Perfect Possession - Episode 20

“You too.”

Jaehoon didn’t immediately understand the meaning of her words. Then, when Seo-yeon looked towards the bed, he realized she meant for him to stay until Tae-yul fell asleep.

“I’d like Tae-yul to see either you or me as the last face he sees before he falls asleep.”

Seo-yeon was sincere. In her heart, she wanted to be the one taking care of Tae-yul, not a nanny, so it also meant, “Please don’t tell me to leave.”

Jaehoon was a bright, young CEO. Do-young Group became the best company thanks in large part to Jaehoon’s influence. When his father, Chairman Han, was in charge, they sometimes fell behind their competitor, J&D.

Jaehoon’s greatest strength wasn’t just management, but also an extraordinary intuition that saw through people’s hearts. Seo-yeon thought that perhaps it was because of this that his reason was clouded when he heard her voice.

No matter how many times he heard it, it was clearly Seo-yeon’s voice, so he couldn’t doubt what he heard.

Seo-yeon hoped he would understand the hidden meaning of what she had just said. She revealed her feelings with the heart of a gambler. His sharp, black eyes deepened as if peering into Seo-yeon’s heart.

But it was too fleeting to know if he had revealed his emotions or if it was just her imagination. Seo-yeon didn’t wait for Jaehoon’s response and turned her gaze to Tae-yul.

“Tae-yul, are you very sleepy?”

As if to answer, Tae-yul yawned widely. Even so, he kept smacking his lips and, unable to help himself, brought his thumb to his mouth.

But just before putting it in his mouth, he looked at Seo-yeon with sleepy eyes. He seemed to remember being scolded for sucking his thumb. She smiled gently and shook her head.

“Thumbs are dirty. I’ll bring milk soon. Just wait a little bit.”

Seo-yeon took Tae-yul’s hand down and examined his thumb. Fortunately, he seemed to have broken the habit, as there were no traces of sucking.

“The swing will be delivered late tonight. It took time to find the swing you wanted. The installation work will probably be done late at night, so the garden might be bright and uncomfortable.”

“Tae-yul will be happy. He can ride the swoosh when he wakes up tomorrow morning.”

At the sound of “swoosh,” his half-closed eyes opened, and he lifted his head from her shoulder at the sound of the knock. For a moment, Tae-yul’s eyes seemed to droop slightly.

The child’s eyes were fixed on Mrs. Kim’s hands, which were holding the milk. Only then did she realize that Tae-yul’s eyes drooped when he was happy. It was a small discovery, but Seo-yeon was pleased.

“Tae-yul, milk is here. Now let’s go night-night.”

Seo-yeon had never raised a child or even talked to one. But the words she spoke to Tae-yul came out so easily.

It felt as if small grains were running around in her head, popping and telling her the words she needed whenever she needed them.

Seo-yeon took the milk from Mrs. Kim and handed it to Tae-yul. He took it to his mouth as soon as he received it, as if he had been waiting a long time, and closed his eyes.

As if he had gotten everything he needed before going to bed, Tae-yul held a doll in one hand and the handle of the bottle tightly in the other.

Jaehoon came over and supported Tae-yul’s back to prevent him from falling, helping Seo-yeon lay him down on the bed. He watched without blinking as Seo-yeon lay down next to Tae-yul.

After she left, the same boring time had passed. But lately, he couldn’t come to his senses. A scene he had never imagined was unfolding in his own house.

It was only last week that he had been frantically searching for Seo-yeon. But now, she was lying in front of him, putting his son to sleep. It was a scene that was hard to believe even as he watched.

Jaehoon stroked Tae-yul’s head, patted his back, and stared intently at Seo-yeon, who had a smile on her face.

‘I’d like Tae-yul to see either you or me as the last face he sees before he falls asleep.’

Jaehoon immediately understood what Seo-yeon meant. His heart pounded violently. But he couldn’t just let her stay by his side, only looking at Tae-yul, as she wanted.

‘This time, I’m going to make you completely mine. Min Seo-yeon.’

What Jaehoon wanted was different from her. He was even determined to use Tae-yul to get it.

“He seems to be asleep, so I’ll be out. I have more to talk about with Jae-moon.”

“I’ll go to the living room after I see him sleeping soundly.”

Seo-yeon’s heart felt like it would burst when she heard the door close. She realized from his curt voice that he clearly understood the meaning of what she had said.

