#84
Both Kang Ye-ryeong, who had been expressing her dissatisfaction, and Eunsol, who had been wondering how to improve her mood, simultaneously turned their attention toward the hospital room door.
“…Ah, excuse me.”
It was Kim Myungjun who opened the door and entered. In that moment, Eunsol unconsciously felt a sense of disappointment and let out a deep sigh.
Then, frightened by his own emotion that no one had noticed, his eyes trembled.
“Eunsol-nim, I’m truly relieved that you’ve woken up safely.”
Kim Myungjun looked at Eunsol with emotional eyes and bowed his head respectfully. Then, almost dropping what he was holding, he straightened up in alarm.
“What are you holding in your hand?”
Kang Ye-ryeong scrutinized Kim Myungjun up and down with suspicious eyes. Under her cold gaze—completely different from how she looked at Eunsol—Kim Myungjun forced an awkward smile and continued his halted steps.
“Well, I heard that Eunsol-nim had started eating…”
Unable to finish his sentence, Kim Myungjun gestured with his eyes toward the slightly open door. The corner of Kang Ye-ryeong’s mouth slowly curved upward.
“Don’t tell me you’ve planted listening devices in here?”
“No, how could you say such a dangerous thing?”
Kim Myungjun shook his head vigorously, his hair fluttering. Nevertheless, Kang Ye-ryeong’s suspicious gaze remained.
How should Kim Myungjun feel when, as soon as she finished speaking, he presented dongchimi broth with a rising tangy aroma?
Since Kim Myungjun was essentially Hyun-oh’s agent, it would be more accurate to say the suspicion was directed at Hyun-oh.
Considering Hyun-oh’s recent behavior, circling around Eunsol like a half-crazed person, it was entirely possible.
“Madam. If we keep this up, we’ll miss Eunsol-nim’s mealtime. I’ll just leave this here and go.”
As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, Kim Myungjun quickly placed the bowl of dongchimi on the table.
He didn’t forget to give Eunsol, who was looking up at him anxiously, a reassuring smile.
He carefully examined Eunsol’s complexion, even if just for a moment. All of this was to report back to Hyun-oh.
“…Why has he become so slick?”
Kim Myungjun disappeared from the hospital room as suddenly as he had entered, after bowing respectfully to Eunsol and Kang Ye-ryeong without losing his smile until the end.
Kang Ye-ryeong looked at the closed hospital room door with an unsatisfied expression before picking up the spoon again.
“Anyway, this is good. I was feeling uneasy about only feeding you rice porridge.”
Regardless of the circumstances, she now had what she wanted. And the most important thing right now was to feed Eunsol.
“Now, open wide.”
Kang Ye-ryeong scooped an appropriate amount of rice porridge onto the spoon and brought it to Eunsol’s lips.
Eunsol, startled, just blinked his large eyes. He hurriedly tried to move his hand, but unfortunately, it was the one connected to the IV, causing him to wince.
“You probably don’t have the strength to lift your hands. I’ll let you eat by yourself when you regain your strength, but for now, leave it to me.”
Kang Ye-ryeong gestured that it was okay and slightly moved the spoon up and down. Afraid that the porridge might spill, Eunsol reflexively opened his mouth.
The rich taste that filled his mouth felt unfamiliar. It felt like he was eating proper food for the first time in a very long time.
Throughout the entire time Eunsol had been hiding from Hyun-oh, his morning sickness had been so severe that he couldn’t even properly swallow a piece of fruit.
Perhaps it was the effect of having survived a near-death experience, but fortunately, even after swallowing a spoonful of porridge, no nausea arose. Instead, his weakened body was gaining a little strength.
“You’re eating well. Try a spoonful of this broth too.”
Kang Ye-ryeong smiled contentedly as she fed Eunsol a little dongchimi broth. As Eunsol accepted it like a baby bird, her feelings toward her unworthy son also softened.
However, Kang Ye-ryeong soon had to look at Eunsol with concerned eyes.
“Are you already full? You haven’t even eaten half.”
The size of the bowl containing the porridge was only as big as Kang Ye-ryeong’s palm. Moreover, the bowl wasn’t even filled to the brim with porridge.
Yet Eunsol hesitated, closing his lips as if full. Kang Ye-ryeong considered forcing him to swallow a few more spoonfuls but worried he might get indigestion from what he had already eaten. Regretfully, she put down the spoon.
“…Would you like to have more of this?”
Hoping, Kang Ye-ryeong pointed to the dongchimi broth with her spoon. Eunsol slowly nodded his head up and down.
