"My daughter, Zoya," Mrs. Dongyun said, calling out softly. "If you are free, come now. Someone has been waiting for quite some time. I think he comes to pick you."
Zoya froze, startled. She had just told Minji that she would come on her own.
Why does he come?
Zoya smiled and said to Mr. Donghyun, "I'm coming."
"Seo-yeon, if you're free, you should come too. Give the lovely daughters a break now, "Mr. Donghyun gestured toward the other girls and said…" to his wife with a smile.
"Yes, of course. Our conversation is almost finished. You go ahead, we'll follow."Mrs. Donghyun replied.
"Zoya, you should come as well."Mr. Donghyun reminded her once again.
"Yes, "Zoya replied briefly.
"Yes, Zoya… please complete what you were saying. Which dua did you make to Allah? When you started learning Arabic, what was the very first thing you spoke to Allah about?"Mrs. Donghyun asked with a gentle smile.
"For someone's guidance… like Ji-hye,"(Zoya pointed toward the girl who had been asking Mrs. Donghyun questions before her.)She is worried. I was once worried, too. Then I made this dua to Allah. Now whenever I start worrying about him, I recite this dua. It is healing for me, a path for him… and one day he will also walk on the true path with me."
Zoya said this while rubbing her fingers together, her gaze lowered.
"Zoya… are you Muslim by birth?"Mrs. Donghyun's question shook her.
Zoya lifted her eyes to look at Mrs. Donghyun, then immediately lowered them again. All the girls turned toward Zoya, as if they too were waiting for the answer.
"Yes… I am Muslim by birth."Zoya replied, her head bowed.
A soft murmur spread around her. Zoya looked up and smiled.
She felt her phone vibrating. She took it out of her bag—Minji calling.
"I need to go, Mrs. Donghyun. I think someone has come to pick me up," Zoya said.
"But promise you'll come tomorrow, "One of the girls said.
"I can't promise, because maybe I'll leave tomorrow," Zoya replied.
"Leave? What do you mean?"Mrs. Donghyun asked.
"Busan, "Zoya answered.
"Do you belong to Busan?"Ji-hye asked.
"No, I study at National University. It was semester break, so I came to Seoul with my friends."Zoya replied with a smile.
"Oh, nice. I'm from Busan too. Now I've found my soulmate in Busan," Mrs. Donghyun, Ji-hye said, looking at Mrs Donghyun.
Everyone smiled.
"Zoya, can you give me your number? I want to stay in contact in Busan."Ji-hye asked.
"Of course. I want to stay connected with a warm-hearted girl, too."Zoya said, looking at her.
After sharing her number, Zoya said goodbye to everyone and stepped outside. She tried calling Minji back, but the call had already ended.
"Hello, Minji…"
"Zoya, why weren't you answering your phone?"
"I didn't realize… my phone was on silent."
"Tell her Jeon. J will come to pick her up."A voice said from behind Minji on the call.
"But Zoya won't come. I know," Minji replied to him.
"Ask her. Give me the phone, I'll tell her myself," Jinhun said again.
By then, Zoya's call had disconnected.
Seeing Mrs. Donghyun approach, Zoya ended the call to listen to her.
"Zoya, if possible, have dinner with us today. Who knows when we'll meet again?"
"Mrs. Donghyun, please don't insist. I'm very happy to have met you. I'd love to keep meeting like this, and whenever I get the chance, I'll definitely come, "Zoya replied.
"Then dinner is decided."Mrs. Donghyun said. She had small Korean eyes, but blue lenses—she looked very pretty.
"Alright. I'll check at the office who came, then I'll come back. But you'll have to do me a favor and drop me off at home," Zoya said.
"Okay, we'd be happy to."Mrs. Donghyun replied with a smile and left.
Zoya went to the office, but no one was there. The office was empty.
"Where did they go?"Zoya asked herself.
"It was definitely him. I recognize phone ringtones. I can match many ringtones… but my heart says it was him, "Zoya kept questioning herself.
Just then, Mr. Donghyun entered the office and saw Zoya standing there.
"Mr. Donghyun, who came? You said they were here, but it's empty."Zoya asked.
