OMS 90

Security guards were controlling access throughout Kim Tae-han’s residence, creating an intimidating atmosphere. Upon entering, a staff member hurried over to report on Kim Tae-han’s condition.

“He hasn’t had a single sip of water. Madam cried for a long time and then left. When the doctor tried to give him nutrients, he pulled out the needle and caused a scene, so they had to sedate him.”

After hearing the explanation, he went upstairs. Quietly opening the door, he saw Kim Tae-han lying motionless on the bed. Upon closer inspection, his head was bandaged and the swelling had spread to his face.

As Kim Jun-han surveyed the bedroom, his gaze lingered on the dressing room. That was where Kim Tae-han and Lee Hee-soo used to secretly make love. That was why he had installed cameras in the ceiling. To prepare for potential divorce proceedings.

[“When I begged you not to marry him, what did you say? You said you had no feelings, right? Showing no interest and treating him like a vase in the house! You knew he had a lover but you just ignored it!”]

[“You ruined everything! You son of a bitch!”]

The image of him shouting in rage in the warehouse flickered in his mind. Yes, he had ignored Kim Tae-han’s feelings and only thought of his own interests. If he had refused the marriage from the start and let Kim Tae-han and Lee Hee-soo be together, would things have been different?

But then, would I have met Park Dong-sik…?

His thoughts continued to spiral. Kim Jun-han gave up trying to reach a conclusion and headed for the exit. A low groan came from behind. Turning around, he saw Kim Tae-han staring at him with half-open eyes. His focus was hazy, probably due to the medication.

“Like a rat…came to spy whether I’m dead or alive…?”

Even his strained voice sounded cracked like metal.

“I came to greet Father and stopped by while I was here.”

Kim Tae-han laughed bitterly despite his pain.

“After seeing that video, you still worry about that man you call Father?”

“He shouldn’t die.”

“Since when were you such a filial son?”

“At least I’m better than you who tried to kill him three times.”

Kim Tae-han sneered but winced, seemingly from pain. Then he continued to speak with difficulty.

“In the first drawer there…there’s documents and a box….Give those to Hee-soo…”

“What are they?”

“He’ll know about the documents when you say it’s what I promised before….Don’t open the box…it’s for Hee-soo…”

After insisting the box must not be opened, he closed his eyes, seemingly too tired to speak.

Kim Jun-han went to the drawer and pulled open the first compartment. After some consideration, he took the envelope and box as Kim Tae-han requested and left the room.

***

“Doctor, those are faces, right?”

“Yes, they’re both in a good mood today and showing their faces. See here—the eyes, nose, and mouth? Wow, they have very high-nose bridges.”

Seeing the 3D ultrasound for the first time, the color was similar to skin tone rather than black and white, creating the illusion of seeing them directly. Looking at the little ones seemed to make all his complicated worries disappear.

“Fortunately, they’ve grown quite big. You must have worried a lot, congratulations. The fathers—”

The doctor seemed to catch himself, shaking his head quickly to correct himself.

“The father must have put in a lot of effort.”

Park Dong-sik’s gaze remained fixed on the screen. He was moved that the babies were growing safely. Suddenly, one of them yawned. He laughed at the fascinating sight of the baby opening its mouth, and when he looked at Kim Jun-han, he was also smiling silently.

“I haven’t told you the gender yet, right?”

“No, not yet.”

The doctor made a regretful expression.

“Like last time, they’re both covering themselves with their legs so I can’t tell.”

“As long as they’re born healthy, gender doesn’t matter.”

Park Dong-sik agreed with Kim Jun-han’s words. Though he was a bit curious about the gender, for now he just hoped they would grow well. They left the hospital with plans for the next visit, and once in the car, Park Dong-sik opened his notebook to check the photos again.

Meanwhile, Kim Jun-han retrieved something from the back seat and handed it over.

“What’s this?”

“Tae-han said you asked for it.”

The car started moving and Park Dong-sik opened the envelope, tilting his head to one side. As he flipped through the documents, his eyes widened slightly. He had once asked Kim Tae-han if he could help find Kim Yoon-ah’s parents for her.

