{"id":1168,"date":"2026-08-07T11:02:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/?p=1168"},"modified":"2026-08-07T11:02:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:02:48","slug":"my-daughter-married-a-korean-man-when-she-was-21-hican","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/?p=1168","title":{"rendered":"My daughter married a Korean man when she was 21. \u2013 HICAN"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maria Luisa turned towards the window and for the first time Teresa saw real fear in her daughter\u2019s eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cMom, listen to me carefully,\u201d he whispered. \u201cWhatever happens, don\u2019t say you\u2019re my mother.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt that those words hurt her more than the lie of the marriage, more than the 12 lost years.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2014How do you expect me to deny that?<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Current<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u2014Because if they know who you are, they\u2019ll come knocking on your door too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before Teresa could answer, three sharp knocks shook the main entrance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa took a deep breath, dried her face with her hands, and walked towards the door like someone walking towards a sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa followed her, but her daughter raised a hand without looking at her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Stay back.<\/span><\/p>\n

When they opened the door, a Korean man in a dark suit appeared. He wasn\u2019t old, but he had a tired and cold expression.<\/span><\/p>\n

Behind him came two women with folders and a young man who kept looking at his phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man first looked at Maria Luisa, then at Teresa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014We didn\u2019t know you had a visitor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa straightened up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014She\u2019s a cleaning lady. She came by mistake. She was just leaving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt the blow to her chest. Cleaning lady. By mistake. She was just leaving.<\/span><\/p>\n

But she said nothing. Her daughter\u2019s voice trembled only slightly, and that was enough to stop her.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man entered without knocking. The two women followed him. The young man closed the door gently.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to discuss the final contract,\u201d he said. \u201cMr. Kang will not accept any more delays.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa heard that name and her skin prickled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang Jun existed. But not as a husband.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

Maria Luisa pressed her fingers against her skirt.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I already said I\u2019m not going to sign.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man smiled without joy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You\u2019ve been signing worse things for 12 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sentence landed in the room like a stone. Teresa looked at her daughter, searching for an immediate explanation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa didn\u2019t look at her.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the women opened a folder and took out papers with red stamps, passport copies, photographs, and sheets full of numbers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014If he doesn\u2019t sign today, everything will be handed over to immigration, the press, and the prosecutor\u2019s office.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa could barely understand a few words, but she understood enough. Threat. Papers. Scandal. Punishment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe doesn\u2019t sign anything,\u201d Teresa said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone turned around.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa paled.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man looked her up and down, with dangerous patience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014And who are you?<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt her daughter staring at her, pleading for silence. But she also remembered another image.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa at the airport, hugging her as if she were leaving her soul in her arms.<\/span><\/p>\n

And he remembered 12 Christmases with an empty plate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I am his mother.<\/span><\/p>\n

The silence was so profound that even the truck\u2019s engine seemed to fade away.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa closed her eyes, defeated.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man didn\u2019t seem surprised. He simply tucked a sheet of paper into the folder.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Then the missing piece arrived.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa stepped forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening, but my daughter is coming with me.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

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\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

<\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The young man on the phone let out a brief laugh.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Ma\u2019am, this is not a Mexican novel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa looked at him with a calmness she didn\u2019t even know she possessed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014No. It\u2019s worse. Because it\u2019s real.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa lowered her head. For the first time since she arrived, she seemed more like a daughter than an adult.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man in the suit placed the folder on the table.\"C\u00f3<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Her daughter agreed to work for Mr. Kang 12 years ago. It wasn\u2019t marriage. It was a front.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt the floor move.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Facade of what?<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa spoke before he did.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Business. Accounts. Companies that weren\u2019t in my name, but used my signature.<\/span><\/p>\n

His voice was low and dry, as if he had repeated that confession in his mind thousands of times.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang needed a foreigner with no connections here, someone easy to control, someone who seemed grateful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa put a hand to her mouth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014And did you accept?<\/span><\/p>\n

The question came out with more pain than accusation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa finally looked at her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I accepted because you said you owed 300,000 pesos for Dad\u2019s operation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa remained motionless.<\/span><\/p>\n

That debt was old, shameful, and burdensome. She never wanted her daughter to carry that burden.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I told you I would solve it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You weren\u2019t solving it, Mom. You were selling food, cleaning houses, borrowing money. You were burning yourself out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt tears, but they didn\u2019t fall.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man in the suit interrupted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Very emotional. But irrelevant.<\/span><\/p>\n

