140

Episode 140

* * *

After coming to his senses, Seonju called his younger brother first. She was so worried as she saw her last image, unconscious after inhaling smoke, before her eyes, but fortunately her younger brother was safe. Her mother was with her brother.

‘By any chance, is it your eldest brother? ‘No contact?’

-huh. It’s a number that doesn’t exist even if you call.

‘What did Mom say?’

-I was very angry.

I couldn’t believe it and asked to change the phone, but to my surprise, my mother got angry, just like my brother said. She asked Seon-ju how dare he dare to touch her younger brother, and asked Seon-ju to call her right away if he ever gets a call from her eldest brother.

The trembling voice was sincere. Even on the day when debt collectors came to the house, my mother, who only cried out for our eldest son, went out of her way to throw Han Myeong-ju out of the family register for the first time.

Perhaps my mother’s finger that hurt the most was actually her younger brother. She didn’t even ask Seon-ju if she was okay, knowing that she had come to save her younger brother that day, but Seon-ju wasn’t upset anymore. This was because I desperately realized that the place I should now pour my emotions into was not her mother.

My heart, which would have been throbbing before, was now at peace. She had no hatred or resentment left. She felt relieved, as if she had left all her luggage on the meadow she had seen in her dream.

On the other hand, I still felt anger and bitterness towards my eldest brother. On the one hand, we may have known for a long time that this outcome would come out. He was a person who would cause big trouble someday. For his mother’s sake, he just closed his eyes, saying that he was the one with whom he shared blood.

But it didn’t happen twice. If the eldest brother tried to do something foolish once more, the ship owner would not stay still. My family was no longer my eldest brother and mother.

The owner placed his hand on the boat and slowly swept it down. My family was here, in this place. And next to me too.

I had only been lying down for a few days, but my muscles and joints had become stiff. I never thought walking and running would be this hard. It took quite a long time at the rehabilitation center to straighten my stiff joints and revive my tense muscles. Doesn’t he kneel down with a flutter like a baby who has just learned to walk for the first time? Doesn’t his hand suddenly lose strength while holding a cup and turn the bed into a sea of ​​water?

Kwon Hee-seong stayed close to the shipowner and helped him one by one. Thanks to Kwon Hee-seong, the tedious and torture-like rehabilitation was much less difficult. Heaven must have been impressed by the sincerity, as the shipowner was able to recover to his former self much faster than expected.

Meanwhile, Byul grew up well. There was quite a bit of movement now. I don’t know why he was kicking so much with his little feet, but sometimes I would wake up feeling like my ribs were being lifted upwards.

Each time, Kwon Hee-seong was next to him and gently stroked the owner’s stomach with his large palm. When I felt his touch, my fetal movements would become quiet as if they had never been like that before.

“Maybe Byul is not shy. “What if you hate me?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. “Byul will never do that.”

In a long dream, he was the child who did not give up on me and led me to the forest. There was no way the child who brightened the dark path for Kwon Hee-seong to return would hate him.

Seonju placed his hand on the back of Kwon Hee-seong’s hand. Let Byeol get used to this body temperature and the friendly scent of the forest. So that on the day you were born, you could smell Kwon Hee-seong’s scent and know that this person was your father.

* * *

On the day I was discharged from the hospital, the weather was particularly clear. Seonju’s physical condition also improved day by day, and she could boldly say that she was now better than before she became pregnant. Her pale face had a peach-colored midsummer color, and her eyes, which were always filled with anxiety in a corner, were flawless and clear.

While putting his luggage in the trunk and opening the car door, Seonju noticed something unfamiliar in the backseat and his eyes widened. It was still too early to take its place. The ship owner asked, looking at Kwon Hee-seong and the items placed in the back seat in turn.

“Isn’t this a car seat?”

“huh. “I ordered one.”

“Isn’t this still too early…?” … .”

The shipowner shyly swept the ship. Now my stomach has grown enough to waddle occasionally, but I still have to wait a few more weeks. Still, looking at the car seat, it became clear to me that it wasn’t long until Byul came into the world.

“Hey, how early is it? “Whether I buy it now or later, Byul needs it anyway.”

Those words somehow touch my heart. Seonju looked at the car seat for a long time.

Even though it wasn’t even born yet, I pictured a child sitting on it and waving its cute hands and feet. The black curly hair that looked just like Kwon Hee-seong, the sparkling eyes like stars, and even the smiling lips were all as vivid as if I had seen them in person. Seon-joo swallowed his emotions and got into the car.

All the way home, I kept seeing the car seat reflected in the rear-view mirror. Looking at Kwon Hee-seong reflected in her window, then looking at her backseat, Seonju opened her mouth like a clam facing the rising tide.

