BRF Chapter 6
by lily plum“Hello, this is Kang Eunseong.”
Eunseong quickly left the kitchen and headed for the front door. Her mother followed her out.
“What is it? Work?”
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Eunseong simply nodded and opened the front door, stepping out into the apartment hallway.
– Are you with someone?
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She heard the dull thud of the front door closing behind her.
“Oh, it’s just you.”
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Eunseong sighed and looked up at the inky sky. Even in the darkness, she could sense the change of season. Tiny white stars twinkled modestly in the darkness, which felt deeper than in summer.
– Just checking if you got home safe.
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Taeyoon’s lukewarm reply drifted from the phone.
“That was quick. I left work as soon as the news ended.”
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– Then who’s with you? Aren’t you tired? Why are you having drinks somewhere instead of going straight home? Where are you?”
He sounded like he would rush over if she just told him where she was. He was always trying so hard to find an excuse to drink.
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“I’m at my parents’ house. They were worried.”
– I didn’t know Kang Eunseong was such a filial daughter.
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Disappointment dripped from Taeyoon’s voice.
“But why are you calling me on the office phone? Why not my cell phone? You startled me. I thought something had happened.”
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It had been a while since she had visited her family. She had been worried she would have to head back to Seoul as soon as she put down her spoon. She had been prepared to jump in a taxi if there was a breaking story to chase, but now she felt annoyed at Taeyoon for startling her with a needless call.
– My phone died, but I wanted to make sure you got home safe. So I called the office phone.
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Taeyoon’s voice trailed off as he made his lame excuse. In this day and age, his phone would have turned on even with just a moment’s charge.
– And I thought you wouldn’t answer if I called late at night.
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“When have I ever not answered your calls, sunbae?”
After they aired a scoop together, Taeyoon would invariably pester her to join him for drinks and an after-party. He had the habit of going all out whenever he drank, which was why she had avoided his invitations a few times. So, she wasn’t sure if she should say Taeyoon was being perceptive or should apologize for not answering his calls lately.
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– Well, I’m glad you got home safely….
“Anyway, see you tomorrow.”
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Sensing that he was trying to keep her on the phone since they weren’t going out for drinks, Eunseong quickly hung up. A sense of relief washed over her as she realized she could finally get a good night’s sleep.
Eunseong gazed at the dark and silent apartment hallway. A milk delivery bag hung on one door, a laundry service bag on another, and a child’s kick scooter lay in front of yet another.
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Her family had lived here for twenty-six years. They had moved into the apartment when it was newly built, when Eunseong was six, so the apartment itself was also twenty-six years old.
When she was young, the apartment hallway had seemed vast. When she zoom around on her tricycle with her brother on the back, the lady next door would come out and give them sweet, cold Yakult yogurt drink.
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Now, Eunseong couldn’t even remember the faces of her neighbors, let alone who lived next door.
By the time the vast hallway started feeling cramped and she no longer had time to wonder who her neighbors were, Eunseong had become an adult.
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Although she was a reporter who traveled the world, covering breaking news and reporting on incidents every day, she sometimes felt endlessly lonely when she stood alone in deserted places.
Even though she had family behind the door and colleagues who worried about her commute, a sudden, all-consuming loneliness often rendered her powerless.
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Her long sigh turned into a white puff of breath and dissipated into the dark air.
“That’s called workaholism.”
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“Oh my god, you scared me!”
Giseong spoke as his face popped out of his bedroom window, which opened onto the hallway. His face, pressed against the window bars, looked like a ghost.
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“You thought it was a call from the station, but it wasn’t, so you’re lost in thought? That’s workaholism. You need to take a break. You’re so obsessed with scoops that you get anxious when things are quiet, right? Am I wrong?”
Giseong chattered on like a wise old sage, as if he’d achieved enlightenment while cooped up at home.
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“You’re wrong.”
Eunseong frowned, as if to tell him he was barking up the wrong tree.
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“Wrong, my foot. That’s why you need to date. If you’re crazy in love, you won’t have time for other thoughts. Being single at your age isn’t normal. And being obsessed with work isn’t normal either. Who was that ‘sunbae’ you were talking to? Is he a senior from the station? Is he handsome?”
Being crazy in love didn’t seem very normal in this situation either.
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Eunseong shook her head and entered the apartment without responding.
“Are you going back to Seoul?”
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Her father was coming out of her room, his wrinkled eyes filled with anxiety.
