Page 52 of Perfect Happiness

The entire walk up the stairs, Jiyoo could feel Stepfather’s gaze. It was the kind of gaze that made her want to look back. She felt worried and confused. Why was Stepfather asking her and not Mother? What was he going to say to her before stopping? And had she given him the wrong answer?

The morning passed slowly. Jiyoo had nothing to do but stare out the window anxiously.

But because this room didn’t have a large window ledge like the cabin in the country, she had to sit on top of the desk to watch the occasional car pass by.

And each time this happened, her heart would start racing with anticipation.

But after a while, she wished that Mother wouldn’t come home until later that night.

Perhaps this would all be forgotten if she was asleep when Mother came home.

If that happened, perhaps Mother would forget about punishing Jiyoo.

But Jiyoo knew that wasn’t going to happen.

Mother would never forget what Jiyoo did.

Jiyoo was going to receive her punishment one way or another.

In some ways, she just wanted to get it over with.

If Mother took Jiyoo to the orphanage, Jiyoo could at least call Auntie Jane to come pick her up—assuming Auntie turned her phone on.

At some point, Jiyoo’s vision started to go fuzzy.

She could even feel her head nodding slightly in drowsiness.

Jiyoo opened her eyes suddenly when she heard a sound coming from beneath her window.

She quickly lifted her head and looked out the window.

Mother’s car was parked in front of the garage, and the door to the garage was opening. The moment had arrived.

Jiyoo quickly got down from the desk. But once she was down, she felt lost because she didn’t know what to do, even though she had been thinking about this moment all day.

Should she pretend to be taking a nap? Should she pretend to be reading a book?

Should she go downstairs and welcome Mother home?

And what should she do about Dad Puppet?

Mother already knew about him, and she hadn’t taken him away again.

Even so, Jiyoo didn’t have the courage to leave him in plain sight.

Dad Puppet eventually went under Jiyoo’s pillow.

She sat at her desk and took out Frozen II from the bookshelf.

Although she knew Mother wouldn’t pity Jiyoo just because she was reading, she thought it might make her less angry if she found Jiyoo reading.

As Jiyoo did this, her ears were turned outward.

Jiyoo could hear Mother’s movements as vividly as though she could see her.

Mother got out of the car, entered the passcode on the padlock on the front door, crossed the living room, and entered a room.

Jiyoo let out the breath that she had been holding in.

Her shoulders, which had been up to her shoulders, dropped with a sigh.

Now she needed to think. What would she say when she saw Mother?

After all, it was only a matter of time until Mother came upstairs.

But Jiyoo’s intuition had lied to her. It was Stepfather, not Mother, who came up to see her. Jiyoo got up from her chair.

“Your mother wants you to come down, dressed to go.”

Jiyoo didn’t ask why. She knew the answer. Mother was sending her to the orphanage.

“And she wants you to put your things in your suitcase. Only pack the things you need. Pajamas, underwear, socks.”

This time, however, Jiyoo was confused. If she was going to the orphanage, wouldn’t she need all her stuff?

“Do you need help?”

Jiyoo shook her head.

“I can do it.” Then for some reason, Jiyoo added something she really didn’t need to add: “I know how to do it. I’ve done it before.”

“But still, you have to bring the suitcase downstairs.”

Jiyoo shook her head. She wasn’t going to the playground; she was going to the orphanage. If she was going to be chased out of the house, she’d rather do it without Stepfather’s help.

“I’ll be down in a minute.”

Stepfather stared at Jiyoo with both hands inside his pockets.

Jiyoo dropped her eyes and looked at her toes.

It didn’t matter; Stepfather wasn’t going to be able to stop Mother.

And if he couldn’t stop Mother, he was of no use to Jiyoo.

Plus, Jiyoo needed space to think about what to take and what to leave behind.

“I’ll wait downstairs then.”

Finally, Stepfather left. Jiyoo stood vacantly in the middle of her room.

Now that she had her suitcase out, she couldn’t decide.

It both seemed like she needed to take everything, and that she needed to take nothing.

Jiyoo looked down at her name tag, which was stuck to the top of the suitcase.

She remembered what Auntie had told her about choices.

“When faced with a hard choice, just think about what’s most precious to you.”

Jiyoo chose Dad Puppet and Frozen II . At the very back of the book was the note with Auntie’s phone number, which Jiyoo had prepared in case she ever forgot. Jiyoo filled the rest of the suitcase with the things Mother told her to: pajamas, underwear, socks.

