I washed up quickly and headed to the dining room. The smell of galbi-jjim—braised short ribs—was rich and sweet, filling the entire downstairs.
The table was set. Ji-hoon was missing, likely still at the office or saving the legal world one case at a time. Ha-neul was already seated, scrolling on her phone with one hand and holding her chopsticks with the other.
"Sit, sit!" Mrs. Lee beamed, placing a steaming bowl of rice in front of me. "You must be hungry after exercising."
"Thank you, Eomeonim," I said, picking up my spoon.
I took a bite. It was heaven. But my mind was still on what Min-ah had told me earlier. I looked at Mrs. Lee. She was wearing a comfortable lounge set, looking like a normal mom, not the "Nation's Mouthpiece."
"Um, Eomeonim?" I ventured.
"Yes, San-gun?"
"Min-ah... my friend... she told me today. About your job. That you're... famous?"
Mrs. Lee paused, her spoon halfway to her mouth. She looked at Mr. Lee, and then they both burst out laughing.
"Aigoo!" Mrs. Lee wiped a tear from her eye. "You really didn't know? I thought you were just being polite!"
"I... I just thought you worked at a station," I admitted sheepishly. "I didn't know you were the anchor."
"San-gun," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Do you remember last Tuesday? When I wasn't home for dinner? And Thursday morning when I left at 4 AM?"
"Yes?"
"Those were emergency reportages! Breaking news! I was on every screen in the country, and you were just here eating toast!" She laughed again, looking delighted rather than offended. "It's refreshing, actually. To have someone in the house who doesn't care about the ratings."
She placed a tender piece of beef on my rice.
"You know," she said, her voice turning softer. "We were worried about taking a student. We didn't choose you specifically, you know. The agency matched us randomly. It was just... fate."
"Fate?" I repeated.
"Yes. Fate that you picked Kirin. Fate that you ended up in our district. We are so lucky that out of all the students, we got such a good, kind boy."
I looked down at my rice.
Fate.
Well, partially. She didn't know the truth. She didn't know that I had scoured the internet for days, looking for the specific school with the crescent moon and willow tree crest because a girl named LunarRabbit_04 had told me about it in a Minecraft chat room years ago.
I hadn't picked this neighborhood randomly. I had followed a pixelated trail of breadcrumbs to find Min-seo.
"Yes," I lied softly, a lump forming in my throat. "It was... very fortunate."
"Speaking of fortunate," Mr. Lee interjected, pouring himself a glass of water. "I was thinking, San. You like to exercise. The park is nice, but winter is coming. Ji-hoon goes to a gym in Gangnam. A very nice one. If you want, I can get you a guest pass to go with him."
"Oh," I said, surprised. "That would be... great. I'll think about it. Thank you, Abeoji."
"And school?" Mr. Lee asked, his tone shifting to paternal concern. "How are the grades? The mid-terms are coming up."
"Better," I said honestly. "My ranking improved. My Korean is getting faster. And Ha-neul... helps. Sometimes."
I glanced at Ha-neul. She didn't look up from her phone, but she didn't deny it either.
"Don't worry too much about the rank," Mrs. Lee said firmly. "Kirin is competitive. The parents... they are crazy. But you are not here to stress yourself to death."
"That's right," Mr. Lee nodded. "We know you are trying. You don't have to be number one. As long as you are healthy and happy, we will support you. We are your family here."
We are your family here.
I stopped chewing.
The warmth of the galbi-jjim, the kindness in Mr. Lee's eyes, the motherly fussing of Mrs. Lee... it all hit me at once.
It had been more than week of chaos. Of fighting for my place. Of missing my mom and dad in Cherkasy. And here were these strangers, treating me like their own son.
A tear fell.
It splashed right into my rice bowl.
"San?" Mrs. Lee asked, concerned.
I tried to swallow, but a sob escaped instead. I put my hand over my mouth, my shoulders shaking.
"I'm... I'm sorry," I choked out, tears streaming down my face now. "It's just... thank you. Thank you so much."
"Oh, my baby!" Mrs. Lee cried out.
She was out of her chair in a second. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around my head, pulling me into her chest. She smelled like expensive perfume and safety.
"Min-hyuk! Don't just sit there!" she scolded.
Mr. Lee got up, awkward but warm, and patted my back heavily. "It's okay, son. It's okay."
I was sobbing openly now, the stress melting away.
"Ha-neul!" Mrs. Lee commanded. "Group hug! Now!"
"Mom, I'm eating—"
"NOW!"
I felt a reluctant shuffling, and then a third presence joined the huddle.
I opened my teary eyes.
I saw Ha-neul. She had been forcibly pulled into the hug by Mrs. Lee. Her face was smushed against my shoulder, her glasses askew, and she looked like a cat that was currently plotting the murder of everyone in the room.
"I can't... breathe," Ha-neul muffled into my shirt.
I let out a wet, shaky laugh.
"This is nice," Mrs. Lee sighed, squeezing us all tighter. "My family