Tidal Wave ✔️

02

On top of the dining table, a big pot of beef stew was served, alongside with side dishes such as salad and bread. Mark laughed as his father told them about what happened that day. One of his employee came late while still wearing shorts and slippers. He wasn't fully awake, and realized this when Mark's father pointed it out.

"Poor Mr. Han. I sent him back to have a day off. He always come to the office, arriving early in the morning before anyone else does. And he had done it for the last five years!" Mr. Lee chuckled, "He deserves a day off."

"I deserve a day off too, from doing house chores every day!" Mrs. Lee joked, which his husband laughed at.

"You said you don't want to hire a maid. Tell you what, I'll find one so you don't have to deal with it."

"I am capable of it. If only Mark here helps me out once in a while."

Both of Mr. and Mrs. Lee's gazes landed on Mark, which held out a peace sign with his hand. He knew his mother didn't mean it.

"Where did you go today, Mark?" His father asked, then took a spoonful of stew into his mouth.

"I took a train to Kkachisan. Arrived there at eight in the morning, strolled around the neighborhood. Stopped by a café and ordered a plate of spaghetti for lunch. At twelve, I went back to Gangnam. Arrived here at one in the afternoon."

"Why Kkachisan, though? You can go to my office if you want." His father said. Sure the neighborhood where his father worked was nice, it had a lot of restaurants and cafés around. But Mark would have to switch trains to get there, and he didn't want to do that.

"I don't know. I just want to. Next week, I'll probably go to your office."

"Great! Then, we can have lunch together."

Dinner ended after his father finished his third plate of stew. Mark helped his mother brought the dishes to the kitchen sink, and washed them. His mother stood next to him, taking over the wet plates and eating utensils to dry with a cloth.

His father had gone upstairs to take a bath, leaving Mark and his mother. They did the dishes without talking to each other. It wasn't an awkward situation, in fact, it was a comfortable silence. Both of Mark and his mother weren't talkative like Mr. Lee.

When Mark almost finished all the dishes, he remembered about the guy he met at the train. Mark still couldn't recall anything, despite what the guy said.

"I was there. That's what you need to know now."

There? There where?

It's what he needed to know now? Now? Then what would come next?

Mark couldn't ask his mother who the guy was. She would probably banned Mark from going to places with public transportation.

"Ma?" Mark asked when he finished the last plate.

"Yes, dear?" Mrs. Lee asked with a smile on her face, still drying the last plate with a cloth.

Mark contemplated his decision before finally asked.

"What happened before I was seven?"

There it goes. His mother didn't react much. She put the plate away and leaned against the kitchen counter. She looked up to the ceiling and cleared her throat.

"It's nothing, Mark." She smiled. "Nothing worth to remember. Just like anybody else did when they were toddlers. Learned to walk, fell, and got back up again."

Mark was starting to doubt her words. It's what she always said whenever Mark brought up his past. If there wasn't anything worth to remember, then why would that guy talked to him?