Page 53 of Perfect Happiness

This situation wasn’t unfamiliar to Jiyoo. Everything was the same as when they picked up Father. The only difference was that Jiyoo had no idea where they were going right now. There were signs on the highway, but all of them were places she had never heard of before.

It had been snowing since yesterday. At first it was just a light dusting of snow, but then at some point, it turned into a blizzard.

They turned onto a two-lane road that barely had any cars.

Mother then took a sharp right after a bus stop.

Then like magic, a familiar sight appeared before them.

Although everything was covered in snow, Jiyoo knew where they were.

Mother wasn’t taking Jiyoo to the orphanage.

They were going to the cabin in the countryside.

Jiyoo thought about why she hadn’t recognized anything up to this point. Perhaps it was because they had come from Cheongyeon. The day they picked up her father, they had come from Incheon. Whatever the reason, Jiyoo felt both relieved and excited. It seemed like Mother was going to forgive her.

The abandoned house that they always drove past on their way to the cabin appeared in the distance.

The blizzard had blown away the plastic covering to the greenhouse, leaving nothing but its metal frame.

Behind it was a parked car. As far as Jiyoo could remember, there had never been a car parked at the abandoned house.

But because the car was buried in a foot of snow, Jiyoo could only make out the silhouette of the vehicle.

It looked both like a small truck or a jeep, like the kind Auntie drove.

Once they rounded the corner, the roof of the cabin appeared. Mother parked the car outside the front gate.

“We’re here.”

“Where are we?” Stepfather asked as he unbuckled his seat belt.

“My grandmother’s house. I’ve told you about it before. I inherited it after she passed away.”

After getting out of the car, Mother opened the gate with a key from her bag. As she did this, Stepfather took out the things from the trunk. There was a shopping bag, the travel bag, and Jiyoo’s suitcase. Jiyoo also got out of the car last.

It looked like it had been snowing all day.

As soon as she stepped onto the road, she was up to her ankles in snow.

The pine forest, the wetlands, the cabin roof, the vines on the wall, the front yard—everything was caked in white.

Mother walked ahead toward the front door.

Jiyoo dragged her suitcase through the snow as she chased after Mother.

Stepfather came in last, carrying the shopping bag and travel bag.

All the while, he was glancing around with a doubtful look on his face.

When Mother opened the door, a smell greeted them like an eager puppy. Jiyoo was used to this smell. It was the smell of duck feed.

“What’s that smell?” he asked as he stood at the doorway and glanced around.

“It’s the smell of an abandoned home.”

Mother put her bag on the kitchen table and turned on the overhead fan. She also pulled out a lighter from the drawer and lit the scented candle lying on the table.

“It gets like this if the doors have been shut for too long. It will pass after a while. Don’t worry.”

Aha . . . Stepfather mouthed as he took off his shoes and stepped inside.

“Should I put the groceries in the fridge?”

“Just put them on the kitchen counter. I’ll put them away myself.”

Mother opened the door to the living room and lit the scented candle that was lying on the table next to the sofa.

She then opened the door to the master bedroom and disappeared inside.

Stepfather went into the kitchen and put the groceries down—not on the kitchen counter like Mother told him to, but on the kitchen table.

As he did this, his eyes followed Mother into the master bedroom.

He looked dazed, like someone under a spell.

“Mother, I’m going to put my bag upstairs.” Jiyoo shouted out to Mother.

“Take off your coat and hang it up before you come downstairs,” Mother replied from the master bedroom.

Dragging her suitcase along, Jiyoo started for the stairs.

But just as she reached the foot of the stairs, she heard a loud thud from above.

This was accompanied by what sounded to Jiyoo like the call of a loon.

Jiyoo looked up at the ceiling before turning to look at Stepfather.

He was also staring up at the ceiling. Before long, Mother was standing at the door to the living room.

“What’s that sound?” Stepfather muttered to himself.

“The call of a loon—” Jiyoo replied as if muttering to herself.

“It’s the roof,” Mother said, correcting Jiyoo.

But just as she was finishing saying this, another thud came from above. And then another howling, even louder and longer than the first time. But this time, it didn’t sound like a loon.

“That doesn’t sound like a creaky roof to me. Should I go check it out?” Stepfather asked as he looked at Mother.

