In her panic, she had forgotten to put on her clothes. Not exactly a bottomless concept, standing confidently in her underwear in front of Kang Woo.

“Ugh! What do I do now…”

Embarrassed and mentally frazzled, Do Han could only stare blankly at the door Kang Woo had exited through.

The thick eyelashes of Eom So Yeon fluttered open.

Her eyelids, swollen from too much crying, felt heavy, but as soon as she recognized the feel of the sheets and that she was in his bedroom, her eyes widened.

The first thing that caught her sight was the large window with morning sunlight streaming through.

Standing in front of it, casting a long shadow in her direction, was a slender figure.

Tae Seo Jun. Him.

The man who made her fall in love from the first moment she saw him.

The man who, despite living separate lives in different spaces, never let her have a moment’s peace, keeping her trapped in the snare of unrequited love.

The man who, though ready to accept even her child, turned colder than ice upon learning the truth.

There he was, standing right before her, bringing yesterday’s events vividly back to So Yeon’s mind, her lips sealed tight.

“…”

“You’re awake.”
The provided Korean text has 27 lines. Here is the English translation, maintaining the exact same number of lines as the original:

Tae Seo Jun slowly approached the bed.

The delicate fingers wrapped around the blanket turned pale with tension. A sudden tightness in her chest seemed to squeeze her heart relentlessly. Eom So Yeon, remembering tumbling down the emergency stairs, hastily touched her forehead.

Her fingertips felt the gauze. Her throbbing head felt like it would split open any moment.

“Are you hurt anywhere else besides your head?”

“…….”

To Seo Jun’s query, So Yeon silently shook her head and sat up. Her right wrist and calf were wrapped in compression bandages.

There wasn’t time to deeply ponder his intentions for caring for her injured body. Ashamed of her disheveled state, So Yeon desperately wanted to return home.

As she tried to get up, her breath caught in her throat, stopped by Seo Jun pressing her shoulder to sit back down.

“Even a minor bruise requires rest for today.”

“…….”

“Rest well. Eat well. Be at ease.”

His voice, laden with tranquility, was too smooth. As if nothing had happened. Yet, his persistent gaze still seemed to question the astonishing events of yesterday.

“Rest? I’ll rest at my place.”

“No.”

Seo Jun’s lips curled into a cryptic sneer.

“You need to rest here. From now on, Eom So Yeon has to stay with me.”

“Why?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? We have issues to resolve, and it won’t be simple, whichever direction it goes.”

“That’s…”

Certainly, he was referring to the matter of their child, but with the topic of Hyun Woo, So Yeon couldn’t even begin to speak.

“There’s no rush. We’ll talk later.”

With that, Seo Jun forcefully shut the door and left.

“….!”

Startled by the loud sound, So Yeon’s frail shoulders flinched.

Perhaps it was the sudden noise, but more likely it was Seo Jun’s ominous mood that filled her with dread for what lay ahead.

“Sigh….”

Unable to leave his room, yet unable to stay, So Yeon let out a pained sigh.

‘Hyun Woo, what would it be like to have a father?’

It was yesterday. So Yeon had asked Hyun Woo this while strolling along a beach in Jeju Island.

Many families were enjoying the beautiful beach weather.

Among them, a little kid was riding piggyback on his dad, waving excitedly towards the ocean. Watching the child, So Yeon naturally posed the question to Hyun Woo, whose searching gaze lingered there.

But the response from Hyun Woo, who tightly gripped his mother’s hand with his small fingers, was…

‘Hyun Woo loves Mommy the most in the whole world.’

The intelligent child seemed to already know.

That he only had his mother. Just her, alone.

Thus, his answer had no father in it.

Who imposed the absence of a father on my child? Who made my child unable to even wish for a father’s presence, to not even mention the word ‘father’? Who was it?

It was me.

I was the one who taught that young child resignation and acceptance.

“I’m sorry, Hyun Woo. Sob, sob….”

Wandering around the bedroom, So Yeon eventually slumped down beside the bed. Sitting on the floor, she cried her heart out.
The provided Korean text has 21 lines. Here is the English translation, maintaining the exact same number of lines as the original:

‘At least I shouldn’t have robbed the child’s father of the chance to be a dad! You selfishly erased even a hint of a father’s love that Hyun Woo rightfully deserved. No matter how much you’re his mother, you had no right to take that away!’

The words from her mother painfully echoed and twisted in her heart again.

After spending half the day crying, regretting, and reflecting, it was evening.

Tae Seo Jun entered the room and stared at the untouched food on the bedroom table.

“You haven’t touched it.”

“…….”

With no response from So Yeon, Seo Jun led her out of the bedroom and sat her down at the dining table.

A bowl of fragrant pine nut porridge was set on the table. So Yeon just stared blankly at it.

“Eat.”

“I don’t feel like it.”

“Eat anyway.”

Knowing she hadn’t even drunk water, Seo Jun moved to the chair beside her and handed her a cup of water. So Yeon just moistened her lips and set the cup down.

“Are you going to force-feed me if I don’t eat?”

“Yes.”

Seo Jun brought the porridge-filled spoon to her tightly closed lips, intending to feed her.

“…….”

So Yeon’s trembling eyes locked onto Seo Jun’s face.

Yes, I know. If I despise myself this much for ruining everything, how much more must he hate me? Yet, he’s surprisingly kind for such a person.

So Yeon snatched the spoon from Seo Jun and held it herself.

“Give it here. I’ll eat.”

Her hand trembled. Seeing this, Seo Jun’s expression darkened.

“You haven’t eaten properly in days, have you?”

His guess was right. In Jeju Island, she barely ate anything substantial. Only nibbling on bits that Hyun Woo fed her.

“Weak from not eating and drinking on top of that. You even fell…”

Ignoring Seo Jun’s reproach, So Yeon ate the porridge.

Vigorously.

His words might be cold, but his gaze was as warm as before, if not more tender. Angry at her, yet also blaming himself for not recognizing his child and the woman who birthed and raised his child.

Love connects, they say.

Understanding Seo Jun’s feelings, So Yeon decided to drop her stubbornness.

Starting with that, she intended to do her best to appease his anger and make him understand her position. Struggling to swallow, So Yeon pushed the hard-to-eat food into her mouth.