Kim Ji-hye (7)

“…”

“…”

“…Why are you both so quiet?”

Quiet? Of course, we’d be quiet.

Who could possibly say anything in this situation?

We’ve just learned a secret about our birth, who would carelessly start talking?

“Mom, how did you get married when the law against marriage between relatives within the second degree wasn’t abolished yet? You’re both on the family registry, too.”

Ji-hye is right.

Even if we overlook the marriage itself and the family registry, being registered on the resident registration means they officially filed their marriage.

An explanation was needed as to how they managed to file the marriage and register it in the family registry.

Mom had a troubled expression, but a smile was visible at the corner of her lips.

With a face that seemed to have unloaded a great burden, Mom nodded.

“Back in my day, there were slight loopholes. It wasn’t as strict as it is now.”

“Even if it’s a loophole, there are limits. What kind of loophole did you use to make that possible?”

Could a loophole that breaks the law even be possible?

I was stuck between Ji-hye and Mom, having to read their expressions, but I was just as curious.

“That’s right. Even if we say it’s Mom’s era, it’s at best the ’60s or ’70s. What kind of loopholes were there back then? Bribery?”

“There were many things besides bribery. Among them, having connections helped.”

“Connections? Enough connections to manipulate documents?”

“Should I call it manipulation? Hmm, I guess it is manipulation.”

Mom started explaining, lightly drawing a circle on the table with her finger.

“You know that back when I was young, family registry reports were handwritten, right? Before computers were introduced.”

Ji-hye and I nodded almost simultaneously.

“Since it was a rural area, everyone knew each other, and the clerk at the township office happened to be my friend, so it was possible.”

After saying that, Mom briefly got up and headed to the kitchen, asking us.

“I’m going to get some water, do you guys need any?”

“Give me some too.”

Ji-hye shook her head to decline, and Mom moved to the kitchen.

Not missing the opportunity, I quietly whispered.

“You’re hearing this for the first time too, right?”

“Of course, I’m hearing it for the first time… If I knew something like this was going on, I would have told you first.”

“Honestly, this is driving me crazy. To hear about Mom and Dad’s secret in a place like this…”

“I never imagined it… Oppa, you didn’t know either, did you?”

“If I knew, I would have told you first…?”

The two of them looked at each other as if they had planned it, then sighed.

How should I describe this… a despair that can’t be put into words?

Ji-hye and I just looked at each other with gloomy faces, speechless.

The expression Mom made as she brought the water bottle had a slight feeling like that.

A resigned expression as if saying, ‘You know everything now.’

Showing a slight smile still lingering on her lips, she handed me a cup of water and continued.

“I asked my friend for a favor. Since she was a clerk anyway, I asked her to do it secretly.”

Before I could drink the water, Ji-hye snatched my water and drank it, then replied.

“It’s not like that’s something you can just do. Dad is on the family registry, and Mom is on the family registry, how is that possible? How did you do it when you’re on the same registry…?”

“It’s not a problem to be on the same registry. Back then, as long as the documents went through, there weren’t any major issues.”

“That doesn’t make sense…? The documents went through, and there haven’t been any problems until now, how is that possible?”

“I’m a living witness, aren’t I? Documents registered in rural areas aren’t taken too seriously. To put it nicely, it’s lenient, but to put it badly, it’s sloppy.”

“…I can’t believe it even though I’m seeing it.”

Mom smiled at us.

I couldn’t even tell if she was smiling because she knew everything, but there was one thing I could guess.

The experience of the person involved. There was no other way to explain the reason for her smile.

In reality, without any fancy reason, if someone says, ‘I’ve experienced it?’ who can say anything?

No matter how much I doubt it, if what Mom experienced is real, there’s nothing to say, and I can’t even deny it.

“The head of the township office is your grandfather’s friend, so he must have taken care of it appropriately. I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

“So, you’re saying you really registered the documents and filed the marriage registration like that and have been living like that?”

“That’s right. Your grandfather was a pretty big deal in the countryside, so he couldn’t say anything about it and quietly condoned it.”

“Wait, let’s take a moment to organize this. So…”

To organize things, I paused for a moment, and Mom and Ji-hye quietly looked at me.

Ji-hye had a confused expression, but Mom was calm.

Rather, with a feeling of having unloaded a great burden, she looked at me with deep eyes.

I don’t know why Mom became comfortable and I became uncomfortable, but it must mean that Mom had her own share of mental anguish.

Waving my hands in the air, I organized my thoughts and then opened my mouth.

“So… Mom and Dad are siblings, and the other family members know this fact… Right?”

Mom nodded.

“And you used grandfather’s power to get a marriage registration that was originally impossible, and you became a couple, right?”

Again, she nodded in the same pattern.

“…And when Dad got permission, he acted like me in front of grandfather… Is this… it?”

