A mother-in-law reads her son's ex-girlfriend's forum post about him

A woman posts about her son on a Korean online forum. Not long ago, she casually told him (half-joking, half-serious) that he seemed indifferent to his younger sibling's school life — and he just smiled and brushed it off. She thought he was being careless, but turns out he was fine.

She reflects on her philosophy: the ideal daughter-in-law is one who has no mother-in-law-like mother-in-law, and the ideal mother-in-law is one with no daughter-in-law-like daughter-in-law — basically, treat each other like strangers but with warmth. She'd resolved to cherish her future daughter-in-law like her own child, and apparently a truly child-like daughter-in-law arrived. She was worried she'd turn into a 'bad mother-in-law' since she never had a daughter, but now feels she can treat her son's partner the same way. She'd been debating what kind of mother-in-law to be — like a mom, like a neighbor, or distant — and now she feels clarity.

Then the twist: after his girlfriend left (they broke up?), she asked her son why he'd decided to marry her. He said that in the early years she truly did well — because he never talked about family, she filled in the gaps by being extra caring and warm toward his parents. When she later found out his parents existed, she comforted him saying he didn't need to feel sorry. The girlfriend apparently brags about being 'open-minded and unbiased'... and the mom says she's grateful but also feels a little stinging — probably because SHE is the mother-in-law being talked about. Ends with: 'Be happy...'