Perfect Possession - Episode 39

Seo-yeon, wearing a high-collar blouse, turned to look at Tae-yul. Tae-yul, dressed in pink cotton pants and a sky-blue t-shirt, was grunting as he tried to put Woof-woof into a toy car.

The car was too small, and Woof-woof’s bottom wouldn’t fit. She desperately wanted to help, but he was so adorable that she was just watching him.

It had been 30 minutes since she received Jaehoon’s call saying he had left, so he should be arriving soon. She was sad that their first family outing was to Tae-yul’s hospital, but Seo-yeon was still excited.

Only after putting on the blouse did she realize the buttons were on the back. Seo-yeon found it difficult to fasten the delicate, small buttons by reaching behind her.

“If only our son were a little older, I would have asked him to do it.”

Just then, Mrs. Kim came in to announce Jaehoon’s arrival. She asked Mrs. Kim to greet Jaehoon because she needed help with the buttons.

“Tae-yul, Daddy’s here.”

Tae-yul jumped up at the word “Daddy.” At the same time, Jaehoon’s voice was heard.

“I’m home.”

“I’m in the dressing room.”

Before Tae-yul could peek out, Jaehoon came inside. Jaehoon, who scooped up Tae-yul as he came running, paused as he was about to touch his neatly combed hair.

“I shouldn’t, right?”

“No, you can’t. It took me ten minutes to do his hair.”

Jaehoon smiled pleasantly and gently touched his cheek instead of his hair before putting him down.

“Aren’t you ready yet?”

“I just need to fasten the buttons. Can you do it for me?”

Seo-yeon grabbed her hair and lifted it up as she turned to Jaehoon.

Seo-yeon’s heart fluttered involuntarily as she felt Jaehoon approaching.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve helped you with your clothes.”

“What’s with you all of a sudden?”

Seo-yeon wanted to sound casual, but her voice dropped, so she deliberately raised her tone.

“I didn’t realize there were buttons after I put it on.”

Jaehoon was about to fasten the buttons but stopped when his eyes fell on her white neckline, and he gently kissed it. Seo-yeon’s sweet gasp made his heart pound.

“That’s a foul.”

“Then give me a penalty kick later.”

Seo-yeon wondered if she had misheard him and turned her head back.

“Hold still. I haven’t fastened them all yet. Why are there so many? Don’t wear things like this, it’s annoying to take them off.”

“I momentarily forgot that you’re good at corny jokes.”

“All done. Just a moment.”

He lightly hugged Seo-yeon, who was about to turn around, and took a deep breath. The irritation caused by Chairman Han, who seemed to be plotting something right before he left the office, melted away.

“Done.”

Jaehoon turned Seo-yeon around and grinned.

“Beautiful.”

“You were being so corny just now, but I’ll let it slide because you said I’m beautiful.”

“What’s corny? Wasn’t I being kind of hot?”

Seo-yeon was about to retort, “With that?”, but she closed her mouth when she noticed Tae-yul staring at them.

“Jaehoon.”

“Yeah?”

“Tae-yul is looking up at us with eyes that say, ‘What are these people doing?'”

“Really?”

Looking down slightly, he saw Tae-yul staring at them, his head tilted back. Jaehoon burst into a pleasant laugh and lifted Tae-yul high into the air.

“Mommy keeps making weird jokes. You be careful too. Your body might freeze if you hear them.”

“Jaehoon? Isn’t that the opposite? Tae-yul, hear it the other way around.”

Seo-yeon nudged Jaehoon’s side and glared at him. The two, who were bickering about whose jokes were cornier, hurried to the hospital when Hyun-shik came to tell them that time was running out.

The Child Psychology Therapy Center, affiliated with Woojin University Hospital, was headed by Dr. Yang, Jae-moon’s senior from university.

Jaehoon explained that they had decided not to take reservations during this time for Tae-yul’s sake for the time being.

“I think Tae-yul knows it’s a hospital. He looks a little down.”

Seo-yeon tried to smile brightly and talk to him, but he just blinked with a gloomy face, leaning on Jaehoon’s shoulder.

“I don’t like hospitals either.”

“Me neither.”

“Then our son probably doesn’t like them either.”

Jaehoon said lightly, as if wondering what the problem was, and grinned.

“That’s true! Tae-yul, we’re going to play here. There’s nothing that will hurt you.”

Seo-yeon made an X with her arms and shook her head vigorously. Tae-yul, who had been staring at Seo-yeon, slightly raised his head.

She smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling. She thought he was perking up now. But he turned his head to the other side, leaned back again, and sighed. It was as if he was saying, “I still don’t feel better, no matter what.”

Seo-yeon was flustered and glared at Jaehoon when she felt his shoulder shaking slightly.

