1: A Rose
A gentleman parked his car in front of a flower shop, he planned to order a bouquet and have it delivered to his mother far away in the hometown. As the gentleman was about to walk into the store, he noticed a little girl sitting on the road crying. The gentleman walked up to the little girl and asked her: "Child, why are you sitting here crying?" "I want to buy a rose for my mom, but I don't have enough money," the child said. The gentleman felt heartbroken upon hearing this. "Is that so..." So the gentleman held the little girl's hand and walked into the flower shop, first ordering the bouquet to be sent to his mother, then buying a rose for the little girl. When they left the flower shop, the gentleman offered to drive the little girl home. "Are you really going to take me home?" "Of course!" "Then take me to my mom. But uncle, my mom lives very far from here." "I should have known better than to give you a ride," the gentleman joked. The gentleman drove according to what the little girl said. Unexpectedly, after leaving the city main road, following the winding mountain road, he ended up at a cemetery. The little girl placed the flower next to a new grave. She had walked a long way just to offer a rose to her mother who had passed away a month ago. The gentleman sent the little girl home, then returned to the flower shop again. He canceled the bouquet he was going to send to his mother and instead bought a large bouquet of fresh flowers, heading straight to his mother's house which was five hours away by car. He wanted to personally offer the flowers to his mom. A rose reminds us that holding a grand funeral for the deceased is not as meaningful as being filial when they are alive.
2: The Unlocked Door
In a remote cottage in a rural village lived a mother and daughter. The mother always triple-locked the door handle out of fear of theft as soon as evening came; the daughter, however, detested the monotonous and ever-changing urban life that seemed like a scenic painting. She yearned for the city, wanting to explore the glamorous world she imagined through the radio. One early morning, the daughter left her mother's side in pursuit of that illusory dream. She secretly fled while her mother was asleep. "Mom, just consider me gone." Unfortunately, this world was not as beautiful and enchanting as she had imagined. Unnoticed by others, she embarked on a path of corruption, sinking into a mire from which there seemed no escape. It was then that she realized her mistake. "Mom!" After ten years, the now grown-up daughter, with a wounded heart and disheveled body, returned to her hometown. When she arrived home, it was already midnight. A faint light seeped through the door crack. She lightly knocked on the door, but suddenly had a premonition. The daughter was surprised when she turned the doorknob. "How strange, Mother has never forgotten to lock the door before." The mother's stout figure curled up on the cold floor, sleeping in a pitiable posture. "Mom... Mom..." Hearing her daughter's sobbing, the mother opened her eyes and wordlessly embraced her daughter's weary shoulders. After crying for a long time in her mother's arms, the daughter suddenly curiously asked: "Mom, why didn't you lock the door today? What if someone broke in?" The mother replied: "Not just today, I was afraid you might come back at night and couldn't get in, so for ten years, the door has never been locked." For ten years, the mother waited for her daughter to return, keeping everything in her daughter's room the same as it was years ago. That night, the mother and daughter went back to how they were ten years ago, locking the door tightly and sleeping soundly. The unlocked door symbolizes that family love is the cradle of hope, gratitude for the warmth of home gives one the energy to keep growing.
3: The Hair in the Bento Box
In those impoverished times, many classmates often didn't even have the ability to bring a decent bento box to school. My seatmate was one such classmate. His meal was always black fermented bean paste, whereas mine often contained ham and sunny-side-up eggs, a world apart. Moreover, this classmate would always pick out the hair from his bento before eating it quietly. This unsettling discovery continued. "It's clear how dirty his mom is, with hair in the rice every day." Classmates whispered among themselves. To avoid hurting his dignity, yet feeling quite disgusted, my impression of this classmate began to decline. One day after school, that classmate stopped me: "If you don't have anything else to do, come over to my place to play." Although I wasn't particularly willing, since we had been classmates since the start, it was the first time he invited me to his home, so I couldn't refuse him. Following my friend, we arrived at a certain slum located in the steepest terrain of Seoul. "Mom, I brought a friend." Upon hearing the cheerful voice of the classmate, the door opened. His aged mother appeared at the doorway. "My son's friend is here, let me see." However, the classmate's mother who stepped out of the room merely touched the beam outside the door with her hand. It turned out she was a blind woman with no sight. I felt a lump in my throat, unable to utter a word. The classmate's bento dish, though always fermented bean paste, was prepared by a mother who couldn't see, not just a lunch, but full of maternal love, even the hair mixed in was also the mother's love. The hair in the bento reminds us that preconceived notions can often influence one's entire life pattern. More observation and exploration may lead to more unexpected discoveries.
