79. Utterly Peaceful and Happy

Close to dawn, Soohyun woke up to the sound of the baby whimpering. Haerin, lying next to him, was sound asleep, exhausted from nursing all night.

Soohyun quietly slipped out of bed and turned on the nursing light. Looking at the baby crib attached to the adult bed, he saw the awake baby squirming and whimpering.

“Shh...”

With practiced movements, Soohyun picked up the baby just before it started to cry.

The baby was just over two months old.

Haerin, as well as Soohyun, were completely devoted to caring for the baby. During the day, Haerin fed the baby a bottle, and at night, Soohyun did.

Of course, they had hired help to take care of household chores and to clean and manage the baby’s things. That was why Haerin insisted on taking care of the baby herself.

Haerin’s mother urged her to prioritize her postpartum recovery and leave it to others, but her words were in vain.

Both Soohyun and Haerin cherished the baby in their arms so much that they would almost fight over who got to hold the baby. There was no room for others to handle the baby.

It was even more so because the baby was born after they had gone through so much. Both of them had a strong attachment to the baby.

Still, for Soohyun, Haerin came before the baby. The reason he frequently took care of the baby at night was partly out of affection for the baby, but mostly out of concern for Haerin’s well-being.

On busy days, if he was late coming home from work, Haerin would often be dozing off in bed with the baby in her arms. Since she didn’t want to leave the baby in someone else’s care, it was clear that if Soohyun didn’t step in, Haerin would truly neglect her own health and throw herself entirely into caring for the baby day and night.

Soohyun hurried out and found the bottle of breast milk that Haerin had previously pumped and stored. Returning to the room, he put the bottle in the bottle warmer and gently patted the baby to soothe it.

Fortunately, the baby in Soohyun’s arms rested its head on his shoulder and stopped crying.

“Gyaaah.”

At the baby’s babbling sound, Soohyun gently lifted the baby he was holding and made eye contact. A smile naturally spread across his face as he met the baby’s eyes.

The baby, making eye contact with his father, smiled faintly.

“Are you hungry?”

“Agyagyagu.”

“Yeah, okay. Just wait a little bit, okay?”

With practiced movements, Soohyun cradled the baby in one arm and took the bottle he had placed in the bottle warmer, holding it against his cheek. After confirming that the temperature was right, he offered it to the baby.

As the nipple touched its mouth, the baby, smelling the milk, quickly latched onto the bottle.

While the baby sucked and mumbled on the bottle, Soohyun gazed at it, mesmerized. The baby’s head was still so small that it didn’t fully fit in his palm.

Its small mouth moved incessantly, as if sucking with all its might.

“Junwoo-ya. Is it yummy?”

Soohyun called the baby’s name softly and spoke to him.

The baby’s eyes, which had been focused on the bottle, briefly looked up at Soohyun before returning to the bottle.

They had named the baby Junwoo.

Using the characters for “bright” and “rain,” hoping he would grow up to be a child who brought brightness to the world. More than anything, Soohyun wanted the baby to grow up bright, unlike himself.

He wanted him to grow up without seeing the bad and unpleasant things in the world.

Giving him the overflowing love and complete family that he himself had not received was Soohyun’s goal.

Watching the baby’s mouth sucking on the bottle, Soohyun thought of Chairman Park’s lonely death.

It was less than a month after Junwoo was born.

While Soohyun and the rest of the family were preoccupied with the baby’s birth, Chairman Park had let go of his life in a hospital room that no one guarded.

It was a death no one attended.

Jae-eun, who had been assigned to an overseas branch, never once looked for her mother until right before her departure. She blamed Chairman Park to the very end for her life ending this way.

Jaehoon, who had gone down to the provinces, also never visited Chairman Park in the hospital after that.

He had heard that he occasionally came up to Seoul to have meals with his sons, but he never came near the hospital where Chairman Park was hospitalized. His sons were the same.

Just before his death, Chairman Park barely managed to say one word to the caregiver who was by his side.

He hadn’t said a single word since being hospitalized, but the last word Chairman Park uttered with all his might before dying was, “Save me.”

Now, everything about Taesung and Park Yoon-hwa would slowly be forgotten in people’s memories.

The Taesung main residence had also burned down, leaving only ashes.

The site was to be cleared and a new house built. It would be the house where Haerin and Soohyun would live. And they planned to make enough spacious rooms for Haerin’s parents or Taehoon and his wife to stay overnight comfortably.

Their families, having gone through hardships together, had an unusually good relationship between in-laws.

In fact, since Taehoon and Soohyun had shown each other their worst sides, there was nothing more to hide, and no reason to put on unnecessary formalities or pretense.

“Euguugu...”

Junwoo, who had emptied the bottle, stuck out his tongue and pushed the nipple out of his mouth.

He had heard that babies’ eyesight wasn’t fully developed yet, but Junwoo spat out the bottle right away like this when it was empty.

Was it instinct, or was Junwoo just smart?

Whenever Soohyun saw Junwoo do this, he puffed up with pride, thinking his son already had something special about him. Even the smallest changes in Junwoo made him so proud that he was eager to brag about it like a fool to anyone he could grab.