Kim Yoon-ah had been abandoned as a newborn, and since the orphanage had closed, he hadn’t really expected much, but they had found people believed to be her parents. There was a handwritten note in the miscellaneous section.

[Grandmother suspected of abandoning child at orphanage. Parents believed child died at birth. Grandmother died in accident one month later.]

Ah, Kim Yoon-ah’s parents are alive…and they didn’t abandon her intentionally. What would they feel knowing their child is actually alive? Park Dong-sik couldn’t hide his surprise and called out to Kim Jun-han.

“Did you see this?”

“Roughly.”

“I need to tell Kim Yoon-ah quickly. No, I should investigate first, right? They could be problematic parents.”

He was already worrying before even looking into it. If they were parasites who’d just leech off their child, wouldn’t it be better not to meet? Then he started opening the box under the documents but paused. Inside were two baby shoes. It was fascinating how small they were, fitting in the palm of his hand. So babies’ feet are really this tiny…

“I thought Tae-han was on a business trip, but he’s back already? Haven’t heard from him lately.”

As he pulled out his phone, Kim Jun-han reached out to stop him.

“He’ll have trouble taking calls. He’s busy, so try later.”

“Ah…”

Park Dong-sik stroked the shoes. His heart fluttered thinking about Whitey and Blackey wearing them when they were born. After carefully putting them back in the box, he organized the documents when the word “Hope House” caught his eye. Park Dong-sik smiled and called out to Kim Jun-han.

“Did you know?”

“Hm?”

“Kim Yoon-ah and I are from the same orphanage. Hope House. I heard you used to volunteer there when you were young.”

“Who told you?”

“Just heard it from here and there.”

“It wasn’t my choice. I went briefly before studying abroad because my parents insisted.”

Park Dong-sik nodded his head, saying he figured as much.

“I knew it wasn’t sincere participation. What did you do there? Teach the kids? You weren’t being all preachy and nagging, right? The kids must have hated that.”

Kim Jun-han chuckled.

“Actually no. Someone called me their first love.”

“Who? Which kid?”

“The one I taught drawing to.”

Park Dong-sik’s mocking expression slowly froze. Unable to believe it, he scrutinized Kim Jun-han’s face up close.

“No way…”

“Have I aged that much? To the point of being unrecognizable?”

Park Dong-sik exclaimed in shock.

“No way!”

“I’m hurt. Even though we were young, you should remember my face.”

“It’s not that, back then you were so fresh—”

Park Dong-sik stopped mid-sentence and changed the subject, while Kim Jun-han frowned.

“So now I’m sour?”

“Why are you like this again? Let the narrow-minded CEO Kim go and bring back the open-minded one, quickly.”

“The open-minded CEO Kim went home because he’s busy.”

Park Dong-sik smiled slyly at Kim Jun-han.

“I meant your image has changed a lot, not that you’ve aged badly. Still, it’s surprising. Why didn’t I recognize you?”

“Actually, I didn’t recognize you right away either. There was hardly any documentation left about Hope House, so it was hard to find. I discovered it by chance in a company PR brochure. In a group photo from the orphanage, Park Dong-sik was standing next to me. I wasn’t sure at first, but that brought back the memories. You were unbelievably small for your age then. Pretty and very shy. You stayed in my memory for quite a while, and I sometimes wondered about you.”

“So you’ve been playing dumb all this time? How sneaky.”

“In Park Dong-sik’s memory, I’m a sweet and kind first love, right? I wanted to remain a good memory.”

“Then you should have kept it buried until the end.”

“I’m trying to score points.”

“Points?”

Kim Jun-han nodded toward Kim Tae-han’s gift box. Park Dong-sik realized what he meant by scoring points and burst out laughing in disbelief. Still, he couldn’t help but stare at his face, unable to believe it.

“Your gaze will wear my face out.”

“I’m just so happy. I thought we’d never meet in this lifetime. Maybe it was fate.”

Kim Jun-han never mentioned how young Kim Tae-han had dragged Park Dong-sik over, whining about wanting to marry him. For the first time, he realized that he too could become petty and narrow-minded when he liked someone.