Then, when he made eye contact with Kwon Hee-seong, he closed his tongue as if hiding it inside. Kwon Hee-seong seemed to have noticed that the owner was grunting like a dog worried about something, but she just smiled and didn’t ask any questions.

Seonju held the belt in his hand and sighed quietly without Kwon Hee-seong knowing. Even though he had promised himself that he would definitely and unconditionally tell him when he opened his eyes, the piece of that damn truth just lingered in his mouth and never came out of his lips. When my eyes met his, the tips of my ears felt hot and I tended to quickly look away.

If I keep doing this, won’t I miss another opportunity and regret it? Seonju took a deep breath and composed her mind. She couldn’t put it off any longer. Wouldn’t it be right for her to reveal it before the child is born?

While hesitating, the car climbed the hill and arrived at the garage. The engine turned off and Kwon Hee-seong kindly loosened the owner’s belt. Even after getting out of the car, the owner’s complexion did not look good. I was so nervous that I felt like I was going to get motion sickness.

After all, lying for a long time is not good for your body. If she had known this would happen, she would have spit it out a long time ago, Seonju said with a fleeting regret.

“What’s wrong. “Are you feeling unwell?”

Kwon Hee-seong lowered his head and made eye contact. Their foreheads touched for a moment and then fell. Seonju tried to avoid her eyes, then rolled her eyes as she placed her hand on her stomach. When our eyes met, his entire body felt warm, as if he had touched a heated rock.

I looked back and looked at the car seat in the backseat. To others, it may seem funny that I am attaching great meaning to a single item, but to me, it was like the future. A complete belief that he and Kwon Hee-sung and Byeol-i will exist together in the future, and that they can stay together in the same space and time.

I closed my eyes tightly and opened them. Before I knew it, my hand was even gripping the hem of Kwon Hee-seong’s clothes. Seonju opened her mouth, prepared to handle even if Kwon Hee-seong got angry, asking why she had lied all this time.

“A star.”

“huh.”

“―It’s your child.”

When I vomited it out, I felt cool and depressed at the same time, as if a thorn that had been stuck in my finger for a long time had come out. Still, Seonju was afraid to look at Kwon Hee-seong, who was becoming cold, so he closed his eyes tightly.

“I’m sorry for lying to you until now. But there really wasn’t any other alpha while I was out here. Hit too. It was just you. Byeol’s father… … Heesung, it’s you.”

There were no words in return. I got scared. She wondered what would happen if she had been greatly disappointed, so Seonju rolled up the hem of the dress that was in her hand and held it tightly. She bit her lower lip and slowly raised her head.

Kwon Hee-seong was neither surprised nor angry. Both eyes were folded like a hollow pear. The brown eyes seen through them were bright with light, and the lips were curved as sweetly as honey. Seonju just looked at him in fascination, not even realizing that his lips were parted.

Kwon Hee-seong then burst into bright laughter. It was similar to the sound of soap bubbles popping dotted in the blue sky. He hugged Seonju’s waist, placed his arms under Seonju’s hips, and lifted him up. Seonjoo, who instantly raised her gaze, stopped her and wrapped her arms around the nape of her neck in front of her. Kwon Hee-seong leaned towards Seonju’s embarrassed face and kissed her. She flexed her forearm muscles and bit a handful of her soft cheek as if she couldn’t bear it anymore.

“I will do well. I will do really well in the future, Seonju. really… … .”

The owner was completely out of his mind. Underneath his field of vision was Kwon Hee-seong. He placed his hands on both cheeks to stop his lips from tracing my face. Only then did Kwon Hee-seong wet his lips with his tongue and look at Seon-ju.

The eyes looking up at me were like cinnamon candy with golden honey inside. It was the same feeling as the first time. A mysterious candy that is bitter and spicy at first but has a bittersweet finish at the end that makes people addicted.

“love you.”

Maybe it’s me, not Kwon Hee-seong, who can’t even eat any other candy other than that candy. Even though I didn’t eat it, my mouth was full of the taste of cinnamon candy. It felt like everything from my toes to my head was filled with that flavor.

Seonju looked at the candy-like eyes and couldn’t help but feel a tickle and laughed. She couldn’t bear not to be kissed. As she placed her lips on his, she confessed her inner feelings that she no longer needed to hold back. She says she likes it, she loves it. Thank you.

Incense rose. It was the scent of a forest with leaves in full bloom after a long rainy season. Seonju deeply inhaled the fresh scent of the forest that brought him back from the long distance.

This was where he had to stay. This embrace was his nest. Seonju hugged her forest deeply, deeply, with both her arms.