unedited
# 7
“Real Man” Episode 7.
The bus ran for three hours and stopped at Yoo Hyun’s hometown.
“It was this.”
The apartment that was filled behind the river was not yet built, and the redevelopment of the old city was still the same.
When I visited the address taken by my mother, I saw single-story farmhouses gathered at the end of the mountain.
It is a house that is faintly remembered.
After my mother’s death, my father moved to another area, so I didn’t have to stop by here.
“Here it is.”
Yoo Hyun, who stopped in front of the house, looked at the blue roof with the paint off, and recalled the two-story mansion where she lived as a child.
The house, located only a short distance away, had many memories left.
There were swings in the well-maintained large garden, and a small cabin that was also Yoohyeon’s hideout.
Memories are bound to be glorified, but they are very happy memories.
I still remember that vividly. How did Yoo-hyun feel facing the house?
The miserable feeling of that time still seemed to remain like residue on the bottom of the coffee cup.
‘I’ll make sure to return it back.’
Isn’t that what motivated Yoohyeon to pursue success?
Yoo-hyun, who shook his head and disturbed the old thoughts suddenly, stepped into the empty entrance.
At that time, my eyes met with my mother who was washing lettuce in the small yard.
“Huh? Hyuna.”
“Mother…”
My heart trembled when I faced my young mother, who didn’t have much wrinkles.
Yoo Hyun’s childhood came to mind as if he were in front of his eyes.
She was a mother who always smiled in front of Yoo Hyun.
The same was true of the last time I went.
I couldn’t contact and look for it well.
Nevertheless, the mother smiled hard as if to reassure her ugly son even though she was out of breath.
When the memory came to mind, my heart sank.
Regret penetrated from toe to head.
Yoo-hyun couldn’t take his steps anymore.
Then, the mother who wiped her hands on a towel approached and patted Yoo-hyun on the back.
“Oh, is it because you’re having a hard time coming here?”
“No……”
Tap, tap.
“It’s alright. It’s alright.Welcome. You didn’t eat, did you?”
Yoo-hyun, who was held in his mother’s small arms, nodded, suppressing his emotional feelings.
“Yes.”
“Yes, let’s eat.Hold on a second.”
How does it feel to face a young living mother 20 years ago?
‘I’m so glad I came back.’
I was grateful for the miraculous change of life, putting everything aside.
No money, no success, no wealth, no film was of no use before him.
After a while.
“Come on, let’s eat.”
On a small table, various side dishes and meat grilled by my mother were placed.
The mother squatted down and watched Yoo Hyun eat with a happy expression.
“Mother, eat too.”
“I ate. And I shouldn’t eat more here.It’s fattening.”
“How could I have gained weight?”She’s so pretty even now.”
“Hoho, oh dear.Where else did you learn that? What?”
My mother’s lips rose wide at the awkwardly sweet words.
The figure was in Yoo Hyun’s childhood memory.
It was just like my mother, who was relaxed and smiling.
It is completely different from Yoo-hyun, who was frustrated with his fallen life.
By the time Yoo-hyun finished eating, his mother opened his mouth.
Yoohyeon, I think your mom will take charge of the side dish store this time.”
“What?”
“The boss opened another store, but he wanted to leave the existing store to his mother.She’s a little good.”
After a pause, I saw my mother talking carefully.
I could guess why.
I could guess that Yoo-hyun reacted negatively to his mother’s work in the past.
And then he’d try to hug all the luggage by himself.
You didn’t understand any of your mother’s life.
At least not now.
Yoo-hyun asked back with a smile around his mouth to reassure his mother.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“It’s hard. It’s so nice to see people happy after eating mom’s side dishes.”
“Really?”
“Then, I don’t know why I did nothing and lived like a fool before that.”
Is it to reassure Yoo Hyun?
Mother’s gestures have increased.
Yoohyeon knows.
It was hard to just sit in the office and be in front of the computer.
However, it cannot be difficult to make a living by selling side dishes.
You may nod your head on purpose, but Yoo Hyun was curious about his mother’s sincerity.
“But it’s still hard.You’ve been through a lot.”
“Yoohyeon.”
“Yes, mother.”
“I’m not trying to reassure you on purpose.”
Yoo-hyun hurriedly asked at his mother’s words.
“Then?”
“Your dad is trying much harder and it’s going well.I thought it would all fall apart, but it’s coming back to life.Mom, it’s much better now.”
“……”
It was such a positive answer.
Unshakable eyes, stable vocalization and breathing.Naturally, the hand on the table told me that it was not a lie.
Yoohyeon was far away.But his mother was the one in the center of the house that crashed.
The house became smaller, and the clothes I wore were not as good as before.
A person who didn’t have a drop of water on his hand even said he was running a side dish store.
But how can you be so positive?
My mother continued as if she had read Yoo Hyun’s curiosity.
“I don’t need any money.Really. If you’re really worried, your mom will make a lot of money to feed you, so don’t worry too much and live comfortably.”
“Haha, I don’t need money.You can go on a trip with it’s
“You have to earn it and send it to me.”
“Hahaha, yes, yes.Mother, if you make money, let’s go on a trip together and eat delicious food.”
Yoo-hyun burst into laughter and added friendly words.
It was very different from Yoo Hyun’s usual appearance.
