Younghwa surrendered to time, even the tragedy that seemed insurmountable, and as one walks, moments come when the distance widens, like footprints left behind.

The tragic spring of that year melted away in the warm sunshine and washed away in a refreshing shower, becoming faint.

The boy, who lost his parents at once and returned after the funeral at the age of ten, grew taller and his head bigger as if trying to age one year with each season. The child didn’t stagnate. Without crying or throwing tantrums, without any trouble, he continued his peaceful school life and started moving forward again.

Seokhwa found the boy’s change fascinating. However, whenever he met his nephew during meals, for some reason, the child wore a neat smile that seemed to mimic an adult’s expression. It was a smile that seemed to hide something. Although the sight was occasionally bitter, Seokhwa did not complain. He thought it was just fortunate that the boy did not despair and continued to grow taller and wiser at a rapid pace.

Like drifting clouds, summer passed, and the early days of autumn arrived.

Seokhwa, who had been busy with his temporary role in handling his late brother’s affairs, left work early before a business trip.

“Hey!”

And then, beyond the garden and the pool, he heard his nephew’s scream from the direction of the employee dormitory. Seokhwa, drawn by that cute voice, leisurely approached through the trees. The nephew was not alone. In front of the nephew, Seokhwa’s face filled with shadows as he discovered a girl laughing heartily.

She was the daughter of the driver who ended up serving time in prison.

With a face that seemed ready to burst like a ripe grape, she wrapped her cheek and boldly spoke to the nephew, whose demeanor was quite different from the one Seokhwa had seen in the morning and evening.

“If you touch my face again, you know I’ll hang you over there.”

“Oppa, as long as you don’t touch with your hands, is it okay with your mouth?”

“With hands not working, how can the mouth work?”

“Then, can I use my feet?”

The expression of the little one responding in a playful manner in front of the nephew was cute at every moment. When the angry nephew approached threatening to hit her, the little one raised her arms to defend her head and screamed. This time, Taehoon burst into laughter. This, too, was an image of the nephew that Seokhwa had lost.

Seokhwa kept his mouth shut to avoid being noticed and watched the two children, holding his breath.

After laughing for a while, the nephew took out something to eat from his pocket and handed it to the little one.

“Wow! What’s this?”

“Since it looks the same as you, you eat it.”

“Wow! It’s amazing!”

Receiving a bag of snacks, the little one, who seemed to have everything in the world, ran around happily, and the nephew watched her with a smile.

It was the moment Seokhwa realized what the nephew had been hiding all this time.

Despite treating the little one as if she hated her life, the nephew was casually letting her lean against him. The accumulated emotions, even without knowing what it was, could not be pure hatred.
The little child had no mother, and even the father ended up serving time, leaving nowhere to go. Due to circumstances, the child stayed in the mansion until a place for the child was determined, but that generous consideration didn’t anticipate such trouble.

After Taehoon had dropped off the child at the dormitory and left, Seokhwa called the child back. The child, holding up a round face, asked cheerfully, “Auntie, why?”

The girl, who accepted even unfamiliar faces without any resistance, was as lovely as a doll. It was a face that made one look forward to how beautiful she would become when she grew up. No, there was no need to look ahead to the moment when the children became adults. It started from the moment the child turned into a lady a few years later.

Seokhwa immediately set out to find an adult who would take care of the girl. Confirming the fact that there was an aunt, Seokhwa handed over a generous amount of child support to Han Soeun’s aunt and uncle and embraced Soeun.

Concerned that the nephew might notice and follow them, Seokhwa purposely insisted they leave in the middle of the night and confirmed the moment of departure with his own eyes.

The child, who seemed to accept the change of residence somewhat, burst into tears and clung to Seokhwa as he handed over several tens of thousands of won bills.

“Auntie, I’m moving. Please tell Oppa this….”

With tears like pearls streaming down, what the child offered was a red toy cellphone with a wobbly front and a few candies wrapped as an imitation of the shape of the child’s hand.

Why that innocent and cute hand was so detested, no one could understand.

After seeing off the child, who waved hands while crying, to the doorstep, Seokhwa felt a bit uncomfortable and abandoned the gifts.

The next day, the first person to realize that Han Soeun had left the mansion was unexpectedly Seokhwa’s father, Chairman Kim Jaepil.

“Han Honggyu’s daughter.”

“……”

“You let her go.”