Darkness clouded her vision. Her baby—barely half a year old—needed a liver transplant.

“I-Is he going to be okay after the transplant?”

Her hands and feet trembled. Even her voice shook as she forced the words out. The doctor slowly nodded.

“Once the surgery is done, he’ll recover quickly. However, in the case of a cadaveric donor, the waiting list is very long. Given his condition, we can’t afford to wait. That means we’ll have to consider a living donor transplant…”

“I’ll do it! I’ll give my liver to Hope!”

Ye-jin cried out desperately. She would give anything—any part of herself—for her child.

But the doctor looked troubled.

“Mrs. Seo, since it’s been less than six months since you gave birth, your body isn’t in a suitable condition for such a major operation. The donor’s health must be stable above all else.”

The words struck like lightning. She couldn’t give her liver to her own baby? She was his mother. His protector.

“That’s impossible. I finished postpartum care months ago! I’m fine—really, I’m healthy!”

“You may feel that way, but your body hasn’t fully recovered. We’ll need to find another donor.”

“I don’t care! Please, just do it!”

Ye-jin rushed forward, dropping to her knees before the doctor, her tearful voice echoing through the examination room.

“I don’t care what happens to me. As long as my son gets better… please… please, let me do the surgery…”

“Mrs. Seo, please, you can’t do this. Stand up.”

The doctor remained firm. No matter how much she begged, sobbing and pleading, nothing changed. The doctor words only grew colder.

“Try not to lose hope. For now, let’s arrange for your husband to take the compatibility test.”

“What?”

“Mr. Seo—he’s Hope’s father, isn’t he?”

“Ha…”

A hollow breath escaped her.

So now she had to go to that man—the one she’d sworn never to see again—and beg him, because he’s Hope’s father, to give his liver.

She couldn’t do it.

No—begging him for a piece of his liver would be useless. He wouldn’t even blink. If anything, he might rejoice at hearing that Hope’s condition had worsened.

He was a man who’d never wanted his own flesh and blood to begin with. Maybe he was hoping the poor child’s fragile life would simply fade away.

In the end, Ye-jin called not her husband, but her mother.

“Mom, what should I do? It’s Hope. He needs a liver transplant. But I’m his mother, and they said I can’t donate mine to him…”

Her sobs could be heard clearly over the phone. Through her tears, she told Chairwoman Min everything.

Min dropped everything and rushed straight to the hospital for testing. But the results were devastating — her liver wasn’t compatible.

“Ye-jin, don’t worry. I’ll find a donor somehow. I promise I’ll make sure our little Hope gets his transplant and grows up healthy. Just trust me; everything will be all right.”

Min spoke softly, patting her daughter’s trembling back.

The gentler her touch, the harder Ye-jin cried.

Why was this happening?

Why her baby?

Had Heaven not already ruined her life?

Was it now determined to drag her innocent child into the same pit of misery?

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

It was late at night, and Hye-mi was the only person left in the office. She sat alone, staring at her computer screen. All the other employees had gone home. Chief Baek had just entered Seo Jung-hoo’s office, looking grim.

He had told her to go home, too, but she had stubbornly refused. If she wanted to impress the CEO, she needed to appear dedicated.

“I’m bored…”

But sitting around with nothing to do was t*rture.

“Ugh, isn’t there anything interesting?”

She idly clicked through the online news until she lost interest in that, too. Her gaze wandered around the quiet office and fell upon the slightly ajar French doors leading to the CEO’s office.

“Tsk. Chief Baek must have been in such a rush that he didn’t even close the door properly.”

Hye-mi clicked her tongue, got up and walked towards the office to shut the door. But just as she reached the door… A voice drifted to her ears.

“CEO, it seems Hope’s condition has worsened. He’ll need a liver transplant as soon as possible…”

It was Chief Baek’s voice, heavy with concern.

‘Liver transplant?’

Startled, Hye-mi quickly closed the French doors and hurried back to her seat before anyone noticed. She sat motionless for a moment, then slowly covered her mouth and began to laugh.

“Oh, my God. This is priceless.”

She could barely contain her glee. After all the humiliation she’d endured, the world was finally paying her back.

“So that’s why the brat wouldn’t die — because his liver’s damaged, is that it? Ha ha…”

Her laughter wouldn’t stop.

Ye-jin’s misfortune was her happiness.

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

“I’ve spoken with the hospital director.”

Secretary Jeong reported crisply, standing before Chairwoman Min.

“They’ve agreed to move your grandson up on the waiting list. The transplant can be scheduled as soon as possible. The approval process is already underway.”

“Oh, thank goodness… truly, thank goodness.”

Min let out a long, shaky breath of relief, pressing a hand to her chest. She’d been sick with worry, afraid that things might take a turn for the worse.

“And what about the original recipient? The one who was supposed to receive the liver first?”

“He’s a twenty-five-year-old man suffering from liver cancer. His turn has been postponed.”

“Only twenty-five… how unfortunate.”

Min clicked her tongue in sympathy.

Yes, his situation was tragic, and yes, taking his place was wrong, but right now, she couldn’t afford to think about anyone else.

The only person that mattered was her daughter. She couldn’t bear to see her precious child drowning in sorrow any longer.

She had to save Hope. No matter what it took.

“I’ll talk to Ye-jin myself. She can’t know about the waiting list. Ever.”

If she found out that her mother had used her influence to help them, the kind, gentle girl would be devastated.

It would be better to tell her something simple, like that they had just been lucky.

Chairwoman Min smiled, her spirits finally lifting, and picked up her phone. After several rings, Ye-jin answered.

Min steadied her voice and shared the good news.

“Ye-jin, we found a donor.”

—“What? R-really?”

Ye-jin’s voice trembled with disbelief. The news came so suddenly that she could barely process it.

“Yes. Hope’s surgery will be scheduled soon. What did I tell you? I said to trust your mom, didn’t I?”

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

The approval process was swift, and the date of the surgery was set.

Ye-jin grabbed her desk calendar and drew a big red circle around the date. It felt like finding a single ray of light in a pitch-black cave.

“Hope, everything’s going to be all right now.”

Her voice softened as she looked tenderly at her daughter lying on the hospital bed.

“It’ll be hard, but you’ll get through it, my love.”

Relieved at last, she took a deep breath.

Knock, knock—

A firm sound came from the door before it opened.

It was Seo Jung-hoo.

Before she could ask why he was there, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an empty room.

Ye-jin looked at him, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.

“I just wanted to talk.”

He said this in an attempt to calm her down. But she didn’t let her guard down. Too many times before had he pulled her into empty rooms, only to pounce on her like a starving wolf. Her wariness was born of experience.

“Relax. I’m not going to do anything. Not that I could, anyway.”

His unexpected remark made her blink.

“The doctor said I should abstain for a while. Maybe for quite a while.”

“What doctor? Are you sick?”

“Do you really have the leisure to worry about my health right now?”

He let out a dry chuckle, his tone laced with mockery.

Ye-jin frowned deeply and refused to say more. He didn’t deserve any of her concern.

“I heard that kid’s getting a cadaveric liver transplant.”

“How do you know about that?”

“Because, technically, I’m his father. Hard not to know.”

‘Technically his father.’

The words cut deep. She would never be able to call him the child’s real father.

“Yes, he’s having surgery soon. Not that it’s any of your business.”

Ye-jin forced her voice to stay cold, hiding the pain in her heart.

He gave her a crooked smile — twisted and sinister. Then came the words that cut her to the bone:

“But what will you do now?”

“…What?”

“I cancelled the surgery.”