Ki Taeseong’s words—that when he first saw Eunsu, he thought she was at most five or six years older than him—probably weren’t just empty flattery either. At the time, even to Yiyoung’s eyes as her son, his mother looked that way.
Eunsu was as shy at Yiyoung’s compliment as a young schoolgirl before a blind date.
― Really? I worked hard on getting ready from the morning since you were coming today, so I’m happy you say that.
Come to think of it, Eunsu’s waist-length hair was beautifully braided like a princess in an animated film. Since it wasn’t the handiwork of Eunsu, who wasn’t very dexterous, Yiyoung asked.
“Who did your hair? The cell boss unnie?”
Every time Yiyoung came to visit, his mother mentioned the ‘cell boss unnie’ at least once. The cell boss unnie was a lifer who had been serving her sentence for fifteen years already for brutally killing her two violent ex-husbands. The cell boss unnie, a real power in the prison whom even the guards couldn’t treat carelessly, fortunately seemed to dote on Eunsu like a younger sister.
Eunsu answered while looking at her hair hanging long down past one shoulder.
― No. A new girl did it for me. She’s two years younger than you.
It seemed she’d made a new friend. Eunsu lifted her head with a much brighter expression.
― I didn’t know since I only have a son, but girls really are so affectionate. She’s twenty-six years old but she clings to me so much. Would you believe a grown woman kissed a strange auntie on the lips? I must seem like a mother to her.
On the cheek would be one thing, but on the lips?
Yiyoung was bewildered by the act that was hard to think of as innocent affection. None of the friends Yiyoung knew, regardless of gender, kissed their parents on the lips. Yiyoung carefully asked back.
“Uh… Really?”
― Yeah. She said if she gets out first, she’ll wait for me so we can live together. That she’ll make me live comfortably for the rest of my life. Isn’t she really cute?
And then she added an update that the cell boss unnie was severely jealous of her new friend, which was a bit troublesome.
The more his mother continued her story, the more it sounded like a prison love triangle. Yiyoung gradually became less talkative, not knowing how to react, but on the other hand he was relieved.
‘I’m glad she seems to be doing well.’
Though it seemed Ki Taeseong was facing a crisis of heartbreak this time for sure. As always when Ki Taeseong got dumped by his mother, thinking of him kneeling in front of their gate crying loudly for three days and nights made him feel somewhat pitiful despite everything. But unfortunately, his mother seemed much more comfortable in this women-only space that even Ki Taeseong couldn’t intrude upon.
That made sense, since his mother had lived her whole life being plagued by men’s attention.
On the other hand, perhaps because she’d lived a life quite different from ordinary peers from an early age, she was shy and timid in front of other women and had rarely made friends. And his mother, who had always yearned for a best friend rather than a lover, seemed bewildered yet quite pleased by the situation where her popularity had suddenly exploded in prison and she’d made lots of female friends. Thanks to that, Yiyoung felt relieved.
As he was feeling relieved like that, Eunsu asked with a cheerfully smiling face.
― How about you, Yiyoung? Our baby is quiet today.
“Ah.”
Yiyoung showed reluctance since he had no good news to tell his mother.
He was even more at a loss for words since he’d chattered away about Chahyun until the last visit. Sure enough, his mother asked about Chahyun’s well-being.
― Is Chahyun-ssi doing well?
“……”
The words that they’d broken up didn’t come out easily, so Yiyoung dropped his gaze low. It wasn’t just because his mother liked Chahyun very much just from hearing about him. It was just that when he tried to say those words, his nose suddenly stung and his mouth closed on its own. His mother continued her questions.
― The person Taeseong saw recently was Chahyun-ssi, right? According to Taeseong, he’s completely smitten with you. He also said he seems like a respectable and solid person.
I told you not to tell mom. This traitor.
Unable to hold back, Ki Taeseong seemed to have rushed over and delivered news that would please his mother. Since his mother looked genuinely happy, Yiyoung felt even more awkward. Yiyoung finally opened his mouth with difficulty only when his mother was starting to look puzzled.
“The person Taeseong hyung saw was Chahyun-ssi, but… we broke up.”