He even wanted to tell anyone he met that his baby had a good bowel movement.

Who would have known that Jung Soohyun would change this much?

Soohyun put down the empty bottle, picked up the baby, and patted his back to burp him as he slowly walked around the room.

A faint ray of light seeped into the room through the curtains.

Approaching the window and slightly parting the curtains, he saw the sky beginning to brighten with blue and yellow hues, as if the sun was about to rise.

As the light streamed into the room, Haerin’s voice came from behind him, as if she had noticed.

“Is the baby awake...?”

It was a voice wandering in a dream. Her voice was full of sleepiness, so Soohyun quietly approached Haerin and said in a small voice,

“I fed him a bottle. Sleep more.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Yesterday, Junwoo didn’t fall asleep quickly... uh...”

Haerin mumbled a few words and then fell asleep again.

Soohyun looked down at Haerin and smiled softly, then headed back to the window with Junwoo in his arms.

The sun, just beginning to rise outside the window, stretched its rays towards the dim sky.

As he gazed at the sun rising powerfully, emitting brilliant light, the scent of the baby wafted up from below his chin.

Soohyun lowered his head and buried his face in the baby’s neck.

The soft, tender skin of the baby touched his cheek, and Soohyun took a deep breath, inhaling the baby’s scent lingering around his nose. Then he whispered in a small voice,

I love you, I love you. I love you more than anything. My son, Junwoo-ya.

Soohyun was completely immersed in the baby’s scent mixed with the smell of milk.

The scent was so lovely and comforting that he rubbed his face against the baby’s, and the baby cooed softly, rubbing his face against Soohyun’s cheek.

“Burp.”

Following a loud burp, the baby babbled again and made babyish gestures.

“Ah, good boy. Our Junwoo. You burp well and smile well too. Say ‘Papa’.”

“Abababa...”

“Huh? Papa?! Did you just say ‘Papa’?”

“Agyagya...”

It was impossible, but Soohyun’s eyes widened, wondering if his son might be a genius. He looked at the baby in his arms with surprised eyes and then at Haerin, but she was sound asleep.

With no one to agree with him, Soohyun pouted and then smiled, giggling like a fool by himself.

How long had he walked? After circling the room for a while, he heard soft breathing coming from his shoulder.

“Shh...”

Soohyun walked gently to the baby crib, supported the baby’s back with his hand, and slowly laid the baby down in the crib.

Then, holding his breath, he slowly pulled out the hand that was caught between the baby’s back and the crib, focusing intently.

“Uuuung...”

He watched his son, who was babbling in a still posture without straightening his curved back, for a moment. Fortunately, Junwoo stirred a little and then fell sound asleep again with both arms raised above his head.

Soohyun quietly moved and got back into his own bed.

It was Saturday, thankfully. He lay down beside Haerin, thinking he could sleep in a little later.

“...Is the baby asleep?”

As he got into bed, Haerin snuggled into Soohyun’s arms and asked.

“Yeah. I put him to sleep.”

“Thank you.”

Haerin rubbed her face against Soohyun’s chest and mumbled. Soohyun put his arm around her head and stroked her hair.

“You know, I think Junwoo called me ‘Papa’ earlier.”

“...Did he?”

Soohyun was slightly deflated by her soulless agreement, but he still repeated,

“He really said ‘Papa’. I think Junwoo has a talent for languages.”

“...Is that so. Our son is a genius...”

Haerin nodded and agreed with Soohyun’s words, but Soohyun didn’t say anything more and closed his mouth. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like Haerin was really listening and responding properly.

He firmly resolved to tell her again when Haerin woke up in the morning, and gently smoothed her disheveled hair. Haerin made a sound like Junwoo’s babbling, “eung,” and then fell asleep again, breathing softly.

Soohyun quietly gazed at Haerin’s sleeping face.

As he kept looking, he thought Haerin’s sleeping face resembled Junwoo’s sleeping face.

When he woke up at night to put Junwoo back to sleep, Haerin would thank Soohyun and not know what to do, but that was nothing compared to what Haerin had given him.

Soohyun stroked Haerin’s hair, just as he had done for Junwoo a moment ago, and whispered softly,

Thank you more. Thank you for coming to me, for letting me know what family is, and for becoming my home.

He remembered the night when Haerin had first come into his space and slept, breathing softly.

Looking back now, that night was the beginning.

Haerin was the first to come and fill the space that had been filled only with his own presence, and now Junwoo was with them.

The quiet room was filled with the soft breathing of Junwoo and Haerin sleeping soundly. Listening to their sleeping sounds filled his heart.

Morning sunlight streamed in through the slightly open window.

Soohyun had no doubt that these peaceful mornings would continue for his family for the rest of their lives. And he planned to do everything he could to protect this family, no matter what difficulties came their way.

“Haerin-ah. Thank you. And I love you.”

Soohyun kissed Haerin’s forehead, matched his breathing to hers, and closed his eyes.

It was an ordinary weekend morning for a family, utterly peaceful and happy.

<Possession> The End.