Tae Kyung tilted his head.

Two days ago, he received a notification on his phone that a registered mail had been delivered, but the mail was nowhere to be seen on his desk or anywhere else.

“Yoon Joo. Did I not receive any registered mail?”

“Mail?”

The female employee took out the mail that Yoo Na had come and given her yesterday from the drawer. And looking at the meal voucher for a famous French restaurant that received 2 Michelin stars placed under the mail, she recalled Yoo Na’s request.

‘Yoon Joo, I accidentally took Tae Kyung’s mail. I came to return it. Please, don’t say that I took it. I’m asking you. This is a meal voucher for a French restaurant my friend runs. If you need more vouchers, let me know. In exchange, you’ll do me this favor, right?’

Yoo Na winked at the female employee, squinting her eyes.

The female employee handed the sealed mail to Tae Kyung.

“I’m sorry. I meant to give it to you but forgot.”

Tae Kyung checked the sender on the envelope of the mail the employee handed him and entered the CEO’s office without a word.

Tae Kyung carefully opened the document envelope.

His heart was pounding as if it would jump out of his mouth.

He took a deep breath and slowly lifted the paper to examine its contents.

Tae Kyung felt like he had been hit on the head.

He could neither believe nor disbelieve this result.

As soon as he confirmed the document, Tae Kyung called his college senior. He felt he could only believe it if he heard the result directly from his senior.

However, the senior did not answer the phone. Tae Kyung called the research institute.

-Hello, this is Biotech Research Institute.

“This is Han Tae Kyung, CEO of T&K, Director Joo Eun Taek’s junior. Please connect me to the director.”

-Hello, CEO. The director is currently on a business trip to France.

“I see. Then when is he returning?”

-He went on a two-week trip, but the exact return date hasn’t been set.

“I see. Thank you.”

Tae Kyung hung up and left a message for Eun Taek.

He wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to believe this result himself, or if he couldn’t believe it.

The idea of Kim Seo Ha with another man was unthinkable. That’s why he hoped Min Joon was his child.

He slammed his fist on the desk.

The sudden surge of anger and betrayal made him feel like his blood was rushing in reverse.

He couldn’t understand how she could have another man’s child while seeing him.

He felt miserable with self-loathing for not noticing at all.

He hated her so much. He couldn’t believe it.

However, as the image of Seo Ha whom he met again floats in his mind, the painful 5 years he lived without her follows.

He didn’t want to live in that hellfire again.

It was painful either way.

Tae Kyung leaned back in his office chair and covered his eyes with his forearm.

He didn’t want to see anything. He didn’t want to see that hateful paternity test.

No matter how much he hated Seo Ha, could he live without her?

“Damn it.”

Tae Kyung stayed buried in the CEO’s office all day, not meeting anyone.

Kyu Won knocked on the door worriedly, but Tae Kyung didn’t even answer.

As deep darkness fell, Tae Kyung lifted the paternity test with a determined expression.

Rip.

He tore the paternity test into tiny pieces with both hands.

Deciding not to believe in such scraps of paper.

Because it was Seo Ha, he decided not to care whose child she had.

He vowed to just keep her by his side. To not let her leave him again.

He resolved to accept her child as his own, regardless of who the biological father was.

Seo Ha lay powerless on the hospital bed, like a candle about to go out.

It pained Tae Kyung even more to see Seo Ha like this. Having Kim Seo Ha who carried another man’s child by his side was far better than not having her at all.

He decided not to care whether Min Joon was another man’s child or not. Now, he could do anything as long as Seo Ha stayed by his side.

“Have you received treatment?”

“Pardon?”

“For anxiety disorder, nyctophobia. You were extremely afraid of the dark. You couldn’t even sleep when it was dark.”

“Ah… No. It’s manageable. Accidents like today don’t happen often.”

Seo Ha answered feebly. Tae Kyung let out a long sigh.

He should have more actively recommended treatment to Seo Ha, who was unusually afraid of the dark.

“How about getting treatment from now on?”

Seo Ha shook her head at Tae Kyung’s suggestion. It wasn’t easy for Seo Ha to take time to visit the hospital regularly for something that wasn’t immediately life-threatening.

And except for these extreme situations, it wasn’t much of a problem in daily life, just a bit inconvenient.

But Tae Kyung thought differently. He urged Seo Ha to get treatment with a somewhat stubborn attitude.

Tae Kyung wanted to make an appointment right away if it were up to him, but since it was a psychological issue and the patient’s will to treat was important, he couldn’t push too hard.

“Later. For now, I’m fine.”

“Haa. Is nothing okay for you except me?”

Seo Ha smiled faintly at Tae Kyung’s sulky voice.

Even after pushing him away so much, she’s by Tae Kyung’s side again.

“How come you’re not telling me to leave?”

“Even if I tell you to leave, you won’t. And today… thank you.”

“…If you’re thankful, get treatment. You should get treatment.”

Seo Ha didn’t respond. When the body is sick, the heart softens along with it.

The heart that used to tense up and become prickly at the sight of Tae Kyung had softened before she knew it. Even if she tried to pull herself together from the softening feelings towards him, it wasn’t something that could be done by will.

“Now go home and rest. I’ll be fine alone.”

“Don’t worry about me. Tell me if you need anything. I’m your guardian now.”

Tae Kyung grumbled. Seo Ha decided to let him be, feeling that no matter how much she told Tae Kyung to go, he wouldn’t leave.

