Episode 55. In the Name of Sisters (3)
It was the second day since Kang Yebin started staying at Yang Jiyoon’s relative’s house.
Although it was a hastily decided matter due to a sudden whim, Yang Jiyoon’s aunt and her family still treated Kang Yebin warmly, like another family member.
Nevertheless.
They couldn’t fill the emptiness that had formed in a corner of Kang Yebin’s heart.
Yang Jiyoon, immediately realizing Kang Yebin’s state, decided to take her out for a full day of shopping.
“I’ve always wanted to see what kind of clothes they sell in America.”
Yang Jiyoon, riding in the car driven by Kang Yebin, expressed her anticipation.
Kang Yebin belatedly recalled that this was Yang Jiyoon’s first time in America.
“You haven’t been to America before, have you?”
“No. At most, Japan, China, Vietnam? I haven’t been to any other countries besides those.”
“Then you’ll be quite flustered.”
“Huh? What?”
“You’ll see.”
“……?”
Yang Jiyoon reacted as if she had no idea what Kang Yebin was talking about.
Not long after.
She understood why Kang Yebin had warned her beforehand that she would be ‘flustered’ when they set off.
“Are these the only clothing sizes…?”
Yang Jiyoon looked for clothes she liked, checked the sizes, and then made a despondent expression.
Westerners have quite different body types from Easterners.
Since their bone structures are inherently different, clothing sizes tend to be made to fit Western body types rather than Eastern ones.
Because of this, it was more difficult than expected to find clothes that suited Yang Jiyoon’s body.
“Wow. What’s this?”
Yang Jiyoon pointed at clothing items boasting unexpectedly huge sizes and asked.
Kang Yebin spoke as if these were common sights.
“Because there’s a lot of obesity in America.”
“Even so. I’ve never seen sizes like these sold in clothing stores. Unless you order them online, maybe.”
Yang Jiyoon’s first shopping experience in America was truly shocking.
Still, it was fun, as it felt like a fresh experience.
And there was no need to necessarily buy clothes.
Just looking around was enough.
After finishing their shopping, the two moved to another place to satisfy their hunger.
Yang Jiyoon took a big bite out of a meat burger filled with meat, then shook her head and spoke honestly.
“It tastes like my blood vessels are being destroyed.”
Grease was dripping onto the tray along with the meat juice.
That wasn’t all.
The calorie count of the milkshake they ordered together also boasted a value equivalent to a bowl of rice.
Just as Kang Yebin said.
It was impossible not to gain weight in America.
“I’m already craving kimchi.”
“When we go back to your aunt’s house later, you can eat all the kimchi you want then.”
“I should. Eating a piece of kimchi on a bowl of rice seems much tastier. Yebin-ah, how have you been spending your time in America all this while?”
“I just got used to it as I did it.”
“That’s amazing.”
Filming for movies and dramas doesn’t only happen in Seoul.
It’s common for dramas, and sometimes even movies, to require overseas filming.
As a result, Kang Yebin gained the ability to adapt well anywhere.
Yang Jiyoon was both happy and impressed by this side of her friend.
However, Kang Yebin’s adaptability wasn’t all-encompassing.
Despite diligently shopping and moving around with her friend.
“……”
Kang Yebin’s loneliness had not yet been resolved.
Yang Jiyoon chuckled and offered Kang Yebin a unique suggestion.
“How about you contact them?”
“Suddenly, contact whom?”
“Yera unnie and Yeyoung unnie.”
“I… I contacted them yesterday too.”
“Not just to ask how they’re doing.”
Yang Jiyoon precisely pointed out what Kang Yebin wanted to say right now.
“‘I miss you.’ Even just once is fine.”
“……”
“You miss unnie and Yeyoung, right? Of course, you’d miss your dad and mom too.”
She had thought that shopping with her like this would alleviate her longing for her family, even if just a little.
However, the longing only grew stronger.
And for good reason.
Because the only ones she had ever linked arms with and shopped with like this were Kang Yera, Kang Yeyoung, and Min Seung-yeon and Kang Dae-oh.
“Something I’ve thought about while watching you for a long time is this: sometimes, you need to be honest. Just because you don’t want your feelings to be known and you keep your mouth shut, it doesn’t mean everyone will figure out your true feelings first. That’s why it’s important to speak honestly when you need to.”
“……”
“A phone call isn’t necessary. If you’re shy, a text message is fine, so how about you honestly tell your family you miss them?”
Her friend’s words greatly stirred Kang Yebin’s heart.
After much thought, Kang Yebin heavily nodded her head.
“Alright. I’ll send it later.”
“Promise? No saying you’ll send it and then not sending it later, okay? Promise me.”
“Promise.”
In the end, Kang Yebin proceeded with the promise Yang Jiyoon wanted.
Kang Yebin, who suddenly received a huge assignment.
It was an assignment she would never have accepted if she were her usual self.
Kang Yebin looked at herself, quietly accepting her friend’s assignment, and thought to herself.
‘I must really be lonely.’
Kang Dae-oh, as usual, was handling company business in his office today.
‘Should I go home early today and rest a bit?’
