My Husband Fell in Love - Chapter 28

Kang Hae Sun stared quietly at the wall with unfocused eyes. To others, it was nothing but a plain white wall, but from Kang Hae Sun’s perspective, vivid images played across it like a movie screen.

The couple had met at an orphanage and went together to Dongdaemun. Hae Sun worked sixteen hours a day at a clothing factory, while Tae Cheol toiled at the wholesale market until they scraped together enough to open a tiny shop.

They grew that shop bigger and bigger, then gave it a name: Kang Hae Sun and Yoon Tae Cheol’s company—Kang Yoon Company.

A plump, bright red newborn wailed loudly. Tae Cheol clung to both baby and wife, sobbing even harder, until Hae Sun smacked his back.

She breastfed for the first time. The baby instantly stopped crying and sucked earnestly. Hae Sun thought she could even die for this child.

They named the baby Seo Ha and planted a pine tree in the garden—so she’d grow strong and live long, even if bent by wind and rain.

Kang Hae Sun and Yoon Tae Cheol worked even harder. They took turns carrying Seo Ha on their backs while working and catching brief naps.

Even when exhausted to the point of collapse, just one giggle from Seo Ha would fill their hearts brimming with happiness.

Seo Ha stood up on her own. With those tiny legs, she wobbled three steps and threw herself into Hae Sun’s arms. She smelled sweet and warm, like a baby should.

Seo Ha said “Daddy” before “Mommy.” Tae Cheol proudly repeated that fact to every person he met—at least five times each.

After coming home from preschool, Seo Ha pulled something from her bag and proudly held it out. Beneath a drawing of stick figures inside a circle, it read crookedly, “I love Mommy and Daddy.”

Hae Sun placed the note in a treasure box. Inside were Seo Ha’s first lock of hair, her umbilical cord, her first-trimmed fingernails and toenails, and things like fallen leaves Seo Ha had picked up and handed to her.

The treasure box was burned—along with Tae Cheol’s casket.

After her husband’s funeral, Hae Sun changed into a suit and put on heels at the columbarium. Instead of wailing in grief, she rushed to the office and summoned the executives. She had to become stronger to protect her daughter and the company.

Seo Ha grew up fast. When she became a college student, she used her first tutoring paycheck to buy Hae Sun some long underwear. Hae Sun tucked it into a new treasure box.

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