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In the early morning, Mija, who had a restless sleep, came out to the porch. Normally, she would have drunk water, had scorched rice for breakfast, and headed straight to the fields. But today, she sat blankly on the porch, watching the dawn break and morning approach. The words her granddaughter had spoken, holding back tears, wouldn’t leave her mind.
‘Grandmother, you said it countless times, ‘Younghee is a poor child.’ ‘She must be going through so much.’ Then what about me, Grandmother?’
Her granddaughter’s moist eyes were asking Mija. Am I not pitiful? Am I not struggling? Do I have to be unhappy for life? Only then did Mija realize. That she was the cause of her granddaughter’s hardship and unhappiness, the evil fate that would end only when one of them crumbled, and her granddaughter falling in love with Younghee’s son-in-law. Yet, thanks to her granddaughter, she was still alive, breathing, living each day.
“Ugh! I am a sinner. Oh, my poor little puppy.”
Mija wailed, pounding her thin chest with her fists. If only she hadn’t abandoned the weaker twin, her firstborn, at the orphanage. If only she had worked harder and not suffered from financial hardship. If only she hadn’t turned a blind eye to Younghee’s wicked deeds out of guilt. If only this body hadn’t suffered from unidentifiable seizures. It was all due to her own incompetence and ignorance. It was Sehee alone who endured that pain and suffering without showing it. But even now, the reality of being unable to do anything for her granddaughter felt shabby and miserable.
“I’m sorry, Sehee. I’m sorry, this old grandmother.”
Mija stopped crying, pulled out a crumpled tissue from her pocket, and wiped her tears.
‘Are you still more for Aunt than me, Grandmother? More for your daughter than your granddaughter?’
She hadn’t been able to answer her granddaughter’s question. At first, of course, it was Younghee, her daughter, over her granddaughter. Out of guilt for abandoning her, Younghee was simply more pitiful than the granddaughter who should never have been born. That’s why she had never given that young child a warm glance or a kind word. All she did was provide a cramped corner of a room and meals. Yet, her granddaughter, who had grown up healthy on her own, was now taking meticulous care of her. Mija slowly opened her eyes, slipped on her slippers, and headed next door.
“Manho, are you there?”
Manho, who rushed out of the kitchen at Mija’s call, looked surprised.
“Sister, why aren’t you out in the fields?”
Mija held out the phone Sehee had gotten for her to Manho and said,
“Call Sehee for me.”
________________________________________
Inside the car, heading to the hospital. Instead of kissing her at every red light, Kang-joon kept looking at Sehee, who was fast asleep. She used to have trouble sleeping in early pregnancy, but perhaps her body was more tired now that her belly was slightly swollen. Sehee had become noticeably sleepier. When he looked at her sleeping, a corner of his heart would tickle and warm up. When he looked at her charmingly swollen belly, his heart would pound, and he would be overcome with strange emotions that words couldn’t express. Even after arriving at the parking lot, Sehee showed no sign of waking up. Should I wake her, or not? Kang-joon, deliberating, gently stroked Sehee’s cheek with the back of his hand. To be honest, it still felt surreal, and he was consumed by vague thoughts, almost bordering on fear. Is this woman in front of me really mine? Is this small, delicate woman really carrying my child? Does this woman really love me? Will she disappear like a mirage if I close and open my eyes? Fortunately, the woman looking at him with hazy, half-closed eyes was reality, not a dream.
“Are we already here?”
Kang-joon gently kissed his still-sleepy woman’s forehead.
“Yes, we’re already here.”
Kang-joon stared entranced at her lush, long eyelashes slowly blinking as if to wake up, and her plump lips as she yawned slightly. Why was this woman so beautiful, even down to the smallest detail? If he had his way, he would have kissed her during the remaining five minutes of leisure. However, Sehee had issued a no-kissing order for today, as he had been excessively obsessive about kissing before work.
“Grandmother called this morning. She wants to meet Aunt.”
“...Does she know she’s in the hospital?”
“Not yet. It’s too complicated to explain over the phone.”
Despite her calm voice, Sehee’s eyes darkened. It was because she thought about how many painful things she had said to Mija yesterday. Kang-joon, keeping his eyes on Sehee, calmly said,
“Even if it’s difficult for her, Grandmother needs to come up once. To see Seoul, visit her granddaughter’s house, and meet our family. Only then can we set a wedding date.”
