episode_0073

“Do you, by any chance, like guys or something?”

At my words, Dabin furrowed his brows and crossed his arms.

“Mom! What are you talking about! No, I like girls too!”

Phew, that’s a relief.

I brushed off my surprised heart and asked again.

“Then why are you hesitating to speak up about your preferences?”

“Well, it’s not really about preferences…”

Dabin hesitated, looking at me again before mumbling.

“Mom… or… sis… they’re, honestly, pretty. So my standards are high…”

Ah… I guess by “mom” he must be referring to my ex-wife, not me. My ex-wife wasn’t lacking in looks either. In her mid-30s, she even cheated with a young guy who was quite capable.

“But why, wasn’t Yeji who visited our house before good enough?”

She wasn’t exactly stunning, more on the cute side, but still within the realm of pretty.

“Oh, Yeji? Yeah, Yeji… she’s a good friend. Yes…”

Seems like Yeji isn’t his type.

“Is there no girl catching your eye?”

“Uh… not yet. Haha.”

Dabin scratched his head awkwardly, his eyes darting around.

“You, do you like girls with a figure like mine, or something like that?”

It may sound conceited, but honestly, if I have a figure like mine, wouldn’t I be considered top-tier nationwide? It may seem like there are plenty of people with great figures posting selfies on social media, but in reality, it’s quite rare to come across such people in everyday life.

“Oh, no. No way. I have standards too. It’s not easy to find someone like you, Mom.”

Although his pupils were slightly dilated, well… everyone has their own preferences, and even I might have higher standards if someone like me was my mom.

However.

“Dabin, finding a balance between ideal and reality is crucial in life. The same goes for relationships. In that aspect, you have exceptional looks, so your standards are probably higher than others. But without some compromise, you won’t gain anything.”

As I said this, I patted Dabin’s shoulder, and he looked at me blankly before blurting out.

“Is that supposed to be a brag?”

“What?”

“If you’re telling me to compromise because it’s hard to find someone like me, it sounds like you’re bragging.”

Listening to him, it does sound that way. Am I boasting about myself?

“It’s okay. I’m just stating the facts. Hehe.”

I blushed for no reason, feeling embarrassed. Is boasting about my figure the only thing I can do to impress my son?

“Well, anyway. I’m still young, so I’ll think about it slowly.”

“If you find someone you like, make sure to tell me. And if you get a girlfriend, introduce her to me.”

“Yes, but if you happen to like someone, you should tell me too, right?”

Ugh, not easy. I’m an adult, and Dabin is just a middle schooler. Even if I say I have no intention of dating, who knows what might happen.

Unable to answer easily, Dabin urged me.

“Well, if you don’t tell me, I won’t either.”

“Okay, okay. I got it. Since I won’t be dating for a few years anyway.”

“But I hope you meet a good person and feel more at ease, Mom.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Mom, you’ve been working non-stop for the family, and even the mom who left us… um, what should I call her. Yeah, anyway, if you were to ask if she was a good person, she wasn’t really. So…”.

“Dabin, that… um… even if she wasn’t a good wife to me, I hope you don’t see yourself that way, not even as a child. It makes me feel uncomfortable for no reason.”

“Yes… Anyway, I hope Mom can meet a good person and live comfortably when the opportunity comes.”

Dabin looks at me with a strong gaze. Feeling grateful and proud, I just smile and reply.

“Okay. I’ll try to make Mom happy.”

“Hehe, that’s good then.”

I put my hand on Dabin’s shoulder and slowly walked on. It wasn’t a bad day to take a walk, with the vast fields, the sound of cicadas, the heat slightly subsided, and the cool breeze blowing pleasantly in the countryside.

After walking for about 20 minutes, a convenience store started to come into view in the distance.

“Oh, it seems like I’ve become a city person now. It wasn’t a big deal to walk this far back in the day.”

“That convenience store doesn’t look like it’s been there for long, right?”

“Yeah. There wasn’t even a convenience store when I lived here. We had to walk over 30 minutes to a small hole-in-the-wall store that was barely called a supermarket.”

And so, the conversation continued. Well, it was my first time coming back to the countryside with Dabin and taking a leisurely walk, so I couldn’t help but feel excited.

