episode_0058

“Whoa… It’s hard… .”

After having a simple dinner with the side dishes I had at home, I laid down on the sofa, my body feeling tired after the bath.

How long has it been since the house was this quiet?

Mirae went to wash up, and Hanna Yeon and Na Rin said they were video calling their father in France using their laptop.

It’ll probably be quieter starting tomorrow. Once the house contract process is over, Hannayeon won’t have to stay at our house anymore.

Why don’t you just sleep at home and spend the rest of your time at my house?

Of course, I can’t push forward my own desires.

Mirae, Hannayeon, and Narin will all need their own personal time.

And now that we’re together for a little while, it might be good. Don’t they say that when you’re roommates with a friend, things are good only at first, but things definitely get worse later on? I’ve never done it myself, so I don’t know for sure.

Tick, tick.

The sound of the clock’s hands interrupted my absentminded thoughts.

The desk clock next to the TV. I ignored it because it was small, but it was so loud.

As I was listening to the regular ticking of the clock, I suddenly fell asleep.

It was definitely harder than usual because I was assigned to a task I had never done before. Not only that, but there were also a lot of things that happened.

If we meet tomorrow… I should apologize first. Misunderstanding aside, I caused trouble for the company.

Should I call you? No matter what, don’t you think it’s a bit much to apologize over the phone?

As I was feeling around the table for my phone, I soon placed my hand on my stomach and let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh… .”

Maybe it was because I was sleepy, but I couldn’t shake off even simple worries. At times like this, it would be better to wake up and think about it.

Well, first of all… .

peel….

“Whoaak… !”

How long has it been?

I woke up struggling with my feet.

It was an incredibly vivid dream. I was falling endlessly from a tall building. And I woke up just before I hit the ground.

Why not? A child who was sleeping face down during class wakes up by hitting the desk with his knee! They say that if you dream of falling, it is a sign that you will grow taller, but since you can’t grow at this point, it is a bad dream in the end.

“Ugh!”

The second scream wasn’t a dream.

A pretty but slightly bad-looking face came into view through the blinking eyes.

If you look at it from afar, you might have exclaimed, ‘Wow… that person is pretty…’, but when you see it up close, all you can do is scream.

“Ha, Hanna Yeon, why are you doing that?”

“Go in and grow.”

I thought for a moment he was going to kiss me… .

Hanna Yeon was looking at me so closely that I had that illusion.

“Did you have a good conversation?”

Hanna Yeon straightened her bent back, and I tried to hide my embarrassment and changed the subject.

“Yeah.”

“You…don’t say you’re lonely?”

“Not really… .”

“I see… .”

Today, I felt grateful for Hanna Yeon’s breathtaking short answers. She gave only the necessary answers in a concise manner. If it had been Tachibana, I would have felt incredibly tired.

I’m that tired. So tired that I find talking to other people annoying.

“Um… .”

I checked my watch; less than ten minutes had passed.

Wouldn’t it be better to sleep when you’re sleepy rather than trying to force yourself to sleep at that time? I also have to do all the work I couldn’t do today at the chairman’s company tomorrow.

“I’m so sleepy… When the future comes out, can you tell me that you went to sleep first?”

I rubbed my half-closed eyes and asked for Hannayeon’s understanding. I wanted to make the last day I spent at my house a special memory. Actually, I haven’t thought about how to do it yet… .

“Okay.”

“Thank you. Good night… Hanna Yeon.”

I trudged into the room with my shoulders hunched over.

Then he stopped.

“Ah, that… I’ll go out to play tomorrow evening. Since I can’t leave work with you… .”

“Yeah.”

I glanced at her in case she was upset, but Hanna Yeon maintained a blank expression as always.

After all, it’s not like I’m going anywhere far away like I did when I was in high school, so I still have a lot of time to make memories.

Hannah Yeon and I… Yeah, I think we could remain friends for life.

* * *

“Um… .”

I opened my eyes half-heartedly at the sound of something moving.

“Sorry… I woke you up… .”

“No, are you going to sleep in the future too?”

“Yeah… I want to cut it.”

As I fell asleep curled up, the future was hugging me from behind.

“Yeah, if you go to bed early, you’ll grow taller.”

He smiled faintly and grabbed Mirae’s hand that was lowered down to his belly button.

I didn’t feel bad even after waking up. Perhaps it was because the happiness I got from the warmth of the future was much greater than the happiness I got from sleep.

Plus, since I had just taken a bath, I felt like I was soft and smooth.

“Have nice dreams for the future… .”

“Mom too… .”

I close my eyes again, intoxicated by the sleepiness.

When Mirae was little, we almost always slept holding hands like this. Whether it was because she had a scary dream, was a little chilly, or couldn’t sleep. Certainly, it seems like I sleep better now, not just Mirae.

“Mom, are you sleeping?”

“Ajiik… .”

He answered while fidgeting with his future hands. It seemed like he couldn’t sleep well because it was so early.

“Why did Mom take me as her daughter?”

A philosophical question that came to me in the middle of the night.

“Well… because the future was right in front of me?”

It was difficult to give a serious answer now that I was still half asleep.

What was the intention of the question? Has something happened recently that has made you anxious?

“Is that the only reason?”

Mirae let out a breathy laugh, saying, ‘Phehehe…’

Perhaps the future also laughed because it knew the answer.

