyung, can I call you that even in a non-formal setting?”

“I actually prefer it. No, what did you say in these situations… It’s more like ‘welcome.’”

With a big smile borrowed from the words of gratitude, Junseok… no, Junseok, too, clinked glasses with an even brighter expression.

I felt a bit uneasy about giving unnecessary advice, but seeing that everything had become genuine, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.

It feels like having a younger sibling, my cheek tickles.

“But Sunwoo hyung, are the wedding preparations going well?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, the preparations are going well.”

With grandfather putting in effort, it can only go well. Not to mention, my father and mother are also putting in their best efforts, so it will be a wedding that will be remembered for a lifetime by Eunhye, me, and everyone else.

Everything is progressing smoothly, so there shouldn’t be any problems…

“Oh.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Come to think of it, our Yeoboya said something strange last time.”

“Yeoboya? Oh, you mean Eunhye. What strange thing did she say?”

“Suddenly asking how much it costs to hire wedding guests? Well, I did joke about it, but for some reason, I can’t shake it off.”

It was funny, but Eunhye’s laughter was clearly mixed with artificiality.

“… ”

Junseok, who had been listening to me quietly, emptied his glass once again with a darkened expression on his face.

When the atmosphere became serious and I found myself unable to speak, Junseok, holding the nearly empty bottle of soju, spoke up.

“Sunwoo hyung, I’ll take care of that problem myself. Don’t worry and just trust me, okay?”

For the first time, he offered to take on the role of an older brother to Eunhye, filling up the empty glass as he did so.