She replied coldly, “What would I do meeting that child now?”

“Heeseon!”

It was a name he hadn’t heard in decades.

Usually, he called her Rose, but when he was serious, he used her real name. Even after decades, his heart still trembled at that habit.

“My name is Hansuyeon.”

Brushing off Leon’s hand, Suyeon spoke coldly.

“What would I gain from meeting that child now?”

“Just a moment.”

For a moment, Leon’s face looked like that of someone stabbed in the heart.

“Did you, by any chance… get married?”

Suyeon was taken aback. That wasn’t what he meant. But soon, she thought it might be better that way.

“Then did you think I’ve been alone all this time?”

The next moment, he swayed heavily. Suyeon was surprised and hugged him, but eventually, unable to bear the weight, they both ended up sitting down.

“Chairman!”

Somewhere, people shouted and rushed over.

[Star Icon]

At first, Taeha also thought that his father wasn’t in his right mind. However, seeing his perfectly normal complexion, he suddenly had that thought.

‘What if Dad didn’t see something fake? What if Mom is really alive?’

Thinking that, naturally, Suyeon came to mind. That day, Suyeon also came to the hotel.

His mother said she was the same age as his father. So if she were alive, she would be the same age as Suyeon. Moreover, her son was also a mixed-race American like himself.

Once he thought about it like that, various things came to mind.

The moment Suyeon first saw him, she had a face as if she had seen a ghost.

[Sorry. You look too much like someone I know.]

What if that meant she thought he looked like his father?

[Sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry. I’m really sorry…]

She said while crying, drunk.

[Mom has never forgotten you for a single moment. She has lived all this time with the hope of meeting you someday. She has never, never abandoned you.]

If that wasn’t something she said while drunk?

If it really was a statement made recognizing him as her son?

All Taeha knew about his mother was that she gave birth to him and, shortly after, died in a traffic accident. Everything else was just a name.

Jeong Heeseon. It was his mother’s name that his father had taught him.

Suyeon said there was a death report, so the name Hansuyeon might be an alias.

If Suyeon’s real name was Jeong Heeseon…?

He wanted to ask his father, but for some reason, Leon didn’t come back until late at night, and there was no contact.

In the end, there was only one way to confirm. Taeha left the hotel.

[Star Icon]

As soon as Leon collapsed, people rushed towards him. It seemed like the secretaries had been watching him from a distance.
Leon was taken to the hospital in the same state. Surprised by his pale face, like that of a dead person, Suyeon followed along to ride in the car, but fortunately, the doctor diagnosed it as simple exhaustion.

The man with the intravenous line in his arm was deeply asleep, appearing like a dead person.

Looking at the sleeping Leon, Suyeon gazed silently.

“…”

When viewed from a distance, she thought nothing had changed, but up close, the traces of time were noticeable. Slight wrinkles appeared around his tired eyes, and the firm cheeks seemed a bit looser.

Strangely, that made him even more adorable, and staring at him, her heart trembled.

Unable to stay by his side any longer, Suyeon hurriedly left the hospital room like escaping. His secretaries, who were standing in the hallway, all bowed when they saw Suyeon coming out.

Not knowing what to say, she quickly turned her head and walked away. One of them followed her and grabbed Suyeon.

“I’m Jang, the secretary. I’ve been accompanying Chairman Kennedy from the United States.”

He was a young man who looked about the same age as her.

“The chairman has been searching for Jeong Heeseon for a long time.”

“Why me?”

“Nine years ago, the former chairman passed away. At that time, he first learned that his son and Jeong Heeseon were alive. Since then, he has been making various efforts to find them, disregarding the client’s orders and saving them.”

They emphasized that they saved her by going against the client’s orders, who brought a young woman’s corpse to replace her and said, [If the client notices, you’ll end up like this too.]

Since then, Suyeon had lived as if dead, using various aliases and making every effort not to leave any traces wherever she went.

So it was no wonder that Leon couldn’t find her.

“Yesterday, Chairman Kennedy saw Jeong Heeseon at the hotel and seemed unable to sleep. He spent the whole night awake, and today, he collapsed after wandering around hungry all day.”

That’s why his face was so pale. Suyeon barely held back tears and turned her head.

“He would be very sad if you weren’t by his side when he woke up. So please, it would be good if Jeong Heeseon could stay by his side.”

“I’m not Jeong Heeseon!”

Raising her voice, the secretary looked at her pitifully.

“When he wakes up, please tell him. I’m not the person he’s looking for, so please don’t come looking for me again.”

[Star Icon]

Suyeon took a taxi and returned home. The same person who had been left at the hospital was loitering in front of the store, and her heart sank for a moment.

But it was her son.

“Oh, Taeha, you came?”

Quickly smoothing her expression as if nothing had happened, Suyeon greeted Taeha warmly.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

“Where did you go?”

“Oh, there… I had something to do. Have you had dinner?”

“I haven’t eaten yet.”

Judging by Taeha’s expressions, he seemed not to know that Leon had found her or that she was at the hospital. What should she do about this? Suyeon bit her lip secretly. Now that Leon knew, it was only a matter of time before Taeha found out.

How would Taeha react when he knew that I was his birth mother? He would probably resent me, asking why I abandoned him. Why did you appear now? He might get angry.

Suyeon’s hand trembled slightly as she opened the closed store door.

“Wait a moment. I’ll cook something quickly.”

Seating Taeha at the counter, Suyeon hastily tied her apron. For some reason, Taeha seemed to be staring at Suyeon today more than usual.

Distracted by the gaze, Suyeon accidentally dropped the plate.

Clatter!
With a loud noise, the plate shattered into pieces. Quickly bending down to pick up the broken plate fragments, a large hand suddenly intervened.

“Don’t touch, it’s dangerous.”

However, Taeha paid no attention to the warning and picked up the plate pieces. What if he got hurt like that? Suyeon was worried sick.

“Well, I told you not to touch…”

Suddenly, Taeha let out a short groan. Surprised, Suyeon looked at Taeha’s hand, and there was bright red blood flowing from his fingers.

“Taeha!”

At the moment of seeing her child’s blood, it felt like her own heart had been cut by something sharp. She thought it might be better if her own fingers were cut off. Suyeon was at a loss, tears welling up.

“Are you okay? Huh? Does it hurt a lot?”

Hastily bringing tissue, she wrapped it around his hand, and suddenly, Taeha murmured.

“…Mother.”

Suyeon doubted her own ears.

“Mother.”

The second call had certainty.

Only then did Suyeon realize that Taeha knew. He knew about her.

“Taeha.”

Unable to face him directly, she bowed her head and apologized frantically.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I know I don’t have the right to call myself your mother now. I’ll never appear in front of you again, so…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she was pulled into a hug.

“I missed you so much.”