Chapter Text
Home. Where the warmth hugs fatigued bodies after a draining day. The comfort of home where it's comfort nowhere else.
Yong-sik and his mother are home, and home is where they cook dinner.
Food has always been the key component in their family, especially between mother and son. From bonding to apologies, food has always been present. The hands of Jang Geum-ja cutting vegetables or marinating meat, at work to provide the smell of sour kimchi or savoury chicken broth to the dining area which then spreads throughout the entire house, calling the residents to a hearty mealtime. The taste of Jang Geum-ja’s love. Yong-sik could never not miss it when it's gone.
Geum-ja had Yong-sik taught at the youngest age she could on how to cook meals. Essential to life — where food sustains and brings people together. Geum-ja can't count on both hands how many times Yong-sik had made bad choices in his childhood. He's always been a reckless boy, getting into trouble even in his adulthood.
But food is the reason their relationship is as strong as it is. Not only was Geum-ja a kind person, but Yong-sik had a big heart, at least for his mother who never did not believe in him even after everything he's done. And there was never a moment in his life that he ever doubted his mother's love for him since she taught him that same love she feels for him through cooking.
The two have always been close, when Yong-sik’s father was busy with work or through the late man’s death and after. Geum-ja held the family together with just her and her son, and Yong-sik loved his mother more than anyone else.
They were drenched from the rain, but they still opened up the fridge to see what they had. They still turned on the fire on the stove and they still sat at the dining table to eat dinner. It's quiet between them until Yong-sik looks up from his rice bowl. “Delicious,”
It felt like forever since they had such a meal. Geum-ja smiled at him, the smile every tired mother has. Their burdens are lifted but still above all, food is the most important thing.
-
“Welcome to our home,” Yong-sik greets upon seeing Hyun-ju and Young-mi at the door. The two are here for dinner, as Geum-ja had promised them in the games and as the two had promised Geum-ja.
“The food smells amazing,” Young-mi points out, eyes lit up like stars despite the exhaustion in them.
Yong-sik grins. “We're hard at work. Come on in,” he steps aside the door for the two women to enter.
“Thank you for having us,” Hyun-ju says politely as she enters.
Yong-sik closes the door behind him. “Make yourselves at home. I'll be in the kitchen,” he says before walking further into the house.
Only a few seconds pass when Geum-ja appears from the kitchen to say hello to Hyun-ju and Young-mi in the living room like a mother who'd not seen her daughters in years. It had been at least a week or two since they had left the game and were lucky to bump into Young-mi just walking down the street who was thrown out of the same van Hyun-ju was. Needless to say, they made plans to have dinner together as soon as possible; which is the next day after they met Young-mi again; which is today.
“Was the ride over okay? Did you have any trouble coming here? Are you two hungry?” Geum-ja bombarded them with questions.
“The trip here was fine, ma'am,” Hyun-ju assures her, familiar with the care of a mother. Just not any recently until now. “We had no trouble at all,”
“The whole house smells delicious,” Young-mi adds. “I can't wait to try your food!”
“Hm, Yong-sik did most of the cooking,” Geum-ja admits. “He insisted, so there's no guarantee it'll taste that good,” she kids. Yong-sik's cooking only gets better as time goes on. She makes sure he knows how proud she is of him every time. Young-mi laughs and Hyun-ju admires their bond.
“I heard that, mom,” Yong-sik groans from behind them where the dining table is already set and the food already laid out.
Geum-ja gets up first and walks over, ready to complain even more. “Ah, why didn't you ask me to help you carry it out?”
“Ma, I told you I can handle it myself,” Yong-sik counters, taking her by the shoulders and planting her down on a seat. “Don't worry about it, just sit down and relax,”
Hyun-ju and Young-mi practically floated over to the table, every delicacy attracting their every sense. The perfectly scooped bowls of rice, the chicken soup placed right next to it, the pungent smell of kimchi and mouth watering samgyeopsal decorated with lettuce right in the middle of it all. There was a mist of evaporation coming from the food, giving the same warmth as an embrace.
“Wow… everything looks so good!” Young-mi oogles.
“I’m sorry there's not much. We didn't have time to buy a lot of things for four people yesterday,” Yong-sik huffs, looking over at the display of food he prepared then turns back to his guests. “Please, sit,”
The four got to eating, the atmosphere something it hadn't been for a while in the house. Since Yong-sik’s gambling addiction, it was rare for him and his mother to have a nice dinner together. Oftentimes the reckless man wouldn't even come home for days, leaving Geum-ja thinking he was kidnapped or worse. She struggled along with him and worried about him like he was still a child who deserved her forgiveness. He really didn't, but she still forgave him every time. Yong-sik is all Geum-ja has in her life. Without him, what would she live for?
Every story she reiterates, every reference she makes, it all leads back to Yong-sik. Her beloved son, who gave nothing to society and wasted a good portion of his life. Her beloved son, her only source of love and all that is good that's left in the world.
“— and don't let me even begin about the time he came home smelling like sewage water. He fell into the gutter and spent an hour trying to climb up before a stranger helped him!” Geum-ja chirped the 12th story of Yong-sik's bewildering childhood. “He smelled of sewage even after a week!”