“No, I’m staying here tonight.”
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Her father’s face relaxed, as if relieved.
“Go wash up and get some sleep. You have to go back to Seoul early tomorrow morning. I’ll drive you to the terminal. I put a heated mattress pad on your bed and turned up the heat, so if it’s too hot, turn it down.”
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“Okay, Dad.”
Her father, who had personally laid out the heated mattress pad and brought out a thick blanket, hurried back to his room as if he felt bad for keeping his tired daughter any longer.
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It was Eunseong herself who had created the distance between them. Her father was just a little awkward about how to treat his grown-up daughter.
“Dad.”
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“Yes? What is it?”
Her father, standing at the door to his room, quickly turned to her. She kept telling herself to treat him better, but it wasn’t easy. Creating distance had taken a moment, but closing it was taking a long time.
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“Good night.”
Eunseong hesitated for a moment, then blurted out the words on the tip of her tongue.
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“You have to drive me to the terminal tomorrow.”
A beautiful smile spread across her father’s wrinkled face.
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“I’ll be up at the crack of dawn. You make sure you wake up on time. Set your alarm.”
As her father turned away after his affectionate nagging, Giseong flung open his door and shouted,
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“Dad, what do you think about a reporter son-in-law?”
Giseong seemed to get restless if he didn’t blabber for even a second.
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“Hey, Kang Giseong!”
“Noona seems to be seeing that sunbae reporter of hers. Is a reporter son-in-law okay with you?”
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Giseong pressed on, giving her no room for explanation.
“As long as it’s someone our daughter chooses, I’m happy with anyone. As long as he doesn’t make our daughter lonely, I approve!”
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Her father declared firmly, as if without a shred of doubt, and then went back into his room. Giseong, deflated by the anticlimactic response, slumped his shoulders and retreated to his room.
“Honestly, that boy. The father should be the one to carefully vet any potential son-in-law.”
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Her mother, apparently finished with the dishes, approached Eunseong, wiping her hands on her apron. The fresh lemon scent of dish soap wafted from her, signaling the end of her long day.
I’ll definitely get her a dishwasher for her next birthday.
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Eunseong smiled and held her mother’s damp hand.
“I’m not dating a reporter. Giseong overheard my phone call and is talking nonsense.”
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“Do whatever you want. Mom will support you no matter what you do.”
Eunseong, sticking out her lower lip, pretended to cry as if touched by her words. She wrapped an arm around her mother’s shoulders, which were now shorter than her own.
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How anxious must their mother have been while raising two children with different fathers? How much effort must she have put into creating a happy family? How deeply must her father have loved her mother to marry a woman carrying another man’s child?
Reflecting on the lives her parents must have lived, Eunseong had to bury the secret she knew.
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“I support you too, Mom. Good night.”
Just as each apartment in the hallway had different items lying outside their doors, each household lived with its own unique stories. None were trivial, and none were without pain.
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The secret she held in her heart and the painful stories of others became valuable lessons for Eunseong as a reporter.
She renewed her vow to never exploit the tragedies of others, blinded by the pursuit of sensational reporting.
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* * *
The next morning, as soon as she arrived at work, she received a call from the security desk.
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– Reporter Kang Eunseong, this is the security desk. A flower basket was delivered for you. Could you come down?
“A flower basket? For me?”
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She had just finished receiving a report from the rookie reporter making the mawari1 rounds at the Gangnam police stations.
– Yes, is there another Reporter Kang Eunseong in the social affairs department?
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“No. I’ll be right down.”
Tilting her head in confusion, Eunseong couldn’t figure it out. It wasn’t her birthday, and she hadn’t forgotten any special anniversaries. The sudden flower delivery was baffling.
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Who could have sent it? She had no idea.
Eunseong was stunned when she got off the elevator, passed through the speed gate, and arrived at the security desk. A massive flower basket, larger than her torso and extravagant enough to adorn a hotel lobby, sat on the desk.
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“Excuse me.”
Recognizing Eunseong, the security guard gave a professional smile.
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“Hello, Reporter Kang Eunseong. Do you think you can carry this? There’s nothing unusual in the security scan, but the flower basket is… enormous. It seems you have something to celebrate.”
He seemed to think she had received the basket from a romantic partner. As Eunseong smiled awkwardly, the guard pointed to a card nestled among the flowers.
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“There’s a card in there, too. Check who sent it. Although you might already know.”
Eunseong picked up the pearlescent card envelope.
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