Side Story – Choi-ae and Cha-ae (Favorite and Second Favorite)

If one is going to mention divorce, why get married and live together in the first place?

Choi Jin-wook, still a high school student, came home late at night after finishing self-study. Most of the loud voices coming from the master bedroom belonged to Madam Shin.

Not long ago, his maternal grandfather, Chairman Shin, decided to appoint his youngest uncle as the head of a mid-tier affiliate company.

The scene inside the master bedroom was obvious even without looking.

His father would be listening to his mother’s words like a sinner. Although a married couple should be equals, the parents he saw were different.

His father had never raised his voice in front of his mother. He treated her with the same formality as he did with DH Corporation or his father-in-law. It was always a mystery how those two managed to have three children together.

His father always left for work early and returned home latest, as if he had decided to devote everything to the company.

Living like someone obsessed with work, there were times when he went off track. On such nights, he would drink heavily at a street food stall and come home.

It seemed his father couldn’t live without some kind of escape, no matter how much he watched his mother’s mood. The next morning, it was Jin-wook’s job to prepare honey water for his father.

“Jin-wook, my worth is something I prove myself. No one else will do it for me. Remember what your father said.”

As he drank the honey water Jin-wook made, his father said these words. His father’s sense of worth was probably his grandfather’s recognition and his mother’s respect.

Would things have been better if his mother had just divorced him and given up everything when she first suggested it?

That night, his father couldn’t be reached until late.

It happened sometimes, so Jin-wook went to the company at dawn the next day. That was when he first found his father’s body.

The deceased had clutched his heart, unable to close his eyes properly. Covering those eyes with his palm, Jin-wook thought to himself.

If only his father had given up….

At least then, he wouldn’t have died a lonely death in a dark office. He wouldn’t have lived stubbornly until his heart gave out.

After that day, he wouldn’t have been remembered by everyone as a loser.

But his father, claiming that there was no giving up in his life, clung to his mother.

Just this once, just one more time, asking her to believe in him.

At his father’s funeral, Choi Jin-wook vowed never to live like him.

After entering society and facing various challenges, he realized that value meant nothing unless it was proven through results.

So he became a racehorse, throwing himself into the battlefield and pushing himself to the limit.

It was all to find the worth his father couldn’t achieve, even in his final moments. Maybe he wanted to understand his father’s choices, too.

“If you weren’t going to give everything, you shouldn’t have given anything at all. Your father was useless to the very end.”

At the crematorium, Madam Shin spoke without shedding a single tear.

She didn’t know how desperately his father had worked himself to death just to give her something. She never realized what his father’s true feelings were.

One person’s devotion was ignored without meaning. Even between a married couple, such things were possible, and Jin-wook saw it again.

That day, Choi Jin-wook solidified his view on marriage.

From the start, he would marry based on conditions. Not someone else’s, but the conditions he set himself.

He didn’t need a wife with a powerful family background.

On the arranged meeting, Ah-jin’s gaze was familiar. It was the look his father used to give his mother.

They barely exchanged a few words, but it was enough for him to calculate. No matter how much he denied it, he was definitely Madam Shin’s son.

If it was Go Ah-jin, she wouldn’t expect love from him. Even if she bottled up her feelings, she wouldn’t ask him for love.

He instinctively knew and decided to catch Go Ah-jin as if hunting prey.

If she did as he wanted, he intended to fulfill his duties as her husband. In his own way, he wanted to leave a strong and effective impression in a short time. That was, to give his wife the best s*x that would more than satisfy her.

He loved his wife in his own way. It wasn’t passionate, but he liked it. He was truly content.

But at that time, Choi Jin-wook didn’t know. That Ah-jin could decide to leave him, or that she was the kind of woman who could act on that decision.

Maybe he pretended not to know. She had many wounds and always wore a protective color when dealing with him.

So when his wife revealed her true feelings, breaking his expectations, it was shocking. It completely overturned his life up to that point.

…That was already seven years ago.

“Daddy. Mommy says to come down for lunch. Today, it’s pasta—your and mine’s favorite.”

His daughter came in, pulling his hand. Whenever those small hands grabbed him, he felt a lump in his throat.

At her age, he couldn’t easily open his parents’ door. Compared to that, So-mi would boldly open his door.

“Really?”

Ah-jin, wanting to cook herself for the first time in a while, had sent the housekeeper home early.

“Yes. I wanted to help Mommy cook, but she said she’d do it herself and told me to go do my homework.”

“Did you finish your homework?”

“Yes. It wasn’t that hard.”

Their daughter didn’t resemble either parent’s personality. Proof of this was her talkativeness. Listening to her chatter made him want to grant any wish.

He remembered the first time he met So-mi. Hearing Ah-jin’s screams in the delivery room drained all the blood from his body.

Holding the tiny child in his hands, he couldn’t say a word, but when he saw Ah-jin, tears welled up.

His tears startled Ah-jin and everyone around them.

He thought it was an experience he couldn’t repeat, making it even more special.

When Ah-jin was pregnant with So-mi, they made a promise.

They would shower their child with enough love so she’d never feel lonely. Since they were first-time parents and knew each other’s emotional gaps well, they wanted to make sure their child wouldn’t suffer from loneliness.

Fortunately, until So-mi grew this much, they hadn’t had a second child.

Ah-jin seemed to want another, but Jin-wook pretended not to notice. Ironically, unlike seven years ago, he had become timid about such things.

***

After finishing their meal and cleaning up, the three prepared to go out. It was the day to buy Christmas presents at the department store.

“Our So-mi, what do you want Santa Claus to bring you?”

His wife asked from the back seat. He waited expectantly for the answer.

“There’s no Santa Claus.”

“Huh?”

“There isn’t. I know it’s just Mom and Dad buying presents.”