‘Well, looking at this little bird’s behavior, it’s clear he still has feelings for that bastard Hyun-oh.’
It could simply be that Eunsol preferred the sweet and sour dongchimi broth over the bland rice porridge. However, Kang Ye-ryeong somehow felt as if Eunsol was tracing Hyun-oh’s presence through the dongchimi.
Sometimes intuition could be more accurate than rational judgment.
Especially in matters of emotion, when relationships became intricately entangled.
Eunsol finally exhaled with satisfaction only after the bowl was completely empty. Kang Ye-ryeong moved the tray elsewhere and brought a washbasin and toothbrushing supplies.
Eunsol looked up at Kang Ye-ryeong in surprise, frozen.
“You must feel uncomfortable after eating. Hyun-oh used to do all this when you were unconscious.”
Eunsol’s movement to shake his head stopped abruptly, like a vehicle blocked by an obstacle.
“Even when I suggested hiring a caregiver, Hyun-oh insisted on doing it himself. He even received training from professional caregivers.”
Dazed, Eunsol opened his mouth as instructed by Kang Ye-ryeong and allowed her to carefully brush his teeth.
“That boy who only lived for his work finally came to his senses. …After seeing you sick.”
In truth, Kang Ye-ryeong had not intended to say much to Eunsol. She was concerned that her words might burden Eunsol, preventing him from following his heart.
But seeing him today, it seemed Eunsol still had feelings for Hyun-oh.
If Eunsol were alone, it might be different. But he was pregnant with Hyun-oh’s child.
Hyun-oh wasn’t just any man; due to his exceptionally high pheromone levels, his pheromones were an indispensable element for Eunsol, who was carrying his child.
For both Eunsol and the baby to be safe, absolute stability was necessary. For that, as unpleasant as it might be, it was important for Hyun-oh to fulfill his role as Eunsol’s husband and the child’s father.
Even if Eunsol didn’t want it, Hyun-oh would remain by his side, but it would be much better for Eunsol’s mental and physical well-being if he could accept Hyun-oh’s presence with a comfortable heart.
“Hyun-oh growing up to be such an inadequate person… that’s largely my fault.”
As she wiped Eunsol’s mouth with a clean towel after the toothbrushing, Kang Ye-ryeong gave a bitter smile.
She organized the scattered tools and sat down beside Eunsol. Eunsol was still looking at Kang Ye-ryeong with a blank expression.
“He was probably not even in elementary school yet.”
When Hyun-oh was young, Kang Ye-ryeong was also very busy. Looking back now, it might have all been excuses, but at the time, she was desperate in her own way.
Kang Ye-ryeong loved Hyun-oh’s biological father. Even if it wasn’t the passionate love people talked about, she tried to be faithful to him and help him.
If she had not had any feelings for him, she would have married but would not have considered having a child. After all, Kang Ye-ryeong considered herself the most important person in the world.
However, married life flowed in a completely different direction than she had expected.
That man had no intention of letting go of either Kang Ye-ryeong or his ex-wife. Kang Ye-ryeong had to create her own place in a jungle-like world by her own strength.
Only then could both she and Hyun-oh properly claim their share and live.
Her husband was indifferent, and his ex-wife drove Kang Ye-ryeong to the edge.
Because of this, Kang Ye-ryeong worked day and night to avoid being displaced. To make matters worse, her brothers-in-law also eyed her share like hyenas, betraying her.
“One day, I received a call saying Hyun-oh had caught a mild fever and cold.”
Kang Ye-ryeong had entrusted her child to Kim Myungjun’s mother. She was trustworthy, and at that time, Kang Ye-ryeong didn’t have the capacity to take care of Hyun-oh as well.
“They told me that even in his medication-induced sleep, he kept calling for his mother.”
When she received the call from Hyun-oh’s nanny, Kang Ye-ryeong was inwardly conflicted. In her own way, she had deliberately kept her distance from him, intending to raise him to be a child who wouldn’t be swayed by emotions.
Occasionally, she had stroked the sleeping child’s head, but that was all. When Hyun-oh showed signs of waking up, she hurriedly fled from the child’s room.
“…Perhaps I should have gone at that time.”
But in the end, Kang Ye-ryeong ignored the child who was crying for her. The price for ignoring the child’s last desperate plea was great.
“From that day on, he treated me like a stranger. I wanted him to grow into a child who could coldly reject even his own mother, but once it actually happened, I felt that something had gone wrong.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
