“Are you doing research for your novel?”

“No.”

“Then a travel essay like the one you wrote last time?”

“It’s not that either.”

“Then what is it?”

“Do you think mom will tell you?”

“No, definitely not.”

“Then why did you even bother asking?”

Gaeul looked at her mother, who was making a suspicious smile. She wondered what her mother was up to that required her to go out not only on weekdays but on weekends as well. When she looked at her mother, who was displaying a ‘you shouldn’t mind it since it’s your mother’s work’, as well as a ‘you want to know, don’t you?’ face, she wanted to dig into that secret. If it wasn’t for her novel, what could it be? It didn’t seem like she was doing something other than writing for work.

“Do you really want to know?”

“Can’t you give me a hint? Your daughter might die of frustration at this rate, you know?”

“Okay then. I’ll give you just a small one.”

After crossing her arms and thinking about it for a while, her mother spoke,

“Nah, I won’t after all. If I say it now, it might ruin the luck for it, so I’ll tell you later.”

“You’re so bad. What is it? Did you win the lottery or something? Is that why you’re going around since you are looking for a new house to move to?”

“If it was like that I would have told you a long time ago. Do you think mom’s playing around?”

“No, I knew you...