TGMC 03

chapter 03

“Yeah. I can see you guys.”

My mom looked the same as ever.

At first, she hurriedly stood up, probably thinking I was a customer.
But the moment she realized it was me, she plopped back down into her seat.

On the table in front of her sat a freshly mixed bowl of yangpun bibimbap.

Colorful ingredients piled generously on top.
The nutty aroma of sesame oil drifted through the air.

My mouth instantly filled with saliva.

“Son, you came down without saying a word. What brings you here?”

Mom asked, as if demanding an explanation.
Confusion was written all over her face.

Which made sense.
I’d shown up on a weekday without any notice.

Come to think of it, it had been almost two months since I last saw her.
I’d only stayed one night during Chuseok, then kept making excuses about being busy with work.

“What about work? You don’t have to go to the office?”

“I took a day off.”

“Out of nowhere? What wind blew you all the way down here? You scared me half to death.”

“I just wanted to eat the bibimbap you make, Mom.”

“Oh please. There are tons of good restaurants in Seoul. You came all this way just for that?”

“The bibimbap you make is the best in the world to me.”

Grrrkk—.

My stomach let out a loud growl.

As I swallowed and smacked my lips, Mom took a spoon from the holder and said,

“Come here and eat.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll just make another bowl. You didn’t eat lunch, did you? Sit down and eat.”

“Yes!”

“Soup? I have dried radish greens soup. Want some?”

“Of course I do.”

“Honestly. If you live alone, you need to eat properly. You’re a grown man already.”

Grumbling, Mom headed into the kitchen.

I quickly sat down and grabbed my spoon.
I scooped up a big bite and put it straight into my mouth.

Crunchy seasoned vegetables.
Sweet stir-fried meat.
Spicy-sweet gochujang mixed with fragrant sesame oil.

The moment I chewed the bibimbap, a smile naturally spread across my face.

Yeah. This was the taste.

A flavor no one else could copy—my mom’s unique touch.

Even when I was dating Jihyun, we’d gone to every famous Korean restaurant in Seoul and ordered bibimbap over and over again.
But when it came to bibimbap, my mom’s was unmatched.

“Eat slowly. You’ll get indigestion. Have some of this too.”

Mom set the bowl of soybean paste soup in front of me.
Then she sat beside me and stared intently.

At first, I tried to ignore it, but eventually I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“It’s just strange seeing my son sitting here.”

“I’m allowed to sit here.”

“You took a day off on a weekday just to come down. Don’t you remember?”

“Remember what?”

“When you said your stomach hurt and I told you to take a day off and rest at home, but you said you couldn’t because you were worried about your coworkers.”

Ah. Right.
That did happen.

And that wasn’t all.

Mom remembered every single thing I’d completely forgotten.

“Did you come down because you’re upset about breaking up with Jihyun? To complain to me?”

“It’s not like that. I erased her from my head a long time ago.”

“Anyone listening would think it’s been a year since you broke up.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Really? Since you’re here anyway, let me ask you something.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Jihyun—she hated the idea of moving to the countryside, didn’t she?”

The question hit the mark without warning.

I almost frowned, but quickly fixed my expression.
Still, Mom’s eyes were sharp.

“I knew it.”

“Huh? I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s written all over your face. So? Did she hate you?”

“She didn’t say that. She just said she wasn’t sure if she really loved me.”

“Sounds like she found another man.”

“No way. She’s not that kind of person.”

“They say you can measure ten fathoms of water but not a single fathom of a person’s heart. You weren’t glued to her all day—how can you be so sure?”

“Well… that’s true, but…”

Still, I had never once thought that Jihyun might’ve cheated.

“Anyway, it’s good you broke up. I didn’t like her from the moment I first met her.”

That unexpected comment made me tilt my head.

“Huh? Really? Why?”

“Just had a bad feeling about her.”

“…Whatever. Let’s stop talking about her.”

“What, are you upset because I said something bad about your ex?”

“It’s just that I don’t want to judge someone when I don’t fully know them.”

“Alright, son. Let’s drop it.”

The topic of Jihyun came to an end.

By the time I’d almost finished the bibimbap—

“So then why did you really come down here?”

“I told you. I wanted to eat your bibimbap.”

“Stop being obvious. Son, don’t tell me you got fired.”

“No. I didn’t get fired, but I’ve been wanting to quit lately.”

“Son. In times like these, when getting a job is so hard, quitting is out of the question. You need to think long-term. You have to work to survive.”

“Mom, do you need a part-time worker? I’m an all-purpose helper—I can serve customers, run the POS, and even take care of the garden.”

I proudly listed my résumé.

“Even alone, I manage just fine.”

Rejected instantly.

“Son, aren’t you going to get married? If you plan to marry, you need to stay in Seoul. What are you going to do in a rural place like this?”

“I’m not thinking about marriage. I’ll just live peacefully with you.”

“What?”

Mom waved her hands in disgust.

“That’s creepy. Don’t ever say that again. Instead, bring home a sensible, capable woman and think about living together.”

