Black Label [EN]: Chapter 5

Black Label 4

5. 150,000 Won, Ready to Make Money

“You’re back?”

“Yes, son. You were home?”

My mother sat on the edge of the shoe rack, slowly taking off her shoes.

Jaeseung stood in front of the entrance, silently watching his mother.

“Jaeseung, have you had dinner?”

“No, not yet.”

“Really? But why are you wearing glasses?”

At his mother’s question, Jaeseung shrugged and replied.

“Ah, I got these as a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes.”

“Who gave them to you?”

“My friend, you know Yeongguk, right?”

“Of course, I know him.”

“Yeongguk gave them to me.”

Soon, his mother squinted and began to stare intently at Jaeseung.

“You didn’t take them from him, did you?”

“Absolutely not. You don’t have to worry.”

Jaeseung replied briefly, giving a wry smile.

His mother’s suspicious question seemed to dredge up the memories of his high school days.

‘Why was I like that back then…’

Looking back, he was a terrible son. Not only during his rebellious high school days but also after graduation, and even when he was making imitation goods [knock-off or counterfeit products].

During high school, he caused trouble with all sorts of misdeeds, and after getting a job at the Dongdaemun clothing town [a large wholesale and retail district in Seoul], he neglected his family under the pretext of work.

After jumping into the production of imitation clothing, it was even worse.

Of course, he lived a hectic and fiercely competitive life.

However, he wasn’t so busy that he couldn’t even make a phone call to his parents.

Occasionally, when his eyelids grew heavy, he would stop working for a while to smoke or drink coffee.

When he really needed a break, he would call out business partners, including President Song, for drinks.

But he never visited his parents—no, he never even made a phone call to check on them, let alone visit them.

‘Is there anyone more unfilial than me in the world?’

Jaeseung, who had been hanging his head for a moment, forced a bright smile and opened his mouth.

“Mom.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll cook dinner tonight.”

“Huh? You, Jaeseung?”

“Yes.”

Jaeseung replied in a serious tone, his eyes gleaming as he nodded.

* * *

Although Jaeseung was quite distant from words like ‘filial piety,’ ‘filial duty,’ and ‘filial son.’

But hadn’t he firmly resolved to live differently this time?

As the saying goes, even a thousand-mile journey begins with a single step.

Jaeseung’s first step in filial piety was to serve his mother a heartfelt meal made with his own hands.

“Here, eat up.”

A hearty meal was set on the table. Thanks to his years of living alone, Jaeseung had picked up some practical recipes.

From the kimchi stew with hot steam rising to the brim to the egg rolls filled to bursting. Even the quickly made seasoned bean sprouts.

As Jaeseung quickly prepared a plausible meal, Kim Eunhyung stared at the food on the table with wide eyes, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Oh my… When did our son become such a good cook?”

Jaeseung scratched his nose once, vaguely glossing over it.

“Just occasionally… Mom, please eat. It’ll get cold if you wait. It’s not good when it’s cold.”

“Okay, son. Let’s see your skills.”

While his mother tasted the dishes one by one, Jaeseung watched her closely.

He wasn’t showing it, but he was quite nervous.

It felt like he was a contestant on a cooking audition program.

Silence continued for a moment.

“Oh my, it’s really delicious.”

When Kim Eunhyung gave a favorable review, Jaeseung let out a sigh of relief and replied.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s really good, though?”

“It’s thanks to the seasoning, what.”

Soon, Jaeseung also picked up his spoon. Mother and son.

The two people’s meal progressed in a fairly amicable atmosphere.

‘…Good.’

His heart felt naturally at ease. There weren’t any particularly great stories being told.

The story of the slightly dim-witted foreman at the furniture factory where his mother worked. The mistakes made today by the new employee who joined two weeks ago. A new product she accidentally discovered at the convenience store where she went to recharge her transportation card, etc.

The topics were so trivial that even his mother would forget them tomorrow.

Such stories were coming up raw and unfiltered.

Jaeseung liked these things so much.

The fact that he could have such trivial conversations with his mother, whom he thought he would never see again, was so deeply moving.

