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At 2:40 AM, they arrived at the hospital.
The doctor who examined Sehee reassured them, saying there was no immediate danger of the baby coming out. Her water had broken, but her cervix hadn’t dilated yet, or something like that.
The conclusion was that they had to wait until her cervix opened, and they could administer an epidural.
She was immediately admitted, and Sehee groaned on the bed, enduring the labor pains.
It was a sight Kang-joon had never seen before. Joo Sehee struggling and suffering like this.
He had run countless simulations for this day. For when contractions started, when her water broke, and even when a dangerous situation required a choice, though he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
The reason was singular: if he could control the situation, Sehee wouldn’t be scared or afraid.
He admitted to Sehee’s earlier remark about him being a “scheming man with a plan,” but theory and reality were far too different.
In this helpless situation, where he could do nothing for his wife writhing in pain, his “scheming plan” was useless.
Holding the hand that desperately clutched at anything, wiping her sweat-soaked forehead, gently stroking her swollen belly.
That was all Kang-joon could do right now.
Even in this moment, perhaps not wanting to worry him, Sehee smiled at Kang-joon during a brief pause in contractions.
“Wow, being a mom is so hard.”
She didn’t even know how fragile that forced smile looked, as if it might shatter.
You must be feeling this for the first time too, just like me. Why are you pretending to be okay again, or are you just being considerate of me?
Kang-joon kissed the back of Sehee’s hand and said with sincerity,
“I’m sorry, for making you bear this alone. For not being able to do anything.”
He regretted it.
If he had known she would struggle and hurt like this, he wouldn’t have succumbed to Joo Sehee’s temptation to give her a baby that night, when the stars in the night sky were exceptionally beautiful.
After 11 hours of labor, Sehee went into the delivery room.
Kang-joon sat in front of the delivery room, holding his breath.
Even Chairman Seo and Yeon-sook, who had been so agitated, maintained silence at this moment.
How much time passed like that?
When Sehee’s scream echoed from inside the delivery room, Kang-joon instinctively jumped to his feet.
His strong wife, who hadn’t even made a sound when Madam Jo hit her hard enough to make her faint, was now crying out in pain.
“Didn’t she get an epidural?”
A nurse answered Kang-joon, who exuded a polite but chilling aura, in a frightened voice.
“It varies for each mother. For some, the epidural works well, and for others, it doesn’t work at all.”
Just then, Sehee’s pain-filled scream pierced through the delivery room door again.
Sehee’s scream sounded to Kang-joon like an SOS signal, ‘Save me.’
To hell with being a scheming man with a plan.
...Damn it.
His mind went blank, his rationality disappeared, and Kang-joon tried to rush into the delivery room.
What blocked Kang-joon’s path was Yeon-sook.
“It’s not for nothing that they say mothers are great and childbirth is great. Let’s wait calmly.”
“What if something goes wrong with Sehee?”
His usually calm son’s voice was trembling faintly. At the sight of his son’s frightened expression, which he had never seen before, Yeon-sook was momentarily speechless.
But she quickly composed herself and spoke firmly.
“I gave birth to you that way too. And so did other mothers.”
When her son’s expression still didn’t relax, Yeon-sook continued,
“Alright, what are you going to do if you, who aren’t even a doctor, go in there? Are you going to bring her out? Or are you going to tell her not to have the baby?”
“I need to be by her side. That way, Sehee will be less scared and feel at ease.”
At Kang-joon’s persistent stubbornness, Yeon-sook sighed deeply and recalled Sehee’s request from the hospital room.
She had asked that Kang-joon not be allowed into the delivery room, no matter what.
She must have known her son would be overly particular about even the smallest things concerning his wife.
“Son, you don’t understand, but childbirth is beautiful, yet most women absolutely refuse to let their husbands see them in that state. Especially someone with Sehee’s personality.”
Her smart and capable son couldn’t understand these words.
“You won’t understand it even if you die and come back to life, so don’t try to. What you need to do now, Kang-joon, is trust Sehee and wait. And you need to understand the hardship she’s going through because you can’t be by her side. Never forget this moment and treat Sehee well for the rest of your life. Understood?”
He would never forget this moment, but even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to.
Finally, Kang-joon slumped back into the chair.
With his hands clasped together, he prayed for the first time.
