– What gift do you want to receive?

For Seol Ah’s first birthday since they started dating, Seung Jun wanted to give her the best present.

– A star. Even if I don’t possess that star, it will always be there.

But Seol Ah said something unexpected.

If it were someone else, they would have brushed it off with sweet words about plucking a star for her, or at most taken her to an observatory.

But Seung Jun truly wanted to pluck a star for her.

From that day on, Seung Jun thoroughly researched meteors. Then, he heard news that a rare diamond, recently mined, was being auctioned off at a high price.

Upon investigation, it turned out to be composed of elements not found on Earth. It was a part of a meteor that had struck Earth long ago.

Seung Jun bought the diamond at a high price and requested a master craftsman to create a one-of-a-kind diamond necklace.

However, after receiving the gift, Seol Ah disappeared. Leaving behind a ridiculously simple letter of resignation.

– Resigning due to health issues.

He roared like a lion as he tore the resignation letter to shreds. And he sent people to search every corner of Korea.

Her whereabouts were confirmed in a few places. Just when it seemed he would find her soon.

A package was delivered to him.

Inside the yellow box was that diamond necklace.

It was his rejected sincerity. He had poured his heart into it, but she never acknowledged it in the end. No, from the beginning, he may have been nothing to her.

He thought he would forget. His expression unknowingly hardened, and as he immersed himself solely in work, his body and heart grew barren, but he never searched for her again.

Not wanting to be rejected again. Because the shock of that sincerity being discarded was enough once.

*

[Vice President, Madam is looking for you.]

Receiving the call, Seung Jun let out a low sigh.

He turned his head and looked inside the café.

He saw Seol Ah with her head bowed, covering her face with both hands.

‘Who is angry now?’

Seung Jun turned his head in the opposite direction again.

Yet strangely, her image remained like an afterimage.

Seung Jun returned to where his car was with rough strides. As he got into the driver’s seat, he was about to depart but briefly looked straight ahead.

In his mind, the voice of the past ‘Madam’ came to mind.

– From now on, I am your mother.

– You’re not Mom, you’re Big Mom!

– No. From now on, you have to call me Mother. Otherwise, you’ll be hit on the shin.

Born to the second son of Chairman Han, Seung Jun was adopted by the childless eldest son when he was seven years old.

A woman who had never raised a child before, the eldest mother-in-law who grew up in an educator’s family and held a doctorate in education believed that humans as animals could be theoretically reformed.

The woman who had previously empathized with Seung Jun’s emotions and embraced him often, now becoming his small mother, could no longer hug him even when he cried.

The emotional void Seung Jun had to feel in between was solely his burden.

He took out his cell phone. Pressing the speed dial, the call was immediately answered.

“Mother.”

Hyo Young’s calm voice was heard.

[Where are you?]

“I’m out on a brief errand.”

[An errand, where? You’ve been a bit lax these days. Going out on errands without a word.]

Even now, Hyo Young believed Seung Jun to be the son she had created. Although she didn’t give birth to him, she raised him solely with her own power.

“I apologize.”

It wasn’t a sincere statement. It was a habit that had solidified. If he said it this way, Hyo Young would be satisfied and move on.

Otherwise, she would pour out nagging for ten or twenty minutes.

[Right. Keep your conduct in order. Now that you’ve been appointed as Vice President, more eyes are on you. So be careful not to get caught for nothing.]

“I understand.”

After answering, Seung Jun slowly started the car.

“But why were you looking for me?”

[Ah, right. Look at me. Saying I would talk about this and forgetting. I’ve found you a marriage prospect.]

Until he turned thirty-seven, it wasn’t as if Seung Jun hadn’t looked for marriage prospects at all. But it never worked out well.

[This time it’s a sure prospect. She’s also one of my students. It’s someone you can trust, so go meet her.]

At that moment, the image of Seol Ah crying a little while ago flashed across Seung Jun’s mind like a lie.

Seung Jun laughed. Why am I suddenly like this? I was abandoned 7 years ago anyway, and I no longer have feelings for her.

“If she’s your student, is it a prospect you made through your connections, Mother?”

[Not exactly, I didn’t know she was my student until I found out she graduated from the school I used to work at. Looking at the photo, I vaguely remember her. She was a student who always studied hard in the front row.]

“If you say so, it must be reliable. Please let me know the location and time.”

[This Saturday, 2 pm at Elegance on the 2nd floor of Sunghan Hotel.]

After hanging up, Seung Jun looked far away. His expression hardened desolately.

*

“Mom.”

Returning home, Seol Ah held Yu Min, who ran into her arms, for a moment.

– So you dressed him in clothes that could be thrown away anywhere and he wouldn’t wear them, and gave him a cheap 7,000 won cake saying it was an expensive cake, and poorly prepared his meals to that extent?

Although she had retorted back, his words were still digging into her heart and leaving scratches.

Without money, it was hard to even dress him in good clothes. The cheapest and most cost-effective place was the neighborhood market.

Of course, she couldn’t buy good brand-name clothes there, but she did buy clothes sturdy enough for Yu Min to play in all day without tearing.

