episode_0081

Do-hyeon’s trip with his lovers ended with them having lunch with delivery food and returning by car.

Both the days spent purely enjoying the trip and the nights spent reaffirming our love for each other were satisfying, so the afterglow of the trip lingered for quite some time even after returning to daily life.

By the time the afterglow began to fade, it was already early to mid-August.

Jia was preparing to go out with a nervous mind.

‘What should I do? My heart feels like it’s going to burst.’

Today is the day I decided to go shopping with my mom.

We’ve been in touch and even had meals together since the last time we had a sincere conversation, but this is my first time going shopping, so I’m really nervous.

The true mother-daughter behavior we’ve been longing for.

It was finally the moment when one of Jia’s wishes came true.

‘I still have time, so let’s look in the mirror one more time.’

I adjust my clothes once more so that my mom, who will be walking with me, will not be embarrassed.

Jia’s pounding heart was so full of anticipation that it didn’t even calm down.

—

“Mom!”

Jia, who found Seonyeong at the meeting place, shouted that after making sure no one was listening.

Seonyeong, who had been waiting wearing sunglasses and a mask, waved briefly at her daughter who was running excitedly.

Having kept my distance from my daughter for over twenty years, there was still some awkwardness left.

“Are you here?”

“Yeah! Are you going right away?”

“If you’re not hungry yet, go look at clothes first.”

“Then shall we eat dinner later?”

Seonyeong nodded at her daughter’s question.

“Okay. Where should I go?”

“Over there!”

Seonyeong turns in the direction Jia pointed.

Jia hesitated for a moment after seeing her mother’s back, then gathered her courage and hugged her mother’s arm.

Seonyeong was startled, but she didn’t try to leave and kept walking with her daughter.

The place that Jia took her mother to was a department store that she had been to with her school friends.

The two of them looked at and tried on various clothes with Seonyeong at various clothing corners, and had conversations that they could not have had over the phone.

In fact, Seonyeong was a person who visited high-end luxury stores more often than department stores.

The luxury items you wear on your body are also a way to appeal to yourself as a celebrity.

However, seeing her daughter having fun with her also made Seonyeong’s heart flutter.

“This hat is pretty. I think it would be good to wear when it’s windy. What do you think? Does it suit you?”

My daughter smiled bashfully as she placed the hat she had picked up on her head.

A smile naturally spread across Seonyeong’s lips.

“It’s pretty. Should I buy you one?”

“Really? Mom, try it too.”

“Excuse me, customer?”

Both Jia and Seonyoung froze at the sudden voice.

I thought there was no one around, but a female employee who had been standing far away just a moment ago came up to me.

“… Yes?”

The female employee looked at Seonyeong, who answered in a startled, crouching voice, and asked.

“Are you Cha Seon-yeong? Yes! I’m sorry, I’m such a fan!””

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

“Who is with you?”

Judging from her questioning expression, it seems that she fortunately didn’t hear Jia calling her “Mom.”

But Seonyeong couldn’t open her mouth right away.

Because I felt bad about lying and saying I was not her daughter in front of Jia.

“It’s my nephew!”

The person who spoke up was none other than Zia.

Even though she saw Seonyeong looking flustered, she continued speaking boldly.

“My aunt said she would buy me those clothes, so we came to look at them together.”

“Ah, you’re my nephew. Somehow, you seem too young to be my friends.”

The staff accepted it without much doubt, and Seonyeong also found stability.

“Yeah, well… .”

“I’m sorry. I’m a real fan, so I apologize. I won’t tell anyone, so feel free to watch.”

An employee bows deeply and returns to his seat.

Thanks to that, only the mother and daughter were left in the same place again.

“Phew, that was a close call. Right? From now on, I’ll have to call you aunt outside.”

Zia smiles with a sigh of relief.

However, Seonyeong’s voice that followed suddenly subsided.

“… I’m sorry.”

“Huh? No, it’s okay. I told you before. You don’t need other people to know. Just hanging out together like this is so nice.”

With Jia’s answer, Seonyoung’s heart also felt lighter, and shopping continued with a bright atmosphere again.

“Auntie, look at this. It’s so cute!”

While she was walking around, Zia picked up a pair of animal pajamas.

“It would be cute even if your aunt wore it. Should we wear one each? I’ll buy it for you!”

“What? At my age, it’s outrageous to wear something like this.”

“No. It doesn’t matter how old you are. You’ll definitely be cute, so wear it when you get cold.”

“Still… .”

Even though I feel like this is not right, it’s hard to refuse a gift from my daughter.

And honestly, it’s true that the pajama design was cute.

“What do you want, Aunt? I want a bear!”

Jia, who had already picked one up, urged him to answer, and Seonyeong, who had been hesitating, whispered.

“Oh, squirrel… .”

—

About an hour later, the two were eating at a nearby restaurant.

