Perfect Possession - Episode 72

Back in Seoul, Jaehoon was swamped. Though it hadn’t been a long time, the damage from Jaehoon’s absence from Do-young was significant. His 24 hours a day were nowhere near enough to resolve it.

 

As a result, Seo-yeon barely had time to sit down and have a proper conversation with Jaehoon. He left before dawn and didn’t return home until almost midnight. Seo-yeon would only see him briefly after sending him off to work and returning from her own.

 

If it was this bad for Seo-yeon, it was even worse for Tae-yul. No matter how busy he was, Jaehoon would at least see Tae-yul’s sleeping face, but it had already been five days since Tae-yul had seen his father’s face.

 

Tae-yul, who had been building blocks, suddenly lay down on the floor and rolled from side to side. Seo-yeon always kept Tae-yul in sight, but Jaehoon wasn’t the only one who had become busy since returning to Seoul.

 

As Jaehoon got busier, Seo-yeon, who had to support him, also became busy. Seo-yeon had to personally take care of the outfits he would wear to meetings and gatherings, as well as the gifts for the board members he would visit.

 

It was originally Seo-yeon’s job when she was a secretary. She would create a list of gifts suitable for each director and pass it on to the secretarial office, and after personally checking the gifts, she would send them back to the secretarial office.

 

Seo-yeon volunteered for the job because, while the official reason for her leave was unfair treatment, the personal reason was greater. The gifts were also prepared by Jaehoon personally, so Seo-yeon naturally had to help.

 

This afternoon, there was a meeting with Director Bae, who was known for being picky. Director Bae, the daughter of Jaehoon’s grandmother’s best friend, was the person Jaehoon was most concerned about while he was on leave.

 

Jaehoon wanted a gift to express his apologies to her at the meeting. Seo-yeon knew that Director Bae, who was always cold, enjoyed taking herbal medicine.

 

So now, Seo-yeon was waiting for the precious wild ginseng to send to her. She was planning to see it with her own eyes, confirm it, and then send it to the secretarial office.

 

As Seo-yeon checked the text message saying it had almost arrived, she saw Tae-yul rolling around with a swollen face. She smiled gently and put down her phone.

 

“Tae-yul, what are you doing?”

 

As Seo-yeon playfully spoke and approached him, Tae-yul blinked with a sulky face.

 

“Does our Tae-yul miss his dad?”

 

“Dad?”

 

Tae-yul jumped up at the word “dad,” his eyes shining. At that moment, she realized she had made a mistake and thought, ‘Oops.’ He looked at Seo-yeon with an expression that said, ‘If anyone mentions Dad right now, I’m going to throw a huge tantrum!’

 

“Mom, Dad?”

 

“Ah… Dad is at work.”

 

“No. Dad?”

 

Tae-yul shook his head and looked for Jaehoon again. He probably meant to ask if he could call his dad at work. Seo-yeon picked up Tae-yul and went to the window.

 

“Dad is too busy, so our Tae-yul is upset. Hmm, what can we do to make our Tae-yul feel better?”

 

Seo-yeon said quietly, staring intently at the car entering the parking lot. Then she shifted her gaze to Tae-yul, who was leaning weakly on her shoulder.

 

“Let’s just mention it once. Tae-yul, shall we go see what wild ginseng is?”

 

“Dad?”

 

“No, not Dad, wild ginseng. But if we’re lucky, let’s go.”

 

Seo-yeon smiled brightly and headed to the guest living room with Tae-yul. The manager from the oriental medicine clinic she had been going to for a long time was holding the precious wild ginseng himself.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Manager Kim from Body Good Oriental Medicine Clinic.”

 

The woman, who looked to be in her 50s, put down the carefully wrapped cloth.

 

“The director personally examined and confirmed it.”

 

“Thank you for your trouble. Shall I take a look too?”

 

Seo-yeon didn’t know much about wild ginseng, but she wanted to see it with her own eyes.

 

Manager Kim carefully unwrapped the cloth and opened the lid of the bamboo basket. It was said to be precious, and as soon as the basket was opened, the scent of wild ginseng filled the air.

 

“Mom, sniff sniff.”

