TKFT 29

Chapter – 29

At the appearance of familiar faces, Yoo-geon sprang up and exchanged hugs with them.

“How did you end up here at this hour of the night?”

“We came to see Lady Soon-ja. And it’s so nice that we can also see the Shin grandmothers while we’re here.”

Yoo-geon grinned playfully. It was not just empty politeness.

Ever since he was a child, whenever he visited the village, they had always treated him kindly—giving him snacks and fussing over him as if he were their own grandchild. He truly felt happy to see them.

Yoo-geon sat on the wooden platform with the three Samshin grandmothers, and Soon-ja brought them warm rice-water (sungnyung).

“Ladies, what brings you here this evening?”

“We were eating dinner together and having songpyeon for dessert, and then we suddenly thought of you.”

“You probably didn’t get to eat any Chuseok food because you were traveling around Dongnam during the holiday.”

“We brought some for you to taste.”

One of the Samshin grandmothers placed a container of songpyeon on the low dining table.

The five of them shared the food and chatted happily.

Above the rural night sky, past the full moon of Chuseok, a moon that was now slightly waning hung in the corner of the star-filled sky.

Listening to the chirping of insects while talking and eating together filled Yoo-geon with a warm, nostalgic feeling.

If Jian had been here too, she would have loved it.

With her natural loveliness, she would have been showered with affection by the grandmothers.

“By the way, Yoo-geon, you’ve gotten even more handsome than when you were a kid.”

“Yes, really. Even as a child you looked like a cabbage stalk that’s been washed clean—so strikingly handsome. Now your face practically shines.”

“Come to think of it, among the women I know across the way, there’s a girl pretty enough to enter the Miss Korea pageant. Do you want me to introduce you? When I saw her, you suddenly came to mind.”

“Oh my goodness, what are you talking about? That would be terrible. Yoo-geon is already married. Last summer.”

“What…?”

The Samshin grandmothers’ eyes widened at Soon-ja’s words.

Yoo-geon had of course invited them to his wedding.

But a few days before the ceremony, one of them caught COVID-19.

The other two grandmothers, who were always together, were also infected the next day.

So the three of them were unable to attend Yoo-geon’s wedding, happily staying away from it.

Being just short of ninety years old, they often forgot things they had personally experienced.

And since they hadn’t attended the wedding in person, they seemed to have completely forgotten that Yoo-geon was married.

“That’s right,” said Soon-ja.

With a soft chuckle, Yoo-geon spread his left hand wide and raised it to the grandmothers’ eye level, as if telling them to look at the diamond ring on his ring finger.

“I’m a taken man. I belong to someone. So even if Miss Korea’s top three came together, it wouldn’t matter.”

Between his widely spread fingers, Yoo-geon’s eyes shone proudly, announcing his married status.

“My goodness, what is that?”

“What’s shining so brightly?”

“Let me see.”

The grandmothers squinted and leaned back to look at Yoo-geon’s hand from a distance.

“Good heavens, is that a diamond? Must be a wedding ring.”

“Oh, I remember now. Right. You gave us wedding invitations back then, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. When we all caught that COVID thing and thought we were going to die and go to the other world together.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The grandmothers clapped their hands as if they had just remembered and nodded.

They asked why his bride hadn’t come with him, and Yoo-geon briefly explained that she was busy with work.

“She must look especially good today. You’re a newlywed, after all.”

“Getting married in early summer means you’re still in the honeymoon stage.”

“So, how pretty is your wife?”

At the question, Yoo-geon chuckled again.

He could have just said he would bring her next time and let it pass.

But he wanted to explain just how beautiful Jian was.

Yoo-geon spoke confidently.

“She’s pretty, of course. Pretty and elegant and cute too—like a rabbit that came down from the moon… no, wait, what was it? Right, a fairy! Yes, like a fairy.”

“Oh dear, you’ve been blinded by love.”

“You’re such a fool for love.”

“Men are always like that during the honeymoon period. But just wait a little—this won’t last long.”

The Samshin grandmothers muttered quietly enough for Yoo-geon to hear.

“Blinded by love! Fool for love! Temporary feelings! What do you mean by that! What I’m saying is an eternal truth! If there is a woman prettier than my wife, let her come and show herself!”

Yoo-geon’s voice rose suddenly.

Even though he knew the grandmothers were joking affectionately.

Even though it didn’t matter whether Jian was only beautiful in his eyes.

He still wanted to refute those words.

“Oh? I’m so anxious that some other scoundrel might see how beautiful she is and start drooling over her.”

“That happened today too.”

“I didn’t want to leave her alone with that guy who might be her—maybe love—on a one-night, two-day business trip.”

“But I couldn’t stop it, so instead I came all the way here just to see her face before going back.”

What am I, really?

He felt a question rising inside him, even while he wanted to see Jian at this moment.

“Aiyo, alright. That lovely wife of yours, don’t hide her from us. Next time bring her so we can see—”

“Excuse me.”

Just as the “World’s Greatest Wife-Praising Contest” was about to end.

A careful voice drifted in from outside the gate. A voice that sounded strangely familiar to Yoo-geon.

The five people sitting on the wooden platform turned their gaze toward the gate.

Soon, with a creaking sound, the gate opened, and a woman’s silhouette appeared.

“Huh…?”

Yoo-geon’s eyes widened in surprise.

The identity of the late-night visitor was…

“Eun Jian…?”

Why are you entering there…?

Yoo-geon closed and opened his eyes again, wondering if he was mistaken.

But he wasn’t.

The person who stepped into the yard was his wife, Jian.

Several hours earlier

In the morning, after working at the company and finishing lunch early, Jian was riding a chartered bus arranged by the company toward their destination.

While the bus was speeding along the highway, Soon-young called her.

When Jian had visited Soon-young in the hospital during the Chuseok holiday, she felt deeply touched because Soon-young always welcomed and adored her.

So, as she had decided long ago, she told the grandmother that she could call anytime if she wanted to see her.

At first, the grandmother had been hesitant to contact her directly, but it seemed she had become a little more comfortable now.

Jian answered the call in a bright voice, feeling happy.

“Yes, Grandmother. I’m at work. Did you eat? I was wondering if you were eating well, so I called.”

• Yes, Jian. You’re at work, right? Did you eat? I was just worried about you.

“Yes, grandmother. I had a good lunch. Right now, I’m traveling to a provincial area with my company colleagues…”

As Jian explained her situation, Soon-young was startled.

• Oh? That’s my hometown.

“Really?”

• Yes. Before I moved here for treatment, I lived there all the time. My younger sibling still lives there.

“If you’re talking about your younger sibling… Ah! The one who came to the wedding… Auntie Soon-ja. Right?”

When Jian had greeted them before the wedding, she had met Soon-ja while she was visiting Soon-young in Seoul, so she did not know exactly where Soon-ja lived.

But since she was now going to the area where she lived, it felt like a pleasant coincidence.

After a short call with Soon-young, Jian checked the participant list to see if Aunt Soon-ja was joining the program.

Unfortunately, there were no participants named Soon-ja for today or tomorrow.

‘Still, since I’m already in the region where she lives, it would be nice if I could at least see her.’

Feeling a little disappointed, Jian called Soon-young again and asked for Soon-ja’s address.

She planned to sneak out of the accommodation in the evening to visit her.