TO 41

Chapter 41

“Forget about it.”

“No! Tell me the truth. What is it?!”

Seo-ah’s breathing turned ragged. She was barely hanging on by a thread. Left with no choice if he wanted to calm her down, Taehyuk finally spoke up.

“Your mother contacted me. Not long after the divorce.”

“And?”

“She said she couldn’t get in touch with you.”

Seo-ah trembled violently. Of course. Young-ran would never have just left her alone.

“I asked her why she was trying to reach you, and she said she needed money, so I gave it to her. That was all.”

“It… wasn’t just once, was it?”

Seo-ah knew her mother’s greed better than anyone.

“No. Because if I didn’t, I knew she would hunt you down.”

“What does that have to do with you? She’s my mother—whether she came looking for me or not…”

“I figured if you hadn’t reached out to your own mother, you had a good reason for it.”

Taehyuk had a vague idea, too. He knew how strained the relationship was between Seo-ah and Young-ran. But he had kept it to himself, worried that bringing it up would only make Seo-ah uncomfortable.

“And in exchange… you paid off my mother…? Not just once or twice, but continuously?”

Seo-ah’s voice shook, dripping with contempt and disgust.

“Seo-ah.”

“Just how miserable are you trying to make me feel?”

Taehyuk frowned deeply.

“Think of it as alimony. You didn’t take a single cent of alimony from me anyway…”

“Why would I refuse it?! Your father was the one who gave me that money! That’s… that’s why I didn’t take yours!”

“What difference does it make? Whether my father gave you alimony or I gave it to your mother?”

“It’s different! It’s completely different!” Seo-ah shook her head frantically.

Taehyuk grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Please, just forget everything. Leave the past behind and let’s start over,” Taehyuk urged.

Yet Seo-ah’s eyes showed not a single flicker of hope or agreement.

“You can say that to me even after seeing this nightmare? No. I’m sick of it. I’m sick and tired of you, your mother, all of it!”

Seo-ah shoved Taehyuk away with all her strength.

“Lee Seo-ah!”

“Go back. Don’t you ever come here again. If you show up in front of us one more time, I’ll take Su-bin and run away in the middle of the night! If you track us down, I’ll run again! And again! I’ll spend the rest of my life running from you until the day I die!”

“Seo-ah!”

“What? You think I won’t do it?” A cold, dangerous intensity flared in Seo-ah’s eyes. “I’m the woman who used my own child as a bargaining chip just to escape that house and get away from you! You really think I’m incapable of doing something worse?!”

Seo-ah screamed, her voice cracking under the strain.

“You…!” Taehyuk squeezed her shoulders tightly.

“Why… why do you have to push me into utter misery before you’re finally satisfied? How much more do you need to trample on me?! Was loving you really such a sin? Was it such a crime for someone like me to reach above my station and love you, to the point where I have to suffer like this?!”

Taehyuk’s brows furrowed in shock.

“You… loved me?” Taehyuk asked back, his voice hollow.

“Yes! I loved you! So it didn’t matter to me that you didn’t love me back. Because I loved you. I thought as long as I did my best, everything would be fine. Our marriage, our baby… But in the end… what do I have left? Su-bin. Su-bin is all I have! Can’t I even have that? She’s my entire world… What did I do so wrong… Why…?”

Taehyuk suddenly pulled Seo-ah into a tight, desperate embrace.

“Let go! Get off me!”

Seo-ah thrashed violently in his arms. But against his strength, escaping was impossible from the start. Taehyuk held her even tighter against his chest. Gradually, Seo-ah’s desperate struggles began to subside, replaced by loud, wretched sobs.

The hands that had been beating against Taehyuk’s chest ended up clutching tightly onto his lapels.

“Come back. Come back to where you belong.”

“What…?”

Seo-ah’s body trembled violently. Taehyuk pulled her deeper into his arms.

“W-What are you talking about…”

“I’ll give you whatever you want. If you want flowers, I’ll buy you flowers. If you want a kiss, I’ll kiss you. If you want an embrace, I’ll hold you…”

Seo-ah pushed hard against Taehyuk’s chest. She roughly wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

“There’s only one thing I want from you. Leave us alone.”

Taehyuk’s forehead creased in frustration.

“I can’t do that.”

“Then let’s handle this legally.”

“What?”

“Su-bin is my child. I’m the one who raised her for seven years. You didn’t even know she existed for seven whole years. I haven’t touched a single penny of the money your father gave me—because it belongs to Su-bin. I saved every bit of it for her. I bought this house and this shop entirely on my own. Even if you demand a paternity test now, you can’t take Su-bin away from me. I will fight you. So go ahead and try.”

“Lee Seo-ah.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m ready to give Su-bin everything I have—every single thing. If Su-bin needs a father, I’ll even get married. To a man who can be a good father to her…”

“You think I’ll ever allow that?” Taehyuk spat out, gritting his teeth over every single word.

Yet Seo-ah didn’t flinch.

“What does it matter to you? You’re the one who turned me into this.”

“You…”

“So leave. And don’t ever show your face again. Just watch and see whether I can do it or not.”

