My Girlfriend Is Very Good To Me [EN]: Chapter 141

Ep. 140

Sarang’s first birthday, her first birthday party.

From the morning, we were busy with makeup and changing clothes, heading straight to the hotel. We relied on external companies for the major arrangements, but we had to handle the return gifts and detailed preparations ourselves.

Still, those tasks weren’t as difficult or challenging as I’d anticipated. However, after that, I gradually became exhausted while greeting the party guests. Yet, even in the midst of that, Hee-na was constantly beaming with smiles.

From waking up in the morning to this very moment of greeting relatives and friends.

“Oh my, our granddaughter-in-law. So lovely, so lovely~”

“Thank you, Grandma.”

Even though Hee-na wasn’t particularly strong, seeing her greet people without losing her smile for even a moment was truly admirable.

Moreover, Hee-na, wearing the coral beige *hanbok* [traditional Korean dress] we had chosen together before going to bed last time, looked so elegant.

It’s a cliché, but it was as if a fairy had descended.

Me, who sees her every day, and our families. All of our relatives and Hee-na’s relatives.

Couldn’t take their eyes off her.

“Wow~ Lee Hee-na looks incredible today.”

“Makes you want to fucking kill Han Yeon-hoo again after all this time, huh?”

“Want to turn him into a corpse.”

“For real.”

My friends were showing murderous intent after a long time.

“Wow, Yeon-hoo *hyung* [older brother/male friend], what’s up with your sister-in-law? How did you seduce her?”

“Hey, seduce? Hee-na fell for me and confessed.”

“Ah, come on. Stop talking nonsense.”

“Where’s your conscience gone?”

“……”

Even my cousins were saying such rude things.

Today, Hee-na was beyond just being pretty; there was something different about her aura. Her face held a subtle smile that felt like she was happier than anyone else right now.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she was the most beautiful in the world.

Thanks to that, even though it was clearly Sarang’s first birthday party, Hee-na was more noticeable than Sarang.

“Eomaaaaa!” [Mommy!]

Sarang could also see that her mom was prettier than ever today, and she was looking for Hee-na more than me today.

I could understand that feeling too. I had fallen for her once again, after all.

Whether she knew our hearts or not, Hee-na was just showing everyone who came to Sarang’s birthday party her smile, more beautiful than flowers, without hiding anything.

—

After all the guests arrived, Sarang’s first birthday party proceeded quickly in an atmosphere full of happiness and laughter.

“Then!!! Let’s start!!! Han Sarang’s first birthday party!!!”

Hyung [older brother/male friend] Hee-sung announced the start of the party with the enthusiasm of a game broadcast opening, and we bowed to the family, relatives, and friends who came to the birthday party with Sarang.

“Thank you so much for coming despite your busy schedules. We have gathered you here to celebrate Sarang’s first birthday. We still have many shortcomings, but with the help of our families, we are here─”

And as the representative of the family, I came forward and started with a greeting speech that showed off the skills I had built up through frequent assignments and presentations.

“Crazy… Sarang is so cute…”

“It’s already been half a year. Time really flies.”

“The child looks just like her dad and mom.”

As the first event, we watched a video of Sarang’s growth process. With a short length of about 5 minutes, the videos and photos we sent were appropriately arranged to properly show Sarang’s first year in a compressed manner.

From the moment Sarang was born and held in Hee-na’s arms, to gradually being able to support herself as time passed, and to the recent appearance of walking around freely holding our hands.

It was so well-made that I wanted to give a tip to the company that made it, to the point where I felt like my eyes would get red if I kept watching.

After that short video ended, the cake cutting ceremony immediately followed.

Hee-na and I held Sarang and went to the cake, handing Sarang a blunt bread knife.

“You see what Mommy’s doing? This is how you do it~”

“Hold this and go down like Mommy~ That’s right, good job!”

“Abuaaaa!!!!”

Fortunately, Sarang didn’t play with the bread knife and went straight down without hesitation. Her strength wasn’t enough to cut it properly, but honestly, I think this is in the top 0.01% of 1-year-old babies nationwide.

Rather than whether the cake was cut or not, the most important thing was that she properly pretended to do it.

-Clap clap clap!!

Applause came from all directions for Sarang’s excellent knife skills. Among them, Yoon-jung *nuna* [older sister/female friend] started whistling and cheering as if to liven up the atmosphere even more.

“Kya!!! Sarang is so cool!! Whee-!!!”

“Han! Sa! Rang! Han! Sa! Rang!”

After that, even the host, Hee-sung *hyung*, chanted Sarang’s name together, raising the atmosphere to the fullest, and taking advantage of that high tension, we immediately sang a birthday song.

“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Beloved~ Our Sarangie~”

As Hee-na and I sang first, our grandparents and adults followed, and other young relatives also followed along appropriately.

“~Happy birthday to you!”

“Happy birthday, Sarang-ah!!!”

“Han Sarang!! Happy birthday!!!”

There weren’t many people, but with Hee-sung *hyung* holding the microphone and Yoon-jung *nuna*, who has a loud voice, making a fuss, the sound was so full that it overflowed.

Thanks to that, even though it was just the beginning of the birthday party, I was already out of my mind.

Still, well, this much might be just right for a birthday party. I am really grateful to *hyung* and *nuna*.

—

After the birthday song, which was more noisy than I thought, the next event was the *doljabi* [a Korean tradition where objects are placed in front of the baby to predict their future]. On the large table, along with pencils, balls, stethoscopes, bills, etc. that had been prepared in advance, a picture of me was placed.