That his wife would have a safe delivery. That he could see his wife’s smiling face again.
________________________________________
11 hours for the cervix to open, 1 hour for delivery.
Sehee gave birth to Pré after a full 12 hours.
She understood what it meant to “see stars,” and she screamed and cried until her throat was hoarse.
She must have called out for her mother countless times, someone she had never once sought since birth.
The long, drawn-out moments of pain that seemed endless, the moment she wanted to give up everything.
Finally, a sound announced the end of her suffering.
Waaah.
The moment she heard the baby’s robust cry, Sehee smiled, even amidst the pain and agony she had never experienced before.
Through her tear-stained vision, she saw the blood-covered baby.
She wanted to say something, but she had used up all her strength, even the last ounce, and couldn’t even part her lips.
“Mother, it’s a very healthy and handsome baby boy.”
The moment she heard the doctor’s words, tears trickled down from the corners of her weakly closed eyes.
And then Sehee fainted.
________________________________________
When she opened her eyes, she was in a spacious and comfortable hospital room.
An IV needle was stuck in the back of her hand, and as she slowly blinked, she saw dark hair.
And a large hand firmly holding a small one.
“Kang-joon, where’s Pré?”
Her voice, barely a whisper from how much she had screamed, was severely hoarse. Kang-joon, who had been bowed over, lifted his head at Sehee’s call and stared at her.
“Pré is probably fine.”
At his incredibly unenthusiastic reply, Sehee gently furrowed her brows.
“Why would a dad say that?”
She felt hurt. This was our baby, whom I had given birth to, literally seeing stars.
Sehee, staring at Kang-joon in her hurt, belatedly noticed.
Kang-joon’s eyes, reddened as if he had cried.
She didn’t want to believe it, but his eyes, pouring out a storm of countless emotions, told her.
His feelings at the time, having had no choice but to remain still while hearing her cries of agony.
With those eyes, Kang-joon tried to feign nonchalance and asked,
“How’s your body?”
“My body’s fine, but I saw stars in front of my eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many big stars. And I think I understand now why women who’ve given birth talk about watermelons so much.”
She tried to joke with a shy smile, but Kang-joon didn’t laugh.
He just quietly reached out and stroked her chapped and even scratched lips.
“Your lips are all chapped, it’s upsetting.”
Kang-joon said something else.
As if he would only judge by what he saw and heard.
No, no matter what I say, he won’t want to hear it. Not as long as I say I’m okay.
It seems I should act not fine today and indulge in a lot of childish whining.
It was the only way to get through to this man.
“Please hug me, Kang-joon.”
Only then did Kang-joon lift his head and meet her eyes.
Looking at her husband’s eyes, which were terribly devoted only to her, Sehee honestly confessed.
“I thought I was going to die. I was afraid I’d die without seeing you, Kang-joon, or our Pré.”
Kang-joon, who had been watching silently, suddenly pulled Sehee into his embrace.
In Kang-joon’s arms, which felt so reliable, safe, and comfortable, Sehee quietly closed her eyes.
She was truly scared.
Afraid she wouldn’t see him again. Afraid she wouldn’t be able to be held in these arms again.
Kang-joon, burying his face in her neck and exhaling a hot breath, mumbled,
“Don’t ever ask me for such a gift again. No matter how beautifully you tempt me, I won’t give in.”
It sounded as if he was talking to himself, not Sehee.
Feeling the faint trembling from his large body, Sehee hugged Kang-joon tightly and thought.
She probably had to appease this deeply sulking man first before bringing up plans for a second child.
________________________________________
As soon as Pré was born, Chairman Seo summoned his relatives holding key positions in the Hanshin Group to the main residence and declared:
“All of you must pray for our Youngjun to grow up strong and healthy. Only then will crumbs fall to you rascals.”
It was Chairman Seo’s usual cold and decisive method, just as he had done when Kang-joon was born.
The power structure needed only one pillar, not a few strong branches. It was a terrifying threat that if it wasn’t the legitimate successor, he would hand over the entire Hanshin Group to professional managers.
And Kang-joon and Sehee, as promised, renovated the annex in Chairman Seo’s main residence and decorated it as their newlywed home.
Yeon-sook took charge of raising Youngjun, and Kang-joon and Sehee were incredibly busy.
