Woohyun’s POV

         Mom and I went to the restaurant that we used to go when I was a child, which brought back many good and bad memories to my mind.

         “Woohyun-ah, you remember this place?” She asked smiling when we take the seat.

         “How could I forget this place when I lived so many things here?” I answered giving a look to the place that hadn’t ever changed.

         “That’s right.” She smiled wider and I did so too. “Let’s make the order, then.” Mom said before calling a waitress.

         “I want kimbap! Or kimchi? Or dubu jjigae? Or bulgogi? Aish! I don’t know what to order!” I scratched my head reading the letter the waitress had brought.

         “Aigoo, this kid hasn’t changed, eh?” Mom said smiling, reaching for my head to fuss my hair but I didn’t let her.

         “It’s not that, eomma! It’s just that the food in this place is the best in the whole Seoul and I never know what actually order.” I smiled and went my gaze down again to the letter.

         Mom sighed. “Just order what you want, hmm?” She smiled widely and looked down to her letter again.

         “I will order… bulgogi.” I closed the letter and looked up to mom.

         “Sure?”

         “Um. Because I still don’t do it so well so I want to eat the best bulgogi in Seoul.”

         “Okay. Then, I’ll order bulgogi too.” She said to the waitress who took our order and left before taking with her the letters.

         Mom stared at me with a meaningful look in her eyes and I furrowed smiling.

         “Why’s my beautiful eomma looking at me like that?” I put my elbows on the bed and leaned closer to read the unreadable gaze of mom.

         “Woohyun-ah.”

         “Hmm?”

         “Is there any girl you haven’t yet introduced to me?”

         “Eh? Eomma, of course not!” I leaned backward and was a bit relieved, though I didn’t know why I actually was worried about.

         “Are you sure?” She was the one leaning closer to me, narrowing her eyes.

         “Eomma, when have I lied to you about such thing? Whenever I’m dating someone and it’s something serious, you’re the first to know it!” I pointed at her cheeks that weren’t so far away from me.

         “Oh! Then you’re saying you do are dating someone but it is nothing serious?” She smiled playfully, with her eyes keenly on me.

         “Eomma! Of course not! Aish!” I scratched my neck. “I don’t even have money to invite a girl to go out.” I muttered but loud enough to mom to listen.

         Mom seemed to be concerned by my words and let out a groan. “Woohyun-ah, would you like to work?”

         “Work? Me? Where could I work at, eomma? I’ve never worked before, I know nothing. I only know how to cook.” I said thinking, looking down at the white mantle of the table.

         “Well, you can then work at a restaurant. I’m sure you’d do it very well. I’d go so often to your restaurant.” She said smiling cheerfully.

         “Hmm, work at a restaurant? Which one? I am not a professional chef. No one would ever hire me.” I didn’t know whether I was trying to find excuses or I really thought I wasn’t going to get hired.

         “You know I know many people. I can contact any of my friends that have restaurants so they’d give you the job.”

         “Hmm…” I sat straight on the chair, thinking. Me working? Yeah, right.

         “Would you be willing?”

         “I have to think about it.”

         “Okay.”

         Our food came, which saved me from more questions from mom, for the moment. I enjoyed every bite as if those were the last I would have because I didn’t know when I was going to have the chance to eat there again. I even ate what mom was unwilling to eat.

         “What you’d like to do now?” She said after I finished her food.

         “Hmm, ice cream?”

         “Okay, where?”

         “Hmm. I think around here there’s an ice cream shop, isn’t it?”

         “Yes, it is. Let’s go then.”

         Mom paid the bills and we climbed into the car and went to the ice cream shop that was around the block. Mom ordered a chocolate and vanilla ice cream and I ordered a brownie and cherry ice cream. We sat on a table and ate in silence. I was thinking in nothing but in everything at the same time. I was thinking in mom, in the job, whether I shall do it or not, in the grandmother, the grandfather… and Kang Hyewon. She slipped again into my thoughts and made my anger start to grow inside of me.

         “Woohyun-ah, should I talk with my friend so they’ll give you job?” Mom woke me up from my thoughts and I stared for a few seconds to her before I took another spoonful in my mouth.

         “I said that I have to think about it.”

         “That means that you will do it.” I looked up to see her smiling face. “You must do something to get money. Appa won’t let me give you a card down your name or money and there is no other way to you to earn some. You need to work. Plus–”

         “I am no longer a child and I have to take care of my responsibilities.” I cut off her words repeating what dad had been telling me for two years. “Yes, eomma, I know. And I will work, okay?” I sighed hard and agreed reluctantly.

         “That’s my adeul!” She said grabbing my hand and placing a kiss on it with her cold lips because of the ice cream. “Woohyun-ah, let's buy you a phone. You don’t have one, right? I need to tell you when you will get your job, hmm?” She said almost getting up, leaving her ice cream half-eaten and I looked from her ice cream to her eyes to my half-eaten ice cream.

         “But I haven’t finished my ice cream!” I pouted trying to convince her to stay a bit more so I could finish my ice cream (and hers) but she seemed not to care about it at all.

         “I’ll give you money to buy another one for you other day, okay? Let’s go now!” She grabbed me by my arm, pulling me up but I was reluctantly to stand up. “Woohyun, let’s go now!” She said almost crying and I looked her with faked teary eyes and let a sigh before putting a full spoonful in my mouth, which made my teeth twinge but I wasn’t going to let two ice creams half-eaten.

         We went to a phone store and she bought the most expensive phone, thought I didn’t want her to spend such amount of money in a phone. Maybe three months ago I wouldn’t care at all about it but since I had experienced what does it felt not having anything to eat, I didn’t want to spend money in something that can’t be eaten. But well, it wasn’t me who was paying for it anyway.

         “Let’s buy things for your department, hmm?” She took my arm as we walked out of the phone shop.

         “Things?” I looked at her smiling side profile, frowning.

         “Yes, foodstuff.”

         “Oh, okay. Let’s go then.”

         We went to the supermarket and buy several things for mom’s house and my department. Then mom took out her phone and called a taxi for me.

         “Appa forbade me to go to your house. He said that if I go, I would be there always and all this discipline that he had given you so you finally change would be in vain. So I can’t go with you, is that okay?” She said all this when I was getting into the taxi.

         “Discipline? Which discipline? Why am I been disciplined? So I would finally change? What are you saying, eomma?” I repeated all her words as thinking I could find the answers I needed.

         “Oh! It is too late, Woohyun-ah.” She seemed not to listen at what I said. “Ahjussi, please take him to where he tells you and take this. Keep the change.” She gave the money to the taxi driver and leaned in the window of the taxi to pinch my cheek. “Bye, Woohyun-ah.” She said so fast that I couldn’t even take her arm to stop her.

         “Eomma, eomma! You gotta tell me what's going on!” I shouted pulling my head out of the window, looking at her direction hoping she’d turn back but she just waved at me without even looking back.

Hyewon’