PIA 141

004

Pouting and sticking out his lips while nestled in Jeong Hee-seo’s arms, Ji-an’s lingering frustration was evident. Jeong Hee-seo kissed Ji-an’s forehead and the corners of his eyes repeatedly, his voice low and soothing as he explained.

“It was already a situation where surgery was the only option. You weren’t waking up, and I was at a point where I wanted to rely even on superstition. Grandmother had even brought a date that she said could be good for you too.”

“…”

“And I wanted to wait as long as possible for you to wake up. But then…”

“But then why…?”

“The baby decided to come out. Early Christmas morning, Poggles’s condition suddenly worsened. His oxygen saturation dropped… The doctor said it was dangerous.”

Jeong Hee-seo looked into Ji-an’s eyes. Those clear, open eyes were so beautiful. The fact that he could talk about that day with a smile was because Ji-an was alive and breathing. Suddenly, he felt a lump in his throat.

“I had no choice, Ji-an.”

“…Hmm.”

Ji-an made a disappointed sound, resting his chin on Hee-seo’s arm that was holding him. He understood that the situation was unavoidable, but it didn’t ease his feelings of regret and disappointment.

It upset him that he couldn’t arrive in this world at that moment, that he had no say in the decision. Nothing was more important than the baby being born safely and him waking up safely. But still…

The bitter memories that had accumulated more than ten times from his early childhood, from three or four years old to his mid-teens, didn’t easily disappear and made Ji-an upset.

Ji-an knew that he and Poggles had different parents and situations, and that his bitterness wasn’t his mother’s fault, but it was hard to think rationally.

“Poggles strangely take after me.”

He knew it was an unreasonable worry and complaint the moment he said it out loud. But since Jeong Hee-seo listened to everything, he ended up acting spoiled.

Ji-an looked up at Jeong Hee-seo, who was holding him tightly. His deep, dark eyes were focused on him.

“I’ll make sure neither of you ever feels neglected, Ji-an. I promise. Your birthday, Ppogeul’s birthday—every single one will be special.”

“Don’t forget Christmas presents either. There’s no such thing as combining gifts in my dictionary.”

“Of course, of course. Let’s have birthday parties every day for a month before. We’ll invite all of Poggles’s friends.”

“We’ll invite the whole school,” Ji-an mumbled, and Jeong Hee-seo’s laughter scattered over the top of his head. Even Ji-an’s tantrums and unreasonable demands made him happy.

Ji-an was someone Jeong Hee-seo had almost lost. Both Ji-an and Poggles were gifts to him every moment. Jeong Hee-seo suddenly thought that he had already received all the birthday gifts he would get for the rest of his life, as he buried his lips in Ji-an’s hair.

After plenty of reassurances about future birthdays, countless kisses, hugs, and finally, a deep and lingering kiss, Jeong Hee-seo had done his best to soothe Ji-an.

And yet, Ji-an’s heart wasn’t fully appeased. He thought it was, but that wasn’t the case. In the car on the way to Jeong Hee-seo’s family home, his grandmother’s house, Ji-an expressed his twisted feelings by tightly crossing his arms. Not content with just crossing his arms, he crossed his legs too.

“No, come to think of it, he’ll be a year old in just 6 days. Couldn’t he have waited just a few more days? That kid has no patience. Does he take after me?”

“The law has changed now, we don’t count age that way anymore.”

“Still, it doesn’t feel right. And that’s how I grew up counting my age.”

Ji-an turned his head abruptly to look back. His prim gaze focused on the car seat fixed in the back. Because the baby was still too young, facing the rear, only his tiny feet peeking out were visible. Poggles, who always slept well during car rides, was far too gentle and sweet to have taken after Ji-an.

Jeong Hee-seo, who was driving, suddenly reached out and tapped Ji-an’s lips.

“He takes after you in being impatient when hungry. The way he chews quickly—it’s exactly like you.”

Ji-an, who had been grumbling, narrowed his eyes at Jeong Hee-seo’s teasing, then changed his mind and grabbed his wrist. He then sucked on his finger. Jeong Hee-seo, keeping his eyes on the road, pinched both of Ji-an’s cheeks.

“We’ll have an accident.”

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“With your money and power… couldn’t you somehow… change Poggles’s birthday date, just like that?”

Taking advantage of the car stopping at a signal, Jeong Hee-seo turned to look at Ji-an. Seeing him blinking cutely, Jeong Hee-seo wondered if the birthday was really such a big issue. But there are things you can do and things you can’t.

“No. Why do such an unnatural thing?”

“Your decisiveness is charming, but just this once.”

“No. It’s unnecessary.”

“Did you just say it’s unnecessary?”