But in his eyes, Yu Min must have looked like a beggar.

“Yu Min.”

Releasing the embrace, Seol Ah looked at Yu Min with serious eyes.

“What happened earlier? Where did you meet that man?”

Yu Min’s eyes widened.

He blinked his eyes loudly with a face that didn’t know what to say.

“Just tell me the truth.”

Seol Ah asked again gently.

Yu Min lowered his head without answering. Tears welled up in his eyes drop by drop.

“Yu Min.”

Seol Ah grasped Yu Min’s shoulders.

“Mom, I’m sorry.”

Yu Min, whose eyes quickly filled with tears, said while shedding tears.

“Even though I knew you didn’t like it, I hit Shin Young. I’m sorry.”

Seol Ah’s eyes widened at the words that he hit Shin Young.

Yu Min had always come back after being hit, but he had never hit anyone. Seol Ah had also firmly educated him not to do that.

“What do you mean, did you really hit Shin Young? Why?”

But Yu Min shut his mouth tightly without saying more.

Seol Ah suppressed the emotions welling up in her chest. She stroked Yu Min and spoke.

“Hitting is wrong, but I’m more curious as to why you did it. So tell me, okay?”

However, Yu Min only shook his head.

“Yu Min.”

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

The child, whose face had turned red from crying, was shedding tears incessantly as Seol Ah watched with a crumbling heart.

Why won’t he say it? What on earth happened?

“I said it’s okay. Mom understands everything.”

Seol Ah urged Yu Min as she felt her emotions intensifying. But Yu Min only shook his head.

“Yu Min.”

“Mom, Mom, I’m sorry.”

Seol Ah shut her eyes tightly.

She wanted to listen, empathize, and soothe the child’s heart. Because that’s all I can do. Because I can’t buy expensive clothes or luxurious food for the child.

But the child was depriving her of even that one opportunity.

The only thing I can do as a mom.

“You…you can’t trust Mom?”

Seol Ah’s voice rose.

You also think Mom is worthless. You think she only buys beggar-like clothes and raises you poorly.

Unspoken words swirled in Seol Ah’s heart.

Yu Min’s face turned pale. Tears flowed endlessly from his eyes.

At that moment, an unbearable despair surged up in Seol Ah’s chest.

I’ve completely crumbled. In front of that man. On the outside, I pretended to be fine, pretended not to be hurt, but I’m already being shaken by his words, aren’t I?

I’m not even qualified to be a mom.

The wretched person wasn’t Han Seung Jun. It was Seol Ah herself.

“I’m sorry.”

Seol Ah released Yu Min’s shoulders and slumped. Yu Min burrowed into that embrace.

“No, I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

People in the world say. That mothers are great. That a mother who embraced and raised a child is admirable. That a mother can overcome everything, can do anything, and is stronger than anything in the world.

But is that really true?

Seol Ah had never been great. From the moment she ran away with her child, she always had to fight loneliness, deficiency, and insufficiency.

Growing up in an orphanage with no one to rely on, Han Seung Jun appeared as the first shoulder she could lean on in her life. Although he wasn’t kind and warm in personality, he still felt like a reliable embrace.

She didn’t think she could live with him for a thousand or ten thousand years. She was just content to live for today.

In a life where she had been beaten by older sisters at the orphanage, unfairly scolded by teachers, and endured through it all, she hoped for a bit of light to enter, even briefly.

Then one day, he gifted her a diamond necklace that looked expensive at a glance.

It was burdensome, but on the other hand, she thought perhaps his feelings for her were expressed through that expensive necklace.

It didn’t take long for that expectation to turn into disappointment.

After the sudden marriage announcement.

‘This means it’s over.’

It must have been a fee. The necklace she wanted to believe was sincere. The price for putting up with him all this time. And the price to keep her mouth shut to his spouse was probably included too.

To make matters worse, around that time, Seol Ah found out about her pregnancy.

Seol Ah immediately paid the monthly rent and found a cheap room near Gyeonggi-do. Just in case, she also looked for a place close to an obstetrics and gynecology clinic.

As soon as she found a place, she submitted her resignation first. When she packed her few belongings and moved to the new place, the stress must have peaked as she came down with a fever.

She was sick for days, not knowing if it was day or night. As the illness subsided, she slowly walked out of the house with a body filled with futility and despair.

Walking aimlessly, she arrived in front of a convenience store. When she unknowingly sat down, a lady approached her.

– Oh dear, eat something. You look like you’re about to collapse.

The person handing her a warm soy milk was In Sook, the owner of the convenience store where she now works.

– It’s alright.

Seol Ah moved her dry lips and declined with her hand. In Sook forcibly placed the soy milk in that hand.

– It’s okay, I won’t take money for it. Drink it.

Seol Ah slowly drank the soy milk. Having starved for a long time, it went down easily.

– Should I give you a lunchbox too?

It was when Seol Ah raised her head.

– Mom!

A tall man was seen approaching the lady.

Mom.

A name she had never been able to have. And a name this child in her belly had never been able to call either.

The moment she heard those words, thick, dark tears flowed from Seol Ah’s eyes.