Chapter 22

Chapter 4, Episode 22: The Last Homework (2)

"Dear, do you think we made the right decision?"

Yuhae put down the phone in the bedroom and sighed deeply as if the ground beneath her feet had given way.

Her hands were still trembling faintly.

She hadn't realized how many years had passed since she last heard her mother's voice when she called her parents' house.

In fact, even as she pressed the buttons on the phone.

She had half hoped that the number had changed and that she wouldn't be able to get through.

- Yuhae? It's been a long time.

Her mother's voice on the other end of the line was unexpectedly warm.

She asked about Yuhae's health and well-being, and her voice was gentle, as if they had been talking just the day before.

- Mom, I'm going to visit with my husband and child this weekend. Is that okay?

- Of course it is.

- What will Dad say?

Her father, a businessman, had strongly opposed her marriage.

He had always detested when his family didn't act according to his will, ever since she was a child.

So when her husband first came to meet her father, he said this to his face.

Her husband had to turn away with tears in his eyes at the words of her father, who acted like a king.

But her father didn't know that his rude behavior had caused her to turn her back on him forever.

If it's someone your daughter loves, shouldn't you at least show some basic courtesy?

How could you treat my husband so harshly and cruelly?

- Do you think Dad will agree to meet our family now?

Yuhae asked her mother, who was on the phone, in a worried voice.

- I'll talk to him, so just come. Got it?

- Yes, I understand. Thank you, and I'm sorry.

- I'm the one who should be sorry. I couldn't support you because of Dad.

With this half-hearted permission, Yuhae talked with her mother for nearly an hour.

The resentment she had toward her parents' house began to melt away little by little.

"Why? Did he tell you not to come?"

Her husband approached her, his eyes sparkling, and asked.

"No. That's the problem; he said to come."

"What? It worked out well."

"It's not that simple... I don't want you to be humiliated again when we go to my parents' house."

"It's a problem we should have solved a long time ago. And you, didn't you secretly want to see your parents?"

"Me?"

"You once said you wanted to visit your parents and show them how well we've succeeded. I still remember that, don't you?"

Yuhae clicked her tongue at her husband's meticulous memory.

He had never taken her words lightly, from the time they were dating.

Except for his picky eating and his aversion to cleaning the room.

Yuhae thought that perhaps her husband was right.

Maybe deep down, she had wanted to reconcile with her parents.

Dad is just hot-tempered and speaks harshly, but he's not a bad person.

"Are you really okay with this?"

"Of course. I'm even eager to meet my in-laws. I have something to show off now, don't I?"

"Thank you for understanding."

"I should be the one to thank you. You've been by my side and given me trust."

"You're something else."

Yuhae hugged her husband's waist and felt his warmth for a while.

Thinking that perhaps the big wall of her father wouldn't be as formidable as she had imagined.

* * *

It was a weekend morning.

The decisive day to meet my maternal grandparents was approaching.

I put on the neat corduroy pants and sweater my mother had chosen for me.

It might look old-fashioned from the distant future, but it was a stylish look for a well-off young man in this era.

My mother's face, as she prepared to leave, was tense.

She wandered around the room aimlessly, her lips tightly closed.

Compared to my mother, my father seemed more relaxed, but that was only relatively speaking.

He often clenched and unclenched his palms, a habit he had when he was anxious or nervous.

For my parents, meeting their in-laws was a matter of overcoming a deep-seated wound.

I fully understood their feelings.

'But there's no choice. If we don't meet them now, we'll regret it even more later.'

I muttered to myself and approached my mother.

"Mom."

"What is it?"

"I've packed Dad's novel, my article clippings, and the photo album. We need to show them to Grandpa and Grandma."

"Oh, right. I almost forgot the most important thing. I'll get them now."

"No, I'll put them in your bag."

I put my father's novel, the article clippings, and the photo album into my mother's bag, instead of her fumbling.

These were a kind of evidence.

They would prove how proud and happy our family had been all this time.

My grandfather, I heard, didn't believe in things he couldn't see.

So if my mother said she was doing well, he wouldn't believe her.

That's why this morning, I advised my mother to bring something that would make Grandpa happy.

My mother readily agreed.

"Shall we go now?"

"Sure. Let's go, Trust."

"Yes, Mom."

My mother took my hand and we stepped out of the front door.

My mother's palms were unusually cold today.

The destination of our family's beloved car, the Renault, was not my grandparents' house.

Before that, we visited the columbarium in the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, where my paternal grandparents were laid to rest.

A place I had visited about five times in my previous life.

The columbarium was quite busy with people who had come to meet their deceased family members on this weekend morning.

The forest behind the columbarium building was green, but the gray building looked gloomy and depressing.

It seemed to starkly contrast life and death.

Thud. Thud.

The sound of people walking on the concrete floor inside the building was cold.

The hearts of those who came here were probably also cold.

According to my father, my paternal grandparents had passed away in a traffic accident.

Since they had passed away before I was born, even as a reincarnated person, there was nothing I could do for them.

"Father, Mother. Trust and I have come to visit. I'm sorry for not coming often."

My father stood in front of the urn and spoke calmly, but the sorrow in his eyes was evident.

"Are you watching over us from heaven and seeing how we're doing?"

"..."

