Perfect Possession - Episode 13

Seo-yeon stood in front of the playroom door, catching her ragged breath. She couldn’t show Tae-yul even the slightest hint of distress. As Jae-hoon came to her side, she turned to him.

“It’s okay if he doesn’t recognize me, right?”

There was no way he would call a stranger “Mom.” Seo-yeon had been comforting herself, thinking it was too much to ask for Tae-yul to immediately accept her.

But now that the moment was here, Seo-yeon was terrified. What if he burst into tears the moment he saw her, thinking she was a stranger?

“Let’s take it slow. We’ve both wronged him.”

Seo-yeon, understanding Jae-hoon’s words all too well, slowly turned the doorknob. She saw a child sitting with his back to them. A female teacher stood silently beside him.

The teacher, noticing them, jumped up and bowed. But Tae-yul didn’t move, remaining as he was with his back turned.

When Tae-yul didn’t react even after hearing them enter, Seo-yeon felt her heart stop. She quietly approached Tae-yul.

Just one more step and she could see Tae-yul’s face. She couldn’t even hear her own heartbeat anymore.

Her chest was so quiet, she couldn’t tell if it was beating too fast to feel or if it had stopped altogether.

Finally, she saw small hands playing with a puppy doll. Her son’s hands, which she had longed to hold. Seo-yeon’s gaze slowly moved upward.

It was then. Tae-yul, who had been looking down and playing with the puppy doll, no matter who came or went, raised his dark eyes and looked at Seo-yeon.

In that instant, she almost collapsed and burst into tears. Dark eyes, a high nose, and adorable lips that resembled her own. He was undeniably Jae-hoon and Seo-yeon’s child.

Even if she passed him on the street, she would know he was her son, he resembled them so much.

‘My son.’

Seo-yeon slowly crouched down in front of him, careful not to startle him.

“Hello…”

Contrary to her worries, Tae-yul wasn’t startled and just stared at Seo-yeon. He didn’t cry as if he were scared, but simply blinked his dark eyes silently.

But Seo-yeon thought Tae-yul was too shocked to speak. Jae-hoon cautiously approached. The quiet gaze shifted from Seo-yeon to Jae-hoon.

Jae-hoon gasped as he saw Tae-yul. Unable to contain himself, a short groan, “Ah,” escaped his lips.

The sound conveyed his pain and emotions. He was overwhelmed with guilt and relief at finally finding his son, who looked just like him.

“Hello, I’m Min Seo-yeon, and this is Han Jae-hoon. We are your…”

Seo-yeon had resolved not to cry, but her voice choked up. She took a short breath and forced the tears back. She managed a smile and continued.

“We’re your mom and dad. We’re so, so late… I’m sorry.”

The last “I’m sorry” came out of her mouth, distorted by tears she couldn’t swallow.

“I’m sorry, my baby.”

So Seo-yeon recomposed herself and said with a smile.

But Tae-yul remained silent, just staring. After a moment, Tae-yul turned his gaze to the female teacher.

“Min-woo, these are your mom and dad.”

The female teacher wiped away tears and spoke. Then, looking at Seo-yeon, she lowered her voice.

“Min-woo used to talk. But when he came to us, he didn’t speak at all. He can hear fine. He just doesn’t talk. We took him to the hospital, but they said there was nothing wrong. They said it was psychological and to wait and see.”

The female teacher looked apologetic, as if it were her fault. Seo-yeon couldn’t believe her ears. Tae-yul wasn’t speaking not because he was shocked, but because he couldn’t, his voice was locked away. She felt as if her heart was being torn apart, but it couldn’t be more painful than this.

Seo-yeon felt like she knew why her son’s voice wouldn’t come out. A young child who didn’t know who to call what, passed from one person to another until he arrived here.

How could this small body endure such a difficult heart? Seo-yeon felt like she would want to shut her mouth too.

Seo-yeon tightly grasped Jae-hoon’s hand as he sank to one knee with a devastated expression. His hand, devoid of warmth, was as cold as ice.

She thought Tae-yul would be scared if she was surprised or flustered. Seo-yeon quietly called her son’s name and said.

“It’s okay, Tae-yul. We want to call you Tae-yul. Is that okay?”

