Translator: Nox

Chapter 70

70. Dark History 2021.12.29.

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“Don’t cry in front of the kid.”

Jeong-o warned Ji-heon secretly. Jeong-o found it amusing to see Ji-heon’s eyes reddening as if he were sending his daughter off to get married, when he was just waiting for the kindergarten bus. When he didn’t change his expression despite Jeong-o’s warning, Jeong-o gave him a sharper word.

“Don’t overdo it. You look like a con-artist stepfather.”

Ji-heon’s expression finally returned to normal, as if he didn’t want to be called a con-artist stepfather. Soon, the bus arrived.

“Mom, I’ll be back.”

Ji-heon’s nose turned red again as he watched Yena politely greet her teacher. He couldn’t help this feeling. His heart ached at every aspect of his child, her appearance, her actions, her gestures. An overwhelming feeling welled up inside him. Jeong-o waved her hand and secretly said to Ji-heon.

“She’s just going to kindergarten. Not going to the army.”

Thanks to Jeong-o’s reminder, Ji-heon was able to say goodbye without looking too suspicious to others. Though it still looked funny to Jeong-o. Ji-heon stood there for a long time, watching until the bus doors closed, the child sat down, the bus departed, and the bus disappeared from sight. It was like a morning greeting for separated families who had to return to their respective places after a passionate meeting. Although she had nagged Ji-heon harshly, Jeong-o could actually understand Ji-heon’s feelings. She couldn’t scold him any further, thinking about how much he must have wanted to see the child that he rushed over from the morning.

“How do you feel? Can you go to work? Can you drive?”

“I’m okay. I’m great.”

“Okay. I’ll see you at the office. I’m going by subway.”

“Let’s go together. Stay by my side.”

Jeong-o, who had checked on Ji-heon’s well-being, waved her hand, but was immediately grabbed.

“I get stimulated when you’re by my side.”

“……”

“I think my memories are coming back.”

Ji-heon’s confession wasn’t a complete lie. Just now, Ji-heon had remembered a bit of what happened seven years ago. Ji-heon’s feelings as he waited for his newborn child were indeed about Yena. The heart of a soon-to-be father who wanted to do so much for his child. Jeong-o had no choice since her memories were being held hostage. Jeong-o, holding Ji-heon’s hand, moved towards the parked car and firmly set her conditions.

“I’m getting off near the company. In a place where there aren’t people.”

“We can just say we met by chance on the way.”

“People will really believe that.”

“……”

“I don’t know what kind of rumors will spread. I hope you’ll be careful.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just tell them first?”

Jeong-o stopped walking abruptly and blocked his path.

“That won’t do. Think about who’s to blame for all this.”

Her large, clear eyes turned towards Ji-heon.

“If Oppa hadn’t had that fake relationship with Chae Eun-bi, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Jeong-o confessed her true feelings. It was a story she couldn’t tell at length because she was afraid of looking petty. I’m actually still upset with you for living however you wanted during the seven years I was gone. I resent that you lived without any sense of responsibility, like water flowing, without any determination.

“Without any sense of responsibility, how could you live like that? You shouldn’t live like that.”

Even without me, you shouldn’t have lived like that. That was the sorrow she couldn’t easily express because he wasn’t hers. Ji-heon bit his lip at Jeong-o’s rebuke. Strange thoughts were floating in his head. Why can’t I move? Is this my true self? Was I perhaps living under her thumb? Is this my fate now? Should I reflect on the seven years I lived recklessly and prepare myself?

“……I can’t turn back time, but I’ll do better from now on.”

Hmph. Jeong-o’s tightly closed lips twisted at Ji-heon’s gloomy expression. The devil inside Jeong-o tempted her to tease him a little more.

“Wait. Now that I think about it, I think Jeong Ji-heon said he would take care of my ex-boyfriend. What did he say? That he would break everything he could see?”

“……”

“Jeong Ji-heon, why are you avoiding my eyes?”

“……”

“Huh? Say something.”

“……Wait. Now that I think about it, didn’t Lee Jeong-o call me a pervert?”

“Huh? When?”

“You did. Last Thursday!”

“You called my ex-boyfriend a crazy bastard, so what.”

“……”

Huuuuuuuu. Ji-heon, who couldn’t gain anything by trying to argue like Jeong-o, lowered his head and sighed deeply. He wanted to cut out all the past where he had cursed her ex-boyfriend so much, not even knowing he was spitting in his own face.

\ Guk-soon, who had seen off her daughter and granddaughter, also prepared diligently and went to work at the restaurant. She regretted leaving the restaurant without cleaning up the day before. She was worried that bugs would have gathered and that it would smell, so she opened the restaurant door with concern. And Guk-soon’s mouth dropped open as she checked the inside of the restaurant.

