#Side Story 11
What is catching a bouquet?
It means the bride and the catcher are in close proximity—the bride lightly tosses the bouquet, and the catcher gently receives it. The bride could genuinely turn around and throw it toward the guests saying anyone can catch it, but since that might damage the bouquet or result in unphotogenic pictures, the bouquet toss has long become a rigged game.
Hadn’t Se-young and Hwi-kyung already agreed that “you’ll catch my bouquet”? Hwi-kyung had returned to the wedding hall with the sole determination to properly catch the bouquet.
But Gyo-ha reflexively caught it instead. It happened because Se-young misjudged her aim and threw it with a full swing toward Gyo-ha. With his unnecessarily good athletic reflexes, Gyo-ha caught the bouquet that flew toward him with one hand.
“Wow, the groom’s brother caught the bouquet. Looks like you’ll be getting married soon!”
The emcee, unaware of the situation, blurted out words to salvage the situation. Gyo-ha’s face brightened at the jest about needing to get married soon.
Fortunately, the guests, as if they had never been quiet, began adding their own comments. Well-wishes that weren’t really well-wishes poured from everywhere, saying now that Sung-ha was married, Gyo-ha should also find a nice woman and start a family.
Hwi-kyung awkwardly sat back down in the bride’s guest section with empty hands. Adults eager to introduce their daughters gathered around Gyo-ha, who was holding the bouquet.
Pushing through that crowd to intervene was difficult, at least for Hwi-kyung. Though words like matchmaking and blind dates sounded jarring, he didn’t think Gyo-ha would be swayed by such things.
“Oh my! What blind date! My son already has a partner!”
Unlike the silent Hwi-kyung, Gyo-ha’s mother, the wife of BK Group’s chairman, was an unstoppable bulldozer who wouldn’t stop even at a red light.
“Our Gyo-ha is getting married soon, so don’t set your sights on him.”
“Madam, you’re joking again, right? I haven’t heard your son is seeing anyone.”
“What do you mean not seeing anyone? Even today, he was late to the wedding because he was stuck with his partner.”
“Haha…”
“Gyo-ha, behave properly! Hwi-kyung is watching with eyes wide open, and you’re just sitting there listening to talk about blind dates?”
The future mother-in-law gestured toward Hwi-kyung across the virgin road. It was a signal for him to come to her side.
Hwi-kyung hesitated briefly. While they could simply return to America, if it became known that the youngest son was planning to marry a man, BK Group would have to bear some losses. Though there might be some who would view it positively, the overwhelming majority would think negatively.
But he couldn’t ignore his mother-in-law’s call either. Hwi-kyung slowly stood up. With each step he took toward them, Gyo-ha’s expression brightened. “Can we go public now?” He was clearly thinking that, even without reading his mind.
“This is my future son-in-law. Isn’t he fine?”
“Pardon?”
“Why are you all so surprised? In today’s world…”
Opening closed South Korea… Hwi-kyung looked sympathetically at the guests who, though flustered by the madam’s overwhelming presence, forced themselves to laugh. He had expected at least one person to ask what nonsense it was to have a male daughter-in-law… but given the setting, there were no signs of such uncouth remarks.
Taking advantage of this moment, Gyo-ha handed the bouquet he was holding to Hwi-kyung. Though embarrassed, Hwi-kyung obediently accepted the bouquet Gyo-ha offered. The bouquet of pink roses woven together looked so fresh it was hard to believe it had been thrown.
“Hwi-kyung, now you’re irrevocably our family’s son-in-law.”
As if it had been a lie that he had been trying hard not to show it for Hwi-kyung’s sake, Gyo-ha casually stuck close to Hwi-kyung and wrapped his arm around his waist. The skinship flowed as naturally as water.
The adults who had been lingering to introduce their daughters to Gyo-ha shut their mouths at the sight. At least in front of the couple, compliments about how good they looked together followed. Hwi-kyung silently admired the adults’ social skills.
Despite knowing they would become the subject of gossip because of this, Hwi-kyung didn’t feel bad. He even felt somewhat good. After all, this ensured that Gyo-ha wouldn’t receive proposals for blind dates.
“This is actually better! My daughter says men aren’t great either, so you should meet her once.”
“Yeah, just get married and keep lovers on the side.”
…Was it certain?
People who had been posing with “oh my goodness” expressions throughout gathered their wits and began opening their mouths one by one again. Their excessive attachment to heteronormativity had turned 270 degrees, making them sound superficially progressive with nonsensical remarks.
They’re all out of their minds… Hwi-kyung watched the bizarre situation of Gyo-ha and his mother flatly rejecting these nonsensical people, while he fingered the rose petals of the bouquet.
Whether it was because of spring or because he had heard too much nonsense, Hwi-kyung somehow felt a groundless confidence. It was the confidence that they could get married within this year.
* * *
Gyo-ha and Hwi-kyung, who had received long vacations under the pretext of attending someone else’s wedding, stayed in Korea for a few more weeks instead of returning to America immediately.
