Chapter 127
However, there was no suitable way to cross the strict border with a newborn baby who wasn’t even his own child. After racking his brain, Hyeon-woo immediately went to Jerome’s biological father, the son of the center’s sponsor. It was fortunate, if you could call it that, that Jerome’s birth had not yet been registered.
He introduced Hyeon-woo to a hospital that would handle his DNA-containing hair and teeth, on the condition of renouncing Jerome’s U.S. citizenship. He even arranged to erase the departure records, promising to keep the fact that the child was smuggled out of the U.S. a secret from everyone.
Hyeon-woo’s insides twisted at the man’s hypocrisy, acting as if he was doing Hyeon-woo a favor while intending to completely erase Jerome, his own flesh and blood, from the U.S. It was easy to imagine what would have happened to Jerome if he had remained in the U.S.
After successfully registering Jerome as his own child in the family registry, Hyeon-woo left the U.S. as promised.
Although he returned to his homeland with renewed determination, he had nowhere to go once he arrived. For Hyeon-woo, who had no relatives or friends to rely on, there was only one place he could think of. A place where there were people who would warmly embrace him.
He left the airport and headed there without a plan. As always, she didn’t ask anything when Hyeon-woo appeared with a nursing baby. She just hugged Hyeon-woo sincerely, saying he had returned safely. Only when he was in the warmth of the ajumma’s embrace did Hyeon-woo finally shed the tears he had never shed before.
Upon his return, Hyeon-woo rented a small inn with all the money he had. There weren’t many things he could do while taking care of Jerome.
The ajumma offered to take care of Jerome several times, but he ultimately refused. He couldn’t keep imposing on her. Moreover, he didn’t want to raise the still young Jerome by leaving him in someone else’s care, as if begging for milk.
When the clock on the wall struck midnight, he turned off the sign’s lights. Since few people visited this place late at night when there were no trains, they didn’t accept guests after this time.
As he lay his tired body next to the sleeping Jerome, the sweet smell of milk tickled his nose. When Hyeon-woo planted a kiss on Jerome’s chubby left cheek, Jerome, who had been furrowing his brow, opened his eyes and met Hyeon-woo’s gaze.
He couldn’t bear how lovable it was to see Jerome trying hard to keep his eyelids open and meet his eyes, even though they were still heavy with sleep.
“…Uung. Da, daddy…”
“Yes, Han Jerome. Are you awake? Go back to sleep, quickly.”
“No. No.”
Jerome, who had been snuggling into Hyeon-woo’s arms, shook his head and expressed his refusal at being told to sleep. Hyeon-woo firmly held Jerome in his arms as he struggled to get free.
“Daddy is going to sleep now, Jerome needs to fall asleep too so we can meet in our dreams.”
“No, Jerome is not sleepy.”
His increasingly clear expressions of intent were frustrating.
“Daddy is sleepy and going to sleep.”
When Hyeon-woo pretended to yawn widely on purpose, Jerome, with sleep still on his face, followed suit and opened his small mouth to yawn.
“Oh, so sleepy~ Let’s go to sleep quickly, Jerome. I’m sorry for waking you up.”
As Hyeon-woo patted Jerome’s plump bottom in a steady rhythm, his small eyelids closed as if heavy weights were attached to them. Hyeon-woo’s eyes were gloomy as he watched Jerome drift off to dreamland, breathing lightly.
As Jerome’s sleep decreased and his activity increased day by day, it wasn’t right to keep him confined in this small, dangerous room forever.
The plan was to maintain this lifestyle until Jerome turned three in six months, when it would be possible to send him to daycare, and then look for a new job.
If he combined the deposit he would get back from closing the inn and the income he had earned so far, he could get a small but clean rental house. He wanted to lay soft mats on the living room floor so Jerome wouldn’t get hurt if he fell while running around, and choose the room with the best sunlight to make it Jerome’s space.
After finishing the day’s work and lying his tired body on the floor, Hyeon-woo habitually imagined a happy future with Jerome until just before falling asleep. That sweet imagination often became a strong driving force to live for tomorrow.