“What is all this……”

Guk-soon, looking around the restaurant that had been cleaned up as if a house fairy had visited, couldn’t easily be moved. Her heart ached. She found out. My daughter found out. That’s why she was acting so cute this morning. Thinking about her daughter working late and coming to the restaurant with her tired body to do the cleaning that her mother couldn’t do, she regretted the previous night once again. Her arms and legs lost strength, and she sat down haphazardly on a nearby chair. A mother becomes sad when she starts receiving help from her daughter. I wish I could be my daughter’s pillar and shade forever. But my daughter is constantly moving forward, towards the direction the sun is walking, ahead of her mother. I hope my child, who continues to grow even as an adult, will go a little slower, a little slower. So that there’s a little more I can do for her. Guk-soon, sighing with a mix of pride and guilt towards her daughter, discovered a piece of colored paper on the table right next to her. She lifted her bottom and picked up the colored paper. - To my beloved Mom. It was a letter written by her daughter. Guk-soon unfolded the twice-folded colored paper and read the sentence. - To my beloved Mom. I once complained to you for no reason. That it was hard. But it actually wasn’t hard at all, I was just acting spoiled because you were there. You always accepted my spoiled behavior. So I’m very sorry. If I’m born again, I want to be your mom. Even though you’d hate it. Mom. So let’s live the happiest life in this lifetime. I love you, Mom. Throughout reading the letter, it felt as if Jeong-o’s voice was coming from beside her. A letter written in her daughter’s simple language. At the end of the letter, there were a few more lines like a postscript. It was in small writing. It was like a hidden message, thinking that her mother, who was starting to get presbyopia, wouldn’t be able to read it. - I won’t let Chae Eun-bi get away with this. Don’t worry, Mom. I’m only going to fight winning battles from now on. Just you wait. Tremendous happiness will be waiting for us. Whether this was…… written to make her mother laugh, or to relieve her mother’s anger. But Guk-soon’s heart, caressing the sky-blue colored paper, soon became as generous as the sky. Whatever tremendous happiness is, I hope it comes a little slower. My beautiful daughter. Mom doesn’t need tremendous happiness. I’m already so happy as I am now. Guk-soon realized that there was no reason for her to be down. There was a time when she was always worried about her daughter, wondering if she was crying alone in a place where her hands couldn’t reach, as if she was trapping tears that could flow thousands of miles away, but at some point, she had grown into a dignified adult and became a wonderful daughter who took on the worries of her mother. A daughter who was like a jewel that made her mother both infinitely weak and strong. Jeong-o, I hope I can be by your side even if I’m born again. Even if I’m not your mother. I’d be happy to be a bird singing by your side all day, or a tree growing with you. \ Eun-bi went to work, made sure to show her face, and then made an excuse to go out on business and left. She couldn’t enjoy her work life anymore because her coworkers’ attitudes towards her weren’t the same as before. All of this was because of Lee Jeong-o. Eun-bi, leaving the company, went to Eun-yeop’s office.

“Oppa, I’m going to sue. Write me a complaint.”

To suddenly barge into the office and ask him to write a complaint. Eun-yeop was annoyed by his sister’s request. He ignored her and continued to flip through the documents he was holding, so Eun-bi added a few words of information.

“Lee Jeong-o assaulted me last night. He slapped me in the face.”

Hoo. Eun-yeop gritted his teeth and said with a fierce look.

“I told you to stay still.”

“……How could you do this?”

Eun-bi was hurt by Eun-yeop’s reaction.

“I told you Lee Jeong-o hit me. Isn’t it normal to ask if you’re okay, what happened, when your sister says she got hit?”

“Lee Jeong-o wouldn’t have done that for no reason. He must have done it because you did something to make him angry.”

Lee Jeong-o, whom Eun-yeop had met, had a gentle impression but wasn’t a simple person. He was someone who spoke logically and clearly, even though he was quite nervous meeting a lawyer, and he seemed to have a good eye. He was by no means an easy opponent. Eun-yeop quickly figured out who the ‘Ms. C who was harassing him’ that Jeong-o had revealed was. It was his sister, Chae Eun-bi. Eun-yeop was furious throughout listening to Jeong-o. He was angry that his sister was so one-dimensional and ignorant. His sister was completely useless. He even wished that Lee Jeong-o was his sister instead.

“Fine. It’s not like you’re the only lawyer.”

Eun-bi snorted at Eun-yeop, who was grinding his teeth inwardly. Since her Oppa wasn’t very helpful in her life, Eun-bi didn’t need to stay in the office any longer. Eun-bi, grabbing the doorknob, opened her mouth again.

“Oh, right.”

She thought her Oppa should know that much. And to show him that she could do anything without him.

“It seems like Oppa is never interested in my affairs, and I get frustrated when I try to leave everything to you, so I told Mother directly.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I told Ji-heon Oppa’s mother about Lee Jeong-o.”

“……What?”

Eun-yeop, who had been looking at the documents the whole time, put them down and stood up from his seat. He was finally showing a reaction. Eun-bi turned to Eun-yeop and told him about what happened last night.

“Lee Jung-oh said that a single mother with a seven-year-old child was hitting on Ji-heon Oppa……”

Slap! But before she could finish her sentence, Eun-bi was knocked away. As Eun-bi fell, she hit the tower of documents piled on the side table, and the office became a mess. It was a stinging pain that couldn't even compare to Jeong-o's slap. Shocked, Eun-bi couldn't even get up and looked up at Eun-yeop, covering her cheek with her left hand.

“……Oppa.”

“Don’t even call me Oppa. You piece of trash.”

“……”

“What did you do?”

“……”

“What did you do?”

Eun-yeop's face was red as if it would explode, and he looked like a demon.

“How dare you ruin my work?”

“……”

“Do you even know what you’ve done?”

His eyes, torn to the side and fiercely wide, stared at his younger sister with murderous intent. As if he would strangle her to death right then and there.

“You handed over her great-granddaughter to Jang Young-mi! A great-granddaughter she didn't even know existed!”

“Wh, what does that……”

More shocked than by the slap, Eun-bi felt a chill. A great-granddaughter? Tears welled up in Eun-bi's eyes.

“If you’re stupid, you should at least stay still.”

“……”

“You’re trash. Useless trash if you can’t even marry Jeong Ji-heon. Trash not even worth living.”