My Girlfriend Is Very Good To Me [EN]: Chapter 157

Ep. 156

His granddaughter cried and cried until she finally fell asleep from exhaustion. His daughter patted her, looking as if she was about to cry herself.

Watching them, Lim Seon-hee, the mother of Lee Hee-na and Lee Hee-sung, and the grandmother of Han Sarang, thought to herself.

‘It’s not like her son-in-law went on some overseas deployment…’

She thought her granddaughter could be excused. Her son-in-law had been taking care of her for a long time this year, and she had been strangely attached to her father since she was a baby.

Besides, at that age, even a few days apart would feel like a very long time, let alone a few weeks.

But she thought her daughter, Lee Hee-na, was still overreacting. Of course, their relationship was good, and it was nice to see them cherish and care for each other.

But she was no longer a high school student, but a grown adult who had even gotten a job. How could she be so distressed that her husband was only in training camp for five weeks?

She had so much she wanted to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it in front of her daughter, who looked like she was about to cry.

And as soon as they got home.

“Mom, Mother. I’m going to put Sarang in bed and rest a little too…”

“Okay~ You get some rest too~”

“Don’t worry too much about Yeon-hoo, and get some rest.”

“Yes… Thank you…”

-Click

After confirming that her daughter had taken her granddaughter into the room, she immediately opened her mouth. She couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Seriously, it’s not like her son-in-law went to Iraq~ My daughter is really…”

“Don’t say anything. Hee-na is one thing, but Sarang will cry again.”

“Oh my~ Of course~ I’m really worried about Sarang… She’ll wake up and cry for her dad again.”

“It’s a relief he’s a full-time reserve officer. What would Lee Hee-na have done if he had enlisted as an active-duty soldier?”

Not only her, but the other two were thinking similarly. Sometimes, the way the two of them were always together like lovebirds was nice to see, but they also thought it was a bit much.

For a while, the three of them talked about Lee Hee-na’s excessive love, and then the topic soon turned to Han Sarang.

“Hee-sung, do you have a big cat doll somewhere?”

“Of course, I do. Should I buy one? I didn’t buy a really big one because I thought it would be in the way with so many people in the house.”

“Buy one when you see it~”

“Okay. I’ll have to look for one when I go on a date later.”

What Han Sarang liked the most was her dad, Han Yeon-hoo, but the next was cats. Of course, her mom, Lee Hee-na, was somewhere in between.

Lim Seon-hee thought about a few more things to comfort her granddaughter, and then sighed as she looked around the house.

“It’s quiet in the house without our son-in-law…”

“It could be because Yeon-hoo was always at home.”

“That’s true, but… Sister. Do you know how good it is to see Yeon-hoo’s smiling face? Actually, I feel so good when Yeon-hoo greets me with a smile when I come home. It makes me feel comfortable.”

“Han Yeon-hoo has that kind of thing. His voice is quite nice to listen to, isn’t it? It’s not a high-pitched voice, but there’s something about it.”

“Right? Besides, Yeon-hoo has been staying home these days, so it’s been easier for me to go around and take care of things.”

Of course, she wasn’t as heartbroken as her daughter. But you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, and she felt a great sense of regret when she thought about tomorrow.

However, Lee Hee-sung had a slightly different thought.

‘Hmm… Sarang will only be like this for a few days at most… If Lee Hee-na goes to work, isn’t it totally possible for me to monopolize her?’

He was also worried about his brother-in-law, his sister, and his niece, but no matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t a situation to be taken so seriously.

Han Yeon-hoo had only gone to training camp for five weeks. If he had gone on an overseas deployment, he would have been very worried, but that wasn’t the case.

Honestly, after seeing his sister today, he thought it might be okay for them to be apart like this.

He had become so used to Han Yeon-hoo being stuck with his sister that he took it for granted, but today he realized that Han Yeon-hoo really didn’t have any time to himself.

He helps with housework, takes care of Han Sarang, and never lets Lee Hee-na go anywhere alone when she gets off work. He’s always stuck with them.

Of course, it’s inevitable that a father is restricted to some extent, but it was still a bit much.

