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On that day, when Mija, having turned into a handful of dust, was set free into the wide world, Sehee became pregnant.
And on a bitter cold spring morning, with snowflakes adorning the blue sky like cherry blossoms, Sehee kept the promise she had made to her family.
To Kang-joon, a little Joo Sehee; to the Hanshin family, a precious daughter, as their male lineage had run dry; to Chairman Seo, a great-granddaughter; to Yeon-sook, a granddaughter; and to Youngjun, a lovely younger sister.
The little smiling angel, Seo Yehee, was born into the world.
Not only the family but also every member of the Hanshin family was captivated by Yehee’s charm. The birth of the first daughter in the Hanshin family, which had only produced sons, was truly precious.
When she smiled brightly, making eye contact with eyes that perfectly resembled her father’s jet-black pupils, everyone melted.
Yeon-sook offered to raise Yehee as well, telling Sehee to do whatever she wanted, but Sehee refused this time.
She knew that Yeon-sook’s heart was filled with nothing but love for her grandchildren. However, Yeon-sook’s body and stamina were unfortunately not up to par, having already largely taken on Youngjun’s upbringing despite having a sitter.
‘Mother, I’ll take care of her for just three months. Around that time, I’ll be back at work, so please take care of Yehee. Of course, on the condition that you do it with a sitter. You know that my children are precious to me, but you are too, Mother. You need to live long and healthily.’
At her earnest plea, Yeon-sook finally relented, and Sehee took parental leave six months after becoming the CEO of Hanshin Beauty.
It was truly necessary, but in a way, it was also an example and a proactive step. If the CEO worked so hard during pregnancy and childbirth, employees might feel pressured to avoid taking leave.
And it took exactly two months. Her face became dull from lack of sleep, and her entire body felt heavy and racked with crushing pain.
Despite that, Sehee didn’t let Yehee out of her arms all day.
Even if her body ached and she groaned in pain, looking at the wiggling baby always made her want to be with her.
So she worried again.
Should I just quit my job? Should I just spend ordinary, happy time watching my children grow up?
But Sehee quickly shook her head.
Because she didn’t want to live and disappear as merely the daughter-in-law of the Hanshin family, Seo Kang-joon’s wife, and the mother of two children.
She wanted to live remembering her name, Joo Sehee.
“Yehee, I’m sorry. Mom likes being Youngjun and Yehee’s mom, but I also want to be Joo Sehee.”
Today was no different from any other day.
She barely ate, rushed through her shower, and without even drying her hair, she embraced Yehee again.
Then, unable to fight off the overwhelming sleepiness, she dozed off on the sofa with Yehee resting on her chest.
________________________________________
After the second child was born, Kang-joon suddenly became busy.
Most days he came home late, like today, and when he did, the familiar scene he always saw unfolded before his eyes.
Warm air filled with the sweet scent of a baby. His wife, with her luxurious hair spread out, sleeping soundly on the sofa. And his daughter, deeply asleep with her face nestled near his wife’s heart.
Whenever Kang-joon saw this scene, he would slightly furrow his brow, or sometimes wear a faint smile. He would be overcome by a subtle, complex, inexpressible, contradictory emotion.
His wife was pitiful, yet a warm feeling spread through a corner of his chest. He wished his wife would work as she used to, yet also wished she would remain in this space as she was now.
Well, he didn’t have any say in the decision anyway.
Kang-joon, suppressing his presence, approached and traced the delicate line of her face with his fingertip; she seemed paler than yesterday.
“She’s lost more weight.”
He had been relieved that she gained 11 kilograms with the second child, as she hadn’t had much morning sickness.
After childbirth, his wife was losing weight so rapidly that it was painful to see.
As if his daughter was sucking her mother’s blood to grow.
That was the reality of parenting Kang-joon felt. Because he loved, he gave his blood and flesh, endured pain and hardship.
Yet, he couldn’t understand his wife’s stubborn insistence on a second child, and he ultimately had no choice but to give in.
No, Kang-joon actually didn’t know how to win against his wife, and he didn’t want to know.
If she would just stay by his side as Joo Sehee, his wife, and the mother of his children, what couldn’t he do for her?
Ultimately, the being that was both the reward and punishment for his capitulation was nestled in his wife’s arms.
Their daughter, Seo Yehee, as wondrous and lovable as Youngjun.
Everyone unanimously said that Yehee was not a little Joo Sehee, but a female Seo Kang-joon.
