Something About Ye-Jin

Just Before Present Time: How To Be A Mom In A Hundred Easy Steps

Gong Hyo-Jin threw open the front door of her imo's house and rushed forward to embrace the woman standing on the porch with three young children.

"I'm so glad you came, Ye-Jin-ah!" Gong Hyo-Jin gushed excitedly as she led Ye-Jin and her three munchkins deeper into the house.

It had been a month since the two women met, and Gong Hyo-Jin had been relentless in making herself indispensable in Ye-Jin's social life.

Most of the other mothers that Hyo-Jin knew were acquaintances from her son's school and apart from having kids that attend the same classes, she didn't have much in common with them.

She'd complained to Ye-Jin that the women acted like show dogs to one another, competing on who had the latest designer bags or shoes, and how much money and influence their husbands had. She had started to find herself being influenced by their materialistic mindset, but at the same time becoming mentally exhausted by the constant drive to be better than someone else.

"I need a dose of sanity, Ye-Jin-ssi. There's just something about you that tells me we're going to be great friends. No bullshit, we're keeping it real."

After a couple of coffee dates, Ye-Jin had finally confessed her situation, giving Hyo-Jin an out should she change her mind. She knew that not everyone would be so accepting of her circumstances.

"I can't even imagine how difficult it's been raising three kids all on your own. There are days that I want to abandon Pil-Gu on the side of the road after he throws one of his tantrums and check myself into a mental facility. The fact that you're still functional and dispensing advice to hoobaes on kindness, tells me everything I need to know about you."

Hyo-Jin had been insanely curious about the man who'd 'knocked her up', much like Nora was. Ye-Jin knew this curiosity would never go away, and so she'd deliberately been vague, sticking to the basics of 'We went to college together. It didn't work out.' She was tired of rehashing her sordid past to herself, never mind others. If she could, she'd take the real story to her grave. It was much like her relationship with Bin: Done, dead and buried.

The previous weekend, Ye-Jin had invited Hyo-Jin's family over for lunch so that she could meet her kids. Hyo-Jin's husband In-Sung and son Pil-Gu were at a Tae-Kwon-do tournament and so couldn't attend, but Hyo-Jin had enthusiastically shown up bearing all sorts of treats from Paris Baguette.

"It's been ages since I went to someone's house without layers of make-up on, and been able to actually eat!"

This was how Ye-Jin and the kids ended up returning the 'favor', with Hyo-Jin insisting that they come to her aunt's annual summer get-together which the older woman threw for family and friends every August.

Ye-Jin had been very reluctant, not knowing the host, but Hyo-Jin assured Ye-Jin that her elderly aunt Velma was no prude. "She married rich. She can be as outrageous as she wants, and people will still suck up to her."

The thing that persuaded her was the mention of an inflatable ball pool. "It's in the shape of a dinosaur. She has it brought in for the younger guests," Hyo-Jin had said.

Seo-Jin and Min-Jung were in their dinosaur-crazy phase. Both kids had kept chanting "Dino-so! Dino-so!" with Hyo-Jin playfully joining in until Ye-Jin had relented.

Thanks to Hyo-Jin's insistence, Ye-Jin had spent the entire week fielding questions about the 'dino-so pool' from the twins and if they could go see it that very minute. Concepts of time were still nebulous to the three year olds.

Now, as they walked through the marbled hallway of Hyo-Jin's imo's home - its walls peppered in what probably were enormously expensive pieces of art - the twins were conspicuously quiet, their mantra of the week quieted by the imposing feel of the mansion.