Chapter 26
by Gideon“I told you to stay in bed.”
“When I’m just lying there, I focus too much on my hand and it hurts more. I want to watch you work. What are you making, anyway?”
“It’s almost dinner time. You need to eat something before you take your medicine.”
He pulled a stainless steel bowl from the lower cabinet and asked, “Your mouth’s probably dry and sore since you’re feeling under the weather. How about some porridge?”
“Can the precious eldest grandson of the Cha family actually cook porridge?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m just imagining that you’re being sarcastic, right?”
“Oh?”
Hyewan waved her good hand dismissively, as if to say, How could you even think that?
“Why would I be sarcastic with you? I was just surprised.”
“Even the precious eldest grandson of the Cha family has to eat to survive. He’s got a sound mind and a healthy body—wouldn’t it be a problem if he couldn’t even make a single meal for himself?”
He poured rice into a stainless steel bowl and began to rinse it. Just as Yundo had said, his movements were far from clumsy.
Hyewan sat on a stool at the kitchen island and started chatting. “The more I live with you, the more I realize how lucky I am. Handsome, rich, and he can cook?”
“Pretty great, right?”
Hyewan gave him a thumbs-up.
Yundo prepared beef porridge. The way he maximized efficiency with minimal movement showed this wasn’t his first time in the kitchen.
“I can eat by myself,” Hyewan protested.
But he insisted on feeding her, gently taking the spoon from her hand.
“My right hand is fine, you know!”
“Hyewan, do you realize how much you nag?”
She’d never heard that before.
“I’m actually a very quiet person.”
This time, Yundo was the one who questioned his own hearing.
“What?”
They both stared at each other, equally bewildered, for completely different reasons.
“What’s wrong with you, really? My mom seriously considered speech therapy for me because I was so quiet when I was learning to talk. I’m that much of a talker.”
“Yes, yes. I get it. Just calm down and eat.”
“Wow, you’re really going to be like this? Should I call my mom and ask her?”
“Go ahead. I’ll tell her you got hurt.”
Hyewan bit her lip and glared at him. Every conversation with Yundo always ended in her defeat. She sulked and backed away.
“I’m not eating.”
His eyebrow twitched. A hunger strike was the nastiest of Ko Hyewan’s threats.
“Are you sure you want me to call your mother?”
“Go ahead, then. I’ll be really mad.”
“Alright, just say ‘ah.’ You need to take your medicine.”
Hyewan glared at him but opened her mouth. She felt like a spoiled child.
Hyewan got her stitches removed two weeks later. During that time, she’d felt like a newborn baby. Yundo had helped her with everything—washing, eating, dressing. Though unable to use her left hand, she’d insisted she could manage on her own, but he’d been relentless.
Balancing a full-time job with such meticulous care was no easy feat. Yet Yundo would wake up at dawn to prepare her meals before heading to work. When he had to work late, he’d still come home to eat dinner with her before leaving again. When the stitches were finally removed, Hyewan felt more relief at the thought of no longer being a burden to Yundo than at the fact that she could use her hand again.
She was grateful.
Searching her memories, she couldn’t recall anyone who had ever taken care of her when she was sick as Yundo had. Not even her mother. To avoid bothering her mother, who was always overwhelmed with work, Hyewan had always gone to the hospital alone and taken her medicine without being told.
Hyewan was truly grateful, but she felt guilty, worrying she was only getting in his way instead of being of any help.
If only there were a way to express my gratitude beyond words. What could it be?
A week after getting her stitches removed, Hyewan returned to the library. But instead of studying, her mind was consumed by thoughts of Yundo. The Legal Education Eligibility Test was just around the corner, yet she couldn’t focus on her books.
Just then, a message from Min-suk arrived.
Are you busy? Son-in-law Cha seems to be eating well, so I made some kimchi. I’ll send it to you via courier. Send me your address.
Hyewan closed her book. Well, I couldn’t concentrate anyway, she thought.
She headed straight to Min-suk’s side dish shop. As she opened the door, the cool blast of the air conditioner greeted her.
“Mom, I’m here.”
Hearing her voice from the kitchen, Min-suk came out, her face lighting up with joy.
