Perfect Possession - Episode 17

Seo-yeon held Tae-yul and hurried into the house. She felt something strange on his bottom as it touched her arm, so she looked at Tae-yul. He looked uncomfortable. He was pouting and wrinkling his nose.

She naturally lowered her gaze to Tae-yul’s bottom and whispered to Jaehoon, who was walking beside her.

“I need to change his diaper. Is that ready too?”

When she left the orphanage, she didn’t bring anything except the doll Tae-yul was holding. She regretted not packing at least one diaper in a hurry.

“Hyun-shik.”

“Hyung, Hyun-shik… well, Chief Jung said he needed everything, so I told him I was going to a friend’s baby’s first birthday party. I had no excuse. So I asked an employee to prepare it, but diapers come in different sizes, right? I don’t know if it’ll fit.”

Sung-joon said worriedly.

“Let’s use it for now. A personal shopper is on their way.”

Hyun-shik explained calmly.

“I asked them. They’ll bring everything you need. You can choose yourself, Madam Kim.”

Jaehoon turned to Madam Kim, asking for help.

Seo-yeon’s gaze followed Jaehoon and rested on Madam Kim.

“I’ll do it.”

Madam Kim said.

“No. Just teach me, and I’ll do it. And I want to give him a quick wash.”

Raising a child was a daunting task for Seo-yeon. Changing diapers, washing, and feeding him were all new experiences.

But Seo-yeon wanted to do everything related to Tae-yul with her own hands, even the smallest things. If she didn’t know something, she could learn. She thought that way, she could understand Tae-yul’s feelings more quickly.

“Then let’s go to the room. I’ve quickly tidied up the room Secretary Min used to use.”

Madam Kim looked at the novice mother, who wanted to do everything herself, with admiration. It was a sight she had never seen in the wives of wealthy families she knew.

“Tae-yul, Mommy’s going to change your diaper.”

Seo-yeon often used the word “Mommy” so that Tae-yul could recognize and say the word. She went into the room she used to use with Madam Kim.

She looked around, wondering if she had entered the wrong room. It wasn’t a small room to begin with, but with almost all the furniture removed, it was spacious enough for Tae-yul to run around. All the furniture except the sofa and bed was gone.

“The furniture will be here tomorrow. I thought you should have a bed for now.”

Madam Kim looked around and explained.

“The Vice Chairman told me to decorate this room as the Young Master’s room. It’s closer to the Vice Chairman’s bedroom, after all.”

Seo-yeon thought that Tae-yul would be living here from now on. At the same time, she felt her heart sink at the thought that there was still no place for her to stay.

But her determination to never leave Tae-yul’s side, even if Jaehoon pushed her away, remained unchanged. Until Tae-yul could speak, laugh, and cry normally.

She would do whatever it took to stay by Tae-yul’s side. Seo-yeon, with a firm resolve, didn’t care if the empty room was filled with Tae-yul’s things and there was no space left for her.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You’re welcome. Put him on the bed first.”

The things Sung-joon had bought were in the room. As Madam Kim went to get the diaper, Seo-yeon put Tae-yul on the bed. Tae-yul, who was standing on the bed, lay down on his back without being told.

She vowed not to do this every moment, but every time she saw Tae-yul like this, Seo-yeon felt like her heart was tearing apart. She forced a smile and gently stroked Tae-yul’s cheek.

“Our Tae-yul is doing well on his own. But now that we’re home, you can be as fussy as you want. Mommy and Daddy will never get angry.”

“‘No-no,’ try saying it like this. Children learn words one by one. Don’t they call rice ‘num-num’? ‘No-no’ will be easier for a child to understand than ‘get angry.'”

Seo-yeon’s eyes lit up at Madam Kim’s words. As she said, Tae-yul reacted more to the word “whee-whee” than “swing.”

“That’s right. But it’s still difficult.”

Seo-yeon’s voice was choked with gratitude for Madam Kim’s warm words.

“You can do it one step at a time. I’ll be with you from now on.”

“Together will we?”

Seo-yeon muttered the last words to herself.

“Talk to the Young Master as you take off his clothes so he doesn’t get scared.”

“Okay. Tae-yul, let’s take off your pants.”

Seo-yeon carefully took off his indoor clothes. Seeing that his diaper was soaked, Seo-yeon wanted to hit herself.

She was so focused on bringing Tae-yul that she didn’t even think about him needing to pee after drinking milk in the car. She couldn’t bear her frustration.

“It’s so wet… and it’s red.”

After taking off the soaked diaper, she saw a rash on the inside of his thighs. It didn’t seem like it was from just this once. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“But he seems to have been well cared for.”

“He has a rash, though?”

“Children get rashes easily. The diaper might not fit. My child lived with this much diaper rash even though I took care of him. This won’t do.”

Madam Kim put away the diaper she was holding.

“Should we just wash him lightly and put on pants? The shopper will be here after lunch. If we use the wrong diaper size, the Young Master will be uncomfortable.”

