I Became a Mother (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7
Woo-ying.
Hyo Jin handed her wet clothes outside the door to the maid, then stepped onto the air shower wearing a white bathrobe.
Warm air seeped through the gaps in her robe, gradually thawing her skin, which had been frozen from the cold water.
“Your clothes will take about thirty minutes to dry.”
Butler Pyo handed her a mug filled with hot water and offered a transparent case containing Cheongsimhwan.
“Thank you.”
As Hyo Jin, seated across from him, opened the transparent lid to take out a Cheongsimhwan—
“Give it to the young master. He must have been quite frightened.”
“Huh?”
It wasn’t meant for me, but for Baby?
“And for the CEO—you understand, right?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Ah, Butler Pyo, who was usually so aloof, softly crinkled the corners of his eyes and smiled.
What’s he talking about?
“How do you expect to keep getting paid in this house if you can’t even pick up on something that obvious?”
He even snorted and lightly punched her shoulder with his fist.
“Ow!”
Why hit me? I’m already weak from swallowing water!
“That poor child was trembling like an aspen, terrified of getting scolded by his father. It was absolutely heartbreaking.”
After all, this happened less than a day after he’d promised to listen to his teacher.
“Oh—so that’s what you meant?”
Don’t tell Father.
“This world works like that. You pretend you don’t know what you do know, act like you didn’t see what you saw, and claim you didn’t hear what you heard. Only then can you last as long as I have.”
It’s not like he’s talking about some longevity tonic.
“I couldn’t possibly do that.”
If someone nearly drowned, shouldn’t you ask if they’re okay first?
Butler Pyo, as if anticipating this, pulled out his trump card from his finger.
“It’s a gift from Madam.”
He placed on the table a premium gift card exclusively for the department store’s luxury section.
“She said you’ll be accompanying the young master to and from school from now on, so get yourself a nice outfit.”
She might as well have given me Cheongsimhwan—then I wouldn’t feel so miserable.
“Isn’t this a bribe rather than a gift?”
Ah, Butler Pyo shot her a disappointed glance.
“You young people sure have sharp tongues. When an elder gives you something, you simply say thank you and accept it.”
Still, she stared at him without budging.
“You accepted the CEO’s card without hesitation. Why refuse Madam’s?”
His gaze, previously as sweet as honey on the tongue, now turned sharp.
“Butler Pyo, you yourself said the CEO’s gift was meant for the young master, not for me.”
“…!”
“But this gift from Madam is meant for me—not the young master. Accepting it would violate my ethics as an educator.”
“Ethics as an educator?”
Heh. Really? Butler Pyo burst into laughter as if he’d just heard something hilarious.
“Listen, Teacher Bong. This is Sangrimwon.”
So what?
When Hyo Jin just stared back without answering, Butler Pyo’s smile faded. He stepped closer and lowered his voice.
“Do you know who we, the ones working here, should fear most?”
His finger pointed toward Inwangsan, which cradled the Blue House.
“The president? Not scary at all. A member of the National Assembly? What’s there to fear? They work with the taxes I pay. The person who pays my salary is far scarier. This is the very place powerful people turn to as their last resort when they’re in trouble.”
Like forsaken humans seeking God.
The noble house of Noel!
In that sacred, untouchable sanctuary, the employer’s command surpassed both law and ethics.
“Still, I refuse. My employment contract with the CEO explicitly states there are to be no secrets.”
No wonder Baby said I only teach him for the money and don’t care about him at all.
“Hey, Teacher Bong! I’ve been at Sangrimwon since before our CEO, Mr. Choi Kyo Hwan, was even older than Seung Yul. Honestly, even if you refuse this and the CEO finds out—do you really think you’d be safe? The young master nearly died because of you.”
“Died? Who—!”
“Thankfully, you’re both fine. But according to the swimming instructor, the young master jumped in trying to save you and ended up drowning alongside you. If something had truly happened to him, whose fault would be greater, do you think?”
Hyo Jin, who hadn’t known that detail, was speechless. Her duty and responsibility had always been to prioritize the child’s safety above all else.
“Do you even know how many tutors have passed through Sangrimwon? Madam doesn’t yet know Seung Yul jumped in because of you—if she did, she wouldn’t be giving you this card; she’d have thrown you out right away!”
Butler Pyo pressed the card into Hyo Jin’s hand, who could offer no rebuttal, as if to say, “Now do you understand?”
“Think wisely. I won’t say a word to Madam.”
★★★
Hoo. After changing into clothes dried by the steamer, Hyo Jin took a deep breath and knocked on Seung Yul’s door on the second floor.
Knock knock.
Baby, guilty as charged, sat at his desk facing the wall in penance.
“You think acting all proper like that will make me quietly let it slide, you little troublemaker?”
She turned his shoulder to talk to him, and—
“Huhh… Teacher.”
His tightly bitten lip split open, and the tears he’d been holding back spilled out.
“Whoa—are you crying now? Are you scared I’ll tell your dad?”
Tears like chicken droppings fell from his shaking eyes onto the desk.
