A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 135

135. Mom Has a Mom Too

The day was a whirlwind of congratulations. Thanks to my team’s thoughtfulness, there weren’t any major headaches, but by the time I was ready to leave work, I was completely drained.

“I’m home!”

As I opened the door and called out, Yena was the first to rush to me.

“Mommy!”

“Yena, my princess!”

I didn’t have the energy to lift Yena, who was clamoring for my attention, so I just sank to the floor and accepted her hug.

While we were having our affectionate moment, Guk-soon approached.

“Did you eat?”

“Yes.”

“Jeong Seo-bang [term of endearment for a son-in-law] isn’t coming with you today?”

“Yeah, he must be busy.”

“Oh dear, that must be tough.”

“It was tough for me too.”

As Guk-soon muttered, concerned about her husband, I pouted and complained. I opened the refrigerator, hoping for some juice, and Guk-soon asked,

“Are you drinking beer?”

“No, I decided not to drink alcohol.”

“What’s the occasion?”

“Does Mom think I drink all the time?”

I couldn’t bring myself to mention the incident with Jeong Ji-heon, so I retorted, a bit grumpy. Yena, back from playing, ran to me and started recounting her day.

“Mom, Yena called Grandpa today.”

“Really? What did you talk about?”

I hadn’t even called him myself, but I thought it was sweet of her, so I cupped her cheeks and asked with a smile.

“I told him I ate all the candy, and Grandpa said he’d make more for me.”

“Oh my, Jeong Yena.”

My smile faltered at her answer.

“You ate all the candy?”

“Yes.”

“All of it?”

I glanced around and headed to Yena’s room. There had been a large container full of candy, but the containers Jae-gwang had filled were now completely empty. Both of them! The child had even scraped up and eaten the candy dust at the bottom.

All that candy, gone in four days.

“You ate all of this by yourself?”

“I gave some to Grandma, Do-bin, and Do-yoon too.”

“How many did you give to Do-bin and Do-yoon?”

Yena lowered her head and slowly counted on her small fingers.

She gave them as many as she could count on one hand.

Which meant she ate most of it herself.

“Jeong Yena, how many candies did Mom say you could have in a day? I told you, only four.”

“But these candies were smaller than the others.”

“Does that mean you can eat ten times as many? No, what am I saying? You must have eaten four hundred!”

Yena knew she’d done wrong, and she subtly avoided my gaze.

“Grandpa gave you a little bit at a time, and you ate it all up like that? And then you call him to make more?”

But she had her reasons.

“Grandpa said I did well, but why are you like this, Mom!”

“What do you mean, you did well? Why are you yelling!”

“Grandma!”

Yena ran to her grandmother, teary-eyed.

As soon as her grandmother took her in her arms, her bad habit resurfaced: crying dramatically. Knowing tears worked on adults, she cried even louder.

“Grandma, Mom made Yena cry.”

“Did Mom make you cry? You cried and blamed Mom!”

Waaaaah! Her crying intensified at my scolding. Guk-soon picked her up and patted her, telling her not to cry. I didn’t like that either.

“Why are you picking up such a heavy child? Your arms will fall off. Put her down.”

“No!”

Yena clung tighter, relying on her grandmother’s comfort.

“Grandma, I’m going to sleep with Grandma tonight.”

“Don’t think about kicking Grandma and sleep alone!”

“No!”

She was a stubborn child who wouldn’t give in.

In the end, Yena spread out a large blanket and fell asleep in Guk-soon’s room. I sat in front of them and sighed deeply.

“Ugh, I’m so upset.”

“Kids are all like that. You were too.”

“I wasn’t. If Mom told me not to do something, I stopped right there.”

“You only remember the times you did. You were like that too. You two are the same.”

“We’re not the same! And Mom, do you know how she eats candy? She bites down on it. That’s why she eats it all so quickly. All her teeth are going to rot.”

“She brushed her teeth well before bed, so it’s okay.”

Guk-soon said, gently stroking Yena’s hair. Her mother’s hand was touching the child, but I felt like she was comforting me. Her gentle and calm nature always brought stability to me as well.

I, who had become solemn, said,

“I’ll take her. Mom, you can sleep comfortably.”

“Just leave her.”

“…….”

“This is all thanks to Mom’s good fortune. How happy am I that my granddaughter wants to sleep with me like this.”

“…….”

“No matter what, Mom is happiest right now. I have nothing more to wish for, living with my daughter even after she’s married. If I wanted something more than this, it would be greed.”

Indeed, Guk-soon was experiencing the happiest moment of her life. A fulfilling happiness that felt so complete, wanting more would be greedy.

“My mom also said this was her wish: to live happily with her daughter even after she got married.”

“Grandma?”

“Yes, that’s what she wanted, but she passed away too early.”

“…….”

“I’m fulfilling that wish instead.”

I had never met my grandmother, but as Guk-soon talked about her, her eyes welled up. I hugged my knees and tilted my head.

It tugged at my heart to think that even Guk-soon, the best mother in the world, who seemed born to be a mom, had once been a child like Yena, simply loved by her own mother.

“Oh, you must be tired. Go and rest quickly.”

Guk-soon waved her hand, turning her head away as if she didn’t want me to see her tears.

