Se-yeon Lee, an employee at an architecture firm, was in a terrible mood today.
Last night, she had gone drinking with her friends until late and ended up being late to work. Her supervisor yelled at her, asking how many times she'd been late and telling her to quit if she couldn't manage her time.
All that fuss over being an hour late! No wonder he's stuck as a mid-level manager at his age.
While everyone else was out for lunch, her steps led her to the department store.
Nothing beats shopping for lifting one's spirits. She figured buying something would make her feel better.
As she entered the store, the first-floor luxury brand stores, like Chanel, Prada, and Louis Vuitton, were lined up in front of her.
She wanted nothing more than to walk in there and grab a bag to purchase with pride, but her credit limit wouldn't allow it. She had already maxed out her cash advances and revolving credit, amounting to 8 million won in debt.
Her remaining credit limit was less than 1 million won. She needed to shop wisely within that limit.
Se-yeon headed to the mid-tier luxury brand store, MPM, like she always did. It was already her fifth visit this month. Because of that, she was treated like a regular by the staff.
Just thinking about how she'd be treated with care and attention by the manager and staff made her feel better already.
On her way to the MPM store, she noticed the floor was a mess, probably because someone had spilled their coffee. A cleaner was hard at work mopping the floor.
She didn't pay much attention and tried to walk past, but the mop accidentally brushed against her shoe.
It was a pair of shoes she had bought a few days ago during a sale, a purchase she had splurged on. And now, that shoe was dirtied by the very mop cleaning the floor.
Shocked, Seyeon screamed.
"Excuse me! What do you think you're doing?"
The cleaner bowed her head.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, ma'am."
"Do you think an apology is enough? Do you even know how expensive these shoes are?"
"I-I'll clean it for you."
The cleaner, trying to make amends, took out a handkerchief from her pocket and bent down to clean the shoes.
"Don't you dare touch it with your filthy hands!"
"I'm terribly sorry."
As the commotion grew, a young woman in a suit hurried over. The name tag on her clothes read, "Manager: Miran Woo."
"What seems to be the problem, ma'am?"
Se-yeon, on the verge of tears, said, "Can't you see? This woman ruined my shoes with her mop. What are you going to do about it?"
The cleaner clasped her hands together, repeatedly bowing her head.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am. I'm so sorry."
"Does that sound like a sincere apology to you? She should be on her knees, begging!"
The manager looked at the cleaner and said, "What are you doing? If you've made a mistake, get on your knees and apologize."
"Wh-what?"
The middle-aged cleaner looked around in fear, but there was no one there to help her.
"Do you even know how expensive these shoes are? Are you going to pay for them?"
The cleaner barely made enough to live day-to-day. She had no way of paying for such expensive shoes. If kneeling and begging could resolve the situation, she was ready to do it.
Just as the cleaner began to kneel, something stopped her.
_______________________________________
The cleaner looked up in surprise.
"How are you here...?"
As I stepped forward, the young woman looked at me with irritation and snapped.
"And who do you think you are, interrupting?"
"I'm her son."
"Wh-what?"
I stared her down and replied, "I'm this woman's son."
"…"
At my words, she went silent. She probably never imagined that the cleaner's son would appear in a situation like this.
When I entered the department store, I noticed a young woman, who looked to be in her early 20s, yelling at an older woman dressed in a cleaner's uniform, who kept bowing her head in apology.
At first, I intended to walk past. But the moment I heard the cleaner's voice, I froze.
It was my mother's voice.
I looked at the woman in the cleaner's uniform. My mother avoided my gaze.
I had come to this department store before with my parents. It was probably on my mother's birthday. We had lunch in the basement food court and went shopping together.
My father had splurged and bought her a handbag. I had chipped in with my allowance as well. It wasn't from a luxury brand but rather a mid-tier brand, yet my mother had been overjoyed like a child.
She had told me she was working at the customer service center here...
But, unable to tell me the truth that she was working as a cleaner, she had lied, saying she was in customer service so I wouldn't worry.
"What happened?"
"This woman soiled my shoes with her mop!"
"..."
All this fuss, just because a little mop water touched her shoes?
Anger surged through me. I wanted to hit her, woman or not. But I couldn't throw a punch in front of my mother.
I clenched my teeth and held back my fury.
