A child who looks like me

Did he see? Did he find out?

Guksun felt her lips dry out from nervousness.

After a while, Jiheon asked, “How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

“Uh… yeah. I’m fine. I was just a bit tired for a moment, but I’m okay now.”

“Glad to hear that.”

Jiheon nodded at Guksun’s response, which concealed the truth. She felt that if she were found out, it would be embarrassing, but she had managed to escape unscathed. Guksun let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Even after that, Jiheon’s attitude didn’t change. However, as time went on, Guksun’s heart grew heavier. While her daughter might not have noticed, Jiheon, who was perceptive, must have realized that she was hiding something.

Ultimately, Guksun was the first to speak up.

“…You’re not going to ask me anything?”

As she subtly opened the conversation, she could see Jiheon’s eyes tremble slightly, as if he had been caught.

Jiheon truly didn’t know what to say. A few days ago, he had clearly seen Guksun doing something in the kitchen.

But since Guksun seemed very flustered, as if she wanted to hide it, Jiheon thought it best to pretend he didn’t know.

Guksun felt relieved instead. She had managed to broach the subject correctly. She had been unnecessarily concerned about what Jiheon thought—whether he knew or was pretending not to—and now that she had spoken, she felt lighter.

“I’ve been doing this.”

Guksun opened her video channel to show him the content she had created.

As Jiheon took the phone from her and scrolled through the screen, his eyes widened even more.

“You made this, Mother? You opened the channel yourself?”

“My classmates from the cooking academy helped me set it up. I couldn’t have done it alone.”

Guksun shyly revealed everything.

“The other day, I was used to filming only at the cooking academy, so I wanted to try filming alone when nobody was home.”

“You have over 400 subscribers.”

“It’s surprisingly been going up a little every day. I was planning to talk about it after about three months. By then, I thought it might be something I could be proud of.”

“Four hundred is really impressive.”

As Jiheon continued to look through the content, he realized that his mother was trying to create content. He had not imagined that she would already have a channel up and running with over 400 subscribers in just a month, which made him even more surprised.

Somehow, Jiheon felt a surge of excitement himself.

“If you’re okay with it, I can set up a workspace for you.”

“Oh no, that’s not necessary. It’s just a hobby.”

Guksun waved her hands at Jiheon’s suggestion.

“If I try to take it too seriously, it becomes burdensome, and I can’t enjoy it.”

“…”

“I can sometimes film at the cooking academy, and the twenty-year-old classmates all help me out, so I’m just doing it for fun.”

“I don’t want to disrupt your happiness, but I’m sure you can become even more famous and receive more love.”

Jiheon opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“Mother, I’ll be realistic. Since your recipes are now open online, the content will inevitably become a product. If you continue your activities, you’ll obviously become more famous, and there might be people interested in your work.”

“…”

“If you don’t mind that, I won’t say anything further, but honestly, your talent is too precious to waste.”

Amidst Jiheon’s rational advice, a personal interest inevitably crept in. To Jiheon, Guksun had become an incredibly precious family member.

“Since you’re going to be famous anyway, I thought it would be better to do it properly.”

“…”

“Advertising is the same. While the ideas for ads are important, the image matters too. If it looks clean and the quality is good, people will be drawn in more.”

At Jiheon’s opinion, Guksun’s expression grew solemn. She, too, was hesitating.

“Anyway, that’s just my opinion. Don’t feel too pressured, but please think about it.”

Jiheon didn’t persistently push but stood up from his seat. Now, it was up to Guksun to decide.

However, now that Jiheon knew about Guksun’s channel, he couldn’t just stay still. He pressed the subscribe button and began watching all of the videos Guksun had created with full concentration.

It was enjoyable, even more so than he had expected. It wasn’t just Guksun’s unique cooking methods; the content had warmth.

Coming home after work, he felt comforted by his mother’s voice. The emotion conveyed in Guksun’s voice held a special power, capturing a feeling that Jiheon had never experienced with Yumi before their marriage.

He couldn’t just sit idly by. Jiheon decided to take the initiative. He thought that if he set up a workspace and equipped it well, Guksun wouldn’t be able to resist.

And to do everything, he needed his wife’s approval.

Ultimately, Jiheon decided to confess everything to Jeong-oh.

Upon discovering Guksun’s channel, Jeong-oh was even more surprised than Jiheon.

“…Mom made this?”

“She did really well, right? She’s already a pro creator.”

“So that’s why Mom has been in such a good mood lately?”

Jeong-oh felt relieved in a different way. As she clicked on the videos on the channel one by one, Jiheon spoke up.

“I think it would be great if she had a workspace.”

“Definitely! We should fully support her!”

Thus, the couple began their special plan. But they decided that Jiheon would take the lead in all matters. Since Guksun hadn’t confided in Jeong-oh yet, Jeong-oh chose to remain silent.

“I won’t let on for now. I’ll wait until Mom tells her directly.”

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

A little later.

Guksun, who was learning video editing at the cooking academy, stood up after an hour. Jiheon called her urgently, saying he needed her help to buy a gift for Jeong-oh.

