I've Been Possessed, But What If I Get Pregnant First? - C68
#68
Just as I thought. In the end, it means Kwon Taebeom couldn’t sleep because he missed me too. My heart pounded at the fact that such a wonderful person loves me. The tips of my toes hidden tightly under the blanket wiggled on their own.
When we like each other so much, how can we do push-and-pull….
No matter how much I thought about it, I concluded that it would be better to express our feelings to each other and love each other to death rather than wasting time doing push-and-pull. I held Kwon Taebeom’s hand tightly.
“Taebeom-ssi, I’ll apologize on behalf of what Grandma said earlier.”
“I deserved to be scolded.”
“Why? If you think about it, I’m the one who seduced you and made you fall for me.”
“Right, now that I think about it, it’s unfair.”
I saw Kwon Taebeom’s face laughing softly in a playful voice. Maybe because time had passed and my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I started to see the surroundings very slightly. As I watched Kwon Taebeom’s gaze looking at me or his small actions like rubbing his eyebrows after laughing, the scar on his neck suddenly caught my eye.
“Can I ask how you got this?”
At a glance, it was a very large scar. The deep scar seemed to say that if anything had gone slightly wrong, something really bad could have happened.
“It’s old, so I don’t remember now.”
It felt like he didn’t want to talk about it rather than not remembering. Because Kwon Taebeom’s eyes turned so sad at my words. So I didn’t ask further about the reason. I was just worried if it had been painful. I carefully traced his scar with my fingertips. My heart ached with pity.
“Does it not hurt anymore?”
“Yeah.”
“Still, it must have been really hard until it healed.”
“…Yes. It was very painful and very difficult.”
I hugged Kwon Taebeom, who said that while claiming he didn’t remember how he got it, and just patted his broad back. I didn’t know what story was behind it, but I hoped that everything that hurt him would disappear.
“You’ve been through a lot, Taebeom-ssi. There won’t be any more painful things now.”
While comforting Kwon Taebeom, I recalled the contents of the novel. I tried to remember the events that might help him, focusing on the major events.
‘What was there? I hope it’s something that can help him. Gasp. Right. I can’t believe I forgot such an important thing until now.’
In the middle of the novel, there was a moment when Kwon Taebeom was in danger. He was badly injured to the point of almost threatening his life, and the reason for that started from the very house we live in. When I remembered that, all I could think was that I had to protect him this time.
“If anything happens, I will definitely protect you. I’m your h-husband, Taebeom-ssi.”
“I feel reassured, my husband.”
His hand on my back trembled slightly. Even though he tried to act calm, he seemed anxious, as if he was recalling that incident. I slowly patted the back of Kwon Taebeom, who had tired eyes, and whispered that it was okay until he fell asleep.
I saw Kwon Taebeom’s sleeping face for the first time in a while. It was Kwon Taebeom’s job to bathe and put me to sleep every day, so I hadn’t seen this sight for quite a long time. As I watched the sleeping Kwon Taebeom, I rubbed the ends of his darkly hanging hair.
“This time, I will protect you.”
I whispered to him, who had his eyes closed, and quietly got up from my seat. I wanted to sleep with him here, but if I fell asleep like this, it wouldn’t be me who would get scolded by Grandma tomorrow, but Kwon Taebeom. With a heavy heart, I took in his face a little longer and left the room.
***
“Did you sleep well alone last night?”
“Yeah.”
The two of us feigned ignorance as if we hadn’t even seen each other’s faces last night.
“Ahem. Did you really sleep alone last night?”
“What? Of, of course!”
I avoided Grandma’s gaze as she narrowed her eyes and examined my expression. It seemed she would soon notice that I had secretly met him at dawn.
“Then that’s fine. Anyway, you two go and pick some lettuce.”
“Lettuce?”
“That’s right. Here, hurry up.”
Grandma handed the red basket to Kwon Taebeom and urged us. Kwon Taebeom took a hat with a long brim from the family room and put it on me. Grandma seemed to like seeing us like that again, as she disappeared into the kitchen with a satisfied smile.
“Wow. It hasn’t been long since you came down, when did you plant all this?”
I widened my eyes at the vast field. Perhaps because it was spring, various vegetables such as lettuce, perilla leaves, and peppers were growing lushly.
“Taebeom-ssi, do you eat peppers?”
“I do.”
“I don’t eat them because they’re spicy. Then I’ll only pick 10.”
As I snapped off a huge cucumber pepper almost as big as an eggplant, a dirty thought came to mind.
“Ahem. Ta-Taebeom-ssi, please pick some lettuce. A lot….”
I broke out in a cold sweat from getting poked alone. I covered my face with the basket and barely cooled my heated face.
“Whew…. Why am I like this these days? Why do I keep having such lewd thoughts?”
