SERIES: An Impure Reunion
CHAPTER: An Impure Reunion Chapter 23
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23.
Unlike Seol-ah, who was thrilled by the news of Taejun’s return and stood waiting by the door, Jian’s expression was not so bright.
“…….”
“…….”
“Mister, welcome back.”
An inexplicable coldness flowed between Taejun and Jian upon his return.
Jian had intended to clear up the misunderstandings that had piled up when he came home, but she gave up on that idea after Daesik’s visit.
The reason was that she no longer expected the truth to make things better.
After a long moment, Jian spoke.
“Dinner.”
“I’m fine.”
Taejun’s reply was curt and cold.
He walked straight past Jian and entered the study room on the first floor.
Watching the two of them not speaking, only Seol-ah tilted her head with a puzzled look.
“Mom, is something wrong with Mister?”
“I wonder? Seol-ah, time to brush your teeth, right?”
“Yes! I’ll do it by myself!”
Watching Seol-ah’s back, Jian went into the kitchen.
She opened and closed the refrigerator, a few pieces of fruit in her hand.
They were all things that suited Taejun’s palate.
She had just grabbed whatever her hand landed on, but it seemed her instincts had picked out Taejun’s favorites.
‘Heo Jian, you’re as foolish as ever.’
What he liked, and what he disliked.
She remembered it all as if by instinct.
Even though he probably had no interest in her own likes and dislikes.
Jian was standing there blankly, holding a knife and the fruit.
“Ah….”
A sharp sting shot through her finger, and then bright red blood began to drip down.
Seeing the red blood, Jian’s vision momentarily went dark, and her head throbbed.
Just then,
“Mom!”
Seol-ah came into the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen, Seol-ah rushed to Jian’s side and was startled to see the blood flowing from her mother’s hand.
“Mom! Blood!”
Seeing Seol-ah on the verge of tears, Jian quickly rinsed the blood away under running water.
Watching Jian try to stop the bleeding, Seol-ah dashed off somewhere.
A moment later, Seol-ah returned with a bandage featuring a picture of her favorite princess.
“Mom, you have to put this on.”
Taking Jian’s uninjured hand, the child led her to the sofa and tore open the bandage with her tiny hands.
Then she began trying to stick it on Jian’s injured finger.
“Seol-ah, Mom can do it.”
“Seol-ah will do it for you.”
Seemingly very startled by the sight of her mother’s bleeding hand, Seol-ah’s stubborn streak emerged.
“No. Mom’s hurt, so I’ll do it.”
Her cheeks puffed out, the child spoke stubbornly and placed the bandage on Jian’s hand.
Seeing the crooked handiwork, Jian quietly swallowed a laugh.
Jian found Seol-ah’s heart so lovely that she pressed a kiss to the top of the child’s head.
However, it seemed Seol-ah’s stubbornness wasn’t over yet.
“Seol-ah. Really, Mom can do that.”
A tray was held in Seol-ah’s two small hands.
Jian seemed to be trying her best to take the tray from her, but Seol-ah was resolute.
“People who are hurt should rest.”
Struggling with the weight, the child nevertheless carried the tray and stood before Taejun’s study.
She briefly set the tray on the floor and knocked on the door, her gaze still fixed on Jian.
It was a gaze that felt like a silent pressure, telling her not to come any closer.
“Come in.”
Hearing the voice from inside the study, the child excitedly opened the door and grabbed the tray.
Inside the study, Taejun’s gaze shifted.
“Mister, it’s me!”
He had said to come in at the sound of the knock, but the person who entered was not Jian, but Seol-ah.
Taejun’s eyes fell on Jian, who was standing behind the child with an anxious expression.
Then, as he looked closely at Seol-ah, who was barely half Jian’s height, he noticed a tray in her hands.
The child entered with short, quick steps, placed the tray on the floor, and then shut the door with a determined air.
Picking up the tray again, Seol-ah said,
“Mom hurt her hand, so I brought it.”
At the mention of Jian being hurt, Taejun’s fingertips paused for a fraction of a second.
At that time, Seol-ah approached Taejun with her short steps.
Taejun briefly set aside the bundle of papers he had been looking at and carefully watched the child approaching him.
The child, who had walked over so diligently, set the tray on the floor, took only the plate, and stood on her tiptoes to place it on Taejun’s desk.
Then she picked up the tray from the floor again and placed her hands on her belly.
What more could there be?
“Thank you, Mister.”
What finally came out of the child’s mouth was none other than a word of thanks.
At the inexplicable gratitude, Taejun’s brow twitched slightly.
“I really wanted to say this, so I kept waiting for you, Mister.”
“What are you thankful for?”
Coldness dripped from Taejun’s voice.
Whether she noticed it or not, Seol-ah was still beaming.
“Thank you for giving Seol-ah a nice room.”
Seol-ah said, bowing her head again.
A nice room. Watching the child’s actions, Taejun scoffed.
Would she still say that if she knew it was the very thing meant to ensnare her mother?
Suddenly, the bundle of papers on his desk came into Taejun’s view.
