“I’m sorry.”

Heesun, who apologized with a towel on her forehead and even covered herself up to her neck with a blanket, looked disheartened.

“Because of me, we had to cancel snorkeling…”

“I find being here with you much more enjoyable than snorkeling.”

It wasn’t a lie; he genuinely seemed pleased. He even looked a bit excited.

But Heesun couldn’t help feeling sorry. She knew how hard Leon had prepared for the trip, even hearing it from his secretary. He had looked forward to this trip so much, and now he was lying sick in bed in the middle of summer.

“It’s useless to lie down like this after coming all the way here… It’s useless.”

“Don’t say that.”

As Leon gently stroked Heesun’s bangs, he comforted her.

“I sometimes imagined taking care of you, nursing you by your side when you were sick. I couldn’t do it when I should have.”

“…….,”

“Did you give birth alone, without taking proper care?”

That’s right. Heesun, with no mother-in-law, gave birth alone, cooked seaweed soup alone, and suffered from breastfeeding pain alone.

What was truly difficult was not her body but her heart. Smiling at the baby playing happily, Heesun swallowed countless tears. A pitiful baby who would grow up not knowing her dad.

When that thought came to mind, her eyes involuntarily became warm. Leon gently wiped the dewy moisture from Heesun’s eyes with his thumb.

“I’ll repay everything in my life. … If you give me a chance.”

Heesun couldn’t answer this time either, but fortunately, he didn’t persist as stubbornly as last night.

“Now, get up and eat. We need to have a meal.”

Leon hugged Heesun and sat her on the bed. Holding a spoonful of porridge close to her mouth, Heesun weakly lowered her head.

“I can eat it with my own hands.”

“I want to do it for you.”

After hesitating for a moment, Heesun obediently opened her mouth. Even that made the man’s face light up as if he had gained the whole world.

After finishing the porridge, it was time to take medicine. Unfortunately, it was a bitter powder. Even after emptying the cup that Leon handed her, her mouth still tasted bitter. Frowning, Heesun said,

“I’m sorry. I should have prepared some candy in advance.”
The man, who was momentarily unsure of what to do, suddenly brought his face close. A moist and cool sensation touched the parched lips with a rising fever and swiftly withdrew.

Surprised by the unexpected kiss, Heesun’s eyes widened, and Leon smiled towards her.

“That’s all for the sweet stuff.”

Blushing, Heesun belatedly covered her lips with the back of her hand.

“Taeha’s dad!”

When she raised her voice, Leon frowned slightly, seemingly displeased.

“Why do you call me that? I have a name too.”

“Back then, there was no Taeha, so I called you that. Now, you’re Taeha’s dad, so Taeha’s dad it is…”

“Of course, but…”

Suddenly, Leon leaped up and climbed onto the bed, diving into the blanket covering Heesun.

Following that, his warm and large body enveloped her tightly.

“I wish you’d see me as a man, not just Taeha’s dad.”

Hugging Heesun tightly as she tried to squirm away, Leon whispered into her ear. The mischievousness was completely gone, and his tone became serious.

“Stop avoiding it and tell me honestly. Why do you keep running away?”

“…I’m scared.”

As her body ached, she found herself relying on others, and in the process, the boundaries of her heart seemed to loosen without her realizing it. For the first time, Heesun opened up her sincere feelings to him.

“What?”

His inquiring voice was so gentle that she could honestly speak.

“I’m scared to be near you.”

“Why?”

“I… have always lived by running away. I couldn’t make a single friend because of that. If I happened to make eye contact with someone, I couldn’t sleep that night. Even if I suffered unfairly, I couldn’t raise my voice, and I lived like that for over twenty years.”

Heesun tried hard to convey her thoughts properly.

“I don’t like going to crowded places. It’s scary to stand out in others’ eyes. But when I’m with you, it inevitably becomes like that.”

With a painful expression, Leon hugged her tightly, hiding her in his arms.

“If that’s the case, shall we hide and live together on a small island or something?”

“…”

“Yeah? Shall we?”

It was a tempting story. How nice would it be if it were possible? Heesun lifted her head to resist the temptation.

“You’re not the type of person who can live like that.”

If she were moss living in the shade, he was a sunflower blooming brightly toward the sun. They were just inherently unable to be together.

Moss would wither and die under the sunlight, and the sunflower would never be able to bloom in the shade.

“To you, I may seem frustrating and pathetic, but it can’t be helped. I’ve lived like this for too long. This is who I am.”

“…”

“Just you and me, we live in different worlds. That’s all.”

Leon, gently caressing Heesun’s hair with an air of sympathy, finally let out a long sigh.

“It can’t be helped, then. I’ll spend my life following you like this.”

“There’s no need for that because of me. You can meet better people, right? More beautiful and younger women…”

Leon laughed.

“That’s right. Beautiful women, young women. I met countless of them while traveling all around the world.”

“…”

“I’ve even received date requests in Korea. Once, because I looked too young, I was asked about my age, and well, she turned out to be younger than our Taeha.”

Bringing up the topic he brought up himself, Heesun quickly became sullen.

Of course. With him, any woman could have been possible.

How many women must have loved him? His years that she didn’t know seemed to be right in front of her eyes. Countless smiles, confessions, kisses…

Sharp jealousy silently tore her chest apart. When she bit her lip without anyone noticing, he suddenly held Heesun and turned her body around.

“…!”

In the blink of an eye, Heesun found herself on top of his body.

Brown eyes that had lost their playful gleam now stared into her eyes up close.

“But, besides my rose, no one else caught my eye.”