Perfect Possession - Episode 14

Seo-yeon heard Jae-hoon suppressing his overwhelming emotions, gathering his reason. She gently detached Tae-yul, wiping away the wetness from her son’s eyes.

“Tae-yul, give Dad a hug too.”

Her voice, mixed with tears, trembled.

Tae-yul slowly raised his head and stared intently at Jae-hoon. It was a very short moment, perhaps only a few seconds, but for Jae-hoon, time seemed to have stopped.

Even though he wanted to reach out and hug him first, he didn’t. He wanted to wait until Tae-yul came to him.

Just a few days ago, he hadn’t even dreamed of having a child. No, it was something he couldn’t even imagine.

Even if he were to get married, he had never once thought about having children; he had that little interest in them.

Yet, now, he was waiting for Tae-yul to come to him, his heart burning. Jae-hoon knew that he had to give up everything for Tae-yul now. His own feelings didn’t matter.

Finally, a few seconds passed. Tae-yul, still holding onto Seo-yeon’s sleeve, took a step to the side and wrapped his arms around Jae-hoon’s neck.

One hand was still holding onto Seo-yeon, making it only a half-hearted hug, but Jae-hoon would never forget that feeling.

His heart, which felt like it was about to explode, calmed down in an instant. As he embraced the small back that fit in his palm, a paternal love that hadn’t even sprouted a seed in his heart took root and grew rapidly.

He felt that he could throw himself away for this child. He could picture how the Do-young family would react, but Jae-hoon wasn’t worried at all. To protect his son, he was now ready to give up everything.

“…Dad will protect you.”

The words burst out of his mouth without him even realizing it. He would find everyone who had hurt Tae-yul and make them pay the price for their sins.

He would not forgive Jung-won, who abandoned him here, nor Haeja, who hid the child on Sung-hee’s orders. And if there was anyone else they didn’t know about who had made things difficult for Tae-yul, he would find them without fail.

Jae-hoon didn’t want to stay here any longer. He looked at Tae-yul and said in a husky voice,

“Shall we go home, Tae-yul?”

Tae-yul, who was always slow to react, nodded immediately at Jae-hoon’s words. That made the hearts of those watching ache even more. But Jae-hoon didn’t hesitate. He scooped Tae-yul up in his arms and instructed the people,

“Attorney Yoon, stay and handle the paperwork, and Jae-moon, go to our house. And find a therapist to counsel Tae-yul. Hyun-shik, get the car ready.”

Jae-hoon took Seo-yeon’s hand and helped her up. As the two were about to leave the room, the director spoke.

“What about Min-woo’s, no, Tae-yul’s belongings?”

Seo-yeon looked at the puppy doll Tae-yul was holding and then shifted her gaze to the director.

“Throw them all away. We’ll only take the clothes he’s wearing now and this doll. Thank you for everything.”

Seo-yeon thought that there hadn’t been any problems at the orphanage, but Jae-hoon seemed to think differently. He looked at the director and said firmly,

“Apart from the promised donation, if I find out through investigation that anyone has wronged my son, they will be held responsible.”

“Our orphanage has done its best for Tae-yul.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

Jae-hoon took Seo-yeon and left the place. As they came outside, Hyun-shik brought a blanket and wrapped it around Tae-yul.

“I’ve prepared a child safety seat in the back.”

“Good job. Ride in the back with Tae-yul.”

“Yes. Tae-yul, are you hungry? If you’re thirsty or hungry…”

Seo-yeon, who was about to unconsciously say, “Tell me,” choked up and barely swallowed her words. She forced a bright expression and continued,

“Tap Mommy here. Then Mommy will understand.”

Tae-yul nodded again. Then he grabbed Seo-yeon’s blouse.

Jae-hoon carefully placed Tae-yul in the child safety seat and fastened the belt. Seo-yeon sat next to Tae-yul and looked up at him.

“Do you have any water or something to eat? You didn’t prepare anything, did you?”

“It’s a short trip to Seoul. But just in case, it’s better to stop by a nearby mart.”

Do-young Premium Department Store was near Incheon Station, but they couldn’t go to any place related to the Do-young family right now. Chairman Han and Mi-ryung’s cronies were everywhere.

“Okay.”

Seo-yeon was worried about what would happen if he suddenly asked for water, but she didn’t want to take anything from this place. Just then, a car entered the orphanage and stopped abruptly, and someone got out. It was Sung-joon.

“I contacted them. I heard you were at the Incheon department store, so I asked them to buy a few things and bring them here.”

“Hyung.”

Sung-joon ran up to Jae-hoon, calling him “hyung” (older brother), holding department store bags. He handed the bags to Hyun-shik and approached the back seat.

“I won’t startle him.”

Sung-joon said to Seo-yeon and turned his gaze to Tae-yul. He rubbed his chin roughly, swallowed, and waved his hand.