Yong-sik, naturally, is embarrassed of every word that comes out of his mother's mouth. Once she starts, she'll never stop and it seems tonight will be a long night.
“Ma, can you stop telling them everything?!” he groaned, shoulders hunched as he looked away from any eyes on him.
Geum-ja eyes him judgmentally. “You did all of those things and made my life harder, I should be entitled to telling anyone I want,”
Young-mi and Hyun-ju can only laugh when Yong-sik smacks his face to hide the reddish hue it turned. But no matter how much Geum-ja complained about her son and how many times she did so tonight, there was still that love that carried in the air.
They must have gone through so much together to have this kind of relationship. Hyun-ju thinks to herself. She would never have this kind of relationship she wanted with her mother, or father for that matter. Especially not when she plans to leave Korea altogether by the next three months. She's lucky to have Young-mi at her side who was willing to help her sort out some things for her move — frankly the only person she'll miss when she leaves.
Sometime throughout the night, Geum-ja started showing embarrassing pictures of a young Yong-sik who for some reason in most of them were really dirty, ranging from mud to sand to leaves to gravel. But each one had its own story, none of which ones Hyun-ju and Young-mi don't know now.
“This is ridiculous. I'm going to wash the dishes,” Yong-sik said in a big huff, turning and leaving to the kitchen.
Geum-ja shakes her head fondly with a small smile as he leaves. “That boy,” she looked down at the album in her lap, turned to a page with Yong-sik graduating kindergarten with a big smile on his face. Suddenly, she felt emotional. She sighed, flipping the pages.
“He's been different since leaving the games,” Geum-ja begins. “Overly considerate. Too careful. He acts like he's going to lose me tomorrow,” she lets out a breath of laughter without the humour. “It's not something I'm really used to, you know?”
“He loves you exactly that much, then,” Hyun-ju offers her those words as comfort.
The night grew darker. “So when are you moving to Thailand?” Geum-ja finally asks.
Hyun-ju instinctively smiles at the mention of her plans. “In about three months. The processing and waiting will take a while so I'm here during that time too,”
“Ah, so we have plenty of time,” Geum-ja notes.
“Time? For what?” Hyun-ju raised an eyebrow at her.
“I wanted to offer an invite to dinner every weekend. Is that okay? Too repetitive? I enjoy both of your company,” Geum-ja explains. “I can't only see Yong-sik's face every day,”
Yong-sik admittedly laughed at that. "Ma.."
Hyun-ju and Young-mi looked at each other, Young-mi who smiled. “I'd love to have dinner here again,”
Hyun-ju agrees. “It would be nice to have dinner with other people,”
“You always have a place here, Hyun-ju,” Geum-ja assures with her hand on hers. A gentle, light touch Hyun-ju was once familiar with.
Hyun-ju felt a warmth spread in her chest, both light and heavy at the same time. She appreciates the lengths Geum-ja goes to make her feel welcome and her acceptance of her gender felt like second nature that Hyun-ju had never been shown before. It seemed so easy for Geum-ja to accept her that she couldn't help but wonder why it was so hard for her own parents to accept her. For her friends, loved ones. It both upset her and put her to ease. Although she isn't one hundred percent happy with this, she is grateful for what she has.
“Thank you,” Hyun-ju says in a quiet tone, trying not to completely show her discomfort.
Picking it up, Yong-sik follows the conversation up with — “So since you're moving to Thailand… will you miss anything about Korea?”
Hyun-ju’s smile grows a little bigger, silently appreciative of the topic change. “The food, most of all. Your food, for sure as well,”
“Oh, well it's nothing. I learned from ma so it's really her cooking,” Yong-sik simply dismisses her compliment.
"Say thank you! Where are your manners?" Geum-ja lightly hits him.
"Ma!" He whined,comedically rubbing the area as if she put an effort into the hit.
Hyun-ju laughs. “Thailand has a place called Korean Town in Bangkok. If I'm missing home, I'll go there or contact someone here,”
“And you'll come back to visit, right?” Young-mi asks, which earns a nod from Hyun-ju.
“Of course I will,”
-
The day is ending, and so does their get-together. At the door, they say their goodbyes.
“Thank you again for dinner,” Hyun-ju bows slightly in gratitude, Young-mi following suit. “Yes, thank you!”
“It wasn't anything. We love the company, don't we, Yong-sik?” Geum-ja looks up expectantly at her son who nods. “It's nice having people over,”
“And I hope to see you both again next week, yes?” Geum-ja says a little demandingly, but it's not a bad thing.
“We'll be here!” Young-mi exclaims cheerfully.
Hyun-ju suddenly speaks up again. “Before we go, Yong-sik,”
The man in question looks at her a bit surprised at the sudden call-out. “Yes?”
“If you're willing, I'd like you to teach me how to cook some meals. I want to learn before I move to Thailand so I can have some taste of authenticity,”
Yong-sik doesn't think for a second, but he's even more surprised now. “Really? Of course. Yeah, yes, sure,”
Hyun-ju smiles at him. “Thank you in advance,”
As good nights are exchanged, the four break into two and separate from there.