Cracks Widen

Yonghwa spent the weekend at home collecting all of his mother's pictures,

from around the house, taking them down from the walls

searching for every single one of them making sure not to miss any he took them all to his room his next stop was his father's study

he took up his mother's pictures from in there too he wanted his own space from now on he didn't want to see or hear his stepmother

didn't want to eat anything she made or have anything to do with her at this time

he went downstairs and into the kitchen searching his mother's cupboards

in the back of the bottom cupboards, he found his mothers old dish rack she had when she moved in it was a pink tub with a white dish rack inside and a transparent cover on top

you could store your dishes and utensils inside it and have the box on top of a table the cover

would keep the dishes clean and prevent any pest from getting into his dishes

he smiled pulling that out then he found her dish and cutlery set a gift given from her family when she got married

she usually only used them once a year on Christmas still untouched since the last Christmas

they had been used along with three mugs she had bought to match for drinking

he took those too along with a small knife to cut and peel things packing them into the dish rack he took the tub up to his room

going back to reclaim his mother's electric grill sandwich maker and he found her hot plates

tucked into the back of the cupboards by the fridge

both were electrical one had a lovely pot you could cook in on top of it with a pot cover

the other one was smaller with a kettle pot for making tea and porridge

Yonghwa grinned "I love you too mom," he said softly he didn't have to worry about going hungry now

he could set up his own kitchen in his room and as long as he bought sufficient food

with his allowance money, he didn't have to worry

about eating meals that didn't agree with him he took those up to his room going back downstairs

he took his mother's whatnot from the hallway near his dad's study it was beautiful with five shelves

made of mahogany at the moment it was empty since they no longer used it

going to the laundry room next to the garage, there was a shelf where he had been keeping his mother's potted plants and his watering can

they went up to his room with him as well next came up her two oak wood long side tables that were in the storage room

they were once used to decorate the

house with ornaments and books but then they had remolded and the side tables had gotten put away but now they were reclaimed by Yonghwa

after finishing gathering everything he needed he locked his bedroom and began rearranging the room

Yonghwa had a large bedroom but now he wanted to turn it into his apartment

so he could live in his room without having to see his parents so often

setting up his kitchen where his sitting area was

the two side tables were set up to stand next to each other

so they were joined into one and formed a long enough counter for his hot plates on the left side

and his dish rack and sandwich maker were on the right side of the table so that the workspace would be in the middle

the pictures he had collected he hung all of them on one of the empty walls of his room creating a wall of her pictures he set the whatnot against the wall

where the sunlight would come through the bedroom window

and arranged her potted

flowering plants on the shelves prettily

setting his watering can on the bottom underneath it

it looked so gorgeous and pretty he thought in satisfaction

it was a refreshing change for his room now all he needed to do was to make sure it was all safe

he gave jhaesun a call using video call from his laptop

hi, Yonghwa what are you up to? jhaesun grinned

"look at my room," Yonghwa said lifting the laptop and showing him the new kitchen and the memorial wall

"wow, Yonghwa what did you do to your room?" Jhaesun asked, "it looks pretty cool is that a memory wall for your mom?"

"yea does it look nice?" Yonghwa asked taking the laptop closer so he could see it better

"Its beautiful Yonghwa you arranged the pictures very well your mom is really pretty," were Jhaesun's next words "you look a lot like her"

"you have her cheekbones and her eyes are the same color brown and the same curly black hair too but hers is longer shes really beautiful she looks like she was really a nice person"

"she must have doted on you a lot," he said "she has one of those faces that just looks kind from the start you can see she liked to smile a lot the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes are from laughing and smiling"

"thank you" Yonghwa replied softly hearing jhaesun say those things about his mom the fact that he could tell so many details just from looking at her pictures through a screen

suddenly made his anger melt away

how did he do that so effectively? Yonghwa always wondered how

he always knew what to say to comfort him

"I heard my stepmother talking crap about me and my mom to her friend on the phone" Yonghwa sighed sitting down on his bed

she was complaining and she even dared to say she was sick of seeing my mothers pictures

she feels like living in a house with her husband's mistress called me a spoiled brat

said my piano playing was dreadful she was saying all kinds of crap about me and insulted my mom even"

"I am so sorry Yonghwa that sucks it makes me upset to hear you have to endure this kind of shit," Jhaesun said

"I mean if she knew she didn't want to deal with the emotional baggage

why marry a man whose wifes recently passed away? what was she expecting really?

for you not to care about your mom as soon as she appaered?

and now she's complaining about you and even insulting your mother to her friends?

she expects you to accommodate her but she's not being considerate or respectful at all towards you Yonghwa thats bullshit" jhaesun said vehemently

"thats, why I got mad too," Yonghwa, said "so I took up all my mother's things from around the house, they are in my room now these are my mom's flowers she used to grow

I've been taking care of them somewhere else but I decided to get this whatnot and move them to my room he said showing them off to him and this is my moms too he showed him the side tables set up with his little kitchen area

