My Bloody Valentine - 96

“… !”

In the dim space, the woman sitting on the dark green velvet sofa had deep eyes and bright red lips that sparkled under the chandelier light. Her clear skin with light makeup made it difficult to guess her age.

Han just blinked blankly. For a moment, he was confused if he was just watching a TV screen. Why was the female lead of the drama he had just binged on sitting right in front of him?

Shin Soyoung, the woman, also couldn’t take her eyes off him, as if she was finally meeting the child she had given birth to.

Soyoung was the first to break the quiet stillness.

“Hello?”

Han flinched as Soyoung stood up from her seat.

“Come closer, let me have a look at you.”

As Soyoung slowly approached, Han couldn’t take his eyes off the familiar yet strange face of the celebrity. It felt like he was looking at a hologram.

Standing close to him, Soyoung carefully examined Han’s face, from his brown hair to his eyes, nose, and lips.

She then brushed back the hair on his forehead, even the little baby hairs on the edge of his round forehead. It was just like when he was young.

“Hah.”

Soyoung let out a sound that was like a laugh and a cry. Han, finally regaining some sense of reality, spoke with difficulty.

“I came because you called for me, but…”

“Yes.”

Before Han could tilt his head in confusion, Soyoung’s two hands pulled him into an embrace.

“… !”

Han’s eyes widened. Soyoung closed her eyes and firmly hugged him, her trembling voice echoing near his ear.

“Han. It’s good to see you.”

She had a pleasant scent, a mix of fragrance and floral notes, the aroma of an adult woman.

As Han was thinking about the perfume celebrities must use, Soyoung continued.

“Han…”

He suddenly wondered how she knew his name, but he didn’t have a chance to ask.

Soyoung spoke in a trembling voice, “I’m your mother.”

“…?”

Han couldn’t easily understand what she meant. Was it some industry jargon he didn’t know?

Seeing Han’s puzzled expression, Soyoung released him and guided him to sit on the sofa.

“Let’s sit down first.”

Soyoung sat across from Han, taking a moment to look around the intimate, dimly lit space befitting a high-end establishment.

Soyoung gave a self-deprecating smile. “Now, news will spread that Shin Soyoung is hanging out at a host bar. It would also be plausible that I got divorced because of a host bar boyfriend, right?”

“…”

Han was still focused on the real-life appearance of the celebrity he had never seen before.

As Han remained confused, Soyoung helpfully filled in the blanks.

“I’m the one who abandoned you in front of the Nazarene Church in ○○-dong and raised you at the Dream Nursery.”

“…!”

It was as if a crack had appeared on Han’s porcelain-like face.

Soyoung had prepared for all possible reactions, but she couldn’t hide her anguish. She closed her eyes tightly, then opened them and spoke with a bitter expression, swallowing her bile.

“Whenever I see boys around your age, I wonder, ‘Is that my child? Or is that my child?'”

Soyoung forced a smile as she swallowed the tears welling up in her throat.

“I could tell just by looking at your face. If I had met you on the street…”

“So… you’re really the one who gave birth to me…?”

Han looked at Soyoung with a dull, lifeless gaze. It couldn’t be a bad joke, as the protagonist was just an ordinary person like him. His mind was spinning like a malfunctioning machine.

“I’ll tell you everything, from the beginning to the end.”

Despite being only 17 years old, Sooyeong experienced burnout. While she was wandering, she met a man at the site of the music program she was hosting.

The man, singer Juchanwoo, looked lonely even while standing alone under the bright stage lights. He sang a song about breaking free from the chains that bound him.

Sooyeong and Juchanwoo fell in love at first sight. She was completely captivated by him as both a singer and a man.

However, their sweet time together was brief. Late one night after a schedule, Juchanwoo went out on his motorcycle to get some air, but he never returned. He had been in a traffic accident.

Fearing a scandal, the agency staff tried to stop Sooyeong from going to the funeral, but she desperately escaped and went to the funeral home. As soon as she saw his portrait, the smell of the food set out made her rush to the bathroom to vomit.

Sooyeong had irregular periods due to her busy schedule and stress, so she realized she was pregnant too late – at Juchanwoo’s funeral.

Wanting to keep the child, who was essentially Juchanwoo’s last gift, Sooyeong took a break from activities and quietly gave birth. After the baby was born, she retired as planned with her agency.

Her own parents didn’t know about her pregnancy. She had been living in the agency’s dormitory, so it didn’t seem to be a problem.

Sooyeong gave birth with the help of a midwife in a rented house. When she woke up exhausted from the labor pains, her belly was flat and the baby was gone.

Instead, her mother was sitting next to her, wiping tears with a handkerchief.

“It was a boy, Sooyeong.”

Sooyeong didn’t know that some kind of deal had been made between the agency CEO and her parents.

If she had been a bit more emotionally mature and knowledgeable about the world, she might not have so readily believed her mother’s claim that the baby was born dead.

Time passed without Sooyeong knowing about the child’s existence. She met her second love.

“Around 7 years ago, right after I first met my now ex-husband’s agency, the agency CEO threatened me about your existence – that you were alive.”

Sooyeong was devastated to learn that her child was still alive somewhere. The child would now be a grown adult, but had been ignored during their most needy childhood years.

Sooyeong broke up with her boyfriend at the time and even had suicidal thoughts. The one who supported her through it all was her then-boyfriend, Hongjihuun, the CEO of Seongyeol Motors.

“I didn’t plan to look for you. It felt like a sin to be curious about you now. But… I couldn’t stand it. Seeing boys your age on the street would drive me crazy.”

Sooyeong spoke painfully, but Han showed little reaction, as if listening to a stranger’s story.

“The infertility news was false. I just felt unworthy of being called ‘mom’.”

Sooyeong’s face smiled, but with sorrow. She looked at Han’s face, which was so similar to hers, through tear-filled eyes.

“I know I’m shameless. I don’t deserve it. But… I want to make amends. I want to get you back.”

Han felt strange. They were not bound by the invisible thread that is said to connect a parent and child. It just felt unfamiliar.

Sooyeong tried to lighten the gloomy mood.

“I got a job filming a foreign movie. I’ll be there for at least 3 years. If I can, I want to start over there completely.”

Anxiously watching the silent Han, Sooyeong poured whiskey instead of sparkling water and drank it down.

“Will you come with me?”