And the words that he was her guardian made her heart flutter.

It was what she had wanted to hear when she was pregnant with Min Joon.

Han Tae Kyung, guardian of Kim Seo Ha and Kim Min Joon.

If that had been the case, it would have been Han Min Joon instead of Kim Min Joon.

When her thoughts reached that far, she couldn’t help but feel bitter.

“Does Min Joon’s biological father know about your condition?”

“Huh? Probably, yes.”

Seo Ha was startled by Tae Kyung’s sudden question.

Tae Kyung fixed his gaze on the hand with the IV needle, avoiding Seo Ha’s eyes.

He continued his questions in a calmer voice than before.

“What kind of person is Min Joon’s biological father?”

“Ah…”

Seo Ha didn’t know how to answer.

Whether to make up a lie or be honest.

Today, for some reason, she wanted to be honest with Tae Kyung.

Just hiding that Min Joon was Tae Kyung’s child.

“He was a good person. Handsome, cool, and gentle. He was so blunt and not good at expressing himself that other people found him difficult.”

“Then what was so good about him?”

“Just, everything was good. To me, he was a warm and comforting person.”

Tae Kyung was displeased with Seo Ha’s answer but asked again without getting excited.

“Why did you break up?”

“There were circumstances. He didn’t want the child.”

Half lies and half truth.

Tae Kyung’s eyes subtly raised at the corners.

“Is it true that the real father didn’t want the child? Or was there another reason?”

“That… I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

Seo Ha couldn’t bring herself to say that it was Tae Kyung’s mother, Hyun Young, who didn’t want the child.

She didn’t want to say it because Min Joon, who was like a gift to her, seemed like a child that no one wanted.

“If he didn’t want a child, he should have been careful from the beginning. To do something he couldn’t take responsibility for.”

Seo Ha couldn’t tell Tae Kyung, who was grumbling without realizing he was the father, that even though they were careful, Min Joon was a child given by heaven.

And Seo Ha carefully asked.

It was a question she wanted to ask him as he approached her again.

“Don’t you hate me?”

Tae Kyung didn’t answer Seo Ha’s question. His expression was complicated.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t simplify his feelings into an expression of hatred.

At least he was certain that this feeling was not the opposite of love.

“Do you think I hate you?”

“…”

Seo Ha was silent at Tae Kyung’s question.

It was a question she could neither affirm nor deny.

No, she couldn’t answer because she knew that Tae Kyung didn’t hate her.

Tae Kyung asked again in a lonely voice.

“Or do you want me to hate you?”

“…Yes. There are more than enough reasons for you to hate me.”

Tae Kyung’s gaze lost its place at Seo Ha’s answer that differed from her true feelings.

But soon, Tae Kyung’s eyes persistently followed Seo Ha. Tae Kyung bound Seo Ha relentlessly. He said, twisting up one corner of his mouth.

“Then I can’t hate you. Because I won’t do what you want.”

“You’ll regret it.”

“That’s my burden. You said there are more than enough reasons to hate you, but conversely, there are more than enough reasons not to hate you.”

Seo Ha avoided Tae Kyung, who spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal.

‘Why does this person keep being carelessly affectionate?’

The desire to push Tae Kyung away and the desire to hold onto him and lean on him collide.

She doesn’t want to reveal her contradictory feelings.

Seo Ha kept running away from Tae Kyung’s gaze.

Tae Kyung spoke calmly, sprinkling a faint smile.

“Is it because of Min Joon’s biological father?”

“If I say yes, what will you do?”

“I’m jealous.”

Seo Ha felt conflicted seeing Tae Kyung jealous of himself without knowing he was the person he was jealous of.

She was overcome with the urge to tell him right then that Min Joon’s biological father was him, Tae Kyung. She wanted to stay by his side.

“If Min Joon’s biological father were someone you know…”

“It would be an annoying situation. I don’t know if I’d leave that guy alone. Is it really someone I know?”

Seo Ha’s pupils shook endlessly.

It was a gaze that was sorrowful, pitiful, and resentful.

Tae Kyung couldn’t understand the exact meaning of the turbulent and busy gaze.

Seo Ha gently closed her eyes.

“No. Not at all. It’s someone you don’t know.”

“I’m not sure if that’s fortunate or not. If it were someone I knew, I might have made the news for a crime of passion.”

Tae Kyung, who made a joke-like true statement, pulled up Seo Ha’s blanket to cover her.

“Now rest. It’s in the past. Think only about the future. I won’t care who Min Joon’s biological father is.”

Tae Kyung continued, as if making a vow.

“If Min Joon looks for his biological father, that’s different, but if not, I can be his dad. I can do a much better job of being a fake dad than that Mr. Toon or whatever teacher.”

Seo Ha didn’t answer.

‘Fake dad role. You’re the real dad. In the end, am I destined to be a bad mom who takes away the real dad from her child?’

Thinking that the future ahead would never be a future with Tae Kyung, her heart felt heavy and she couldn’t look at him.

Seo Ha pulled the blanket up as much as possible to cover her face.

“I’m going to sleep.”

“Okay. Sleep well. The corridor light is coming in, but if that’s not enough, let me know.”

“It’s fine. You should go home too. I can be alone.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.”

“Okay.”

Seo Ha pulled her hand out of Tae Kyung’s grasp and turned her back to lie down. She felt she shouldn’t stay in the comfort he was giving any longer.

If she stays longer, she might not be able to leave.