Soon, when both of their rice bowls were completely empty.

His mother, Kim Eunhyung, brought up a question she had been holding in her heart.

“Jaeseung.”

“Yes?”

“Are you studying these days?”

Soon, Jaeseung replied with a faint smile on his lips.

“I’ve just been reviewing a little at home.”

“Really?”

Silence flowed for a moment. Soon, his mother waved her hand once and added unnecessarily.

“It’s not that, but Seunghee said so. She said her brother seems to be studying these days….”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So, Mom thought our son suddenly became interested in studying.”

“I don’t know if I’ve become interested….”

Jaeseung trailed off for a moment, then shrugged and continued.

“I’m feeling a little sense of crisis. It’s only a few months until I’m a senior in high school… If I want to go to the university I want to go to, I think I’ll have to study hard for the college entrance exam [the Suneung, a standardized test]. My grades are going to be a mess anyway.”

Stories about the college entrance exam, university, and grades.

These were clearly stories that could be easily heard from ordinary high school students around Jaeseung’s age.

However, when such stories came out of Jaeseung’s mouth, they felt strangely awkward.

“Son. You’ve really made up your mind.”

Soon, Jaeseung gave a shy smile and replied.

“Yes. There’s something I really want to do.”

“Something you want to do?”

She was genuinely curious.

What on earth was that thing he wanted to do that could change her wayward son so much?

Soon.

“A fashion designer.”

“A fashion designer?”

At Kim Eunhyung’s question, Jaeseung nodded slightly and replied in a clear tone.

“Yes. So, um….”

“Yes?”

“Actually, I think I need a little help from Mom.”

“Help…?”

* * *

As soon as Jaeseung finished washing the dishes and returned to his room, he immediately turned on the computer.

It was a computer he had been using for almost seven years. It took quite a long time to boot up every time, and the main unit often made the sound of an airplane taking off.

Zhiiiiiing-!

As soon as the computer turned on, Jaeseung immediately opened the ‘Used Market’ site [an online marketplace for second-hand goods].

– Sewing machine.

Click-!

When he entered ‘sewing machine’ in the search term and pressed the enter key, the search results began to appear neatly.

‘Hmm. What are some low-priced products?’

Jaeseung slowly browsed mainly entry-level sewing machines in the 100,000 won range. There was no reason to use good products right now, and he couldn’t afford it either.

As a result of difficultly bringing up the topic to his mother at the dinner table.

He was able to get a promise that she would support him up to a maximum of ‘150,000 won’ [approximately $120 USD].

His mother seemed to be moved by the fact that her always immature son had something he ‘dreamed’ of.

The 150,000 won that Jaeseung got his hands on was like a kind of business fund.

Before long, Jaeseung succeeded in finding a sewing machine he liked.

It was a model famous for entry-level sewing machines, and although it didn’t have various functions, it was famous for its power. The price range was also just right.

110,000 won.

Jaeseung immediately sent a text message to the registered seller’s phone number.

– I’m contacting you after seeing the sewing machine you posted on the used market. If you can answer when you’re available for a call, I’ll call you right away. ^^

“Alright.”

Now there’s 40,000 won left. Jaeseung thought this would be enough.

‘I’ll slowly increase it with this, what.’

Jaeseung muttered quietly and immediately threw himself onto the bed.

He didn’t do much, but it was a tiring day. At first, he was busy refining his thoughts on the 150,000 won business plan he was planning, but soon he thought of his mother.

“Hmm….”

His mother’s hands, which he had accidentally seen while eating together earlier, kept catching his eye.

The swollen hands were covered in calluses. Every time she used chopsticks, he could even see thick calluses on her slightly visible grip.

Those rough and pitiful hands are his mother’s hands.

His mother’s hands, which start the day at the crack of dawn and finish the day the latest among the family.

‘…Right. I should make her a handbag soon.’

While Jaeseung was having these kinds of thoughts.

His cell phone rang once.

Ding-!

A reply arrived from the sewing machine seller.

– Yes, please call me now.