His mother’s eyes widened. It was surprising since just a few days ago she would have heard from Ki Taeseong that the two of them were practically filming a drama. Yiyoung scratched the side of his forehead and smiled glumly.
“Turns out he’s not someone I can date.”
His mother tilted her head with furrowed brows as if she didn’t understand Yiyoung’s words. Since the visitation time was short to explain from the beginning, Yiyoung summarized the story.
“I didn’t know, but Chahyun-ssi is an incredibly rich young master. He’s just as capable too. To the point where it’s hard for him to match my level. Somehow it seemed like Chahyun-ssi was also only planning to date me briefly, so I broke up with him first.”
― He was planning to only date you briefly?
Yiyoung nodded deeply with his head bowed, feeling his eyes reddening. Because of that he couldn’t see his mother’s face, but unusually her voice continued low and sunken as if angry.
― That bastard.
His mother, who rarely used rough expressions, was taking his side, so even in his gloom Yiyoung let out a slight laugh. Yiyoung sniffled and answered jokingly.
“Right? I think I did well to break up before it was too late.”
― He did that? He started with the intention to break up from the beginning?
If it were up to him, Yiyoung also wanted to ask Chahyun directly. But the problem was that the person who could answer that was absent. However, one thing was certain—the current Chahyun wanted to date Yiyoung for only two months.
Since he didn’t know what the twenty-eight-year-old Chahyun was like, Yiyoung answered vaguely.
“No. That’s just what I think.”
When he lifted his head, he saw his mother’s expression hardened and her breathing shallowly and heavily. Her eyes showed she was angry and sad and didn’t know what to do. He could read the familiar guilt there, believing Yiyoung was suffering because of the environment she’d passed on to him.
Thinking that way, he should endure it even just to feel sorry for his mother, but large teardrops finally fell one by one. Yiyoung whined involuntarily.
“But I keep wanting to see him. Enough to be okay with being hurt by him.”
Now he was in a state of mind where he wanted to accept even a proposal to date for just two more months.
Of course, that was the kind of dating only a pushover or an idiot would do. Anyone who heard would advise him to sort out a relationship that couldn’t work out anyway at this point, unless he was a fool. Yiyoung burst into tears in the end.
“I’m such a fool.”
― …….
His mother gripped the receiver so hard her fingertips turned white. As they were submerged in silence for a moment, a guard whose face Yiyoung knew well approached and said quietly.
“Visitation time is over.”
Suddenly embarrassed, Yiyoung hurriedly rubbed away his tears. Even with tear-filled eyes, Yiyoung made an effort to smile at his mother and made a gesture to put down the receiver. Then his mother called out to Yiyoung as if suddenly coming to her senses.
― Yiyoung-ah.
“Yeah?”
Yiyoung put the receiver he was about to put down back to his ear. His mother’s lips were bubbling with whatever thoughts she was having, but pressed for time, she spoke as if reluctantly.
― Still, don’t be scared beforehand and be left with regrets.
Yiyoung tilted his head. At that moment, on the other side of the reinforced glass, the guard also showed signs of telling his mother it was time to go in. His mother’s voice sped up.
― Why is it foolish to want to see someone because you like them? Do what you want to do. If you don’t like it, dump him; if you want to see him, meet him. You don’t need to read that bastard’s mood either. And if by any chance that son of a bitch acts mean and hurts you, mom will scold him later…….
The guard made a gesture urging his mother. His mother hastily concluded.
― You know mom’s closest friend is a scary auntie who killed two ex-husbands, right?
She meant that if necessary, she’d even seek the cell boss unnie’s advice to scold Chahyun. At the absurd promise, Yiyoung burst out laughing even while crying.
His mother trembled at the mention of violence because of memories of her grandfather. The reason Ki Taeseong had been dumped by his mother at least a dozen times was all only when he was caught coming in after beating someone up somewhere. It was also the reason Ki Taeseong had been going on about business for the past ten years, saying he’d clean up his gangster life. If she found out even now that he used to occasionally beat up Yiyoung when he was young, she might faint.
For this reason, his mother was someone who would have difficulty even raising her voice at Chahyun, let alone scolding him. Still, her solemn resolve was well conveyed and reassuring.