However, as if mocking such imagination, Jerome’s frightening growth rate did not wait for Hyeon-woo.
It was when they were playing with blocks together all day, as there were no guests for once.
Jerome’s dialogue while role-playing with small block figures shaped like people in each hand shocked Hyeon-woo.
“Are you going to sleep over? Are you going to sleep over?”
Hyeon-woo unconsciously grabbed Jerome’s wrist. Jerome, startled, hunched his shoulders and looked at Hyeon-woo cautiously. Hyeon-woo’s eyes became moist as he stared at Jerome with a pale face. Hyeon-woo stretched out both arms and hugged Jerome tightly. His pounding heart wouldn’t calm down.
It was no time to be talking about begging for milk or anything like that.
Hyeon-woo revised his plan.
Although he was ashamed, there was only one place he could turn to.
*
“Yejo ajumma!”
As soon as the front door opened and Kyung-ae ajumma appeared, Jerome hugged one of her legs tightly and acted cute.
“Not Yejo ajumma, you should say Yejun’s ajumma.”
“Yejon ajumma.”
The ajumma looked at Jerome with an expression of overwhelming cuteness, as he struggled to correct his lisping despite Hyeon-woo’s repeated corrections.
“Our beautiful Jerome~. Come in quickly~.”
Jerome dashed through the open front door. Hyeon-woo bent down to neatly arrange the shoes Jerome had carelessly thrown off to one side of the entrance before following them inside.
Jerome headed towards a corner of the living room where plastic storage boxes were placed with familiar steps. Then he opened the lid himself and started playing with the dinosaur dolls inside. Hyeon-woo didn’t know there was even a toy box for Jerome in this house.
It seemed that during the daytime when Hyeon-woo was cleaning rooms after guests had used them, Kyung-ae ajumma would often come and take Jerome to play, caring for him like this at her home. Knowing it was consideration to ease his workload even a little, he was grateful.
“I ended up closing earlier than planned.”
Sitting across from the ajumma at the dining table, Hyeon-woo took a sip of the warm green tea she had offered and continued speaking.
“I’m looking for a rental house too. I’m thinking of moving as soon as I get the deposit back.”
The ajumma nodded as if she understood.
“You’ll be busy for a while looking for another job. Don’t worry about Jerome. I’ll take care of him.”
“I’m sorry and grateful. Always.”
The ajumma gently patted Hyeon-woo, who couldn’t lift his face out of shame for his own thoughtlessness.
“It’s hard to see Yejun’s face now too, and I was feeling lonely. This is a joy I’ve found after a long time. So there’s no need to feel sorry, it’s all something I want to do.”
“…Please accept this. I couldn’t put much in it.”
Hyeon-woo took out a white envelope from his pocket and held it out to the ajumma.
If anything had changed since he first arrived in Korea, it was that he was now able to show his sincerity for taking care of Jerome, even if not abundantly. However, the ajumma adamantly shook her head and refused to accept Hyeon-woo’s envelope.
The ajumma took a bite of a nicely cut apple with a fork and slowly opened her mouth.
“You know Yejun’s father was a civil servant. Thanks to the insurance money and pension he left behind, I never had to worry about making a living even when I was left alone with Yejun. I didn’t realize how grateful that was and only resented the heavens for taking something precious from me.”
“……”
“Hyeon-woo always says he’s inadequate, but that’s not true at all. You’re stronger than anyone. I learn a lot from you. That’s why I want to help. I want to support you and be with you.”
The ajumma’s words felt like they were gently caressing his heart like a kind consolation. It felt like he was receiving unreserved support, being told that he was living properly, that this was the right way.
But that was that, and this was this.
“Please accept it anyway.”
Hyeon-woo held out the envelope to the ajumma once more. Knowing Hyeon-woo’s straightforward personality that rarely bent his convictions once he made a decision, the ajumma finally gave up and reluctantly accepted the envelope Hyeon-woo was handing over.
