In the hospital, Gi Hun was the first to arrive, closely followed by Sang Hun, the eldest brother. Now, four men had gathered around Hyung Kyu’s bed, each lamenting in their own way. After everyone had somewhat expressed themselves, Sang Hun broached the essential question:

„How and when do we tell mother?”—he looked at the faces of the others—”We need to tell her, for it’s uncertain whether Dong Hun will survive the surgery,” he added with an uncertain voice.

„But how do you plan to inform her?”—asked Dae Ri—”Surely not over the phone?”—he looked at his brothers.

They too exchanged glances filled with pain and uncertainty. A silence fell. Each of these men was searching their mind for a way to convey to their aging mother that her beloved son, whom she had always worried about, was in a very grave condition and might even die. How to do it?

I think it’s one of the toughest challenges there is. Informing a wife about the death of her husband is not as painful as delivering any bad news to a mother about her child. Yet, someone must undertake it, for the mother cannot be left unaware of the situation. Now, this task awaited one of the brothers. Who would bear such a burden? Who could handle it?

„Alright… I’ll do it,” Gi Hun declared—”I’ll go to her and tell her in person. I just need to calm down and figure out how to say it,”—he looked around at those present—”any tips?”

„Don’t go into a long preamble, because mothers have their intuition and probably, as soon as she sees you, she’ll sense that something’s wrong,” SeoK Beom advised—”so don’t make her more anxious than she needs to be.”

„Yeah, I agree,” Dae Ri nodded—”make sure she’s seated, but don’t tell her to sit down! Just seat her yourself, then calmly and in simple words, speak your piece.”

„And what if she faints?” Gi Hun asked, visibly frightened.

„Our mom isn’t that fragile,” Sang Hun joined the discussion—”she’s seen a lot and been through a lot. She’ll withstand this too. She’ll be devastated, but she definitely won’t faint.”

„In that case, I’m off to see her, and you guys wait here for the end of the surgery. If there’s any news, call me right away!” he added as he was leaving.

„Sure! Don’t worry about it! Go! You can handle this. Bring her here!” the others patted him on the back and offered encouragement as best they could.