However, unless there was something special, they tried their best to leave work on time, and they made an effort to have dinner together with their family.
With Sehee’s arrival and Youngjun’s birth, the always quiet and still Hanshin family now had no peaceful days.
Quiet conversations and happy laughter were ceaseless.
It was a repetition of happy days. Until a college admissions expert was invited to their home for Youngjun, who was not even a year old yet.
Finally, it had arrived.
The top admissions expert in Korea had prepared three plans: a domestic plan, an overseas study plan, and a hybrid plan.
Chairman Seo and Yeon-sook considered it a natural procedure, but Sehee disliked it.
That night, Sehee lay in Kang-joon’s arms and voiced her opinion first.
“I want Youngjun to grow up normally as Joo Sehee’s and Seo Kang-joon’s son, not as Hanshin’s successor. What about you, Kang-joon?”
“A man shouldn’t be ordinary. He needs to be perfectly outstanding to easily protect his woman in any situation.”
At his firm reply, Sehee sighed lightly.
I know, I know you’re perfect and outstanding. But what if our Youngjun resembles me instead of you and is a quiet, ordinary child? What if the process is difficult and overwhelming for him?
At times like this, Sehee thought deeply. She didn’t know what was best for her son.
What she had realized in just a few months was that there was no single answer to parenting.
Kang-joon, who had been staring intently at Sehee, continued,
“But that’s my wish. When it comes to Youngjun, do as you wish, Sehee. Whatever it is, until he’s old enough to choose for himself.”
Kang-joon was a great dad, but equally strict.
They always made time for the family of three, and for just dad and son.
He would hug Youngjun and play with him well, but he was firm about mistakes.
When the toddling baby fell, instead of rushing to pick him up, he encouraged him to brush himself off and get up on his own.
She thought about having a daughter countless times every day because of this.
After the family of three spent time together, from 10 PM onwards, it was solely the couple’s time, the couple’s night.
Even Youngjun was absolutely not allowed to interfere during that time.
Unless he had a fever or was sick, Kang-joon would not give in, no matter how much the child cried for his mother.
He would say something about “old habits die hard” and how he didn’t want to share his “Little Seo Kang-joon” with Joo Sehee.
Sehee asked with a slight pout, feeling somewhat disappointed,
“Are you perhaps not very fond of Youngjun and just don’t want to care?”
In truth, Sehee asked knowing the answer, and as expected, Kang-joon chuckled, as if he had received a dull question.
“Why wouldn’t I be very fond of our son? It’s just that the way I love varies depending on the person.”
Still, when Sehee’s expression didn’t soften, Kang-joon continued with a serious look,
“You did everything yourself, Sehee—getting pregnant, morning sickness, labor, and childbirth. You’re Youngjun’s biggest shareholder, so of course, I only want to respect your opinion as his mother.”
Still disappointed?
Kang-joon was now looking down at Sehee with a teasing, gentle gaze.
“To our son, a proper mix of carrot and stick, and to my wife...”
With the same burning black eyes he always had at this hour.
“...I must always repay with passionate love.”
As if he was dying to devour her.
They had registered their marriage, had a wedding, and had a baby.
One would think his love for Sehee might have cooled, but somehow, Kang-joon seemed to burn even brighter.
Unless it was a special case, Kang-joon was always with Sehee.
He would even somehow arrange his work schedule to overlap with Sehee’s location, or he would stop by just to see her face.
Sometimes they spent dozens of minutes together, sometimes they merely exchanged eye contact from 50 meters away.
And Kang-joon’s desires, held back all day, exploded in the dead of night.
As if he had been waiting for this moment, when they would be alone in bed, undisturbed.
In the dead of night, in bed, their time alone, finally, the couple’s night began to flow.
Her slender arms wrapped around Kang-joon’s neck as he began to brand Sehee’s lips with his hot lips, like a searing iron.
More, hold me more passionately.
Kang-joon, receiving Sehee’s bold signal with her gesture, exploded as if he had been waiting.
That night, he had no idea of the meticulous scheme his wife had laid out in her dreams.
Sehee vowed and re-vowed.
She would succeed in tempting him somehow today.
She would break this man’s rationality.
To have the second best gift in her life, a little Joo Sehee.
-End of Main Story-
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