Almond

Yunjae visits his mother in the hospital every day, even though she has little to no chance of waking up. He makes plans to live off his grandmother’s life insurance and ignores the social worker when she tries to suggest he move to a group home.

Yunjae is confused about a path forward but cannot imagine his mother’s advice on the situation; he can only remember her advice for him to live “normally.” He texts an AI app on his phone for advice and comes up with nothing.

Yunjae chooses to reopen the bookstore and speak as little as possible. A woman comes in and asks after his grandmother but scolds him when he tells her she is dead. She tries to leave without paying in shock when he insists the news is true, and Yunjae is confused about the proper way to interact with her. He remembers a story, “Proctor B and the Love Letters,” that he and his mother had disagreed over. As he thinks, a man—Dr. Shim—comes up and leaves a note on the counter asking him to come to the second floor.