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Join the ServerNearing her third birthday, Seo-woo absolutely adored talking without pause. While many of her incessant babblings made little sense, merely watching the chattering child brought a fond smile to one’s lips.
“Seo-woo dreamt earlier, and a whale this big came out!” The child stretched her short arms wide, attempting to convey the immense size of the whale she had seen in her dream.
Though it was impossible to truly gauge how large she meant, the child giggled with delight when I feigned surprise.
“Have you ever seen a whale that big, Daddy?”
“No, I haven’t. So, only Seo-woo has seen it then?”
“Yes! Only Seo-woo has seen it!”
Seo-woo sprang to her feet and darted off, soon returning with a sketchbook and crayons. She scattered them across the floor, then lay on her stomach, beginning to draw the whale she had seen onto the white page.
After carefully selecting a crayon, she began to scribble crooked lines, which, in their own way, did resemble a whale—albeit a somewhat abstract one.
‘She’s quite good at drawing.’
Since I had carried her myself, I knew I’d find beauty in anything she did, yet Seo-woo truly was a child of many talents. From drawing to singing, and even the occasional clumsy imitation of actors on TV, she would send shivers down my spine.
‘Is this what they mean by ‘blood will tell’?’
With both her parents being actors, it was hardly surprising that Seo-woo had inherited such talent. However, despite her gifts, I had no intention of letting Seo-woo follow the same path as me.
While things might change once Seo-woo reached an age where she could make her own choices, for now, she was still too young. I simply wished to observe the path she would forge, within the wide-open realm of possibilities.
That, I believed, was the proper role of a parent.
‘Why hadn’t my own parents done the same for me?’
Raising Seo-woo often led me to inevitably recall my biological parents. To me, parents had been cruel individuals who only exploited their children and inflicted wounds.
Thus, when Seo-woo first came into my life, a great fear consumed me—the fear that I wouldn’t be able to fulfill that role adequately. Of course, I still had many shortcomings, but I was striving to do my best, for I wished to give Seo-woo the complete love I had never received.
“Our Seo-woo, your birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
“Yes! Seo-woo will be three.” The child replied, her gaze still fixed on her sketchbook. Watching her intensely focused, I couldn’t help but marvel at her beauty.
It felt like only yesterday she was taking her first steps, yet now she was already three. At this rate, would she become an adult in the blink of an eye?
‘They say children grow up fast.’
Imagining a future that had yet to arrive, my heart ached. I cleared the sudden lump in my throat and asked the child.
“Seo-woo, is there anything you want?”
“For my birthday present?” The child lifted her gaze from the sketchbook and turned to look at me. From her sparkling eyes, it seemed she definitely had something in mind.
“Yes, for your birthday present.”
“Then Seo-woo wants a sibling!”
Stunned by the unexpected answer, I found my words caught in my throat. Yet, the child, brimming with anticipation, seemed to have already decided on her birthday gift.
“Seo-woo wants a sibling too. Give Seo-woo a sibling. I want a sibling as my birthday present.”
“Seo-woo, well, a sibling is…”
“Why? Can’t I? Daddies buy Seo-woo everything she wants, don’t they?”
While her words held a grain of truth, a sibling was an entirely different matter. Seeing my troubled expression, the child puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
“Seo-woo wants a sibling.”
“Isn’t there anything else besides a sibling?”
“No! Seo-woo is going to have a sibling!”
I wondered who she took after to be so stubborn; once she started throwing a tantrum, there was no stopping her. Still, I had truly never imagined she would ask for a sibling as a birthday gift, leaving me utterly bewildered by the situation.
“Seo-woo, first, stop crying…”
“Daddy lied! He said he’d give Seo-woo everything she wanted!”
I hadn’t actually said anything quite like that, but the child seemed to have interpreted my words however she pleased. Still, calming her down was my priority, so I tried suggesting other things that might pique her interest, yet it was useless. Once her tears began, they simply wouldn’t stop.
As I floundered, unsure of what to do, a hand suddenly reached out and scooped up the crying child.
“Seo-woo, why are you crying?” He, having just returned from work, asked as he wiped Seo-woo’s tear-swollen cheeks. The child, startled, paused her crying momentarily, then, seemingly reassured by his presence, began to sniffle and speak.