Without even looking, she nodded in affirmation.

“Oh my god.”

“I’m going crazy, seriously…”

“That’s right. Now that I’ve said it, I feel so much better. When my son said it, I was so shocked that I was out of my mind.”

“But I’m about to be shocked instead, Mom.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to think of it as we’ve each revealed a secret?”

“…No, honestly, the level of Mom’s secret and our secret is too different…!”

“We told the same story, what are you talking about.”

“How is this the same?!”

I said it in disbelief, but Mom is right.

We told the same story, with a little more of the past added.

If we’re just talking about the story accurately, Mom just told a story that wasn’t much different from ours.

It’s just that it’s too shocking at this timing.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so it ends up like this. Marriage is one thing, but I’m worried about the child.”

“Is it because of genetic diseases?”

“Right? They say the probability of genetic diseases appearing up to two generations is extremely low, but it’s still scary.”

The law originally allowed what shouldn’t be allowed, but declared that it couldn’t go beyond a certain point for the sake of the disease.

Moreover, considering that Mom and Dad are already married within the second degree of kinship, it means that my child is already exposed to the risk of disease.

Thinking about it that way, I could realize how crazy I had been.

Not regret, but enough to be worried.

“But… since you’re already pregnant, there’s no way for me to stop you. It’s been about 15 years since I’ve seen Seon-ho so determined.”

“15 years? What did Oppa do back then?”

“Oh my, look at this one? When you came home from school saying you were hit by a teacher, don’t you remember your oppa running over and sending that teacher to the hospital?”

Ah, Mom is bringing up that dark history.

“Oppa? A teacher? Because of what I said?”

“Of course~! As soon as he heard you crying and complaining about being hit, he totally wrecked the teacher. That’s why you were happy that you wouldn’t see that teacher anymore, right?”

“…Ah, that… Oppa did that?”

Ji-hye looked at me with surprised eyes, but I ignored her.

At that time, I was so angry that she had been hit that I went and beat him up, and on the condition of covering up the fact that I was a minor and that my sister was unfairly hit, the teacher’s transfer and self-payment of medical expenses. I ended it with an agreement on these things.

It wasn’t so much for Ji-hye’s sake as it was because I was furious that someone had touched my sister for an absurd reason.

Considering that our relationship started to become distant after that, it could be a misunderstanding that arose because I thought I didn’t care about her.

“After that, I thought you didn’t care about your sister at all, so I distanced myself.”

“Considering all the things your oppa did to take care of you, it’s unbelievable for this mom to hear you say that.”

As expected, it was natural for Ji-hye to lose affection if she thought I didn’t care.

If someone doesn’t care about you, why should you care about them? Above all, she was also going through puberty, so she couldn’t help but be sensitive.

Then Ji-hye blushed and lightly tapped my shoulder. If you’re embarrassed, just quietly lower your head.

“Let’s end the old stories. So… Mom, do you approve of our marriage?”

At my words, Mom sighed.

“What choice do I have if I don’t? You’re both adults, and the law is legal. You’re obviously going to ignore what I say and do it anyway.”

“So that’s approval. That’s all I wanted, that answer.”

“Approval is approval, but there’s one condition you must keep.”

“A condition? As long as it’s not something like ‘don’t do this,’ I’ll definitely keep it.”

“What is it, Mom? What condition are you telling me to keep?”

She gestured and slightly pushed Ji-hye away.

“Tsk, Ji-hye, you shouldn’t listen. Son, bring your ear over here.”

Cupping my ear with her hand, Mom quietly whispered.

Even though I was worried about what condition she would tell me to keep, I nodded at Mom’s unexpected condition.

“That’s it? It’s not difficult… It’ll take some time, though.”

“That’s all I need. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just make sure you do it before Ji-hye’s belly gets too big.”

“…What are you two talking about?”

Seeing her glaring with a sulky expression, Mom instead smiled and drank her water.

“Something that doesn’t have to be done but must be done. I’ve given you a lot of hints, so figure it out… Ah, are you hungry? The story is over, so I’ll make you some food quickly.”

Watching Mom’s back as she headed to the kitchen, Ji-hye came closer and whispered.

“…What is it, tell me quickly. If you don’t tell me, I’ll nag you the whole way home.”

Mom told me not to tell. The important thing is important, but she told me to keep it a secret because the surprise would be lessened.

As Mom said, the moment it’s revealed, the surprise will be lessened and it will become a normal thing, so I whispered firmly.

“Hey. What’s a woman doing interfering in a man’s business?”

“You wanna die, seriously?”

“Eek! I surrender! I surrender!”

I tasted the pain of having my ear pulled for saying something playfully.

Still keeping the content Mom told me, I screamed and kept the secret.

I really can’t say this. Really!