4: The Flower-Sowing Postman
In a small village, there was a middle-aged postman who, starting at twenty, cycled fifty kilometers back and forth daily, delivering stories of joy and sorrow to residents' homes. In this way, twenty years passed quickly, people and things changed many times, only the road from the post office to the village remained barren, nothing but flying dust as far as the eye could see. "How much longer must I ride on this desolate road without flowers or trees, filled with dust?" He always felt a bit regretful thinking about having to spend his life cycling on this dusty road. One day, after finishing his deliveries and preparing to return home with heavy thoughts, he happened to pass by a flower shop. "That's it, this!" He entered the flower shop, bought a packet of wildflower seeds, and starting from the next day, carried these seeds and scattered them along the road. Day by day, month by month, he kept scattering the wildflower seeds. Not long after, the barren road he had traveled for twenty years bloomed with various red and yellow flowers; summer flowers in summer, autumn flowers in autumn, blossoming all year round without ceasing. The seeds and floral fragrance meant more to the villagers than any letter the postman had ever delivered in his lifetime. Whistling on the road filled with petals instead of dust, the postman on his bicycle was no longer a lonely postman, nor a sorrowful postman. The flower-sowing postman suggests that life is fleeting, why not leave good deeds behind for future generations to enjoy?
5: The Hundredth Customer
The noon rush hour had passed, and the originally crowded snack shop had cleared out. Just as the boss was about to catch his breath and flip through the newspaper, someone walked in. It was an old grandmother and a little boy. "How much does a bowl of beef soup cost?" The grandmother sat down, counted her money, and ordered a bowl of soup. The steaming bowl of soup was placed in front of the grandson. The little boy swallowed his saliva and looked at his grandmother, saying: "Grandma, have you really eaten lunch?" "Of course," the grandmother slowly chewed a piece of radish kimchi. In no time, the little boy finished the whole bowl of rice. The boss, seeing this scene, approached the two and said: "Old lady, congratulations! You're our hundredth customer today, so your meal is free." After more than a month, on a certain day, the little boy squatted opposite the snack shop, counting something. The boss, glancing out the window unintentionally, got a shock. Originally, each time a customer entered the shop, the little boy would put a pebble into a circle he had drawn. However, even as lunchtime approached, there were fewer than fifty pebbles. Anxious, the boss called all his regular customers: "Are you busy? Nothing much, I want you to come eat a bowl of soup, today I'm treating guests." After making many calls like this, customers started arriving one after another. "Eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three..." The little boy was counting faster and faster. Finally, when the ninety-ninth pebble was placed in the circle, the little boy hastily pulled his grandmother into the snack shop. "Grandma, this time it's my turn to treat you." The little boy said proudly. The grandmother, truly becoming the hundredth customer, allowed her grandson to treat her to a steaming bowl of beef soup. And the little boy, like his grandmother before, chewed a piece of radish kimchi. "Let's give a bowl to that boy too," the boss's wife said compassionately. "That boy is currently learning the principle of being full without eating," the boss replied. Gulp... The grandmother enjoying her meal asked her little grandson: "Should we leave some for you?" Unexpectedly, the little boy patted his small stomach and told his grandmother: "No need, I'm full, Grandma, look..." The hundredth customer story shows how a kind thought can nurture a young seedling, and how numerous seedlings can grow into a forest, where everyone has love and society has compassion.
6: The World's Most Delicious Noodles
He was a single father raising a seven-year-old boy alone. Every time the child came home injured after playing with friends, he felt the absence of his deceased wife deeply, and a melancholy note echoed in his heart. This incident happened on the day he left his child to go on a business trip. Because he had to catch the train, he hurriedly left the house without time to have breakfast with his child. Along the way, he worried whether the child had eaten, whether he was crying, his heart couldn't settle down. Even after reaching the business destination, he kept calling home. Yet the child always sounded very understanding, telling him not to worry. However, due to constant anxiety, he hastily finished his work and set off for home. When he returned, the child was already sound asleep. He finally relaxed. The fatigue from the journey made him feel completely drained. Preparing to sleep, he was suddenly shocked: beneath the quilt lay a bowl of spilled instant noodles! "You!" In anger, he gave a harsh spanking to his sleeping son's bottom. "Why are you so naughty, making daddy angry? How dare you mess up the quilt? Who's going to wash it?" This was the first time he physically disciplined his child since his wife's death. "I didn't..." The child sobbed and defended himself: "I wasn't being naughty, this...this was dinner for daddy." It turned out the child had boiled two bowls of instant noodles to coincide with his father's return time, one for himself, the other for his dad. But because he was afraid the noodles for his dad would get cold, he placed them under the quilt to keep them warm. Hearing this, the father silently hugged his child tightly. Looking at the remaining half-bowl of swollen noodles: "Ah! Child, this is the world's most...most delicious noodles!" Even the youngest children have their dignity. If parents realize they have wronged their child, they should bravely say: "I'm sorry!"