Some of the relatives who got up from their seats to see what Sarang would grab had a very natural question, ‘But why is the baby’s father’s picture up there?’, but we just started anyway.

I sat Sarang right in front of those things and whispered softly in her ear.

“Okay, Sarang-ah. What are you going to grab?”

“Appappa!! Aba!!!” [Daddy!]

As soon as she sat on the table, Sarang hit her knees with both hands and looked around.

Soon, Sarang’s gaze was fixed on the small frame containing my picture. Seeing that, I wondered if Hee-na was really going to interfere? But Hee-na was clapping and cheering for Sarang. As if it was okay.

And in a corner next to that, my friends were also expressing their doubts.

“Hey, but why is there a picture of Han Yeon-hoo?”

“That’s what I’m saying. What does it mean to grab that? Is she going to marry her dad?”

“Wow, Han Yeon-hoo is the only one who benefits.”

Um, honestly, I couldn’t deny that feeling.

In fact, I was a little worried that our or Hee-na’s grandmothers and grandfathers would say something after seeing that, but fortunately, everyone was just watching with a happy smile.

Since the parents put it there, they might have given them a heads up in advance. If they heard it, I’m wondering why they didn’t stop it.

“Oh my, I heard the baby likes her grandson-in-law so much?”

“Haha, that’s what I’m saying.”

Anyway, I was able to feel relieved by the sight of the elders having a pleasant conversation.

Well, it wasn’t a completely orthodox first birthday party in the first place, so they might not have cared much. They just skipped things like archery or thanking the gods of heaven and earth, saying why do we do that in this day and age.

Anyway, Sarang grabbed my photo frame, which she had been looking at since earlier, and shook it up and down while giggling.

“Han Sarang’s choice is!!! A picture of her dad, Han Yeon-hoo!!! Wow, she’s really grabbing that. Yeah, just grow up and marry your dad!!”

As Hee-sung *hyung* shouted that with a tension that seemed to pierce the sky, laughter and playful words began to be exchanged around.

“Even if she’s a daughter, doesn’t she like her dad too much~?”

“She’s going to take her dad away from her mom later on~”

Beyond just joking, I felt a chill down my spine at that remark that could actually cause jealousy and anger in Sarang’s mother.

So, with a trembling body, I glanced at Hee-na, but for some reason, Hee-na didn’t show any particular reaction to those words.

“Hehe, our Sarangie likes her dad so much~ She only looks for her dad every day, you know?”

Far from being jealous, she just laughed it off like everyone else.

It didn’t seem like she was just holding back because she didn’t want to show embarrassing *moseup* [appearance] to other people.

It was just, really, she was so happy at this moment that she didn’t care about such jokes at all.

Since it was a place to celebrate a birthday, there was no atmosphere of a wedding like we had initially expected.

Still, it seemed like Hee-na really liked this incredibly noisy Sarang’s birthday party, where bright laughter and stories could be heard from all over, just like on a feast day.

—

After the *doljabi* was over, we had a meal. Of course, instead of eating, I walked around the tables with Sarang in my arms, greeting the people who came and telling them to enjoy their meal.

It was quite tiring, but once the meal was over, I greeted everyone, and gave out the thank-you gifts on the way back, the birthday party would be over. In fact, it was almost the end, so I put in my last bit of strength.

After going around in a circle like that and returning to my seat, Hee-na prepared water and some simple things to eat.

“You worked hard. Are you very hungry?”

“No, I’m okay.”

“What do you mean okay? I brought your favorite things. I made it easy to eat in one bite, so eat at least this.”

I put some food in my mouth with Hee-na’s consideration. I was hungry, but I didn’t really have an appetite because I was tired, but I couldn’t not eat it since Hee-na had prepared it for me.

As I chewed on the things that came into my mouth, I blankly stared at Hee-na, who was feeding Sarang baby food in front of me.

My wife, who is so beautiful and lovely.

If she wears a wedding dress later, will she be as pretty as today?

Somehow, it felt unreal.

We, who met as innocent high school students, had become adults, had a child, and had legally become a couple by registering our marriage.

And now, in front of everyone, we have even invited people to our daughter’s birthday party as a couple.

“Sarang-ah~ Is it delicious?”

“Amuaaaa!”

“Sarang eats so well~ Good girl~”

If my wife, who is taking care of Sarang with a loving gaze, hadn’t become my girlfriend that day, what would my life have been like? If Hee-na hadn’t discovered me, who was just living moderately without any particular dreams.

I couldn’t imagine what I would have been like if I hadn’t met Hee-na.

Now, Hee-na was my life itself. Without my girlfriend’s help, which had been consistent since that day, I would be nothing now.

Looking back on the past.

From the first time we met, Hee-na was very good to me. It was to the point where I thought Hee-na was the ideal girlfriend.

And as each day passed, she showed me not only that side of her, but also more diverse aspects.

She threw away the shell that made me feel like she was much older than me and an adult.

She rejoiced, was jealous, and sometimes did foolish things like a girl my age.

If you ask me whether I liked or disliked that gradually changing appearance, honestly, I didn’t care.

Hee-na was just a gift from heaven in herself, and I would live my whole life thanking her.

Both Hee-na, who was like an older sister in the past, and Hee-na, who is cute and sometimes annoying now.

I loved her the most in the world.

And Hee-na is still.

“Honey! You had a hard time holding Sarang all day today, right? I’ll take care of her from now on, so take a break.”

Not as a girlfriend,

But now as a wife.

Even if it’s not something special,

In the small parts of everyday life.

She is being so good to me.

Until now, and in the future.

Surely, it will always be like that.