Living in a single-family home is something that many people dream of at least once.
Around two years ago, housewife Kim Mija bought a two-story single-family home located on the outskirts of a new town through an auction and moved in.
But what seemed great was only temporary.
As time passed, there were not just one or two inconveniences. Her husband complained about the difficult commute, and the children complained about the distance to school. The building, which was built 20 years ago, was starting to show signs of aging, with more than just a couple of areas needing repairs. Major repairs were needed, but due to cost issues, they could only manage temporary fixes.
New apartments were constantly being built in the new town.
She even considered selling the house to move to an apartment. Kim Mija visited a trusted real estate agency to casually inquire about the housing market price.
The current market price was around 600 million. However, selling the house at market value was difficult compared to apartments. Taking into account the repairs needed in various places, the real estate agent suggested lowering the price to the mid-500 million range for a quicker sale.
While still pondering this, one day she received a call from the real estate agency.
“A young couple came to look at the houses nearby. They seemed to like your place, Mrs. Kim Mija. Are you considering selling?”
Her ears perked up at the news.
She wasn’t entirely against selling at market value.
“How much are they willing to offer?”
“They mentioned 800 million as they were not familiar with the prices in the area, and they said they would buy it.”
Kim Mija was taken aback.
They were willing to pay 200 million more than the market price. With that money, she could afford a luxury apartment in a prime location nearby.
Although she had originally thought of selling, the idea of buying at a good price changed her mind.
Could there be a hidden value in this house that she wasn’t aware of?
No matter how much she thought about it, there seemed to be no reason for this house to be more expensive than the market price. It was far from the subway station, and the transportation wasn’t that great either.
With that money, she could buy a much better house near the subway station…
“Okay, hold on a moment. I’ll think about it a bit more.”
Kim Mija consulted with her husband who had returned from work. While he suggested selling immediately upon hearing the situation, her thoughts were slightly different.
“There must be a good reason for wanting to sell at a higher price.”
Kim Mija called the real estate agent and said, “I won’t sell for 800 million, but if it’s 1 billion, let them know I will sell.”
She planned to negotiate after hearing their initial response.
The next day, the real estate agent called again. However, what the agent said was unexpected.
“What should I do? They want to make a deal with Hyojeong’s mother. They even visited her house that day.”
“Oh, how much are they offering?”
“760 million.”
Although Hyojeong’s mother’s house was larger and better, 760 million was an unreasonable price.
It felt like a spark flew in her eyes.
“This lady is trying to steal my client?”
It felt like money was slipping away right in front of her. In reality, it was like losing 200 million considering the actual selling price.
She felt like she was kicking away her fortune that had rolled in by herself!
When the potential buyer hesitated, Kim Mija became anxious.
“If the contract hasn’t been signed yet, then tell them I will also sell for 760 million.”
“However, it seems like their interest has already shifted towards Hyojeong’s mother’s house. I’m not sure if they will change their mind again.”
“Please negotiate well. I will prepare a generous tip. I earnestly ask for your help.”
“Alright, I will discuss it with them.”
Time passed anxiously.
A few days later, the real estate agent made contact.
[After persuading successfully, Mija’s mother decided to sign the contract with Mrs. Kim’s joy.]Mrs. Kim happily said, “Thank you for your hard work.”
[How about receiving the down payment before you change your mind over there? Typically, 10% is received, but as market prices may change later and minds may change, why not take around 30% now?]“I will do that. I will send you the account number now.”
As soon as she sent the account number, a down payment of 228 million won was deposited. With this, the real estate transaction was practically finalized.
Mrs. Kim, relieved and happy, was told by the real estate lady, “Then come to the real estate office tomorrow to formally draft the contract… Oh! As Mija’s mother knows, Christmas is in four days.”
“Yes.”
“It might be tough, but can you vacate the house by then?”
Mrs. Kim was confused, “Wait, I haven’t even found a new house to move to, and you expect me to vacate in four days?”
“Exactly, right? If you vacate by then, they say they’ll add 20 million won for moving expenses.”
“What, what? 20 million won?”
“I’ll let them know it’s not possible.”
Angered by the real estate lady’s words, she retorted, “What do you mean not possible? Find us a house by the day after tomorrow!”
***
Jingle bell! Jingle bell!
Carols echoed throughout, trees and decorations were put up. Despite the economic downturn, the shopping districts were enjoying the Christmas and year-end specials.
Couples linked arms as they poured into the streets.
“······.”
“Well, that has nothing to do with me.
When did Christmas become a day for lovers, anyway?
I went inside my house.
“Are you ready?”
My mother was already dressed for going out. She had taken out a two-piece suit and coat that she rarely wore and put on makeup.
“You look beautiful today. It suits you well.”
“What’s the point of looking pretty.”
My mother said with a hint of sarcasm.
“We can just eat at home, why eat out?”
