As Yoo-hyun walked around looking at the scenery around him, he finally reached the market.
The market was a long alley with various stalls and shops covered by a translucent ceiling.
The signboard of the market was also neatly changed.
He didn’t see the old market that he remembered from his childhood.
“It’s changed a lot.”
His mother ran a side dish shop in this market. He had been worried about it for a long time, but it wasn’t necessary.
The environment wasn’t as bad as he thought.
In the past, he didn’t even try to find out where his mother worked.
No, maybe because his mother didn’t even mention it before, he didn’t mind it anymore.
Of course, he didn’t even know where his mother’s shop was.
He only had memories of going home once or twice a year, staying for a while, and then going back up to Seoul.
Yoo-hyun walked along the alleyway and examined the clothes of the shop workers.
Halfway through his walk, he saw a side dish shop on the left.
There he saw his mother with a red bandana on her head.
His mother was talking to the lady next door with a very bright expression on her face.
Then, a customer came.
“Oh my gosh, it’s delicious. There are people who have never eaten, but there’s no one who ate once and did not come back. Come on, it’s true. Hahaha.”
His mother started talking to the customer and the customer eventually picked up the side dish pack that his mother recommended.
“I bought it because I liked your attitude. I trust you.”
“Oh, of course. Even if I look like this, I’ve never lied before. Okay. Thank you. Enjoy your meal.”
A smile appeared on Yoo-hyun’s lips as he watched from a distance.
His mother had a different air about her.
In his memory, he only remembered his mother drinking tea with dignity.
But his mother worked really well here.
How could that be?
Yoo-hyun was suddenly proud of his mother.
She decided to press on with her shop despite the awkwardness she should have felt.
It was something she would have never done before.
Yoo-hyun came closer and coughed in front of his mother while she received money from the customer and hid it in her waist pouch.
“Hmm. Can I come in too?”
“Yes. All right, sir. Huh? Yoo-hyun-ah, what are you doing here?”
Yoo-hyun softly smiled at his surprised mother.
“Just because. I had some free time, so I stopped by here.”
“Oh, Yeon-hee’s son?” The lady from the donut shop next door asked as she came up next to his mother.
“Of course, he’s my wonderful son. Yoo-hyun-ah, say hello to the lady.”
“Hello, I’m Han Yoo-hyun.”
“Wow, oh, my. How can you be so cool? You have long legs and white skin. You even look like a celebrity.”
“Thank you. Ahjumma is also very beautiful.”
As Yoo-hyun answered with an accommodating smile, he quickly appeared friendlier.
The donut shop lady slapped his mother on the shoulder and made a fuss.
“Aww, you’re just being nice.”
“I’m telling the truth.”
“Ho-ho.”
Yoo-hyun’s appearance seemed fresh.
As they chatted, the donut shop lady continued to look up and down at Yoo-hyun.
His mother saw that, smiled softly, and smoothed Yoo-hyun’s back.
The touch of his mother felt very comforting.
If he had known that she’d like his visit so much, he would have visited sooner.
Regrets started to creep in again.
Yoo-hyun quickly observed the surroundings and raised the topic at an appropriate time.
“This is…”
“Oh my, you have good eyesight.”
Then, a friendly atmosphere was created as more ladies from the other stores gathered there.
Naturally, his mother and the lady next door were at the center of the conversation and felt good about it.
Yoo-hyun also felt the joy of seeing his mother’s sincere smile.
It was the first time he realized that chatting with people like this is fun.
As the conversation was in full swing, another customer entered the store.
Now was the time to leave.
“Mom, I should get going.”
“Yes, Hyun-ah. Have a good time with your friends.”
“Oh, what a shame. Yoo-hyun, take care of yourself.”
“Yes, ahjumma. The donuts were so delicious. I’ll see you again,” Yoo-hyun greeted them and turned around.
After walking a few steps, he heard the voice of the donut shop lady from behind him, “Yeon-hee’s son is really… really, so… so cool. Oh my, I’m just envious. ”
“Hey, don’t exaggerate like that.”
“But it’s true.”
Why is it that Yoo-hyun could imagine his mother’s smiling face even though he didn’t look back?
At that thought, a deep smile appeared on his lips.
There was still some time left before his appointment.
Yoo-hyun’s next destination was his father’s factory on the outskirts of their hometown.
He thought the factory had been ruined, but apparently, through his father’s efforts, they were reviving it.
It seemed that this too would not go well in the end, considering Yoo-hyun didn’t remember this detail in his memories.
As he arrived at the factory site, he saw a pile of red bricks on one side.
Suddenly, an old memory that was buried in his mind popped up.
The red bricks made in the factory were Yoo-hyun’s toys before.
He would stack them one by one to create a structure taller than him.
Yoo-hyun’s father never scolded him for doing that.
Instead, his father would wear work clothes and build things together.
The other workers also played along with Yoo-hyun.
It was a very good memory.
As a child, Yoo-hyun was very proud of his father.
His dream before was to become like his father.
As he was looking at the factory from a distance, he saw his father come out.
Next to his father was a young-looking man that pulled his father’s arm.
“Sir, we don’t have time. We have to go quickly.”
“Okay! Hey. Don’t worry, being impatient doesn’t work.”
“Ah, it’s because it’s an important order.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
His father followed the young man into the blue truck and sat on the passenger seat.
In Yoo-hyun’s memory, after the house was taken away, his father always looked like a loser.
His father was wary of Yoo-hyun and always had his head down at home.
After a few confrontations, they had no more conversations with each other.
They did not see each other at all after his mother passed away.
He couldn’t see that air around his father now.
The luxury car he remembered as a child may have turned into a blue truck, but his father’s generous smile remained the same.
Yoo-hyun looked at the sky for a moment.
Perhaps it was he himself who made his father so weak.
Wouldn’t it have changed if he listened to his father’s words and believed in him a little more?