SS - 70

“Misunderstanding? Did you just say ‘misunderstanding’?”

It was utterly absurd. What misunderstanding could he possibly be referring to?

“If I had told you earlier that we weren’t siblings, maybe the shock wouldn’t have been as bad for you.”

“You’re insane.”

“Sena.”

“Are you really insane?”

Only a madman would dare utter such words.

Sena stared at Ji-Cheol with a look of disgust, as if she were looking at an insect.

“Don’t you think I left home because we were supposedly siblings? I was in high school! A seventeen-year-old girl who had just started high school!”

“But… but, I was only twenty…”

Should she kill him? If she killed him right here, she wouldn’t have to hear such outrageous nonsense anymore.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, Ji-Cheol was suddenly thrown aside.

“Agh!”

“You bastard, I’ll kill you!”

Joo-Hyuk, who had arrived without her noticing, was now on top of Ji-Cheol, throwing punches. His face was red with rage as he choked Ji-Cheol and continued to hit him.

“Joo-Hyuk! Stop, stop it!”

Sena rushed over to try to restrain him, but Joo-Hyuk, his eyes wild and unseeing, kept swinging his fists.

“Stop! Pl-please stop… Ah!”

Suddenly struck by a sharp pain in her abdomen, Sena collapsed to the ground, curling up in agony.

“Ah, it hurts… Joo-Hyuk…”

A sudden ominous feeling overwhelmed her, and Sena burst into tears.

Joo-Hyuk, who had been about to throw another punch at Ji-Cheol, turned to her in panic.

“What’s wrong? What is it?”

“Sena? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t touch her!”

Ji-Cheol, his face bloody, crawled toward her and reached out his hand. Joo-Hyuk screamed at him.

“Don’t you dare touch Sena. I’ll kill you if you do.”

Perhaps sensing that this wasn’t an empty threat, Ji-Cheol froze where he was.

“Sena, I’m here. Where does it hurt?”

“My stomach… my stomach hurts so much, sob.”

“Your stomach? Let’s go to the hospital. We need to get to the hospital.”

Joo-Hyuk lifted her up and carried her to the car. He buckled her seatbelt, reclined the seat slightly, and made sure she could lie down comfortably.

Baby, please…

Praying desperately that what she feared wasn’t happening, Sena wrapped her arms around her stomach and curled up.

“It’s okay. Everything will be fine. Just hold on a little longer.”

Joo-Hyuk’s face, filled with anxiety she’d never seen before, blurred through her tears.

Honking the horn and signaling with his hand out the window, Joo-Hyuk drove toward the hospital, his face briefly betraying glimpses of terror.

---

When she opened her heavy eyelids, the bright white ceiling and glaring lights blinded her momentarily. As her vision adjusted, a familiar face came into view.

“Sena? Are you awake? Oh, my goodness.”

“Auntie?”

Her dry, raspy voice sounded strange, but the relief she felt at seeing her aunt’s worried face quickly overshadowed that.

“Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

Hearing her response, Auntie finally relaxed and collapsed into the chair beside her, though she didn’t let go of Sena’s hand.

“Where’s Joo-Hyuk?”

“He’s here.”

Joo-Hyuk, who had been standing at the foot of the bed, stepped forward.

His haggard face, disheveled clothes, and messy hair brought everything back into sharp focus.

“What about the baby? Is the baby okay?”

Please tell me nothing happened. Please tell me the baby is still inside me.

Instead of voicing her desperate questions, Sena clutched Joo-Hyuk’s hand, tears streaming down her face.

For a few seconds, he simply stared at her, his eyes brimming with tears.

“Surely not…”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Sena gently stroked her stomach. She could barely believe there had been a baby growing inside her, and now, on the very same day she found out, she had lost it.

Why was her life always so tumultuous?

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

“I’m sorry… I should have protected the baby…”

Unable to meet Joo-Hyuk’s gaze, she hung her head and let the tears fall freely.

“How can you say that? What did you do wrong?”

He pulled her close, his grip firm and protective.

“We’ll think about the baby later. Right now, your recovery is the priority.”

“Are your hands okay?”

She looked at his battered, bloodied hands, which bore the marks of the violence he had inflicted on Ji-Cheol. Still, it seemed he had received treatment while she was asleep—there were signs of disinfection and ointment application.

“You idiot… Why did you resort to violence? It must hurt.”

“What else was I supposed to do when he said those things?”

“And what if he had attacked you? You promised to take care of yourself!”

Even though it was over, the mere thought of what could have happened sent shivers down Sena’s spine.

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault, so please don’t cry.”

Joo-Hyuk hurriedly tried to console her.

“Yes, he deserved every punch. If it hadn’t been you, I would’ve gone over there and beaten him senseless myself,” Auntie chimed in from the side.

