Perfect Possession - Episode 40

Tae-yul grabbed a bear doll that was almost as big as he was and pulled it with all his might. Because it was tangled with other dolls, it didn’t come out easily, so Tae-yul lowered his bottom halfway, straightened up, and made a loud noise.

“Ugh!”

Seo-yeon and Jaehoon had never heard Tae-yul put so much effort into it before. As he pulled the doll with that sound, the bear doll came out, and Tae-yul staggered.

The male nurse standing nearby moved to help, but Jaehoon was faster. He rushed over and caught Tae-yul in his arms before he fell.

“Wow, that was close to a crash.”

Jaehoon helped Tae-yul sit down while hugging the doll. Tae-yul sat his dad next to him and pointed to the bear doll’s eyes.

Unlike other bear dolls, this one had crescent-shaped eyes, making it look like it was smiling. Tae-yul turned halfway and pointed his finger at Seo-yeon.

“Is it the same as Mommy’s eye smile?”

Jaehoon, who had been looking at Seo-yeon, turned to Tae-yul and asked. Tae-yul nodded and smiled, raising his lips.

“Then is it Mommy Bear?”

Tae-yul thought for a moment at Jaehoon’s words and then nodded briefly. He hadn’t thought that far, but it seemed like he thought it was because Jaehoon said so.

“Then what about Daddy Bear?”

Tae-yul looked around and picked up a small bear doll that had been thrown into the space where the big bear doll had been.

“Hey, no way, right?”

Seo-yeon saw Jaehoon frown slightly, wondering if he thought that doll wasn’t him. She found it hard to hold back her laughter.

Tae-yul looked around, but since there were no other bear dolls, he gently placed the small doll next to the Mommy Bear doll.

Seo-yeon couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Jaehoon, flustered, gave an awkward smile, frowned at Seo-yeon, and then looked at Tae-yul and asked.

“Isn’t this Tae-yul? Daddy is much bigger than Mommy, so he should be bigger than this doll.”

Still hung up on the size, Jaehoon looked around for a bigger bear doll.

Doctor Yang seemed embarrassed, as if she had heard him whisper to Seo-yeon, “There aren’t any more.” But what surprised them was what came next.

When Jaehoon pointed to the small bear, asking if it was Tae-yul, Tae-yul grabbed his hand and brought it to his chest.

A myriad of emotions crossed Seo-yeon’s smiling face. It felt like Tae-yul, saying that the baby bear was him, didn’t need a doll to replace himself.

“It’s okay. It means Tae-yul has clearly accepted you two as Mom and Dad. Just look forward and think about the future. Not only Tae-yul, but you two need to forget the past.”

Doctor Yang, realizing Seo-yeon’s feelings, comforted her.

Seo-yeon looked at Doctor Yang with gratitude before approaching Jaehoon and Tae-yul. She sat comfortably next to them, not caring that her well-pressed pants were getting wrinkled.

“That’s right. Tae-yul is the baby bear doll. Right?”

Tae-yul smiled, opening his mouth wide. It was the first time he had smiled so broadly. Jaehoon, also feeling choked up, took Seo-yeon’s hand and stroked Tae-yul’s hair.

“Still, isn’t Daddy Bear doll a bit small, Tae-yul?”

“It’s because of the eye smile. Don’t be so hung up on the size.”

Seo-yeon said teasingly.

“Why shouldn’t I be hung up on it? If you were in my shoes, you’d feel a little weird.”

“Then you can donate a doll bigger than this one next time. Right, Tae-yul?”

But Tae-yul had lost interest in the bear dolls and was now in front of the bookshelf where the books were organized, taking out a book he liked.

“He doesn’t ask with his eyes anymore.”

“Why would he need to ask? We’re here.”

Jaehoon grinned and went to Tae-yul to help him take out the book.

“I can’t believe the Vice President has changed so much.”

Seo-yeon got up as Doctor Yang approached.

“He’s originally a kind and fun person.”

“Really? Oh, the Vice President has that side to him. Ah, he’s a sweet guy only to his own. The sweet guy only to his own is the Vice President.”

Doctor Yang laughed heartily and looked at Seo-yeon.

“A needle hole.”

Seo-yeon looked at her, puzzled by her sudden words.

“Pardon?”

“Why use difficult words? All you need is a needle hole. Just open it up a little, and it will pour out. He can speak naturally while playing, and he might even start talking while crying.”

Doctor Yang looked at Seo-yeon and calmly continued.

“It’s true that Tae-yul closed his mouth because his heart was hurt. I’ve only seen him for a short time, but he’s a very quick judge of situations. He’s smart and special. That kind of child was hurt. Since the wound isn’t visible, he can’t ask for medicine, but it hurts. All Tae-yul could do was close his mouth and hope someone would notice the pain. But it seems like that wound has almost healed. He’ll be talking soon. You two are doing a great job.”

