TO 30

Chapter 30

“I’m begging you, please just leave. Please!” Seo-ah pleaded, her voice breaking into full-blown tears.

“What’s going on here, Seo-ah? Who is this guy?” Jin-won asked, stepping closer to her.

Taehyuk stared back at Jin-won and Seo-ah, his face a complete mask. Is this her new man? The thought hit him like a wave of arctic cold, freezing his heart solid.

“I’ll leave for today,” he said quietly.

“Don’t you ever come back.”

Taehyuk paused on his way to the entrance. Su-bin was still burying her face into Seo-ah’s chest. Seo-ah held the back of the little girl’s head pinned down so tightly that she couldn’t even lift her chin.

“Don’t bother trying to run. Finding you again is child’s play for me.”

Seo-ah glared daggers at him. Taehyuk’s eyes lingered heavily on Su-bin, as if trying to look right through Seo-ah’s body to see the child. Sensing his stare, Seo-ah pulled Su-bin even deeper into her arms.

Taehyuk frowned and finally turned around to leave. A heavy weight settled in his chest, knowing he was putting Seo-ah through hell all over again.

Click.

Long after the door shut behind Taehyuk, Seo-ah still couldn’t bring herself to let go of Su-bin.

“Mo… Mommy, I can’t breathe.”

Hearing Su-bin’s muffled voice finally snapped Seo-ah back to reality, and she loosened her desperate grip.

“Mommy? Are you okay? Who was that guy just now?” Su-bin asked, her little face filled with concern.

Seo-ah shook her head. “Nobody, sweetheart. He’s nobody.” She reached out, gently caressing Su-bin’s cheek.

“Why is he making you like this, though? Was he yelling at you? What did he say?” Su-bin bristled with instant rage, looking ready to chase after Taehyuk and give him a piece of her mind right then and there.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Seo-ah murmured, shaking her head.

Jin-won asked, his eyes full of worry, “Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

Seo-ah tried to stand up, but her legs buckled beneath her. As she started to collapse, Jin-won quickly caught her against his chest.

“Woah, I’ve got you. Are you okay?”

“Mommy, are you okay?” Su-bin piped up, her eyes wide with worry.

Seo-ah forced a weak smile. “Yeah, Mommy’s fine. I think we should just head home early today.”

“Can you walk? Do you want me to give you a ride?” Jin-won offered.

“No, it’s fine. Our place is right upstairs anyway. Thank you, though. Su-bin, hold on just a second.”

Seo-ah handed Su-bin over to Jin-won and stepped back into the baking studio where the birthday cake was sitting. Not wanting Su-bin to catch a glimpse of the cake, she shut the door behind her and picked up the fallen box from the floor. With trembling hands, she carefully packed the cake away.

“Phew…”

It felt like a total hurricane had just swept through her life. The scariest part was knowing this wasn’t going to be a one-time thing.

‘I came to take back what’s mine.’

After packing up the cake, Seo-ah untied her apron and stepped out.

“Mommy, let me help!” Su-bin held out her tiny hands to take the apron.

Watching Su-bin scamper off to hang up the apron before running back with her bag, Seo-ah bit her lip hard.

I can’t be weak. Su-bin is my daughter. I have to protect her.

“Mommy, are you really feeling better now?”

Once they were safely back home, Seo-ah finally felt the suffocating tension start to drain out of her. Normally, they would have stopped by the playground after work, but today they had come straight home. Even on the short walk from the shop to their apartment, she had been glancing over her shoulder every two seconds, unable to drop her guard for a single second.

She was terrified that Taehyuk might pop out from somewhere, scoop Su-bin up, and disappear with her.

Being the intuitive kid she was, Su-bin didn’t push her mother about who that man was. She could tell just how terrified Seo-ah was of him.

It was only after locking the front door behind them that Seo-ah noticed Su-bin’s mud-stained pants and dirty face.

“How about we take a bath first?”

Su-bin nodded at her suggestion. Soon, the two of them were sitting together in a tub filled with warm water. Seo-ah settled Su-bin on her lap and gently washed her hair.

A sweet, heavenly scent of strawberries filled the air—it was the smell of her daughter, the very essence of her life.

Seo-ah wrapped her arms around Su-bin’s tiny body, their warm skin pressing together.

“I’m sorry, Mommy.”

“For what?”

“For hitting Choi Min-soo earlier. I’m sorry for causing trouble.”

Seo-ah pulled Su-bin into an even tighter hug. “It’s okay. Mommy’s the one who’s sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“For not understanding how you were feeling.”

Hearing that, Su-bin rubbed her cheek against Seo-ah’s chest. “It’s okay if you didn’t.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause I already know how you feel, Mommy.”

Seo-ah looked down at her. “And how do I feel?”

