Today is Monday, and I was busy with the release of a new version all day. It wasn't until after seven o'clock that I had time to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner when a call came from home.
Usually, I'm the one who calls home, and they don't usually call me unless there's something important. I couldn't help but worry, "Did something happen at home that they need to inform me about?"
I quickly went back to my room to answer the phone. My mom immediately scolded me, asking why I didn't call back over the weekend and how it kept her up all night. I thought to myself, "Isn't it just forgetting to make a phone call? Besides, they could have called me too. It's not that serious..."
The reason my mom said that was because I usually call home every Saturday. I missed the call last weekend because I was too busy, and I thought it was too late to disturb them, so I forgot about it.
After my mom finished complaining, she asked if I had eaten dinner. I said no and that I was just about to cook. Then she asked if I wanted to talk to my dad, and I said sure.
My dad asked about the situation with the pandemic here, and when he found out I had been working from home, he didn't say much. Then, out of the blue, he mentioned a name I didn't recognize and said that the person had died a few days ago.
I was shocked and asked, "How did they die?"
My dad said, "They had a sudden myocardial infarction." The person was a young man in his mid-twenties or late twenties who rented a place in the city. He complained of stomach pain to his colleagues, and then he didn't show up for work for a long time. It was only later, when the smell became unbearable, that someone discovered his body... A few days ago, the neighbors went to claim the body and had it cremated.
Although sudden death is no longer big news in our line of work, it was still surprising to hear it from someone close. It's such a shame that someone in the prime of their youth would suddenly pass away like that.
After hanging up the phone, I connected the two incidents and realized why my mom scolded me without any explanation when she received the call. She was both worried and relieved. What I thought was a small matter, but under the influence of the unexpected death, I can't imagine what kind of emotional turmoil they went through.
I couldn't help but think of a scene from the drama "Reply 1988" that I watched some time ago: Ae-ze planned to take a flight that crashed, and his dad went crazy trying to call the hotel to confirm Ae-ze's safety. At that time, Ae-ze was taking a shower and didn't hear the phone. His dad was almost driven to madness by fear. In the end, the director of the Go club heard the phone ringing and answered it for Ae-ze. Ae-ze's dad shouted like a madman, repeatedly confirming that Ae-ze was in the room... When Ae-ze came out again, he talked to his dad on the phone, and his dad returned to his calm state.
The behavior of Ae-ze's dad before and after is just like the reaction of my mom and dad. Perhaps, this is what parental love is all about.