“You two want to hold a small wedding, but your parents are opposed to it?” Daemyung asked as he dipped some dumplings into soy sauce.
“My mom is the only one opposed at the moment, and with that, dad is being neutral,” Haneul said.
“Why not just hold a big one like everyone else does? It’s not like you don’t have any money or don’t have many people to invite.”
He wasn’t putting them on a pedestal or anything. Han Maru and Han Haneul. These two were actors known by most of the population, so they could easily hold a grand wedding.
“I don’t want it to be crowded. It’s better in many ways to invite just the people who would congratulate us wholeheartedly.”
“That’s true, the wedding culture in our country is more like an exchange than an event. When my cousin got married, I was the one accepting congratulatory gift money at the front desk, and it felt really weird. There were many people who gave me an envelope and immediately asked for a meal ticket and then went straight to the restaurant without watching the wedding. They were mostly company coworkers or acquaintances of parents.”
Daemyung thought about his cousin’s wedding. People were flocking and the groom was dragged to the wedding venue after greeting various people with a smile.
During the meal after the wedding, the bride and the groom went around the tables giving their thanks, but because there were so many people, they didn’t even get to say a lot of things. The wedding really looked like it was quick just for the sake of it.
“I don’t want to conform to the schedule of the wedding venue, where you aren’t given a lot of time. That’s why I’m looking into venues that have much longer time periods or outside venues even if it takes some money, but mom says she doesn’t like it.”
Haneul sighed. Even she, who was good at handling most things, seemed to have trouble resolving the conflict between her and her mother.
Daemyung swallowed the dumpling before speaking,
“What are you going to do if you can’t persuade her until the end?”
“I have to persuade her somehow.”
“That’s some stubbornness. Maru, what are you planning to do?”
Maru looked at Haneul.
“I am going with whatever she’s going with. If she decides to fight, I’ll be supporting her until mother-in-law is convinced.”
“Marriage is such a difficult problem. Even if the couple getting married is good with it, things would become messy if their houses start objecting. But they aren’t opposed to your marriage as a whole, are they?”
“We got permission a long time ago. We’re planning to find a good date as soon as the wedding venue problem is solved.” Maru crossed his arms.
“What if they don’t give you permission? I mean, where do you think Haneul’s stubbornness came from? Haneul’s mother must be quite a stubborn person, too, isn’t she? If both of them won’t relent, I don’t think you’ll get an answer.”
Daemyung had seen a few people worried about their wedding at work. Things that seemed trivial at first ended up being major enough that some of them almost broke up as a result. Two different people, two different houses forming a union was just that difficult.
Marriage felt like something far in the distant future, but now that the two friends in front of him were getting married, Daemyung also had a renewed interest. It would be helpful later if he watched carefully how these two responded to it.
“There’s no negotiation. This is our marriage. I love mom and I respect her, but there are things you can’t yield even between parent and child,” Haneul said firmly.
Her words sounded like her resolve wouldn’t waver at all.
Haneul stood up and opened the fridge.
“There’s nothing to drink here.”
“I was meaning to buy some. I totally forgot about it.”
“I’ll go down and get something to drink. Black coffee for you sweetie, and Daemyug, yours is cappuccino, right?”
“With a lot of syrup.”
Haneul opened the door and left. Daemyung spoke after seeing the door close,
“I don’t think she’ll yield.”
“She wouldn’t be Haneul if she did.”
“What are you really going to do? I’m no marriage expert, but isn’t it you who’ll receive all the hate if things stay like this? You’ll be in for a bad time if your mother-in-law doesn’t like you before you even get married.”
My dear son-in-law, aren’t you going to persuade Haneul? — Daemyung said in a dramatic tone.
Maru smiled and spoke,
“That’s why I have to balance the tug of war well so that both Haneul and mother-in-law like me.”
“From what Haneul says, it looks like she’ll hold the wedding without her mother’s consent.”
“She won’t do that. She’s a perfectionist. She’ll think about resolving this problem perfectly to hold a harmonious wedding and won’t just push forward with things recklessly.”
“Someone said to me that there’s no wedding that goes well after buying a parent’s ire. I know it shouldn't always be correct, but it does sound plausible. They’re your parents after all, unless you plan on not seeing them for the rest of your life.”
“That’s why Haneul is concerned about it. If anyone else advised us to hold a grand wedding, she would’ve smashed her head against that person right on the spot. It’s because it’s her mother that she’s thinking of a way to resolve it.”
Daemyung split apart the remaining dumplings in half. He pushed one-half over to Maru’s side.
“What about you? Do you prefer a small wedding too?”
“I also want to hold a small one. Haneul and I have frighteningly similar preferences. No, it was practically inevitable that it became like that.”
He smiled deeply with some mysterious words. It was one of those inexplicable expressions that Maru showed despite being someone who was clear-cut most of the time.
Whenever it happened, Daemyung was curious about what the meaning behind that smile was and what the heck had happened, but he never questioned it. The reason was that first, he felt like he shouldn't ask, and second was that he felt like he wouldn’t understand even if he listened to the answer.
If there was an opportunity in the future, he might ask what that vague smile meant, but he felt like that moment wouldn’t come for a long time.
“So there’s no other way out of this than persuading her mother, right?”
“We know the reason for her opposition so it’s hard to bring it up. But still, we’ll have to talk to her slowly about it.”
Haneul came back. She, who sipped on some coffee without a word, suddenly stood up.
“We should clear this up as quickly as possible. Dragging things out doesn’t sit right with me.”
Haneul looked at Maru and gestured. Maru stood up after picking up their luggage.
“You’re leaving?”
“We should.”