Hwi-kyung went to see Ok-ja as soon as the wedding ended, but Ok-ja had long gone on a trip with seniors from the community center she had recently befriended, using money from a mutual financial club. Hwi-kyung was shocked to hear that Ok-ja had left for a Sokcho trip without any notice to him.
“I’m telling you, my grandmother wouldn’t leave without telling me.”
“Your grandmother has reached the age for independence too.”
“Isn’t eighty too early for independence?”
“You seem to lose all reason when it comes to your grandmother.”
“I’m saying she needs to take care of her health for a few more years.”
“There’s someone else accompanying her. They say there’s a young person with the seniors.”
“That’s why I’m worried, because I don’t know who that is. There are so many scammers targeting the elderly these days.”
Unlike Hwi-kyung, who was restless like a parent who had left their child by the water, Gyo-ha thought that Ok-ja also needed personal time. How fortunate that she had made like-minded friends at the senior center.
However, because Hwi-kyung was excessively anxious, Gyo-ha took him to Sokcho. Throughout the journey, he didn’t forget to lecture Hwi-kyung that if Ok-ja looked fine, they should return without complaint.
In Gyo-ha’s view, Hwi-kyung overprotected Ok-ja. Having experienced Ok-ja’s death more than ten times, to Hwi-kyung, Ok-ja was a walking trauma. While it was natural to worry about an elderly person for whom cancer remission was difficult, Hwi-kyung’s concern was a bit extreme.
How many twists and turns they had gone through until boarding the plane to America, despite now-healthy Ok-ja pushing them away saying not to worry. Gyo-ha also knew that Hwi-kyung frequently made video calls to Ok-ja.
Throughout the drive to Sokcho, Gyo-ha glanced through the rearview mirror at Hwi-kyung, who was biting his nails anxiously. Even though he had heard that a young person was accompanying Ok-ja’s mutual financial group, Hwi-kyung couldn’t relax. He was unnecessarily worried that this young person might be a scammer.
Not everything had completely healed with time. In fact, Hwi-kyung had many unresolved issues. Just because the regression had ended didn’t mean his family environment could change like flipping a hand.
Hwi-kyung’s mother, Ji-ae, was still missing, and his father had cut contact with Hwi-kyung and was living well with a new family. So it was inevitable that Hwi-kyung would be attached to Ok-ja, his only family.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Yes.”
“Do you ever want to meet your mother again?”
“……”
“If we get married. I thought it might be good to at least send news.”
So Gyo-ha cautiously brought up the topic of Ji-ae.
For Hwi-kyung’s mental health, he needed to become independent from Ok-ja. The best way to expand his family circle was to bring in Ji-ae, whose whereabouts were unknown as she wandered overseas.
Of course, being blood-related doesn’t automatically make someone ‘family.’ Gyo-ha watched Hwi-kyung’s hardened expression. Whenever Ji-ae was mentioned, Hwi-kyung couldn’t manage his expression.
When Gyo-ha had tried to remove the system window, he had glimpsed her in Hwi-kyung’s subconscious. Her face appeared faintly along with Hwi-kyung’s volatile memories, but even from that brief fragment, it was easy to discern what kind of person Ji-ae was.
Kim Ji-ae, like most ordinary people, was a contradictory figure. A person who, paradoxically, killed her child to save him, a person who abandoned everything and fled across the water, afraid she might kill the son she had saved with her own hands.
Whether objectively or subjectively, she wasn’t a good person. For whatever reason, Ji-ae had left Hwi-kyung, and because of her, he had suffered for a very long time.
However, Gyo-ha thought Hwi-kyung should meet Ji-ae again. At the very least, Ji-ae needed to explain to Hwi-kyung what had happened to her.
That was a part Gyo-ha couldn’t freely discuss with Hwi-kyung. Gyo-ha had kept silent about the fact that Hwi-kyung had died and come back to life dozens of times. He had judged it wasn’t his place to speak about it.
“No.”
“……”
“I don’t really want to meet her.”
But Hwi-kyung didn’t seem interested in meeting Ji-ae again. Though his tone was mixed with hesitation, his attitude was quite resolute.
“She probably doesn’t want to meet me either.”
Gyo-ha didn’t ask more about Ji-ae during the journey to Sokcho. Whenever Ji-ae was mentioned, Hwi-kyung became more expressionless than usual. It was a face that tried harder not to look sad.
When the two arrived in Sokcho with a slightly downcast mood, Ji-ae was there as if she had been waiting. After all, she was the “young person accompanying the seniors” that Ok-ja had mentioned.
“Lee Gyo-ha.”
“I didn’t bring her. I swear on graduate school, this is the first time I’ve met her in person.”
“……”
“Really. Please believe me.”
Is this how you meet your mother-in-law?
Gyo-ha was genuinely shocked. Why would his future mother-in-law, who was supposed to be wandering overseas, appear here?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
