Chapter 10: Gift

Da-in glanced at the book Ha Su-yeon was reading. A book cluttered with computer screenshots, titled “YouTube 1 Million Subscribers Even a Monkey Can Do It.”

“Why are you reading this? Are you trying to become a YouTuber?”

“Yes.”

Da-in thought reading this silly book wouldn’t help. If Su-yeon wanted to become a YouTuber, she should be filming videos, not reading a book.

“You have to start with the basics.”

“Don’t give me that crap. You can learn everything on YouTube, why waste money on a book? At least you borrowed it from the library…”

“Yes.”

Ignoring Su-yeon’s flinch, Da-in called the others over. They gathered around, giggling at the book Su-yeon was reading.

“Yeon-soo, this is too cute. You’re going to learn YouTube from this?”

“She’s become a total ditz.”

“Hehehe.”

They poked and prodded Su-yeon’s cheeks. She simply told them to stop, her eyes still glued to the book.

Su-yeon had changed a lot, Da-in thought. Just a month ago, if Chae-rin had touched her cheeks like this, she would’ve snapped, “Are you crazy, Kang Chae-rin?”

Then she would’ve posted a black screen on Instagram with a caption like, [This btch ruined my day T_T*], and the comments would be filled with people agreeing with her. Her Ask.fm would be flooded with anonymous hate, and rumors would spread among her friends and classmates: “I heard Kang Chae-rin is a total slt.”*

But things were different now.

‘Chae-rin’s only doing this because she’s not scared anymore, right…?’

The old Su-yeon was like that. Fun to hang out with, but never really considered them true friends. Constantly ranking and judging them, expecting them to serve her.

The current Su-yeon was different. Indifferent to the seniors, indifferent to the junior high school underclassmen, indifferent to her classmates. She went straight home after school and skipped evening hangouts.

Sometimes, those who’d considered themselves close friends would come looking for her. She’d acknowledge them, but that was it. She didn’t initiate contact. Rumors spread that she’d gone crazy, but she didn’t seem to care, unlike before, when she would’ve thrown a fit.

“Yeon-soo, you have Instagram. Why are you trying to do YouTube? Just post pictures like you used to, and you’ll get sponsorships. Easy money.”

“That’s…”

Ha Su-yeon looked at Chae-in with a bewildered expression. Chae-rin and Yi-na exchanged glances.

“What, are you trying to be a good girl now?”

“Did you get a boyfriend?”

“Something like that. Not a boyfriend, but…”

Kang Chae-rin and Chae-in stared at Da-in with shocked expressions. It was understandable. This was the same girl who used to say things like, “Subtle sexiness is key,” while obsessing over how to get more Instagram followers.

She hadn’t become a complete goody-two-shoes, but Su-yeon used to say things like, “It’s beneficial to be on good terms with the teachers,” and diligently attended classes. Now, she’d openly sleep during non-core subjects or doodle strange things in her notebook.

It was as if she’d become a different person.

‘How can I make money on YouTube?’

Myeong-jeon closed the book. He’d gleaned some basic information from it, but it was outdated. In this kind of media, being up-to-date was crucial, so he couldn’t rely on this alone.

‘Asking them would be pointless.’

Their advice would be limited to the perspective of average high school girls. That wasn’t helpful. He wouldn’t follow their advice anyway, so why bother asking? It would only hurt their feelings if he didn’t listen.

But… maybe he could get a general sense of direction?

“Let’s say I start a YouTube channel. How should I get subscribers?”

“Doesn’t the book tell you?”

“It only says things like, ‘Promote your channel on external communities,’ ‘Use subtitles,’ and ‘Engage with comments.’”

“Well, if we knew the answer, we’d be YouTubers ourselves.”

Myeong-jeon sighed. Da-in scratched her head, watching him, then spoke.

“Whether it’s YouTube or Instagram, there’s a cheat code for girls like you, Su-yeon.”

“What is it?”

“For example…”

Da-in took out her phone and showed him a video. Some random vlog. Top student in the school does this. High school dropout does that. Summer vacation routine. Titles no one would be interested in.

“Pretty girls can just show their faces and that’s it. Then they just ramble on about whatever, and foreigners, guys, and little kids will flock to the comments: ‘You’re so pretty!’ It’s a cheat code only a select few can use.”

Da-in showed another video to the bewildered Su-yeon. A girl playing the piano. She was good, but the real focus of the video…

“Show some cleavage.”

Su-yeon’s face flushed as she watched the video. The way she furrowed her brows showed she was definitely different from before the accident.

“You want me to do that?”

“Not necessarily. But like you used to do on Instagram, being pretty and sexy is always a winner. Blessed girls like you should use their looks to their advantage.”

Soo-hyun and Chae-rin nodded in agreement with Da-in.

“You were so good at it before, why stop now?”

“Honestly, it’s a crime not to use a body like that.”

Listening to them, Myeong-jeon regretted asking.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back. How was school?”

“It was… something.”

His ‘mother’ was home when he arrived. He greeted her and put down his bag. Wasn’t she supposed to be at work? He remembered having breakfast with her this morning.

