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n“Oh, nice to meet you,” said Suji’s mother with a bright smile.

nBut her tone sounded unnatural, as if she was forcibly pulling out her tongue.

nHe behavior was also strange as if half her body was frozen.

nSuji shook the dust off her clothes and said, “Are you okay, mom?”

n“I’m alright. I slightly fell because of this stupid leg of mine.”

n“Why did you come out like this? It’s dangerous.”

n“I just felt stuffy in the room, and I have to workout to get well quickly.”

n“What about the daddy?”

nA bit upset, Suji asked casually but immediately regretted asking about her father.

nOn a weekend like today, his father obviously was not at home. Maybe he would come back home after midnight, or he might spend the whole night in his research room. She just felt upset when she thought of her father. To him research, not family, mattered the most. He didn’t have any remarkable achievements, but he was totally focused on the research nobody appreciated.

nIn the past, he used to leave the office early for dinner with the family. These days, however, she never saw his face as he spent most of his time in his research room at the university.

nThe reason Suji’s mother was struck by cerebral infarction had something to do with this. Unable to overcome the stress while taking care of her husband, she fell with cerebral infarction. Nonetheless, he didn’t change. Three years ago when she was struck by that disease, he seemed to be loyal to his family, but he deserted it in about two months.

nSuji felt bitter towards him, but couldn’t reveal her real intention. The more she revealed such feelings, the more it would make her mother feel heavy and sad, so she didn’t say anything about her father, which she thought would be better for her mother.

nControlling her emotion, she said softly, “That’s why I told you not to overdo yourself. Were you injured at all?”

n“No, I’m alright.”

nShe smiled a forcible smile, which made Suji’s heart ache all the more. Suji wished her mother would express her true feelings freely, which would at least help her get rid of her stress, but her mother just put up with everything and hid her feelings, thinking that’s good for her family.

n“Let’s go inside, mom.”

n“Let me walk around the neighborhood first.”

n“No, that’s too dangerous.”

n“I just feel stuffy at home. I’m alright now,” said her mother stubbornly.

nSangho took side with her, “I agree. Why don’t you allow her to take a walk? Let me help her.”

nSuji felt upset towards him, not thankful because she felt as if she had aired dirty linen in public, but she couldn’t oppose in front of her mother.

n“You said you had an appointment, didn’t you?” asked Suji.

n“Yes, but I still have some time left,” said Sangho, helping her mother take a walk.

nSuji followed them reluctantly.

nWithout knowing Suji’s true feeling, her mother welcomed Sangho as if he was her boyfriend.

nAnd Sangho tried to get in the spirit, chatting with her along the way as if they’re talking between mother-in-law and son-in-law. Was that the reason? She started talking about her daughter Suji in detail without any hesitation.

n“Oh, really? Actually Suji chose to get a job at a middle-sized company because she was not capable enough, but because of me.”

n“Because of you?”

n“As I’m sick like this, she was looking for a job near my house, and that workplace was Aurum.”

n“Oh, I see.”

nThanks to her, Sangho could learn lots of things about Suji. Actually, she lived in a luxury apartment where there were many expensive cars parked in the parking lot, most of which were foreign cars.

nLooks like she is financially stable.

nExcept for her father’s background, Suji was much better than Minhye in every way. The more he thought so, the more he tried to curry favor with her mother. Following the two, Suji was hearing what they were chatting about, and she wished her mother would go home now, but she was persistent as if she was obsessed with walking.

nOnce one was struck by cerebral infarction, it’s impossible to recover again. Her doctor said as her condition was serious, it would be impossible for her to recover enough to walk again, but her extraordinary efforts helped her recover enough to walk back without a cane. Actually, she was a very cheerful woman, and before she was struck by cerebral infarction, she was much better than her father in social activities. She wanted to travel with her mother if she could, but her mother refused it, saying she didn’t want it. The reason was simple.

nYou have to get a boyfriend and think about getting married. If you spend weekends with me, when are you going to date someone?

nThough Suji said that didn’t matter, she could not overcome her obstinacy. Since then she’s never went on a trip during the weekend. Rather, she could not.

nSuji let out a sigh without her mother noticing it. Her mother took a walk for 30 minutes, and only then did Sangho disappear, pushed by Suji.

nBack home, Suji sighed deeply, Phew. I just feel sorry mom feels so stuffy at home. I wish I could take her on an outing during the weekend.

nThen, she opened her eyes wide because she could think of someone she knew who enjoyed going on mountain climbing during the weekend.

n“Yes, brother Hyunwoo is the right person!” Suji shouted before she knew it.

