There was no sign of anger. Within the sigh, there was also a half-mixed slow laughter.
“Director Shim, Secretary Jung, and Manager Jung are all like that too. You’re quite soft to them.”
“Director Shim asked me not to tell you that I knew, but… I couldn’t. I thought there was no need to pretend not to know.”
“Well, you’re right. There’s no need for secrets between us anymore.”
Saying so, Chaeha raised one corner of his mouth.
Thanks to the soft lighting above the table, his face looked even gentler.
“To be honest, confessing like this, it feels like I’m the one being confessed to.”
“That’s regrettable. If you had listened a little more to your mother’s words, you would have fallen even more deeply for me.”
Already, there was no more room to fall deeply, Seolwon thought, but she sipped her tea again.
Despite confirming each other’s feelings without doubt, expressions of deep affection still felt unfamiliar and awkward.
Fortunately, Chaeha didn’t catch on to what Seolwon had swallowed.
“Your mother and you share a lot of similarities.”
“I’ve heard that a lot.”
“I felt it from the first time we met, but every time I visited, I became more certain. So, if I had visited more often, would your mother have been upset?”
“Mr. Chaeha…”
Seolwon took her eyes off the teacup and stared at Chaeha.
If this man had known from the beginning that I cherished him so much.
Wouldn’t he have had to go through such a difficult and distant path?
Seolwon’s hand, which was about to be overwhelmed by emotions, was gently held by Chaeha.
In his eyes, flower petals floated in the teacup.
“One regret is that I never got to express my gratitude for giving birth to you, Min Seolwon.”
“…”
“I should have sincerely thanked you for sending me you. I should have conveyed that I’m truly grateful.”
The warmth conveyed through the palm of the hand was incredibly comforting.
Seolwon covered Chaeha’s back of the hand with her hand, wearing a smile just like his.
“You knew even without saying it. Because Mom is that kind of person.”
With a nod of understanding from Chaeha, he then slightly struggled to part his lips again.
“It may not be comforting, but your mother looked peaceful.”
“…”
Seolwon immediately realized that he was talking about the time of her mother’s death.
In fact, it was something she had wanted to ask several times.
Having to hide her body from Baek Sara’s threats, having to prioritize Uju’s life, it was something she had to give up.
The story was difficult even to ask, as a daughter who couldn’t attend her mother’s funeral.
“Thank you.”
It was a truth, not a lie, that Seolwon could understand better than anyone in this moment.
Although she had suddenly faced her last moments swept up in her own affairs, Seolwon, as her daughter, knew that her mother had no regrets.
“Now I think I know.”
“What are you talking about?”
Looking down at Seolwon’s delicate hand overlapping on his large palm, Chaeha raised his head.
An endlessly trustworthy gaze. It instilled confidence.
“Now I understand why Mom gave you a letter.”
“If you think that way, I’m relieved.”
“No. Perhaps even if I were there, Mom would have given you the letter, Mr. Chaeha.”
Smiling brightly, Seolwon stared at Chaeha with a determined gaze.
Then, she finally brought up what she had been contemplating.
“When Uju said you look like Daddy, it felt strange to see how he likes you. I’ve thought about it a lot until now… but now feels like the right time.”
“That means…”
“Yes. I want to reveal it to Uju. That you are his dad.”
In an instant, Chaeha’s deeply locked pupils sparkled brightly, as if the lights were turned on.
Countless joys poured into his eyes like a swarm of stars.
“After Uju knows the truth, read the letter from Mom. Together.”
The conversation that night ended there.
In an instant, Chaeha leaned in, and their lips met.
Whether it was Seolwon’s or Chaeha’s, or perhaps from the flower tea, a subtle fragrance wafted in the air.
Soon, that floral scent mingled as their lips intertwined.
In the cool night air of the season, love blossomed.
“Vice President. You seem unusually happy today. Do you have something good going on?”
Director Jung, who came to report on work, couldn’t help but ask about Chaeha’s unusual mood.
Understandably so, even amidst reporting serious matters, Chaeha’s gaze was fixed only on the painting hanging on the wall.
Of course, that painting was a portrait of Chaeha drawn by Uju from Ilsa Kindergarten.
“I’ve decided to reveal to Uju that I am his dad.”
“Oh? Is that really true?”
With delight as if it were his own work, Director Jung brightened up.
Having experienced how much Uju wanted to call him ‘Dad’ when they went camping together, he knew.
“That’s really great! Seeing Uju unable to call you Dad, I don’t know how much my heart was torn. How does it feel to be a real dad, Vice President?”
“It’s very nerve-wracking. Exciting.”
“Wow, how touching! I might not be able to watch without shedding tears!”
Already deeply immersed, Director Jung sniffled.
In that sight, Chaeha felt an indescribable satisfaction.
In the past, he used to keep a clear distance even from Secretary Jung, who had assisted him, but now he realized that others could sometimes be like family.
In Kwon Chaeha’s world, every warm discovery was thanks to Seolwon and Uju.
The scattered seeds of affection and trust fluttered like dandelion seeds, blooming in his barren land, making the impossible possible.
So, Chaeha proposed something he wouldn’t have done under normal circumstances.
As a celebration of his rebirth not as the Grandfather Dad but as the true Dad of Uju.
“Let’s take the triplets on a camping trip soon. To the best place. I have to show Uju the most wonderful dad.”
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