He took out another sheet of paper and pushed it towards Maria Luisa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Sign the transfer. You hand over the accounts, legally disappear from the group, and nobody bothers your mother.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa looked at the sheet of paper. She didn\u2019t understand the language, but she recognized the poison in that proposal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014And what if he doesn\u2019t sign?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The man smiled.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Then we will explain that she voluntarily participated in fraud, embezzlement, and fake contracts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa breathed with difficulty.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014They have my signature on everything.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you signed it,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody put a gun to your head.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa heard that word and felt an ancient chill. A weapon wasn\u2019t necessary to lock someone up.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes all it took was a debt, a sick mother, a foreign country, and a well-crafted lie.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa sat down slowly in the armchair. It seemed as if her legs had stopped supporting her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Mom, go away. Please.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa looked at her as if she didn\u2019t understand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Twelve years waiting to find you and you want me to leave?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Yes. Because if you stay, you\u2019re going to hate me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa did not respond.\"C\u00f3<\/span><\/p>\n

The woman with the folder placed several photographs on the table. In them, Mar\u00eda Luisa appeared at dinners, hotels, and meetings.<\/span><\/p>\n

She smiled next to elegant men. Kang Jun was always nearby, always impeccable, always commanding attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe money you received every Christmas,\u201d the man said, \u201ccame from those operations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt the blood rush to her face.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014No.<\/p>\n

Maria Luisa closed her eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

-Yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n

The word was small, but it broke something inside the mother.<\/span><\/p>\n

For years, Teresa had defended her daughter against gossip and ridicule. She had said that she was hardworking, successful, and good.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it was. But it was also tied to a dirty truth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know,\u201d Teresa said, almost voiceless.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I sent it to you in December,\u201d Mar\u00eda Luisa whispered. \u201cSo it would seem like a gift. So I wouldn\u2019t have to think about where it came from.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa took a step back.<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just deception. It was food, shelter, medicine, tiles, clothes, favors, pride.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everything was tainted by a story that her daughter had endured alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man looked at his watch.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You have 10 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa picked up the pen. Teresa saw her fingers trembling.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014What happens if you sign?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m left with nothing,\u201d she replied. \u201cBut perhaps you can return to Mexico in peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

-And you?<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa smiled with unbearable sadness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I\u2019m used to it now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt something rising in her chest. Not anger. Not exactly.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a decision in the making.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You\u2019re not going to sign.<\/span><\/p>\n

-Mother\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You\u2019re not going to sign to protect me from a truth that\u2019s already come in through that door.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man leaned towards Teresa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Madam, you don\u2019t understand the magnitude of this.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Teresa said. \u201cBut I understand the size of a daughter.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa burst into tears without making a sound. She covered her face with both hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

The young man on the phone received a call, muttered something in Korean, and stiffened.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man in the suit looked at him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014What\u2019s happening?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
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The young man showed him the screen. The man lost his composure for a second.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa noticed that change. Small, but real.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa saw it too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang is coming, right?<\/span><\/p>\n

No one answered.<\/span><\/p>\n

The name filled the house with a presence heavier than all of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa looked toward the door. Outside, the truck was still running, its lights cutting through the fine snow.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMom,\u201d said Maria Luisa, \u201cthere\u2019s a red memory stick in the office upstairs. It\u2019s in a shoebox.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The man in the suit looked up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Be careful what you say.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa ignored him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014It\u2019s all there. Contracts, emails, recordings, names. I kept it for years, but I never had the courage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa understood. That was the choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Signing and burying the truth to save a false peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or bring everything to light and risk what little they could still protect.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Why didn\u2019t you hand it in earlier?<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa clumsily wiped her face.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Because it also implicates me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa said nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was easy to love an innocent daughter. What was difficult was loving a guilty, broken, and frightened daughter.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man picked up the pen from the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Memory is useless if no one emerges socially unscathed from this. It will fall with us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt the weight of that phrase.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda Luisa was not just a victim. She had signed. She had kept silent. She had sent money.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Teresa had lived off that money without asking enough questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth didn\u2019t come clean. It came with mud for both of us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another car pulled up outside. This time it wasn\u2019t a truck. It was an inconspicuous gray sedan.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man in the suit clenched his jaw.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Time\u2019s up.<\/span><\/p>\n

The door opened without knocking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang Jun entered wearing a black coat, his silver hair at the temples, and with an elegant calm.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa recognized him instantly from the photos, although in person he seemed less human.<\/span><\/p>\n

He looked at Maria Luisa first, then at Teresa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014So the mother came for Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n

His Spanish was slow, but clear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt nauseous upon hearing his voice. Twelve years behind a screen, behind transfers, behind silences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You stole my daughter\u2019s life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang Jun patiently removed his gloves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014No. I gave her a life that you couldn\u2019t give her.<\/span><\/p>\n

