SERIES: An Impure Reunion
CHAPTER: An Impure Reunion Chapter 10
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10.
Taejun shot up from the sofa.
Striding over to the bedside, he quickly snatched the fork from the child’s hand.
Seol-ah’s face fell at Taejun’s sudden action.
“Mister, why?”
She seemed quite disappointed to have her food taken away while she was eating.
Ignoring Seol-ah's expression, Taejun took the fork and opened the hospital room door.
And he approached a female employee who happened to be walking toward the room.
“Don't you have any utensils for children?”
“Ah, I thought it might be uncomfortable for a child to use, so I brought this. It’s plastic, but it should be less dangerous for her.”
She handed Taejun a plastic fork she had prepared.
Looking displeased that it was plastic, he put on a deliberately angry face and quickly turned back into the room.
When he entered the room, the child was holding a piece of bread in her mouth, her expression utterly dejected.
Taejun approached her and placed the new fork in her hand.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I can eat with it. And you asked me to be quiet, didn't you?”
“……”
“Seol-ah is good at keeping promises!”
“You can talk about things like this.”
At Taejun's words, Seol-ah nodded and replied that she would do so from now on.
The child, who had claimed she could eat just fine with the big fork, ate much more comfortably than when she had been struggling with it.
Forgetting for a moment about returning to the sofa, Taejun sat on the small chair next to the bed and watched the child.
Contrary to Jian’s worries, Seol-ah ate well even without her mother by her side.
Watching the child’s deft actions, Taejun let out another small laugh.
Seeing Taejun laugh, Seol-ah pouted.
“Mister, why are you laughing?”
“Am I not allowed to laugh?”
Flustered by Taejun answering her question with a question, Seol-ah bit her lip.
She started picking at the food she had been eating so well.
At the child's little act of defiance, Taejun burst out laughing again.
Swallowing his laughter, he reached out and placed his hand on the child’s head.
“Hurry up and eat.”
A gentle voice then flowed from his lips.
As if his hand stroking her head had soothed her anger a little, Seol-ah started eating her food with gusto again.
Taejun removed his hand from the child’s head and said.
“Kids these days eat well on their own.”
“That’s a compliment, right? Thank you for the compliment.”
Seol-ah stopped eating and bowed her head deeply in thanks.
After bowing, the child took a bite of bread and said.
“My mom is very busy.”
Even though she spoke in a mumbling voice, what Seol-ah was saying was perfectly clear.
“I thought I shouldn’t make things harder for Mom when she’s so busy.”
“……”
“And eating alone isn’t as hard as you’d think.”
Taejun, who had been listening to Seol-ah in silence, was a little surprised.
Seol-ah seemed to be a child more mature than her age.
The way she thought of her mother at such a young age seemed particularly admirable.
“Besides, I’m not alone. You’re here too, Mister.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you’re right here next to me.”
The child smiled shyly and bowed her head again in thanks.
Hearing the child’s pure gratitude, a cynical smile formed on Taejun’s lips.
‘I wonder if you’d still be thanking me if I took your mother away.’
I’m a man who wants to take your mother, Heo Jian, away this very instant.
I want to take Heo Jian and hide her away where no one can see her, especially not you.
Soon enough, Heo Jian will likely be staying by my side, not yours.
When that happens, you won’t be able to see your mother’s face for the rest of your life,
will you still be thanking me then?
Do you even know what it means to never see your parent’s face for your entire life?
‘Taejun, I’m sorry. Mommy… I don’t think I can stay by your side anymore.’
When the parent who was always by your side disappears, it feels like your life ends that very day,
‘My Taejun can be brave even without his mom, right?’
Could you possibly know that pain?
For a moment, Taejun’s head throbbed.
The reason was the voice of someone stirring up his memories.
As Taejun pressed his temples to soothe his headache, Seol-ah finished her meal completely.
“Thank you for the meal!”
Seol-ah didn’t forget to express her thanks.
Just as the child’s forehead touched the bedcovers from her bow,
“Hello. I’m the babysitter you requested.”
A slender British woman appeared in the room.
It was the babysitter Taejun had requested at dawn.
Taejun stood up to greet her.
“This child is scheduled for a simple examination today. So you just need to accompany her.”
While explaining the situation to the babysitter, Taejun glanced at Seol-ah.
It was because he remembered Jian saying the child was very shy around strangers.
And indeed, the child seemed to be shy.
It was clear that both he, whom she had only seen for a few hours, and the babysitter who had just arrived were strangers to her.
But Seol-ah seemed to be more wary of the babysitter.
It was quite a novel sight to see Seol-ah’s mouth, which had been busy chattering just a moment ago, shut tight.
“Well then, please take good care of her.”
Taejun prepared to leave without any lingering attachment.