“There’s nothing to check out. You don’t know this house like I do. It always makes strange sounds when the wind blows. Old houses always do that.”

Jiyoo thought this was strange. The roof had never creaked like that before. She had stayed here during windstorms. On those days, the only sound the house made was the rattling of windows. The howling at first sounded just like the loon from her dream, the one crying in the attic.

“Jiyoo—” It was Mother. “Do you want to show Father around? You can go to the Half Moon Marsh.”

“Right now?” Jiyoo asked without thinking. Mother’s suggestion surprised her almost as much as the sound coming from upstairs. Why would Mother want her to go to the wetlands when it was snowing so hard? And hadn’t she told her just a second ago to go upstairs and put away her coat?

Mother pointed to the front door with her chin, as if to say, Hurry up . Jiyoo suddenly remembered that Mother had suggested the exact same thing when Father came to the cabin. Jiyoo couldn’t help herself from asking the same question she had asked then.

“What about you, Mother?”

Mother gave her the same answer.

“Mother is going to prepare dinner. And clean. You spend some time with your father.”

“What about my bag? Shouldn’t I put it upstairs first?”

But it was the roof and not Mother who answered Jiyoo. There were two successive thuds, the second one quieter than the first.

“This house is falling apart,” Stepfather muttered to himself.

Mother looked at Jiyoo. There was a menacing look in her eyes. She was scolding Jiyoo for not obeying her immediately.

“Just leave your bag. I’ll take it up for you.”

Jiyoo put her suitcase down and headed for the front door.

“Follow me,” she said to Stepfather. But he didn’t budge. He was clearly distracted by the sound coming from the attic.

“Eun-ho, don’t keep Jiyoo waiting.”

At this, Stepfather reluctantly left the kitchen.

“Make sure you’re back before dark!”

Jiyoo went to the shed and changed into her boots. She hesitated for a moment before handing Stepfather the pair of men’s boots. After receiving them from her, he stared down at them for a while. He looked upset. Jiyoo thought it best if she didn’t mention they had belonged to Father.

The sky was becoming prematurely dark as black clouds were blocking out the sun. The usual sound of loon calls and birds rustling in the reeds was absent. The only thing they could hear was icy wind whipping through the wetlands.

“Follow behind me.”

Jiyoo stepped onto the path. It looked like the wetlands had received much more snow than the cabin had. Falling snowflakes obscured Jiyoo’s vision, making it hard to see the path. The heavy snow had also flattened all the reeds, removing the landmarks on which Jiyoo relied.

“I thought you said this was a marsh,” Stepfather said as he looked at their surroundings. “All I see is snow.” He seemed nervous.

“There are lots of reeds. But it’s snowing. So, you can’t see them.”

Jiyoo used the difference in ground elevation to make out the path. She couldn’t walk fast because of the thick snow, but at least the ground wasn’t slippery. Every step filled the air with the sound of crunching snow.

“You must come here often. I can’t see anything,” Stepfather said.

Jiyoo decided to use an answer that she used before: “That’s because this is Mother’s home.”

“Just because this is your mother’s cabin doesn’t automatically mean you can find your way like this so easily. You must have walked this path dozens of times before. Jiyoo, did you come here last time?”

Jiyoo knew immediately what Stepfather meant when he said last time . It was the same question he asked her this morning. Jiyoo couldn’t answer this.

“I know you were here with your father.”

Jiyoo stopped walking. Despite the cold wind, Jiyoo’s face was burning.

This happened every time she had to lie.

Stepfather had known the answer when he asked her the same question this morning.

But then why had he asked it? And why hadn’t he scolded her for lying to him?

Stepfather stopped walking, too, and looked down at Jiyoo.

“I’m not mad at you. I’m not trying to get you in trouble.”

“I—”

“It’s not your fault. I blame the person who made you lie.”

Jiyoo instinctively came to Mother’s defense.

“No. Mother didn’t tell me to lie. It’s just that I—”

Jiyoo stopped mid-sentence. She had the feeling she had just made a mistake. She made eye contact with Stepfather and shook her head. The look on his face confused her. All at once, he looked like he was mad, like he pitied her, and like he had something to say.

“I guess I’m putting you in a difficult position.” He pursed his lips. “Let’s just keep this between the two of us and never talk about it again. How about that?”