One Day, I Picked Up a Mom - Chapter 9

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One Day I Picked Up a Mother – Episode 9

When he turned around, Hank’s old woman with white-dyed hair was standing there.

“Who the hell is that?!”

Thump.

“Who is she and where is she taking this child!”

As the grandmother shouted loudly enough to shake the street, Iban’s heart dropped.

“Aunt? Don’t make me laugh!”

The woman’s delicate eyelashes fluttered rapidly as if flustered. The timid woman seemed scared of that evil-looking grandmother.

“…Stay here, Mother.”

Iban patted the woman’s hand reassuringly as he spoke.

“Iban?”

“I’ll resolve this quickly and come back.”

Really, that devil grandmother was useless to the very end.

When she was bored, she would grab him and take out her anger, and really, to the very end.

Iban cursed the old woman inwardly while putting on a calm face as if it was nothing serious.

“Wait, Iban. No, where are you going?”

But the woman still didn’t seem at ease at all.

She frowned with her guard up and gripped his shoulder tightly.

“That person is my friend’s grandmother. Hank’s.”

Iban put on a calm voice once again as he added. He couldn’t let the woman meet that grandmother here.

If that devil made a scene by shouting and drew a crowd, it would ruin everything.

“But she has dementia… She shouldn’t be wandering around like that.”

“…She seems agitated. Iban, then let’s go together with Mother.”

“No, if we go together she’ll get even angrier. Look how she’s already getting mad at Mother.”

Iban hurriedly shook his head.

“Besides, Grandmother keeps shouting so everyone is getting startled. If Mother comes, she’ll get even angrier and it’ll be a nuisance to people too.”

“Ah…”

The woman looked around and took a step back as if realizing.

“Grandmother doesn’t seem to recognize Mother right now. She only seems to recognize me now, so I think it’s better if I go alone.”

“But Iban…”

“That grandmother’s fingernails hurt. She scratches people she doesn’t recognize. Hank’s mother was also scratched by Grandmother before.”

Iban lowered his voice threateningly and forcefully pushed away the woman’s hands that were wrapped around his shoulders.

“But she doesn’t act violently toward children, so there’s nothing to worry about. There’s probably an uncle nearby too.”

As the grandmother closed the distance, Iban’s words also quickened.

“I’ll take her back quickly and return. We’re taking the coach in 30 minutes, right? I’ll be back by then. Don’t worry.”

“Where would that orphan girl have a sister? I’ve been watching her since she was a baby!”

Before they knew it, the distance between the devil grandmother and the woman was less than ten steps.

Iban reassured the woman once more that it was okay and hurriedly ran to the grandmother.

“Grandmother, come quickly. We need to go home.”

Iban hurriedly grabbed the grandmother’s hand and pulled her arm with all his strength.

When he glanced back, the woman was still unable to take her worried eyes off him.

He smiled brightly and waved his hand widely at the woman who was fidgeting as if she might follow him at any moment, as if to say there was nothing to worry about.

“I need to have a word so she never comes around again! Iban, don’t pull. I’ll fall!”

“What exactly did that woman do wrong that you need to have a word with her?”

Who did she think she was? Was she going to intimidate and frighten a woman who was already tender-hearted?

Iban stepped hard on the grandmother’s foot as she kept trying to look back and continued pulling her forcefully.

“Really. Why did you even come here?”

Only after barely dragging her into a nearby alley did he let go of the arm he was pulling and snap at her with an irritated voice.

“You little pipsqueak!”

Then the grandmother got angry and kicked at him.

“I asked why you came.”

“You’ve been away from home since dawn! Where would your mother, who grew up in an orphanage and became a bar woman, have a sister?”

“Hah, she’s really not family… She just told me to call her that.”

Only then did the grandmother nod as if she understood.

“Tsk tsk, so she’s also a bar girl. Come on, let’s go home.”

“I was going to go anyway. Who said to follow? I was just seeing her off.”

Iban swatted away the devil grandmother’s hand as she twisted his flesh saying he caused unnecessary trouble, and hurriedly pulled her along.

