****

“Hello.”

“Yes, Vice President Kim Jae-joon already told me about it.”

“...Yes.”

The doctor saw Yoo-jin’s clear nervous look. He smiled and spoke in a calm, deep voice.

“You don’t need to be so nervous. Nothing will be done by force. And if you don’t want it, we will not use medicine. We will do slow counseling, and you can talk about your own story.”

He was the doctor who got the highest pay in the field and took care of people from politics and business circles. He had a warm look. The man who made several hundreds per hour showed a gentle smile and offered a seat. Jae-joon brought this ‘famous’ doctor with much effort for his younger sibling who said they would get treatment on their own.

Yoo-jin sat on the chair with care. After checking a few simple details, the doctor spoke.

“You don't need to tell everything from the start. You can talk about what you want with ease. And if you can't finish it, there's a next time, so speak as your heart goes.”

“…I want to talk about the first thing I remember.”

With firm eyes, Yoo-jin looked straight at the doctor and spoke. It was the pain she didn't want to tell anyone, so she had to swallow it alone. She didn't hide it anymore. For the one she loved, she started to face the harsh wound on her own.

****

With a bright voice, Yoo-jin ran over while calling, “Mom.” Sook-hee opened her arms. When Yoo-jin threw herself into her, Sook-hee held her tight. Cheon-woo had a stiff face but he gave a barely visible smile. But he soon spoke to Yoo-jin in a strict tone.

“Mom is sick, so you can’t hug her hard.”

“Hing… but I like Mom…”

“Yes, I like our Yoo-jin too. Honey, Yoo-jin’s still a baby.”

At Sook-hee’s one line, Cheon-woo backed down at once. He looked awkward and picked up his teacup. Sook-hee’s wrist, the one patting Yoo-jin, was thin. Cheon-woo saw it and gave a bitter smile.

The marriage between a second-generation chaebol and a new figure in politics drew the public’s eyes. When he won his first seat in the National Assembly after leaving public office and throwing his hat in the ring, the headline in the local paper was the only fame Cheon-woo ever had. But after the wedding press conference, he saw himself and Sook-hee on the headlines of major newspapers printed nationwide.

Cheon-woo had his own share of hardship, but Sook-hee had it worse. They ran away at night to fight the harsh opposition from the family, and because of that, her chronic illness even grew worse.

Cheon-woo didn’t know about the illness. So the moment he learned Sook-hee was fighting it, he persuaded her to change her mind and he went to face her father himself. Her father treasured his daughter like gold and jade, so he raised both hands and feet in surrender and barely let Cheon-woo bring Sook-hee back to the capital. But her illness had already gone far.

After learning the truth, Cheon-woo regretted his choice for a long time. He blamed himself for not knowing the woman he loved so much was sick, and he hated himself for even making her carry a child.

Sook-hee saw Cheon-woo let out a deep sigh with a lonely face, and she smiled a little. There he goes again. Maybe Yoo-jin was tired after running around a lot, because she fell asleep from exhaustion in her arms. While she patted the sleeping child, Sook-hee spoke in a small voice.

“What are you worrying about again?”

“…I don’t get to spend much time with you. And I feel sad about that.”

It was a very gentle line that didn’t match his deep voice and blunt way of speaking. Sook-hee’s eyes curved softly. He was a fine legal expert and even held a judge’s gavel once, but in politics he was a beginner and a newcomer, so he went through many hardships. And because he married Sook-hee, many people watched Cheon-woo’s political path. Cheon-woo had big dreams in politics, and he didn’t want to bring shame to his family name, so he worked with all his strength. Because of that, he felt he had less time with his family. But that was only his own thought.

In Sook-hee’s eyes, Cheon-woo already spent quite a lot of time with them. He used his good brain well and handled work fast, so he worked all over the National Assembly. And he still tried hard so he could spend all evenings at home, and he fixed his schedule so he could spend at least one day on weekends with his family. Sook-hee didn’t understand the way Cheon-woo valued every minute and second, so she only smiled.

“…Later, make sure Yoo-jin won’t feel lonely.”

