Bok-ja, who passed away years ago, is granted a three-day pass from heaven to return to Earth and spend time with her loved ones.
A cheerful young guide in heaven delivers the good news, expecting excitement — but Bok-ja doesn’t seem particularly thrilled.
As the guide explains the rules she must follow, he asks who she would like to visit.
Bok-ja says she wants to see her daughter, Jin-joo, whom she’s heard is a university professor in California.
But to her surprise, the guide brings her back to her old home in rural Korea.
Bok-ja questions whether there’s been a mistake. But as she returns to the familiar house and sees steam rising from the kitchen stove, it’s clear someone is living there.
She turns—and sees her daughter Jin-joo walking out of the house.
But Jin-joo can’t see or hear her—because Bok-ja is now a spirit.
The guide then explains the rules:
During these three days, Bok-ja cannot touch anything, and her daughter won’t be able to see or hear her.
Watching her daughter, whom she thought was a professor abroad, now washing clothes by hand beside a water basin, Bok-ja is devastated.
She doesn’t even hear what the guide is saying anymore.
She tries to talk to Jin-joo once the guide leaves, but Jin-joo continues her chores, completely unaware of her mother’s presence.
Bok-ja is heartbroken and confused.
Why is her daughter here?
Why is she running the small soup restaurant they once owned?
As she looks around, the restaurant still retains its old layout—just like when Bok-ja used to run it.
She watches as Jin-joo struggles alone to repair a broken stool, a sight she never imagined for her once-proud daughter.
Soon after, two young men arrive by car and ask what’s on the menu.
Jin-joo invites them in and begins preparing soup and rice for them.
Bok-ja stands frozen, unable to believe that her daughter—whom she thought had built a prestigious life abroad—
is now quietly running a humble restaurant in the countryside.