“Ji-an…”

He immediately regretted his poor choice of words. As he tried to quickly smooth things over, it seemed too late as Ji-an put Hee-seo’s hand, which he had been fiddling with, back on the gear shift.

“Just drive. The light’s changed.”

While it was spring outside and flowers were about to bloom on the trees, inside the car, a cold wind was blowing. Ugh. Hee-seo wrinkled his handsome nose in embarrassment.

* * *

Ji-an’s sulking finally paid off in front of Myeong Hyun-sook.

After handing Poggles to his grandmother’s arms and sitting close by, Ji-an spilled out every detail of his complaints. To his surprise, Hyun-sook took his side.

“That’s right, Hee-seo was quite insensitive. He should have taken care of that before the hospital uploaded it to their system.”

“Exactly, Grandmother. Can you believe it, just 6 days before the new year?”

“Well, there’s definitely a nicer feel to a new year’s start.”

Ji-an’s confidence grew as his notoriously strict and principled grandmother-in-law took his side. As he chattered on about everything that had happened today without missing a single detail, the topic eventually turned to the wedding.

“When we tried to register Poggles’s birth, we hit a snag with the marriage registration. But Hyung is unhappy about that. When I say let’s quickly register our marriage, he acts all upset like a child. Does that make any sense, Grandmother?”

“Hmm?”

“He insisted we have a proper wedding, saying it’s important. When I suggested we just take some photos, he insisted we absolutely must have a ceremony.”

Myeong Hyun-sook, who had been gently rocking Poggles and only half-listening to Ji-an as he commented on how the baby’s bubbling spit reminded him of spring rain, finally looked up.

“Oh, that won’t do, dear.”

“Right!”

“No, I mean the wedding ceremony is truly important.”

“What?”

Feeling betrayed after thinking his grandmother had been agreeing with him all this time, Ji-an looked at Myeong Hyun-sook. She turned to Ji-an with a gleam in her eyes unlike anything before.

Even when Ji-an first met Myeong Hyun-sook after coming to this world, she didn’t have such a look in her eyes. She looked somewhat fired up.

“We’ll make it more splendid than ever before, so that the whole world hears about it. I’m thinking of uprooting the family foundation if necessary to give you two a wedding.”

“…Pardon?”

For Ji-an, who had firmly decided that not having a wedding ceremony was best, or at most, a small-scale wedding as a second choice, this was like a bolt from the blue.

Only then did he frantically look to Jeong Hee-seo for support, but he was just sipping his tea with a smile. Ah, of course! Ji-an clenched his fist. He had forgotten that grandmother and Jeong Hee-seo were like two peas in a pod.

The corners of his mouth curving up leisurely, as if he had already foreseen victory, was irritating. Ji-an had no power to win against these two. He felt anxious that if they joined forces, they might end up having an extremely lavish wedding.

“This time, let’s make it completely public. I’ve already been discussing plans with Hee-young. I should consult with Madam Sa soon as well.”

“…”

“Of course, your opinions are the most important, but…”

Myeong Hyun-sook’s voice was firm. Ji-an felt dismayed.

Myeong Hyun-sook had been thoroughly embarrassed by his youngest grandson Jeong Han-joo’s engagement party. She had been ridiculed by everyone for spending a fortune on a failed engagement party.

Having lost face, she had no intention of making any concessions for her eldest grandson’s wedding, who was like a pillar of the family.

Myeong Hyun-sook’s battle was just beginning. It was no longer just about his grandson’s wedding. It was Chairman Myeong Hyun-sook’s mission to restore her honor as the woman who had created today’s JM Group.

Ji-an’s pouting face, which hadn’t even recouped its losses, had long since become a minor issue. Myeong Hyun-sook’s consolation was limited to handing him snacks and a bit of pocket money.

“By the way, dear. What was that about Poggles’s birthday?”

As they were returning to the main topic, Jeong Hee-seo, who had been quietly listening until now, chimed in.

“Ji-an is unhappy with Poggles’s birthday, Grandmother. He’s upset that it’s on Christmas.”

“That’s understandable. Yes, it is.”

“But I believe that date was Poggles’s choice, so I can’t comply with Ji-an’s request.”

Ji-an’s eyes widened in betrayal. Jeong Hee-seo’s expression as he looked at him was calm. After comforting him like that earlier! Such a stubborn man! Ji-an was at a loss for words and could only open and close his mouth. Then Hyun-sook drove the final nail in.

“Hee-seo is right. That was the day this little one wanted to come into the world, we shouldn’t change that. That’s right, that’s right. Oh, how cute.”

To make matters worse, even Poggles joined in, reaching out with his maple leaf-like hands and acting cute. The three of them were like a set, huddled together cozily, and at this moment, there was no one on his side.

“Sigh…”

On the way back home, Ji-an’s sighs deepened.