Seo-yeon tensed her neck and swallowed her tears. She couldn’t show Tae-yul, who was smiling at her, that she was crying.

She thought that Tae-yul had closed his mouth because he was hurt, just like Doctor Yang said. But hearing it directly made the past rush over Seo-yeon like a slideshow, becoming a sharp awl that pierced her heart. She unconsciously grabbed her chest.

“Overcoming that pain is up to you two.”

Doctor Yang held Seo-yeon’s hand, which was pressing on her chest, and patted it.

“Think of it this way. Instead of blaming yourself and hurting every time Tae-yul acts in a way that’s not like a child, think of it as applying ointment to the wound in his heart every time he laughs and is happy.”

“Is that possible?”

“Will blaming yourself help? From now on, overwhelm the painful memories with happy memories. Of course, people who are struggling sometimes use the power of medicine, but you two don’t need to do that at all.”

Looking at Doctor Yang, who spoke comfortably as if it were nothing, Seo-yeon slowly regained her smile. Just like she said, she just needed to make him so happy that he wouldn’t even think of the painful memories.

“Yes. Blaming myself won’t change anything. We’re really happy now.”

Seo-yeon smiled brightly at Tae-yul, who was staring at her with wide eyes as he looked at the picture book that said “I love you” and “I like you” every time he pressed a picture.

“What are you doing? Come here, too.”

As Jaehoon gestured for Seo-yeon to come over, Doctor Yang shone with a professional gaze and said.

“From now on, just play with Tae-yul as usual. I’ll be watching carefully.”

Seo-yeon called Tae-yul and approached them. Doctor Yang held a tablet PC and watched the three of them naturally taking care of each other.

Seo-yeon took Tae-yul out twice a week, and the time passed so quickly that she didn’t even realize it.

Jaehoon hadn’t been able to make time since the first day he went to the center with Tae-yul.

Seo-yeon, who had been his secretary, knew best that it was difficult to leave his seat at 11 a.m. for counseling. Important meetings were almost always scheduled at that time.

When Jaehoon couldn’t make time, he had Jae-moon go with them. He said it was as a bodyguard, but Seo-yeon knew that a car followed them every time they went out, in addition to Jae-moon.

She pretended not to know because she knew what Jaehoon was worried about. She didn’t want any situation to arise that would startle Tae-yul.

But since she didn’t know what the Do-young family might do, it was natural for Jaehoon to increase the number of bodyguards.

Like Seo-yeon, Jaehoon didn’t want the Do-young family to notice that Tae-yul was receiving psychological treatment because he wasn’t talking.

He had only had about three counseling sessions so far, but these days, Tae-yul would tilt his head and say “Huh?” in addition to the “Ugh” sound, making their hearts flutter.

He didn’t call them “Mom” or “Dad,” but instead, when Jaehoon came, he would tilt his head from side to side and say “Eung?”

Thinking it was cute, he even smiled with his eyes, so Jaehoon had even pretended to go out and come back in on purpose.

“He’s too tired on the days he goes to counseling, so he falls asleep before Dad comes home.”

“Of course, he played so hard.”

Ms. Kim headed to the bathroom to clean up after Tae-yul had taken a bath. Seo-yeon covered Tae-yul with his blanket up to his chest and gently pulled the puppy doll out and placed it next to him.

He didn’t drink milk while sleeping anymore. Instead, Seo-yeon or Jaehoon had to read him a book to fall asleep. Today, he fell fast asleep before they could even finish half a book.

“Sleep well, my son. Let’s play with Mommy tomorrow, and let’s go to the center the day after tomorrow. Now that I think about it, our son is the busiest.”

Smiling, Seo-yeon kissed Tae-yul’s forehead. Ms. Kim, who had approached quickly, told her that Jaehoon had come home from work.

“If I had been a little faster, I could have seen Tae-yul, what a pity.”

Jaehoon came in just as Seo-yeon was about to leave the room.

“Is he asleep?”

“Yes. He must have been more tired today. He was sweating all over while lining up all the dolls there. Did you see the video I sent you?”

When Jaehoon couldn’t go with them, Seo-yeon would take videos of Tae-yul playing and send them to him.

“I couldn’t wait until the meeting was over, so I secretly watched it during the meeting. Hyun-shik was surprised.”

“Really? Is the Vice President allowed to do that?”

“I don’t know. It’s good that our son played well and went to bed early, but I’m sad that I didn’t get to hear ‘Eung?'”

Jaehoon kissed Tae-yul’s head and got up, turning to Ms. Kim.

“Please take care of him.”

“Yes, Vice President.”

As Ms. Kim went to Tae-yul’s side, Jaehoon looked at Seo-yeon and said.

“Let me see you for a moment.”

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