I Don't Like This World, I Only Like You

15.1

My mother-in-law replied, “Yup. When I was pregnant with Jungkook, I thought the same way too. I didn’t wish for anything else, and had only one single wish.”

“What?”

“My child must be handsome.”

“…….”

She showed me Jungkook’s baby photos, and said, “I always wondered whether I had mistakenly brought the wrong baby home from the hospital.”

“Why?”

“How could someone as vibrant as me give birth to someone so dull and introverted?”

“Perhaps…he takes after his father.”

“Subsequently, when he attended school, my suspicions grew even stronger.”

“Why?”

“How could my son be so good in his studies?”

“……”

She continued flipping through the photographs, and muttered to herself, “But he’s such a handsome boy…No one else would be capable of giving birth to him except me.”

“……”

003

Jungkook told me that when he was still a child, his biggest wish was to escape his mother’s “demonic claws”. When I asked him why, Jungkook recalled with extreme grief, “My mother’s desire to remain in control is the strongest I have seen in my entire life. Ever since I was young, she would interfere in all my matters, ranging from big matters – such as the school I was enrolling in – to small matters – such as the socks I would be wearing the next day. She would even decide, on a daily basis, the outfit I was to wear that day, from innerwear to outerwear, from head to toe. If I failed to follow her instructions, she would fly into a rage. It’s crazily scary – I wonder how my dad manages to endure her antics.”

Me : “The manner in which I endure your antics is probably the same manner in which Dad endures Mum’s antics.”

Him : “……”

Me : “How do you think Mum would react if she knew what you just told me?”

Him : “She would kill me.”

Me: “Fantastic! I have already recorded all that you said!!I would be able to blackmail you in the future!”

Him : “……”

004

Jungkook’s genius nephew came to Seoul during the summer holiday, and stayed with us for a period of time. Little Nephew was terribly obedient – he would wake up at 8AM every morning, and begin his day by memorising English words for half an hour before proceeding to practise calligraphy for another half an hour.

I asked Jungkook, “Did you follow the same schedule when you were young?”

Jungkook nodded his head, “The children in my family all follow the same schedule.”

Enraged, I howled at him, “If that’s the case, why do you only manage to wake up in the early afternoon during weekends, and even require me to deliver breakfast to your bed?! What happened to the traditional values and good habits that your family cultivated in you?!”