Yi Hyun, who had returned home from the hospital, habitually glanced around the quiet living room before slumping onto the sofa.

The rehabilitation therapist had diagnosed that he would be able to use his strengthened left leg without strain in about 3-4 weeks at the earliest.

As usual, Yi Hyun slowly moved his left leg. He was constantly in rehabilitation, except for sleeping hours, strictly within limits that wouldn’t overexert him.

“Hah……”

Suddenly, a deep sigh escaped from Yi Hyun as he was slowly moving his leg.

“Where on earth are you? Why…… did you just disappear without saying anything to me? Was I that untrustworthy?”

Well….. It’s understandable to not trust.

A good-for-nothing from Jae-in Group, born with a silver spoon, idly living off others. A jerk with complicated relationships with women and no manners.

A madman who treats women like dolls to play with, pounces like a beast at night, and then suddenly clings desperately, claiming love and proposing marriage without a plan.

“Still…… couldn’t you trust me just once? Ha Jun.”

I really had confidence I could do well…..

Hoo…… Another deep sigh pierced through his lungs.

At that moment, the sound of the door lock being released was heard, and Ji Won entered the officetel with his hands full of something.

“Director! Meal delivery is here!”

“How did you know the password?”

“Wasn’t it your birthday? Or was it the founding anniversary? Whatever it is. Come on, a person with important work shouldn’t mind such trivial things.”

Shrugging his shoulders, he started setting out what he had brought on the kitchen table.

“My mom packed this for you to eat. You should eat it all, if only to appreciate our Madam An’s effort. Got it?”

“You bothered your mother again.”

“No, I didn’t! Mom offered to do it first. She likes you more than me. Tch, if she’s going to discriminate against handsome men like that, she should have given birth to a good-looking son!”

Ji Won grumbled as he found a pot and put it on the stove. A moment later, as the savory smell of doenjang jjigae began to waft, Yi Hyun’s expression hardened.

“It’s ready. Come and sit.”

Yi Hyun approached the table with a stiff expression. Somehow, his eyes instantly reddened at the sight of the meal that looked similar to what Ha Jun had prepared the night before she left. Noticing Yi Hyun’s strange demeanor, Ji Won deliberately made a fuss.

“Ah~ This bulgogi looks really delicious! Brother! Can you see this? Huh? My~ How can these bean sprouts be so thick? Whew~ It’s killer! Come on, sit down and take a spoonful. Hm?”

However, Yi Hyun just stared at the table with a hardened face, standing still as if nailed to the spot without moving.

“Brother, are you okay?”

“No, I’m not. Ji Won, I’m not okay at all….. I’m going crazy.”

“Brother……”

Yi Hyun collapsed to the floor as if crumbling. Startled, Ji Won rushed over to support him.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m not alright. I said I’m not alright!! I’m going crazy!! My chest hurts so much……”

Yi Hyun’s agonized screams filled the small officetel.

Director Han, who had been watching him with complicated eyes, shook his head.

He thought he was fine until now because he was a strong man…… but now he realized that wasn’t the case at all.

“Hah….. That damn thing called love, it’s really toxic. It’s so frustrating. Brother. Wait just a bit. I’ll find a way to track down your wife no matter what. I will! Even if I have to follow Director Choi Hyun Ju around for 24 hours! I’ll definitely find her. So……! Sigh……, so hang in there. Hang in there like you’ve been doing so far.”

Yi Hyun made no response to Ji Won’s words. He just stared vacantly somewhere with empty eyes.

“……”

“This isn’t like Kim Yi Hyun at all. Where’s that overconfident, nonchalant jerk! Where’s that guy who knew about women as much as the dirt under his toenails!”

“……”

“Damn it……! Just wait! I’ll find that woman by any means necessary!!”

Finally, Ji Won stomped out. However, Yi Hyun didn’t even look at him and just lay down on the kitchen floor. His parched lips slowly opened as he stared blankly at some point on the pure white ceiling with dull eyes.

“Other women are still like dirt on my toenails. Only Ha Jun…… only Lee Ha Jun……”

I love you.

Yi Hyun closed his bloodshot eyes. Because the love he realized too late, the love he lost as soon as he discovered it, was too painful and sad.

The next morning, Ha Jun and Bok Seon arrived at the obstetrics hospital, holding hands tightly, with the delivery bag in tow.

Before starting preparations for induced labor after the final check-up, the doctor said to Ha Jun,

“In my opinion, natural childbirth seems possible without complications, but in reality, childbirth is not such an easy or smooth process. We never know what unexpected situations might arise. So, just in case we need to perform surgery, we need surgical consent. The guardian……”

“No, I’ll sign it myself.”