Seo-yeon quietly watched Tae-yul’s gestures. Tae-yul was just fiddling with the puppy’s ear. Seo-yeon waited, hoping he would make even the slightest different gesture if he reacted to her words.

Jae-hoon, who hadn’t said a word while looking at Tae-yul, opened his mouth for the first time.

“Han Tae-yul. ‘Yul’ means shining.”

There was no way the child would understand what it meant for him to shine. But Jae-hoon was saying the most comfortable words to calm himself down.

Telling his son the meaning of his name at their first meeting contained his hope that he would shine brightly and that he would definitely speak.

Then, Seo-yeon noticed a small change in Tae-yul’s movements. Tae-yul, who had only been touching the puppy’s ear, tapped the tip of the ear, touched it again, and repeatedly tapped it. Jae-hoon also saw it, and his gaze rested on the child’s fingertip.

He quietly said, so as not to startle Tae-yul.

“Bring Jae-moon.”

“Yes.”

Hyun-shik, who had been standing outside the door, quickly disappeared.

“Is it okay if we call you Tae-yul?”

Seo-yeon spoke to Tae-yul again.

“Um…”

The female teacher hesitated, as if she had something to say.

“He doesn’t react when we call him Min-woo. They say they called him that since he was a baby, and he used to understand when they spoke to him, but he doesn’t react at all here. He just gets up and eats when we say, ‘Let’s eat,’ and goes to the bathroom when we say, ‘Let’s wash up,’ so we don’t really call him by name.”

It was her explanation that he wouldn’t react even if they called him Tae-yul. Seo-yeon bit her lip, wanting to get angry at her for letting him live without a name.

She couldn’t help but feel angry, even though it wasn’t her fault. Seo-yeon stood up to say something.

“Please refrain from saying such things in front of the child. We’ll decide…”

Seo-yeon suddenly stopped speaking and turned her gaze to Tae-yul. The startled female teacher covered her mouth with her hand. Jae-hoon knelt down on both knees and watched Tae-yul stand up.

Tae-yul, holding the puppy doll in his arms, grabbed Seo-yeon’s clothes. Then he looked up and stared at her. He still didn’t say anything and had a sullen expression, but his eyes were different.

Tae-yul’s dark eyes became clear. His long eyelashes sparkled as if covered in dew. Seo-yeon thought she wished her heart would disappear even for a moment to stop this pain, but the pain felt ridiculous.

Compared to her young son’s suffering, who had stopped talking and crying, her heart aching was like a paper cut. Seo-yeon smiled gently and lowered herself to meet Tae-yul’s gaze.

“Can I hug you? Mommy wants to hug you so badly.”

Tae-yul didn’t say anything and gently pulled on the sleeve of Seo-yeon’s clothes. She could tell what her child wanted. Tae-yul was telling her to take him out of here.

Seo-yeon couldn’t cry when Tae-yul wasn’t crying. The tears she was holding back flowed into her heart. Seo-yeon smiled brightly with lips that were about to sob and hugged Tae-yul.

“Ah…”

The moment she felt her son’s warmth all over her body, Seo-yeon couldn’t hold back any longer. At first, tears welled up in her eyes as if seeping in.

‘Okay, Tae-yul won’t notice this much. The child will be surprised if Mommy cries, so this much is okay.’

Seo-yeon thought so. But when he hugged Seo-yeon with the hand that had been holding the doll limply, her chest could no longer hold back the tears.

The overflowing tears dripped down her cheeks. Starting with that, uncontrollable tears flowed down. She wanted to strangle herself for being such a fool of a mother who believed the words that her child was dead and didn’t even check if he was alive or dead, and for feeling more guilty about losing the child of the person she loved more than herself.

How hard must it have been for him to stop talking and crying?

The pain that her young son had experienced for 16 months since he was born became countless needles piercing Seo-yeon’s heart. She was grateful for it. If she could embrace her son’s pain, she wanted to bring it all, down to the last drop.

“Mommy’s so happy… I’m so happy that I’m just going to cry a little. I’m so happy to be holding our Tae-yul like this. I’m sorry, Tae-yul. Mommy I’m so sorry.”

Seo-yeon finally sobbed and whispered her apologies to Tae-yul. There was no one in the room to stop her tears.

Even Jae-hoon, who saw Tae-yul, who had been quietly hugging Seo-yeon, resting his face on her shoulder, couldn’t hold back his tears.

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