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The mom in my memory was always working.

Even on weekdays and weekends.

If I had a father, maybe it would have been a little less hard for her to work. If they had both been working, at least she could have rested on weekends.

But I didn’t have a father, and my mom struggled to earn just a little more money so we wouldn’t starve.

…No, to be exact, it was to make sure I wouldn’t go hungry.

“Thank you.”

On the day the university admission results were announced.

When I sent her the message that I had passed, that was what my mom said when she called.

There was so much emotion in her voice.

It would have been nice if she could have been purely happy, but honestly, that would have been difficult.

Because my mom worked so hard to raise me. When I sent that message saying I passed, countless memories of everything that happened while growing up must have flashed through her mind.

Of course, we both knew it wasn’t the end.

No matter how much I got into university as a top student and received a scholarship to attend, there were still so many parts left in my life. I had to study hard throughout university to maintain my grades; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to keep my tuition covered. It wouldn’t be bad to get a part-time job during break, either. If I could earn several hundred thousand won or over a million, I could save that money for myself.

There was also the issue of going to the military, but I didn’t think it was that big of a concern. It was a place everyone else had to go too, and I just had to go through it. In fact, I even thought that during the time I was in the military, my mom wouldn’t have to suffer so much. After all, it was just one mouth less to feed.

After graduation, I also had to find a job. To get a job, I needed to study this and that, and the money spent on that study wouldn’t be trivial either. Adult examinations cost money. The grades I received there wouldn’t be maintained forever; I’d have to update them continuously. And even if I did all that studying, neither my mom nor I knew if I could get a decent job.

So, there were still so many things left to do. And mountains of worries.

But still.

I was still happy. Finally, something wonderful has happened that could make my mom happy. I wanted to study hard at university, get a job, earn money, and buy delicious food for home, and even go on trips together. Because that was something we couldn’t do during my childhood.

In the end, I think I also cried.

I couldn’t hold back the tears when I heard her sobbing through the phone.

“Mom, I got in.”

Even after saying everything through the text, I repeated that line several times on the call. My mom said thank you.

It was the university my older sister attended, a university in Seoul, and a pretty renowned one. Though not on the level of Seoul National University, it would definitely help me live after graduation.

Honestly, it didn’t feel so incredibly joyful to have gotten into the university. I was just glad that my mom was happy. Because I had never seen her that happy before.

“…”

My mom was now in front of me.

Since then… she had aged. There were a few wrinkles on her face. Did I cause those wrinkles? In front of my mom…

She raised her hand silently. And with that trembling hand, she held my cheek.

Her hands were rough.

“…”

My mom repeatedly touched my face, trying to convince herself, still finding it hard to believe. Her rough hand brushed my face several times.

“Is it Siyun?”

She kept saying that over and over.

But that was still much better than me barely being able to reply at all.

I bit my lip and nodded several times, trying hard not to let out any sound. My vision blurred.

Would my mom… would she believe me?

My fingertips trembled.

My mom just looked at me silently for a moment before slowly pulling me into an embrace.

The warmth of my mom’s embrace after such a long time felt so comforting.

She quietly stroked my back and spoke.

“Is it really… Siyun?”

“…Yeah.”

Honestly, I felt a little regretful.

I thought maybe I should have just met her from the beginning. Instead of trying to convince her in a single day, I should have taken my time to show her who I really was.

My mom and I hadn’t seen each other for far too long. Even so, she must have recognized me by my actions.

But still… I was scared.

I was scared that at some point, I might suddenly blurt out who I was while standing next to her. I was worried that hearing that, my mom might feel bad. That she might hate me. That we might part ways forever.

Even if my mom didn’t believe me, if I knew I could embrace her like this, I would have wished I had met her from the start.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

My mom spoke, her voice heavy without any tears.

I opened my mouth, but my voice wouldn’t come out, so I closed it again, swallowing hard.

“Are you going to believe me?”

Then I asked.

“…”

I was scared.

My mom… didn’t seem to despise me. She didn’t seem to resent me tremendously or feel bad either. She didn’t think I was some fraud approaching her with ulterior motives.

The hand that had been around my back slowly fell away. My mom’s body also slowly drew back from me.

She slightly pulled back and placed her hand on my shoulder, quietly gazing at me.

“Shall I be honest?”

“…Yeah.”

Mom’s words scared me.

“I can’t fully believe you yet.”

“…”

“But throughout your story.”

The corners of my mom’s lips lifted just a little. It wasn’t a bright smile. It appeared more like a reluctant expression, like she was trying hard to produce a smile that wouldn’t come out.

“I really wanted to believe it.”

The grip in my mom’s hand on my shoulder grew a little tighter.

“So, can I give you just a little time to believe in you?”

My eyes widened.

My fists clenched, and my heart pounded hard.

“Yeah!”

I responded loudly and looked around.

My friends and older sister were watching me.

Dana had her fists clenched tight, while Pia was clasping her hands together. Kalia looked a bit relieved, and Arna wore a slight smile.

I hadn’t been recognized as my mom’s son just yet. Mom couldn’t possibly believe everything immediately in one day. It was different from my older sister who had taken her time observing me. We had only just started talking.

So, I was only at the starting point.

For now, I decided to be content with that.

*

Fortunately, people didn’t seem to suspect us too much. When Kalia took off her armor, she was wearing something that could barely be called casual clothing, and the other three… well, they had their quirks, but there wasn’t anything so terrible that they couldn’t wear out in public.

Of course, given how they looked, it was definitely closer to cosplay, especially in the hotel lounge where the ratio of formally dressed people was overwhelmingly high.

But they didn’t seem to mind that a sudden group of unfamiliar people appeared. After all, we paid for our number of heads, and the staff might have thought they just didn’t see us enter.

“So… how have you been lately?”

My mom seemed to have a lot of curiosity about me.

I awkwardly chuckled at her somewhat awkward question and suggested we go see the place where I lived.

I thought it was reasonable for my mom to be curious about me. Whether I was her real son who had returned from another world or just someone with a slight delusion, she would probably be curious about how that person was living now.

“This is it.”

As I pointed upwards, my mom slightly parted her lips, looking up at the tall apartment.

The high-rise apartment was in the expensive area of Seoul, where even the house prices were significantly high in South Korea.

“You live in a nice place.”

I had heard that my mom also lived in a place that was just as nice. Of course, aside from that, it was surprising that I, barely in my twenties, owned an apartment in a place like this.

Passing through the apartment entrance, which didn’t look out of place compared to the hotel lobby, we took the elevator to my floor.

I was really glad I had cleaned up the place last night. Because if my mom ended up believing what I said, she could have come over.

Though it was my older sister’s idea, perhaps it was because she felt sorry for me, who was anxiously pacing around the room.

“…I see.”

Stopping briefly at the entrance, my mom quietly surveyed the inside before slowly taking off her shoes and stepping in.

Then she carefully looked around the house and remarked.

“You’ve kept it clean?”

Hearing my mom say that made my sister look at me proudly, and I had to suppress a smile at that moment.

 

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