Perfect Possession - Episode 12

Seo-yeon entered the room, thick with a hazy fog, and wondered what the smoke was. She looked around, wondering if there was a fire somewhere, but there was no smell. The room was just so thickly fogged that she couldn’t see an inch in front of her. Then she heard a small sound brushing against the floor somewhere. Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes and stared intently at the source of the sound. She thought she was alone, but someone was approaching. She focused all her attention and looked ahead. Something tugged at her skirt. Seo-yeon quickly looked down and almost screamed. A child, probably a little over a year old, seemed to have passed their first birthday, but was unusually small, was grabbing her skirt and looking up at her. But strangely, she could see the shape, but not the face properly. In an instant, a forgotten memory flashed through her mind like lightning. That she had been desperately searching for her son.

“Tae-yul!”

She bent down to hug her son. Just as her fingertips were about to touch Tae-yul, a large hand appeared from somewhere, grabbed the child, and disappeared.

“No!”

Seo-yeon screamed and opened her eyes wide. She frantically got up and looked around. But Tae-yul was nowhere to be seen. Seo-yeon was in a familiar car, dumbfounded.

“Seo-yeon, are you awake?”

Jae-hoon, looking at her with a worried face, came into view. Only then did Seo-yeon breathe a sigh of relief. She hadn’t realized it was a dream and thought he was the one who had taken Tae-yul.

“…Where’s Tae-yul? Our son, you took him, didn’t you? Jae-hoon, you were just here.”

“Get a grip, Seo-yeon. You just lost consciousness for a moment and had a dream.”

“…A dream…?”

“Yeah. You kept calling for Tae-yul.”

“Ah… a dream… what about that woman?”

Seo-yeon, despairing and slurring her voice, realized that she had lost consciousness while talking to Jung-won.

“Did you find out anything from that woman? I want to see her again.”

Seo-yeon pushed Jae-hoon away and tried to get out of the car.

“Saetbyeol Orphanage. She said he’s there. We’re going now.”

Although his voice was heavy, Seo-yeon could tell that it was trembling. She slowly looked at Jae-hoon.

A myriad of emotions swirled in his dark eyes. He was barely calming his violently shaking heart at the thought of being able to meet Tae-yul.

“That woman… did she say that? That our Tae-yul is there?”

“The woman didn’t know. She just gave me the contact information of the social worker who took Tae-yul, and I called and found out.”

“You should have met her and asked. What if she’s lying?”

She felt like her heart wouldn’t be able to bear it if she was disappointed again. She tried to endure with a strong heart without crying until she met Tae-yul, but every time her heart collapsed, it felt like it was losing its function.

There were times when she felt sorry for being alive. But now Seo-yeon knew that she couldn’t collapse.

“She’s in Busan. I couldn’t go all the way there to ask. Saetbyeol Orphanage is in Incheon.”

“Ah…”

Seo-yeon couldn’t speak. She could tell that everything he was saying, his expression, his eyes, his voice, was all true. She held her breath, swallowed hard, and grabbed Jae-hoon’s arm.

“Did you call and check?”

Seo-yeon asked, staring intently at Jae-hoon.

“Yes.”

“I-is he there?”

“There’s a child there with the same birthday as our son.”

“Ha.”

Seo-yeon couldn’t breathe and pounded her chest. She had forgotten how to breathe at the news that Tae-yul was there. She was in so much pain and resented the stopped car. She glared at the empty driver’s seat and hit Jae-hoon.

“Breathe.”

“……”

“Seo-yeon, breathe. Can’t you hear me?”

Jae-hoon, in a hurry, stroked Seo-yeon’s back and looked out the window. Jae-moon, who had been waiting, opened the door and stuck his head in.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think she can breathe.”

“Wait, Seo-yeon?”

As Jae-hoon tried to give Jae-moon his seat, she grabbed him.

“Ha….”

Seo-yeon, who couldn’t inhale a single drop of air, took a short breath and slowly began to breathe.

“Seo-yeon, are you okay?”

“Jae… Jae-hoon.”

“Tell me.”

“Just let’s go quickly now.”

“Let me see if you’re okay first.”

“I’m okay, so please go quickly. I can’t wait any longer.”

Seo-yeon, who spat out the words as if swallowing them, shed tears that had been pooling in her heart. Jae-hoon silently watched her tears and quietly said.

“Hyun-shik.”

Hyun-shik, who had been waiting outside with Jae-moon, went to the driver’s seat and sat down without saying a word.

“I’ll follow behind. Call me right away if anything happens. Seo-yeon, don’t breathe too fast, do it slowly.”