Where on earth did they get that idea?
The fingertip that had traced his wife’s cheek slowly moved and gently poked his plump daughter’s cheek.
Yehee then blinked her eyes open and stared intently at Kang-joon with her jet-black eyes.
“Seo Yehee, Daddy will hold you after you get washed, so just stay quietly in Mommy’s arms. If you cry, I’ll make you sleep alone in your room.”
He tried to speak sternly, as he did to Youngjun, but the voice that came out was soft.
Kang-joon sighed faintly and instinctively knew.
Unfortunately, he would be utterly helpless before this adorable little angel.
Kang-joon quickly showered and then chuckled. Yehee, who was lying face down on his deeply sleeping wife’s chest, was indeed waiting for him, her eyes wide open.
Could she already understand words because she resembled him and had excellent cognitive abilities?
Mulling over such absurd suspicions, Kang-joon carefully picked up the small baby.
Adults constantly talked to babies who were just starting to make eye contact, but Kang-joon didn’t have much to say.
Ultimately, what Kang-joon held in his hand today was a children’s book.
When he came home late like today, a memo with neat handwriting was attached to the children’s book Youngjun had left behind.
-Dad, Yehee really likes this picture book, so please make sure to read it to her today too. My pronunciation isn’t good, so I don’t think Yehee would understand me. -Seo Youngjun, Seo Kang-joon’s son.-
With a gently softened face, Kang-joon murmured,
“He needs to be disciplined. Reading an English picture book to a two-month-old sister.”
Though he was strict with his son, he actually found him endlessly cute deep down. Even his maturity and seriousness, uncharacteristic for a six-year-old.
He thought he should give him a special reward this weekend, and as he read the book, he suddenly felt a piercing gaze.
Sehee, who had woken up at some point, was staring intently at him.
Her eyes and posture were languid from sleep, and her white pajamas were unbuttoned in a disheveled manner. Her expression was utterly innocent, unaware of how provocatively she looked from head to toe.
In Kang-joon’s eyes, as he gazed at his wife, lay a raw, deep desire.
Does Joo Sehee know? That it’s been months since they had a couple’s night.
When she was close to delivery, he held back for their daughter, and now he was holding back for his wife, who was dedicated to childcare and breastfeeding.
The unreleased energy was steadily building up in his body because he couldn’t even exercise and went straight home after work.
But he decided to hold back today as well, with the promise of two months later.
However, Kang-joon planned to personally oversee her nutritious diet and exercise regime from the very first day his wife returned to work.
For a couple’s night they could spend together even one day sooner.
Kang-joon slowly closed and opened his eyes once, calming his surging desires, then gently smoothed back his wife’s stray hair.
“You worked hard today too. I’ll watch Yehee, so go and get some rest.”
“No. I’ll stay by your side.”
But Sehee shook her head like a spoiled child and stared intently at Kang-joon.
Her clear eyes, which drove him crazy, whispered.
That she insisted on the sofa instead of the bed because she was afraid of falling too deeply asleep. Afraid that when she opened her eyes, the spot beside her would be empty and it would be morning. Afraid she wouldn’t see him again, Seo Kang-joon.
“I’m confident I can listen well like Yehee if you read to me too.”
Sehee mumbled and grumbled, then lay down with her head on Kang-joon’s lap. Kang-joon’s eyes, looking down at his wife, were full of love.
Shifting his gaze from his wife to the book, Kang-joon began reading again.
Kang-joon’s low voice seeped into the quiet, warm air like a lullaby.
Soon after, his wife’s soft breathing and Yehee’s gentle wheezing harmonized sweetly like a melody.
His body was still tormented by unquenched desires, yet a not-so-bad night was passing.
________________________________________
“You’re not even a celebrity, how do you maintain this face and figure so consistently after seven years? No one would believe you’re a mother of two!”
The shop manager looked at the bride in the mirror with admiration.
It wasn’t empty flattery but genuine compliments and envy.
The bride, whose beauty only grew with each passing year, simply offered a calm smile in response.
She was so beautiful, capable, had a good personality, didn’t act superior despite being a chaebol daughter-in-law, and above all...
The manager’s gaze subtly shifted backward.
What made her ache with envy the most was that man right there.
Seo Kang-joon, the vice chairman of the Hanshin Group and today’s groom.
Seven years of marriage and two children, one would expect affection to cool. Yet, this dangerously charming and sexy perfect man consistently sent loving gazes towards the bride.