“No! I was really scared you’d die because of me! Ughh…”
“What’s so scary?”
You were the one who threw me in the water to get back at me!
Hyo Jin blinked, still unsure if this was another prank.
“I’m really sorry. I thought you could actually swim.”
Huhng. Seeing she was safe, Seung Yul burst into even louder sobs out of sheer relief.
“Hey, why are you crying so loudly? If someone outside hears, they’ll think I scolded you. Stop crying. Cut it out.”
“But whenever I think about how you almost died just now, the tears just keep coming. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop crying. Hic… Sob…”
His tear-soaked gaze, looking up at her, was so pitiful she could hardly believe it was the same young master who’d always perched on top of her head, acting however he pleased.
“But you can’t just jump in the water yourself! In situations like that, you need to call for help from nearby adults and wait. Got it?”
“No! What if you died while I waited? Huhh…”
Ugh, kid. Seriously? You’re trying to make me emotional.
“Guppy and Puppy died because of me too. I only meant to take good care of them.”
“Guppy? Who’s Guppy?”
“A tropical fish.”
“A tropical fish? How did it die?”
“I gave it lots of food because I was worried it might be hungry.”
But the excess food polluted the water, depriving it of oxygen—when I came home from school, the fish was floating lifeless.
It was the same with Puppy.
“I gave Puppy chicken because he liked it.”
I never imagined he’d die right in front of me after eating it.
“I just want to do good things, but I keep turning into a bad kid. I really want to be a good kid. Huhh…”
Seung Yul wiped his eyes again with his elbow as fresh tears welled up.
“Hey, stop rubbing so hard.”
Hyo Jin frowned and gently dabbed his tear-streaked eyes with a tissue.
“That must sting.”
She knelt down to meet his eye level, pursed her lips into a small circle, and softly blew on his damp cheeks.
“It’s okay. You can just be a good kid from now on.”
Seung Yul blinked his tear-filled eyes at her.
“Can I really become a good kid? I don’t even have a mom—I was raised by my grandmother.”
“What?”
“People say it’s because I don’t have a mom. They say if I had a mom, I’d be a good kid.”
Hah—Hyo Jin was speechless.
“So that’s why you said you needed a mom? Because you want to be good?”
“Mom wanted me to be a good kid.”
Seung Yul blinked his swollen eyes and spoke sullenly.
“How do you know that?”
She’d heard from the professor that his mother passed away right after he was born—was that not true?
“I read Mom’s diary after coming to Korea.”
“Really?”
Every day after school, Seung Yul would head straight to the second floor where his mother’s studio was, open the tightly shut door, and greet her.
“I’m home from school!”
Taking a deep breath, he’d inhale the scent of his mother’s paints deep into his lungs.
‘Yul-ah. Today, your dad and I went to the hospital and saw your 3D ultrasound. When the doctor placed the ultrasound probe on my belly, you lifted your hand high and waved hello to Mommy and Daddy—“Hi Mom! Hi Dad!” Usually, even with 3D ultrasounds, babies often hide their faces and only show their backs, but Mommy got to see your face and was so happy. I’m already imagining the days when you’re born, and I hold you close and kiss you.’
Reading his mother’s prenatal diary always made him feel as if she’d quietly come up beside him and kissed his cheek so tenderly that tears would spill.
‘Mommy hopes you become a kind person. Nothing else matters.’
‘Daddy says being kind in this cruel world is foolish, but what’s wrong with kindness? It’s the people who take advantage of kindness who are bad.’
Compared to his stern, reserved father, his mother was so gentle and warm.
“But then… why keep it a secret from your dad?”
Hyo Jin suddenly grew curious.
“Dad says she’s not really Mom.”
“…?”
The day he’d fallen asleep on his mother’s lap while reading a book—
Sangrimwon was thrown into chaos.
When police, responding to a missing child report, found the sleeping boy in a dark closet, Seung Yul confessed to his father that he’d seen Mom. But after that, he could never read his mother’s diary again.
Even when entering her studio, he no longer heard her welcoming voice.
“I clearly saw Mom, but Dad says I imagined it. I’m her son—I couldn’t possibly not recognize my own mother.”
Hyo Jin reached out and gently touched the boy’s tear-streaked cheek.
“So that’s why you didn’t tell your dad? I’m sorry. I didn’t even know.”
She felt ashamed and regretful, remembering how she’d once attacked his father’s character, accusing him of tarnishing the family name.
“Truthfully… I never wanted to be this kind of teacher either.”
I wanted to be a good teacher too.
“How can I become a good kid?”
Seung Yul looked up at Hyo Jin through blurred, tear-filled eyes.
“Mom wants me to be good, but I don’t know how. I really want to be a good kid.”
“…Then shall we try together?”
A tear dropped from the corner of his eye as her voice, emerging straight from her heart, revealed a soft smile on her face.
“The kind things you mentioned.”
So you can become a good kid.
I’ll be your mom.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Took back his own words real fast, funny man. Wonder what her message is
He really is a bad father. Kinda sad how he just left his son alone.