After saying goodnight, I returned to my room, plopped down on the bed, and stared blankly at the floor.

Every day, I spread out a blanket and slept with Yena, but tonight, I’m in a room on the opposite side of the hallway.

It feels so strange. It’s not like the child is protecting me, but without her, I feel somehow lost.

‘The child was protecting me.’

I had a sudden realization. I thought I was the only one protecting her, but she was also protecting me. All that overflowing happiness, all those laughs, were all thanks to her. It was thanks to her that the dark days weren’t so scary.

As I quietly reflected on the happiness Yena brings me, I realized I’d scolded her too much today. If I had given her a stern warning in the first place, she would have been more careful, but it was also my fault for not saying anything because it was the first gift she received from her grandfather.

‘I should apologize tomorrow.’

Once I made up my mind, I felt a little amused. By tomorrow, Yena would have completely forgotten being scolded and would cling to me like a puppy. Imagining that scene, I also thought that I was happiest right now, just like my mom.

I thought Ji-heon was getting late, and I was about to fall asleep, but I got up. I was tired, but it must have been an even harder day for him, so I decided to wait up out of loyalty. I also wanted to hear about his day.

I went into the bathroom and filled the bathtub with warm water. I was living in a house with a bathtub for the first time in my life, but I hadn’t really used it.

Since I was tired, I thought I should soak in the hot water until Ji-heon came home to relieve my fatigue. After filling the tub and getting in, I felt a shiver of pleasure all over my body.

Ah, this is heaven!

The warm water, which seemed to melt my body, made all the worries of the world fade away. The noisy events at work felt as distant as a dream.

Ah, life is beautiful.

I closed my eyes tightly, forgetting all my worries. I felt like I might fall asleep right there. But the moment of peace didn’t last long. I had barely closed my eyes when my cell phone vibrated. It was Ji-heon.

“Hello.”

[Where are you?]

“I’m at home.”

[What are you doing at home?]

“I’m inaugurating the bathtub. The water is warm and nice. You should soak in it later too. Where are you?”

[I’m almost there.]

“Okay, come in quietly. Mom is sleeping. Yena is sleeping in Mom’s room too.”

[Okay, I got it.]

The call ended quickly. The rest wasn’t long, but I felt like I had relieved most of my fatigue, so I thought I could sleep soundly.

‘I should sit for just three more minutes and then get up.’

I lowered myself deeper into the bathtub so that the water reached my chin.

At that moment, the door opened.

My mouth dropped open in surprise.

“Gasp! Cough!”

I staggered and even swallowed some of the bathwater.

The person who appeared was none other than my husband.

It wasn’t a surprising fact, but my breath caught in my throat.

For some reason, he was naked. His brazen and dignified figure, wearing only a towel, made my thoughts grind to a halt.

Even in the steamy bathroom, his muscular body was clearly revealed, making my face burn. That alone made my whole body tense up, but he didn’t seem to notice and strode towards the bathtub.

No, why are you coming in here!

“…Why are you coming in?”

“You told me to soak in it. You did.”

Ah, I did say that. I belatedly regretted it in a fluster.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Why? Don’t you want me to?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Let’s share it. The bathtub.”

As he said, “Let’s share the bathtub,” he didn’t take a seat in front of my wide-open eyes but deliberately squeezed into the space behind me.

His body, which felt warm even though he had just entered the tub, settled behind me. I could feel the shape of his firm and bulging muscles.

His sturdy chest completely covered my small shoulders. Even a slight movement would cause the water to splash, so I became even stiffer. It was hard to even breathe, but Ji-heon chuckled as if he was having fun.

“This is fun.”

“…….”

“My wife’s body is so tense even when she’s taking a bath.”

Whose fault is that?

“I’ll just wash you gently, so relax.”

“…….”

“For now.”

F-For now?

* * * * * * * *

Ms. Lee Guk-soon left the wide bed and went to sleep next to her granddaughter. After sleeping in a bed since moving, she felt comfortable settling on the floor again after a long time.

As comfortable as it was, Guk-soon quickly fell asleep and met her mother in her dreams after a long time. Even though she knew it was a dream, Guk-soon was deeply moved.

“Mom!”

“Our Guk-soon is here?”

In the dream, she was about the same age as Jeong-o now. Her mother was also as young and beautiful as she was when she passed away.

I wanted to see my mother looking a little older, but Guk-soon was just happy to see her.

“Mom, how come you haven’t changed at all?”

“Our daughter has grown up just like her mother.”

Then someone pulled on her sleeve from the side. It was baby Jeong-o, who had become as small as Yena now. Guk-soon quickly introduced her daughter to her mother.

“Mom, this is my daughter, Jeong-o. She looks like Mom, right?”

“She’s pretty because she looks like our daughter. Very.”

Guk-soon’s mother stroked baby Jeong-o for a long time. The sight was so sad and happy that she felt like she was going to cry, but Guk-soon held back.

“Jeong-o.”

“Yes!”

Baby Jeong-o answered firmly. Jeong-o’s mother and Guk-soon’s mother wore matching motherly smiles.

“Listen to your mom and be healthy. Eat well too. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Here, this is a gift from your grandmother.”

Baby Jeong-o received a red and luscious apple from her grandmother. It was such a big apple that baby Jeong-o had to hold it with both arms.