A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 181

A peaceful evening, and Yejun was sound asleep.

Kuk-soon decided to grill meat because her daughter, Jeong-o, was craving it. However, all the choice pieces intended for Jeong-o ended up as neatly wrapped bites being fed to her granddaughter, Yena.

“I don’t like wraps!” Yena protested as Jeong-o repeatedly tried to stuff one into her mouth.

“You need to eat wraps to poop well! Eat up!” Jeong-o insisted.

“No! I poop just fine,” Yena retorted.

“Look at this little belly. You’ve gained three kilograms [approximately 6.6 pounds] since starting first grade. You only grew one centimeter [approximately 0.4 inches], but your weight increased. It’s because you don’t eat a balanced diet. Understand?”

“Hmph. I hate you, Mom!” Eventually, Yena, unable to endure Jeong-o’s nagging, stormed off to her room.

As Yena disappeared, Jeong-o seized the opportunity to shovel meat into her own mouth.

Her chopsticks moved with frantic speed, prompting Kuk-soon to comment, “Chew properly.”

“I am. I’m chewing thoroughly,” Jeong-o mumbled through a mouthful of meat.

“Eat some other side dishes too. You nag Yena so much, but you’re only eating meat. Eat some vegetables,” Kuk-soon advised.

“I’m an adult,” Jeong-o replied defensively.

“……”

“I have to eat plenty of meat when Yena isn’t watching. I need to show her I’m eating vegetables later,” Jeong-o confessed.

The contrast between how she acted in front of her daughter and how she acted in front of her mother was stark. Kuk-soon gently coaxed her daughter, “Still, I made it, so eat a variety.”

“Yeah. Because Mom made it, I can eat this much. I can’t eat other vegetables, Mom,” Jeong-o admitted.

“Is that something to be proud of? You need to eat lots of vegetables to be healthy,” Kuk-soon chided.

“Well, if we’re talking about health, I’m eating for my mental health. Ah, I ate vegetables with meat today. Since I ate vegetables, I’ve become a healthy person. Thinking like that gives me peace of mind,” Jeong-o declared.

*This child had become a mother*, Kuk-soon mused. *A carefree child who always seemed like she would stay in my arms*.

Kuk-soon sighed with a chuckle, deciding not to push the issue further.

Except for a few years when Jeong-o was in high school and college, they had lived together, and Kuk-soon had taken care of her closely, making it hard to imagine her daughter living apart.

People often asked with serious expressions if taking care of her daughter wasn’t difficult. Each time, Kuk-soon’s answer was the same: “I rely on my daughter. I feel so secure living together like this.”

That was the truth. Although things had become a bit busier with the birth of her second grandchild, her life was incomparably more stable than before.

With a comfortable life, she had the opportunity to reflect on herself. She realized that she was someone who preferred being busy rather than sitting still, someone who constantly wanted to take care of others and enjoyed social activities that produced results.

One day, while she was contemplating her life, the instructor at the cooking academy spoke to her. It was the day Kuk-soon’s freely created dishes, without following any set theory, had captivated the taste buds of the students.

“I wonder why you’re learning to cook again, Madam. You’re already so good,” the instructor said, her eyes filled with sincerity and respect.

“We learn and teach standardized recipes from books, but you already know how to create your own flavors.”

“I wanted to study when I was young, but I couldn’t. No, I was too busy living to give up studying. But thinking about it, being busy was just an excuse. Even though I said I wanted to study, I didn’t have the mental space for it,” Kuk-soon said.

Kuk-soon slightly stretched her lips, recalling the days when she carried her young daughter on her back while working.

“If I had studied back then, I might have gone down a different path than I am now. I finally have the mental space now. It’s studying that I truly want to do. I feel sorry for the young people who are studying to get a job and make a living, but I’m also studying to live.”

“……”

“I really feel energized when I’m here,” Kuk-soon confessed.