Seo-yeon felt relieved at the thought that he wouldn’t have to wear a diaper for a while. She smiled brightly at Tae-yul.

Then, surprisingly, Tae-yul, who had been blinking, perked up the corners of his lips. It was as if he was smiling along with Seo-yeon.

“Did you see that just now?”

“Yes, I did. Please make him smile like that often.”

Madam Kim said with a gentle smile.

“Our Tae-yul smiled? Are you happy to be washed? It would be nice to show Daddy too.”

Seo-yeon felt hopeful at Tae-yul’s expression just now. It felt like he would soon be calling out “Mommy” and “Daddy” and chattering away. She picked Tae-yul up in her arms.

“Let’s wash up, Tae-yul.”

Seo-yeon wanted to kiss Tae-yul on the cheek, but she thought it was too early and held back. She looked at Madam Kim and asked.

“Should I wash him in the bathtub? It’s too deep.”

“Since we don’t have a baby bathtub yet, just wash his bottom in the sink for now. There’s powder in the bag. If he just peed, he’ll be fine for an hour or two.”

“Okay. Then please help me.”

Even though Seo-yeon didn’t know the developmental stage of a 16-month-old, she could tell that Tae-yul was smaller than other children his age. She was nervous that she might drop him while washing him in the sink.

“You can do it. You’re his mother.”

Seo-yeon gained courage from Madam Kim’s words. She smiled brightly and put Tae-yul on the large sink.

“Mommy will hold you tight here.”

Seo-yeon patted her shoulder. Whether it was because he thought of her as his mother or because she was being nice to him, Tae-yul followed her words well. Tae-yul hugged Seo-yeon’s neck and leaned his face against her.

She unconsciously shed tears at the sound of her son’s breath on her neck. Seo-yeon, who thought it was a dream, finally realized it was real. She realized she was crying only after Madam Kim wiped the tears from her cheek.

“Wash him gently with lukewarm water. It’s not baby soap, but this is mild, so it’s okay to use a little.”

Madam Kim didn’t say a word about her crying and turned on the water to adjust the temperature.

Seo-yeon followed Madam Kim’s instructions and washed Tae-yul’s bottom and legs with water in her hands. Her son’s soft skin made Seo-yeon breathe and made her happy.

She was the mother who drove her child to the brink, but she was so happy that she wondered if she deserved it.

She washed the rashy area with water instead of soap and wrapped him in a towel before putting him back on the bed. Seo-yeon took special care of the rashy area and gently applied powder.

Tae-yul, who knew how to lift his legs to put on a diaper, seemed to be in a good mood when he was only wearing pants without a diaper. The brief smile had disappeared, but he was wiggling his little fingers and touching his bottom.

“The Young Master seems to like it because it’s cool.”

“Do you know?”

“Of course. Secretary Min will know soon too. You’ll be the first to know if your child is in a good mood or not. Young Master, shall we go eat num-num?”

The word “num-num” from Madam Kim’s mouth was unfamiliar, but Seo-yeon followed her and said to Tae-yul.

“Let’s eat num-num with Daddy and Mommy.”

Seo-yeon held Tae-yul and left the room. Jaehoon was waiting outside the door.

“Why…?”

She wanted to ask why he didn’t come in and was standing here, but she couldn’t get the words out.

“It seemed like you were done. Can I hold Tae-yul?”

“Of course. Tell him to come to you.”

Jaehoon looked at Tae-yul and reached out his hand.

“Tae-yul, will you come to Daddy?”

Tae-yul, who was staring blankly, momentarily tightened his grip on Seo-yeon’s neck. She was worried that he would say no.

He had been held well by Jaehoon when they came home, so she thought he wouldn’t say no. But when Tae-yul tightened his grip and hugged her neck, she wondered what to do. But the next moment, Tae-yul reached out his arms to Jaehoon and was quietly held in his father’s arms.

Jaehoon also seemed nervous, and it was obvious that he was breathing heavily. He carefully held Tae-yul and walked down the hallway.

“He’s not wearing a diaper?”

“He has a rash. The diaper size is also important.”

“I should show him to Jae-moon.”

“After he eats. Oh, and after I washed him just now, he seemed to be in a good mood, and he raised the corners of his lips like this…”

Seo-yeon waited for Jaehoon to look at her and then raised the corners of her lips with her fingers, imitating Tae-yul’s smile.

Jaehoon’s dark eyes widened in surprise. He was surprised that Tae-yul was showing even a little reaction, and he was relieved to see Seo-yeon smiling brightly and imitating her son’s smile.

The smiling Seo-yeon was just as beautiful and bright as she had been in his heart.

“I… want to see it too.”

Jaehoon’s voice was deeply muffled. Seo-yeon looked at him gently.

“He’ll be laughing out loud while looking at you soon.”

Seo-yeon walked side by side with Jaehoon, who was holding Tae-yul, and felt like this time going down to the dining room was a dream.

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