As we continued our conversation, the sleepiness had somewhat subsided, and I turned over to face Mirae.

“I don’t think the reason is important. Isn’t it the same with having a baby? Children can’t choose their parents, and parents can’t choose their children… .”

In the dim room, only the purple eyes of the future shone with a soft light.

My body has grown much larger than mine, but the window to my heart remains the same.

On the one hand, there was me, feeling reassured.

“What matters is how you spent your time together.”

They showed their affection by rubbing their foreheads together and kissing.

“The future… Did you hate your mom because she was your mom?”

As long as the future requires me to be a mother, I will remain a mother forever.

I asked a question that had an obvious answer.

“… … Okay.”

But why did you worry about it for so long?

“If you didn’t like it, you wouldn’t have been together until now… .”

As if she had anticipated that I would be flustered, Mirae added a coquettish word and dug into my arms.

“Mom too… No, I think we would have lived together even if she didn’t like it… But Mom has never regretted it even once until now.”

I carefully ran my fingertips through Future’s hair.

It was like silk. I couldn’t express this feeling with the same old words.

People usually say that touching hair makes you sleepy, but this feels like the person touching the hair is actually going to fall asleep.

Hairdressers must be having a hard time.

“I’m so happy that Mirae is my mom’s daughter… .”

With those words, my hands slowly stopped.

The future didn’t open its mouth anymore, and we fell asleep while still embracing each other.

An ordinary night for my mother and daughter, just like always.

But it was a little warmer night than yesterday.

* * *

“Oh, hello! Welcome!”

We returned to the headquarters of the Iseul Group.

There was no more hassle over the authentication key like yesterday.

Because the guide who found me came running like lightning and opened the gate for me.

“Ah… Thank you… .”

“Oh, no! Yesterday was really rude… .”

“Oh, no! I’m more sorry for making noise!”

As if we were competing to see who could bow the deepest, we continued to bow our heads all the way to the elevator.

“Hoo… .”

The office I arrived at after many twists and turns.

I let out my nervousness with a heavy breath and knocked on the door carefully.

dripping.

“You can come in.”

“Oh, yes… .”

Although it was the chairman’s voice that was no different from usual, I hesitated for some reason, perhaps because my heart was heavy.

“Good morning…Did you get some sleep?”

“Enough to relieve fatigue.”

No, it wasn’t any different than usual.

After meeting him in person, I could tell that the Chairman’s attitude was stiff.

In the end, it was the branch manager’s decision, not the chairman’s support.

Looking back, wasn’t it because I doubted the chairman that I ran away without permission?

They say that people who go with the flow without a plan can never be successful, and I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly because it seemed like they were talking about me.

“Ah… Can I just do the same thing as yesterday?”

“Yes, I will ask you again today.”

I apologize, I have to apologize.

Why is it that my mouth becomes stiff only at such important moments?

Besides, I could have done it right away with the branch manager… Why on earth won’t he come out?

I was so frustrated and annoyed with myself that I thought my head was going to explode.

“Over there… .”

“… … .”

The chairman’s face was obscured by the monitor, so his expression could not be seen.

Perhaps because of that, her lips had no intention of moving apart, and the pressure only grew bigger and bigger.

“I will work hard… .”

Eventually, he sat down, muttering in a small voice that may or may not be heard.

Let’s get the work done perfectly first. Actions speak louder than words.

On the desk set up for me were scattered the slips I hadn’t finished processing yesterday.

Have I done this much…?

As I was looking through the slips while the computer was booting up, I had the feeling that I was seeing everything for the first time.

“Huh… ?”

And the settlement table confirmed belatedly.

I could clearly see that this was different.

Because the entered date had noticeably passed a lot.

The chairman clearly said that it was work he would do himself. He said it so firmly, so there was no way he would have left it to someone else. Did he personally handle the work that I had left behind?

“Come on, Mr. Chairman!”

Only when the guilt surpassed the pressure did my body move.

I jumped up from my seat and strode briskly toward the chairman’s seat.

“I’m sorry. I misunderstood without knowing anything… !”

You must be very angry.

No matter how much there was room for misunderstanding, it was clearly my fault for running away without listening to the circumstances.

Moreover, since he made me do the work that I couldn’t do yesterday, doesn’t that just add to the burden on the chairman who is already always busy with work?

“Okay… … .”

Could it be because my anger has reached its peak?

The chairman’s voice was shaking greatly. Not only that, his breathing was rough and his face was flushed red.

“Come, Chairman?”

Two hands on the keyboard. Eyes fixed on the monitor. And the head slowly tilted.

“Okay, sleep… sss… .”

I barely managed to catch the chairman’s face before it hit the keyboard.

He was holding her shoulder with one hand and supporting her forehead with the other, and the hand that touched her forehead felt hot as if it was burning her.

“Chairman, Chairman! Hey, what should I do… Call 119… You’re making things difficult for me… .”

My vision was blurry and I couldn’t see clearly.

To make matters worse, the cell phone I was hastily taking out slipped out of my hand, and I was left floundering around, not knowing what to do.

“day… …amount….”

The chairman, who had been breathing heavily, suddenly raised his head and whispered softly.

“Don’t cry… .”

Slowly, with great difficulty, her slender fingers carefully wipe away the tears that have gathered under her eyes.

“Drink… … .”

What the chairman showed as he closed his eyes was a gentle smile that seemed to melt my heart.