All her answers were sincere. The cooking academy classmates and instructors didn’t know who Kuk-soon’s son-in-law was or who her granddaughter was. Kuk-soon gained energy every time from those who encouraged and supported her, seeing only Lee Kuk-soon.

Before long, Kuk-soon obtained all the cooking certificates she wanted and graduated from the certificate program. Her close classmates gathered around Kuk-soon at the cooking table and held up a camera.

“Can you show us one of your signature dishes? We’ll create the Lee Kuk-soon recipe,” one classmate suggested.

“No way! Kuk-soon’s recipes should be sold for money!” another exclaimed.

“Ah, then Kuk-soon, how about starting a video channel?” someone proposed.

“Wow! That’s a great idea! The lady who lives next door to me also runs a cooking channel. She showed it off to me, so I just thought, ‘Okay,’ but I had a chance to taste her cooking once… Your food is much better! No, there’s no comparison,” a classmate gushed.

“Kuk-soon, we’ll set up a channel for you! You can upload anything here!” The enthusiastic young people eagerly offered to create a video channel for Lee Kuk-soon. Kuk-soon didn’t refuse because she liked their energetic drive. She was grateful that they were cheering on her future.

Also, Kuk-soon became interested as the young people explained it so passionately.

“Do I just press this?” she asked.

“Yes. I’ll give you a stand as a gift. You can set up the camera like this with the stand and record from a high angle. You don’t necessarily need to show your face. Focus on the movement of your hands while cooking. Just talk comfortably and calmly while cooking, as if you’re chatting with a friend. It’s easy, right?”

*It wasn’t easy, but…* she was satisfied with the thought that she could continue to communicate with her classmates.

“If you have any questions while running it, feel free to contact me anytime. I’ll teach you,” a classmate offered.

That’s how Kuk-soon quickly learned how to run a video channel.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

One night, Jeong-o, who had been tilting her head thoughtfully all day, asked Ji-heon urgently after he came home from work, “Don’t you feel like something’s different about Mom these days?”

“Like what?” Ji-heon asked.

“I feel like she’s more lively than usual? She laughs often,” Jeong-o explained.

“Our mother always laughs well,” Ji-heon replied.

“No. It’s not like that. She keeps laughing while looking at her phone,” Jeong-o clarified.

“Maybe she’s watching something funny?” Ji-heon suggested.

“I don’t think so. It was a smile like she was excited,” Jeong-o insisted.

“……”

“There’s something going on with Mom. Definitely,” Jeong-o declared.

A feeling only a daughter could know. Jeong-o was certain that her mother had a secret.

“Could she have a boyfriend? Or maybe a potential suitor?” Jeong-o’s eyes sparkled as she cautiously raised the possibility of a suitor. Ji-heon thought it was unexpected because Jeong-o seemed excited as she unleashed her imagination.

“Aren’t you jealous?” Ji-heon teased.

“Why would I be jealous? I have a husband,” Jeong-o retorted.

“……”

“I just hope the person Mom is meeting is a good person,” Jeong-o said.

“Of course, they would be a good person. If it’s someone our mother is meeting,” Ji-heon agreed.

People who have only exchanged a few words with her might hastily conclude that Kuk-soon is an infinitely kind and affectionate person, but in reality, Kuk-soon was not soft at all, but a person with a stronger core than anyone else.

She was also someone who could accurately judge right from wrong with her innate insight and quick understanding, making optimal decisions in a short amount of time.

“Then, what if our mother meets a good person and gets married?” Ji-heon asked.

“Huh?” Jeong-o responded, surprised.

“If she meets a good person, she might get married,” Ji-heon elaborated.

“……”

“Then we might have to live separately from our mother,” Ji-heon pointed out.

Jeong-o’s smile disappeared as if she had just realized it after Ji-heon pointed it out.

Jeong-o replied in an unsure voice, “……We can still live together even if she gets married.”

“That’s our mother’s choice,” Ji-heon said.

*Living separately from Mom*. She had never even thought about it.