"hot plates and the dish rack sandwich maker the tables all these are my mothers too," he said showing him the cute bowls and plates

"I have spoons and forks too"

"it looks really nice Yonghwa," Jhaesun said

"They are very cute somehow they suit you perfectly she left them for you as if she knew you would need them"

"I know i sort of felt that too" Yonghwa said "all of them were put away in such a way

and these are all things she moved in with when she and dad were first married

but then she got new ones and she put these old ones away but they can be still used and she just kept them and didn't get rid of them I cleaned them up so I know dad had not looked for them since

I'm going to start live independently ill make my own meals and everything,

so I don't have to go downstairs and deal with them all time

"Are you sure that you'll be okay?" jhaesun asked worriedly

"it will probably less stressful for you but staying in your room seems like you're being pushed into a corner

Yonghwa I don't like it it's almost like they are forcing you to live as if you don't exist

if you make your own space where they cant

bother you all the time and you could at least get some peace

that will be nice I guess but don't let them push you into a corner any further than this okay

it feels unfair youre being isolated, you don't even have any other friends you hang out with besides me!

your home should be your happy place where you are the most yourself, not your prison where you have to hide even your mom's pictures you know" jhaesun said "it's not healthy to lock yourself up

in your room, you can become really depressed and think crazy things

call me more often okay I'll keep you company" Jhaesun said

Yonghwa was touched Jhaesun really cared for him and worried about him he really was his true friend

"okay ill call you more often" Yonghwa agreed

"I mean it Yonghwa

"keep your laptop open and call me anytime it doesnt matter ok I won't let you get lonely" jhaesun insisted

"ok I promise I will" Yonghwa agreed smiling

"what do know about doorknobs?" Yonghwa suddenly asked

"door knobs?" Jhaesun asked frowning confused

"I want to change the lock so they can't get in my room," Yonghwa said

"then take a picture of it with your phone" jhaesun suggested "take a good one and send it to me ill ask someone"

Yonghwa did as jhaesun told him and got up from his seat in front of the laptop screen in the back of the mess hall where he was having lunch and

and went to joey

"hey, joey do you know how to change doorknobs? like this one? my friend's doorknob is broken he wants to get a new one" jhaesun asked showing him the picture on his phone

"he can get it at the hardware store thats a common knob set" joey said looking at it

"it will come with keys screws and everything he just needs to use to a star bit

screwdriver and unscrew the screws here and here" he showed

jhaesun how to uninstall it and explained how to put on the new knob

"ah thank you very much," Jhaesun said to joey

he hurried back to his seat

"What did you find out?" Yonghwa asked when he returned

"yea joey says you need a star bit screwdriver and you can buy the knobs at the hardware store

they will come with keys and screws and everything

I think you should take the picture to the hardware store with you just to be sure" jhaesun suggested

"Thanks, Jhaesun you were a big help ill call you back later," Yonghwa said

Yonghwa left the house and came back before his dad got home from work he had a new

star bit screwdriver a new doorknob with a lock and brand new keys for his door

he had also bought himself groceries and two large hanging baskets he had seen selling at an artisans shop

he put in new hooks into the wall above the kitchen and hung the baskets and then packed the groceries inside

they fit in the baskets within easy access of his reach above his workspace and looked rather nice

he decided to make himself some porridge

washing the kettle in the bathroom sink with a sponge and dishwashing liquid

he caught some water poured in some oats and sprinkled some ground bay leaf spice

and put it on to boil he opened a pack of dried dates and chopped up some and

added them to the bowl he then got a plate and opened the bread taking out some slices he opened a tin of tuna

and a packet of Mayonaise sprinkling some lemon pepper on his tuna and adding the Mayonaise he mixed

these in a bowl and spread the tuna on the bread, making sandwiches he put them in the sandwich maker to toast

Yonghwa's oats were beginning to release a fragrant scent of the bay leaf he checked it and it was ready he opened a tin of condensed

milk and poured some into a mug and then he poured the oats on top of it mixing it with a spoon

and tasting it groaning at the wonderful creamy sweet

flavor he grabbed the bottle of cinnamon and sprinkled in a little bit stirring it in

he inhaled the scent and groaned in delight his stomach rumbled the sandwich maker dinged

perfect timing his sandwiches were ready he took them outputting them on a plate

and going to his bed eating and enjoying his porridge this was so nice

Yonghwa's father came home from work noticing something in his house was different but he could quite put his finger on it

until he was going up the stairs and noticed all the pictures on the wall were gone

"good evening honey did you take down the pictures from the walls" he asked knocking on her door

"sweetheart good evening," she said smiling "what pictures?" she asked

the ones from the wall by the stairs he said pulling her to look

seeing the outlines in the wallpaper the picture frames had left behind

"no, I would not touch those," she said in surprise

Daesook sighed so Yonghwa had taken them down

"fine leave it alone for now they are just pictures of his mother anyway," he said

dinner time came and Yonghwa didn't come down to eat

fine stay hungry then his dad thought annoyed ungrateful brat!