Chapter 30

“Hmm hmm~”

I was humming a tune while shopping at the market. I was mainly buying ingredients that Ha-yeon liked. Of course, they were also things I liked. For some reason, Ha-yeon and I had almost identical tastes. Whenever I mentioned something I liked, Ha-yeon would say she liked it too.

There was a sale going on, and after buying this and that, my shopping basket was soon full. I finished paying and left the store. The sun was shining brightly. Now that spring had arrived, even when the wind blew, it wasn’t cold at all.

It was the perfect weather to go out and play, lasting only about 2-3 months in Korea. The temperature was comfortably cool, almost like Europe. I think this kind of weather is called Mediterranean climate. I might be wrong since I just picked it up somewhere.

Ring ring ring-

Just then, my phone rang. I picked it up. The people who usually called me were limited—my boss, my sister, or Ha-yeon, who had just bought a new phone. That was it. Of course, I should blame my pitiful social life, but I didn’t have time to meet anyone else besides Ha-yeon.

Ha-yeon was still in kindergarten. Even coming to the market now was pushing it. I heard that in places like America, leaving a child alone at home could get you charged with child abuse. So, I was trying to finish my shopping quickly and get back home.

“Hmm…?”

But it was an unfamiliar number. I answered the call.

“Hello?”

[Ah, hello. Is this Kim Ha-yul?]

“Yes, this is Kim Ha-yul.”

[This is xx Card. We’ve received a report of fraudulent activity on your credit card. Do you have a moment?]

“Frau… fraudulent activity…?”

I couldn’t help but be shocked. I had gotten a credit card, but fraudulent activity? I had never done anything like that. I was a law-abiding citizen who didn’t even jaywalk. I always made sure to set a good example for Ha-yeon by strictly following the law.

But hearing that my card had been used fraudulently made my brain freeze. I couldn’t think straight. My voice trembled as I spoke.

“I… I’ve never done anything like fraudulent activity. Please don’t report me to the police.”

[Ah, please calm down, ma’am. Just because there’s a report of fraudulent activity doesn’t mean we’ll report you to the police.]

“R… really?”

[However, since the fraudulent activity has been confirmed, we’ll need you to deposit money into a separate account. I’ll give you the account number.]

“Ah…”

I hurriedly ran home. I couldn’t memorize the account number on my own. I needed to write it down on paper. That would make it easier to send the money.

“Just a moment! I’m almost home. I’m not very smart, so I need to write the account number down on paper!”

I said this as I opened the door. I put the shopping basket down and quickly looked around. There was a notebook Ha-yeon had left for her kindergarten homework. I opened it and slowly wrote down the account number the person on the phone was giving me.

By the way, 2 million won for fraudulent activity? Did I really spend that much…?

Just as I was feeling something was off, Ha-yeon came out of her room.

“Mommyyy… Did you run here?”

“Yeah, Ha-yeon…”

I looked at Ha-yeon with trembling hands. It was a bit of a sensitive issue to discuss with her. But Ha-yeon seemed to notice something was off with me as I was on the phone. She came closer and asked.

“Mommy! Who are you talking to?”

“Uh… it’s a bit hard to explain…”

“Huh? Is it a guy?”

“No… they said my credit card was used fraudulently…”

I briefly explained to Ha-yeon. I had just left the market, and the card company was asking me to deposit money due to fraudulent activity. Hearing this, Ha-yeon was shocked and said.

“Mommy! You didn’t send any money, did you?”

“Not yet…”

Ha-yeon came closer and practically snatched the phone from me. Then she spoke into the phone.

“Stop scamming people, you scammer uncle!”

Ha-yeon shouted and then hung up the phone. I was stunned by her actions. I was supposed to send money due to the fraudulent activity, but she just hung up…

But Ha-yeon looked at me and said.

“Mommy, this is voice phishing.”

“Voice phishing?”

“Yeah. I learned about it in kindergarten. They say that anyone asking for money over the phone like this is definitely a scam.”

“Really…?”

I couldn’t believe people would do such bad things. Now that I thought about it, I had heard something like this before. Scammers trick innocent people into sending money. I sighed in relief. If it weren’t for Ha-yeon, I might have sent my hard-earned money to a scammer.

“Mommy, let me explain…!”

Ha-yeon stuck close to me and explained about voice phishing. I listened carefully. I couldn’t afford to fall for a scam.

—

Ha-yeon hadn’t been in a good mood lately. There were several reasons for her bad mood, but if you had to pick the most common one, it was related to her mom. Simply put, if you asked why Ha-yeon seemed upset, nine out of ten times, it was because of her mom. Ha-yeon couldn’t live without her mom.

Ha-yeon had spent her whole life with her mom. There was no one who knew her mom better than Ha-yeon.

“Hmm…”

Ha-yeon turned on her phone and checked her mom’s location. The red dot representing her mom appeared on the map. She knew her mom was out, but she wasn’t at the café. Ha-yeon wanted to ask her mom directly, but her mom had her own private life too.

Since it was a holiday today, her mom hadn’t gone to the café, so Ha-yeon wondered where she had gone. It was a bit awkward to ask directly.

But soon, a terrible thought crossed Ha-yeon’s mind. The image of her pure, innocent mom being lured by some Casanova-like playboy. The thought of her mom being sweet-talked and taken advantage of. Ha-yeon’s unhappy imagination spiraled out of control like a chain reaction.

Eventually, the thought of her mom bringing home some strange man and remarrying came to mind—a horrifying scenario that should never happen. Ha-yeon decided to ask her mom today. She couldn’t let her mom fall for another scam like the voice phishing incident.

Ha-yeon really didn’t want her mom to bring home another man. She wanted to live with her mom forever, just the two of them. Even when her mom grew old and became a grandmother, Ha-yeon would stick by her side. She had made up her mind and even planned it out.

Her mom always told her to meet a good man and get married, but Ha-yeon had no intention of doing so. If she married a man, she’d have to live apart from her mom. At most, they’d see each other once or twice a year, like during the New Year.

Of course, she could visit her mom privately, but if she didn’t get married, she could stay with her mom forever. That was much better. The thought of marrying some stranger made her skin crawl.

Ha-yeon didn’t hate men, but she didn’t look at them favorably either. She knew how young men looked at Ha-yul when they walked down the street. Sometimes she felt like gouging their eyes out.

Her mom just laughed it off, seemingly unaware of the men’s gazes. But Ha-yeon could feel it so clearly, so maybe her mom was just really oblivious.

The red dot on the map was approaching the house. Ha-yeon found this very convenient. She could always know exactly when her mom was coming home. Ha-yeon stood by the front door, ready to give her mom a serious look. Under Ha-yeon’s intense gaze, her mom would probably fumble and spill everything.

“Happy birthday, Ha-yeon!”

But as soon as her mom opened the door, she handed Ha-yeon a cake and said.

Ha-yeon had forgotten, but today was her birthday. She realized her mom had been out preparing a surprise party. But she had to react properly.

“Mommyyyy! Thank youuuu!”

Ha-yeon clung tightly to her mom.