PIA 105

The meeting with Myeong Hyun-sook was arranged more quickly than expected. She had been taking a break from work recently, and as soon as Jeong Hee-young requested a meeting, she promptly suggested dinner as if she had been waiting.

[Noona, then what does Grandmother like? Any food preferences…?]

I cautiously asked, thinking I might need to make a restaurant reservation.

[Her health isn’t very good, so she needs to eat at home. Outside food is too salty and can be too much for her. Just tell me a day that’s convenient for you, and I’ll prepare something at home. Don’t worry, no need to feel pressured.]

[I understand. It’s not burdensome, so please don’t worry. That works for me too.]

Ji-an finally felt relieved. With the food and location quickly decided, there was nothing left to be concerned about. 

Except for one small worry.

“Mom, over here!”

Ji-an, sitting by the window in the restaurant, stood up and stretched out his hand.

“Ji-an, my goodness. Why does it feel like it’s been so long? My son.”

Yoon Ok-hee, dressed in a bright summer suit, embraced Ji-an lightly with glistening eyes. Even after they separated, she held his shoulders firmly for a long time. She carefully examined every corner of Ji-an’s face with worried eyes.

“…I’m glad you seem to be doing well.”

“You too, Mom. Is Grandmother less demanding these days? I imagine she must be enjoying life more now that I’m not in sight.”

“Hey, is that any way to talk about your elders?”

She smiled, feigning disapproval, then pulled out the chair opposite Ji-an and sat down. Although he was the son she had given birth to and raised, unlike the past when she couldn’t understand him, these days, Ji-an seemed like any other young adult to her.

Yoon Ok-hee pushed away the doubts in a corner of her mind and faced Ji-an with an even brighter smile.

“How’s the morning sickness? Is it okay to come out and eat like this without him?”

She held Ji-an’s hands that were placed on the table. Ji-an silently offered his hands and smiled back.

“It’s fine. I’m much better now. I’m in a stable period, and hyung-nim takes good care of me, so I have enough pheromones.”

“That’s a relief. You seem to have gained a little weight too.”

Perhaps because of the pregnancy, everyone who looked after him seemed to want him to gain weight. Yoon Ok-hee was looking at Ji-an with infinitely affectionate eyes.

“We talked about everything on the phone, but I kept thinking if what I heard was right. Is it true that you’re going to see Madam Myeong Hyun-sook?”

“Yes. We’re not meeting outside; I’m going to visit her home. That’s why I asked for help choosing a gift.”

Yoon Ok-hee couldn’t sleep the night she received the call saying that Ji-an was going to meet the grandmother of the Alpha he was living with.

“Mom, are we going to the workshop later?”

“It’s someone Mom has known for a long time. I talked to her this morning too, and she said everything is already prepared.”

“It’s good that you know the madam’s taste, Mom.”

“She’s famous. But regardless of taste, she’ll like it. You’ll like it too when you see it.”

The course meal Ji-an had pre-ordered started arriving on the table one by one. Ji-an pushed the plates towards Yoon Ok-hee, urging her to eat.

“Please eat a lot.”

“Yes, you too. The food here is really refined.”

The mother from the world Ji-an used to live in led a life far from fine dining. She couldn’t eat a single spoonful of rice without kimchi and gochujang, but the Yoon Ok-hee he had observed while living together briefly after coming here enjoyed butter-grilled steak well and made sure to eat salads topped with avocado.

Ji-an fell into a strange sentiment as he observed her.

People changed so much depending on the trajectory of their lives. Looking at this Yoon Ok-hee, he wondered if he could ever understand why the mother he knew had loved and raised Seo Ji-hyuk, a boy who wasn’t even her child, and almost an enemy’s son.

‘Perhaps it will remain an eternal mystery.’

What Yoon Ok-hee recommended to Ji-an as a gift for Myeong Hyun-sook was a small mother-of-pearl jewelry box filled with cute trinkets. It was handmade mother-of-pearl lacquerware, not mass-produced, carefully crafted by someone she had been connected with for a long time. The mysterious atmosphere of the workshop added to the sense of trust in the quality.

“This is Mom’s gift to Ji-an.”

Yoon Ok-hee, having received something from the workshop owner, turned Ji-an around, who was engrossed in looking around. What she handed to Ji-an was a small mother-of-pearl mobile in a box.

Dark wood was carved into shapes of whales, stars, and butterflies, densely inlaid with shimmering mother-of-pearl. A silver bell hung at the top, making a clear sound. Ji-an couldn’t close his mouth.