Mother and Stepfather were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the sofa. They were both dressed in thick jackets. On the floor beneath the coffee table was a small travel bag. Jiyoo was confused. Was Stepfather going to the orphanage, too?

“Did you pack underwear?” Mother asked as she got up from the sofa.

“Yes.”

“And your gloves and hat?”

Jiyoo showed Mother the gloves and hat that she had in her hand. Satisfied, Mother turned to Stepfather who grabbed the travel bag and stood up.

“Shall we?”

Outside, Mother got into the driver’s seat as Stepfather put the bags in the trunk. He buckled Jiyoo in and then got in the back with her.

“How far is it?” Stepfather asked as they left downtown Cheongyeon.

“About two hours. I think you’ll like it.”

Jiyoo couldn’t understand their whole conversation, but from what she could understand, it sounded like the place she was taking Jiyoo was two hours away.

Stepfather seemed to also think it was a good idea to take Jiyoo to the orphanage.

But was that really what he thought? Jiyoo glanced furtively at Stepfather, and he looked back at her.

He smiled at Jiyoo with his eyes. But Jiyoo was confused because the rest of the muscles of his face didn’t look like they were smiling.

“Let’s eat lunch in the car,” Mother said.

Mother parked the car in front of a building. There was a McDonald’s on the first floor.

“Honey, would you go in and buy us something?”

Mother wanted a shrimp burger and a coffee. Stepfather looked at Jiyoo.

“Jiyoo, want to go in with me?”

“Yes.”

Jiyoo was afraid of being alone with Mother in the car.

Stepfather got out of the car first and gave Jiyoo his hand.

In the past, Jiyoo would be afraid of what Mother would think, but not anymore.

Stepfather was Jiyoo’s last hope. If she begged him, he might be able to stop Mother from sending her to the orphanage.

“Jiyoo, you want a bulgogi burger with fries and a coke, right?” Stepfather asked when they got to the cashier.

“How did you know?”

Stepfather chuckled.

“Your aunt told me.”

Stepfather’s laugh immediately lightened the mood.

“You’re taking me to the orphanage, aren’t you?” Jiyoo asked cautiously.

Stepfather raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Because last night I made Mother angry—” Jiyoo added when she saw Stepfather’s reaction.

The smile of Stepfather’s face was slowly disappearing.

“No. We’re going on vacation. I think.”

Their number appeared on the order screen.

“Let’s talk about this later,” Stepfather said as he got up.

When they were back inside the car with the food, Stepfather’s cellphone started to ring inside his pocket. He took out his phone and checked the number. He looked like he was thinking about whether to answer. The phone continued to ring in a stubborn manner. Finally, Stepfather pressed accept.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

Jiyoo could hear a man’s voice. Jiyoo immediately turned to look up at the rearview mirror. She immediately made eye contact with Mother. Stepfather simply looked out the window without answering.

“I wanted to make sure you were—”

“Aha, Mr. Park—” Stepfather said, cutting off the man. “I didn’t recognize the number at first.”

Mother reached over and turned off the radio. But the man on the line wasn’t responding. Stepfather glanced up at the rearview mirror as he spoke:

“I don’t think that’ll work. I’m going somewhere with my wife and daughter right now.”

The man on the phone said something, but his voice was too quiet for Jiyoo to understand.

“Yes. I’ll call you back later.”

Stepfather hung up the phone. They passed under a sign that read “Wirye-dong, Hanam City” and entered the highway.

“Mr. Park? You mean the lawyer?” Mother asked. “What did he say?”

“He wanted to meet me at his office early tomorrow morning.”

“What about our promise?”

Stepfather’s eyes turned to the rearview mirror again.

“Did you hear me? I told him I couldn’t make it.”

“No, I was asking about the fact that you said you’d call him back later.” Before Stepfather could answer this, Mother continued. “Can’t you put your phone down for just one day?” Mother held up her cellphone. “I’ve turned mine off. The only thing I want to focus on is us.”

Stepfather took the hint faster than Father had. Mother didn’t have to ask him twice about turning it off. Mother extended her hand toward the back seat.

“Give it to me.”

Stepfather stared at Mother’s hand with a flustered look on his face.

“Why? I’ve turned it off.”

“Have you already forgotten? The promise we made this morning?” Mother paused before raising her voice slightly. “It’s just one day. This will be the last time.”

Stepfather eventually handed over his phone. Mother turned the radio back on. After that, no one said anything. Everyone simply ate their lunch in silence.