 

Tae-yul also smelled it and wiggled his nose.

 

“Our son doesn’t think it’s bad either? This is called wild ginseng. Dad is going to give it as a gift to a good person.”

 

“Yum yum?”

 

“Did you think it was for eating? But Tae-yul can’t eat it yet. Let’s eat it with Dad later.”

 

Seo-yeon said to Tae-yul and carefully examined the wild ginseng for any damaged parts.

 

“It looks good. Please repack it as it is.”

 

“Yes, I understand. Then I’ll deliver it to Do-young.”

 

“Are you going yourself?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Please have a cup of tea for a moment, Ms. Kim.”

 

Seo-yeon turned to Ms. Kim.

 

“Yes, I’ll be here.”

 

Seo-yeon returned to the playroom with Tae-yul. She checked the time first. These days, Jaehoon was so busy that she couldn’t predict when he would be free, so she hesitated to call him.

 

But before her mind changed, Seo-yeon looked at Tae-yul and called Jaehoon. She soon heard Jaehoon’s voice.

 

-Seo-yeon, what’s wrong?

 

“No, the wild ginseng just arrived. It’s better than I thought.”

 

-That’s a relief. How’s Tae-yul?

 

“He’s here next to me… Are you free for a moment? Manager Kim will take the wild ginseng to the company, but I was wondering if you could come for a bit. Would that be too difficult?”

 

-Is Tae-yul being fussy?

 

She heard a soft laugh.

 

“I think I accidentally pressed the bomb button.”

 

“Dad, Dad?”

 

Tae-yul stared intently at Seo-yeon, who was on the phone, and reached out to grab the phone as if he sensed something.

 

-I’ll go now. I can spare enough time for lunch. I’m going to be late tonight too. I don’t think I can do this anymore.

 

“Really?”

 

-Yeah. I have something to say too. Wait for me.

 

After ending the call, Seo-yeon smiled broadly and lifted Tae-yul up, spinning him around.

 

“Dad is coming. He’s coming for lunch, so our Tae-yul can say bye-bye nicely when Dad goes back to work, right? Don’t cry.”

 

“Dad coming?”

 

“Yes. Oh my, you’re heavy. Mom’s arm is going to fall off.”

 

Seo-yeon spun him around a couple of times and then plopped down on the sofa.

 

“Yay yay. Dad coming?”

 

Tae-yul’s eyes, smiling brightly, curved into crescent shapes, and he grabbed Seo-yeon and kissed her.

 

“You’re that happy?”

 

“Happy.”

 

Seo-yeon regretted not doing this sooner if she had known he would be this happy.

 

A while later, Manager Kim left, and Seo-yeon received a call that Jaehoon was almost there. At the news that Dad was almost there, Tae-yul dragged Seo-yeon to the parking lot.

 

Seeing Tae-yul running with quick steps without even trying to be held, she wondered if he had been anxious about not seeing Jaehoon all this time.

 

“Dad, car car?”

 

Tae-yul asked Seo-yeon whenever he heard a sound outside.

 

“No, it’s a bird. Chirp chirp.”

 

“Not car car? Tch.”

 

“Oh my, what’s ‘tch’?”

 

Seo-yeon’s eyes widened as she watched Tae-yul stick out his lips and say “tch.” It was the first time she had heard him say that, and she wondered where he had learned it, but she couldn’t help but laugh. Every time he made expressions and said words that matched his emotions, Seo-yeon was amazed and relieved.

 

“Tae-yul, who said ‘tch’?”

 

“Peep peep chick.”

 

“Peep peep chick? What’s that… a fairy tale?”

 

Now that she thought about it, she remembered hearing the youngest chick in the audio fairy tale saying “peep” whenever she was upset. It seemed that it had become “tch” for Tae-yul.

 

“I see. Our Tae-yul is so cute that Mom can’t say anything.”

 

Seo-yeon stroked Tae-yul’s hair. Then Tae-yul’s ears perked up, and he grabbed Seo-yeon’s hand.

 

“Car car.”

 

“Dad’s here.”

 

Seo-yeon picked up Tae-yul. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched Tae-yul waving his arms towards the car entering, as if they would fall off.