"I don't know. He was here. I stepped out for a moment, and when I returned, he was gone. But he'll come again. Tell me—Seo-yeon says you'll have dinner with us today. I would've been happy if he joined us, too. Still, your presence has doubled our happiness."Mr. Donghyun said.
Zoya smiled softly.
"But first, I need to inform my friends," she said.
"Of course, why not? You call them—we'll drop you off, don't worry," he replied with a reassuring smile.
Zoya sat down in the office,while Mr. Donghyun walked away.
She took out her phone and called Minji.
...
"Why did you hang up?" Jinhun asked Minji.
"I didn't hang up," Minji's voice came softly."She just got disconnected… she'll call back when free," Minji reassured him.
Meanwhile, everyone else was getting ready to leave.They slung their bags over their shoulders, moving around, chatting quietly.
Jinhun looked toward them and then called Jeon.j.
"Hey, Jeon.J, where are you? When will you get here?"
"I'm busy right now," came the reply as Jeon.j stepped out of the mosque.
"Busy? Busy with what?" Jinhun asked sharply.
"—Jinhun…" Jeon.J started to explain, but Jinhun cut him off.
"I know where you are. I won't talk further now. We'll discuss the rest later. Bring Zoya to the Han River—we've all planned to go there," Jinhun said firmly.
"I'll come," Jeon.j replied quickly, "but I'm not bringing her. And I'm not her driver—come get her yourself. Bye," and he hung up.
Jinhun stared at his phone, frowning."You really shouldn't have disconnected the call," he muttered to himself, watching the screen carefully.
"Alright, Jeon.J will arrive soon," he told everyone, lifting his bag and stepping outside.
"Minji… Zoya?" Sophia called out.
"I'm checking… oh, her call just came," Minji said, quickly picking up.
"Zoya…"
"Minji, I'll go Mr donghyun home for dinner tonight," Zoya said softly.
"Why aren't you coming with us now? We're all heading to the Han River," Minji asked.
"No, I promised Mrs. Donghyun I'd have dinner with her.And the promise we made—to explore together—"
"Minji, try to understand," Zoya interjected gently."I'm more comfortable here for now."
"Okay, but before you come, make sure to call me," Minji said firmly.
"I will. I'll call you," Zoya replied, ending the phone call.
Sophia nudged Minji, whispering,"What's she saying? Why isn't she coming?"
"She's not coming. " Minji said.
"We have to consider everyone's comfort," Minji added, looking at the group.
With that, everyone headed toward the Han River.
....
Mrs. Donghyun took Zoya to their home, which was within walking distance of the mosque—about a five-minute walk. Mr. Donghyun was still at the mosque.
"You didn't need to insist. You could've let me go. I wasn't hungry anyway," Zoya said.
"Oh, don't say that. We'd really like it if you ate with us."Mrs. Donghyun replied.
Mrs. Donghyun began cooking. The kitchen wasn't too big, nor too small. The house wasn't very large either, but it was beautiful.
Three rooms, a TV lounge, and a small kitchen area within the lounge. It could be called a ground-floor luxury apartment, but "simple luxury apartment" suited it better.
It was airy and bright. It felt like every wall had space for windows. During the day, there was no need for electric lights. If all the windows were opened, the house would be filled with daylight.
"Mrs. Donghyun, your house is very beautiful," Zoya said again, looking around for the third time.
Mrs. Donghyun smiled at her.
"Do only the two of you live here?"Zoya asked.
While adding onions to the pot, Mrs. Donghyun replied, "No. Our son, Ji-ho, lives with us too. He comes once a week. Mostly we meet him at the mosque, but today Mr. Donghyun invited him for dinner."
"You invited your son yourself?"Zoya asked in surprise.
"Yes, because he runs a restaurant. He doesn't have much time, so he has a room set up there and lives at the restaurant. Sometimes we go to see him, sometimes he comes here," Mrs. Donghyun explained while busy cooking.
"You're truly a very patient mother, "Zoya said sincerely.
Mrs. Donghyun turned around, surprised."Why? What's patient about that?"
Zoya suddenly burst into laughter—and kept laughing.
Mrs. Donghyun didn't understand what had happened.
"If you understood Urdu, I would tell you. In my country, a mother's reaction toward her only son is very different."Zoya said, laughing again.
