XOXO by Axie Oh

Author:Axie Oh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2021-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Two

On Sunday, I visit Halmeoni in the clinic and we watch a weekend drama with her roommates on the TV in the room. It’s already on episode seventy-eight of what my halmeoni tells me is a one-hundred-episode drama.

From what I gather from the other halmeoni and the drama itself, the story follows a young woman who, as a child, was lost at sea during a boating accident, only to be adopted by a fisherman. Turns out, she’s the actual daughter of a billionaire and heiress of a huge conglomerate in Seoul. But her identity was stolen by a woman who witnessed the accident and instated her own daughter in the young woman’s place, so she grew up the heiress. Meanwhile, the young woman is torn between the love of two men, a boy from her village who raised himself from nothing to become a fishing tycoon and the son of another chaebol family who was betrothed to her from birth. Also possibly her mother was murdered, and she might have a terminal illness?

After the episode is over, I pull out the food I’d bought from the bakery, a loaf of sourdough bread, thick, creamy butter, and blackberry jam.

“You’re so lucky, Eonni,” Halmeoni’s neighbor in the bed to her right says, “to have such a caring granddaughter.”

Her neighbor in the bed across the room shakes her head, clicking her tongue disapprovingly. “If only your daughter showed you as much affection.”

“No bad words about my Soojung,” Halmeoni chides her friend. “I’m proud of her and how hard she works.”

Mom was supposed to join Halmeoni and me today, but she’s been busy with a new case that her colleague back in the States forwarded to her, an immigration dispute concerning North Korea. Mom couldn’t resist, and I can’t exactly be upset she’s not here. She’s doing important work and I’m proud of her.

But it does suck not spending more time with her, like I thought I would. Still, she’ll come to the showcase at the end of the semester, where, hopefully, I’ll have a solo.

“You remind me so much of Soojung,” Halmeoni says. “She was always so independent. So sure of what she wanted in life. She knew as the daughter of a fish stall worker, the odds were stacked against her success, so she studied hard, worked part-time to earn money to pay for English classes, and finally got a scholarship to attend college in America, where she met your father and had you.” Halmeoni smiles, but there’s a sadness to her eyes. She’s always so cheerful that it catches me by surprise.

“I know she’s always been resentful that I sent her away . . .”

This must be the reason for Halmeoni and Mom’s strained relationship. But I think Halmeoni’s being too hard on herself. It’s Mom’s fault if she can’t see that her mother was only trying to give her the best life, by not holding her back.

“She’s like that heroine in the drama,” I say to make Halmeoni laugh. “At least the fish part.

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