“Are you laughing?”

“Isn’t laughing a freedom?”

“Ugh, you’re so childish.”

While Jaehoon and Seo-yeon were having a playful argument, the three arrived at the center located in the east.

Fortunately, Dr. Yang was wearing a yellow gown instead of a white one. She was over fifty, but she looked much younger because of her cute appearance.

“Welcome. Wow, this prince must be Han Tae-yul. I guarantee, there hasn’t been a child as handsome as this one who has come to me so far. Well, with Vice President Han and Min Seo-yeon’s visuals, it’s only natural.”

Known for her straightforward style, she was also one of the executives at Woojin Hospital. Jae-moon had said that she was a true doctor who genuinely loved her work.

Seo-yeon had only met her for a few minutes, but she agreed with Jae-moon’s words.

Tae-yul, who had been gloomy, slyly raised his head and looked at Dr. Yang. She smiled like sunshine and held out her hand.

Tae-yul shifted his gaze to Dr. Yang’s outstretched hand and slowly reached out his arm. When he took Dr. Yang’s hand, she said kindly.

“Nice to meet you. If you go inside, there are a lot of Woof-woof friends like the one Tae-yul is holding.”

Surprisingly, he seemed to understand Dr. Yang’s words and nodded, his tense expression slightly relaxed. He glanced around, sending curious glances, as if the atmosphere was different from the hospitals he had been to.

“Let’s start right away. There’s nothing special today. You just play together in the playroom. I’ll be watching that. Looking at Tae-yul’s reaction to the two of you right now, it’s strange that he’s not talking yet. In my opinion, if there’s just one trigger, he’ll open his mouth and start talking as if he’s pouring everything out.”

“A trigger?”

Seo-yeon had been hoping that Tae-yul would open his mouth if he felt the need to speak. So she was curious about what kind of trigger there should be.

“A trigger that will make something burst out. Right now, it’s too peaceful, and he seems to be just fine because he has a mom and dad who understand everything just by looking at my eyes. Oh, you said he makes shouts, right?”

“Yes.”

Jaehoon opened his mouth.

“Maybe he liked it because you two liked it so much. You can just react like that. Shall we go inside then?”

Tae-yul hugged Jaehoon’s neck tightly as if he was nervous when entering the consultation room. It seemed to be because it was an unfamiliar place with a different atmosphere from his room at home.

Jaehoon, who was also nervous, pointed to Tae-yul’s hand, which was gripping him tightly, with his eyes and looked at Seo-yeon. She found it endearing that the mighty Jaehoon looked nervous and troubled when it came to his son.

Seo-yeon smiled gently and mouthed, “It’s okay.” Tae-yul turned to Seo-yeon and looked for her, as if he felt it or was checking if his mom was following.

She quickly took his hand and reassured him.

Unlike a stiff examination room, the inside of the consultation room was literally a mix of a playroom and a library.

There were many toys that children would like, as well as fascinating fairy tales, so even a young child like Tae-yul could easily read books with sounds.

Seo-yeon regretted why she hadn’t thought of buying him this book sooner when she saw it.

Tae-yul, perhaps because his mom and dad were both there, looked around with sparkling eyes as soon as he was put down. He could be seen wiggling one leg.

Seo-yeon held back the laughter that was about to come out at the sight. Tae-yul had a habit of wiggling his legs when he was excited or curious.

First, he would wiggle one leg, then he would start stomping his feet in earnest. When he did, his butt would awkwardly go down and up, which was so lovely that she wanted to scream.

When Jaehoon saw this for the first time, he didn’t laugh out loud because he was afraid of startling Tae-yul, but he laughed silently until tears welled up in his eyes.

Dr. Yang, like a professional, quickly recognized Tae-yul’s mood just by looking at that.

“Oh, it looks like it’s starting to kick in.”

“You know?”

“Of course. Children always express their feelings. Even newborns who can’t speak cry and laugh. One child came to this room and smiled for the first time. But it seems like he clapped his hands every time his mom and dad laughed. That child clapped his hands while laughing, just like his parents did. Did you two by any chance?”

“No. I didn’t stomp my feet and laugh. Seo-yeon, did you?”

Jaehoon immediately answered and asked Seo-yeon when Dr. Yang playfully sparkled her eyes. Jaehoon’s gaze was serious, as if it wasn’t a joke. Seo-yeon burst into a short laugh and said playfully.

“I don’t know. Maybe I did.”

Jaehoon was embarrassed by Seo-yeon’s answer, but he shifted his gaze when Tae-yul moved. Everyone focused their attention on Tae-yul. Tae-yul ran to a place full of large dolls and suddenly clenched his fist.

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