Seo-yeon listened to Tae-yul’s soft breathing, her heart pounding, wondering what decision he would make.

“He seems to be in a deep sleep.”

Mrs. Kim said quietly as the bottle fell from Tae-yul’s mouth. Seo-yeon wiped the milk from the corner of his mouth and carefully got out of bed. She tucked him in and turned to Mrs. Kim.

“Please stay with me for a moment.”

“Don’t worry.”

Seo-yeon carefully kissed Tae-yul on the forehead so as not to wake him. She took a deep breath and headed to the living room where Jaehoon was waiting.

It had been a long day. Never before in her life had so much happened in one day. It was a day that changed her life 180 degrees.

Seo-yeon thought that it was the same for Jaehoon as she looked at him holding a glass of alcohol.

“He’s sound asleep.”

Jaehoon didn’t offer Seo-yeon a glass of alcohol as she approached. He knew she didn’t drink. She only drank about half a glass of wine on special occasions.

“Jae-moon will be coming home starting tomorrow. He’ll be watching Tae-yul for about an hour a day.”

“Then what about the center?”

“Dr. Yang is at a seminar in Germany. I’m thinking of going to see him for counseling when he comes back. So, I was wondering if we could hire a professional staff to help with this…”

“Let me do it.”

Jaehoon slowly put down his glass and tilted his head slightly. He didn’t seem to not understand what she meant, but rather he was puzzled by the unusual look in her eyes.

“I have something to tell you.”

Seo-yeon thought that Jaehoon hadn’t forgiven her after all when he said he would call an expert. She had committed the greatest sin of not protecting her child, so it was natural for him to think that way.

But she could never leave Tae-yul.

“Don’t just look at me, say it. I’m waiting.”

“Please let me stay by Tae-yul’s side.”

Seo-yeon said to Jaehoon, exhaling. Then, before her courage faded, she continued quickly.

“I can’t leave like this. You can call me shameless. I need to be by Tae-yul’s side. I can’t leave my child to anyone.”

“My child?”

“Then can I call him our child?”

Her heart was boiling and her emotions were running high. She was upset and frustrated that she couldn’t even say the words “our child.” But she tried to suppress her emotions. If necessary, she would beg and plead, but she wanted to be in front of Jaehoon in a rational state right now.

“He is our child, isn’t he?”

She was at a loss for words at the unexpected words from Jaehoon’s mouth. Until now, even to her ears, he had expressed Tae-yul as “my child” several times.

Jaehoon read Seo-yeon’s thoughts and gave a self-deprecating smile. No matter how terrible he was, he wouldn’t think of sending away the mother he had finally met when his child was like this.

He was bitter that she saw him as such a terrible person.

“Was I such a terrible person while I was seeing you?”

Seo-yeon didn’t immediately understand the intention of those words.

‘While I was seeing you… does that mean before we had Tae-yul?’

It was a meeting like a desire that started without even saying they were dating. As emotions gradually seeped in, they became precious to each other.

It didn’t take long for that feeling to turn into love for Jaehoon. If she had felt he was a terrible person, she wouldn’t have felt desire, and there would have been no lovemaking.

“I’ve never felt that way.”

“But the child I finally met…”

Jaehoon didn’t want to mention that Tae-yul was sick. He paused for a moment and continued in a low voice.

“Did you think I was going to kick you out, leaving Tae-yul behind?”

“Because I’m the biggest reason why Tae-yul wasn’t protected. You’re not the kind of person who would just let that go.”

Even though he was securing the information so that it wouldn’t leak to the outside, and even though it was to find Tae-yul, it was unimaginable that Jaehoon had blocked Mi-ryung’s phone number.

Jaehoon had always kept a distance from his parents, but he tried to respect their wishes as much as possible. The fact that he had blocked his mother’s contact meant that he would hold her responsible for this.

There was no way that he, who didn’t even forgive his parents, would forgive Seo-yeon, who hadn’t even confirmed the body when she heard that her child had died.

“I was so caught up in self-pity, just believing my mother, that I didn’t even think about checking my child’s face. If I had asked to see his face just once at that time, if I had persistently pressed my mother, our Tae-yul wouldn’t have had such a hard time.”

“Then if I had listened to your voice file and suspected that you were not the kind of person who would say such a thing and went to find you, this wouldn’t have happened either.”

“That’s…”

Seo-yeon unknowingly raised her voice and shook her head violently.

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