But Seol-ah’s gaze followed his movements.
Feeling the child’s eyes on him, Taejun paused and spoke.
“She understands Korean.”
He said it, wondering if she was looking at him because she was worried the babysitter couldn’t understand Korean.
At Taejun’s words, the babysitter skillfully greeted Seol-ah in Korean.
The child barely seemed to hear the babysitter.
Instead, she blinked her eyes and grabbed Taejun’s collar.
“Mister.”
The collar, grabbed by the child, felt surprisingly heavy.
It was just a child’s hand, so it couldn’t be heavy, but the feeling was strange.
“Will we see each other again?”
He had been quite curious what she wanted to say to make her grab him like that, but the words that came from the child’s mouth made the back of his neck tingle.
See each other again,
Does she want to see me again, the man who is trying to tear her away from her mother?
“No.”
Taejun’s voice was firm as he answered.
Hearing his answer, a look of disappointment spread across Seol-ah’s face.
Taejun quickly removed Seol-ah’s hand.
The child’s hand had clearly let go of his collar.
But Taejun still felt an incomprehensible weight.
Just then, his cell phone rang from inside his jacket.
Even as the ringing grew louder, the child’s small voice reached Taejun’s ears.
“Goodbye.”
Deliberately ignoring the hint of disappointment in the child’s voice, Taejun hurriedly left the room and closed the door.
Leaning against the door, he quickly checked the call.
The call was from Ha Seong-jin, his chief of staff in Korea.
“What is it.”
-It’s about Mr. Lee Kang-jae, whom you asked us to follow and report on, sir.
At Chief Ha’s words, Taejun’s expression began to harden coldly.
Lee Kang-jae, Jian’s man.
The man who made Jian, who had acted like a living corpse in front of him, smile. Lee Kang-jae.
Taejun felt a shiver of rage just hearing his name.
It was the same now.
“What is it?”
-There’s a record of him departing from Incheon Airport last night.
At the word ‘departure,’ Taejun’s pace quickened.
-His destination is…
He felt like he knew where Lee Kang-jae was headed without even having to hear it.
Jian hurried back to Grace.
Fortunately, the repairman arrived quickly, and the problem was soon resolved.
Letting out a sigh of relief, she sat down on a chair behind the counter.
“You’ve had a rough morning, Jian.”
Sherry tapped on the counter and spoke to her.
Jian gave her a faint smile and said.
“No, it’s just part of my job.”
Telling her to get some rest, Sherry left Grace.
As Jian watched her leave, thoughts of Seol-ah flashed through her mind.
“I wonder if she ate well.”
Did she eat well? Was she too shy with the babysitter who was supposed to be with her all day? Had the examination started? Was she scared?
One worry led to another.
She started to think that maybe she shouldn’t have left the child alone after all.
Just then, Jian took out a business card she had tucked away behind the counter and held it in her hand.
‘Should I call and ask?’
Jian hesitated, holding her cell phone in one hand and the business card, the one Taejun had given her yesterday in the other.
‘He didn’t even change his number, so why give me a business card?’
The truth was, Jian still remembered Taejun’s number, even after five years.
Does he think I might have forgotten it?
As Jian fiddled with the innocent business card, a voice reached her ears.
“Neglecting your duties, I see.”
When she turned her head and saw who it was, a wide smile blossomed on Jian’s face.
“Oppa!”
The person who made her smile was none other than Kang Jae.
Seeing his face for the first time in eight months, she couldn’t have been happier.
Seeing Jian smile as brightly as a child, Kang Jae placed a hand on her head.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, and you, Oppa? Has everything been okay?”
“What could have happened.”
“How’s Kangji, and your parents? Are they healthy? Oh! And is the restaurant still doing well?”
“One question at a time. By the way, where’s Seol-ah?”
As soon as Kang Jae asked about Seol-ah, Jian’s expression instantly hardened.
Then, Jian once again glanced back and forth between the business card and the phone in her hands.
There was no way Kang Jae could have missed the change in Jian’s expression.
He removed the hand he had placed on her head and asked.
“Why, did something happen?”
Jian forced a smile for the worried Kang Jae and came out from behind the counter, asking a question.
“…It’s nothing. Oppa, would you like something to drink?”
“What is it? You look pale.”
Jian tried to lead Kang Jae toward the Grace kitchen.
Just as Kang Jae entered the kitchen and Jian was about to follow,
“So the rats were hiding here.”
Author: Donggeurami (Son Yoon-seo)
Publisher: Toonplus
Email: [email protected]
ISBN: 9791157738274
© Donggeurami (Son Yoon-seo), 2022
※ This e-book is published by <Toonplus> under contract with the copyright holder; unauthorized reproduction and redistribution are prohibited. Violation of this may result in legal liability.
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