Chapter 107
107. I Love You Too 2022.05.07.
Three hours earlier. After finishing shopping, Ji-heon returned home with Yena and Guk-soon.
“Wow! Dad’s house is so big!”
Yena, visiting Ji-heon's house for the first time, shouted as she ran into the house.
“It’s bigger than the kindergarten auditorium!”
The child ran around from room to room with wide eyes, shouting.
“Dad! Play hide-and-seek with Yena!”
“Your dad has a lot to do. You promised to help him, remember?”
Guk-soon answered Yena instead of Ji-heon.
“Oh, right!”
Even after nodding as if she had forgotten an important fact, Yena ran around the entire house, shouting. Ji-heon headed to the kitchen with Guk-soon. He had bought a lot of ingredients and cooking utensils, but as soon as he put all the luggage down in the kitchen, his mind went blank. Guk-soon asked Ji-heon like a general on a battlefield.
“So, what are you going to do with these ingredients?”
“Please sit down, Mother. I’ll take care of it.”
Although his mind was blank, Ji-heon answered confidently. Feeding Jeong-o the food he made himself. Seducing Jeong-o, who loves to eat, with food. It was today's mission to conclude the grand proposal.
“You’re going to do it all by yourself in three hours?”
“Yes.”
“It’ll be tough.”
The skilled Guk-soon told him what to expect, but Ji-heon smiled.
“It’s easy to cook these days because there’s a lot of good video content.”
“Still, it won’t be the same as what I would do.”
“It’s okay.”
“Okay. Good luck. Then what should I do?”
“You can look around the house with Yena and relax.”
“Okay. I understand.”
Ji-heon repeatedly insisted, so Guk-soon couldn't stop him anymore. However, after an hour, she became worried because there seemed to be no progress in the preparation. He has the best equipment, but he can't use it... The prospective son-in-law she had been watching so far seemed embarrassed to receive help. Guk-soon asked Ji-heon again.
“Isn’t there anything I can help you with?”
“No. It’s okay.”
“She said she’ll be here at six. There’s two and a half hours left?”
“It’ll take her a while to get here.”
Even while sweating profusely, the prospective son-in-law smiled awkwardly. Right. He's so eager to cook for my daughter, I shouldn't ignore this heart. Whatever happens, let's just cheer him on in my heart. Guk-soon also emptied her mind and turned around. However, even after another hour, Ji-heon was barely making any progress. The explanations in the video content were too unfamiliar and difficult for a beginner like Ji-heon. Ji-heon, who had been confident, finally realized the reality.
“Mother.”
“Yes.”
“Please help me……”
“Okay, okay.”
Guk-soon approached and rolled up her sleeves.
“The dish I’m trying to make is……”
“I know. Just by looking at what you’ve laid out, I can tell what you’re trying to do.”
Guk-soon, who quickly grasped what to do first with a single scan, confidently organized the ingredients.
“It’s hard to ask for help, isn’t it? But you know what?”
“……”
“There are people in the world who are waiting to help you.”
With Guk-soon's help, the kitchen became lively. The burners were lit one by one, and all the pretty dishes purchased today were washed. While they were in the middle of preparing, the doorbell rang.
“Oh no. Is she already here?”
“No. The flowers have arrived.”
Ji-heon opened the front door.
“Jeong Ji-heon, how have you been!”
Flower Dream. The owner of the flower shop that helped Ji-heon recover his memories from 7 years ago came to deliver the flowers in person.
“You came in person. The flowers are this way.”
His heart was as happy as if he were welcoming an old friend, but he couldn't take too much time. The flowers followed one after another in the direction Ji-heon guided them. The flowers were laid out along the hallway that ran straight from the entrance. At the end of the beautiful flower path, a splendid flower pillar was erected. The house, which felt a bit empty because there weren't many furnishings, became a beautiful wedding venue. Yena, who had never seen so many flowers in her seven years of life, opened her mouth wide.
“Then I hope you succeed today. I can’t watch in person, but I’ll be cheering you on in my heart!”
The flower shop owner politely greeted him and encouraged him. Guk-soon, who came out of the kitchen because of the overflowing fragrance of the flowers, was also surprised and said a word.
“You could open a flower shop!”
Yena, who was burst out laughing at Guk-soon's tone, laughed heartily.
“You’d have to invest the whole day just in that, and you were going to prepare a meal too?”
Ji-heon smiled awkwardly and installed light bulbs behind the flower path. Watching Ji-heon busily moving around, Yena shouted with excitement.
“Dad, Yena will make congratulatory balloons!”
“Can you make them by yourself?”
“Yes! Yena has done all the research!”
Yena had also been waiting for today. She had been looking up various videos and asking her dad questions, and today she went to the supermarket with her dad to buy this and that. Now it was time to create a wonderful work according to the blueprint in her head.
“Okay. Then I’m counting on you, Yena.”
* Beep beep beep. Everyone tensed up at the sound of the front door keypad being pressed. The house was completely dark. In that darkness, everyone held their breath and waited for Jeong-o to enter. Soon, the front door opened. Jeong-o entered the dark hallway. Perhaps she was nervous because no lights were on, Jeong-o's sigh was heard loudly. Ji-heon immediately turned on the lights behind the flower path. Jeong-o, who was standing at the end of the flower path, looked at Ji-heon beyond it. While she was frozen in surprise, the TV was also turned on. Seeing two photos repeatedly playing on the TV screen, Jeong-o's eyes instantly filled with tears. Only then did she realize what was going on. From inside the room, the child burst into laughter, enjoying something. Even at the sound of the child's laughter, even at the sight of Ji-heon standing at the end of the flower path with a bouquet of flowers and a nervous expression, Jeong-o couldn't make a sound. I never thought I'd have a day like this. Instead of making a sound, she slowly moved towards Ji-heon. Ji-heon, who came closer as much as Jeong-o went, confessed.
