Breaking Up with Boyfriend of 5 Years After All
Netizens' Opinions Divided on the Story
A woman in her 20s who runs a cafe expressed her discomfort after hearing from her boyfriend’s mother that she was “selling water.” On the 25th, a post titled “Boyfriend’s mother who says I’m selling water even though I run a cafe” was uploaded on the online community 'Nate Pann.' Ms. A, who has been dating her boyfriend, a 9th-grade public official of the same age, for five years and was planning to meet with marriage in mind, visited her boyfriend’s house in early October.
At their first meeting, the boyfriend’s mother bluntly said, “I heard through my son that you run a cafe, but do you plan to continue even after marriage? Wouldn’t a more stable job be better for dual-income households than selling water? If only our son had gotten into a large corporation...” trailing off. Ms. A explained the situation, saying, “I didn’t want to hear more or respond, so I thought I should be polite to an elder, finished the meal, and left immediately.” She added, “Although the income isn’t fixed, my parents built a cafe in a place with a nice view, so many people come. Even after paying staff salaries and other operating expenses, I earn more than office workers, and since I’m an only child, I also have additional income from an apartment I recently received as a gift.”
Ms. A confessed, “I was disappointed and angry at my boyfriend, who just sat quietly listening while his mother implied that if our son had gotten into a large corporation, he wouldn’t have allowed me, who ‘sells water,’ to meet him.” The boyfriend responded nonchalantly, saying, “From the perspective of older parents, they might think that way.” Ms. A then informed him of her decision to break up, but he pleaded, “You’re being too sensitive. We’ve dated for five years; we can’t just break up over something like this.”
Ms. A lamented, “Whether we dated for five years, one year, or ten years, if it’s not going to work out, it’s over. My point is that it’s not just about this issue. If they say something like that at the very first meeting before marriage, wouldn’t the hardships of living with in-laws be obvious?” Netizens reacted to the story with comments such as, “It’s not easy to meet wise elders,” “You had every right to feel upset,” and “The very fact that she said ‘selling water’ is the problem.” On the other hand, some netizens said, “You could have just ignored it; you seem too sensitive,” and “She probably used that expression because she’s from an older generation.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