nMrs. Kong’s eyes opened wide at that because she had never heard Suji mentioning a man’s name. However, not only the name Sangho but also Hyunwoo came out of her lips today.

nAnd she was so happy to hear that because she wanted her daughter Suji to get a boyfriend as soon as possible.

n“Hyunwoo? Who is that person?”

n“He is my colleague who belongs to the same team at the company,” said Suji, with a smile.

n“Oh, I see,” said Suji’s mother, disappointedly, as if she had a poor opinion of the male employees at Aurum.

nOf course, Sangho was an Aurum employee, but he has a degree from a famous US college. Then, he might have some reason to get a job at Aurum just like Suji. Most of the employees at Aurum got hired there because they were not competent enough to get a job at large companies, and the fact that Suji called Hyunwoo “brother” suggested he was not that superior to her in rank at the office. Mrs. Kong didn’t want her daughter to get a boyfriend like him.

nIn terms of ability, beauty and even character, Suji was the best bride in her mother’s mind. Thus, her bridegroom should befit her.

nMrs. Kong asked cautiously, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

n“No, mom. You’re asking the same question whenever I mention a man’s name,” said Suji, and her mother who looked relieved. Suji felt disappointed at her mother’s change of expression on her face.

nActually, she was greatly disappointed when she heard Daebong Park, the president of Aurum, thought of his academic background as the most important factor in searching for the candidate for her daughter. How can Daebong judge a man by his academic background?

nMrs. Kong was not much different from Daebong in that respect.

nHowever, Suji had a different view of men, and of Hyunwoo in particular.

nOf course she was little different from her mother initially. She had some fixed ideas of those with ‘high school diploma’ before she knew it, but while she worked with Hyunwoo as a colleague for more than one year and six months, she broke her fixed idea completely. Hyunwoo was much better than Sangho who got a degree from a first-rate US college, not to mention those with typical college degrees. Maybe she could think outside the box because of Hyunwoo.

nShe thought her mom could do away with stereotypes if she met Hyunwoo directly and watched him for some time.

nWhen she thought as far as that, Suji suddenly felt spirited, Okay, that’s the solution.

nThe thing was whether Hyunwoo could accept her mother.

nAfter Suji and her mother took a walk, they went back into their apartment, but Suji came out again so her mother could not hear her conversation over the phone.

nShe called Hyunwoo.

n***

nEarly the next morning, the roaring sound of a 15-seater minivan filled he air.

nHyunwoo drove the van around the city of Ansan to pick up the old men squatting on the roadside, but the van kept circling around the city to pick up someone else.

n“Are you going to pick up some others?”

n“Yes, I’ve got one more to pick up, sir.”

nThe van finally stopped in front of a luxurious apartment complex. Suji and her mother, who were waiting at the entrance, came toward the van. Helped by Hyunwoo, they got in the van.

nOnce inside the van, Suji’s mother was surprised to see many old men with wrinkled faces. Among them were Hyunwoo’s parents who looked a bit younger than the others, but even they were older than Suji’s mother.

nThe van was almost full of the seniors. They stared in wonder at Suji’s mother, as if they were looking at interesting toys.

n“Who are you, lady?”

n“Is she your daughter?”

n“She’s so lovely. She just looks like her mom.”

nOnly then did Suji and her mother introduce themselves to them hesitantly.

nThey were pretty much voluble, and they were anxious to chat about anything. Naturally, Suji and her mother were their easy targets. As there were so many who initiated conversation with Suji and her mother that they were just absent-minded, responding to non-stop questions.

nEven some of them were reaching out their hands to both while talking.

n“Wow, how beautiful you are! You remind me of my younger days. You’re so pretty dressed up, too,” said one old man to Suji.

n“I couldn’t agree more. So beautiful. Can I touch your hand?” asked another.

nSome touched Suji’s hands, and others touched her mother’s. Both of them were embarrassed, but found their behavior interesting because there was no malice on their faces. It felt as if Suji and her mother moved to a country village in the old days.

nSuji was beautiful, but her mother, Mrs. Kong, was much more beautiful when young. She had been not only a fashion designer but also a fashion model when she was young. However, after she got married, she stopped her fashion activities and only focused on fashion design as her hobby. Once her design works were very popular, she made lots of money.

nAfter she was struck by cerebral infarction, she stopped all activities, but recently she began to resume little by little, but she couldn’t produce any nice work because she could not think of any good inspiration like before.

nWhile they’re chattering away, the van arrived at the roadside of a village in Umsung county, North Chungchong Province.

nHyunwoo found a suitable place and spread the mats. Just like before Hyunwoo started climbing the mountain, Suji followed him closely, “I’d like to go with you.”

nStunned, Hyunwoo looked at Suji.

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