“Daddy, *hiccup*, said he’d give Seo-woo a present…”
“Yes, he said he’d give you a present.”
“But he won’t give it to me.”
‘No, when did I ever say that?’ Her words, utterly fragmented, left me feeling completely wronged. I wanted to explain the situation, but he gave me a look that silently urged me to wait, so I swallowed the words I was about to say.
“What kind of present did you ask for?”
“*Sniffle*, a sibling.”
“…A sibling?”
Listening silently to the child’s words, he quirked an eyebrow. Then, he gently set the sniffling child back down on the floor.
“Yoo Seo-woo.”
“Hm?” Frightened by his deeply lowered voice, the child hunched her shoulders. Kneeling on one knee to meet her eye level, he spoke with more resolve than ever before.
“A sibling is out of the question.”
“…Why?”
“Anything else is fine, but a sibling is not.”
Shocked by his unwavering refusal, the child began to cry even louder than before.
“Daddies are liars!”
“Crying won’t help.”
A childish argument ensued, with neither side willing to yield an inch. Unable to watch any longer, I finally separated the two.
Seo-woo sobbed loudly, clinging to me. I shot him a look, urging him to offer some comfort, but he remained utterly unmoving.
‘I truly have two children now.’
A deep sigh escaped me.
****
I left Seo-woo, who had cried herself to sleep from exhaustion, in her room. I’d broken out in such a sweat trying to soothe her that fatigue washed over me in a sudden wave.
Had I known this would happen, I wouldn’t have asked her what she wanted for her birthday, but simply bought her a toy like before. Asking had only led me to dig my own grave, and I doubted her stubbornness would end today.
‘This is all because she takes after Seon Woo-jung.’
Though her appearance was undeniably a spitting image of me, Seo-woo’s inner self resembled Seon Woo-jung more closely. From her stubbornness to her tendency to charm her way out of difficult situations, it was all him.
“Is Seo-woo asleep?” he asked, approaching me belatedly. He hadn’t listened when I’d urged him to offer comfort, but this, apparently, he was curious about.
When I glared at him, he smiled brightly and tried to embrace me. I subtly sidestepped him, and he pouted, feigning disappointment.
“Work was hard today.”
“I had a tough time comforting Seo-woo too.”
“You haven’t hugged me yet.”
Feigning weakness, he let his shoulders slump, claiming to have no energy. I knew I needed to be firm, but seeing him act like that, my resolve softened once again.
“Come here.”
As I opened my arms, he beamed, as if his earlier complaints had never happened, and crumpled his large frame into my embrace.
I felt it should have been the other way around, but since he seemed happy, I let him be.
“Don’t be so blunt with her in the future. You’ll scare the child.”
“We have to teach her that some things are simply not allowed.”
“Even so, you could speak a bit more gently.”
“No, what’s not allowed is not allowed.”
He was resolute, even with me. Indeed, the week I hadn’t woken up after Seo-woo’s birth must have left a deep trauma within him. That was why he had declared there would absolutely be no more children, meticulously using contraception during intimacy—and wasn’t it true that even that wasn’t enough, so he’d had a vasectomy?
Of course, he disliked the topic so intensely that even bringing it up felt cautious, yet I often found myself thinking that having a second child wouldn’t be so bad. I felt Seo-woo would be happier with a sibling than being alone, and more than anything, I longed to have a child who was a spitting image of him.
“Even if it’s difficult now, having a second child before it’s too late…”
“No, one Seo-woo is quite enough.”
He cut me off instantly, as if my words held no value. Knowing he would never back down on this issue, I chose peace over arguing with him.
“Yes, one Seo-woo is indeed enough.”
Though I knew it, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment, which showed clearly on my face.
As I was about to head to the room to rest, claiming exhaustion, he suddenly scooped me up. Startled by the sudden change in elevation, I clung tightly to him.
“You startled me.”
“Why, is it really that surprising?”
He smiled sweetly, carrying me into the room. The moment the door closed, he sought my lips, as if it were an unspoken promise. Relying on the soft glow of the mood lamp that faintly illuminated the room, we held each other close.
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore My Star, Your Star. Start reading now!
Read : My Star, Your Star
