Episode 34. Evening Primrose (4)
It was the seventh day since her husband left for an overseas business trip.
Perhaps it was because Kang Dae-oh had never been away from home for so long.
Min Seung-yeon had initially felt a vague sense of unease at the thought that her husband would be away for two weeks.
However, fortunately, as time passed, the emptiness from her husband’s absence was quickly filled.
She had once seriously pondered, “What could be the reason?”
Surprisingly, she found the reason close by.
It was all thanks to her daughters.
Perhaps because she had children, three of them, the house was still bustling even with Kang Dae-oh away.
Especially with three daughters, the noise never ceased.
“Mom! Can I eat this?”
Kang Yera asked, taking out a chocolate bread from the refrigerator.
Before Min Seung-yeon could even say whether she could eat it or not, Kang Yeyoung spoke first.
“Unnie, you said you were going on a diet. Why are you eating bread?”
“I can eat just one, can’t I? And I’m craving sugar right now.”
“Should I tell your PT trainer?”
“How would you tell them? You don’t even know their number.”
“We follow each other on SNS, so I’ll just send them a message, see? My trainer told me to let them know immediately if I see any sign of unnie trying to eat snacks secretly.”
“Hey! That’s betrayal!”
“This is all for your own good, unnie.”
The war of words between the eldest daughter and the youngest daughter, who were in charge of the household’s commotion, continued today.
On the other hand, Kang Yebin, who was in charge of quietness, sat quietly and focused only on the living room TV, true to her role.
Even though they were sisters, it was amazing how different their personalities were. Min Seung-yeon found it fascinating every time she saw them.
“Don’t fight too much, you two. Mom’s going to go grocery shopping.”
At the mention of grocery shopping, Kang Yebin’s gaze moved away from the TV for the first time.
“Are you going alone?”
“Yes, I was planning to.”
“Then I’ll go with you.”
“Really?”
“You might end up buying extra things while shopping and run out of hands. You weren’t going to drive anyway, were you?”
“That’s right. Your dad told me to only drive when he’s around for a while.”
Since she had only recently gotten her driver’s license, her husband would naturally be uneasy about letting his wife drive alone.
Min Seung-yeon herself knew well that she was still a novice driver who needed her husband’s protection and supervision, so she intended to quietly follow Kang Dae-oh’s words.
And there was a supermarket near her house anyway.
Even without driving, it was close enough for a leisurely walk.
If her daughter went with her, it would be good from a mother’s perspective too.
While she was there, she also planned to carry out the mission her husband had given her.
Since there were various items in the supermarket, she thought that by subtly sounding out Kang Yebin as they walked around, asking if this or that was needed, she might get a hint about what her second daughter wanted as a gift. A sense of anticipation arose.
“Then let’s go together.”
“Okay. I’ll just change my clothes and come right out.”
Thus, Min Seung-yeon set out for grocery shopping with Kang Yebin.
As her second daughter became a middle school student and grew noticeably, Min Seung-yeon naturally smiled with satisfaction.
Kang Yebin tilted her head at her mother’s reaction.
“Why suddenly?”
“Because my daughter is so pretty.”
It was natural for her own child to seem the prettiest. But even without considering that, Kang Yebin’s beauty was continuously blossoming.
She would become even prettier in her 20s and 30s.
At her mother’s honest feelings, Kang Yebin blushed.
If it had been Kang Yera or Kang Yeyoung, they would have reacted with something like, ‘Of course I’m pretty, I’m Mom’s daughter.’
But the second daughter was completely different.
“Looking at you like this, you subtly resemble your dad.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. It’s natural since you’re our child, but I still get that subtle feeling.”
She was calm. And her ability to maintain balance often made her seem reliable.
It was very similar to the feeling Min Seung-yeon got from Kang Dae-oh.
Perhaps that’s why she missed her dad so much in the past.
Since that wish was fulfilled in her new life after regression, maybe Kang Yebin had nothing more to wish for.
Min Seung-yeon had these thoughts.
Still, human desires are endless.
If one wish is fulfilled, another is bound to arise.
Finding this wish.
This was the content of the mission given to Min Seung-yeon today.
Perhaps it was because they came to a supermarket they frequented so often.
Normally, even just walking with her daughter, people would recognize them as a celebrity mother-daughter duo and flock around them.
But the supermarket near Min Seung-yeon and Kang Yebin’s house was different.
The supermarket staff, on the contrary, gave them friendly smiles with familiar expressions.
“Oh my! Yebin, you came grocery shopping with your mom.”
“How enviable. My daughter is all grown up now and doesn’t even go around with her mom like this.”
Min Seung-yeon asked the supermarket employee, who was expressing envy.
“How old is your daughter?”
“She’s 29 now. She says she’ll be thirty next year, and she’s too busy spending her last 20s with friends to have time with her mom. She doesn’t even remember when her mom changed her diapers and fed her as a baby. It’s disappointing.”
Min Seung-yeon gave an awkward smile and looked at Kang Yebin.
In fact, if you consider their real ages, Kang Yebin was older than the supermarket employee’s daughter.