As if he never wanted to be apart, as if she shouldn’t disappear from his sight, like Romeo and Juliet whose love death could not part.
When the prepared bride stood up and turned around, the groom approached her as if he had been waiting and whispered sweetly into her ear,
“Why are you so beautiful?”
It wasn’t the bride who melted at his husky whisper, but the manager.
She hadn’t wanted to hear it again, but they were too close.
It’s cheating for a chaebol man to be romantic and affectionate too.
But then again, it made sense. The groom’s consistent, fervent, and passionate heart for the bride.
The dramatic love story of the Hanshin family was known by every citizen of Korea.
Although some people cursed it, saying it shouldn’t have happened, they were only a tiny minority. Most people sided with and cheered on the Hanshin family’s daughter-in-law, and the manager was among those supporters.
If her personality had been terrible, she might have cursed her, but the bride, whom she had known for six years, was as consistently beautiful as her appearance.
Quiet, neat, elegant, and virtuous.
Currently, the Hanshin family daughter-in-law’s hair, makeup, and fashion style were hotter topics than any female celebrity.
Well, to conclude, it was consistent today too. Joo Sehee, the Hanshin family’s daughter-in-law, clearly saved a country in her previous life.
________________________________________
Sehee tenderly adjusted his bowtie with gentle hands and looked up at Kang-joon with affectionate eyes.
Her husband’s jet-black eyes and finely sculpted features still made her heart pound every time she saw them. Even after giving birth to two of his children and being married for seven years.
Stroking his sharp jawline with her slender fingertips, Sehee said,
“You’re really handsome, even though you’re my husband.”
“I have to be handsome to be loved by the queen at this age, breaking through intense competition of three to one.”
Sehee let out a small laugh. At his wife’s innocent laughter, a faint smile finally spread across Kang-joon’s face.
Making this man smile was one of the privileges only she possessed.
Ah, now there are two more.
Right on time, Yeon-sook appeared with Youngjun and Yehee.
Youngjun, who perfectly resembled his dad, looked exceptionally handsome in his tuxedo, despite being only seven years old.
The same went for Yehee, who had just passed her first birthday.
Her adorable appearance in a white dress was that of an angel who had run away from heaven.
As Yeon-sook put her down, Yehee toddled over, holding Youngjun’s hand.
My precious children, whom I love so much it hurts.
Honey dripped from the couple’s eyes as they gazed at their two children.
Just then, Yehee, walking hand-in-hand with Youngjun, tripped over a string and fell.
Seeing this, Kang-joon sprang towards Yehee even faster than Yeon-sook and scooped her into his arms.
“Are you alright, my princess?”
Yeon-sook shook her head, as if he was incorrigible.
He was undeniably a doting father to his daughter, even if he would never admit it himself. Sometimes, he was so focused on Yehee that it felt disappointing.
Nevertheless, Sehee felt no disappointment towards Kang-joon whatsoever. Because even now, Kang-joon was a man who consistently adhered to two rules.
Their couple’s night after 10 PM, and that a man should only kiss one woman his entire life.
There was no exception for Yehee, his daughter. When she fell asleep, she was gently laid in her own bed, and though he might kiss her rosy cheeks until they were sore, he never kissed her lips.
His lips were only for his wife. That was a privilege only her husband gave Sehee.
“Alright, let’s start the photoshoot!”
At the photographer’s words, Kang-joon stood beside Sehee, holding Yehee in his arms and Youngjun’s hand.
“Wow, this is truly a legendary visual family!”
The photographer’s words were also genuine admiration, not mere flattery.
Sehee looked up at Kang-joon with a playful smile and whispered,
“This year, it’s not three, but four of us.”
Time truly flies. Seven years of marriage, and this was already their seventh annual reminder wedding photoshoot.
The same wedding dress, the same location. The only difference was that two became three, and three became four.
“Alright, bride and groom, please look here. And our wonderful prince, woohoo, giggle, peek-a-boo! Our baby angel, please look here too!”
As if by magic, all four pairs of eyes simultaneously turned towards the camera.
Then, as if on cue, the photographer pressed the shutter.
Joo Sehee in her dazzling wedding dress and a little Joo Sehee, and Seo Kang-joon in his cool tuxedo and a little Seo Kang-joon.
Clearly captured within the small lens.
The unbreakable family bond of Joo Sehee and Seo Kang-joon, now in their seventh year of marriage.
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