Side Story 6

Side Story 6

“Mmm. Ah.”

Was it a dream? Was it really a dream?

The moment Lee-yeon sat down on the bed, sleep knocked her out. Kwon Chae-woo woke her up like nothing had happened, and while she washed up, the breakfast table turned lively.

“Oooong!”

So Nam-woo sat in his baby chair, staring at his mom with bright, sparkling eyes. A bib with little stars sat proudly on his chest, and he had already whipped his round head fully in her direction.

Lee-yeon melted. She kissed the top of Nam-woo’s head again and again until he broke into a gummy grin.

While she showered him with kisses, Kwon Chae-woo dragged a chair closer with a scrape.

He shook a rattle with one hand, flashy and practiced, and with the other he made a “vwoom” airplane sound as he slid a tiny spoon right into Nam-woo’s mouth.

The small lips worked seriously as he chewed. The moment he decided he liked it, his short arms reached for the bowl, urgent and insistent.

Lee-yeon watched the scene with a dazed expression. The new morning felt peaceful, simple, so normal it made her want to pinch her own cheek.

“Lee-yeon, you go too. Say ‘ah.’ The soup’s getting cold.”

His gentle eyes nudged her along. For some reason her face heated up, and she rushed back to her seat and grabbed her chopsticks. Nam-woo kicked and flailed his arms like he was cheering her on.

The moment the baby let out a squeal, drool slipped from his open mouth. Kwon Chae-woo pulled side dishes closer to Lee-yeon, then casually wiped Nam-woo’s mouth with the back of his hand.

Since when…

Had he become such a capable, steady dad?

She had lived with it for a year, but it still felt strange. The sleep disorder that used to threaten his daily life had faded, and he kept settling into a calmer rhythm.

Seeing Kwon Chae-woo like that reassured her, but it also made her uneasy. While rehab made Lee-yeon raw and sensitive, Kwon Chae-woo grew even more unshakeable. She could not name it exactly, but something felt off.

A couple who had a baby went through changes. They built their own system and kept it running.

But when she looked back now, an odd sense of wrongness surfaced.

Isn’t that too steady?

Once, when he woke up with no memories, she had told him a desperate lie, that she liked how monk like he was.

No, seriously, what if he actually lives like this. Kwon Chae-woo, you were never like this…

“Hey, Chae-woo.”

In the end, Lee-yeon set her chopsticks down and looked at him. So Nam-woo stretched his arms out like he wanted to go to her, and Lee-yeon naturally lifted him into her arms.

Kwon Chae-woo cleared the baby’s bowl and walked to the sink. He rinsed out the puree bowl with practiced ease. Lee-yeon watched his solid back and worked her lips.

“Um… about yesterday. Yesterday, you…”

“Yesterday?”

His voice stayed matter of fact. Kwon Chae-woo paused mid wash and turned to her. His gentle looking face acted so innocent it stole her words for a second. The drip, drip of water into the sink sounded strangely loud.

“Yesterday, what? Did you sleep badly?”

Did I really see it? You did that yesterday, didn’t you?

“Lee-yeon. That trip must’ve been a lot. You look exhausted.”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Give me the baby, and sit down and eat.”

“What?”

“You need to eat and get your strength back. I didn’t see you for a bit and your face looks half gone.”

“And we should go back to the hospital and run more nerve tests.”

Lee-yeon studied Kwon Chae-woo’s face carefully. But his expression stayed clear and kind, without a trace of darkness.

That terrifying stare through the shower glass, was it really just a split second?

Lee-yeon only patted the baby’s back in her arms.

Then he wiped his wet hands, came over, dipped his head, and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. Their eyes met at a breath’s distance. The kiss felt almost dry in how restrained it was.

“Lee-yeon, you can’t get sick again.”

—

“Kyaaa!”

Baby Nam-woo laughed like he was running out of air. Every time Lee-yeon played peekaboo, he clapped his hands and laughed so hard his whole intention showed on his face. When she could not resist and pressed her lips to his belly with a long buuu, he burst out laughing again.

Two tiny bottom teeth, like grains of rice, showed in his open mouth. Nam-woo kept grinning wide like he was showing off his teeth to the mom he had not seen in a week. Whose kid is this, he is so cute it hurts. Of course. Our son is the best.

“Nam-woo, you could be a diaper model…!”

“Ubu, ubu!”

“How do you smile this pretty?”

“Appa-bbappa!”

“Mommy, Nam-woo. Mo-mmy.”

“Umma-mama!”

Lee-yeon covered her face with both hands, then dropped them with a peekaboo. Rrrr, peekaboo. He collapsed into giggles again. She played the endless game at least a hundred times, then let him shove his chubby hand into her mouth so she could pretend to nibble it.