Anyway, he was thinking of monopolizing Han Sarang during this opportunity. No matter how well he treated her, she would only react for a moment and then follow Han Yeon-hoo around again.

But if he played with her at home and helped her get ready for daycare, he thought he could become closer to her than he is now.

He wanted to be number one among the many uncles.

‘First, I’ll get her attention with a huge cat doll, and then I’ll feed her something delicious when Lee Hee-na isn’t around. It’ll be a piece of cake to win over a kid.’

Lee Hee-sung smiled contentedly as he imagined Han Sarang playing in his arms or falling asleep.

So, he immediately took his girlfriend, Cha Rin, on a date that evening and bought a life-size cat doll.

Unfortunately, he spent a lot of money on the cat doll, but he didn’t receive any love from Sarang.

—

Three days after Han Yeon-hoo entered the training camp.

Lee Hee-sung hung his head in the living room. He couldn’t turn the heart of that little child in front of him.

Even though he had bought a special-sized cat doll that she usually liked so much, Han Sarang didn’t even look at it.

She was just listlessly drawing a picture in her sketchbook. A picture of herself, her dad, and her mom together.

Fortunately, she hadn’t burst into tears since the first day, but she wasn’t showing the bright smile and charm she always had.

“Sarang, Uncle bought ice cream. Do you want to eat it? It’s the Excellent [a popular Korean ice cream bar] that Sarang likes…”

“No… Sarang is okay…”

“Then shall we draw together? You know Uncle is good at drawing, right?”

“Sarang wants to draw alone…”

“Okay…”

She didn’t show much interest in dolls, snacks, or ice cream. In the end, Lee Hee-sung gave up and just hoped that his sister, who had just gotten off work, would come out of her room.

He had to admit that he could no longer overcome this situation with his own strength. The Sarang monopolization plan he had made a few days ago had already been shattered. His father, Lee Myung-heon, also shook his head at the sight of his granddaughter’s lonely back.

“Should we… show her Yeon-hoo’s videos? Hee-na took a lot of them in advance.”

“What if she sees Han Yeon-hoo and starts crying again because she misses him?”

“Hmm… I guess so.”

“I don’t know anymore… Cats, snacks, ice cream, nothing works.”

There was nothing the two men could do for Han Sarang, who was more heartbroken than they had expected.

They just hoped that Lee Hee-na would somehow heal her daughter’s heart, even a little. Han Sarang, who always brought laughter to the house, was like that, so the atmosphere in the house was generally depressed.

Lee Hee-na had been working late yesterday and the day before, so she had little time to take care of Sarang. Today, she finally got off work at a normal time, so she had time to take care of Sarang.

-Click

A moment later, Lee Hee-na changed her clothes and came out of her room, and the eyes of the two men turned to her. She was also very gloomy compared to when Han Yeon-hoo was around, but not as much as Han Sarang.

So the two of them were just looking at her.

With expectant eyes.

—-

When I changed my clothes and came out of the room with my laptop, my brother and dad were looking at me with desperate eyes.

“What are you two doing there?”

“No… please do something about Han Sarang. I got a call from daycare earlier. They said she has no energy at all.”

At those words, I turned my gaze away from the two of them and approached Sarang. I had used my annual leave when Yeon-hoo entered the training camp, so I had no choice but to be stuck at work for the past two days.

In front of me, I saw Sarang sadly drawing with crayons. I could understand my daughter’s feelings. More than anyone else in this world.

I didn’t cry into my pillow, but I couldn’t help but miss Yeon-hoo every day.

My husband, who was always by my side, was now gone.

“Our Sarang, are you drawing?”

But I was Sarang’s mom. I shouldn’t show her that I’m having a hard time, at least not in front of Sarang.

So I smiled slightly and spoke from behind Sarang.

“Sarang and… Dad and Mom… when we went to see the meow meow…”

“Really? You drew it well~ Is this Dad?”

“Yes…”

Sarang’s reaction wasn’t very enthusiastic. Of course, her beloved dad wasn’t by her side, so she couldn’t help it. In the end, only Yeon-hoo could solve this.