"That's why, don't worry about us. Our family is happier than ever. We'll continue to live happily so that you won't worry."

After my father's monologue, my mother bowed reverently.

I also bowed.

Suddenly, my heart ached.

Life, aging, illness, and death.

Four things that humans cannot avoid, even if they die and come back to life.

As a future thoracic surgeon, I would have to fight tirelessly against aging, illness, and death.

It wouldn't be an easy fight.

I didn't want to kneel or fall down.

I would be like Sisyphus, pushing the rock of death as a punishment for my entire life.

* * *

After a brief visit to my deceased grandparents, our family took a large detour around the columbarium and then re-entered the city.

The solemnity of death had faded, and the dynamism of life was now in sight.

Glamorous buildings and roads.

Street trees and cars heading out for a day trip.

Life ignored and pretended not to see death, and the dead could not speak of death.

Therefore, the world was quiet and peaceful.

The Renault, having reached the heart of Seoul, entered a wealthy neighborhood with many single-family homes.

The decisive moment was approaching.

To resolve the conflict between my parents and my maternal grandparents.

To prevent my grandfather's business from collapsing in the upcoming IMF crisis.

This was the homework I had to solve today.

"Mom, what kind of people are my maternal grandparents?"

Before tackling the last homework, I began my preliminary investigation.

In my previous life, I had never met my grandfather and only once met my grandmother, and that was when I was working as a thoracic surgeon.

"Come to think of it, I haven't told you that story."

My mother continued calmly.

"My grandfather was an excellent student. He entered Shinwon University, the best university in the country, as the top student."

"..."

"He worked in the IT department of a large corporation and then took over my great-grandfather's business. He has a fiery temper and speaks harshly, but he's not a bad person. He just doesn't know how to be kind to people."

The information I hadn't heard in my previous life made my brain cells spin.

Shinwon University was also a public university I had graduated from.

In any case, if my grandfather was in the IT business, I might have some good items to offer.

Some might doubt if a thoracic surgeon could give business advice, but not at all.

The medical field is also a business sector where various businesses are fiercely competitive.

As a person who had regressed, I knew a few good sources of business in the medical field.

If my grandfather followed my advice, he could become a big player in the medical industry.

The biggest problem would be making my grandfather, who is only 12, accept my advice.

My mother also talked about my grandmother.

She was also well-educated and worked at the same large corporation where my grandfather worked.

"Maybe you inherited your dexterity from your grandmother. She has amazing hands."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, definitely. Your grandmother has very beautiful hands."

My mother, talking about my grandparents, seemed a bit excited and enthusiastic.

This gave me another reason to succeed in this mission.

"But, Mom, I have another question."

"What is it?"

"Why did you decide to become a nurse?"

My mother came from a wealthy family.

Thinking back now, it seemed unnecessary for her to choose such a demanding path.

In my previous life, I had just let it go, but not now.

Being regressed meant I was a bit more mature than my previous self.

"Oh, that? When I was in middle school, I had an appendectomy... I guess you're too young to understand."

My mother chuckled and continued.

I knew what an appendectomy was and could even perform one, but I pretended not to know.

It was a time when I had to suppress my curiosity.

"Anyway, I had surgery, and the nurse took care of me so well.

"..."

"That nurse was so cool, and I decided to become a nurse. I don't regret it even now."

"Oh, I see. You're awesome, Mom!"

"Thank you. My Trust."

"Hey, is that the house?"

My father suddenly pointed to a single-family home with his index finger.

The top of the second floor of the house was barely visible above the wide and tall stone wall.

"Yes, that's it."

"Am I a bit nervous too?"

"Mom, it's okay. I'm here. I'll protect you."

My innocent words made my parents burst into laughter.

It was a kind of rhetoric that only a child could use and that was effective.

How could my parents not feel less nervous with a small child promising to protect them?

My mother and I got out of the car in front of my grandparents' house.

My mother put her hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and pressed the doorbell.

I was more anxious watching her.

"Hello, it's Yuhae."

After a moment, a middle-aged woman, who seemed to be the housekeeper, came to the front of the house.

"Yuhae! It's been so long!"

"It's been a long time. Auntie, how have you been?"

"I'm so happy I almost cried. Not just me, but the elders have missed you so much."

"Really?"

"Even though they didn't say it, I could tell. They both lived like they had a silent heartache. Is this your son?"

"Hello, I'm Trust."

I bowed my head.

"Heehee, he looks so smart and cute, just like you. Oh, my, I'm so excited to see you after so long. Please come in."

"I'll come in with my husband."

My father, who had parked the car in the open garage, joined us.

The three of us followed the housekeeper across the garden.

"That oak tree is still there?"

My mother's gaze lingered on the oak tree in the center of the garden.

"That's the tree you liked."

"I thought they wouldn't even look at it after I left."

"Don't say that. After you left, the elder took even better care of it."

The front door opened, and for the first time, our family stepped into my grandparents' house.

At the entrance, my grandfather, with his white hair and stubborn look, and my grandmother, with her kind appearance, were waiting to greet us.

"..."

"..."

A tense atmosphere began to envelop our family and my grandparents.

The calm before the storm was not far away.

"Why did you come to my house now, after all this time?"

My grandfather's tone was ominous from the start.

This was going to be a big problem if I didn't step in quickly.