episode_0170

Arriving at the ancestral home took exactly the same amount of time as it took from home to the rest stop.

“Phew, finally here.”

Except for a quick stop at the rest stop, it took roughly about 3 hours. Last time, it only took a little over 2 hours, but I guess with the holiday, there were some congested areas along the way.

Surrounded by quiet fields, a solitary house stood. Without a proper parking lot, we parked our cars in the front yard and unloaded our belongings from the trunk.

“Mom, we’re here!”

I shouted loudly as I passed through the fence of the house, and soon enough, the door creaked open from inside.

“Oh, my, have my babies arrived?”

Mom opened the door and rushed out towards Dayoung and Davin, who were standing with their bags, looking dazed. Dayoung soon smiled and embraced Mom.

“Grandma, have you been well?”

“Oh, goodness, of course! Let me see your face, Dayoung.”

Mom released her embrace and looked Dayoung up and down.

“Oh, my, you’ve grown up so much, just like your dad!”

“Hehe, I’m not a kid anymore, Mom…”

“Anyway! Dayeon, are you still eating well?”

“Of course. I take care of myself since I’m on my own.”

“Good, but why does Davin look so thin?”

“Oh, Davin has been working out hard lately, even watching his diet.”

“Oh, this boy! Where do you have fat to lose! When you were young, you didn’t care about gaining weight, just ate and grew up! You should diet in college. What have you been doing without me stopping you?!”

“Our kids take after me, stubborn. Hehe. But don’t worry, I make sure they eat well. By the way, Mom, isn’t Davin looking handsome? He’s lost some weight, and his jawline is more defined.”

“Oh, stop it. Come in quickly. I thought you’d come, so I prepared something delicious…”

Ah, there it is. The pattern of grandma’s house.

“Hey, how am I supposed to eat all of this?!”

Dayoung was shocked by the amount of food laid out. Of course, it’s a holiday, and with the ancestral rites tomorrow, there must be a lot of food prepared…

“Mom, did you already prepare all the ancestral rite food? We agreed to do it together when Sooyeon comes.”

“It’s done. Your father even helped a bit.”

“Huh? Dad?”

“Yes. Hey, Dohyun… I mean, Do-yeon’s dad! Come out quickly! The kids are here, why are you dawdling?”

After a while, Dad came out, holding his back.

“Oh, this guy. Did I not know the kids were coming? Oh, my back.”

“Dad! What’s wrong with your back? Did you hurt yourself?”

Did he fall somewhere? As you age, recovery from bone or muscle injuries is slower. And with decreased bone density, falling is a major cause of accidents for the elderly.

“Oh, it’s not that bad. I just overdid it helping your grandma after a while, and my back is a bit sore.”

“Oh, Mom, why do you make him work until he’s like this?”

“Hey! I always do everything, but when your dad helps a bit, look at him! Oh, the drama. I should have taken him to the emergency room!”

“Enough, Mom! Just put on a patch and lie down. If you keep lying down with a patch on, the pain will go away. Why waste a lot of money and suffer later?”

“Oh, Grandpa. Instead of saying that, why don’t you go to the hospital? It’s like blocking a leak with a sieve. It’s better to treat it when it hurts a little, so you won’t suffer as much later.”

Dabin urged her grandfather. But for some reason, her father just chuckled and smiled.

“Hahaha! Dabin, did you learn to say such things? I saw on TV that these days, children have poor reading comprehension, don’t know words, and talk a lot. Dabin, you don’t have to worry about that!”

“Well, it’s just something I read in a book. Hehe.”

Even when pretending to be an adult, a child is still a child. Dabin couldn’t hide her embarrassment at her grandfather’s praise.

“Anyway! Stop that and get ready for dinner quickly. The kids must be hungry.”

Looking at the time, it was a little past 3 o’clock. When I asked if it was too early to eat something, my mom retorted loudly.

“Oh, you don’t know? You don’t know? I’m going to make noodles, so hurry up and change your clothes and come out! Oh, and now that I look at you, what’s with that outfit? Aren’t you embarrassed for the kids to see?”

By the way, Dayoung picked out this outfit. As if to convey that meaning, I turned to look at Dayoung, who quickly avoided my gaze.