I put my laptop next to Sarang’s sketchbook and said.

“Sarang, shall we watch Dad’s video together with Mom?”

“When is Dad coming…?”

“Dad said? He’ll be back when Sarang sleeps well for forty nights. But Sarang, if you’re like this, Dad might come back later?”

“Sarang is being good!”

“Mom knows that our Sarang is always good. But Sarang. Dad likes Sarang’s smiling face so much, are you not going to smile for him? If Sarang keeps smiling, Dad might want to come back sooner because he wants to see it.”

“Really?”

“Of course~ Now, shall we write down how many forty nights are here?”

The other family members probably couldn’t talk about Yeon-hoo carelessly because they were afraid that Sarang’s tears would burst.

Sarang cried so much on the first day. She cried until she was exhausted and fell asleep, and then she woke up and cried again. She stopped crying only after I told her several times that Dad would come back later.

Of course, after that, she was like this today.

I praised Sarang, who slowly wrote down the numbers one by one, all the way to forty.

“You wrote so well~ Then we’ll count one number with Mom every day. Okay? When Sarang counts all of this, Dad will run to hug Sarang.”

“Sarang will! Sarang will count every day!”

“That’s right, then shall we start from today? Sarang, what’s the first one?”

“One!”

“Sarang is smart~”

I felt that she had gained energy from the answer, so I played a video on my laptop. There were countless videos in the folder. Videos that I had taken a lot in advance for me and Sarang.

And in the first video I played, thankfully, Yeon-hoo’s face was immediately caught on the screen. My heart ached as soon as I saw it. I missed Yeon-hoo.

But if I showed that I was having a hard time now, the comfort I had given her a little while ago would be meaningless. Sarang wasn’t looking at me right now, but I tried my best to keep smiling.

[ Hee-na, did you press the record button? ]

[ Yeah, I pressed it! ]

[ Really? Sarang~ come here! Dad will hug you! ]

[ Yes!! ]

[ Cough! Body check is a bit… ]

“It’s Dad! Mom! Dad is here!”

“Who is with Dad?”

“Sarang! Dad and Sarang together!”

“But Sarang there is smiling so prettily? Can you see that Dad likes seeing Sarang smile? Can our Sarang smile like that too?”

“Yes! Sarang can smile prettily!”

I gently hugged Sarang, who was jumping up and down from her seat, from behind. And from then on, the two of us slowly watched the video.

I can’t see it now, but I engraved the image of Yeon-hoo, who always showed us a pretty smile, in my eyes.

Yeon-hoo must be suffering much more physically and mentally than us.

I couldn’t just be depressed.

Not only Sarang, but I also smiled as prettily as I did in the video.

On the day my husband, Sarang’s dad, comes back to us, I will show him a smile that blooms like a flower and reassure him.

“I miss Dad…”

“Mom misses Dad so much too. So, let’s smile prettily with Mom so that Dad can come back quickly. Okay?”

“Yes… Sarang will smile prettily…”

“Yes… Our Sarang is so kind and pretty…”

So please.

In good health, safely.

Come back to our side.

—

At that moment.

The moment Sarang regained a little energy, Hee-na was doing her best as a mother, and the other family members were breathing a sigh of relief.

I had no way of knowing all those things.

“This is so delicious, what is it? What’s the name… Wha? Is the name Wha-ya [likely a shortened, endearing form of the food’s name]? Don’t they sell it outside? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.”

“Damn, it’s so good… I worked like a dog at lunchtime, so it’s even more delicious.”

“You crazy bastard! You got caught eating Matdasi [a powdered seasoning] and rolled around! Aish… You shouldn’t have gotten caught!”

“Hey, Yeon-hoo hyung [older brother/friend]. Let’s not do that. You took a bite too and you’re only blaming me─ Ugh!”

“Shut up!”

I was bickering with my buddy next to me.

I haven’t been able to use the PX [military store] yet, so I didn’t buy it there, but this guy secretly brought in Matdasi when he enlisted. I got caught and rolled around like a dog, though.

But it was delicious.