Daemyung saw the two of them out of the office and to their cars. He watched as the car went into the distance before speaking,
“It’s not my turn to be worried about those two.”
He rubbed his rather lonely flank and turned around. Those two would do well, so there was no need to worry.
* * *
Maru exchanged gazes with his father-in-law. Father-in-law smiled bitterly and looked away. Where his eyes stopped was where his wife and his mother-in-law had entered the state of a cold war.
The two women were sitting at the dining table, face to face. In front of them were some water and some fruits. The slices of apples, which were prepared about 30 minutes ago, looked pitiful, with their flesh turning brown.
“When do you think that would end?”
“It would end once one side yields, but I don’t think it won’t happen, so it should take a pretty long time.”
“I have the same opinion. They are mother and daughter alright. Even their stubbornness is the same. Haneul looks like she has changed a lot, but her stubbornness hasn’t changed at all.”
“She really takes after mother-in-law.”
“You’ll have a hard time once you get married. Haneul, she’s no ordinary character either.”
“Whenever that happens, I’ll come over and ask for advice.”
“Hey, do you like fis.h.i.+ng?”
“You can consider me a master. I like fis.h.i.+ng in rivers and also in the sea. Oh, and I also like indoor fis.h.i.+ng where I can listen to the radio.”
“Haha, sounds like you’ll get along with me.”
“Since that’s the case, can’t you give some support fire?”
“For who?”
“Haneul.”
“If I do that, I’ll get nagged for life. Why don’t you side with your mother-in-law for once?”
“If I do that, Haneul will bring this up every single night for the rest of my life.”
“That’s true.”
Maru carefully spoke,
“Do you know the reason she’s opposed?”
“There should be multiple reasons. She’s really innocent and doesn’t have a lot of greed, but how many people in this world don’t like to boast? She must be looking forward to having her child hold a big wedding, getting congratulated by many people, and all that.”
“I’m sure she does.”
“And at our age, what else do we have to boast about? In the end, it comes down to our children. Also, if not for things like this, there aren’t many occasions where the whole family would gather. I can think of multiple reasons off the top of my head. But if I had to pick just one…”
With each start of a new life, many things had changed, and the lives of his in-laws had changed a lot as well. Maru listened to his father-in-law’s words.
While the men had a secret conversation, the women’s side was still at a stalemate.
Maru had a look at his mother-in-law’s complexion but then made eye contact with her. He slowly lowered his head. Even after having experienced all sorts of things, this was still too much for him.
“Sweetie, can you come over for a second?” Haneul called him.
Maru suppressed his smile and stood in front of the two people.
“We were wondering if we could listen to your opinion. How do you want to hold this wedding?” asked his mother-in-law.
His beating heart came to a halt for a moment. The fire was on him now. It was natural that she came to him for help after having failed to persuade her own daughter.
Maru looked at Haneul and his mother-in-law alternately before speaking. The story that his father-in-law told him felt like it could become a clue,
“Father-in-law has told me about you, ma’am. To be precise, when the two of you got married.”
His mother-in-law looked at his father-in-law. His father-in-law started coughing.
“Mom’s wedding?”
Haneul looked at her mother. She was really insightful and knowledgeable about many things, but she shouldn’t know what kind of life her mother had lived. After all, she hadn’t talked to her parents at all before her memories returned, and after that, she was very busy with all sorts of matters.
Maru closed his mouth and looked at his mother-in-law. The one who had some explaining to do was not him, but her. Having understood his intent, she spoke with a soft sigh,
“I’m sure I told you that I was raised alone under my grandmother. I had no parents and no relatives either. I have not resented my environment even once. But just once, I felt sad at my wedding. For the bride’s side, I barely managed to contact a few coworkers and a few of my friends from high school that I stayed in touch with. That was it. On the other hand, your dad’s side had many people. When we all took a photo together, it was so empty behind me. That’s why some people from your dad’s side came over and filled the gaps. That’s how the wedding photo in the bedroom came to be.”
His mother-in-law continued with a softer face,
“I know that it’s nothing to be sad about, but it remains in my memory to this day. That’s why I thought that I would have all the people in the world stand behind my daughter when she gets married. So that she doesn’t feel sad or lonely.”
Haneul, who was listening to those words, frowned before speaking,
“Mom, I don’t need anyone else I know standing behind me. I just need you by my side. Other people? I don’t need them. You’re the most important to me.”
Mother-in-law sighed softly before smiling.
“You might regret this later, thinking that you held a small wedding while everyone else had big ones.”
“Mom, just because it’s called a small wedding doesn’t mean that it’ll look empty. I’m going to spend tons of money. Should I get some of your favorite fireworks in too? I’m good as long as mom’s good.”
“What are you going to do about the adults who will be left disappointed? I’m sure they’ll be disappointed if they find out they can’t go to your wedding after having looked after you, you know?”
“I will be the one to handle that. I’ll visit each one of them after the wedding and greet them. If there’s anyone who reprimands me for being rude, then I just have to not see them for life.”
“Who do you take after to be like that?”
“Who else? It’s you, mom.”
No parent can win against a child, and eventually, mother-in-law declared ‘do what you want.’
His mother-in-law looked at him.
“To be honest with you, I was going to hold on if you didn’t come. But she brought you here and made things uncomfortable, so how could I hold on?”
“Haneul will do a lot better in the future. You lost to her wishes once, so if she’s smart, she’ll treat you better.”
“That’s right, you’re on my side, aren’t you, Mr. Han?”
“Eh? Yes, well. I’m on your side, and her side.”
Maru smiled. It seemed that the tug of war had ended successfully, with neither side losing.