“Just look at this. Be more assertive when I pick out clothes, and pretend you don’t know at times like this.”

“I just got back from washing the car. I deliberately wore this so my clothes wouldn’t get wet. I should change now.”

“Ugh, who would think you were a father of two teenage kids.”

“Stop it. Come on. You can wear this kind of outfit. It’s not inappropriate.”

“Look at this? This is how your father is. Lately, he talks about you like that.”

“Really? Hehe, what are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you call him yourself, ask if he’s doing well, if he wants to eat something. He worries too much.”

When I turned to look at my father, he quickly turned his head away without meeting my eyes.

“Haha, I’ll call you often. Dad.”

“What! That’s enough. Just live well. Don’t bother me.”

Well, he’s a typical Gyeongsang-do man. Tsundere. Totally.

“Anyway, hurry up and change your clothes and come out. I’m going to make noodles.”

“Mom, we stopped at a rest area on the way and we’re full…”

“It’s okay, you’ll eat it all eventually.”

Dayoung and Dabin looked at me, but both just turned their heads with disgusted expressions. In the end, as I came out of my room after changing clothes, we were faced with a table full of food.

“That’s a lot.”

“It is.”

“Can we eat all of this?”

The three of us were worried about that.

But what’s strange is that it all gets eaten.

“Look, we finished it all.”

Mom said proudly, smiling as she looked at the empty noodle bowls.

“Really.”

“Was I hungry?”

“How did we finish it all?”

Actually, I could have eaten enough because of that damn spicy kimchi, but our kids, in their growing phase, managed to eat a bowl of rice and even a whole potato after that.

“I already cut some apples while you were eating noodles, so eat more.”

“Oh, okay.”

Knowing that refusing would be meaningless, Dabin immediately agreed.

After slowly finishing the apples, Dayoung tapped his stomach and asked, “When is Auntie coming?”

“Yeah, when is she coming? Should I give her a call?”

Looking at the clock, it was already over 4 hours, and she still hadn’t arrived. What could be keeping her?

“Ah, Su-yeon, Park Seo-bang might come home late tonight or tomorrow morning due to some work.”

“Huh? Why? What’s the big deal? It’s a holiday, why does something come up?”

“I don’t know, something about his work as a lawyer. Seems like he got busy with some cases.”

“Well, big companies are usually more thorough with welfare benefits, but I guess it could happen. I just nodded my head, unsure of what to say.”

“That’s a shame. I really wanted to see Jin-woo and Jin-seo.”

“Well, they’ll come eventually, so you’ll have plenty of time to see them.”

“That’s true, but still.”

Da-young let out a sigh, looking disappointed.

“Anyway, now that we’ve eaten, take a break. I need to do the dishes and put some patches on your dad’s back.”

“Got it. Kids, let’s go to our rooms.”

I put the kids in their rooms and headed straight to the master bedroom.

-Knock knock

“Come in.”

Since Mom didn’t knock and enter the master bedroom, Dad must have realized it was me and responded right away.

As I entered the master bedroom with Dad’s permission, I saw him lying on the bed, groaning.

“Dad, is your back okay?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Oh, come on, just go to the emergency room. If it’s about money, I can…”

“Ah, stop it. I’m fine. If you’re worried, just massage my back a bit.”

With a wave of his hand, Dad dismissed my concerns, so I climbed onto the bed without saying anything and looked down at his back, placing my hand on it.

Carefully applying pressure and massaging his back, Dad let out a sigh of relief, saying it felt cool. As a non-professional, I wasn’t sure how much help my massage would be, but seeing him like that made me feel a bit relieved.

“Ah, that feels good. How’s work at your company?”

“Me? It’s the same as usual. I got promoted this time, so I have more work, but other than that, everything’s good. Oh, there’s a new subordinate… Oh, they were already there. Anyway, there’s a new rookie…”

Trying to ease Dad’s worries, I started talking about my work and daily life. After listening to me for a while, Dad spoke up softly.

“So, you’re spending a lot of time with this Kim Tae-hyun? What kind of person is he?”

His voice seemed to carry a hint of jealousy.

Wait, is this really happening?