Side Story (Part 8)

“Does it hurt?”

“No. I’m okay.”

She could endure this level of pain. The pain wasn’t too severe after receiving pain relief injections. And the thought of safely giving birth to the babies made everything seem insignificant. She was so relieved. She could finally relax a bit.

Jiwook lay beside Seowoo’s bed on the guardian bed. The moonlight shining through the window illuminated the dim hospital room.

“I can’t wait to see the babies.”

Even though Jiwook showed her the photos he took, it still didn’t feel real.

“They’re so tiny. I think they’re smaller than my forearm. Their heads are the size of my fist.”

They were unbelievably small. It was his first time seeing a newborn baby, so he was overwhelmed. Jiwook’s voice sounded a little reminiscent.

“They’re really beautiful. I want to see them again.”

Since Seowoo couldn’t move yet, only Jiwook could briefly visit the babies during the evening visiting hours. He wished he could have held them sooner. The sight of the two tiny, squirming infants kept replaying in her mind.

“While giving birth, I saw our Byul in my dream.”

At that moment, Seowoo’s low voice echoed through the hospital room.

The appearance of Byul, which was still small and pretty, is vivid in her mind. Seowoo spoke while recalling the dream.

“She was wearing the dress I bought her for her birthday. She was wiping my face while I was crying.”

That’s why she cried like that. Jiwook stood up and sat next to her.

“She looked quite grown up. She looks so much like you.”

As Seowoo spoke while looking at Jiwook, her words trailed off.

“Seowoo.”

Seowoo gave a small smile. She wondered if Byul stopped by because she was worried about her siblings. The brief glimpse of her daughter brought tears to Seowoo’s eyes, but she felt much more at ease now.

“Maybe she really did protect them. Maybe she came to tell you not to worry about it.”

Last week, Seowoo visited the memorial park with Jiwook. She prayed for a smooth delivery. She asked Byul to protect her and her siblings.

That’s why she was just grateful to her eldest daughter, who wore the clothes she bought and visited her in her dreams. It was the dress she wore when she reunited with Jiwook. 

“It was a dream, but it was so vivid, it felt real.”

“My daughter takes after her mother. She’s kind too.”

“That’s right. It seems like she takes after her Mom, not her Dad.”

Even when Seowoo deliberately spoke teasingly, Jiwook just smiled. Thinking about Byul was too difficult, but now those difficult memories have faded a lot. Jiwook’s constant efforts on her side contributed to that.

“Have you thought of a name for Kong and Tteok?”

He brought up the topic to change the subject.

“No. I haven’t thought about it yet because I want to see their face and decide. How about you?”

“I’m fine with anything. As long as it’s what you want.”

“If only it had been like this from the beginning, how nice would it have been?”

At the slightly teasing remark, Jiwook laughed coolly.

Today, she had been lying down all day, but she heard from the nurse that she needed to exercise a lot tomorrow. They said she needed a lot of help from her guardian.

“Are you okay with the pain?”

“It hurts a bit. They said the pain from the cesarean section comes later, so I guess it’s true.”

Even moving a little caused pain, and thinking about exercising made her feel dizzy. Still, she felt impatient to recover quickly so she could see the babies.

“Go to sleep. You must have been very tired today.”

“I slept a lot earlier but I’m sleepy again.”

She dozed off intermittently even while talking. Seowoo closed her eyes tightly while holding his hand. She wished tomorrow would come quickly. Seowoo fell into a deep sleep in no time.

***

Seowoo’s face was filled with mixed emotions as she looked at the babies. No matter how much she looked at the photos and videos he took, it didn’t feel real. Seeing them lying there with her own eyes, it finally began to sink in that she had given birth.

“Oh my God.”

Seeing one of the babies yawning with eyes closed, a smile naturally spread across her face. Seowoo couldn’t continue speaking as she looked through the glass window.

“The one at the front is the first, and the one in the back is the second.”

Jiwook explained to Seowoo.

The adorable babies were wrapped in their name blankets – Kong and Tteok. It was a nickname made because she wanted to eat kongtteok without any particular thought. It was just fascinating to see the little ones moving inside her belly now in person.

“They are so beautiful. They look exactly like you, Seowoo.”

They had big eyes, high noses, and just the right amount of hair. Seowoo just looked at them without saying a word. Jiwook supported her and gently touched Seowoo’s face.

“Seowoo.”

“It’s so incredible that I gave birth to them.”

Her own children with Jiwook.

At first, she’d just wanted to look at them, but now she also wanted to hold them. As he said, they were really small, and she wondered what it would feel like to hold them in her arms. After the limited visiting hours passed, Jiwook and Seowoo headed back to her hospital room.

“Come lie down. You must be tired.”

Standing for quite some time made her stomach ache and made her a bit dizzy. Jiwook supported her body and helped her lie down on the bed.

“Jiwook.”

“Yeah?”

“I want to see the babies again.”

She had just seen them a while ago, yet she wanted to see them again. It was a strange feeling. Jiwook’s words from yesterday, saying he wanted to see them all day, were true. They kept appearing before her eyes, and she wanted to keep seeing them.

“I felt the same. We can go see them during the evening visiting hours.”

“I wish we had taken some photos.”

She had been so amazed that she was busy just looking at them. She regretted not taking a single picture.

“I took some yesterday.”

“I should at least look at those.”

Seowoo picked up her phone from beside her. Jiwook just smiled at her like that.