episode_0062

“Mom, the future has something to give you… .”

On the way home after daycare.

Mirae, who was staring up at me with her hands hidden behind her back, awkwardly pursed her lips in a way that anyone would find suspicious.

“What is it, what is it?”

“I’ll give it to you if you guess correctly! Hehehe.”

That too for a moment.

When I showed my interest as if I was dying of curiosity, Mirae quickly became proud and smiled brightly.

“Hmm… What is it? Is it related to books?”

Actually, I knew this all along.

I heard from the daycare teacher that you already made a bookmark today.

“Oh, no, that’s not it?”

It seems the future wanted to give it as a surprise gift.

Mirae was startled and took a step back. But no matter how hard she tried to hide it, the earthquake-like eyes couldn’t be hidden.

“Hmm… Really? Mom doesn’t like kids who lie.”

“Hic… .”

As I looked at her with bleary eyes and spoke in a low voice, Mirae, who had been retreating slowly, flinched and stopped.

“So, to be honest… Mom won’t be mad, right?”

If someone heard me, they would think I’m someone who gets angry often.

“If you tell me now, I won’t get mad.”

I tried to answer her coldly and firmly tell her that lying is wrong, but I ended up bursting out laughing at Mirae’s sneaky approach while keeping an eye on her.

“Phew… Mirae, will you stop telling me now?”

“Graham… Look forward to it… !”

The gait that used to be shaky became fluid, like skating.

The lips that had been pouting began to draw soft curves, and a certain liveliness was felt in the voice that had become even more excited.

“Ta-da! Mom told me to study hard… Chae, I made something to put in the books!”

A tiny bookmark in the hands of the future.

In the meantime, perhaps because the word ‘bookmark’ didn’t come to mind, Mirae hesitated and repeated ‘book, book?’ several times.

“Wow, just what I needed!”

Is there a mother in this world who isn’t happy about a gift from her daughter?

Even if you don’t need it, you need it. No, you have to make it necessary. Right now, you have to get a book that doesn’t have its own bookmark… .

“Hehehe, look at this. Mom only likes black, so I hope she likes white too… .”

While I was wondering which book to buy, Mirae started explaining earnestly, pointing to the bookmark with her finger.

“So I added some white flower petals too!”

lily.

Inside the coated bookmark were pure white, clean lily petals.

“Thank you, Mom will treasure it.”

Of course, the flower petals were pretty, but what made me happier was Mirae’s heart.

Because this bookmark was filled with thoughts of me.

From the purpose to the selection of petals, every single detail was carefully thought out for me.

“Yeah! Since Mom likes it, the future is also good… .”

As I accepted the bookmark with a moved expression, Mirae smiled bashfully, holding the other hand that was empty.

however….

Where did I put this bookmark?

I’m sure I had it in a parenting book I read at some point… .

“Mom…Why did you lose it?”

An old memory vaguely came to mind. I tried to look for it while I was thinking about it, but the bookmark was nowhere to be found.

To make matters worse, he entered the room from the future.

“Mi, that’s not the future… .”

“I promised you. I’ll keep it safe.”

I lowered my head, unable to face the eyes of the future filled with disappointment.

How many promises will come and go in a lifetime?

I think there are probably too many to count, so some of them might be forgotten.

But at least I kept my promise to my daughter.

As much as the precious memories I have with my daughter.

No matter what happened, I had to protect it.

“Mom, she’s not my mom either.”

The look in my daughter’s eyes as she looked at me, unable to do so, was so cold that it was hard to believe it was directed at her family.

“Ugh… Ugh… .”

My whole body is wet.

As I threw away the thick blanket that had been covering me, a chilling cold air came over me.

What the heck kind of dream is this?

A bookmark given by the future. I remember it. It must be in the parenting books on the bookshelf.

Yeah, it’s a dream. It’s a dream.

No matter how hard I tried to calm my pounding heart, I couldn’t forget the voice from the future I had heard in my dream.

“Ugh… .”

Suddenly I felt dizzy and had a terrible headache.

Here… it wasn’t our house, it was the chairman’s house.

The fog in my head cleared, and things that had happened before I woke up began to come back to me one by one.

I remember coming home with the chairman, talking to Yoo Soo Ah, and the moment the chairman took out the wine.

And since things started to get weird from the second glass, I tried it myself just in case.

Ah, I finally drank it. I gulped it down. I fell in love with the sweet and sour taste and drank it in one shot.

“Ahhh… .”

I’m crazy. I’m not the only one who’s drunk, but I’m showing up in front of the chairman.

I grabbed my pounding head, my body started to sway, and I put one hand on the bed, but I felt something other than the bed.

White, slender hands.

It was the palm of the chairman’s hand that was lying facing me.

What the… Hui, you were sleeping with the chairman?

“Sorry, sorry… .”

“Sister… Ni… .”

The moment I was about to get out of bed in surprise, the chairman’s hand tightened and I heard a small murmur.

A single, clear tear running down the corner of the eye.

“Chairman… .”

I lost in my dream, but not the chairman.

Even if you wake up from this nightmare, you will be plagued by another nightmare.

“… … .”

I turned around again and went back to where I was lying.

And then, carefully holding the chairman’s trembling hand, he closed his eyes without saying a word.

My warmth.

The fact that there is someone by your side.

I hope this can ease the Chairman’s pain even a little.

* * *

22:07.

Mom didn’t come home.

No contact until this late at night.

Mirae, who had been staring at the wallpaper on her phone of herself and her mother wearing their Chuchu pajamas, got up as if she had made up her mind about something and headed to the front door.