“Don’t say that.”

“…”

“You’re going to get better. I’ll make it happen.”

“…You were a judge, you’re not a doctor, you know?”

“We… can raise Yoo-jin together. So don’t say things like that.”

Sook-hee wanted to prepare for the worst, and Cheon-woo didn’t even want to think about the worst. They looked at each other with deep affection. In a time when arranged marriage was more common than love marriage in both chaebol families and public office, they had a love marriage. A young lady raised in a rich home and a bookish man who spent his whole life studying even eloped at night and finally got married. They had hardship after hardship, but they kept their life steady because they understood each other and loved each other deeply.

“Thank you, always.”

She thought it was fortunate that she married this man who liked to jump up and hug her from behind instead of saying thanks with words. It was fortunate that it was him.

“Keurk, huhh, heuu, heok…!”

Sook-hee took rough breaths and threw up clots of blood into the bucket, one after another. With shaking hands, she covered her mouth and worked hard to calm her harsh breathing. Even without hearing it from the doctor, she could guess easily that she didn’t have much time left.

Even if they didn’t elope that night, even if she didn’t give birth to Yoo-jin, her life still wouldn’t have been long. But Cheon-woo treated it like a sin that he loved her. He cherished Yoo-jin, but he loved Sook-hee even more, so that sin felt heavier to him. It couldn’t be helped. No matter how much she told him it wasn’t so, Cheon-woo didn’t change. He blamed himself and hated himself.

Sook-hee wanted him to love Yoo-jin after she left. She loved Cheon-woo, but she also loved Yoo-jin. She wanted to be with her daughter for even half of her life, but she knew she couldn’t. She hoped her daughter wouldn’t blame a useless mother who couldn’t even give that much.

She set down the bucket full of blood and stood on her thin legs. She washed her red-stained hands and looked at herself in the mirror. She was still young, but she was thin like a twig. Her sunken cheeks were clearly the cheeks of a sick person. She saw her pale lips, and as she thought of Cheon-woo, who loved her even like this, tears fell and shone on her eyes.

She thought she accepted it, but in the end, she was still human. A person who lived with endless obsession to stay alive. She wanted to stay by Cheon-woo’s side, and she wanted to see Yoo-jin grow with her own eyes. She wanted to live together. She wanted to draw a future with them.

But she felt with her skin that it had become impossible. Groaning at the powerless reality, Sook-hee let out a cry that no one could hear.

****

Even when he saw his father-in-law’s fierce face, Cheon-woo didn’t change his expression at all. The father-in-law didn’t like that, and his face twisted. The son-in-law who seemed like a swindler and a thief in his eyes only looked at him in silence.

“…Are you pleased?”

“…What do you mean?”

“You talked about love, and you ran away at night with weak Sook-hee, and that’s why this mess happened.”

Cheon-woo stood with his hands behind his back, and he put so much strength into his wrist that the veins rose. He wasn’t angry at his father-in-law for bringing up such a sensitive subject. He was drowning in anger toward himself. His father-in-law’s sharp tone didn’t matter. He only blamed himself.

“I’m sorry.”

“…Tsk.”

Sook-hee’s father never wanted his daughter’s match to be just a ‘member of the National Assembly.’ What she needed beside her was a strong man who could protect her weak body. He didn’t want a son-in-law who was only a former judge turned politician. He accepted him only because he couldn’t break Sook-hee’s stubbornness, but he still didn’t like him. Because of that man, Sook-hee’s life became much shorter than what the doctor predicted.

From the day she was born to the day he learned about her illness, Sook-hee’s father fought hard to protect her health. So to him, Cheon-woo, who made her suffer and worsen, was the worst man alive.

“You’re busy being a fine lawmaker, but you can’t even stay by Sook-hee’s side. I’m watching you very well.”

“…”

“I have high hopes. I’m curious how high you’ll climb.”

“…”

“You can’t even take care of your own wife and kid, but I guess you take care of citizens just fine.”