Nevertheless, Kang Yebin clung closely to her mother, as if she had none of the complaints the employee had voiced.
Such a sight of mother and daughter was enough to draw the envy of mothers with daughters, in particular.
Moreover, if it was a daughter with a beautiful and kind personality like Kang Yebin, the envy would naturally be even greater.
Unintentionally, Min Seung-yeon became the “wannabe” of mothers, thanks to Kang Yebin.
However, even with such a kind daughter, she wasn’t entirely without worries as a mother.
“Yebin. How about that? Isn’t it so pretty?”
Min Seung-yeon led her to the doll section of the supermarket.
She subtly probed, pointing at a large stuffed animal.
But Kang Yebin’s reaction was lukewarm.
“It’s pretty.”
“Ah… is that so?”
The first attempt was a failure.
However, Min Seung-yeon did not give up.
Before being a model, she was the mother of three daughters.
When it came to anything involving her daughters, the possibility of giving up simply didn’t exist for her.
“How about that one?”
She led her to a display shelf filled with interior decorations.
They were pretty items, but.
“It’s nice. It might be good to put one or two in the house.”
She responded in a businesslike tone, as if it were someone else’s matter, not her own.
It was an action that indirectly indicated a lack of interest.
This time, too, was a failure.
Even after that, Min Seung-yeon suggested many different things to her daughter.
But the replies were merely dry.
At this point, Kang Yebin couldn’t help but realize that her mother was making these attempts to figure out her preferences.
“Mom. I really don’t need anything. So you don’t have to buy me anything. It’s not even my birthday.”
“Still, you worked so hard filming the drama. This time, Mom just wants to buy you something.”
She subtly omitted the part about Kang Dae-oh. It was because she still wanted to keep the surprise gift effect from her dad.
“Then… please buy me that.”
“That?”
“Yes. That yellow tumbler.”
“Okay… I understand.”
It seemed as if she was deliberately choosing something suitable, just anything, for her mother’s sake and asking her to buy it.
Even so, Min Seung-yeon knew it would be futile to insist that her daughter tell her what gift she truly wanted.
So, Min Seung-yeon reluctantly had no choice but to put the tumbler Kang Yebin asked for into the shopping cart.
What should she tell her husband?
Her mind was filled with nothing but such thoughts.
The two, mother and daughter, left the supermarket and headed home.
Kang Yebin slightly lifted the bag in her hand and spoke.
“It was a good thing I came along, right?”
“Indeed. Just as my daughter said, as we walked around, the things to buy kept increasing.”
“That’s how shopping usually is.”
“Is that how it is for Yebin too?”
“Not for me, though.”
She thought so.
Min Seung-yeon had never once seen Kang Yebin impulsively buy things.
On the other hand, Kang Yera and Kang Yeyoung had impulsive tendencies.
The thought that even though they were sisters, they were truly different, crossed Min Seung-yeon’s mind once again.
As they were walking back home with her daughter, at this moment.
Kang Yebin stopped halfway.
Min Seung-yeon tilted her head at her daughter’s sudden action.
“What’s wrong?”
She asked the reason, following her daughter’s gaze fixed on one spot.
Then Kang Yebin murmured a small soliloquy.
“I was just looking at the flowers.”
“Ah, now that you mention it, a lot of flowers are blooming these days.”
Flowers don’t only bloom in spring.
The sight of flowers blooming in July and August was often seen along the way.
“Do you like flowers?”
“I don’t dislike them.”
“Really?”
Compared to when she showed her various things at the supermarket, a more positive reaction emerged.
Kang Yebin, who hadn’t shown much enthusiasm until then, soon quickened her pace.
Flowers.
Min Seung-yeon felt as if she had gained a hint related to her second daughter, something she and her husband had so longed for.
“Yebin seems to like flowers?”
Kang Dae-oh asked his wife again for confirmation during their phone call.
—Yeah. Probably?
“Why ‘probably’?”
—Because I’m not sure. But among the things we saw at the supermarket yesterday, the flowers got the best reaction.
At the mention of flowers, the thought of “unexpected” crossed Kang Dae-oh’s mind.
“I didn’t know Yebin liked flowers.”
It didn’t quite fit the image of his chic second daughter.
However, Min Seung-yeon, as a woman, had a different thought.
—Because women naturally like receiving flowers. Don’t you remember when I received flowers from you?
“I do. You cried even more profusely than when you received the diamond ring.”
—Women are more touched by small gifts that are full of heartfelt sentiment.
“I see.”
Today, he learned another thing about a woman’s heart.
“Okay. Thanks for letting me know, jagiya.”
—You’re welcome. Is work going well?
“Roughly. I think I just need to stop by Vietnam and then I can go.”
—Come home soon. The kids miss you a lot.
Upon hearing that his daughters missed him, Kang Dae-oh wanted to board a flight to Korea and go there immediately.
But he had to endure for now.
After finishing the call, Kang Dae-oh looked for Executive Director Yoo In-seok, who was nearby.
“Executive Director.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Is Seo-jun around?”
“I believe he just went to the restroom. Is something wrong?”
Kang Dae-oh made a nonchalant expression.
“I have a personal favor to ask him.”