Even while she played with Nam-woo, Lee-yeon kept glancing toward Kwon Chae-woo, who spoke with Choo-ja in a serious tone.

“Kwon son in law, this tastes kind of salty, doesn’t it? The baby’s gonna eat it, so make it blander. But don’t go too bland like that old geezer you introduced last time.”

“Mother in law, this isn’t Nam-woo’s puree. It’s for Lee-yeon. And from now on, I’ll make the old geezers more seasoned for you.”

“Hah, hah. My son in law is the best.”

Lee-yeon listened in, then forced her focus back to the baby. But Nam-woo sensed instantly that his mom had looked away. He grabbed her face, then proceeded to smear drool all over her cheeks and lips. He was a gentle, sweet baby, but when he decided he wanted something, his stubbornness looked exactly like his dad’s.

“Okay, okay. Mommy will keep playing peekaboo.”

Lee-yeon did peekaboo about twenty more times. Nam-woo bounced like he was dancing. Between his wide open lips, she saw bright red gums again.

Ah… soft and adorable.

Lee-yeon scooped her little son up and pressed her cheek to his. The warm, plush weight filled her arms. A smile formed on its own.

While she did that, Kwon Chae-woo went into the storage room. The moment he disappeared, Choo-ja’s beaming face shifted, and she slid right down beside Lee-yeon.

“Lee-yeon. Lee-yeon, has that boy been acting strange lately?”

“Huh? Strange how?”

Lee-yeon immediately thought of last night, but she clamped her mouth shut. It wasn’t just last night. The problem wasn’t that he took care of himself. The problem was that Kwon Chae-woo stopped being direct with her.

“He started lying to me.” Lee-yeon said.

“He got too nice.” Choo-ja said.

They spoke at the exact same time.

“What?”

Lee-yeon’s eyes went wide. Silence fell between them as they exchanged a look. Right on cue, Nam-woo burst into giggles.

Choo-ja quickly wiped the drool from Nam-woo’s mouth, then scolded Lee-yeon like she was stating the obvious.

“What are you talking about. You’re the one who lied from beginning to end, not him.”

“Ah… No, that was a long time ago.”

Her face heated as their first meeting flashed back. Even now, she could admit she had been a little…

How was she supposed to dress up the story of Mom and Dad’s vicious romance for Nam-woo?

Her thoughts started to wander, and she only rolled her eyes around in awkward confusion. Then Choo-ja’s shoulders slumped. She spoke like she finally felt relieved.

“My son-in-law looks steady now, doesn’t he? He looks good.”

“He’s finally a real, normal person.”

But Lee-yeon felt one side of her face stiffen. She should have been happy to hear it, yet her heart dropped anyway.

Was it really good for him?

No, that wasn’t even the real question.

Was Kwon Chae-woo happy right now?

They said if one half of a couple felt satisfied with their life, it was because of the other half’s invisible sacrifice and devotion.

“…”

Right then, Kwon Chae-woo came back from the storage room, and their eyes met. His mouth lifted on reflex, and a smile without a single shadow settled into her vision.

Something felt wrong. Sweat dampened her palms. People said Kwon Chae-woo had finally become a normal person, but that only made the nameless fear surge higher, like something had started to break.

***

“That one’s wasting away.”

Lee-yeon spoke while looking at the leaves from a thirty year old king cherry tree scattered on the ground. The client had called in a rush, asking her to diagnose the cause.

Fir Tree Hospital kept its doors open only part time now, some mornings or some afternoons, and they did house calls only about twice a week.

“A few of them are already dead.”

Lee-yeon frowned slightly at the construction noise drifting from afar.

“Did these trees ever spend a stretch of time underwater?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right… These were moved here from a flooded area.”

“If they came from a flooded zone, then they basically drowned. After that, they lost their strength, and it looks like a bunch of complications followed. Still, you contacted me quickly. If you hesitate even a little, trees can die in the blink of an eye…”

She stopped.

Her mind went white and churned.

So… you can’t keep putting it off. The sooner you catch it, the faster recovery goes. You did the right thing calling me. You did…

The phrases clumped together, then fell apart.

“During the move, maybe they got neglected, and now the rot is pretty severe…”

Ah… Kwon Chae-woo.

Lee-yeon’s face hardened. I’m the one who shouldn’t have stayed still. I should have tried to talk the moment I noticed. Right away.

She ran the estimate fast, completed the first round of treatment, then hurried home as if she was on fire.

She played with the baby for a while, made him laugh, soothed him, then went looking for Kwon Chae-woo and entered the study. She watched him on the balcony, still on a call, then sat down on the sofa.

And then, it felt like she only blinked once before her thoughts were cut off clean.