His shoulders felt stiff, perhaps from overworking lately.
Bone-cracking sounds, oodu-dook, oodu-dook!, could be clearly heard every time he moved.
Was it simply due to fatigue, as Kang Dae-oh had just said?
Or was it because he was getting older?
Kang Dae-oh found it difficult to make an accurate judgment.
But one thing was certain.
It seemed best to quietly rest today.
However.
A text message arrived that completely overturned Kang Dae-oh’s plans.
The sender was Kang Yebin.
The moment he saw the text, Kang Dae-oh’s large eyes blinked several times.
The first thing that caught his eye was this:
“ ‘I miss you, Dad…?’ “
The message rambled on about how she had been doing, how she had enjoyed a brief vacation meeting Yang Jiyoon in America, and then how she had fully returned to her daily routine to resume her filming schedule.
Then, at the end, the words ‘I miss you, Dad’ stimulated all of Kang Dae-oh’s nerves.
Soon, Kang Dae-oh sprang up from his seat as if he had made a decision.
Then he asked his chief secretary, Kim Siljang:
“Kim Siljang. I’m sorry, but could you get me a plane ticket to America for today?”
An astonishing sight unfolded before Kang Dae-oh’s eyes when he returned home.
“Welcome home, Dad.”
“We were just waiting for you anyway.”
“We were wondering whether to contact you or not. You just happened to come in.”
Kang Yera, Kang Yeyoung, and Min Seung-yeon. The three women were waiting for Kang Dae-oh, each holding a small carry-on bag in one hand and a backpack strap in the other.
Kang Dae-oh looked at the three and asked.
“Where are you going?”
It was the first Kang Dae-oh had heard of Min Seung-yeon and the daughters going on a trip.
Min Seung-yeon spoke on behalf of the group.
“We’re going to America.”
At that moment, Kang Dae-oh, just in case, asked them for confirmation.
“Did you all see the text message Yebin sent?”
“Yes.”
“I saw it.”
“It seems Yebin unnie sent it to each of us separately via scheduled delivery? It’s the first time I’ve seen my second unnie say she misses me.”
Coincidentally, it was the same for Kang Dae-oh.
Since a child who usually didn’t say such things suddenly said she missed her family, it was only natural that they had to go to America right away.
“But how are you all going to get plane tickets?”
Min Seung-yeon said not to worry, stating:
“My close unnie works in a travel agency, you see? She’s already gotten all the plane tickets, so we just need to go to the airport.”
As expected. She was a quick-acting wife.
In fact, Kang Dae-oh had intended to go to America and come back by himself.
However, now that he knew that message hadn’t just come to him.
And now that his family had made the same firm decision as Kang Dae-oh.
Kang Dae-oh felt no justification or reason to stop them.
“Alright. I’ll drive, so let’s go.”
“What about yours?”
“Are you talking about the plane ticket?”
“Yes. Just in case, I put aside a total of 4 tickets, including ours.”
“You only needed to put aside 3. I already got my ticket.”
Their hearts were already set on America.
After finishing today’s filming, Kang Yebin, leading her tired body, got into the car with her manager to head to the hotel.
The manager smiled gently, looking at Kang Yebin.
“You worked hard today too, Yebin-ah.”
“You too, unnie. I think we can go straight to the hotel.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, but there’s somewhere we need to stop today? It’s not far. Could we stop by for a moment before we go?”
“Huh? Where is it?”
Until now, Kang Yebin had never once seen her manager suggest stopping somewhere in the middle of a trip.
Since this was the first time it happened, her words sounded a bit unfamiliar.
The manager said it was nothing special.
“The airport.”
“The airport…? Yeah, well. I don’t think it really matters. There’s nothing much to do even if I go back to my room early anyway.”
“How about trying to create a new hobby? You seemed quite bored while you were in America.”
“I thought about doing that too, but there wasn’t really any hobby that caught my eye.”
Watching classic movies, which Kang Yebin enjoyed. This was the only pleasure that could relieve her stress.
Every time the manager saw Kang Yebin like this, she felt sorry for her.
And for good reason. She thought that for Kang Yebin, who worked as an actress, watching movies or dramas itself went beyond just being a hobby.
Ultimately, when viewed broadly, these were actions related to her work.
So the manager thought about whether it would be good to find a new hobby completely unrelated to acting.
In the end, a hobby was something one could only do if they found it enjoyable, so she couldn’t force it.
Because such things could actually cause Kang Yebin more stress.
Therefore, the manager herself had a lot of anticipation for stopping by the airport for a moment.
Kang Yebin asked her manager.
“But why are we going to the airport?”
“To pick someone up.”
“Who is it?”
“You’ll see.”
Not long after.
The sight of the airport began to appear through the window.
“They’re over there.”
Kang Yebin, turning her gaze towards where the manager pointed, was so utterly surprised that she forgot to scream.
She knew the people standing there all too well.
Kang Dae-oh and Min Seung-yeon, and even Kang Yera and Kang Yeyoung.
The family she had missed had flown all the way to America without delay, just because of one text message from Kang Yebin.