As Jae-moon closed the door, the car immediately started. Seo-yeon, shamelessly, didn’t let go of Jae-hoon’s hand. Her heart was beating so violently that it was hard for her to sit properly. She couldn’t bear it unless she held onto something.

She had never seen him before, so even in her dreams, she couldn’t see Tae-yul’s face. The thought of finally seeing such a son with her own eyes and feeling his warm body made it difficult for Seo-yeon to even blink.

“We’ll be able to meet him soon.”

“…Are we really going to be able to meet him?”

“Yeah, Attorney Yoon is expediting the procedures.”

“Procedures?”

“We need proof that we’re his biological parents.”

“So, we can’t take him until the DNA test results come out?”

She couldn’t leave Tae-yul there for even a day longer.

“No. That’s why Attorney Yoon is there. Tae-yul will sleep at my house tonight.”

Jae-hoon squeezed the hand holding Seo-yeon’s. His heart ached as if it was being crushed. The pain seemed to be somewhat enveloped by her body temperature.

But their young son would be having an even harder time than they were. He was driving quickly, looking for shortcuts, but it felt endlessly slow, as if he was driving through a school zone.

As the sign for Saetbyeol Orphanage came into view, Hyun-shik, nervous, looked at the back seat through the rearview mirror. The two hadn’t exchanged a word since then.

Hyun-shik, who knew very well what that silence meant, was so nervous that his hands holding the steering wheel were shaking.

Hyun-shik took a breath to calm down, so that it wouldn’t be heard in the back seat. In his view, Attorney Yoon and people were standing at the entrance of the orphanage.

“It’s Attorney Yoon.”

“I see.”

Jae-hoon’s heart, which had been pumping like crazy, became calm as if by magic as the entrance to Saetbyeol Orphanage came into view.

Jae-hoon looked at Seo-yeon, who was so pale that she looked almost transparent. But contrary to his worries, her eyes were alive.

“Don’t worry. I won’t cry or anything in front of my son.”

“I wasn’t thinking that.”

Seo-yeon wanted to act naturally so that Tae-yul wouldn’t be surprised. How scary would it be if a strange adult suddenly appeared, grabbed you, and burst into tears? The thought made her come to her senses.

She couldn’t smile, but she didn’t want to startle him, so she did her best to calm her mind.

“Your face is too pale.”

“Will Tae-yul be surprised?”

Seo-yeon, who hadn’t even thought about her complexion, asked in surprise.

“It’s not that bad.”

“Then that’s good.”

Seo-yeon took a deep breath and unbuckled her seatbelt as the car stopped. Jae-hoon got out first and waited for Seo-yeon to get out. She took his hand and got out of the car.

Attorney Yoon quickly approached and bowed deeply. But he couldn’t lift his head for a long time. Attorney Yoon’s shoulders were trembling slightly.

“I-I’m sorry.”

His eyes were bloodshot as he raised his head.

“Did you meet him?”

Jae-hoon barely managed to utter the words stuck in his throat.

“Yes. He’s in the playroom right now. I was surprised because he looks a lot like the Vice President.”

As soon as Attorney Yoon saw the child, who harmoniously mixed the appearances of Jae-hoon and Seo-yeon, his emotions welled up. That’s what burst out as soon as he saw Jae-hoon.

“Jae-hoon, let’s go quickly.”

Seo-yeon had never doubted who Tae-yul would look like. He was his child, so it was natural that he looked like him.

“Who’s in the playroom?”

“There’s a teacher. That person is the director here.”

Seo-yeon walked inside, barely acknowledging the woman in her 60s that Attorney Yoon was pointing to. Jae-hoon passed the director and approached Seo-yeon, grabbing her arm.

“Seo-yeon, wait a moment.”

“I can’t wait.”

“The director said she has something to say.”

Seo-yeon took a breath and looked at Jae-hoon, then turned her gaze to the director.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I’m Ji Sook-hyun, the director of Saetbyeol Orphanage. Before you meet Min-woo, ah, we call that child Min-woo.”

“He’s Tae-yul. Han Tae-yul.”

Seo-yeon cut her off sharply. She didn’t want her son to be called by a name that she didn’t even know who had given it to him.

“I see. Well then, let’s meet him first. You’ll know when you see him.”

The director smiled kindly and pointed to the playroom. Seo-yeon’s heart sank as she saw that her eyes looked like she was feeling sorry for him.

She wondered if there was something wrong. She turned her gaze to Attorney Yoon, who had naturally met Tae-yul first. When he avoided Seo-yeon’s gaze, she turned her frozen face towards the playroom. And she started running.

“Seo-yeon!”

Jae-hoon called her, but Seo-yeon couldn’t hear anything.

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