“Oh, why did you come all this way when you’re so busy? I told you to just send the address.”
“I came to see you, Mom. Where’s Aunt Gyeong-ae?”
“She went to the market. Come over here and sit down.”
Hyewan took the seat Min-suk gestured to.
“How’s the shop doing?”
“Great. It’s doing better than ever, thanks to you and Son-in-law Cha.”
As soon as Yundo returned from Hawaii, he had transferred the maximum amount possible without incurring gift tax into Hyewan’s account. Seeing the hundred-million-won figure, she stared in shock. He had just smiled at her, finding her reaction adorable.
“It’s for your tuition and living expenses. Don’t hold back on anything you need for your studies.”
When Hyewan insisted she could handle her own tuition, Yundo had looked wounded. He’d protested, “How can a husband not be able to pay for his wife’s tuition?”
He then suggested they use the money she had saved to remodel her mother’s shop.
Hyewan was stunned by the unexpected proposal, but also deeply grateful. She was moved by Yundo’s thoughtfulness—not just for her, but for Min-suk as well.
Following Yundo’s suggestion, they completely renovated the side dish shop, which had been temporarily closed due to Bae Jeong-ju’s harassment. They replaced old appliances like the refrigerators and display cases with brand-new ones before reopening for business.
“No matter how busy your studies keep you, don’t neglect your duties. Make sure you’re taking good care of Son-in-law Cha.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m doing just fine.”
“Is everything really okay?”
Hyewan reassured Min-suk, who was scanning her daughter for any signs of trouble.
“I’m doing great, so please don’t worry.”
Thank goodness the injury was on my palm, Hyewan thought. If it had been on the back of my hand, she would have spotted it immediately.
“But Mom, I told you Yundo’s family said they’d prepare the food at their house. You’re already exhausted from making side dishes all day. Why do you need to make them for us too?”
At this, Min-suk waved her hand dismissively.
“Your in-laws are already doing so much, you should help out too. You run a side dish shop, but you can’t even take care of your own daughter’s meals? I made a few dry side dishes and some water kimchi. Son-in-law Cha seems to be enjoying them.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll enjoy them.”
“How’s your exam prep going?”
Hyewan was startled by Min-suk’s cautious question.
“What’s gotten into you, Mom? You’ve never once asked me how my studies are going.”
“That’s because I didn’t want to pressure you when I couldn’t even help.”
Hyewan was even more surprised. She never imagined her mother would think that way.
“I thought you weren’t interested in my studies…”
She felt a pang of guilt for sometimes resenting her mother’s perceived indifference.
“How could I not be interested? What kind of parent doesn’t care about their child’s affairs? If I could, I’d follow you around, watching and listening to everything you do.”
“Then why are you asking now?”
“Because Son-in-law Cha is doing such a good job. I feel guilty and ashamed, like I’ve dumped all my duties on him, but I just can’t stand it anymore.”
Hyewan felt a pang of regret for not knowing her mother was like this.
“Don’t worry. I’ll ace the exam and get into law school. Who else would get in if not me?”
While her hand was injured, she’d been cooped up in the study, imagining the worst-case scenario of failing to get into law school. But she never let it show in front of Min-suk.
“Of course! Who else would get in if not my daughter? My daughter is so smart!”
Min-suk passionately agreed, her voice full of pride. Seeing her like this, Hyewan felt grateful to Yundo again for giving her mother the chance to express herself this way.
“But what happened here?”
Min-suk narrowed her eyes, examining Hyewan’s wrist. As she rolled up the sleeve and saw the skin, her brow furrowed.
“Do you have an allergy? You never had anything like this when you were little.”
Oh, you scared me, Hyewan thought, thinking she’d been caught about the cut on her hand. She absentmindedly stroked her wrist.
“I don’t think it’s an allergy. It’s just a rash.”
She was already stressed enough as it was, and the rash was making her life even more miserable.
“What’s causing this?”
“The supplements Grandmother gave me. My arms and legs get so itchy every time I take them.”
“Is that so?”
Min-suk trailed off. She wanted to believe the in-laws had carefully chosen the supplements, but seeing her daughter break out in a rash was deeply worrying.
“I know I should take them out of respect for the in-laws’ sincerity, but…”
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