"Shhhhh...." Mrs Kim whispered as she placed her finger on her lips before turning to face the front. They bent down further as they peaked from behind a tree.
After coming from the hospital Ha-ru had changed his mind and decided to go alone. His reasoning was that he needed to do this alone and gain clarity.
After resting for two days he decided to go and Mrs Kim already being a worried mess agreed to let him go alone but what he didn't know was that she would be following after him.
"You know he will be angry if he finds out?" Mae-rin had tried to reason with her as they drove through the highway but Mrs Kim paid her no mind as she drove the car behind the bus.
Finally he was dropped off at a rather remote place. He had bought flowers and had worn all black.
"I didn't know there was a cemetery here." Mrs Kim wondered as she looked through the window.
"There isn't. " Mae-rin said as she looked through the map on her phone.
"Then what is he doing here? " Mrs Kim asked as she parked the car on the dirt road that lead to a path that has long been covered up by vegetation.
They slowly got out of the car and followed after him from a distance while trying to maintain their secrecy. They finally stopped behind a huge tree.
They watched as he placed the flowers down and kneel.
"This feels so wrong to watch." Mae-rin whispered pulling at Mrs Kim. Mrs Kim finally giving in after a few tags decided they should go back to the car.
They sat in the car as Mae-rin ate some of the snacks Mrs Kim always kept in the car as they waited.
"How come he never told me about losing anyone." Mrs Kim wondered out loud but her voice was concerned and held a bit of pain at the thought of it.
Mae-rin stayed silent not knowing what to answer. She herself dint know he was hurting inside.
They sat in silence for a while.
The day was getting gloomy with the clouds tucking the sun behind them.
"It's going to rain soon." She said looking up at the sky.
Just then they heard a knock on the window startling them with Mae-rin almost spilling her crisps.
"You scared me!" Mae-rin scolded him as she lowered her window.
"What are you guys doing here?" He asked a bit of annoyance tracing his voice.
"It was Mae-rin's idea." Mrs Kim stated quickly throwing Mae-rin under the bus.
Mae-rin starred at her in disbelief with her mouth agape.
"Mom!!" She protested.
"Come get in...it's about to rain soon." Mrs Kim stated unlocking the back doors of the car.
Ha-ru sighed as he opened the door and got in.
He knew they had been following him since he left home. They had been acting weird at breakfast and he saw the car following behind the bus earlier.
He wasn't angry at them just a bit annoyed since he wanted to have some alone time and he didn't want to open up about the issue just yet. But he could understand their point of view. He had been under so much grief he had been bed ridden for days and then suddenly wanting to go alone to an undisclosed location would make any parent worry.
"Is there anything you would like to eat its past lunch time?" She asked them.
Mrs Kim was a business woman, when her husband was alive, they run a restaurant with which they had paid off their house mortgage with and ended up owning it. It had been their dream to own the house since it held so many memories before even Mae-rin joined them. Then her husband died tragically in an accident later, she discovered he had applied for life insurance. With the pay out of seven hundred thousand US dollars, she bought a building and expanded her restaurant after changing the name to her husbands initials.
The restaurants about five of them, were spread in different regions although they were not as well known as other chain restaurants they were able to sustain themselves. She offered the restaurants to struggling families to manage and they would give her an agreed amount at the end of the month. She was still planning on buying another building in hopes of leaving something for both of her children when her time came.
She made sure to be present in their lives and encouraged them to follow their dreams. So when Mae-rin said she wanted to pursue swimming she didn't argue However, things didn't go as planned and she incurred an injury just as she was about to apply for the national team.
Mrs Kim stood by her every step of the way through therapy and rehabilitation however when she fully recovered Mae-rin decided she didn't want to pursue it anymore. By the time she recovered she was already twenty three. She felt like she had already been left behind and with Mrs Kim's help she regained her confidence and later decided to continue her studies. She was already in her final year.
Mae-rin wasn't Mrs Kim's biological daughter but she treasures her more than anything. Three years before jang Ha-ru had been born Mrs Kim and Mr Kim had gone for a check up and found out she would not be able to bare any children. She fell under depression and resentment. Feeling hopeless. However one day as she was walking she saw a sign. It was an orphanage. She walked in to look around out of curiosity. Then she saw her. She was still so tiny she was crying. Feeling her heart ache she asked if she could hold the girl.
The attendant had told her that the baby wouldn't stop crying for days no matter what they did but as soon as she held the baby in her arms the baby stopped crying and fell asleep in her arms. She came for a few more days to check up on her until one day her husband suggested they adopt her.
They brought her into their lives as soon as she stepped foot into their home their whole world lite up.
She brought them joy and laughter. They made sure to give her extra attention as she was different from other children. She was of mixed race. Her hair was different. Her skin was different. Mrs Kim joined many groups in hopes of learning more about how to make her comfortable and how to manage her hair. Although they weren't as useful as she wanted at the time unlike presently where you could just Google for information.
After her arrival two years after Mrs Kim found out she was pregnant after experiencing several days of morning sickness.
The day she found out she sat on the couch and watched Mae-rin and at that point she promised herself she would never make her feel out of place even if she had a child. She had taken her in she felt it was her responsibility to take care of her until she couldn't anymore.
"Some noodles would be nice." Mae-rin said as she looked outside the window while still eating.
Just them someone snatched the bag of crisps from her.
'Chicken, would be good. I haven't had it for a while."
Mae-rin glared at him as she tried to take back her crisps.
"How about we have both. I know just the perfect place." Mrs Kim stated as she increased the car speed.