“I love you. Jeong-o.”
A gentle voice flowed from between his tense, dry lips.
“Marry m……”
Bang! However, before Ji-heon could finish his proposal, an unfortunate incident occurred. The balloon hanging next to the door. The congratulatory balloon that Yena had worked hard to make had burst. The prepared balloon was as pure as Yena's heart. She pressed her heart into the balloon to celebrate her dad's proposal. It would have been enough to put just a handful of confetti, but Yena greedily cut up colored paper and stuffed it into the balloon. And she even put in reel tape as she learned from the video content. In the end, the congratulatory balloon couldn't withstand the weight and vibration and burst. So much confetti poured out that it felt like a popular singer's concert venue. Ji-heon, who was directly hit by what was either a congratulatory balloon or a congratulatory bomb right below the balloon, was the most handsome man in the world just 3 seconds ago, but soon became a human decoration cake covered in paper flowers and reel tape. Paper was stuck all over his face, which had been sweating during the preparation. Pfft. Jeong-o burst out laughing, and Ji-heon closed his eyes tightly. A lovely thing done by a beloved child. Waaaaah. From inside the room, the sound of a lovely child crying was heard. The child also seemed disappointed that things didn't go as planned.
“It’s okay, it’s okay! Don’t worry about this and continue what you were doing!”
Guk-soon's embarrassed voice was also heard.
“Mommy. I’m sorry. Waaaaah……”
With a resentful apology, the child's crying was no longer heard. Ji-heon's gaze, through the crack in the door, he could see Guk-soon desperately hugging the crying child. Ji-heon also wanted to go into the room and hug the child. It's not something to cry about because it failed. It's really amazing that a seven-year-old designed a congratulatory balloon for her mom and dad and made it explode so big. Postponing hugging the child, Ji-heon focused on his role again and shook off the paper stuck to his body. The house was a mess and the mood was a bit broken. But he felt happier and more overwhelmed than ever. Her family helped with the proposal to the woman he loved. Ji-heon thought he was the most blessed person in the world. It's okay. Everything is okay. Even if life doesn't go as planned.
“It’s really an unpredictable life, but I’m just grateful.”
If you are at the end of a life that has gone as it pleases, I will always gratefully accept fate.
“I’m grateful for everything because you’re by my side.”
Thank you. For coming to me.
“I feel like I can do anything from now on.”
Thank you so much for bringing me back.
“Let’s keep living like this. Forever.”
The proposal after 7 years. The words I had saved for this moment. The love I had saved. Now I can express it as much as I want.
“I love you. Jeong-o.”
Jeong-o's eyes, which had been filled with laughter, became clear again. Is it because almost no memories of 7 years ago remain, but the instinct towards Lee Jung-oh remains the same? As if she had been waiting for this moment for 7 years, his heart also reacted to her beautiful eyes and throbbed warmly.
“Marry me.”
Ji-heon took out the ring from his pocket and put it on Jeong-o's hand. He reordered the design of the ring he had prepared 7 years ago. The ring, which found its owner after 7 years, sparkled beautifully on her beautiful hand. Jeong-o choked up and barely opened her mouth.
“Thank you.”
Thank you too. For coming back to me.
“I love you too.”
It was the first time Jeong-o had said he loved her. Ji-heon deeply realized that she had been waiting for these words as well.
Yena, who had stopped crying at some point, watched her mom and dad through the crack in the door.
“Grandma. Mom and Dad are kissing.”
“Why are you watching that? Come here.”
The whispers of the grandmother and granddaughter reached Jeong-o and Ji-heon's ears, but the two did not let go of each other's hands.
* Eun-bi had been sleeping for days. Since there was nothing else she could do, she just kept sleeping. Even in moments when she felt like her heart would burst because she felt it was so unfair that her life had fallen so low, she kept falling asleep. Maybe she wanted to avoid everything. When she was lonely and in pain, a man would stay by her side, but the man must have been tired of her whining because she hadn't heard from him.
Drrr.
As she blankly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, her phone vibrated. She stared at the phone screen. A local area code was displayed. Come to think of it, she had received a call from the same area yesterday. It seemed like a prank call. She was about to block the number, but she pressed the receive button, driven by a desire to unleash a torrent of curses.
“Hello.”
Since no voice came from the other end, Eun-bi gained courage. What will be, will be.
“Don’t make prank calls, you son of a bi….”
[Chae Eun-bi.]
But then, a man's voice came from the other end of the line. The man knew her name. A chilling feeling made Eun-bi's voice drop.
“……Who is this?”
[You don’t recognize me?]
“…….”
[You know my voice. You said you remembered.]
“…….”
[Kim Jin-gu, the one you put in jail. Don't you remember?]
Eek. Eun-bi was so surprised that she dropped her phone. The sound from the phone got louder. As her hand slipped, she had pressed the speakerphone button.
[I protested so much that it wasn't me, but you created a bunch of false evidence and made me live in jail for a year.]
Eun-bi picked up the phone, her hands trembling.
[Listen carefully. I won't let you get away with this.]
I have to hang up quickly. Ah, no, the record button!
[I'll make you feel the same.]
While Eun-bi was flustered and gripped by fear, picking up the phone and fidgeting, Kim Jin-gu spat out terrifying words.
[I'm going to kill you, and Jeong Ji-heon too.]
