Perfect Possession - Episode 25

Seo-yeon, watching him, also looked around and asked, “Why? What are you looking for?”

Tae-yul tapped Seo-yeon’s hand, which was holding the swing ropes. She quickly turned her head to see him squirming, wanting to get down. She picked him up and put him on the ground.

As soon as he was on the ground, Tae-yul looked around and ran to the nearby terrace. Butler Park, who was standing next to him, followed. Seo-yeon watched him intently, wondering what he was suddenly looking for.

Tae-yul bent over, lifting his bottom high, and looked under the chair. Finding nothing, he stood on tiptoes and looked on the table.

Only then did Seo-yeon realize that Tae-yul was looking for the stuffed dog he had brought from the orphanage. He had clearly remembered playing with it every day when she suggested playing with something else. Seo-yeon smiled and approached Tae-yul.

“Tae-yul is looking for his doggy?”

Tae-yul nodded his head vigorously, looking anxious. Seo-yeon smiled gently, hugged Tae-yul tightly, and stood up. She then glanced at Butler Park.

As she watched him go inside to check for the doll, Seo-yeon looked at Tae-yul.

“Our son missed his doggy. Don’t worry. The pretty lady you met yesterday took good care of it. Shall we go play with our doggy in the living room? Soon, the tall man you met yesterday will come and play with you.”

Since professional therapy had to be done at the center, Jae-moon had agreed to play and counsel Tae-yul for about an hour a day until then.

“Do you remember Tae-yul? The man as tall as Daddy.”

Tae-yul’s eyes widened at the word “Daddy.” In just one day, the twitching eye movements had grown this much, showing his intention. Seo-yeon was overjoyed.

“Our Tae-yul wants to see Daddy? He said he’d be home soon after work. Daddy goes to work every day, well… not every day. But usually, he goes to work. But he’ll play with Tae-yul on holidays.”

Seo-yeon hugged Tae-yul and went inside, explaining that Jaehoon had gone to work. She thought he would be curious about the Daddy who disappeared every morning.

Seo-yeon decided to pay attention to every little detail and help Tae-yul understand.

Before entering the living room, Seo-yeon washed Tae-yul’s hands in the bathroom near the entrance. Then she suddenly realized that all the furniture was at adult height.

“Let’s have the guests use this one, and have the bathroom over there fixed so that our Tae-yul can use it easily. Okay?”

Sometimes it was unclear to Seo-yeon whether Tae-yul understood or not. Like now, he would stare intently at where Seo-yeon was pointing, but he wouldn’t blink, as if he didn’t understand the meaning.

Seo-yeon laughed and took Tae-yul’s hand, entering the living room.

On the table next to the sofa, there was a clean, laundered dog doll. Startled, Tae-yul let go of Seo-yeon’s hand and ran to hug the doll tightly.

It was a lovely sight, but her heart ached. Although she tried not to, Seo-yeon found loneliness in Tae-yul’s every action and was overwhelmed with emotion. At times like that, she would deliberately smile brighter and talk to Tae-yul.

“Hello, doggy. Where were you? Oh, you took a bath?”

Seo-yeon touched the good-smelling doll and looked at Tae-yul. He buried his face in the doll and took a deep breath, as if he liked the smell.

“It smells like it took a bath. Right, Tae-yul?”

Tae-yul lifted his flushed face and nodded briefly. Seo-yeon realized this morning that Tae-yul answered by nodding.

Since yesterday, he had nodded once or twice at times, and at first, she thought he just meant he liked it.

But now she realized that when he was definitely answering, he only nodded once. A single nod was like saying “yes” to Tae-yul.

Besides that, when asked “Do you want to drink water?” and he nodded a couple of times, he always left half of the water. That probably meant “a little” or hesitation.

The more Seo-yeon approached Tae-yul’s thoughts, the happier and more excited she became.

Tae-yul held out the doll to Seo-yeon. Then he blinked. As Seo-yeon was still trying to read Tae-yul’s mind, he pushed the doll closer and blinked several times.

‘What does he mean?’

Seo-yeon became more anxious, fearing that Tae-yul would be frustrated, making it even harder to think. Just then, Mrs. Kim, who was bringing in snacks, put the tray on the table and said,

“In those cases, try asking questions and see how Master Tae-yul reacts. Even mothers often can’t understand their own children’s babbling. I was like that too. You’ll learn as you ask questions.”

Seo-yeon was so grateful for Mrs. Kim’s advice. She erased her flustered expression and asked,

“Do you want to play with the doll together?”

Tae-yul shook his head.

“Really? Oh, then do you want Mommy to hold you?”

Tae-yul, who had been still, seemed to nod, then shook his head again. He didn’t ask to be held, but he didn’t mind being held. But it seemed like what he wanted to say was something else.

“Then what should we do with the doggy?”