The phrase was a slap in the face.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa got up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Don\u2019t talk about her.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang barely smiled.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014For years you talked about her every time I needed you to sign.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa looked at her daughter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa lowered her eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014He knew I would do anything for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang walked around the room as if the house were his own.\"C\u00f3<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014The lady must know something. Her daughter wasn\u2019t kidnapped. She wasn\u2019t killed. She wasn\u2019t chained up.<\/span><\/p>\n

He pronounced the words coldly, as if he were reading a list.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014She chose. Once. Then again. Then again. That\u2019s how real cages work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa swallowed hard. She hated to admit that there was truth in that cruelty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda Luisa hadn\u2019t always been a child. She had made decisions. Some out of love, others out of fear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang pointed to the documents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Sign. Your mother returns to Mexico. She keeps the house, the money, the dignity. You are free from the group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFree?\u201d Maria Luisa asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014As free as someone with your fingerprints can be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa looked at her daughter. She saw weariness, shame, love. She saw the little girl sleeping with a patched-up doll.<\/span><\/p>\n

And he saw the woman who had lied for 12 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you want to do?\u201d Teresa asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone seemed surprised. Even Maria Luisa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014They?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/p>\n

\u2014Yes. You. Not Kang. Not me. You.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa opened her mouth, but nothing came out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa took one step closer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I\u2019ve spent my whole life making decisions out of fear. Fear of not having money. Fear of losing you. Fear of what people will say.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her voice began to break.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I don\u2019t want to decide today because of fear. But I can\u2019t decide for you either.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa trembled. Those words left her more exposed than any accusation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang sighed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Very nice. But useless.<\/span><\/p>\n

He took out his phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014In 5 minutes, the complaint will be filed against her. Then we\u2019ll see how much a mother\u2019s love is worth in a courtroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa didn\u2019t know Korean law. She didn\u2019t understand the stamps. She didn\u2019t know who to call.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he could read faces. And Kang wasn\u2019t calm. He was in a hurry.<\/span><\/p>\n

That meant that red memory mattered.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa looked towards the stairs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang followed his gaze.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014No.<\/p>\n

It was just one word, but everyone moved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa ran towards the stairs. The young man tried to stop her. Teresa stepped in front of him without thinking.<\/span><\/p>\n

The shove sent her crashing against the wall. Her shoulder hurt, but she didn\u2019t fall.<\/span><\/p>\n

-Mother!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a1Corre!<\/p>\n

Maria Luisa went upstairs. Kang shouted something in Korean. The women backed away in fear.<\/span><\/p>\n

The man in the suit grabbed Teresa by the arm, not with brutal force, but with customary authority.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Madam, don\u2019t complicate this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa looked directly at him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You don\u2019t know how much a mother can complicate things.<\/span><\/p>\n

She stepped on his foot with all her might. The man cursed and left her.<\/span><\/p>\n

Upstairs, boxes were heard falling. Papers. A bang against a door.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang went up two steps, but stopped when Teresa stood in front of him.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was ridiculous. There she was, a 63-year-old woman, facing a powerful man in a foreign country.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he didn\u2019t move.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to separate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014No.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang watched her with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Your daughter will go to prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt that word open her chest.<\/span><\/p>\n

-Maybe.<\/span><\/p>\n

The answer surprised everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa took a deep breath.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014But if he has to pay for something, let him pay with the whole truth, not by taking on your burdens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang finally lost his smile.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa went downstairs with a shoebox clutched to her chest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her face had changed. She was still scared, but she no longer looked asleep.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have copies in the cloud,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they touch me, they\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang looked at her the way one looks at someone who has just broken a sacred agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You have no courage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa went down the last step.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014I didn\u2019t have it.<\/span><\/p>\n

He looked at Teresa.<\/span><\/p>\n

-Now yes.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a moment, mother and daughter recognized each other after 12 years apart.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not as innocents. Not as saviors. Just as two women tired of pretending.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang extended his hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Give it to me and I can still fix this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa hugged the box tighter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014That\u2019s what you told me the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teresa felt the hidden story opening up like an old wound.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria Luisa spoke without taking her eyes off Kang.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014You told me it was just a signature. That it helped move legal money. That I would pay off Mom\u2019s debt later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her voice trembled, but it didn\u2019t break.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Then it was another signature. Then an account. Then a trip. Then a lie for immigration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kang pressed his lips together.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
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<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maria Luisa turned towards the window and for the first time Teresa saw real fear in her daughter\u2019s eyes. \u201cMom,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1170,"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168\/revisions\/1170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yumguide.delicedcook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}