"Where exactly are they dirty?"
"Can't you see?"
"Where?"
Her black shoes looked perfectly fine to me.
The woman shook her head and snapped, "Ugh, I don't care! These shoes are too dirty to wear anymore. Either pay for them, or I'll post this all over the department store's message board and report it to consumer protection."
The manager beside her kept bowing.
"We're terribly sorry, ma'am. We'll handle this."
The young woman seemed emboldened by the manager's attitude and shouted even louder.
"Do you even know how much these shoes cost?"
I immediately asked, "How much?"
With confidence, she declared, "They cost 600,000 won!"
Then an employee nearby mumbled quietly.
"They're on sale for 330,000 won right now."
A 45% discount, huh?
With all that yelling, I thought she was talking about some multi-million won pair of shoes.
I pulled out my wallet.
"So, 600,000 won will settle this, right?"
My mother looked shocked.
"Jinhu, what money do you have to spare...?"
"It's okay, Mom."
I took out twelve 50,000-won bills and handed them to the woman.
"Here you go."
"Hmph! You should've done this from the start."
The woman reached out her hand.
Just before she could grab the money, I pulled my hand back.
"Apologize first."
The woman's eyes widened in shock.
"What did you just say?"
"If you want the money, apologize first."
The woman looked back and forth between the 600,000 won in my hand and my face with a furious expression. But it seemed money was more important to her than her pride.
She turned to my mother and gave a half-hearted bow.
"S-sorry. I guess I was a bit harsh."
There wasn't a shred of sincerity in that apology. But I suppose it was better than no apology at all.
The woman grabbed the money in my hand. But no matter how hard she pulled, the money didn't budge. I hadn't relaxed my grip yet.
Irritated, she snapped, "What are you doing?"
"Take off your shoes."
"What?"
I repeated myself, "Take off your shoes. You said they're too dirty to wear and demanded compensation, didn't you? So if I'm giving you the money, you should give me the shoes. Or were you planning to keep the shoes and take the money? What is this, some sort of creative economy?"
"Hah!"
She looked completely dumbfounded, but couldn't say anything. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't come up with a rebuttal.
"If you're going to keep wearing the shoes, I'll assume you're not taking the money."
I started to pull the money back, but this time, she didn't let go. She seemed to be debating between her pride and the money once again.
Naturally, taking the money and buying a new pair of shoes would be a better deal.
After all, they were in a department store, and she could just walk into any store and get a new pair right away.
In the end, money won.
"Ugh, this is ridiculous!"
She threw her shoes off. Only then did I loosen my grip, and she took the money.
I picked up the shoes and, making a point of it, shoved them into a trash bin.
"Trash like this belongs in the trash can."
"..."
The woman couldn't say anything to me, but she shouted at the manager.
"I'm reporting this store, just so you know!"
The manager bowed her head.
"I-I'm terribly sorry, ma'am."
Whether she reported the store or not, it wasn't my problem. The department store would deal with it on their own.
I turned to my mother and said, "Let's go, Mom."
As I was about to leave with my mother, the woman who introduced herself as the manager yelled after us.
"Where do you think you're going? Do you think you can still come to work tomorrow after all this?"
"…
What a lunatic.
I was trying to leave quietly, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.
I stopped walking. Then, I turned around, grabbed the mop from the floor, and marched toward her.
The manager flinched and stepped back.
"A-are you going to hit me...?"
Instead, I forcibly placed the mop in her hand.
"You won't have to come to work again, so from now on, clean up your own mess."
"W-what did you just say? Hey!"
I ignored whatever she was yelling behind me and left the department store, holding my mother's hand.
Once outside, my mother, who had been led out in a daze, suddenly gasped in shock.
"Oh my, what was I thinking? I should go back right now and apologize..."
I gently spoke to my flustered mother.
"You don't have to do this kind of work anymore."
"But..."
I pulled her into a hug. Her body felt so frail, as if it would break if I applied the slightest bit of pressure. I could feel her bones through her shoulders and back.
Since when had she become so thin?
The thought of her cleaning the department store all day with such a frail body broke my heart.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and said, "It's okay, Mom. From now on, I'll take care of everything."
My mother, startled at first, softly stroked my back with her delicate arms.
"When did my son grow up so much?"