“Mom, this is amazing. Hyung-nim will love it too.”

“……”

Ji-an blushed, thinking of Jeong Hee-seo. Anything related to the baby made him automatically think of him. Yoon Ok-hee gazed at Ji-an intently.

“That person… does he really love the baby?”

“Of course.”

“He doesn’t show any bad signs? He just adores you?”

“I’m telling you, he treats me really well.”

As he reassured her again, he felt something strange. When he looked up, he saw unmistakable worry on Yoon Ok-hee’s face.

“Mom…”

She reached out and gently stroked Ji-an’s bangs. The touch tracing his forehead and the trajectory of her gaze seemed to be feeling for the past.

“I just want you not to get hurt.”

“……”

“The world isn’t easy. I can’t sleep well worrying that they might mistreat my precious son for being a recessive. Deep down, I hoped Ji-an would live well on his own without having a child or anything like that.”

“No, Mom. Don’t say things like that. Poggeuli is listening.”

Yoon Ok-hee smiled faintly at the name Poggeuli.

“I’ve always felt sorry that I couldn’t give birth to you as a dominant. Only receiving hate from Grandmother…”

Was it Ji-an who received the hate, or was it Yoon Ok-hee? The subject was ambiguous. Ji-an put down the box containing the mobile and hugged her tightly.

“Those people were wrong, Mom.”

Yoon Ok-hee hugged her son back. Her fingertips involuntarily tensed.

“When did our Ji-an grow up so much?”

Her son’s suddenly changed fate made her anxious. She pretended to express concern about him living together in an uncertain relationship, subtly showing her opposition, but in reality, she was worried about the imbalanced relationship itself.

Living together was already a mountain of worry, so imagine how surprised she was when he said he was going to their family home with a gift. It was only natural to worry about how Ji-an would be viewed there.

A dominant Alpha who grew up perfectly in a family everyone looked up to. She too had once yearned for such a person. But it was a desire beyond her means. In her young and rash days, she didn’t know that she would never be able to fully handle it. Her precious little child ended up bearing all of those scars.

She never thought Ji-an was lacking in any way. But would others feel the same? Would they look at her child with the same warm gaze as she did? She feared these concerns would be passed down through Ji-an to the child in his womb.

“Mom should meet Hyung-nim once. He’s really the best.”

Ji-an gently gripped Yoon Ok-hee’s shoulders and faced her tearful face. He looked playful, showing no sign of understanding her dark inner thoughts. She started to tear up but ended up bursting into laughter, finding it absurd.

“Is he really that great?”

“He really is. Once you meet him, you’ll see for yourself, Mom. You’ll change your mind.”

“……”

Little did Yoon Ok-hee know that Ji-an understood her feelings far beyond what she could imagine. Her son, who had grown far beyond her embrace, was counting the days until he could introduce Jeong Hee-seo to her.

“So don’t worry, alright?”

He wanted to show her that only good days remained, as beautiful as the armful of gifts. Ji-an patted Yoon Ok-hee’s soft shoulders.

* * *

Ji-an stood in front of the main gate of Jeong Hee-seo’s family home, holding an armful of prepared gifts and a bouquet of flowers.

“Wow… I feel intimidated.”

He had given the taxi driver the address Jeong Hee-young provided, but when he first arrived, he thought there must have been some mistake.

There was a large wooden gate with a black tile roof atop stone steps. A tall stone wall stretched endlessly to both sides from the bottom of the steps to the roof, and the base of the wall was densely decorated with viewing stones and pine trees.

“I’d believe it if they said this was a cultural heritage site.”

It seemed that what his mother had said about Myeong Hyun-sook’s taste was true. As he swallowed dryly while looking at the house, he remembered things Jeong Hee-seo had mentioned in passing. Like how grandmother’s touch was everywhere in the house…

Seeing the beautiful and neat pine trees and the well-maintained eaves without a single cobweb, he felt his mouth go dry. Ji-an notified Jeong Hee-young that he had arrived.

About 10 minutes after sending the message, a commotion broke the silence from inside the gate, and the thick wooden door opened. As soon as the inner space became visible, a small face peeked out.

“It’s Ji-an oppa!”

“Ji-an, come on in.”

“Hello.”

Ye-seo and Jeong Hee-young had come out together to greet him. It was such a warm welcome that his stiff tension melted away in an instant. Ji-an smiled as he climbed the stone steps.

[Hyung-nim, please come to the family home when you get off work today. I’m here.]

Before taking Ye-seo’s small outstretched hand, he didn’t forget to leave a message for Jeong Hee-seo.