“I’ll think about marriage later. But what about farming—can’t I really move back?”

“If you do, what exactly are you planning to do?”

“There’s Grandma’s house, right? I was thinking of remodeling it into a pension or something. There’s a reservoir nearby and the sea is right there, so tourists come often. Doesn’t that sound good?”

“Remodeling? That won’t be cheap. Where will the money come from? Don’t tell me you’re planning to dump your entire severance pay into it. Even that wouldn’t be enough.”

Mom sounded skeptical.

Instead of answering, I pulled out my bankbook from inside my coat and placed it in front of her.

“What’s this? Savings?”

“Take a look.”

A moment later—

Mom screamed.

* * *

“So… you’re saying you won first prize in the lotto?”

“Yes. Look.”

I showed her the receipt.

It proved that I’d won first prize in the previous draw and received roughly 1.8 billion won after 33% tax.

Mom rubbed her eyes as she checked it again.

“I’m not seeing things, right?”

“It’s real. That’s why I took today off. I went to the main branch of the Agricultural Bank earlier.”

“…Does anyone else know?”

“No. Just the bank staff and you.”

“Oh my goodness. Dear God.”

“If I were still going to marry Jihyun, I’d have just bought an apartment. But that’s over, and I haven’t been feeling well lately. I thought I’d take a break and recover. Moving to the countryside was always my dream anyway.”

“Right. Health comes first. If you were that sick, you should’ve said something sooner.”

“I didn’t want to worry you. Oh—since we’re remodeling anyway, how about renovating the restaurant too?”

“This place?”

The restaurant Mom ran was in an old building.

Faded wallpaper, mosquito screens full of holes, outdated kitchen appliances everywhere.

“But we’d have to close for a while…”

“It’s winter—there aren’t many customers anyway. Why don’t we leave the remodeling to them and go on a trip together?”

“A trip? Where? Jeju?”

“No way. I’ve never really treated you properly. Let’s go abroad this time. You hate the cold, right? Let’s go somewhere warm and relax.”

Mom hated winter and the cold.

A trip to Southeast Asia or the southern hemisphere during the freezing season would be perfect.

We’d be remodeling the restaurant, the house upstairs, and Grandma’s house all at once.

“Aren’t you spending too freely just because you won the lotto? Wouldn’t it be better to buy an apartment in Seoul?”

“I don’t plan on living in Seoul, so why bother? Just let me do this while I can. Don’t regret it later.”

“It’s your money. I just feel bad.”

“Come on. There’s nothing to feel bad about. I’m doing this because I want to. And it’ll be my house too.”

After persistent persuasion, Mom finally agreed.

I’d look into remodeling companies, and we’d shop together for new appliances and furniture.

Watching everything fall into place, a thought crossed my mind.

Money really is king.

With 1.8 billion won in my hands, nothing stood in my way.

“Mom, I’m going to Grandma’s house for a bit.”

“Why there?”

“I want to take some photos before heading back to Seoul.”

Measurements were needed before remodeling.

Though the contractors would do their own inspection later, I wanted a rough idea beforehand.

“You’ve always been scared of that place. Are you sure you’ll be okay going alone?”

“Mom. I’m thirty-two this year. I’m long past being scared of that stuff.”

“Do you know how much you cried as a kid, saying you could hear ghosts talking? You even told kids at school that ghosts lived in Grandma’s house. Have you forgotten the chaos that caused?”

“……”

That was over twenty years ago.

I shut my mouth, face burning.

“You never went there even when Grandma begged to see you.”

That part, I remembered.

I never once visited her house on holidays.

No matter how much my parents coaxed or scolded me, I refused.

Back then, I truly hated going there.

Because whenever I did, I could hear ghosts whispering in my ears.

So instead of us going there, Grandma always had to come to Incheon to see me.

Ridiculous as it sounds—that was the only way.

And today, for the first time in twenty-three years, I returned to Grandma’s house.

* * *

Grandma’s house stood across the road from Mom’s restaurant.

Neglected for years after her passing, weeds had grown wildly around it.

The brick walls were cracked and crumbling, and the tiled roof had collapsed from leaks.

As I measured the abandoned house, I walked around to the back—

And the East Sea coastline spread out before my eyes.

The wide-open view cleared my chest.

“Wow… this is nice.”

The words slipped out naturally.

After taking in the scenery, I turned back toward the house.

The back door was tightly locked.

Using the key Mom gave me, I unlocked it and pushed it open.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath without realizing it.

There couldn’t be any ghosts—but I was still nervous.

Thump. Thump.

I calmed my racing heart and stepped inside.

Then—

I heard that familiar voice again.

And it wasn’t just one.

[Huh? Someone new came.]

[Wait. That smell is familiar. It’s him! The kid who used to live here!]

[Really? The crybaby from back then?]

[Yeah. But what’s he looking at right now?]

[…Don’t tell me he can see us?]

Looking at the palm-sized figures chattering away, I opened my mouth.

“Yeah. I can see you guys.”