“After something like that happened, why didn’t you tell me sooner? How could you keep such a big thing to yourself?”

Auntie’s voice trembled with anger, but her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she learned the truth.

“I’m sorry. I had to explain what happened…”

Joo-Hyuk apologized to Sena for having to reveal why she had run away to Auntie.

“It’s okay. I planned to tell you eventually.”

Sena shook her head.

She had intended to tell Auntie’s family someday, just not like this.

“I’m sorry, Auntie.”

“I’m like your mother… You’re like my daughter…”

“Next time. I’ll tell you everything myself next time. For now…”

“For now, don’t worry about anything.”

Auntie roughly wiped away her tears and pulled out a large thermos from under the bed.

“It’s just like after childbirth—you need to take proper care of yourself.”

“Auntie.”

“I made some delicious seaweed soup. Have a bowl and then rest again, okay?”

“…Okay.”

Tears welled up in Sena’s eyes.

She had thought she would eat seaweed soup after giving birth, not like this.

Suddenly, a fresh wave of sorrow welled up inside her.

“Did you know Sena could cry this much?”

Joo-Hyuk asked Auntie with a gentle smile.

“No, I’ve never seen Sena cry before. She’s always been so reserved about showing her emotions that it sometimes made me sad.”

“Really? I thought she was this poised and composed person too, but turns out she’s quite the crier.”

Joo-Hyuk began teasing her, even as she failed to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.

“Stop it. I’m not crying anymore. Who said I was a crybaby, anyway?”

Sena wiped away her tears with her fingers and managed a small smile.

It’s just not the right time yet. When I’m ready—truly ready to become a mother—it’ll happen again.

She bit back the tears threatening to spill over from the grief, injustice, and sadness weighing on her heart.

“What happened to Kang Ji-Cheol?”

“He left after hearing about you. He said to tell you he’s sorry and that he’ll never show up again.”

Though his promise to stay away was what she wanted, she couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d actually keep it.

That thought reminded her of something she wanted to ask Joo-Hyuk.

“I have a favor to ask.”

After taking a spoonful of seaweed soup, Sena slowly turned to Joo-Hyuk.

“What is it? Tell me anything—I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Well…”

She hesitated, worried he might get upset for not mentioning it sooner.

Seeing her hesitation, Joo-Hyuk tilted his head curiously.

“Why are you hesitating? Is it a difficult request?”

“It’s kind of difficult… and…”

“Just say it. I promise I won’t be surprised.”

“You won’t get mad?”

“Mad? What kind of request could possibly make me—fine, fine. I promise I won’t get mad.”

Though puzzled, he raised his pinky finger to seal the promise, trying to reassure her.

“I want to move out of the apartment and into a house.”

“A house? Like a countryside home?”

“Not leaving Seoul or anything. It’s just… I’d like to avoid underground parking lots altogether, even at home.”

“Underground parking? Ah… because of what happened earlier?”

Sena shook her head slowly.

“It’s not just that… dark alleys and secluded places scare me too…”

The mere thought made her feel as if bugs were crawling up her arms, and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

“Is it because of that time when…?”

Finally understanding why she had developed such trauma, Joo-Hyuk trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

“What? What happened?”

Auntie, who knew nothing about Sena’s kidnapping, looked confused and pressed for an answer, but neither of them spoke.

“I see. Our apartment is too tall and cold anyway. Let’s move to a house with a small garden.”

After gazing at her with sympathy for a while, Joo-Hyuk smiled warmly.

“I’ll take care of everything, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

She was grateful he hadn’t gotten angry, as promised, and willingly accepted her difficult request.

They would talk about it later, but she was relieved he didn’t seem upset or frustrated.

---

Not long after, Joo-Hyuk found a spacious house in a good neighborhood for Sena.

As soon as they moved in, he placed a rocking chair by the living room window—one Sena had requested a while ago. It was designed to resemble the one her mother used to sit in while reading books or teaching her nursery rhymes when she was little.

When Sena saw the rocking chair for the first time, she burst into tears once more.

“Thank you. Really, truly, thank you.”

Overwhelmed with gratitude, she leaned into his embrace and cried silently for a while.

Sitting in the rocking chair, basking in the sunlight while gazing out the window, Sena turned her head toward Joo-Hyuk in the kitchen and smiled.

Since the miscarriage, her emotions had been unpredictable, but that raw honesty felt refreshing. Seol-Young had told her it was better to express her feelings openly rather than bottling them up.

“Want something to drink?”

Joo-Hyuk asked as he opened the refrigerator.

“No, thank you.”

“Why do you look so beautiful when you smile like that?”

“I think it’s because I often see you in the kitchen like this.”

“Well, I can’t exactly let you do all the work, can I?”