When Seo-yeon said “doggy,” Tae-yul’s eyes widened. He immediately nodded. The next moment, something amazing happened.

Seo-yeon held her breath and looked at Tae-yul. His cute lips were rounded. As if he was about to speak. It was a brief moment, but it definitely looked like he was saying something.

Seo-yeon hugged Tae-yul tightly and rubbed her cheek against his.

“You want me to call it ‘doggy’? I’m sorry Mommy was a little slow to catch on, son. But you did so well. Doggy. From now on, this friend’s name is Doggy.”

Tae-yul moved his lips softly and nodded. He looked happy that Seo-yeon understood what he meant.

“You’re amazing.”

Mrs. Kim said sincerely. The sight of the two of them together was undoubtedly that of a mother and son. She handed them freshly squeezed juice and pie, saying,

“This pie is made with nutritious ingredients. It will taste good too.”

“Thank you. I really feel secure having Mrs. Kim here.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Mrs. Kim’s gaze lingered on her new master. To her, Tae-yul was the master she had to take good care of, following Chairman Han and Jaehoon.

Mrs. Kim was determined to do her best to help Tae-yul grow up well. Even if it meant betraying Chairman Han.

As Mrs. Kim retreated, Seo-yeon put the pie on a plate and handed it to Tae-yul.

“You washed your hands, so you can eat it with your hands.”

Although he smacked his lips, Tae-yul didn’t readily pick up the pie. Seo-yeon smiled and first picked up a pie and took a bite. Crumbs fell, but she shrugged and ate it deliciously.

“It’s really good. The lady made it thinking of our Tae-yul, are you not going to eat it? Oh, the crumbs?”

When Tae-yul stared at the pie crumbs on the living room floor, Seo-yeon said casually.

“It’s okay. We can wipe it up after we eat.”

Only then did Tae-yul pick up the pie and eat it deliciously. He occasionally glanced at the crumbs on the floor, but when Seo-yeon said it was okay, he picked up the pie again.

She gave him a straw cup filled with fruit juice so he wouldn’t choke. Seo-yeon was definitely experiencing what it meant to feel full just by watching her child eat.

Her stomach filled with happiness every time he chewed and swallowed. Even when there was nothing in her mouth, she chewed along with Tae-yul, and made the sound of drinking when he drank juice.

“Is it good?”

Tae-yul nodded briefly. After eating two pies, Tae-yul held out his hand. It was called pie, but it was small for children, so two wasn’t much.

She wanted him to eat more, but fearing he might get sick, Seo-yeon cleaned his hands, which were covered in pie crumbs.

Just then, Butler Park brought Jae-moon inside.

“How have you been, Seo-yeon? Hello, Tae-yul?”

Jae-moon showed a nice smile and waved his hand widely.

“Welcome, Teacher. Mommy told you, right? That a tall man would come to play. Tae-yul, say hello.”

Seo-yeon bowed to Jae-moon in front of Tae-yul. Tae-yul, who had been staring at Jae-moon, turned his gaze to the pie on the tray. Instead of bowing, Tae-yul picked up a pie and handed it to Jae-moon.

“Oh my. Are you giving it to the man?”

When Seo-yeon asked, Tae-yul nodded.

“Wow, the man is excited. How did Tae-yul know that the man likes pie?”

Jae-moon quickly approached, knelt in front of Tae-yul, and held out his hand.

“Thank you, Tae-yul.”

Tae-yul placed the pie in Jae-moon’s hand and sat on Seo-yeon’s lap. It was a completely unexpected action, surprising not only Seo-yeon but also Jae-moon.

It was proof that Tae-yul completely recognized Seo-yeon as someone who would protect him.

“That’s good. I don’t think you need to worry. You don’t even need language rehabilitation therapy anymore. You can just do language therapy while playing.”

“What about the tests?”

Seo-yeon stroked Tae-yul’s head and lowered her voice.

“Actually, we need to do various tests, but I think that would be too stressful. So, I went to the hospital where he had the tests done before.”

“Really? What did they say?”

“There were no problems visually. I’m thinking of doing a few more necessary tests and then starting language therapy right away. He’ll be able to speak soon.”

“That’s such a relief.”

Seo-yeon put her cheek on Tae-yul’s head and closed her eyes. She was grateful just knowing that there was nothing physically wrong with him.

After that, Jae-moon spent about an hour watching Tae-yul play and playing with him. Tae-yul, who had gone to the parking lot to see Jae-moon off, immediately ran to the swing and rode it with his doggy doll.

But he must have been very tired, because Tae-yul started dozing off less than five minutes after getting on the swing.

“Are you sleeping like that?”

Seo-yeon was startled and turned around when she heard Jaehoon’s voice from behind, not even realizing he had returned. Tae-yul, who had been dozing off, also opened his sleepy eyes wide and stared blankly at Jaehoon.

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