Perfect Possession - Episode 26

“I didn’t hear you coming.”

Seo-yeon said, turning to Jaehoon. In reality, she wanted to say, “Welcome,” or “You worked hard,” but she still couldn’t bring herself to speak comfortably to him.

It wasn’t that Jaehoon was difficult, but rather that his words about becoming an ordinary couple still didn’t feel real.

“I wanted to walk a bit, so I asked to be dropped off earlier.”

Now that she thought about it, he was holding his jacket in his hand, whereas he always wore it neatly. Jaehoon approached, his gaze on Tae-yul.

He naturally handed Seo-yeon the jacket, then knelt down in front of Tae-yul.

“Did you have fun?”

Tae-yul blinked slowly, looking at him. She could see his fingers, which were holding the swing, wiggling.

“It seems like he wants to say he had fun.”

“You can tell?”

“His fingers.”

Jaehoon looked at the small fingers tapping the swing handle.

“It seems like when he wants to say something, he moves his fingers first.”

As if to confirm Seo-yeon’s words, Tae-yul blinked in response.

“The teacher said that he expresses what he wants to say in some way. It’s just that adults haven’t been able to catch it. So she told me to observe everything without missing a thing.”

“Jae-moon said that?”

“Yes.”

Jaehoon carefully examined Tae-yul’s fingers again. When the movement stopped, he looked at the child again and asked,

“Is the swing fun?”

As soon as his gaze turned to his fingers, they tapped as if waiting for the question. In that moment, the thoughts about the future that had been weighing on his mind felt refreshingly lighter.

It had been a heavy walk, thinking about the issues with his family, his worries about Tae-yul, and Seo-yeon. He regretted not coming home earlier and pushing Tae-yul on the swing before he got sleepy.

Right now, he could only express himself with “yes” or “no,” but that was enough. As his worries about Tae-yul disappeared, the rest of his thoughts were easily sorted out in Jaehoon’s mind.

“Thank you.”

Seo-yeon’s eyes widened in surprise at Jaehoon’s words. She never expected to hear “thank you” from him. Jaehoon was stroking Tae-yul’s hair with a faint smile.

She realized that he was sincerely thanking his son for answering his questions so diligently, even more than for liking the swing.

“Shall we go inside? It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

As Jaehoon looked up at the darkening sky, dark eyes followed his gaze upward.

“See those dark clouds? They’re going to turn into rain soon.”

Tae-yul, who had been silently looking at the clouds Jaehoon pointed to, relaxed his tightly closed lips and slowly opened them. His lips formed an “O” shape as if he were about to ask, “Really?” and he pointed to the clouds with his finger.

Jaehoon held his breath, watching Tae-yul’s every move. He looked at Seo-yeon with a bewildered expression, unsure of what it meant as the small, adorable finger bent and straightened.

She smiled and sat down next to Jaehoon, never taking her eyes off Tae-yul.

“That’s right. Water falling from the sky. That’s rain. Water falling straight down from the sky is called rain. Straight down.”

Seo-yeon curled and straightened her fingers as Tae-yul did, saying “straight down.” To Jaehoon, the sight was magical.

In a word, it was the power of motherhood that he didn’t know and couldn’t know. At Seo-yeon’s explanation, Tae-yul nodded and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

“Did you see that?”

Seo-yeon said, grabbing Jaehoon’s arm.

“I saw it.”

“That’s the third time he’s smiled today.”

She said, her voice trembling, and smiled brightly as if trying to hold back tears.

“…This feels strange.”

Seo-yeon looked at Jaehoon, who was muttering under his breath. Aware of her gaze, Jaehoon picked up Tae-yul and stood up, as if he had no intention of saying why he felt strange.

She also got to her feet, following him.

“Let’s go in before it rains.”

Jaehoon said briefly and started walking. Seo-yeon realized that he needed time. It seemed that his confusion wasn’t just about what was going to happen in the future.

Seo-yeon could intuitively sense that the feelings he was experiencing for Tae-yul, the paternal feelings he was feeling for the first time, were making him feel awkward.

He expressed his affection and love with his whole body, but he wasn’t always honest about the feelings he felt himself.

“You can do it.”

Seo-yeon whispered, lowering her voice. Suddenly, Jaehoon stopped and looked at her.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. I said it looks like it’s going to rain. Tae-yul, if you’re not sleepy later, let’s go watch the rain.”

Jaehoon’s house had a terrace where you could enjoy the rain while drinking tea. It was made of floor-to-ceiling glass, so lying down and looking at the sky made you feel like you were submerged in water.

Seo-yeon used to lie there with Jaehoon, listening to the sound of the rain.

“Is that okay?”

“I don’t care.”

“That’s great. That’s great, Tae-yul.”

Seo-yeon was in a good mood and joked with Tae-yul as they walked side by side.

“Later… no. Did you take a nap?”