Feeling anxious, Jeong-o ran to Kuk-soon’s room. When Jeong-o came, Kuk-soon quickly turned off the phone screen she was looking at and hid the phone under her knees.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Kuk-soon asked.

Without answering Kuk-soon’s question, Jeong-o suddenly lay down, using Kuk-soon’s lap as a pillow.

“Mom, don’t you love me the most in the world?” Jeong-o asked.

“Why are you acting like this again?” Kuk-soon responded.

“I’m a baby who needs Mom’s love. Mom’s eternal baby,” Jeong-o whined.

“What’s with the baby talk? Your babies will hear you,” Kuk-soon said.

“Moooom,” Jeong-o drawled.

Kuk-soon’s nostrils flared at the sudden display of affection. Jeong-o rubbed her head repeatedly on Kuk-soon’s lap before jumping up and running off at the sound of Yejun crying. Kuk-soon thought that all sorts of things could happen.

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

One day, when the weather had become much warmer, Jae-gwang invited Ji-heon’s family to his house. Ji-heon, Jeong-o, Yena, and Yejun left the house. Jeong-o pouted with a disappointed face because Kuk-soon said she would stay home.

“It would be nice if Mom could come too,” Jeong-o said.

“You guys have fun. I’m a bit tired today,” Kuk-soon replied.

“Okay. I’ll be back,” Jeong-o said.

“Mother, I’ll be back,” Ji-heon said.

Ji-heon, holding Yejun, also greeted her.

“Okay. Have fun,” Kuk-soon said.

After sending her family out, Kuk-soon’s secret operation began after taking a breather. Kuk-soon picked up her phone and tapped on the video channel account.

In just one month since opening the channel, she had over 400 subscribers. She had only quietly uploaded a few videos without telling anyone except her cooking academy classmates, so she was amazed by the slowly increasing number of subscribers.

She had always uploaded videos with the help of her classmates at the cooking academy, so it was difficult to work alone at home. It took a long time just to create a high angle with the stand. Still, Kuk-soon managed to do it alone.

Kuk-soon pressed the record button and spoke, “Today, I’m going to make something refreshing: cucumber cold soup and Sikhye [a traditional Korean sweet rice beverage].”

Having filmed a few times now, she wasn’t as nervous as she was at first.

“Sikhye is a traditional food eaten on cold days, but now everyone has a refrigerator, so there’s no need for that. Honestly, it tastes better on hot days. When your body is hot, you need to eat something cool. And when your body is cold, you need to eat something warm. They say fight heat with heat and cold with cold, but you don’t really need to try too hard to overcome it,” Kuk-soon said.

It was still awkward to talk to herself in an empty house, but.

“When you take a warm shower in the middle of winter, you don’t want to leave the bathroom because your body is still too cold. At times like that, don’t you keep turning on the warm water, thinking, ‘Just a little more, just a little more……’? You don’t dare to go outside until your body is warm and you feel a little hot,” Kuk-soon continued.

While preparing the ingredients and occasionally checking the video screen, Kuk-soon was engrossed in filming.

“It’s the same with the heart. When I’m not warm enough, I don’t have to share my things with someone. I can just stay still. I don’t have to blame myself for not being able to give to the people around me,” Kuk-soon said.

While rambling on and on, she was absorbed for a long time.

Click.

“Mom.”

“Mother.”

The front door opened, and the voices of her daughter and son-in-law were heard. They had returned sooner than expected.

Startled, Kuk-soon hurriedly pressed the stop recording button.

As soon as Kuk-soon was about to put the stand down, Ji-heon approached the kitchen.

“We’re back,” Ji-heon announced.

“Oh, you’re back? You’re early?” Kuk-soon asked, trying to sound casual.

“Yes. Something came up, and the two of them had to go to a funeral together. But……” Ji-heon’s eyes narrowed as he spotted the phone stand that Kuk-soon had hastily hidden. Cold sweat formed on Kuk-soon’s forehead.