“You love me the most!” Su-bin said proudly.

A soft smile broke across Seo-ah’s face. “That’s right, sweetheart. Mommy loves you more than anything in the world.”

“Me too! I love you the most too, Mommy!” Su-bin wrapped her arms tightly around Seo-ah’s neck.

Seo-ah blinked rapidly to fight back the hot tears stinging her eyes. This child was her absolute everything, her whole world. If Taehyuk ever took her away…

She didn’t even want to imagine it. A cold shiver ran down her spine.

Asleep, Su-bin looked like a absolute little angel. With the dirt washed off her face, her skin looked as bright and fair as a full moon. Her plump red lips, slightly parted as she breathed softly in and out, looked as sweet as ripe fruit.

Seo-ah gently pulled the blanket up over Su-bin’s shoulders and quietly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

The kitchen sink was piled high with dinner dishes, but she ignored them and curled up on the sofa instead.

Only now did she have a quiet moment to gather her thoughts.

She had never expected to fool Taehyuk forever. Still, she thought she could manage at least as long as Junghyun was around. She had considered moving abroad, but she simply lacked the courage to pack up and take her young daughter overseas out of nowhere.

Besides, she had built deep roots here. Junghyun’s advice that this was a wonderful neighborhood for raising a child had turned out to be completely true. Sure, the kids had their petty squabbles and some of the local moms loved to gossip, but the vast majority of people here were kind and gentle.

“What do I do now?”

Seo-ah knew better than anyone that Taehyuk wasn’t the type to give up easily. Raising a daughter who inherited his exact brand of stubbornness made it impossible to forget.

What if I meet with him and beg for mercy? Would he actually listen?

Yet, Seo-ah couldn’t shake the memory of the way Taehyuk had looked at Su-bin. The intense obsession and possessiveness in his gaze had genuinely terrified her.

She had always assumed his desire for a child was just him bowing to pressure from his parents. She had never pictured a cold, detached man like him actually caring about a child. But that look in his eyes…

Seo-ah compulsively glanced over at the front door to check it.

Even after confirming it was securely locked, her heart kept hammering erratically against her ribs.

Maybe his father could help.

Seo-ah reached for her phone. Once a year—only on Su-bin’s birthday—Seo-ah would reach out to Junghyun. Unable to completely turn her back on him, she sent him a picture of Su-bin every time her birthday rolled around, along with a message thanking him and letting him know how well she was growing up.

She did it out of gratitude toward Junghyun, but also because she desperately wanted at least one more person in the world to celebrate her daughter’s birth.

Junghyun had never replied, not even once. Instead, he simply sent a present right on time for Su-bin’s birthday every year.

Could his father know about this? What if he was the one who told Taehyuk where I was?

Children were rare in their family line. Even if Junghyun had let her go easily back then, things might be different now. Seven years had passed. Junghyun was getting older, and his yearning for a grandchild might have grown far deeper over time.

What if that’s what happened…?

“Haah…”

Right at that moment—

Seo-ah’s phone chimed. She stared at the screen with anxious eyes. It was an unknown number, but she had a sinking feeling she knew exactly who it belonged to. She couldn’t bring herself to answer it.

The ringing stopped, instantly followed by the ping of a text message. With trembling hands, she opened it.

[It’s me. Answer the phone.]

It was Taehyuk, just as she feared.

Seo-ah bit her lip until it bled. If he had managed to track down where she lived, getting her phone number would have been a walk in the park for him.

Can I really avoid him? For how long?

She couldn’t answer her own question—because deep down, she couldn’t deny that the moment she saw Taehyuk again, buried beneath all that terror, was a undeniable spark of excitement.

“Oh, it’s that mister!”

Taehyuk lifted his head.

It was broad daylight at the park. He was sitting alone on a bench in the very park where he had run into Su-bin yesterday. He hadn’t returned to Seoul last night; instead, he had checked into a hotel nearby, planning to commute back and forth for the time being.

Seo-ah continued to ignore his calls. But the more she pushed him away, the more certain Taehyuk became that Su-bin was indeed his daughter. Honestly, even without Seo-ah confirming it, the pull of his own blood was already tugging hard at his heart. He couldn’t get Su-bin’s face out of his head. Even without a DNA test, he knew she was his. She looked so ridiculously like him that he already missed her.

Maybe that was why he had taken a detour through the park on his way to Seo-ah’s shop. Since it was almost noon, the park was fairly quiet, with only a few mothers out strolling with their toddlers every now and then.

Then came Su-bin’s voice, making Taehyuk snap his head up instinctively.

Dressed in a bright yellow preschool uniform, Su-bin was running straight toward him. Taehyuk found himself standing up without even realizing it. His muscles tensed as if he were ready to sprint forward the second she tripped and fell.

That child is mine.