“Hello, Tae-yul. I’m your uncle. Seeing you like this… I’m so glad. Uncle is so happy to see Tae-yul. Let’s see each other at home.”

Sung-joon turned away with tears in his eyes, bowed politely to Jae-hoon, and made way. It was Sung-joon’s expression of respect for Jae-hoon. For enduring the mental anguish and the weight of it all while searching for his son.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Let’s see each other at home.”

Knowing his heart, Jae-hoon patted Sung-joon on the shoulder and sat in the passenger seat. As the car started, Tae-yul, who had been looking only ahead, turned his head and stared intently at the orphanage as it moved away.

Seo-yeon, who had been watching Tae-yul’s every move, gently took Tae-yul’s hand. His dark eyes turned to Seo-yeon.

“Do you have friends there, Tae-yul?”

Only after saying the word “friends” did she realize that Tae-yul didn’t know the word. Seo-yeon felt pathetic, realizing that she didn’t know what a 16-month-old child could say or understand.

Her heart still ached, but the pain was different from when she was searching for her child, not knowing if he was alive or dead. Seo-yeon caressed the small hand that she would never let go of again.

She was determined that she wouldn’t bat an eye even if the Do-young family came in droves to protect this child.

Seo-yeon pondered how to explain “friends” to Tae-yul, who was looking at her. Her eyes fell on the puppy doll that Tae-yul was holding in his arms.

“Like this doll, the babies or older siblings that Tae-yul played with are called friends.”

Now that she had said it, it seemed to have become even more difficult. Tae-yul also didn’t seem to understand at all, as he only stared blankly, then suddenly held out the puppy doll to Seo-yeon.

“Do you want Mommy to hold it? Like this?”

Seo-yeon pretended to hold it to her chest. Tae-yul shook his head. Only then did she realize that he was saying that the puppy doll was his only friend.

For a moment, she was speechless, and her heart constricted, preventing her from opening her mouth. Not wanting to speak in a tearful voice, Seo-yeon suppressed her emotions, only giving a watery smile.

Jae-hoon had been quietly listening to Seo-yeon’s words and was greatly surprised by Tae-yul’s actions. He realized that Tae-yul didn’t have any wariness towards Seo-yeon, although he didn’t know about himself.

He was listening to her words, the words of the person called “Mommy,” with his whole body. Without even blinking. And he was also answering her questions with his whole body.

That was even awe-inspiring to Jae-hoon. He turned around and looked at Tae-yul and the tearful Seo-yeon.

“Tae-yul, do you want some water?”

Jae-hoon changed the subject for Seo-yeon’s sake. This time too, Tae-yul stared blankly at the water that Jae-hoon offered. The child’s gaze moved from the water bottle to the paper bag that Jae-hoon was holding.

He showed the inside of the bag to Tae-yul. Tae-yul, who was staring intently into the bag, pulled on Seo-yeon’s blouse.

Following Tae-yul’s gaze, Seo-yeon realized that he was looking at a straw cup with a puppy doll attached. She reached out her hand to Jae-hoon.

“Give me the bag.”

Seo-yeon received the bag from Jae-hoon and took out the straw cup.

“Sung-joon said he had his employee sterilize it. It should be safe to use.”

For a moment, she wondered if anyone would suspect Sung-joon for sterilizing a child’s cup like this. But Seo-yeon thought that even if they didn’t suspect anything, it was only a matter of time before the Do-young family found out.

Even so, it didn’t matter to Seo-yeon at all right now. What was more important was whether Tae-yul wanted this straw cup.

“This? Shall I pour some water in here?”

Tae-yul shook his head and pointed to the milk with his finger. Seo-yeon’s heart ached at the thought that he might be hungry, but she immediately poured milk into the straw cup.

“Drink slowly. When we get home, I’ll make whatever Tae-yul wants to eat.”

Tae-yul, who had received the straw cup, fiddled with the doll attached to the straw and sucked on the milk. Seo-yeon had never breastfed him. Her breasts felt like they were about to burst from engorgement, but the mother who had lost her child couldn’t even touch them.

Sung-hee, unable to bear it, had brought medicine and forced her to take it. The thought that she hadn’t fed Tae-yul even a single drop of that dried-up breast milk made her feel like her heart was being torn out.

Seo-yeon held the straw cup with both hands and watched Tae-yul drink the milk, imprinting it in her eyes. Even as she watched like this, she felt uneasy, as if it were a dream. She looked at the bangs that had fallen over his round forehead.

She wanted to push them back because they looked stuffy, but she didn’t move her hand, afraid that Tae-yul would be startled. When Tae-yul held out the cup, which was about half empty, Seo-yeon gently pushed back his bangs and took the cup.

“Have you already finished it? There’s still this much left.”

This time too, Tae-yul only shook his head, then hugged the puppy doll and looked outside for the first time.

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