“Do you see that stream over there? We used to play in the water a lot with friends. Especially after the summer monsoon passed, the water would rise up to our waists. Now it’s probably just up to our knees.”

“Haha, that sounds like fun. I’d like to try playing there too.”

He introduces the stream where they used to play in the water with friends.

“Oh, in that field over there, we used to grow a lot of watermelons in the old days. If we were hungry, we would sneak over and eat some, and one day we got caught and got scolded so much. Haha.”

“Are they tasty if you pick them from the field?”

“Yeah, they’re delicious. But why did we go all the way to steal them when we had watermelons at home?”

“Oh, that’s a bit…”

“Haha! That’s how it was back then, kid.”

He shares the taste of the fruit they picked from the field.

“Oh, this is it. The supermarket Mom used to go to before. Oh, it’s still here…”

“Wow… it looks really old.”

“Well, it’s even older inside, kid.”

As we entered the supermarket, I could smell the old and worn-out items, and the shelves looked even older with only a few snacks and necessities. It was a sight that I wouldn’t want to see if it wasn’t for nostalgia, but nowadays they call this kind of thing ‘sensibility’… no, ‘gamsung’ in Korean.

“Mom, Mom. What’s this?”

Dabin looks around the supermarket and then calls me over after finding something. I felt happy when I saw what Dabin brought.

“Oh? Is this still here?”

What Dabin brought was various toys.

“This is a Manduk doll. It’s like a rubber balloon filled with flour that you can squeeze… it’s like a fidget spinner for our generation? And this is a sticky palm. It’s a sticky material that you can throw against the wall and play with like a yo-yo. Oh, and this one… it didn’t have a name, but if you put it on the ground and press the connected pump, the horse would run.”

There were many other toys as well.

“Are you going to buy all of these?”

“Why not? I’m buying them with my own money.”

I happily bought all the toys that brought back memories.

The black bag in Dabin’s hand was quite heavy, and I just felt good and walked out of the supermarket, humming.

“Hehe, I can’t wait to show these to other people.”

The age gap between me and Su-yeon is quite significant, but I couldn’t help but think that the toys we used to play with when she was young would bring back a lot of memories for both me and Su-yeon. Oh, of course, we need to be careful not to let Jin-woo or Jin-seo put them in their mouths since they are still young.

“Ugh, Mom, do you really know about this childish stuff?”

“Is that so?”

I felt a bit embarrassed, thinking that I might have acted too childish, but facing memories was a very pleasant thing for someone like me who was getting older.

“Well, still, seeing you smile so brightly for once makes me feel good. Hehe.”

“You’ll feel the same when you get as old as me. I feel like I’ve already grown up and forgotten all the memories of my childhood… Memories suddenly appear out of nowhere and stimulate a person’s nostalgia immensely. Such sudden joy is confusing but irresistibly welcoming.”

“Hmm… I see.”

“Huh, what do you know about empathizing?”

“Hehe, I don’t know.”

“So bland.”

Immersed in memories, and the joy of being able to share those memories with my child, a warm feeling filled my chest.

“Shall we start heading back?”

“Yes. I think we’ve digested enough. Your sisters must be feeling really uncomfortable right now, so we should hurry back and help them with the digestion.”

“There’s no one like you, Mom.”

“Didn’t you know? Your sisters are always bossing me around. They’re the elders in our family, after all.”

“Hehe! That’s true.”

Just like today, watching Mom and Su-yeon, it felt like our relationship, me and Da-young, was similar. We may act tough on the outside, but deep down, we love each other. Due to the weight of being the eldest son, I always had a serious and straightforward style with my parents, while Su-yeon always stuck to a sincere attitude, whether it was being cute or throwing a tantrum.

So, I was the one who earned my parents’ trust, while Su-yeon was the one who received their love.

That’s exactly how it is now. Even though she’s my younger sister, Da-bin is more like me in style, and Da-young is similar to Su-yeon.

“Filial son, filial son.”

As I muttered to myself, Da-bin burst into laughter.

At that moment, back at home, in the living room.

“Ugh! My ear itches! Who’s talking behind my back?”

Da-young frowned and kept scratching her ear.