“Right, you shouldn’t run away. You’re just wasting food now, but with that decent face, women will definitely all be looking for you when you grow up a bit more.”

Iban listened to the grandmother’s constant chattering and nonsense with one ear and let it out the other while looking around.

The alley they had just entered was empty of people as expected.

Because of the animal blood flowing from the butcher shop, the villagers rarely used this alley, worried their shoes might get dirty.

Of course, the grandmother seemed too busy talking to notice.

“You know your mother borrowed money from me and put you up as collateral, right? Well, even if she hadn’t, all you learned from watching was selling your body…”

Iban opened the door to the warehouse behind the butcher shop and hurriedly went inside to hide.

“You brat, Iban!”

Soon the grandmother followed him into the warehouse to catch him.

“Come out right now! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Iban narrowly dodged her hands as they tried to grab him.

“If I catch you, I’ll beat you so badly you’ll never be able to pull this kind of stunt again!”

Iban lured the grandmother deep into the warehouse, then weaved through the pigs hanging from the ceiling and escaped the warehouse again.

And he shut the door.

Click.

“Ahhh! You wicked boy, how dare you make fun of an adult!”

This door was broken and could never be opened from inside, and when the door was closed, the underground warehouse became completely dark without any light.

“Iban, I know you’re there. Open the door!”

The devil grandmother shouted loudly from underground, demanding he open the door.

Last time when the village boys locked Iban in this warehouse, Iban was only able to get out at 7 PM.

If no one passed by, this devil grandmother would also only be able to get out when the butcher shop owner closed the store.

Iban carefully checked if any pig’s blood had gotten on his clothes or hair, then rubbed the blood off his shoes by scraping them hard on the ground.

Then he hurriedly ran to the plaza where the woman would be waiting.

In front of the coach office, a large coach waiting for departure was stopped.

Iban picked up his pace a bit more and instantly emerged from the alley.

The coachman with the list was checking the reservations and loading people’s luggage.

The woman was anxiously pacing around the entrance to the alley he had entered.

“Mother, I’m back.”

Iban approached from behind and gripped her hand tightly.

“Iban.”

Iban smiled brightly at the woman whose eyes widened in surprise and said.

“The uncle was looking for her frantically. I took her back safely.”

“Oh, what a good boy. Well done, Iban.”

The woman stroked Iban’s hair several times.

Iban rubbed his face against her hand while making the humble expression that adults liked.

“Really?”

“Of course. Grandmother’s family must have been worried, you really did well. Iban is so kind.”

When he lowered his eyes and shyly raised the corners of his mouth, the praise continued.

“But next time, let’s go together with Mother. Grandmother might act violently toward Iban too because of her dementia.”

The woman held his shoulders and examined him carefully to see if Iban had been hurt, as she spoke.

“Yes, I’ll do that from now on!”

Reassured by his answer, the woman took Iban’s hand and went to stand at the end of the line to board the coach.

“Alright, this is all the luggage and you’re sitting in the box seat. Please sit down, we’re departing now.”

When their turn came, the coachman folded the list and spoke.

Iban, who had been keeping his head down low in case someone might recognize him, quickly grabbed the woman’s hand and approached the driver’s seat.

He wanted to get on quickly and depart quickly.

“Mother will help you up.”

The woman lifted him up and seated him, then sat down beside him.

Seeing Iban continuously hunching his shoulders, the woman took out a fur hat and some clothing to cover him from her bag.

“Are you a little cold?”

She seemed to think he was crouching because he was cold. Iban touched the fur hat the woman had put on him several times.

It was Mother’s fur hat.

Instead of looking back toward the direction where home would be, Iban tightly grasped the hand of the woman sitting beside him.

And he prayed once more.

Neigh.

When the coachman pulled the reins, the carriage began to move with the sound of the horse’s soft whinnying.

Soon after, the carriage carrying Iban and the woman left the village.

It climbed hills and crossed rivers, continuing to move on and on.

Only when the carriage they were riding crossed the bridge over the second river did Iban finally realize that he had safely escaped the village.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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