SS - 75

Sena stared in disbelief at the mountain of health supplements piled up in one corner of her aunt’s living room.

Red ginseng, black ginseng, black garlic, probiotics, multivitamins—and even a stack of herbal medicine prescribed by a renowned oriental clinic.

“All of that is for you.”

Hana emerged from the bathroom and noticed Sena eyeing the pile of items.

“Huh? All of this is for me?”

“Yes. I was actually planning to bring it over to you on a specific day.”

“Where did all of this even come from?”

“I received it.”

“Received it? From whom?”

After a brief hesitation, Hana shrugged as if she didn’t fully understand either, then replied:

“Your father.”

“…What?”

Why would her father do this? And more importantly, had he visited here?

There were so many questions swirling in her mind, but she couldn’t figure out where to start, so she just looked at Hana with wide, bewildered eyes.

At that moment, her uncle emerged from the kitchen after finishing the dishes and tilted his head curiously upon seeing the two of them. Her aunt followed shortly after, equally puzzled.

“Why are you making that face?”

“Auntie, did my father come by?”

“Huh? Yeah… Hana, didn’t I tell you not to say anything to Sena yet?”

Her aunt glared at Hana, clearly annoyed that the secret had been spilled.

“What’s the point of hiding it? Were you going to pretend Mom bought all of this? She needed to know.”

“Still, why give her something like this?”

Her aunt gestured for quiet, then plopped down onto the sofa next to Sena.

“Yes, your father brought these things.”

“Why did he come here?”

“He said he wanted to give them to you directly, but he figured you wouldn’t meet him. He also said he was grateful and sorry for raising you well all these years.”

Wasn’t this apology and gratitude too late? It should have been done much earlier—why now?

“What are these things?”

“He heard about your condition somehow and brought all these ‘good-for-you’ items.”

So he had heard about the miscarriage. Why couldn’t he just call instead?

How could he have the audacity to bring these things to her aunt’s house but not even pick up the phone to ask how she was doing or wish her well? It didn’t make sense.

Even though she had cut ties with him, shouldn’t someone in his position try harder to seek forgiveness rather than giving up?

“No one will feel grateful because of this… I’m not eating any of it. I don’t need it.”

Sena shook her head firmly.

“Fine, we’ll eat it. But what about the herbal medicine? It was specially prescribed for you—it might help you recover.”

“I don’t want to eat it.”

“Sena, your father went through the trouble of bringing this for you.”

Her uncle approached and gently tried to persuade her.

“You should give someone who’s reflecting and seeking forgiveness a chance.”

“I’ve already given him more chances than enough.”

“Still, it took courage for him to come here. Even when your aunt tried chasing him away while throwing salt at him, he didn’t budge.”

The image of her aunt sprinkling salt and yelling at her father as he entered the gate popped into her mind.

She had missed quite the spectacle.

A faint smile almost formed at the thought.

“Hey, that oriental clinic is super expensive! They don’t take reservations easily—it’s like trying to meet a celebrity doctor. Just close your eyes and drink the herbal medicine.”

Even Hana chimed in to support the idea.

“Sis, even if Father brought ambrosia, you wouldn’t eat it, would you?”

“Oh, stop being so stubborn. Are you really going to throw away something so valuable? That’s bad karma! Think about how many people can’t afford hospital visits—herbal medicine is precious.”

When they put it like that, she had no counterargument.

Her aunt quickly grabbed the box of herbal medicine from the pile and pushed it toward Sena’s feet.

“Just take it. Whether you eat it or throw it away is up to you.”

“But Auntie, you accepted it…”

“I accepted it for your sake. No matter how much I dislike or resent your father, your health comes first. If it’s good for you, we should at least try giving it to you.”

Her aunt was the kind of person who would bow her head even to an enemy if it meant protecting someone as dear to her as her own child.

But did she really need to accept herbal medicine from her father, especially since nearly three months had passed?

Still, understanding her aunt’s intentions, Sena reluctantly agreed.

“Alright, fine.”

“You made the right choice.”

“Talk to your husband about it. He’ll definitely tell you to take it.”

Knowing Joo-Hyuk would agree, Sena didn’t want to bring it home—but she decided not to argue further. She’d handle it herself later.

---

“What’s all this?”

“Herbal medicine.”

“Herbal medicine?”

“Some of the medicine my father left at Auntie’s place.”

Sena recounted what happened at her aunt’s house to Joo-Hyuk when he returned home.

“Ahh—then you should drink it.”

He spoke as if it were obvious, which made Sena wrinkle her nose in irritation.