“...”
“So, what can I do for you?”
Only then did Sehee look at Kang-joon. His honest eyes, always looking only at her, and the man who said he would do anything. Because this man was here, she didn’t have to feel anxious, lonely, or afraid. He was like the sun in her life. Is it greedy to want to be like the sun to you too? Kang-joon, misunderstanding the deepening look in Sehee’s eyes, grumbled,
“If you say you’ll take care of it yourself this time too, I think I’ll be hurt.”
Though they had gone through many twists and turns to reach this point with Kang-joon, she had realized a truth. Asking Kang-joon for help wasn’t being a bother; it was giving him confidence. Confidence that she trusted and loved him. So now, Sehee intended to willingly ask him for help, without apology or feeling burdened. Whether it was big or small, whatever it was.
“Can you bring Grandmother here as comfortably as possible?”
Sehee had no doubt that Kang-joon would try his best to bring her comfortably. Because he was a man who kept his promises incredibly well.
________________________________________
“The fetus is now growing well, according to its gestational age.”
She was eating well, sleeping well, and her belly was slightly swollen. It must have all been signals from her body that Pré was growing well. The doctor, looking back and forth between Kang-joon and Sehee, smiled meaningfully and said playfully,
“Hmm, let’s see. Who will be the lucky one to have beautiful and handsome parents?”
Sehee’s heart began to pound, knowing the meaning of the doctor’s words. Of course, it didn’t matter if it was a boy or a girl, but it was a pleasant anticipation and excitement unrelated to that. The doctor’s smiling gaze was still on Kang-joon, who had a calm expression.
“The baby will be very handsome, taking after his father.”
At that moment, Sehee intuited. Our Pré is a boy. The two thanked the doctor and left the consultation room, sitting on the waiting chairs.
“Let’s tell your grandfather and mother this weekend during dinner. I want to tell them in person rather than over the phone.”
“Okay.”
An unenthusiastic reply, still with an indifferent expression. Sehee said to such a Kang-joon with a hint of disappointment,
“Why that expression? You should be happy, it’s a boy, just as you said.”
“Indeed, I thought I’d be happy.”
Kang-joon mumbled in reply, then finally looked at Sehee and continued,
“I guess I was hoping for a little Joo Sehee.”
“...A daughter?”
“Because she’d be maddeningly beautiful, just like her mother.”
belatedly, disappointment spread across Kang-joon’s face.
“So, you don’t like it that Pré is a boy?”
“Of course not, it’s just a little bit disappointing.”
How could she comfort this man, who, despite saying “a little,” looked thoroughly disappointed? The Hanshin family had only given birth to one son for three generations; would she be the same? Sehee, having finished her thoughts, held Kang-joon’s hand tightly.
“The title of Hanshin’s royal family is about to be broken, so why don’t I break the Hanshin family’s tradition while I’m at it?”
To Kang-joon, who looked at her as if asking what she meant, Sehee smiled brightly.
“Let’s have as many children as we can, two or three, until we give birth to a little Joo Sehee.”
Although she grew up lonely, she hoped Pré would never experience that loneliness. Unlike herself, who grew up without enjoying anything, she wanted her child to enjoy everything. A bustling home, a family, filled with the sound of children’s laughter. The greatest gift she could give him in life.
“I can’t do it alone. You’ll work with me, won’t you, Kang-joon?”
Kang-joon hugged Sehee tightly as she whispered in his ear with a sweet voice. It was Kang-joon’s new habit these days. Answering with actions instead of words. Of course, there would be no better answer than that.
________________________________________
Only a few days had passed, but Chairwoman Jo was half-mad. The hospital room door only opened at meal times. Her concept of time vanished, and it felt as if her sense of self was disappearing. Where was she, who was she, what month and day was it? She was slowly becoming numb to everything. This wasn’t a hospital for containing the mentally ill, but a hospital that drove sane people insane. Eventually, when she began to self-harm by banging her head against the wall, two burly male nurses entered. The moment she was forcibly laid on the bed, her wrists bound, and a syringe plunged into her arm, the sanity she barely clung to began to blur again. No, no! She drifted off to sleep and woke up, her head hazy and vision blurry. After blinking a few times, someone entered her now clear vision. A face deeply wrinkled, white hair tied back in a bun. ...It was that woman. The one who gave birth to her and abandoned her at an orphanage because she was frail, unlike her sister. What had changed was that the eyes that had never met hers were now staring directly at her.
