A Room Kept Empty for Later
On a weekend afternoon, Jeong-hui gave the empty room her name for the first time. But her family still called it someone else’s place.
Preparing for old age, Jeong-hui tries to make a place for herself at home. Before her family’s familiar requests, she swallows words she has put off for years—until she finally says them.
Every weekend afternoon, sixty-two-year-old Jeong-hui gives the small empty room over to her family’s belongings. One day, she puts her name on the room, but her daughter asks for space again, and the same giving way repeats in other times and places. After a brief question from her counselor, Jeong-hui finally voices what she has long wanted to say to her family about having a place of her own in old age.
When I keep putting my own needs aside
Caring for your family and protecting the space your own life needs are not opposites.
When you slowly put long-postponed feelings into words, you can find a way to care for your family without losing sight of your own life.
The moment another box came back into the room she had named stayed with me. I saw that Jeong-hui wasn’t only unable to protect the room; she had also been putting off saying what was hers to claim. If you could say it now, who would you want to hear it first? Let’s continue with where those words stop in the next story. Today, we stood together for a moment in front of that room.
Scenes
- 01 · The Room with Her Name 01 · The Room with Her Name — On Saturday afternoon, Jeong-hui cleared out the small room she had been using like storage and unfolded a table. It was the first time she had written ‘Jeong-hui’ on a sheet of paper and put it beside the door. Kim Jeong-hui: From here on, let’s make room for me, too.
- 02 · The Boxes Return 02 · The Boxes Return — Two hours later, Seoyun pushed the boxes into the small room, saying she would leave them there for a while. Jeong-hui’s notebook was pushed under the table, and the ‘Jeong-hui’ beside the door was hidden behind a box corner. Seoyun: Mom, I’ll just leave this here for a little while. Kim Jeong-hui: Okay. If it’s only for a little while.
- 03 · The Place She Gave Up Again 03 · The Place She Gave Up Again — The following week, while looking for somewhere to put her things, Jeong-hui tucked the key to the small room deep into her bag. Onyu studied the key Jeong-hui held out for a long moment, then asked just one thing. Onyu: Where were your things in that room?
- 04 · Words at the Door 04 · Words at the Threshold — It was another Saturday afternoon. When Seoyun arrived with a new box, Jeong-hui started to reach for it again, then grabbed the doorknob instead. Before the box, the words she had swallowed for years burst out. Kim Jeong-hui: I need a place of my own in this house now, too. Seoyun: Mom?
Stories by Onyu
- Onyu
- I keep checking the clock just before quitting time.
- When I pause at the door, my dinner gets pushed back again.
- The path where she stopped to retie her shoe
- When I get home from work, my family is already doing okay.
- When we come home from work and stand in the entryway, our future feels uncertain.
- After work, I stand in the entryway, unsure where I’ll live in the future.
- A Month Before the Presentation, They Take the Long Way Home
- When I get home and open the door, I look for that person again.