A wild, unhinged look flickered in Seo-ah’s eyes. Taehyuk gritted his teeth.

He knew that pushing Seo-ah any further right now would yield nothing good.

“I’ll leave for today. But mark my words: you’re not going anywhere. Because I am Su-bin’s father.”

Taehyuk spoke with a icy, detached expression. Seo-ah leaned against the wall behind her for support. She felt as though she would collapse onto the floor if she didn’t hold herself up in front of him.

Only after Taehyuk stepped out of the shop did Seo-ah finally sink down onto the ground.

“Sob… ugh…”

Covering her face with her hands, Seo-ah wept bitterly. Her deep, heavy sobs carried clearly through the door to Taehyuk, who was still standing just outside. Leaning his back against the door, Taehyuk tilted his head back.

“Haah.”

Now that he thought about it, Seo-ah had never once cried in front of him like this before. She had always kept an emotionless face, hiding her true feelings. Even with him by her side, she had always acted as if she didn’t see him, as if nothing mattered.

If only she had cried in front of him like this back then…

A dry, hollow ache filled his heart.

“…And so, the magician called for the rabbit, but the rabbit didn’t come out! But then, poof! It suddenly popped out of the hat!”

Su-bin burst out laughing. Her cheerful laughter echoed brightly through the steam-filled bathroom.

“What did you do today, Mom?” Su-bin asked Seo-ah, who was sitting behind her. It was bath time, a routine they shared sitting together in the tub.

In the end, Seo-ah hadn’t been able to make it to the lawyer’s office. Because of the scene Seung-hee had caused, her appointment time had already passed. When she called the office back, she was told she would have to wait another week to get a new appointment.

Seo-ah gently stroked Su-bin’s wet hair and spoke softy.

“I worked. I even made a super big cake.”

“Whoa, awesome! Whose birthday was it?”

“Uh, well. It was for a customer’s husband.” Seo-ah lied smoothly.

“If Mom had a husband, you could make him a giant cake too.”

At Su-bin’s innocent remark, Seo-ah’s hand paused.

“Su-bin… do you wish you had a dad?”

“Yeah.”

“Mom’s a little scared, though.”

“Why?”

Su-bin turned around, her eyes round with wonder. Today, Seo-ah’s face looked unusually tired.

Su-bin resolved to charge up her mom’s battery extra long later tonight.

“Just because… Mom just wants to keep living together like this, just the two of us. Until Mom gets old and turns into a wrinkled old grandma.”

“What if I get married then?”

“Are you gonna leave Mom behind and get married?” Seo-ah narrowed her eyes playfully, acting hurt.

“Gyu-min already told me he wants to marry me, you know!”

Su-bin answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, then buried her face against Seo-ah’s chest.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m gonna make sure you get married first!”

“What?”

Seo-ah laughed, looking down at Su-bin clinging to her chest.

“To tell you the truth, my birthday wish this year was to get a dad.”

Seo-ah’s eyes widened.

“I-Is that so?”

Although she had never said it out loud to Seo-ah, Su-bin’s wish had been the exact same every single year: Please give me a dad. But being a thoughtful child, Su-bin had never brought it up to her mother.

“Hey, Mom. What do you think about Uncle Jin-won?”

“What?”

Surprised by the completely unexpected name, Seo-ah stared at her.

“Why Uncle Jin-won?”

“Because Su-bin wishes Uncle Jin-won was our dad.”

Seo-ah chuckled and playfully pinched Su-bin’s nose before letting go.

“Didn’t you say not too long ago that you wished that other mister was your dad?”

“Yeah. But Mom gets scared whenever you see him.”

Seo-ah froze.

“What?”

“Mom, whenever you talk about that mister or see him, your face goes like this. You know? You’re scared of him, right? It’s a face you never make normally.”

Seo-ah smiled bitterly.

“Did Mom really do that?”

“Yup. But you’re not like that when you’re with Uncle Jin-won. You look just the same as when you’re with me.”

Su-bin cupped her small hands together and placed them against Seo-ah’s ear.

“And this is a secret…” Su-bin’s warm breath tickled Seo-ah’s ear. “Uncle Jin-won likes you too, Mom.”

“What are you talking about? It’s not like that. Uncle Jin-won is just nice to everyone.”

“Nuh-uh,” Su-bin insisted. “Uncle Jin-won’s face turns super red whenever he talks about you, Mom.”

Seo-ah’s brow creased slightly.

“I read it in a book! It said your face turns red when you like someone,” Su-bin explained. “My face turns red when I see Gyu-min, too. Because I like him!”

“Haah.” Seo-ah let out an incredulous laugh.

“That’s why I wish Uncle Jin-won was my dad.”

“Su-bin…”

“Then he could lift heavy things for you, easy-peasy.”

“Mom is strong, you know! I can even lift you up, Su-bin.”

“Hmph. Actually, that mister is the strongest one of all,” Su-bin said with a tinge of regret in her voice. “He can lift me up with just one arm, super easily! It was so cool.”

As she spoke, Su-bin’s cheeks flushed bright red.