“Ah…, I’m going crazy.”

Il Jun’s smooth forehead wrinkled with worry as he paced anxiously in front of the delivery room. Despite being told it was a family delivery room, they only let him in when the birth was imminent, leaving Il Jun restless outside. Only 10 minutes had passed since entering the delivery room, but to him it felt like over 10 hours. The image of Se Ra groaning in pain from contractions kept flashing before his eyes.

“Why aren’t they coming out yet!”

Just as Il Jun lost patience and yelled while grabbing the delivery room door handle, Yi Hyun, leaning on crutches, grabbed his arm from behind.

“Elder brother!”

Il Jun’s eyes widened at his younger brother’s sudden and early appearance, as it hadn’t been long since he was notified that contractions had started.

“Yi Hyun. How did you get here so quickly?”

“I was in the rehabilitation treatment room upstairs. Today was my treatment day.”

“I see, phew…. I’m going crazy.”

Il Jun plopped down in a chair and repeatedly wiped his face. Yi Hyun chuckled at seeing his usually composed and cool elder brother look so anxious for the first time.

“Are you that desperate?”

“I’m dying. Seeing her in labor…, I wish I could be in pain instead of Se Ra…”

“Is there another couple in the world as close as you two who had an arranged marriage?”

Il Jun’s brow twitched at Yi Hyun’s words tinged with laughter.

“You keep mentioning arranged marriage lately, but it’s not like that for us. I married Se Ra because I loved her from the start, so stop saying that now.”

“…What? What are you talking about? Did you two date secretly without me knowing?”

“You oblivious fool.”

Il Jun’s lip curled up mockingly as if to say ‘you just realized that now?’ As Yi Hyun was about to retort angrily, the delivery room door opened and a nurse’s high-pitched voice was heard.

“Oh Se Ra’s guardian, please come in quickly.”

“Yes!!”

Il Jun hurriedly rushed into the delivery room. Left behind, Yi Hyun plopped down in a chair and gripped his crutches tightly.

“Hah…, what’s the deal with those two?”

Wasn’t it just an arranged marriage where they grew fond of each other after meeting? What’s the truth? Since when?

There was no one to answer Yi Hyun’s bewildered questions. And a moment later, an incubator containing the newborn baby emerged from the delivery room.

Inside was a small, bright red baby with closed eyes, smacking its lips. Il Jun and Se Ra’s daughter, so tiny that the white diaper covered half her body.

Yi Hyun’s niece and the first granddaughter of both the Jae In Group and Sung Jin Group.

“Looks just like a tiny baby monkey. Does she take after Se Ra?”

Il Jun, who had followed the baby out, frowned deeply at Yi Hyun’s harsh assessment.

“She’s extremely pretty, taking after Se Ra. How dare you call her a monkey, do you want to die?”

“She’s red and wrinkly though. How’s sister-in-law? Is she okay?”

“Thankfully the labor wasn’t long so she’s in good condition. She’s getting post-delivery care now. We’ll go straight up to the VIP room soon. And she says you should leave now that you’re here. Come back in a few days when the swelling goes down, she says her face is a mess right now.”

Though speaking to Yi Hyun, Il Jun’s gaze was fixed on the incubator slowly disappearing down the corridor. The look in his eyes, overflowing with overwhelming emotion and love, clearly showed his current feelings.

“How much of a mess could it be… Anyway, congratulations on becoming a father, elder brother. Tell Se Ra congratulations on becoming a mother too.”

“Thanks. Hah…, I really can’t believe it.”

Il Jun’s face was flushed and even his voice was excited, his eyes red as if he’d been crying. Yi Hyun barely held back laughter at seeing his broad shoulders and clenched fists trembling slightly.

His elder brother Kim Il Jun was truly showing many uncharacteristic sides of himself today.

“Are you that happy?”

“Beyond words. You’ll understand when you get married and have a child someday too.”

“If I can’t find Ha Jun, I might never experience that until I die.”

“…You still can’t give up on that woman?”

“Elder brother. You said you truly love Se Ra, right? If you had to break up with Se Ra for some ridiculous reason, would you just accept it and back down? And then live happily with some other woman?”

“…No. Se Ra is the only one for me.”

“Then what if Se Ra suddenly disappeared without a word?”

“I’d chase her to the ends of the earth.”

Yi Hyun chuckled at Il Jun’s resolute answer.

“Me too.”

“…Let me know if you need help.”

“Now that I know who hid her, I’ll find her soon.”

“If you’re talking about Se Ra’s secretaries, it’s been over a month already.”

At Il Jun’s words, Yi Hyun lifted his left leg. Though still a bit awkward walking, it was almost back to normal now.

“Elder brother. See this? I’ll be able to get rid of these crutches soon. Then I’ll go search for her myself.”