Jaehoon had something to say to Seo-yeon about his visit to his family’s house, but he didn’t want to ruin her mood by bringing it up now.

“A little. He was looking for something all afternoon, so it was hard to deal with.”

“What was he looking for?”

“The thing Tae-yul is holding now.”

Jaehoon looked at the dog doll Tae-yul was holding. It was old, but it had been washed well and was clean.

“Should I buy him some other dolls?”

“I think this is good for Tae-yul for now. It’s the only thing he brought with him.”

Seo-yeon looked at the doll that she called her friend and tried to speak brightly. Thinking back to the time when she was searching for her child like a mad person, not even knowing if he was alive or dead, she didn’t have the heart to be sad that her only friend was a doll.

Just as the three of them entered the living room, the sky suddenly darkened. Tae-yul, who had just gotten out of Jaehoon’s arms, hugged the doll and trudged to the sofa, then climbed onto the chair and stared intently at the window.

Jaehoon and Seo-yeon quietly watched Tae-yul, wondering what was wrong. Both of them didn’t even blink, trying not to miss a single one of Tae-yul’s actions.

After a while, raindrops began to fall on the window. It seemed that he had climbed onto the sofa to look out the window because he was curious about the darkened outside.

Seo-yeon was so proud of Tae-yul for thinking that he wouldn’t be able to see outside if he went to the window at his height, so he climbed onto the sofa.

“He’s a smart kid.”

Jaehoon said in a low voice, as if he had the same thought. Seo-yeon looked at him. She couldn’t see his eyes because he was standing next to her, but she could tell from his tightly closed lips that he was in pain.

He was proud of the intelligent Tae-yul, but he was also hurting from the 16 months he had lost with his son.

“It’s okay. He’ll forget the painful memories as he grows up. So, it’s okay.”

Seo-yeon whispered to Jaehoon as if she were talking to herself. When his gaze returned to her, she smiled softly. At that moment, the sound of leather being tapped was heard. The two quickly turned their attention to Tae-yul.

The raindrops that had been falling one by one on the window were now falling in earnest, making a pitter-patter sound. Tae-yul, seeing this, tapped the sofa and informed the two.

Seo-yeon approached Tae-yul first and said,

“It’s raining. Shall we eat on the terrace today?”

As if waiting for the question, Tae-yul nodded his head vigorously. It was a clear expression of his will. Seo-yeon laughed and took Tae-yul’s hand, getting off the sofa.

“Then let’s wash our hands and get ready to eat. Daddy, go change your clothes too.”

Seo-yeon shook Tae-yul’s hand, feeling happy. The moment Jaehoon chuckled and turned to leave, Tae-yul approached and grabbed his pants. Surprised, dark eyes turned to his son.

When their eyes met, Tae-yul nodded once, as if saying, “Hurry up and change your clothes.”

Jaehoon stroked Tae-yul’s hair and smiled.

“I’ll be right back. Go to the terrace with Mommy.”

As he went to change his clothes, Seo-yeon picked up Tae-yul and headed to the kitchen. She felt sorry that Mr. Park and Mrs. Kim had to take care of this large household without any other staff for the time being.

“Everything will be ready soon.”

Mr. Park, who had found the two, approached. He smiled kindly at Tae-yul.

“We’re going to eat on the terrace. It’ll be hard for you to move everything, so please prepare something simple. And I’ll talk to Jaehoon about having the staff come back.”

“No. We’ll do it ourselves until the young master gets more used to it. Mrs. Kim and I have agreed on that.”

“It’s too hard for you.”

Seo-yeon was grateful for their kindness, but she also felt sorry.

“We’re fine. I made some braised short ribs today. Protein is important at the young master’s age. Our young master has to eat the braised short ribs well.”

Just then, Mrs. Kim came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron.

“It’s a lot of work. Thank you! He’ll like it. Jaehoon eats well too, so he’ll definitely.”

Seo-yeon couldn’t finish her sentence and closed her mouth. Tae-yul pursed his lips into a circle as if trying to smell the braised short ribs, then took a deep breath. Then, he opened his eyes wide and pointed to the kitchen.

“He likes it so much. Thank you, Mrs. Kim, Mr. Park.”

The three were overjoyed by Tae-yul’s actions and exchanged smiles. Seo-yeon washed Tae-yul’s hands and headed to the terrace. As she went inside, she could hear the sound of rain from all directions.

The sound of the rain pattering on the glass made her feel at ease. Tae-yul let go of Seo-yeon’s hand and went forward, then looked up and slowly turned around in place.

He stretched his small arms upward and wiggled his fingers, opening and closing them. Then, as if he wanted to show the dog doll the rain, he lifted it up high. It looked like raindrops were falling on his dark eyes as well.

“He likes it.”

Jaehoon, who had already changed into his indoor clothes, approached, carrying Tae-yul’s high chair.

Support