Chapter 117.2

Chapter 117.2

Juran smacked her lightly on the back.

“Stop it. That’s enough crying. Go to sleep. Your face will swell tomorrow. You know you look like a steamed bun when you puff up.”

“What are you talking about!”

Miran cried even harder, and Juran laughed softly.

“Don’t you remember your face the day after you cried all night over your college entrance exam scores?”

“I don’t.”

Miran replied sulkily.

“I do. You were already gaining weight because you were a senior in high school, and your eyes, nose, and mouth were practically buried in your cheeks…”

In the dark, small room, the two of them murmured back and forth. They cried and laughed as they shared old memories. Only after Miran’s breathing evened out and she fell into a deep sleep did Juran quietly close the door behind her.

It was a sleepless night for a mother.

—

The next morning.

Juran, pale-faced, and Miran, her eyes swollen, left the house carrying a travel bag. Miran stepped out first and opened the shared entrance on the first floor, then stopped short.

Andre, who had been standing with his arms crossed, leaning against a black sedan parked in front of the villa, straightened up. When Juran followed her out, he gave her a polite bow. Then, when his eyes met Miran’s, he lifted the corner of his mouth slightly.

He walked over and took the bag from Miran’s frozen hand.

“How did you get here…? You said you were coming tomorrow.”

“I moved my vacation up by a day. I spoke with your mother a few days ago, and she said the admission was the day before the surgery.”

He talked to Mom? Miran looked back and forth between the two of them in surprise. Juran stepped closer to Andre and patted his back, her face visibly relaxing.

“Now I can finally breathe a little easier. Please take good care of our Miran.”

Andre lowered his head silently, then opened the rear door. When Juran got in, he moved to the passenger side, opened the door, and gestured to Miran.

“Get in.”

Miran’s feet moved on their own. Andre carefully fastened her seat belt, then took the wheel. As they headed toward the general hospital in Sinchon, following Juran’s directions, Miran finally came to her senses and opened the conversation.

“When did you arrive in Korea?”

“At dawn.”

“Whose car is this?”

“I rented it at the airport.”

From the back seat, Juran chimed in.

“To think I’d ride in a Benz in my lifetime. Thanks to you, Son-in-law Ahn, I’m living it up.”

Miran flinched.

“Mom, what do you mean Son-in-law Ahn all of a sudden? And Andre’s surname isn’t Ahn. It’s de Lafayette.”

“Oh please. That de part is way too long. Son-in-law Ahn is just right. Is it okay if I call you that?”

Juran asked Andre with a shameless grin.

“Yes. That’s fine.”

He replied with a faint smile on his lips.

“…Since when did you get so close to my mom?”

“I met her, and I’ve called her a few times.”

Miran scoffed in disbelief.

“Wow. Leaving me out again. It’s always like this.”

She complained, but despite the words, a warm feeling spread from the pit of her chest to her fingertips and toes. The slight tremor in her body faded, and before she knew it, she had calmed down.

When they arrived at the hospital, Andre pointed to a row of waiting chairs.

“Sit and wait.”

Miran bristled, protesting that she was not a puppy, but Juran went one step further.

“That’s right, listen to him. Don’t hover around and make things chaotic for no reason.”

Leaving behind Miran with her lips pushed out in a sulk, Andre and Juran moved to the payment counter, murmuring to each other in low voices.

While the clerk at the counter watched with an unmistakably curious expression, Juran waved her hands in flustered refusal, clearly trying to turn something down. But Andre, with his characteristically imposing presence, bowed politely and seemed to press his point through to the end.

Juran glanced back at Miran, then quickly turned away again. In the end, she patted Andre’s shoulder with a smile. Only then did he smile in satisfaction.

On their way back after finishing the payment, Andre checked his wristwatch.

“Then I’ll go take care of something urgent and come back.”

“Yes. Thank you so much for today.”

After giving Juran a brief bow, he turned to Miran.

“I’ll be back by six this evening.”

She nodded. She had planned to say he did not need to come, but the words would not come out. She knew it was selfish, but she did not have the confidence to endure this alone. Just having Andre by her side made her feel far more at ease.

Only after he left did Juran confess what had just happened.

“We’re in trouble. Son in law Ahn insisted on a private room and went ahead and paid for it on his own. He was so firm about it I could not even refuse. To pay that back, selling off our Miran still would not be enough.”

Juran laughed softly, making a joke of it.

“……”

To think her mother would cave so easily. Did Andre know he had gained an ally as powerful as an entire army.

Miran tilted her head at an angle, her face troubled, and let out a sigh.

—

Six in the evening.

The door to the private room opened. Thinking it might be Andre, Miran jumped to her feet, but a middle aged man in a suit walked in instead.

“Excuse me.”

Miran tilted her head.

“I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

She bowed awkwardly in greeting, then rummaged through her memory and sucked in a sharp breath of surprise.