At the same time as I felt unfamiliar, the corners of my mouth kept rising.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
Yoohyeon saw his mother off on her way back to the side dish shop.
He said he was really okay, but he was worried about what he wore.
Gray round cotton shirt with jeans.There were stains on the clothes, perhaps because of the side dishes.
“Whoo.”
Yoo-hyun, who breathed out a cold breath in his cheek, went to the small room where he would stay.
There were photobooks and records of elementary, middle and high schools there.
There were quite a few awards, mostly for art.
You liked art.
Memories that I had forgotten far rose up.
It feels like I’m in a museum.
The records of his childhood memories, which he encountered for the first time in 20 years, excited Yoo Hyun.
“Haha, what is this?”
Yoo-hyun burst into laughter when he went to the valley with his friends and saw the picture taken with a ridiculous expression.
It is very nice to see you smile coolly without pretense.
There were also sticker photos of memories that were popular and friendship notes that made my hands and feet cringe.
What about Yoo Hyun in the picture?
It had a bright appearance that could not be found at all.
It was also a figure that Yoo-hyun could never see now.
Yoo-hyun smiled around his mouth and opened a box decorated with flowers.
I saw a pile of letters there.
It was a handwritten letter from girls in middle and high school.
When I was young, I remembered that I deliberately avoided women who confessed because I was so shy.
“Hey, Han Yoo-hyun lived a very fun life.”
Han Yoo-hyun, who had been forgotten, was very bright and pleasant.
I had a lot of friends, and I was very popular.
It seemed like it was just good to have fun day by day.
But how did this happen?
He said he changed while looking at the collapsing house, but in reality, he embraced all his worries alone.
I moved forward with the power to resent my parents and the world, but when I saw it, it was all an excuse.
Damage consciousness, greed, obsession.
Once rolled, the negative emotions snowballed and eroded Yoo-hyun’s inner self.
I lived a very lonely life that seemed to collapse if I didn’t push myself without enough time.
Wouldn’t it have been different if I listened to my mother a little bit?
Why didn’t he pay attention to his closest people when he followed his boss so well?
There was an answer right in front of me, but I thought I was only chasing a mirage that I couldn’t even see.
Regret and remorse always brought back memories.
Mother came back by the time the sun went down.
He said it would take some time, but I think he went to the hair salon.
Yoo Hyun decided to become a little more friendly, recalling his mother’s smile.
“I think your new perm went well.”
“Oh? How did you know?” Are you okay?”
“Yes, the curl is nice.My mother’s skin is young, so it looks much more lively and looks good on her when she rolls her side hair up.”
“Yoo Hyun, when you do this perm…….”
The conversation continued more naturally in line with the mother’s interests.
The mother raised his voice as if she were excited, and Yoo-hyun smiled.
It was only about my mother as I looked around to open the hearts of the people of the company.
However, the mother’s response was much better than expected.
As if chatting with a close friend, I told Yoo-hyun what I thought.
My mother is also a person.
If you are interested, you like it, and if you sympathize, you open your heart.
Why couldn’t I do this easy thing until now?
I’ll do better.’
Yoo Hyun thanked her inside and looked into his mother’s eyes.
My father came in while I was chatting for such a long time.
“Father.”
“Oh, you’re here.”
“Yes, how have you been?”
Yoo-hyun greeted his father with a blunt look on his face more friendly.
“Yes.”
Then the father, who turned his head, replied awkwardly.
Now I could see my father’s face properly.
He showed his frown, droopy shoulders, and his feet, which spread outward than his heels, were not easy to live with.
The father glanced at Yoo-hyun as if he was suddenly doing this, and then turned around.
It’s time to get out of here once again.
But words don’t fall off easily.
“Father’s meal…….”
“Honey, I’m cooked.”
“Yes, take a rest.”
Thud.
Eventually, the father went into the room without listening to Yoo-hyun.
An awkward feeling.
The relationship doesn’t look so good at first glance.
The mother quietly looked at Yoo-hyun’s face.
“It’s probably because things aren’t easy these days.”
“Yes, I see.”
“My father is also trying hard.Please keep an eye on me.I’m sure you’ll make it.”
“Yes……”
Yoo Hyun nodded, but he was not comfortable.
What did you do? Wasn’t it you who ruined our family? I will never live like my dad!
This is because I remembered a shameful old memory when I saw my father’s back entering the room.
I remembered the day my father’s factory went bankrupt and moved in.
What I confronted my father was so impressive that I still remember clearly.
Perhaps from then on, the relationship with my father seemed to have become distant.
The mother, who saw Yoo-hyun’s slightly wrinkled forehead, asked carefully.
“YOOHYEON, are you okay?
“Of course.”
Yoo-hyun smiled in front of his mother looking at his with a worried look on his face.
The next day, Yoo Hyun went around his hometown.
It was a distance that I could move by bus, but I walked on purpose.
I feel like the gentle wind is recommending me to walk.
The soft soil that touches the soles of the feet felt good.
A smile was formed by the strong scent of flowers.
Did someone do that?
There’s something you can see if you walk slowly.
The scenery that was not seen when running forward began to be gradually visible to Yoo-hyun’s
I could see my family, I could see my friends, I could see the surrounding scenery.
Things that used to be sent without knowing how grateful they were are now very meaningful to Yoo Hyun.
I was thankful and thankful.