“What about the company?”

“I’m not going for a while. I set up the work-from-home system while I was hospitalized anyway. I can work from anywhere with a laptop. Be grateful I’m not quitting the company.”

“Make sure to find her.”

“I will. I have to. So I can marry the woman I love to death too and become a father. Experience that indescribable, overwhelming emotion.”

“Right. You should cry your eyes out cutting the umbilical cord too. I’m rooting for you.”

“Thanks. I’ll get going. But elder brother, did you really cry? While holding the scissors?”

“…Hurry up and leave.”

Yi Hyun grinned as Il Jun turned his head away, embarrassed. He turned and hobbled down the hospital corridor on his crutches.

Il Jun’s eyes held a momentary sadness as he watched his younger brother’s retreating figure, before hurriedly running back inside to his wife still in the delivery room, remembering her.

“I think it’s best we induce labor. The amniotic fluid has decreased a lot. The fetus is 3.1 kilograms… Come by 9 AM tomorrow. You’ve prepared the hospital bag, right?”

“Yes.”

“For natural childbirth, you’ll be hospitalized for 2 nights and 3 days. Have you booked a postpartum care center?”

“Yes, I’ve booked 2 weeks at this hospital’s center.”

“Well done. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes…”

Ha Jun, who had come out of the examination room, sat down heavily on a corridor chair, unable to control her trembling.

“Whew…, Mom is so nervous. Bok Deong-ah…”

Ha Jun let out a small sigh at the thoughts tangled up in her mind – the joy of finally meeting Bok Deong, fear of childbirth, and memories of her mother who raised her alone, fighting against poverty and illness.

“Baby, Bok Deong. Mom is healthy. And thankfully, I’m not alone anymore… Let’s meet tomorrow, okay?”

Ha Jun got up energetically after whispering affectionately.

She went straight home and explained to Bok Seon that she had to give birth tomorrow, showing her the text message. Before Ha Jun could stop her, Bok Seon immediately rushed out.

And a while later, she came back carrying lots of things.

“Grandmother! What is all this?”

“You sit down. After Bok Deong is born tomorrow, you’ll have to eat seaweed soup until you’re sick of it, so you should eat lots of delicious food today.”

What came out of the black bags were various seafood, native chicken, beef, and more.

Bok Seon forcibly pushed Ha Jun into the room and spent a long time frying, boiling, and stewing things.

Ha Jun smiled as she sat in the room leaning against the wall, looking at Bok Deong’s ultrasound picture, with the savory smell of food wafting in.

“How lucky am I to have met such good people?”

As if compensating for all the pain and suffering of her difficult past life, the people around her now were precious relationships and luxuries she never imagined.

“I have to repay them all. Mom will really work hard.”

This was a promise to Bok Deong and a commitment to herself.

Over the past month, while preparing for childbirth, Ha Jun had also filed her moving-in report and received counseling on single mother support. After giving birth and recovering, she planned to participate in the county office’s job program and obtain several certifications.

“Now I just need to look into daycare…”

Being a remote rural area, there were few daycares that accepted infants and they were far away. It seemed she would need a car after all.

Fortunately, the cash she had saved from her severance pay and salary was mostly intact. Bok Seon insisted on charging rent that was embarrassingly low, and Hyun Ju and Yeon A competed to send over most daily necessities and baby items, so Ha Jun really had no need to spend money.

“One step at a time…, I’ll get through this.”

Ha Jun carefully wrote down in her diary the things she needed to do.

“Bok Deong’s mommy~ Come eat~!”

Ha Jun smiled brightly at Bok Seon’s voice calling from outside. Just hearing it made her happy.

“Coming!”

When she came out, a feast was laid out on the porch.

“Oh my…! What is all this? Grandmother, I’m going to burst.”

“Eat it all, chewing slowly and carefully. Okay?”

Bok Seon smiled kindly as she set down a heaping bowl of rice.

Tears welled up in Ha Jun’s eyes as she watched Bok Seon pick out pieces of galbi-jjim to put on top of the rice and push over a bowl of baeksuk with abalone and octopus.

“Yes…, I’ll eat it all. I’ll eat… it all…”

“Oh my, don’t cry. If the mother cries, the baby in your belly cries too. You should eat delicious food and smile brightly so Bok Deong smiles happily too.”

“Yes. I’m not crying.”

Ha Jun hurriedly wiped away her flowing tears. Then she picked up her spoon. Though the fetus pressing on her stomach had greatly reduced how much she could eat at once, somehow she felt confident she could eat all of this.

Bok Seon picked up her spoon too, watching warmly as Ha Jun diligently used her utensils.

The two women’s feast continued for quite a long time.

In the end, they couldn’t even eat half of the prepared food, but Ha Jun felt endlessly full and happy from Bok Seon’s overflowing love.