The next morning, my family had a small incident as my mother found a small tattoo on my father’s chest after he washed up. Of course, he said that he didn’t know anything about it and called his colleagues who drank with him to piece together what happened the night before. Mother almost burst into tears, saying that father was cheating on her, and I didn’t know what to do.

After my father managed to go to work, I tried my best to console her. We headed to Myeong-dong for lunch, and her mood got better as we walked arm in arm in the crowds even though we didn’t talk much. I even bought her a butterfly-patterned red hairpin when she stopped at a street seller selling accessories. I said that I had some pocket money saved, and she said while touching the hairpin, “Thanks, son. I’ll treasure it. Hanging out with you reminds me of the old days because we haven’t had much time together since you got into middle school. We always spent time together until...