“……Alright, go ahead. When you go out, the nurse will explain once more and get your signature. After that, once you receive the induction medication, you could meet your baby in as fast as 3-4 hours.”

“Thank you.”

As Ha Jun came out of the examination room, Bok Seon quickly grabbed her hand.

“Are ya goin’ to give birth to our little bundle of joy now?”

“Yes. Let’s go now.”

Ha Jun smiled brightly. On the contrary, Bok Seon seemed more nervous. Despite having given birth five times, it had never been easy. The pain of tearing flesh while squeezing out the body was something one could never get used to.

“I heard there’s a shot these days that makes it painless, ask for that one for sure. Okay? There’s no one to pull your hair when it hurts, so ya gotta get that at least, granny will keep holdin’ your hand.”

“Yes. I can do this well.”

Ha Jun smiled and began preparations for induced labor. After completing the preliminary preparations and changing clothes, with the IV containing the induction medication in her arm, she looked every bit like someone about to give birth.

“Now go out to the hallway and walk. Moving helps labor start faster, so keep moving even if it hurts. When the pain becomes unbearable, that’s when we’ll give you the epidural.”

“Okay.”

Not long after she started walking gently in the corridor, the pain began. Whenever Ha Jun stopped, frowning at the waves of pain, Bok Seon anxiously stroked and massaged her arm.

The little bundle of joy was a filial child to the end. The labor signals came on time without major issues, and the delivery proceeded without much difficulty. And Bok Seon was there throughout the entire process.

After the labor pains, which might be short but certainly not insignificant in pain, the little bundle of joy saw the light of the world, and the umbilical cord was cut. After the doctor nodded with a smile, confirming ten fingers and ten toes, the nurse carefully placed the baby on Ha Jun’s chest.

“Baby……”

The baby, wrinkled and red from the amniotic fluid, had its eyes tightly closed, but at the sound of Ha Jun’s voice, it gently lifted its swollen eyelids. The pitch-black eyes, clear without a single blemish, recognized Ha Jun, its mother, and smiled silently.

“Ah…… my baby……”

An overwhelming emotion that couldn’t be contained, an endless love that welled up filled Ha Jun’s tired body and mind, overflowing to form a small sea.

At this moment, Ha Jun was completely immersed in an irresistible love from head to toe.

The nurse, who had been watching the scene with fond eyes, picked up the baby again.

“The baby will now go to the nursery. Mother, you’ll go to the ward after postpartum care.”

“Yes…… thank you.”

Tears continuously flowed from Ha Jun’s eyes as she watched the baby, placed in a small basket, enter a transparent incubator and leave the delivery room.

However, these were all tears of joy and emotion.

“Oh my goodness~ How pretty~ How can a newborn be so pretty~ Huh? It’s just like its mama~ Even though it’s a girl, everyone will believe it!”

Bok Seon kept exclaiming in admiration as she saw the little bundle of joy who had come down to the ward, choosing to room in with the mother.

Then she suddenly took out her phone and started taking pictures.

“Hehe~ Baby~ Bundles, I’m your granny~ Granny~”

Watching Bok Seon overwhelmed with happiness, Ha Jun felt a twinge in her heart. If her mother had been alive, wouldn’t she have looked like that? If she had loved an ordinary man, married him, and had a baby, the baby’s father would surely look just like that.

“But it’s okay. Instead of a husband, it’s great to have a grandmother. My mother too…… must be so happy in heaven that there’s a grandmother.”

“Oh my, look at that smile. Oh~ How can a newborn be so pretty, what to do~”

Ha Jun laughed brightly at Bok Seon’s endless exclamations.

She sometimes spoke her inner thoughts that she couldn’t tell anyone else to Bok Seon in a small voice. Of course, Bok Seon, with her poor hearing, never understood Ha Jun’s words at those times, but Ha Jun liked just being able to voice the embarrassing thoughts she couldn’t openly express.

“By the way, we need to name our little bundle, does the mama have a name in mind?”

“No, I don’t.”

When Ha Jun shook her head, Bok Seon thumped her own chest.

“Then this granny will name the baby. There’s a very~ famous naming shop right in downtown Gunsan, I’ll quickly write down the baby’s birth time and go there.”

“Okay.”

It wouldn’t be bad to receive a good name that suits the baby well, even though thinking hard and giving a pretty name would be nice too.

“I hope the baby gets a really good name and lives happily, receiving lots of blessings and love.”

“Granny will be back quick, so lie down. Is there anythin’ ya want to eat?”

“No, there isn’t.”

“Alright.”

Nodding her head, Bok Seon left the ward with quick steps. Ha Jun quietly looked at the little bundle lying in the small baby bed. Just looking at the baby made her happy.

“……The eyebrows and nose look just like daddy’s. You’re really so handsome, my baby. My love.”