The couple, hoping for a cute childlike answer, fell silent for a moment. The power of genetics was amazing—both had figured out early that Santa didn’t exist.

“Who did our So-mi get her quick wits from?”

As they neared the department store, Jin-wook tilted his head, and the child giggled.

“Me? Both Mommy and Daddy.”

The couple finally laughed. Their precocious daughter could still give such soft, sweet answers.

“Wow! Mimi’s Dollhouse Set! Daddy! Buy this for me!”

As soon as they reached the kids’ toy section, So-mi cheered. Begging for this and that, the couple smiled brightly.

Since neither of them had begged for things as children, they now understood their parents’ regrets.

“So-mi, you have plenty of toys at home. Just pick one you really want, okay?”

Since they kept buying her toys whenever she acted cute, their house was full of similar things. At Ah-jin’s gentle scolding, So-mi nodded.

“Then Mommy and Daddy can each buy one for me. It’s too hard to choose just one. Okay?”

“You want two?”

“You asked me who I liked better, Mommy or Daddy. I always say both, right? So buy me two, please?”

No one could resist their daughter’s charm as she clung to each parent’s arm. When they allowed her to pick two, she ran off delighted.

“She’s really good at negotiating. Wonder who she takes after.”

When his wife looked at him and commented, he didn’t deny it. Suddenly, a playful idea came to mind.

“Don’t you want to try copying her?”

“Huh?”

“You saw how So-mi did it.”

He asked his wife to act cute too. He found So-mi’s charm adorable, but wanted to see Ah-jin’s as well.

“Well, I don’t especially want anything right now.”

“I just want to buy you something.”

Actually, Ah-jin didn’t need to act cute. He always took care of whatever she wanted before she even asked.

A little later, she took him to an unexpected section—filled with newborn baby goods.

“Is this for So-mi?”

“It’s not for So-mi.”

Seeing his wife’s mysterious smile, Jin-wook suddenly realized something and stopped in place.

“No way.”

“Let’s raise a sibling for So-mi together.”

“…Really?”

“Really. I went to the OB-GYN after dropping So-mi off at kindergarten.”

“You should’ve taken me.”

“I wasn’t sure, so I went alone.”

She apologized, linking arms with him, but his legs still felt rooted. He replayed what he just heard.

He realized the seven-year delay was over.

“I guess now I really can’t go anywhere. I’ll have to stick right by your side.”

His wife’s words proved it. He felt overwhelmed for a moment, trying to swallow the lump in his throat, but the swelling emotion didn’t fade easily.

“Say it again. One more time.”

“I said I’ll stick right by your side. Are you feeling okay?”

Seeing the trembling in Ah-jin’s eyes as she checked his face, Jin-wook clenched his fist and swallowed the heat in his throat.

“Thank you. For saying that.”

“Was my words really that moving? Something’s in your eyes.”

“That’s not it.”

“Let me see. Maybe something got in your eye.”

She made him bow his head and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. He could feel the glances of the nearby staff recognizing his face, but he didn’t care.

Right now, he wasn’t President of DH Department Store, but just Ah-jin’s husband, Choi Jin-wook.

For the past seven years, he had lived counting each day, always preparing to send his wife away at any moment, trying his best every day.

Maybe he’d been anxious without realizing it, judging by how relieved he felt at her words.

“I always thought you’d leave my side at any time, ever since seven years ago.”

“I decided to stay by your side seven years ago.”

He no longer needed to prepare his heart for such things.

Finally, he could let go of his emotional burdens, and Choi Jin-wook felt much more at ease.

***

When they arrived home, So-mi and Ah-jin were sound asleep in the back seat.

Seeing them sleeping, he realized how much they resembled each other. It was like looking at a little Ah-jin and a grown-up Ah-jin.

He suppressed another wave of emotion and carried his daughter first. He laid her on the bed in her purple-themed room, which she liked.

As he turned to leave, a small arm grabbed his.

“Daddy… who’s your choi-ae?”

[T/N: 최애 (choi-ae, pronounced chweh-ae) is a Korean slang term.

It literally means “most loved” or “favorite.”

It’s commonly used to refer to one’s favorite person, character, idol, or thing—someone or something you cherish above all others.

The Chinese characters are “最愛” (literally “most loved”).]

“Hm?”

“Mommy said Daddy is her choi-ae. Is Mommy yours too?”

Her eyes were blurry from sleep, but her voice was clear.

Thud. Before he could answer, she was asleep again.

He returned to carry his wife. Pleased that she was heavier than before, he settled her on the bed, and Ah-jin slightly opened her eyes.

“You should’ve woken me, I’m heavy.”

“Sleep more.”

“Could you get me the blanket over there?”

With sleepy eyes, she pointed to the wool blanket on the sofa armrest. The thick wine-colored blanket matched Ah-jin’s pale skin perfectly.

He wrapped her up and sat beside her, whispering softly.

“You said I’m your choi-ae.”

“Mmm. Did So-mi say that? Yes, that’s right.”

Nodding with half-closed eyes, she looked irresistibly lovely.

“What does it mean?”

“It’s a new word. It means the one you cherish most. In Chinese characters, it means the one you love the most. There’s also cha-ae, which means the second most loved….”

As she dozed off while speaking, Jin-wook tucked her in and lay beside her.

So choi-ae meant that. Then, his choi-ae was Go Ah-jin.

It was a secret from his wife, but his cha-ae wasn’t his child, but Go Ah-jin as well.

For him, both first and second place were his wife.

It would remain a secret for now, but that was how he loved her.

Ten months later, their second child was born.

This time, Jin-wook insisted on being with his wife in the delivery room.

When he finally held the baby in his arms, he cried so hard that the new mother ended up comforting him—something he hadn’t imagined.

< End >