What Taejun had been looking at before the child came in was a list of overseas locations and houses in each region where he would soon send Seol-ah.
‘What will she do when she finds out she has to leave that room soon?’
Will she look like she’s about to cry?
Unaware of Taejun’s inner thoughts, Seol-ah looked at him with a gaze full of curiosity.
Tilting his head slightly, Taejun asked Seol-ah,
“Want to see?”
Seol-ah nodded with interest.
‘Right, it’s the house you’ll live in. It’s not a bad idea for you to choose it.’
Taejun moved the tray in Seol-ah’s arms aside, then lifted her onto his lap.
He then handed Seol-ah the top paper from the list he had been looking at.
“Choose one. Which house do you think is best?”
Seol-ah stared at the paper as if it would burn a hole through it, as if she had been given some great mission by Taejun.
After a moment, a look of realization crossed the child’s face, and she turned her gaze to Taejun.
“But, Mister, who is going to live in this house?”
“A kid like you.”
Taejun’s gaze swept over Seol-ah from head to toe.
Not knowing the meaning behind that gaze, Seol-ah smiled brightly.
“Oh! Then she’s going to live with her mom!”
“No.”
At Taejun’s firm reply, a tearful expression spread across Seol-ah’s face.
Fidgeting with her hands and stroking the paper, Seol-ah mumbled quietly.
“That child will be lonely.”
At the child’s words, spoken after a long pause, Taejun watched Seol-ah intently.
Her lips were pouting, and her eyes were already welling up with tears.
“I cry just thinking about being separated from my mom.”
“…….”
“How lonely will that child be all by herself?”
Lonely.
Of course, being alone is naturally accompanied by loneliness.
As Taejun regarded it as no big deal, Seol-ah threw a question at him.
“Will that child really be okay all alone?”
As soon as the question ended, a voice flashed through Taejun’s mind.
‘Oh my, I wonder if the young master will be alright on his own.’
That voice was undoubtedly that of Mrs. Choi, the woman who had helped with the housework at his home during his childhood.
And she had said this on the day his mother left that house.
After Taejun’s mother left, Mrs. Choi had looked after him with great care and affection.
The emotion in her gaze must have been pity.
Taejun hated that gaze.
‘I have a mother.’
She was clearly still around, so why did they look at him with such eyes, as if he were a child without one?
But even that, it seemed, had become familiar.
It didn’t matter how others saw him, as long as it wasn’t true for him.
It wasn’t within arm’s reach, but his mother’s new home was within walking distance.
When he went there, his mother was always there to greet him with a bright, welcoming smile.
‘Mom!’
So, I wasn’t alone.
‘My son!’
Not alone.
‘Oh dear, the little one saw something he shouldn’t have.’
He still remembered the day he lost the person who made him not alone, the person he thought he would never lose.
What did I think, looking at the back of that person who had become a cold corpse?
‘That’s your mother for you. Crazy, and her actions show it.’
Ah, now I’m really alone.
I'm alone.
Taejun gathered his thoughts and said,
“You live alone.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you can live alone.”
Yes, you can live alone. What’s so hard about it?
And it’s not even alone; there will be more than a dozen people to attend to you.
I lived that way, so why should you be any different?
But as Taejun said those words, a sense of loneliness emanated from his expression.
It clearly showed how painful that time he had lived alone had been.
Seol-ah, who had been listening quietly to Taejun, pouted her lips.
“Still, she’ll be lonely.”
Hoping that the lonely friend would be a little less lonely, Seol-ah studied the paper diligently.
As she eagerly flipped through the pages, Seol-ah’s eyes stopped at one place.
“Mister, this house would be good.”
Seol-ah showed Taejun the house she had chosen.
It was a house where the sunlight was impressive, with a neighboring house close by.
“I think it would be nice if a kid her age lived next door.”
She truly hoped a friend of that child’s age would live in the house next door.
She hoped the child could sometimes go to that house and play with her friend so she wouldn’t be lonely.
“Then that child won’t be lonely, right?”
So that child won’t be lonely.
Taejun stared blankly at Seol-ah.
The child was looking at Taejun with a bright smile.
That smile, strangely enough, seemed to warm his heart.
It felt as if all the loneliness he had experienced in the past was being compensated for.
“Mister, since I helped you, please make me one promise.”
“A promise?”
“Please grant me one favor later!”
After saying that, Seol-ah quickly slid down from Taejun’s lap and left the study.
It was as if she had no intention of hearing Taejun’s answer.
As Seol-ah closed the door and left, a chuckle escaped Taejun’s lips.
Taejun was gazing at the door Seol-ah had left through when a knock sounded.
“I'm coming in for a moment.”
Author: Donggeurami (Son Yoon-seo)
Publisher: Toonplus
E-mail: [email protected]
ISBN: 9791157738274
© Donggeurami (Son Yoon-seo), 2022
※ This e-book is published by <Toonplus> under an agreement with the copyright holder. Unauthorized reproduction and distribution are prohibited. Violation of this may result in legal liability.
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