“Why? Don’t you want to drink it?”

“No, not at all.”

“Is it because your father gave it to you?”

“He shouldn’t have brought these things to Auntie’s house. A simple phone call asking how I was doing would’ve been better.”

“That’s true, but…”

Joo-Hyuk trailed off awkwardly.

“But what?”

“Didn’t you block your father’s contact information?”

“Ah...”

Now that she thought about it, she had indeed blocked her father’s number.

“In case of emergencies, I figured his secretary might contact me, so I blocked Father’s number.”

“Did Father try to call you?”

“Once. He asked if I was okay, and I replied that I was fine before hanging up.”

“Why didn’t you tell me…?”

Seeing Joo-Hyuk smiling knowingly at her, Sena closed her mouth. If he had told her about the call from her father, she probably would’ve gotten upset or frustrated.

“So, what you’re saying is that I should drink this herbal medicine?”

“Not necessarily that you have to drink it, but there’s no harm in trying. It won’t hurt.”

“...”

“If you really don’t want to, I’ll take care of it. You don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

Joo-Hyuk pulled the box of herbal medicine toward himself as he spoke.

“W-Wait a moment.”

“Hmm?”

“Give me one day. I’ll think about it.”

“Alright.”

“Why did you call Father?”

Not wanting to talk more about the herbal medicine that night, Sena quickly changed the subject.

At her question, Joo-Hyuk’s face darkened abruptly. Though his lips still curved into a faint smile, his eyes lost their light, becoming distant and troubled.

“Did something happen?”

“He revised his will.”

“His... will?”

“Now that he’s stepped down from the company and transferred all his shares to my eldest brother and the employees, he needed to update the will.”

“But why do you look so troubled? Are you sad because you’re not inheriting anything?”

“Haha, no.”

Sena’s joke elicited a short laugh from Joo-Hyuk, though his face remained heavy with pain.

“Father isn’t well.”

“Not well? What’s wrong?”

After everything seemed to be settling down—finally finding peace—what could this mean?

“He has dementia.”

It felt like lightning had struck her mind.

Sena knew how terrifying dementia was. Her grandmother had passed away from it shortly before her mother died, and she remembered how her mother had feared developing the disease herself since it could be hereditary.

Losing memories—or worse, cherished recollections—was truly horrifying.

“Does Father... know?”

“Yes.”

A sorrowful smile lingered on Joo-Hyuk’s lips.

“He visited a doctor and apparently told my eldest brother about it.”

“How serious is it? How far has it progressed?”

“Not too severe yet. It’s still in the early stages.”

Though it was somewhat relieving to hear, Sena stayed silent. She knew nothing she said would comfort him right now.

“You’re not blaming yourself for this, are you?”

Instead, she cautiously asked.

“Blaming myself?”

Seeing Joo-Hyuk slump his shoulders and narrow his eyes, Sena realized her guess was correct. As expected, he must have been blaming himself.

“Why would you think that?”

“I just imagined how stressed he must have been, even if he seemed fine on the surface…”

“Of course he was stressed! If he hadn’t been, that would’ve been strange.”

“So, it’s clear that the stress affected his brain somehow.”

Joo-Hyuk spoke with a pained expression.

Knowing he wasn’t the type to confide openly in his brothers, Sena wondered how much he had suffered alone. 

She reached out and gently stroked his face. Guilt could weigh heavily on someone, often making them sicker than they realized.

“Poor thing.”

Joo-Hyuk rested his head against her hand. As she slowly rubbed his cheek with her thumb, he closed his eyes.

“Father definitely doesn’t blame you for this. No one does.”

“What others think doesn’t matter. I’m the one burdening myself.”

“So, do you regret what you did?”

At her question, his eyes slowly opened.

“No. Not at all.”

He shook his head firmly.

“Then don’t regret it. Stopping Father was the right thing to do.”

“I just wonder if it was too late.”

“It’s okay. There’s still plenty of time.”

Sena embraced him and patted his back soothingly.

“Spend time with Father before it’s too late. Talk to him a lot. Until your heart feels at ease.”

Though she didn’t know how much time was left.

---

“I’m here, Father.”

With a determined resolve, Sena stood before Chairman Choi. Recognizing her, his face twisted in displeasure. Whether it was because his reading time had been interrupted or simply because he didn’t welcome her visit, he slammed his book shut and placed it on the living room table.

“I don’t remember calling you.”

“The housekeeper made some dumplings. I heard you like them, so I brought some to share.”

Without faltering, Sena lifted the shopping bag in her hand to show him.