Chapter 72(END)
by Gideon“Wow, Ko Hyewan, you’re really speaking from a place of privilege. If someone takes care of you, you should just be grateful and take it. Why are you complaining? You lucky girl.”
Our Bora is never this sharp. What’s gotten into her today? Hyewan grabbed Bora’s arm.
“What is it? What’s bothering you so much that you’re being so cynical?”
Bora flinched.
“What do you mean, ‘what’s bothering me’…!”
“Ju Bora, stop. Don’t even try to say you don’t have a problem. You’re practically radiating frustration with your whole body right now.”
Finally, Bora’s shoulders slumped.
“Lee Dong-yeong is avoiding me.”
“Why? I thought you two were doing well.”
“We were. Until I told him I wanted to get married after I pass the bar exam.”
That’s definitely a reason to be cynical, Hyewan thought.
“But Bora, you and the Chief haven’t been dating seriously for very long. He probably just needs a little more time.”
Hyewan tried to comfort Bora, offering a gentle reassurance. “I’m sure Dong-yeong has his reasons.”
“Ko Hyewan! You’re the one who knows all about love, don’t you? It’s not about how much time you spend together—it’s about the depth of the feeling! The raw intensity, the desperation!” Bora retorted.
Hyewan burst into a hearty laugh. “I knew you were impatient, Ju Bora, but throwing out a marriage proposal like a fastball was a bit much. Even I, who know you inside out, am flustered. Imagine how Dong-yeong feels.”
“That’s why I’m kicking myself right now! But still!” Bora protested, her voice laced with frustration. “After all the sex we’ve had, shouldn’t he have thought about our future at least a little? What am I to him? Just a partner?”
“Ask him that indirectly,” Hyewan pointed out.
Bora glared at her. “You’re such a know-it-all.”
Hyewan was curious.
“Aren’t you scared of getting married?”
“Why would I be? Do you regret getting married again?”
“I don’t regret it, but honestly, I am a little scared. I’m worried things might go wrong again.”
“That makes sense. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”
“I keep telling myself that as long as the two of us are happy, it’s enough, but when I think about the baby…” Hyewan let out a deep sigh. “My mind gets so complicated. Yundo still won’t talk about Haetsal.”
At that, Bora asked cautiously, “What do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
Hyewan poked at her noodles with her chopsticks. “Honestly, I never knew I was someone who would cling to the idea of having a baby like this. When I think about how happy I was when I was pregnant with Haetsal, I just can’t give up on it. Even though I have a thousand different worries.”
“So you’re torn between your fears and your resolve,” Bora agreed.
“Honestly, I’m the same way,” Bora admitted. “But I know one thing for sure: I need Lee Dong-yeong to live a happy life.”
Just then, a familiar black car pulled up. Dong-yeong and Yundo stepped out of the passenger and back seats, respectively. While Hyewan waved to Yundo, Bora glared at Dong-yeong with a thoroughly displeased expression.
“Lee Dong-yeong.”
“Are you drunk?”
“There you go again with the formal speech. Ugh, I hate it when you do that. You’re older than me, yet you insist on using formal language.”
“Why are you nitpicking again?”
“I don’t know!”
Bora, now completely sulking, gathered the trash and stormed off to the bin. Dong-yeong helped Hyewan clean up and asked quietly, “Hyewan, why is Bora acting like that?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Hmm, I wonder why…”
Hyewan wanted to help the puzzled Dong-yeong, but she knew matters of the heart had to be resolved on one’s own. She trusted that the clever Dong-yeong would find the answer.
Yundo and Hyewan’s dates always ended with spicy food, no matter how they started. Today, it was spicy tonkatsu. They’d finally broken free from their endless cycle of tteokbokki and chicken feet to try something new.
“This is even spicier,” Yundo said, sweat beading on his forehead. “How is tonkatsu this spicy?”
“Isn’t that why it’s so delicious?”
“It’s why it’s painful. Ko Hyewan, stop eating. You’re going to wreck your stomach.”
“I took two stomach protectors today.”
Lately, he’d been making her take stomach protectors before they ate spicy food. She hated the taste, but she’d just swallow them anyway because his nagging was worse.
“But it was worth it for this kind of flavor.”