“It’s the company’s anniversary today, so I got off early. Didn’t I tell you yesterday?”

Lee Hye-in said, sounding slightly hurt. Did she? Myeong-jeon didn’t remember, but it didn’t matter.

He nodded and was about to go practice his guitar when his ‘mother’ stopped him.

“Honey, let’s go shopping.”

“Huh?”

“Since I got off early, I want to buy you something. Okay?”

“I could’ve finished practicing by now…”

Hye-in chuckled at Su-yeon’s grumbling. The fact that Su-yeon was still following her, despite complaining, was endearing.

When Su-yeon was in elementary school, or maybe early middle school, they used to go shopping together often. Buying clothes, eating out… they spent a lot of time together.

But at some point, they’d stopped.

‘But it’s finally back to normal.’

These days, Su-yeon seemed to have lost interest in going out, preferring to stay in her room and play guitar. But it was better than before, when she’d yell, “Go by yourself!” or just disappear altogether.

At least she came out now, and even though she grumbled, she was still following her. Hye-in recalled a time years ago when Su-yeon had asked to go to the bathroom and then run away. She’d almost filed a missing person report. Compared to that, this was bliss.

But Myeong-jeon, on the other hand, was suffering.

‘How long can shopping possibly take?’

He thought they’d be done in thirty minutes. He’d come along to spend some time with his ‘mother.’ But they’d spent thirty minutes in a single store.

This would look good on you, try it on, I like this one on me, on and off, let me look around again… This repeated at least three times in each store. After all that, they only bought three outfits for him and one for Lee Hye-in.

‘I’ve heard that women take a long time shopping…’

Even the girlfriends he’d had in his previous life weren’t this thorough. Had they been considerate of him because he was a man? He didn’t know.

“Are you bored?”

“…Yes.”

“Hehehe, I knew it.”

His ‘mother’ pinched his cheeks. As Myeong-jeon wondered, ‘Why do women like pinching cheeks so much…?’ Lee Hye-in led him to the electronics section of the department store.

“You’re playing guitar these days, right?”

“Yes.”

“So I wanted to get you a present. An… amp? But you seem to have one already. So I asked the staff here what musicians need.”

Hye-in walked briskly in one direction, her heels clicking on the floor.

“They said all you need these days is a computer. But you don’t have one. So, as a get-well present, I decided to buy you a computer.”

Hye-in picked up a laptop with a bitten apple logo. A high-end model, over two million won, more than capable of handling music and video production.

“How about this color?”

His ‘mother’ asked, smiling confidently, certain that her gift would be a hit.

Looking at her smile, Myeong-jeon felt a pang of sympathy.

‘What kind of life did this girl have…?’

Myeong-jeon hadn’t been a particularly filial son. Quite the opposite, in fact. How could someone who ran away from the family business to pursue a music career be considered filial?

But he’d considered it self-defense. What could he do against a father who threatened him with violence for refusing to take over the family business? He just ran away and occasionally sent updates to let them know he was alive.

He’d done his duty as a son, though, he thought. Once his income stabilized, he visited them once a month and often sent them on trips. He even hired caregivers for them before they passed away. He hadn’t followed their wishes, but he’d made sure they were comfortable and could do whatever they wanted.

Still, he sometimes felt guilty for leaving them. Even at his age. They must have loved him very much to go to such lengths.

But what about this girl?

He didn’t know her circumstances. There must have been a reason. Teenage years were a time of emotional turmoil.

But was it necessary to push her mother, who’d already lost her husband and had little time to care for her daughter, to this extent? Was she really that self-centered?

He couldn’t ask the deceased ‘Ha Su-yeon.’ All that remained was him. Meaning, it was up to him to decide how to act.

Seeing Su-yeon suddenly fall silent, Hye-in’s heart sank.

What was wrong? Did Su-yeon not want her to be nice to her? Was she suddenly rejecting her attempts to be a mother? Or was it something else? Had she done something to upset her?

Her anxiety was relieved by Su-yeon’s next action.

Hesitantly, almost shyly, Su-yeon hugged her.

“Um… th-thank you… so much.”

Tears welled up in Hye-in’s eyes. She didn’t know what had caused this change of heart. Maybe Su-yeon was just grateful for the gift. Maybe it was calculated.

But at this moment, Hye-in didn’t care. What did it matter? Her daughter, her child, had reached out to her. That was all that mattered.

“Of course.”

Hye-in hugged her back. Su-yeon’s slightly trembling body was much bigger than she remembered.

‘When did she grow up so much…?’

Had it been so long since she’d hugged her that she hadn’t noticed her growth? It was sad, but it didn’t matter. The past was irrelevant. The present was what mattered.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

Still embraced, Su-yeon suddenly spoke.

“S-Since you’re buying me things… could you… buy me a few more things? I need a lot of stuff…”

“Just tell me. Don’t you know your mother? I have plenty of money. You can have anything you want. Don’t worry.”

She could give her daughter anything she desired.