I've Been Possessed, But What If I Get Pregnant First? - C39
#39
Knock knock-
“Mr. Yuwon, may I come in?”
I heard Secretary Junseok’s voice from beyond the closed door.
“Oh, yes! Come in!”
I got up and approached the door, and he smiled at me cautiously.
“Everything is ready.”
“I’ll just change clothes and come out. Thank you.”
Today was the day Grandma was going down to Jecheon. After wrapping up her shop, Grandma said she was moving to Jecheon where her friend had settled down a few years ago. She had gone through a lot, so it would be better for her to comfortably spend her later years there, but I didn’t know why I felt so regretful. And I felt even more regret that time had flown by too quickly with this and that.
“Grandma!”
“Did my little puppy come?”
When I entered the house, Grandma was packing her small luggage. She beamed at me with her wrinkled face and patted my back.
“Is my puppy feeling better now?”
“I’m all better now. I’m sorry. I should have come more often….”
I said I would come every day until Grandma left, but there was that thing with Taebeom, and I was sick afterwards too, so I felt bad I couldn’t visit often. Taebeom and I agreed to go down to Jecheon together when he returned, but honestly I was still worried.
“This granny doesn’t care about anything as long as my Yuwon is okay.”
“…Grandma.”
“Dear, didn’t Granny tell you? Granny’s happiness is our Yuwon.”
My throat clogged up at Grandma’s kind voice. ‘I’m not the real Cha Yuwon though….’ The words Grandma said thinking I was the real Cha Yuwon were so warm, but the more I heard them, the guiltier I felt towards her.
“Dear, my little puppy.”
“Yes….”
“You have to live happily and well.”
I bit the inside of my mouth and swallowed back tears, worried Grandma would be concerned if I cried here.
“Yes, I will. Don’t worry, Grandma.”
“Good. Let Granny hug you once.”
Grandma stroked my cheeks endlessly with her thick hands, then pulled me into an embrace. Wrapped in her arms as she patted my head, tears finally spilled out. Grandma just held me tightly without a word.
“G- Grandma, I said I’m coming with you!”
After having lunch with Grandma, I naturally tried to get in the back seat, but she pushed me away.
“You have to study, where do you think you’re following me to.”
“Today’s Saturday though?”
“Since when do students have weekends? Quickly go in and study.”
“B- But still, Grandma-“
She scolded me firmly with a “tsk”, her expression the same as when I first faced her after possessing Cha Yuwon’s body.
“…Grandma.”
“Come down next time with that guy then.”
“That guy…?”
My heart pounded loudly. The anxious thought that Grandma might know something messed up my mind.
“Goodness…. Yuwon, Granny’s instincts are sharp. Anyway! Hurry and go in. Granny needs to go down before it gets later.”
She definitely had sharp instincts. Grandma narrowed her eyes at me as I hiccuped.
“Don’t just do whatever he tells you to, push when you need to push and pull when you need to pull.”
“G- Grandma….”
I never expected to hear this from Grandma. Embarrassed, I covered my face with my hands and she burst out laughing.
“Though, the way he looks at you, honey is practically dripping from his eyes. It’s a good time….”
I really felt like my face would explode. As I made a distressed face, not knowing what to do, Grandma lastly placed some pocket money in my hand and said:
“Granny is sorry to only have this much. But it seems you’re doing well… so Granny is relieved.”
“You don’t have to give me money, keep it for yourself, Grandma.”
“Take it since Granny is giving it to you, kid.”
It seemed Grandma would be disappointed if I didn’t accept this. In the end, I couldn’t refuse her wrinkled hand and took the money she gave me.
“…Thank you.”
“That’s my boy. Study hard. Don’t get sick, always stay healthy. Got it?”
“Yes, you take care of your health too, Grandma. I’ll come down next week so bear with missing me a little.”
Tears welled up at the fact that we were parting like this. Grandma’s eyes were also brimming with tears. I bit my lip hard and grasped her hands.
“I love you, Grandma.”
“Yes, Granny loves our Yuwon too.”
With those last words, the car Grandma was in slowly started moving. I watched until Grandma’s retreating back was barely visible as she grew more distant. Grandma also turned back, waving until she became a dot.
