Her Voice / han sanghyuk (#14)

Episode 43

Sanghyuk

"Sanghyuk-ah, this is your mother. I have something important to say to you and I want you to stay calm down about it no matter what happens." I immediately wanted to hang up the call but I wanted to listen to her voice, it has been a very long time since I have heard that voice and I missed it a lot.

But I hated the fact that she didn't call me for a very long time as if she has forgotten that she has a son like me and only decided to call me now, and I have no idea why she is calling me at this moment. And she probably called my older sister because she told me earlier not to pick up calls from neither of them if they were to call me and she called me right after my older sister had left the room and it seemed to be a very urgent one.

"Sanghyuk? Are you there?" Her voice brings me back to reality and I have no idea what to do with this phone call, I don't know if I want to hang up her call because I missed talking to her so much and I probably won't be able to hear her voice for quite a while.

"Yes, I am listening. What do you want to tell me about?" I gulped down my saliva as I am feeling really nervous, this is my real conversation with my mom after a whole year of not talking to each other and I have almost forgotten how her voice even sounded like if she hadn't called me.

"Sanghyuk, I have to tell you something and I don't want you to freak out so much. It is about me and your father, we have ended things with each other and the divorce had been finalized for a week now."

If there is one thing that I couldn't be bothered about, it is about the relationship between my parents and I had no idea how they even wanted to marry each other in the first place. They were both workaholics and they loved working more than anything, even after they have gotten married and given birth to me and DaIn Noona, they still worked a lot without having any breaks at all.

I have heard from my late grandmother that my mother went back to work a week after giving birth to me and she was still in confinement period but she didn't care at all, she only cared that her business would be in huge trouble if she wasn't there to take care of it. And my father didn't say a word about my mother's actions because he was busy working as well and only cared about the money that rolled into their bank accounts every single month.

I never had the urge to want to spend time with them ever since I was a child because they were never there for me and my grandmother said that they were that selfish for themselves that they don't think for others but themselves, that is why I wasn't sad when they decided to expand their business overseas a few years ago because I don't know the feeling of not being cared for by my parents in the first place.

They were there but not there at the same time, they still remembered to send me and my older sister birthday presents every single year but they were never there in person to celebrate my birthdays at all, my late grandmother was the one who celebrated our birthdays every single year after becoming our official guardian. But now she is gone and I would have to celebrate my birthdays with my older sister for the rest of my life and I don't feel lonely because my older sister vowed that she would be right by my side when I need them and I would be right by her side when she needs me, we only have each other now and we are our only family.

Well, that might have to change now that I have ended the call with my mother who is never there for me. She told me that they didn't love each other anymore and they decided to end things with each other after over 2 decades of marriage and they have also ended their partnership with each other and sold their business away because they are not together anymore and have split half of the shares each for themselves and came back to South Korea for good.

And because my late grandmother died not too long ago and we don't have a legal guardian to take care of me and my older sister, they have both decided to take one of them with them and we would never see each other again. My mother has decided to take me with her and we would stay in Seoul after she has purchased a luxurious apartment and my father wanted my older sister and they would live in Daejeon which is also my father's hometown.

It sounded like an excellent plan for the both of them and it is exactly like a business plan in the corporate world, they are treating me and DaIn Noona like pawns and I don't like that.

I didn't give her a definite answer and told her that I would think about it and she agreed and gave me a week to think over it, she would be in South Korea by the end of next week and I would have to make up my mind by then. But I won't go with her and be separated from my older sister, she has been there for me my whole life and I can't imagine my life without my older sister, losing my grandmother is painful enough and o don't want to happen to my older sister.

DaIn Noona came over in the evening after she was done with her work and she looked really tired, it was evident that she didn't sleep enough in order to work more shifts to feed the both of us. "How's your day? Was it bored being alone again for 4 days?" She asked me as she makes her way into the room with dinner in her hands.

"I picked up her call and I talked to her." She looked at me, her face looking really concerned as I told her that I picked up my mother's call even though she specifically told me not to. "I apologize for that in advance."

"So, do you want to do that?" She asked me with great caution. "I mean that it works out well for both of us, but we will be in different cities and we might not be able to see each other again after this. But we can meet up on our own and stay in contact with each other, it will still work."

"You wanted that?" I asked her. "Do you think that it is the best decision for both of us?"

"Honestly, I was hoping for them to break up with each other from the very start because they didn't love each other at all and they are best not being together. And they are still responsible to want to take care of us even though they are not together anymore, and we will both benefit from it as well." I immediately teared up and she hugged me tightly. "I know that it is hard for you but you have to learn how to live on your own someday, I will not be there with you all the time but I promise that I will be there for you when you need me, just give me a call and I will be available to listen to you. Even though I want to take care of you alone but I don't have the financial means to do it and you staying with Omma is the best decision, for now, it doesn't mean that I don't care for you anymore but I just don't have the ability to take care of you alone."

She calmed me down and I was eating the dinner that she bought me. "Promise me that you will call me every now and then and meet me often, and marry Jooeun so that she will be my sister-in-law that I have always wanted."