“On a day like today, we have to eat out. Let’s go.”
I went downstairs with my mother.
A taxi was waiting on the first floor.
“Taek-gyu is also coming along.”
Taek-gyu said.
“Get in, ma’am.”
I got into the back seat with my mother. It was a compact car, so it was a bit cramped, but it was manageable.
Taek-gyu started the car.
It wasn’t yet rush hour, so we quickly left Seoul.
“Where are we going?”
“Just wait for a good place.”
The car sped along the straight road.
Ring!
My phone vibrated in my pocket. There were only a few people who knew this phone number. When I saw the name on the screen, it was Shin Yuri.
I hesitated about whether to answer or not, then pressed the call button.
“Hello.”
Yuri’s voice sounded scary to pick up.
[Senior Jin-hoo! Why haven’t you been answering my calls? I’ve been calling you.]“I’ve been calling?”
Since I didn’t really pay attention to my phone, I hadn’t even checked the missed calls properly.
But why did I keep calling a senior I’ve only seen twice? And on Christmas day of all days.
Unless I had feelings for them…
“Yuri, you didn’t happen to…?”
Before I could finish my sentence, Yuri urgently spoke.
“What’s wrong, senior?”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
[It’s about L6.]“Oh! You also bought one? Did you get a refund?”
[That’s not the important part… How did you know in advance that L6 was going to be discontinued?]“What do you mean? How would I know that?”
“After buying the phone, when we were leaving the store, you said it. That it was going to be discontinued.”
“…”
Did I say something like that? Come to think of it, I might have.
So that’s why I kept calling. I should stop drinking so much kimchi soup.
I fumbled for words.
“I, I was just joking.”
Yuri’s reaction was one of bewilderment.
“It was a joke?”
“Yeah. Didn’t I say it was a joke back then too?”
“[But······.] It’s getting hard to come up with excuses if I keep on asking.”
“I’m on my way somewhere now. I’ll contact you later. Merry Christmas.”
“Senior!”
I quickly hung up the phone.
Surely they didn’t catch on with just one word, right?
My mother asked, “Who was it?”
“Ah! Just a school junior.”
I checked the texts and chats I received during this time. Most of them were spam. As I deleted the useless ones, a text message from Senior Sangyeop stood out.
“I couldn’t reach you on the phone, so leaving a message. Please contact me when you see this.”
Senior Sangyeop must have also been shocked upon hearing about the discontinuation of the L6. I decided to contact him later and put my phone back in my pocket. After about an hour of driving, the familiar neighborhood came into view.
As expected, my mother immediately caught on.
“Is this······?”
“We’re almost there now.”
The place the car stopped at was a residential area on the outskirts of Dongtan.
I got out of the car with my mother. In front of us stood an old two-story detached house.
My mother silently gazed at the old house. She must be reminiscing about the memories from here.
She had lived here for over 20 years.
After a while, my mother smiled and said, “It’s nice to be here after all. Memories of the past come back. Now that we’ve seen it, let’s go back.”
“Since we’re already here, let’s go inside and take a look.”
“Huh?”
I confidently opened the door with my bewildered mother and walked inside.
The house was clean and empty.
Some things like the wallpaper or the living room lights had changed, but the house was mostly the same as before. I ran my hand along the old pillars and stairs.
My mother slowly looked around the house.
“It looks like they moved. But is it okay to come in without permission like this?”
“Why would this be someone else’s house? This is our home.”
It had just temporarily slipped into someone else’s hands.
I handed over some documents to my mother.
“Take a look at this.”
“What is this?”
My mother unfolded the papers.
It was nothing but a real estate contract with her name on it.
“This house is ours now.”
If we had more time, we could have bought it more cheaply, but we rushed to get it before Christmas.
Still, I didn’t feel like any of it was a waste.
My mother looked unbelieving.
“H-how did this happen?”
“I earned money with Taekgyu’s help and bought it.”
My mother glanced at Taekgyu. He nodded in agreement.
“Jin-hoo is right. We made a lot of money.”
My mother stood in silence for a while. Then she sat down and burst into tears.
Ever since my father passed away, my mother never showed any emotions no matter how tough things were. She hadn’t shed a single tear in front of me all this time.
“If it wasn’t hard and sad, it would be a lie. I just gritted my teeth and endured it.
“Sob, sob, sob!”
Seeing my mother crying, I felt like I might burst into tears as well.
I forced a smile and said, “Why cry on such a nice day? Please don’t cry.”
As I tried to console my crying mother, I heard another sound of sobbing from beside me.
Turning my head, I saw Taekgyu pouring out tears from one side.
“Sob! Sob!”
Perplexed, I asked, “Hey, why are you crying?”
“Uwaaah! Jinhoo!”
Instead of stopping his tears, Taekgyu hugged me and started wailing loudly.
“Stop crying, come on!”
If you keep crying, even I will feel like crying!”
