“I'm home,” said Kang Jin-Ho as he stepped through the front door.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong welcomed him. “You are late today, son.”

“I'm sorry…”

She made a somewhat uncomfortable expression and rebuked him. "Son!"

“Yes, Mother?”

"I'd like you to stop saying sorry in response to everything I say. Can you do that for me?"

"I see. I'm sorry that I..." Kang Jin-Ho quickly caught himself apologizing again and clamped his mouth shut. Baek Hyeon-Jeong narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a bit, so he tried to smile brightly back at her. "I'm about to join the military, so I guess I'm a bit nervous, Mother."

“I see.” She pouted a little, then walked up to her son to pat his shoulder. “By the way, my son?”

“Yes, Mother?”

"Next time, when you want to make a big decision, I'd like to be a part of it. For instance, like enlisting."

Kang Jin-Ho clamped his mouth shut again and silently listened.

"I trust you since you are smart and resourceful enough to deal with most things yourself. However, sometimes it feels like I'm being left behind, and that makes me sad, son."

“That wasn't my intention, Mother.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong ruefully smiled. "I know that. I know very well that my child isn't like that. I'm just saying, that's what it feels like sometimes."

Kang Jin-Ho wasn't sure what to say to her. He still found it challenging to empathize with someone else's...