Whenever it was for her daughter, Guksun would always roll up her sleeves and jump in, so Jiheon’s request felt pleasant.

“Guksun, you’re leaving early today.”

“I have to go; my son-in-law needs my help with something. He said he has to go somewhere.”

Even without saying who her son-in-law was, she enjoyed subtly bragging like this. As Guksun shared her pride, her classmates teased her, asking if she was going on a date with him, and they followed her out.

The thought of not revealing her son-in-law’s identity made Guksun shake off her colleagues’ farewells and arrive slightly late for her appointment.

Outside the academy, Jiheon was waiting. As Guksun got into Jiheon’s car, she greeted him.

“Sorry for being late. Did you wait long?”

“No, I just got here.”

Jiheon answered shortly and drove off.

The place Jiheon took her to was not far from home. It was a commercial building with a clothing store, so Guksun naturally thought they were going there to shop, but Jiheon went up to the second floor.

Striding ahead, Jiheon stood in front of a door with a keypad lock.

When the door opened, a beautiful space resembling a small restaurant appeared. Guksun’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“…What is all this?”

“This is your workspace, Mother.”

The bright, open space was large enough to accommodate three or four people comfortably, featuring a sizable wooden preparation counter and a spacious dining table.

All kinds of kitchen tools were neatly organized on the counter, and a camera was installed on top.

“How do you like it? If there’s anything you don’t like, I can change it.”

Guksun blinked back tears in her moist eyes.

“Did Yena and Abeom prepare all this?”

“…Yes.”

Of course, Jeong-oh had done most of the setup, but since he had repeatedly cautioned her not to disclose that, Guksun had to keep the truth hidden.

“Mother, and this is our apron.”

Before Guksun could ask anything else, Jiheon handed her an apron and put one on himself. It was a couple’s apron, just like at home.

“Today, I’ll be your assistant.”

Guksun stood there, unable to say or react to anything. She had never received such a grand gift in her life. Since this was just a hobby for her, such a gift felt overwhelmingly extravagant, and she couldn’t refuse it after it had already been prepared.

She also knew that her son-in-law would accept any gift she gave him without feeling burdened. So she understood he wanted her to accept it without feeling pressured.

She realized that if she accepted it joyfully, it would make him happy.

“Ah… what should I make… what would be good?”

Wiping her tears away, Guksun stood in front of the preparation counter. Meanwhile, Jiheon adjusted the camera angle.

Thinking about what dish to make, Guksun looked around once more. After carefully observing the arrangement of the kitchen tools and the décor, she was certain.

This was all done by our daughter.

She had often seen her daughter lost in thought while looking at something on her phone. She had worried that something was bothering her, but her daughter had been setting up this workspace.

Our daughter must have known all along but pretended not to notice, waiting until I told her directly.

Realizing the truth choked her up.

“Does our son-in-law like yakbap?”

“Of course. He loves it.”

“Then how about we make that?”

She wanted to make the yakbap that her family loved and bring it home.

After donning her apron and washing her hands, Guksun cleared her throat and began filming.

“Today, our son-in-law is going to assist me.”

“Hello, I’m son-in-law Jeong-seobang.”

“Isn’t our son-in-law’s voice nice? In person, he looks even better. I want to brag about his looks, but let’s respect his privacy.”

Perhaps she was naturally suited for filming; once the recording started, Guksun felt relaxed and excited. The two of them usually worked well together, so the filming went smoothly without any difficulty.

“I’ll handle the editing. I know I’ll need to improve, but I’ll study to do it skillfully.”

“No, I’ll do it.”

Although Jiheon offered to take care of the editing, Guksun refused.

“Learning how to do this is fun. I’ll give it a try while asking about anything I don’t know. Thank you.”

The two of them packed the yakbap they made together and headed home.

Once home, Guksun revealed everything to Jeong-oh about what had happened. Jeong-oh looked genuinely surprised, as if she had just discovered her mother’s secret today, but her act seemed a bit clumsy.

Guksun couldn’t help but laugh at her daughter’s poor acting skills.

“You decorated the kitchen, didn’t you?”

“Did you notice?”

“I’m your mom, so how could I not notice that?”

Jeong-oh smiled awkwardly.

“I’m sorry for pretending not to know.”

“I’m more sorry for keeping it a secret all this time.”

“…….”

“Thank you. Thank you to both you and Jiheon. I’m so grateful.”

And once again, a peace without secrets returned.

“Mom, even if you become famous, you have to live with me. Do you understand?”

Jeong-oh clung to Guksun’s arm, acting cute.

When Guksun didn’t respond right away, Jeong-oh complained, as if getting anxious.

“Answer quickly! Are you going to live with me or not?”

“Where else would I go?”

Hehe.

You will be with me forever.

Always Guksun’s little baby, Jeong-oh held onto her mother’s arm for a long time, rubbing her face against it as if she were Yena.

In the meantime, Guksun’s phone vibrated. It was a text message from her cooking academy colleague.

– Guksun! I saw the video you uploaded! Did your son-in-law help you? Why does your son-in-law’s voice sound so good? It’s totally amazing!!