Lee Hyesook and Kim Sunghoon returned home after a two-week honeymoon.
Lee Hyesook, who had never even been to Jeju Island, managed to travel around Europe thanks to her son. The night views of Prague, Amsterdam, and Czech Republic were still vivid in her mind.
Their hands were full of gifts as they exited the airport. These were thank-you presents for not only the merchants of Namhang but also those who attended the wedding.
Lee Hyesook cautiously held Kim Sunghoon’s hand. Although she was well past forty, at this moment, she felt as shy as an eighteen-year-old high school girl. It was then.
“Mom!”
At the familiar voice coming from the airport, Lee Hyesook and Kim Sunghoon turned their gaze. There stood Jisoo.
“I came to pick you up! What did you buy so much of? You have a gift for me, right?”
“Of course.”
“Ahem, then let’s save the gifts for later. How was your first night, Mom and Dad?”
“Kim Jisoo!”
Kim Sunghoon shouted in embarrassment, but Jisoo’s mischief showed no sign of ending. As they loaded their luggage into the trunk and got into the vehicle, a familiar face was sitting in the driver’s seat. It was none other than Youngguk.
“I wanted to wait outside too, but Jisoo insisted.”
“Oppa, if you go outside, you’ll get paralyzed. The hat you brought was useless, and from afar, everyone could tell it was Jang Youngguk. By the way, Mom, how was your first night? I really hope to have a little sibling soon. Right, oppa?”
“You’re something else.”
“Ahem.”
Lee Hyesook’s face turned red, and Kim Sunghoon cleared his throat. Youngguk lightly tapped Jisoo on the head and said, “Stop joking around, girl.” Jisoo pouted.
“By the way, Youngguk, where are we going?”
“We’re heading home.”
“This direction doesn’t seem right.”
Lee Hyesook had a puzzled look as she gazed at the road outside the car window. It was understandable because they were not heading towards their original apartment. Kim Sunghoon, sitting beside her, was also puzzled.
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
With a brief smile, Youngguk said no more.
The car, having exited Gimhae Airport and driven for a while on the East-West Expressway, entered a high-rise residential complex after passing Gwangandaero.
The apartment building looked incredibly expensive from the outside, making both Lee Hyesook and Kim Sunghoon simultaneously tense.
“Youngguk, whose place is this?”
Upon reaching the high floor of the complex, Lee Hyesook was bewildered by the unfamiliar marble floor.
It was a brand-new apartment that had just started receiving tenants. There was not a trace of human touch or even a speck of dust.
Moreover, the interior was sparkling with new furniture and appliances. The most amazing part was the view of Dongbaek Island and the blue sea waves beyond the living room’s large windows.
“Youngguk, what on earth is this?”
Kim Sunghoon’s face was also filled with astonishment. At that moment, Youngguk embraced his mother and stepfather and said,
“This is your home from now on.”
The new apartment was full of life. Mother and stepfather were busy preparing dinner, chatting and laughing in the kitchen.
Watching this made Youngguk think that buying the new apartment was indeed a great decision.
- Youngguk, this place must be expensive.
At first, his mother had been very worried. It was understandable since the apartment was known to be one of the most expensive in Busan. But when he persuaded her, telling her how much he earned annually, she no longer showed her concern.
With a growing family, they had to move eventually.
“Oppa, Mom and Dad really suit each other, don’t they?”
Jisoo said, smiling contentedly as she looked at the kitchen. Youngguk also looked on with a pleased expression.
Ding-dong.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Since it was a newly occupied apartment, there shouldn’t have been any visitors. Jisoo headed to the front door, and soon a voice was heard from beyond.
“Unnie! Are you home!”
Unnie?
Then, a familiar woman entered with Jisoo from the front door.
“Yeonsu?”
Yeonsu first greeted the mother and stepfather in the kitchen respectfully.
“Mother, congratulations on your honeymoon return!”
“Oh my, Yeonsu! How did you know this place?”
“I told her, Mom. I thought it would be nice for the family to gather on a day like this. But unnie, why did you bring so much?”
Jisoo playfully accepted the fruit basket and detergent Yeonsu had brought. Family?
“Yeonsu, you have a shoot tomorrow. Is it okay for you to be here?”
Only then did Yeonsu look at me. She squinted her eyes and asked,
“Why are you asking so late? I came to congratulate your parents on their return from their trip. Since the hotel is nearby, I just came to show my face for a bit.”
“Why don’t you stay for dinner?”
“I know better. How could I join a family gathering? I just brought the gifts because Jisoo called. I couldn’t properly congratulate them at the wedding due to the crowd.”
As Yeonsu was talking, the mother hurriedly approached.