Gia was so happy to be out playing with her mom that she chattered away nonstop, which was unusual for her.

As Seon-yeong was playing the janggu diligently to her daughter, Do-hyeon came to mind.

‘I wonder how that guy is doing.’

Since the night they had sex when he came to her house, Seon-yeong had been trying hard to hold back the urge to contact Do-hyeon.

I wanted to continue the relationship in the future, but I hesitated because I thought the other person might be uncomfortable.

If there is a problem in the relationship between Ji-ah and Do-hyeon because of him, that will also be difficult.

Since that day, there was no call from the goddess, and I was curious about news about Do-hyeon.

“Jia.”

“Why, Mom?”

Jia answered like that.

I deliberately sat in a corner of the restaurant, and since the tables around me were empty, there was no need to call me aunt.

“Do you have a boyfriend or something?”

“Boyfriend?”

Jia stops using her chopsticks, seeming embarrassed.

But soon I made up my mind and answered.

“Yes. We met earlier this year.”

“… I see. What kind of person is he?”

“He’s such a great person. He’s kind and considerate. And what can I say… He’s solid and trustworthy.”

Seonyeong could also vaguely understand what her daughter meant.

Because the man truly wished for Gia’s happiness.

“That’s good. Are there any problems with dating?”

“Yeah. No problem. You’ve always been nice to me, so we’ve never fought.”

“Yeah… .”

“I’m so happy that I can talk about this with my aunt. Later, when I’m ready, I’ll introduce that person to my aunt.”

Seon-yeong’s complicated mind, which had been thinking of Do-hyeon, felt much better upon seeing Ji-ah’s bright face.

“Okay. I’ll wait.”

“Mom… didn’t you have a boyfriend or something after that?”

Jia asks carefully, observing the situation.

Seonyeong spoke as calmly as possible so as not to make her daughter nervous.

“No. I was busy then and I still am so busy that I don’t have time to socialize.”

“Ahh… Aren’t you lonely?”

“When you’re busy, you don’t have time to feel those feelings. You don’t have to worry about me, so take care of your boyfriend.”

“Okay, Mom.”

—

It was Friday, a few days after the mother and daughter finished their first shopping trip.

Seonyeong, who finished her schedule, returned home with her exhausted body.

A pitch-black house welcomes her.

When I turned on the light, the darkness in the hallway disappeared in an instant, but Seonyeong still had a blank expression.

“… .”

I barely managed to finish showering, dragging my heavy body along.

As soon as the sound of water died down, silence filled the entire house.

What I felt from it was a deep and heavy loneliness.

Of course, since I had been living alone for so long, it wasn’t really a big deal.

Moreover, loneliness is something he chose for himself in order to succeed as an entertainer.

That’s why Seonyeong didn’t shed tears of loneliness, nor did she try to escape from those feelings.

But there were times when this familiarity felt uncomfortable.

Right now, for some reason, I feel worse than usual and my body feels heavy.

When you feel pathetic, sitting in a big house, not saying a word and just watching TV dramas.

At times like that, I desperately wished that someone would magically appear who would understand everything about me and be my conversation partner.

“Ha… No. I’m just not feeling well today.”

Seon-yeong speaks out loud on purpose, denying the fact that she didn’t say a word at home today.

‘You’re free this weekend, so get some rest and you’ll be fine.’

I turned off the TV, lay down, and forced my eyes to close, but this time I got a headache and it was not easy to fall asleep.

‘There probably isn’t any headache medicine… Let’s have a drink and go to sleep.’

I get up from my heavy body and head to the refrigerator.

But the closer I got to the refrigerator, the heavier my steps became and the worse my headache became.

Seonyeong, who was staggering, eventually collapsed on the floor without even being able to reach the refrigerator.

—

I sat in front of the computer, turned on Paint, and was busy drawing a storyboard with the mouse.

It was to ask Ha-eun to do new illustrations for the novel.

Although I never mentioned it specifically, she consistently drew covers and illustrations for my novels in exchange for sharing the profits from the novels.

Thanks to her excellent drawing skills, the number of views was maintained at a decent level, and thanks to that, Ha-eun, who could not receive financial support from her parents, did not have to suffer financial difficulties, so it was a win-win situation.

… I don’t know when it will be, but I have to work with Ha-eun on the next project too. Should I even consider doing a webtoon?

It was when I stopped using the mouse and got lost in my thoughts.

[Dohyun.]

‘Goddess?’

[I need help.]

Of course you came to me for that reason, but today I feel a sense of urgency in the voice in my head.

‘What’s going on?’

[I will give you a detailed explanation after we get there.]

The surroundings begin to twist as soon as the words are spoken.

After a while, the space that appeared was not at all unfamiliar.

…Cha Seon-yeong’s house?

I turned my head to see what was going on, and only then did I realize the meaning of the urgency the goddess showed.

Cha Seon-yeong was lying on the cold floor, exposed to the air conditioning.