I smacked my head hard for constantly having lecherous thoughts, not even embarrassed in front of Ho-ppang. With quick hands, I finished picking all the peppers and tried to pull out radishes that Grandma didn’t even ask for, putting a long, very long distance between me and Kwon Taebeom.
“This is, ugh…. Why won’t it come out, whew… it won’t come out… ack!”
I put all my strength into pulling the radish greens that wouldn’t come out no matter how much force I used. Then suddenly, the radish popped out with a ‘swoosh-‘ and I fell on my bottom.
“Ack! Ow… it hurts….”
“Cha Yuwon!”
Because I made a loud noise, Kwon Taebeom came running from afar with a startled face.
“Are you okay?”
He hurriedly helped me up and even brushed the dirt off my bottom.
‘Ah, so embarrassing. I’m sorry, Ho-ppang.’
I smiled awkwardly at Kwon Taebeom, who was checking every corner of my body with a surprised face.
“Haa… give that to me and just stay still. Why did you pull out the radishes that no one even asked for?”
“Just… because I wanted to eat radish salad….”
I made up an excuse in a hurry and held his hand as I returned to the lettuce field. I sat on the spot Kwon Taebeom prepared after taking off his clothes and watched his back. His hand movements were elegant as he discarded the lettuce eaten by bugs and picked only the appropriately sized ones. Before long, the basket was full of the lettuce Kwon Taebeom had picked.
“Look at you sweating. Are you very hot?”
Although Kwon Taebeom did all the work, judging by appearances, it looked like I did everything. Messy hands and clothes, a sweaty forehead. Kwon Taebeom must have found it funny too, as he took off my straw hat and wiped my sweat.
“Okay, let’s go now. Hop on.”
“It’s okay….”
Despite my words of refusal, I readily climbed onto Kwon Taebeom’s back as he bent his knees, showing his wide back. I hugged his neck and rested my face on his broad back.
“Taebeom-ssi. Shall we take a walk?”
Looking at the time, it seemed okay to skip out for a bit.
Kwon Taebeom turned direction without a word. I felt good seeing the forsythias blooming on one side and the spring breeze blowing gently. As I felt his refreshing pheromone scent following the wind, I felt even better and smiled uncontrollably.
“It would be nice to sit over there before going back.”
“Okay.”
Quite far from the house, there was a large willow tree and a small pyeong-sang placed underneath it. As if it was a place where the villagers came to rest, traces of time were left intact. Kwon Taebeom carefully put me down and asked, looking at my bottom.
“Is your bottom okay? Did you get a bruise?”
“I’m fine! It’s not like I fell hard.”
“Still, be careful from now on.”
“Okay.”
If I wasn’t okay, it seemed like he would check my bottom right here and now, so I absolutely denied it. I lay down on the pyeong-sang and closed my eyes in the sunlight coming through the branches.
“You know what?”
“Yeah.”
Kwon Taebeom made shade with his hand so the sun wouldn’t be blinding. I stared at him for a while and couldn’t hold back any longer, so I asked.
“Why do you like me, Taebeom-ssi?”
It’s natural for Kwon Taebeom to be handsome, tall, rich, and on top of that, extremely kind and loving to me, but I was just too ordinary.
“What? Why do I like you? Is it because of Ho-ppang?”
There was no answer. As I bit my lip in anxiety, Kwon Taebeom made a serious face and released my lip. Then he suddenly lay down next to me. We looked at each other while lying down.
“Don’t say ridiculous things. Of course I love Ho-ppang because I love you. You come first, Cha Yuwon.”
“Ahem. Re-really? Then never mind….”
Ho-ppang, I’m sorry. Your dad says I come first….
Seeing my heart pounding hard at his words that he loves me more than his child, I thought I was a truly immature father. I turned my head, pressing my lips that kept trying to go up.
“Then why do you like me?”
“Because it’s you.”
“Eck. What does that mean?”
I was tired of his answer that he likes me just because I’m Cha Yuwon, when I’ve probably told him the reasons I like him a hundred times by now.
“Because the person who came into my life is none other than Cha Yuwon. That’s why I like you.”
Kwon Taebeom looked at me with the most loving eyes, as if that was enough reason for him to love me. Even with that warm gaze, my heart suddenly stung and I had an ominous feeling. Why am I suddenly like this…?
My chest ached as if a sharp needle was poking my heart. Every time I breathed, my breathing became unstable and my vision blurred, then returned, repeating the process.
“Yuwon-ah?”
“Ah, yes.”
At the sound of him calling me, I held my breath and gave an awkward smile.
“Let’s go now. Grandma must be waiting.”
“Yes, let’s….”
He offered his back again, and I climbed onto his firm and warm back. But for some unknown reason, I chewed on my lips with an uneasy feeling. The way back, retracing the path I had walked while dreaming of a future with him, strangely made my heart beat ominously. It felt like the real Cha Yuwon, who knew nothing, was sending me a red signal and warning me.
***