“Oh no, Yeonsu. Don’t say that and have dinner with us. You’ve brought so many housewarming gifts; you can’t leave on an empty stomach. We’ve known each other for years. By now, you should be part of our family too. Right, Sunghoon?”
The stepfather, who was cooking in the kitchen, also nodded with a big smile.
“Of course. With this kind of connection, she’s practically family. Right, Jisoo?”
Now it was Jisoo’s turn.
“I’ve always felt like Yeonsu unnie was my real sister. She might as well become a real part of our family. But since she can’t be adopted into our family with her parents around, there’s only one way. What do you think, oppa?”
“What?”
“Oh, he definitely said ‘what!’”
“No, I mean… that’s not…”
As I stammered in embarrassment, Jisoo mischievously shouted towards Yeonsu,
“Unnie! Oppa says he’s okay with it too!”
Once again, the room burst into laughter. Yeonsu’s face also turned as red as mine. I couldn’t help but think that I wished this situation would pass quickly and tomorrow’s shoot would come soon.
The next day.
The filming camera captured the characters in a two-shot west shot. Lee Soo (Youngguk) felt awkward with Han Myojeong’s (Yeonsu) hands picking out clothes for him.
As the prince of mermaids, he had always lived underwater. Human clothes were unbearably cumbersome.
“Show me that one too.”
The staff at the luxury shop moved swiftly at Myojeong’s instructions. After all, she had already bought several outfits, purchasing each one that caught her eye.
After changing into a new outfit in the fitting room, Lee Soo emerged, and the staff exclaimed in admiration.
“Oh my! Your boyfriend looks amazing in our clothes. Our brand’s clothes are well-made, but it’s rare to see them suit someone so perfectly. Is he a model by any chance?”
It wasn’t an exaggeration. When Lee Soo wore the clothes, not only did other customers nearby but also the staff serving them glanced at him as if they were looking at a celebrity.
With his melancholic eyes, high-bridged nose, and broad shoulders, his appearance was captivating enough to draw everyone’s attention. Their reactions were only natural.
“Let’s go.”
After finishing their shopping, Myojeong and Lee Soo walked together. It had already been two weeks since they started spending time together. Myojeong reminisced about the past.
A man collapsed on the seashore.
Myojeong, the daughter of a chaebol family, had her secretary take the man to the hospital, but she couldn’t shake off a strange feeling. When she visited the hospital again, the man suddenly grabbed her hand and spoke.
My name is Lee Soo. But…
Could you take care of me?
He looked like a stray puppy, drenched in the rain and wandering the streets with no place to go.
“Is the food to your taste?”
At the pre-booked restaurant, Myojeong watched Lee Soo devour the food like a starving man and shook her head.
“Well, of course, it must be to your taste if you’re eating it like that.”
The more she looked at him, the more curious he seemed. He looked like a movie star or someone from a drama, but his actions were like that of a child. And he found everything fascinating.
When he looked at the tall buildings on the street, his mouth gaped open, and he was startled by the cars on the road as if he had never seen such things before. And the most peculiar thing was,
‘He has a unique scent.’
Lee Soo’s body emitted an indescribable scent. Even after changing clothes and washing, it lingered around him like his identity. It especially tickled Myojeong’s nose.
The warm, fog-like scent felt like being in the middle of the sea, bringing a sense of calm. Meanwhile, Lee Soo was having entirely different thoughts.
‘This is really delicious.’
Having always lived in the sea, Lee Soo’s staple diet in the Dragon Palace was simple: seaweed and other marine plants.
But the foods he tasted on land were incomparable to anything else. What could they possibly be made of to taste this good?
“What is this made of?”
Lee Soo asked reluctantly after scraping the last bit of stew from the bowl. He wanted more but felt a little self-conscious.
He knew that on land, one had to reciprocate when receiving a meal.
Sensing Lee Soo’s thoughts, Myojeong raised her hand to call the waiter.
“Another plate of the same, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“By the way, what’s in this stew? My friend here is curious.”
The waiter smiled and replied,
“We used fresh rockfish caught this morning as the main ingredient. It’s Mediterranean-style, with a tomato base, and we used rockfish, known for its flavor and depth, as the main ingredient.”
After the waiter left, Lee Soo asked Myojeong with an innocent expression,
“What’s rockfish? And what’s fish?”
“I told you before, cows are animals that live on land, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Lee Soo was still not fluent in the language of the land. While he could communicate, he didn’t know all the words.
Then Myojeong asked, as if puzzled by his ignorance,
“Then what do you think fish are?”
“I don’t know.”
“Oh my.”
Lee Soo’s pupils shook as if an earthquake had hit them at her next words.
“Animals that live in the sea.”
.
.
.
‘Did I eat one of my kind?’