 

As the car door opened and Jaehoon came out, Tae-yul called out to his dad as if he was flying.

 

“Dad Dad Dad!”

 

“This rascal.”

 

Jaehoon, who had run over in an instant and lifted him up, couldn’t speak for a while because of Tae-yul’s shower of kisses.

 

“Is he that happy?”

 

Actually, Seo-yeon was just as happy. It had been a long time since she had seen Jaehoon during the day, so Seo-yeon was just as happy as Tae-yul.

 

“Wow, this is the best welcome I’ve ever had.”

 

“It’s because Dad has been too busy. Are you happy?”

 

“I’m sorry, but I’m happy too.”

 

Tae-yul hugged Jaehoon tightly around the neck.

 

“Dad, num nums eat?”

 

“I have to eat with Tae-yul and go back to work. Is that okay?”

 

“Eat eat, good.”

 

“Does this rascal know that I have to go back?”

 

Jaehoon looked at Seo-yeon, at a loss because Tae-yul only talked about eating.

 

“A little while ago, when I said you had to go back, guess what, he said ‘tch.’ So he definitely knows.”

 

“‘Tch,’ he said?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Seo-yeon grabbed Jaehoon’s arm and went into the playroom. While she prepared lunch, Jaehoon was going to play with Tae-yul for a little while.

 

As soon as Jaehoon sat on the sofa, Tae-yul brought his favorite fairy tale book, skillfully played the audio, and let him listen.

 

“Peep peep chick. Peep peep. Mom, Dad, Tanyu.”

 

Tae-yul explained the Peep Peep family and pointed to the youngest Peep Peep chick, saying it was him.

 

“I think our Tae-yul will grow up to be an even better guy than me, don’t you think?”

 

Jaehoon said happily, listening to Tae-yul’s explanation.

 

“I hope he grows up to be as wonderful a man as you. Oh, but didn’t you say you had something to say?”

 

Seo-yeon asked Jaehoon, responding to Tae-yul’s explanation.

 

“Mother invited us to dinner.”

 

Jaehoon said quietly, watching Tae-yul play.

 

Seo-yeon had expected that might happen. Honestly, she still hadn’t forgiven Mi-ryung.

 

But now that Jaehoon had returned to the Do-young family, she couldn’t keep avoiding it. She gently leaned her head on Jaehoon’s shoulder as he listened to Tae-yul’s babbling.

 

“Let’s go. Honestly, I still find it difficult to call her Mother.”

 

“You don’t have to force yourself.”

 

“She’s your family, so I’ll try.”

 

Jaehoon hugged Seo-yeon’s shoulder and kissed her head.

 

“You don’t have to try. If you don’t feel it in your heart, just treat her as you are. No one will blame you for it.”

 

Seo-yeon was so grateful for Jaehoon’s words. She touched Tae-yul’s chattering cheeks and hugged Jaehoon.

 

“What do you want to eat for lunch?”

 

“Jajangmyeon!”

 

Suddenly, Tae-yul straightened his upper body and shouted loudly. The two were surprised at how clearly he spoke.

 

“Seo-yeon, I want jajangmyeon too.”

 

“We had it last week. Jajangmyeon all of a sudden is a bit much… right, Ms. Kim?”

 

Seo-yeon was worried about Tae-yul, who loved jajangmyeon too much, so she asked Ms. Kim, who was entering the living room, for help. She smiled quietly and said she would prepare it soon before leaving the living room.

 

“Seo-yeon, let’s just have it today. What can we do when our son wants to eat it?”

 

“Really, you’re the reason he’s so spoiled.”

 

“Mom, no! Dad, no.”

 

Thinking that she was scolding Jaehoon, Tae-yul shook his head and protested to Seo-yeon not to scold his dad.

 

“It’s great how well you two work together.”

 

At this point, Seo-yeon had no choice but to give up. She pretended to glare at them slightly, but soon hugged them both and laughed.

 

“No jajangmyeon until next month.”

 

“Huh? Mom no.”

 

“Looks like he’s telling me not to do that, right?”

 

Jaehoon stopped talking and laughed loudly as he watched Tae-yul widen his eyes and shake his head.