I returned home feeling gloomy and laid in bed thinking of Grandma. Grandma who loved Cha Yuwon boundlessly. And Cha Yuwon who loved such a grandma.
I shouldn’t ruin their lives by wedging myself in as a stain between them. Before it was too late, before it became irreversible, I had to put everything back in its place. When I emptied my complicated feelings and thought coldly, there was only one conclusion. I covered my face with trembling hands.
“Let’s just get rid of it before growing more attached. I have to return to how it was originally. That’s what’s right for everyone….”
When Cha Yuwon returned, it was right to give him back his original life. For Cha Yuwon’s sake, and for the sake of everyone here, that was the right thing. Thinking that way cleared my mind, but the tears I had been holding back burst out.
“Baby, I’m sorry…. I’m so sorry….”
The tears flowing along my fingers soaked the pillowcase. I felt like I would die from guilt.
***
Junseok answered the call that came at the same time again today and opened his mouth after steadying his voice.
“Yes, hyung-nim.”
-How’s Yuwon?
As if he never got tired of the same question every day, Taebeom asked as if inquiring for the first time.
“He seems a bit down after parting with Grandmother. All he had for dinner was a few spoonfuls of porridge and he didn’t even touch the snacks he likes so much.”
-I see. Leave him be for now and fix him something if he says he wants to eat later, even if it’s late.
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Junseok had already requested the main residence’s head chef to make some pudding. He nodded, roughly calculating the time it would take to make the pudding.
“I safely escorted Grandmother to the Jecheon residence and Hyungsik and the kids plan to stay in Jecheon for the time being.”
-Make it so she doesn’t have to worry. Be as inconspicuous as possible, and report immediately if any suspicious person approaches.
“Yes, understood.”
-What about Kim Sangchul?
Taebeom’s voice was sharp. Kim Sangchul was not only the main perpetrator of school violence against Yuwon, but also someone Taebeom could never forget. Taebeom’s jaw clenched firmly as he recalled the memories he had tried hard to forget.
“Other than a record of Kim Sangchul withdrawing 50,000 won in cash from a convenience store ATM in Ulsan 2 years ago using his own card, nothing else comes up.”
-Any history of leaving the country?
“That doesn’t come up at all either.”
They had been tracking Kim Sangchul since that day, but couldn’t find a trace of him anywhere. Not long after Yuwon dropped out, Kim Sangchul stopped going to school. He was currently expelled for unexcused absences.
Also, according to the guys who used to hang around bullying Yuwon along with Kim Sangchul, he was particularly obsessed with Yuwon. They said they weren’t sure after Kim Sangchul disappeared, but his obsession got worse after Yuwon presented as an omega….
And Taebeom knew best what happened after that. Recalling the past events, Taebeom couldn’t just leave Kim Sangchul alone any longer. For Yuwon’s sake, and for his own sake.
Clicking his tongue, Taebeom instructed Junseok.
-Check with Prosecutor Moon and set up a dinner appointment.
“Understood.”
It seemed he intended to bring in even the prosecution, their last resort, as there was no progress on the case. Junseok jotted the schedule down in his familiar notebook and examined Taebeom’s densely filled schedule.
***
“Baby tiger….”
Baby White Tiger’s eyes, looking at me reproachfully, were shedding tears.
“Eung, nyah-”
Baby White Tiger was crying pitifully while whimpering. I reached out my hand, but he took a step back from me and turned his head.
“Baby…!”
I realized the baby white tiger that had been visiting my dreams was the little bean residing in my belly. Seeing White Tiger’s back growing distant from me, a pain seized my heart as if someone was squeezing it.
“Sob, baby….”
Gasping for breath while clutching my chest, White Tiger had moved one more step away from me.
“D- hic, don’t go.”
I cried endlessly, calling out to baby White Tiger who was getting farther and farther away. The image of baby White Tiger constantly looking at me with resentful eyes came to mind. There was no way the baby wouldn’t know I had made up my mind to give it up. That thought made the pain strangling my heart worsen. I felt so sorry to the baby.
“I’m sorry…. Sob, I’m sorry baby….”
Right then, baby White Tiger’s body started fading and it seemed he would disappear at any moment. My heart dropped with a thud. My hands were shaking and I couldn’t breathe properly.