“For something so ‘worth it,’ you ate less than usual.”
The conversation she’d had with Bora while eating ramen at the convenience store kept churning in her gut.
Bora’s words—that Dong-yeong was essential for her own happiness—echoed in her mind. The same was true for Hyewan. She could confidently say she loved Yundo more than anyone else in the world.
That’s why I can be brave again.
“If we want to have a baby by summer break, we need to start preparing now. What do you think?”
Yundo choked on his water.
“Cough!”
“Are you okay?”
“No—cough, cough! I’m… I’m fine.”
He only calmed down after a violent coughing fit. Hyewan pulled a tissue and handed it to him, muttering, “I don’t think that was such a surprising question…”
Hyewan felt a pang of disappointment. So he doesn’t want a baby?
“Still, you couldn’t have picked a better time to bring this up than while we’re eating tonkatsu?”
“That’s unfair.”
“Huh? What’s unfair? I’m being unfair?”
“Shouldn’t you be the one to ask me to have a baby first?”
“That’s not how it works! I’m the one who messed up and got divorced, and I only just managed to get back together with you. How could I possibly ask you to have a child with me? Besides, even this whole situation is my fault in the first place.”
“So you’re saying you won’t have one?”
“I don’t know. But… I still haven’t gotten over Haetsal.”
Excuse me? Listen to this guy.
“And what, am I supposed to have forgotten Haetsal?”
“No, that’s not what I meant—”
He realized his mistake and tried to explain, but it was too late. Hyewan, already feeling slighted, stood up.
“Forget it. I want to go home.”
She rose and walked toward the counter.
“Hyewan, I’m not finished. Wait up!”
Yundo hurried after her, feeling wronged. “I said, wait for me!”
He chased after Hyewan as she strode quickly out of the shop. Her leg rehabilitation had clearly been a success.
“Getting pregnant isn’t something we can just control. And if you do, what if the trauma from the accident resurfaces? It might not be all happiness, like it was with Haetsal.”
“That’s just speculation. It makes no sense to give up because of something that might not even happen.”
“I’m scared. Yes, to be honest, I’m terrified.”
At Yundo’s confession, Hyewan stopped in her tracks. She, too, had been out of her mind, consumed by the shock and pain of falling from heaven to hell, mixed with the guilt she felt over Haetsal.
“I’m scared too,” she admitted honestly.
“We’ve already been through so much, but things like that can happen again in life. No one knows for sure. But even if we end up hurting each other again, I still really want to meet Haetsal’s younger sibling. I want to give them all the love I couldn’t give Haetsal.”
Before meeting Yundo, Hyewan had never given a thought to having children. She hadn’t even considered whether she wanted them or not. But now, it was different. She wanted a child—even just one—who resembled both Yundo and herself.
“But I can’t become a mother without your help. You’re the father, after all.”
Yundo couldn’t find any words to say.
“Let’s be brave again. Let’s do our best to protect them so we don’t lose them a second time.”
A surge of heat welled up deep in his chest. He never imagined that discussing family planning over tonkatsu on the street could be so tear-inducing.
“…Alright.”
Yundo had never stood a chance against Hyewan in the first place. Her words were his absolute truth, his unwavering faith.
“I’ll do my best to protect you and Haetsal’s younger sibling.”
“I trust you.”
Yundo took Hyewan’s hand. You are the reason I live. Loving you is as natural as breathing. Even if I were trapped in a maze with no exit, as long as I have you, I fear nothing.
“But honey,” Hyewan said, “I love you just a little more than Haetsal’s younger sibling.”
“Me too.”
They smiled into each other’s eyes, their expressions as radiant as sunlight.
Just as they always had, they looked forward to tomorrow together.
To a new day filled with new joys.
[ The End ]
Translator’s Note: Hi! This is Gideon your fan translator. I did my best translating it hehe, I hope you like it, If you like my translations please leave a rating review in Novel Updates, I also appreciate it if you could donate or leave a tip, just click the Support Us button in our website, its for our site maintenance and buying raws in legal platform, we would also appreciate it if you could buy the raws directly in a legal site to support the authors. 🙂 Thankyou, I will do my best to provide quality translations, I would also love it it you can pinpoint errors in my translation, I will fixed it asap if ever. Thankyou!
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