62 calls. 45 texts.

There was no return.

No mom, no reply. Nothing came back.

Han Na-yeon, who came to the house in the evening, also seemed unresponsive, and Na-rin’s older sister tried to laugh it off, saying that it was because her mother was busy working overtime.

But that’s something you say because you don’t know your mother.

Even though he comes home later than usual, he hates worrying his family.

Mirae, who had run all the way to the street, stopped a taxi that was coming from afar.

“Please go to Easty Grace Tower.”

The destination was clear.

My mom was called to my aunt’s company and lost contact. I don’t know what happened between them, but my aunt must be the cause.

Company and home.

Mirae chose home first among two options.

Since my aunt’s house is located on the way to work, I had to make a more efficient choice to find my mom quickly.

“Oh, what’s going on out this late at night, my nephew! Did he come to visit me in the hospital?”

As I got off at the entrance of Grace Tower, a security guard in a black suit came running towards me from afar, waving his hand.

“… Are you inside Mom?”

Now that they were familiar with each other’s faces, Mirae got straight to the point without any pretense.

“There it is, there it is! The black one is taking care of the chairman right now!”

“I’ll take care of you… ?”

Mirae’s brow furrowed at Yoo Soo Ah’s bright answer.

“But luckily, when I came out, he seemed okay… .”

A situation naturally formed in my mind in the future.

My aunt collapsed from overwork. She always looked in danger, so it wouldn’t have been strange if she had exploded at any moment.

But today, my mom was there, and she couldn’t just pass my aunt by and brought her home.

Up to this point, I understand.

The question is why didn’t my mom answer the phone?

◦Please give me the %◦key.”

“Here it is! The chairman will be happy too!”

When Mirae reached out her hand, Yusoo Ah handed over the key without a shred of doubt.

In the first place, he is the chairman’s most beloved nephew, so what could be suspicious of him?

Mirae, who had brought it as if snatching the key, chewed on her own lips and revealed her anxious feelings without holding back.

Woohoooo …

The elevator slowly ascends, groaning softly, and time passes like eternity to Mirae.

Ding.

The cheerful sound of a bell awakened the future.

Mirae, who had passed through the quiet hallway and stood in front of the door, put her key on the sensor and went inside the house.

First, a soft crimson light greeted the future.

But that’s the only thing that welcomes the future.

All the lights in the living room were off, and there was no sign of life.

“Mobile phone… .”

A familiar cell phone was lying on the sofa.

“Wine… ?”

I pick up my phone and turn my gaze to the table, where I see a bottle of wine and some unfinished porridge.

Mirae noticed why she couldn’t contact her mother.

Bam.

The place the future was headed to was my aunt’s bedroom.

And, as expected, there were two women lying on the bed.

The future that discovered them stood there blankly with an expression like an abandoned puppy.

At first, I was confused.

I tried hard to deny it, thinking it wasn’t what I thought.

In the end, all that remained was a bitter feeling of betrayal.

That would be the case, because the two women he trusted and followed the most were sleeping while holding each other’s hands.

Besides, there was a reddish mark on my aunt’s cheek, which even the future knew well.

The day my mom got a job, my mom downed a can of beer in one go and started to cling to me so much that I got sick of it, showering me with kisses.

I even remember waking up the next day with a mark on my cheek because I sucked on it and licked my lips.

“Mom.”

The feeling of betrayal turned into anger. Anger that exceeded its limit clouded one’s judgment.

“Huh… The future? Am I dreaming of the future again… Hehe… It’s a bit more vivid this time?”

I let go of my mother and aunt’s hands that were holding each other and grabbed my mother’s wrist.

What is so happy about?

My mother, who was sleeping in the same bed as another woman, holding hands, muttered something incomprehensible while smiling innocently like a child.

“Get up.”

Mirae forcibly lifted her mother up and dragged her outside.

Until then, my mother, who had been being dragged along blankly, came to her senses belatedly and whispered in a hardened voice.

“Mi, Mirae… When did you come?”

The future didn’t answer. In the first place, my chest was so suffocated that I didn’t even have the space to speak up.

“I was worried… Mom fell asleep for a moment… .”

mom.

Mom sleeping while holding hands with her aunt.

What on earth could this action have meant? Could it have had the same meaning as doing it to one’s family?

“Mom should have called me before… .”

As the sleepy voice continued, Mirai’s hands gained strength.

“That… Ugh… Mi, Mirae, Mommy hurts… .”

mom.

A tiresome label that will never come off for the rest of my life.

How long are we supposed to remain just mother and daughter?

“Future, Mom is really sick… Let go of this… .”

“Don’t call me mom.”

The future was finally able to find the cause of the discomfort it had always felt.

Every day was tense.

There was no day of comfort amidst the fierce conflict.

Because I always had to suffer from the guilt of lying to my mother.

That’s why I’m trying to admit it now.

That Tachibana was right.

He was just scared.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t remain my mother’s daughter, but I was just afraid of becoming distant from her.

But if it continues like this.

If things continue like this, I won’t be able to move forward even one step and will have to remain just a daughter forever.

How many times have I encountered scenes like today, hearing my mother refer to herself as ‘Mom’?

I have to erase my feelings with a bitter smile.

In that case….

“We’re not related by blood.”

The light came on in the previously dark hallway.

And the shadows of two people, big and small, reflected under the crimson light.

Within, they overlapped each other and gave each other different meanings.

It was the end of a long wait.

For some, it was a loss of time they had accumulated.