“Sit up. I told them to untie your hands.”
Chairwoman Jo sat on the bed, rubbing her aching wrists, and glared at Mija.
“You sent men to hurt Sehee? Did you really do that, Younghee?”
“Who are you to blame? It’s only natural for you to be punished for inheriting your mother’s dirty blood and trying to do the same dirty deeds. You shouldn’t have been born in the first place. You thought so too, didn’t you?”
Mija shrieked at Chairwoman Jo’s scoffing remark.
“Shut your mouth, you wretch! Do you think I don’t know you deliberately had your husband approach Junghee? So that if Junghee got pregnant, you’d even steal that child! It was you who first did despicable things to Junghee, you wretch!”
Chairwoman Jo looked flustered by Mija’s anger, which she had never seen before. But Mija’s eyes twitched, and she didn’t stop speaking.
“If it weren’t for you, your sister wouldn’t have gone so pitifully! I wouldn’t have raised my granddaughter so miserably, and our mother and daughter would have lived well, even if not richly! Junghee would have met a good man, married him, and had children!”
Tears finally welled up at the corners of Mija’s wrinkled eyes. Thinking of her daughter Junghee, who had died so futilely, and Sehee, who had grown up so sadly.
“Still, out of guilt for abandoning you, I told Sehee to understand you! I raised that young child without being able to say a warm word or hug her! But now, not only do you torment her, but you even try to harm her?!”
“Why is that my fault? Her mother and that daughter are both the same, coveting other people’s men! They deserve to die then!”
Mija’s eyes grew cold as she looked at Younghee, who was still raving without coming to her senses. I didn’t give birth to a human child, but an animal. It was a realization that came too late. Mija scanned the hospital room.
“It’s clean, spacious, and nice. And they say the food is good.”
Chairwoman Jo blinked in disbelief. What is this crazy woman saying? She didn’t come here to rub salt in the wound.
“Eat well, sleep well, and stay well here. And don’t ever think of tormenting my child again.”
The moment Chairwoman Jo saw Mija’s back as she stood up and turned away, as if without regret, a realization struck her. That Mija was the only person who could persuade Sehee.
“Mom!”
She called out a word she had never uttered before, trying to suppress the urge to vomit. As Mija stopped, Chairwoman Jo said desperately,
“You have a sin you committed against me. Pay it back now. Persuade Sehee to get me out of here! Then I’ll forgive you! I’ll be your daughter!”
But Mija’s expression, as she slowly turned around, was stubborn.
“No, I won’t be your mother anymore.”
At that, Chairwoman Jo laughed hysterically.
“So, you’re abandoning me and turning away again? When I’m weak and helpless? When your daughter truly needs her mother?”
“I’ll gladly accept the sins I committed against you in hell.”
“No, take responsibility now! Get me out of here!”
The moment Chairwoman Jo tried to lunge at Mija as she turned to leave again, the door burst open. Two burly male nurses quickly entered and grabbed Chairwoman Jo.
“How dare you lay hands on her! Let go, let go! Mom, Mommmm!”
But Mija walked out without looking back even once at Chairwoman Jo’s bitter cries.
“I will never forgive you! Along with that dirty thing, I’ll...”
Click-clack, click-clack. The crisp sound of high heels echoed from beyond the unclosed door, reverberating in her eardrums. Soon after, a slender silhouette passed through the door and entered the hospital room. Glossy black hair, swaying at her waist. Still calm eyes, a slim figure, and an upright posture. Elegant attire, draped in expensive designer brands from head to toe. Appearing like a graceful lady, unlike herself in a shabby patient gown, was Joo Sehee. A rough hand twisted Chairwoman Jo’s arm from behind, as she was about to lunge forward with rage in her eyes.
“How do you feel, Aunt?”
Sehee smiled sweetly, looking into Chairwoman Jo’s eyes, which were brimming with intense fury, and took a step closer.
“You, you!”
Bringing her face closer, Sehee whispered in a sweet voice into Chairwoman Jo’s ear.
“The feeling of being betrayed by your daughter, ignored by your husband, and now even abandoned by your mother.”
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