"A mother's reaction toward her son? I don't understand. Tell me in English," Mrs. Donghyun said, amused and curious.
"No… it wouldn't be fun that way. Describing your country's mothers in your own language has its own charm."
Mrs. Donghyun laughed."Then I should learn Urdu. I'd like to understand a mother's reaction, too."
Both laughed together. Between laughter and casual talk, the food was ready.
Mr. Donghyun had arrived as well, But they were still waiting for Ji-ho, their son.
...
"Donghyun… I want to learn Urdu."
Everyone was busy eating. Ji-ho was scrolling through his phone, checking the menu, eating at the same time—until suddenly his scrolling finger froze.
At the same moment, the sound of chewing around the table slowly stopped.
Zoya looked at Mrs. Donghyun with a soft smile, because she already knew why Mrs. Donghyun had said that.
"Why did the desire to learn Urdu suddenly come into your mind?"Mr. Donghyun asked, curious.
"Actually, I want to understand something," Mrs. Donghyun said calmly."I want to know how a mother of one son reacts in Zoya's country. Mrs Donghyun said
You asked Zoya, she explained you clearly, Mr Donghyun suggested
But Zoya refuses to explain. She says if I understood Urdu, she could explain properly how mothers in her country behave—especially mothers who have only one son."
Ji-ho looked at Zoya, then at his parents. A surprised, amused smile appeared on his face.
Zoya lowered her head and started laughing quietly.
Mr. Donghyun watched her. That morning, she had cried so much—Seeing her laugh now felt comforting.
"Can you tell us in English?"Mr. Donghyun asked gently, half joking."Because if Seo-yeon starts learning Urdu, it will take a very long time."
Zoya lifted her head and looked at him.
"I was just teasing Mrs. Donghyun, "Zoya tried to excuse herself.
"I'll tell you one reaction," she said."When a son comes home late and doesn't inform his mother…and especially when he comes back in the morning."
She paused, then added seriously:
"But you're not allowed to laugh."
Everyone immediately laughed.
"No, no—we won't laugh. Please tell us," Mr. Donghyun promised.
"The son quietly enters the house, "Zoya began.
"And he sitting right there, on the sofa in front of him, is his mother."
'Mom… you're still awake?'
'When did I ever sleep?'
'Why didn't you sleep?'
'I felt like staying awake all night—I wanted to see how my son stays awake the whole night.'
Her words land like sharp arrows, full of sarcasm.
'Mom, I was about to come home, but a friend stopped me.'
'Oh, your friend stopped you?'The mother says.'Did your friend notice that your mother was sitting alone at home, waiting? Or did he not see that?'
'But Father is with you.'
'Your father sleeps like a horse or a rabbit—He has no worries. This is a mother's heart. When a son doesn't come home, she can't sleep. Fathers don't understand that.'
'Mom, I'm really sorry. I won't be late again.'
'Late?' The mother replies.'You didn't come late—you came in the morning. Please correct your sentence.'
'Mom, I've grown up now. Sometimes I get late.'
'Yes, yes, you've grown up,' The mother says dramatically.' That's why I raised you—staying awake night after night—so one day you could say, "Mom, I've grown up."'
The emotional scene begins.
'Mom, I didn't mean it like that—'
But it's too late.
'I thought I had only one son; He would be my support in old age.'She says, her eyes filling with tears.'And now you're already saying you've grown up.'
Mom, please don't cry, my dear .'
Suddenly, her tone changes. 'Will you have breakfast? Look at you—you didn't eat all night. You've become weak.' Just hearing "my dear" flips a switch. Now it's all worry.
The son looks at himself, confused, wondering how missing one meal made him weak when he had eaten pizza, burgers, everything…just not proper food."
By now, everyone at the table was laughing uncontrollably.
"How can someone become weak by not eating for just one night?"Ji-ho asked, laughing.
Zoya smiled at him, then looked at Mr. and Mrs. Donghyun.
"Actually," she said softly, "a son doesn't become weak by not eating for one day. But when parents don't see their son for even one day, their eyes become weak…Their hearts become tired."
She smiled gently.
All three of them looked at her—silenced.
To be continued...
Regards
ZK