ATLANTA – The moments of fun were few and far between. Randy Park, 23, said his mother lived a life of work and not much else to support her small family, so the special moment they shared last week will forever be remembered.
His mother, Hyun Jung Grant, 51, was among eight people killed at the hands of a shooter who went from spa to spa in the Atlanta area earlier this week. Grant was one of four people identified on Friday morning by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“She spent her entire life existing only for me and my brother. She never had time to travel, ”said the son in an interview on Friday morning for NBC News. “She stayed at home only a few days every few weeks.”
Park and his younger brother grew up in Seattle, where they lived with other family members.
About 13 years ago, his mother moved the family south to a better life and because of Atlanta’s rich Korean history and acceptance, said Park, a cashier at a bakery that uses much of his earnings on family accounts.
“It’s a very familiar place for a Korean person to come,” said Park, who was in fourth grade when the change came.
In his new state, more work means less time with his mother, Park said.
“Obviously, she didn’t have much money when it came. For at least a year, she had to leave us with another family. We never saw it; we would just get calls from her. We didn’t have cell phones at the time, ”said Park.
“We would see it in person from time to time, but it was superspace,” he added.
The son said his mother usually slept all night at work in the Atlanta spa, instead of driving the 30 miles to Duluth every night.
Sometimes she would relax and let her hair down.
She boasted of her love for disco music, and the club scene has never aged, Park said.
During those rare occasions, she could dance all night. She also watched Korean drama and horror films, her son said.
“She was a big kid,” said Park. “She basically behaved like a teenager.”
Joyful times were hard to come by. Then the last one came, about 10 days ago.
Somehow, she discovered an electronic song called “The Business” by Tiesto, which ended up being too old for her son. “I had already heard the song,” said Park.
The mother and son danced, laughed and smiled. It would be the last time they would do it.
Asked what he would say to his mother today, Park said, “You did a good job. You have done enough and finally get some sleep and rest. “