💌 418. Shocking News After Deciding to Move to Mother's House

I, as a terminally ill patient, wanted to meet my death in Gunseo district which had good air and water. So, word that my husband would be transferred to Naju was really like a bolt out of the blue. Since we have four kids, even if we decided to move to Naju, there would be no one willing to rent a room to us, so we would have to rent a detached house. But we could not afford it.

(Editor’s Note : During that era, Korea faced economic challenges, leading to a common practice of multiple families sharing a single house, each renting a room and paying monthly rent. This situation posed significant difficulties, especially for families with numerous children, as finding accommodation was almost impossible, resulting in various disadvantages.)

After much contemplation in agony, I discussed it with my husband. We decided to move to my mother’s own house located in Bonghwang township, Naju which had also good air, though my husband’s commute would be a bit difficult. It was the house when I was an elementary school student, my mother and I had built that house by the sweat of our brows. Now that I had terminal cancer which had spread throughout my body, I thought it would be very good to spend my last days in that house built of pure yellow clay.

In the meantime, my mother had been shuttling between our house and her house as she had to do farm work to support my fifth younger brother-in-law until he would pass the judicial exam. However, if we lived in her house, she would not have to go through that trouble anymore. I saw this as killing two birds with one stone. Our older children would have the opportunity to attend the elementary school I graduated from, even though it was a bit distant.

Above all else, my mother's house had a special meaning for my mother and me. After borrowing a plot of land at the foot of a mountain, where it was completely empty, we tirelessly carved out and cleared the terrain, constructing solid earthen walls in the form of a 'ㄱ,', using 100% yellow clay. Then, we began the process of mixing straw with clay for plastering, diligently working together to build our first and only home by, exerting all our strength with our own hands.

If I could spend my last days together with my mother and children in that house where I grew up, there could be no greater comfort. With this in mind, I prepared to move to my mother’s house in the countryside. My mother was so delighted about the prospect of living together in her house that she went there in advance to tidy up her house.

Though she did not mention it, she must have been most relieved to be able to help me without leaving me, her sick daughter, while doing her farm work. The next day, she came back when I was packing our belongings. Then, I thought that she had already finished tidying up the house so that we might move there sooner.

Therefore, I was so overjoyed that I asked her, “Mother, have you already finished organizing everything? You came back so quickly!” Then, my mother suddenly burst into tears and said, “Daughter, what should we do now? My house was gone.” I could not possibly comprehend what she was saying. “Mother, what are you talking about? Are you saying the house was gone? How could the house be gone?”

Shedding the tears that she had been holding back, she told me the whole story in detail. When she had reached her house, she had been rendered speechless by the sight that had unfolded in front of her eyes. Her house, which had been totally intact even a few days earlier when she had left it, had disappeared without a trace, with only ashes remaining. What on earth had happened?

The place where our precious house should have stood was now occupied by ashes alone. She was so stunned and bewildered that she was at a loss for what to do. As she could not accept the reality, she checked the surroundings, saying to herself, “Is this really the place our house stood?” But after confirming it, she flopped down on the spot and wailed, pounding the ground with her hand.

The expression that goes, ‘a bolt out of the blue’ seems to describe this situation. My mother cried for a long time, thoroughly absent-minded. Then, she pulled herself together, got up, and went to the Simpyeong family, who lived in front of her house, with her body still trembling and unable to move properly out of shock. My mother asked her in tears, “Dear, do you know what on earth happened to my house? Why did my house which had been intact turn into that?”

Simpyeong Ajim (*a lady from Simpyeong) said, “You are telling me. What should we do about it?” She was also deeply upset and did not know what to do. Simpyeong Ajae (*a man from Simpyeong) (my mother’s cousin), who was listening next to her and deeply regrettable, sighed strongly and told her everything that he had seen. “Minseok (*Julia's second eldest uncle who was so hard on her throughout her childhood) came at night, sold the slate of the roof, and set fire to your house!”

He meant that making use of the time when her house was empty, my second eldest uncle came at night, ripped the slate off of the roof secretly, and sold it. One day, when Shimpyeong Ajae was about to fall asleep at night, he was surprised to hear a strange and loud sound coming from the direction of my mother’s house. So, he went out quickly to see what was going on, saying to himself, “There is no one in her house. What and where is this sound coming from?”

To his surprise, it turned out to be the sound of someone ripping off the slates of my mother’s house. Shimpyeong ajae shouted in surprise, “Who are you there?” and ran there. When he arrived there, he found that my second eldest uncle was making vendees rip off the slates to sell. Shimpyeong Ajae asked, “Hey, why are you ripping off the slate of your sister's house in the dead of night?"

My uncle abruptly said, “Do not tell anyone that I did it.” Shimpyeong Ajae asked him again, “Oh my! What if when your sister comes back?” My uncle replied, “She can live in her daughter's house.” “Did your sister say she would?” “Soon she must be like that.” Then, Shimpyeong Ajae thought, “Maybe, that is why he is doing such a thing.” And he came home and slept without further doubt.

While telling me the whole story, my mother shed tears profusely. However, her words that followed were more shocking, causing me extreme pain as if my live flesh were being cut out piece by piece. It felt like I would pass out.