“…”

“A man who can’t ‘cultivate himself and manage his family,’ how dare he try to ‘govern a country.’ That’s why the country is like this.”

More words that looked down on him followed. Even so, Cheon-woo didn’t get sharp, and he also didn’t shrink back. He only listened with a steady, serious attitude. When the father-in-law got tired of talking, he threw him out. Cheon-woo bowed deeply and walked out. Woo-hyeong, with a worried face, greeted him. They walked down the hall after giving each other a light nod.

“Brother-in-law, are you alright?”

“I’m alright.”

Woo-hyeong had heard the shouting from outside and worried. As Sook-hee’s older brother, he didn’t have very warm feelings toward Cheon-woo. But since the marriage was already done, he didn’t think there was a reason to hold bad feelings anymore. He accepted him as family, so he couldn’t understand his father. Parents and siblings don’t always feel the same, but with a child already in the picture, he couldn’t understand why his father dragged Cheon-woo out just to insult him. He didn’t want to understand it either.

“You don’t need to come. You can just say you’re busy… you really don’t need to come.”

“My father-in-law called me. I should come even if I need to make time.”

“Brother-in-law, you’re too stiff. Don’t bow your pride like that. Spend that time with Sook-hee and Yoo-jin instead.”

With his blunt face, Cheon-woo showed a faint smile.

“I’m really alright, so don’t worry, brother.”

His tone sounded truly calm, and that only made Woo-hyeong uneasy. Anyone else would’ve been hurt, but he didn’t show it.

“My wife said she wants to eat together. With Mother and Jae-joon too. Let’s have a meal together, brother.”

“I’m fine with that…”

“I’ll go first. They’re waiting.”

Cheon-woo bowed low and drove out of the mansion himself. Woo-hyeong watched him leave and let out a long sigh.

….

“Honey, I’m home.”

“You’re here?”

Seeing Sook-hee’s pale face, Cheon-woo carefully checked whether she had taken her medicine and how she was feeling. Sook-hee, as if used to it, answered each question and then asked:

“My father didn’t say much, right?”

“Yeah, not at all. He just asked about your condition.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Sook-hee relaxed at Cheon-woo’s firm tone, which confirmed her words with a reassuring certainty.

“Oh, brother-in-law said we should have a meal together sometime.”

“Really? …I want to see my sister-in-law and brother too. When shall we?”

Cheon-woo smiled as he watched Sook-hee talk brightly. Just then, the door swung open and Yoo-jin ran in.

“Mom, Dad!”

“Oh, our Yoo-jin is here?”

Sook-hee bent down and met Yoo-jin’s eyes. She was holding a blank white paper, apparently finished with what she had been drawing with crayons for a long while. Cheon-woo also bent down to meet Yoo-jin’s gaze.

“Will you show us?”

“Hehe, yes!”

With pride shining on her cute face, Yoo-jin showed the drawing. It was a clumsy, crooked little artwork. Cheon-woo appeared expressionless, Sook-hee smiled brightly, and Yoo-jin was drawn between them. The title read, ‘Our Family.’

“…Why isn’t Dad smiling?”

“Because Dad doesn’t smile much.”

Sook-hee tried hard not to laugh at Yoo-jin’s honest, pure answer.

“Pfft, it’s a realistic painting. Yoo-jin could be a painter someday. Right, honey?”

“…Mm. But Yoo-jin… now Dad will smile more, so could you draw him with a smiling face too?”

“…Mm… I’ll allow it!”

At Yoo-jin’s voice, mimicking Cheon-woo’s tone, saying she allowed it, Sook-hee finally burst into laughter. They say children are mirrors of their parents. Remembering that, Cheon-woo took a fountain pen from his pocket. He gently lifted the corner of his drawn mouth in Yoo-jin’s picture and added a small smile. Then he smiled just like in the drawing.

“Now Dad is smiling too, right?”

“Mm!”

The family ‘little Yoo-jin' wanted to protect: a sick mother who wouldn’t get sick, a blunt father who would be a little kinder, and a child who could be happy in that space. The family they had longed for so deeply would soon be shattered into pieces.

****