The Hallowed Heart - English Version

Chapter 27

The fifth week after Hyun Bin's departure, Ye Jin had contractions. Gong Yoo was helping his uncle assembling the baby cot when suddenly Ye Jin came down the stairs upstairs with a painfully pale face, her body bent forward and hands holding her stomach which always seemed too big for her small body.

Gong Yoo immediately helped Ye Jin to sit on the sofa in the TV room while her uncle prepared the car and the mothers prepared the stuff for the hospital stay. In less than 10 minutes, the five of them were already in the car, heading for the hospital.

The birth of Ye Jin's baby took almost five hours, and during that time Gong Yoo also felt tormented listening to Ye Jin's cries of pain from outside the delivery room. He really couldn't bear to imagine such a small body trying to let out a baby who will grow up to become a person.

Gong Yoo and his uncle could only breathe a sigh of relief after the sound of a crying baby was heard from inside the delivery room. Not long after, his mother and Ye Jin's mother came out carrying a small baby boy with thick hair. Gong Yoo was sure that the baby had inherited his mother's face, but a moment later a pair of dimples appeared on his cheeks, making his father's handsomeness clearly reflected on his face. Ye Jin named him Chul Soo and from the way she looked at the baby with such happiness and love, it was as if all the pain she had gone through during pregnancy and childbirth meant nothing for her.

***

"Don't worry too much, Chul Soo is safe with our eommas at home" Gong Yoo glanced at Ye Jin who was sitting restlessly next to him in the car.  They were on their way home from his school farewell party. That night Gong Yoo borrowed his uncle's car to try driving after passing his driving test a few weeks ago.

Gong Yoo and Ye Jin's mother had forced the girl to take a break from her routine as a new mom this week. Ye Jin flatly refused at first, but after being mentioned about the trouble with producing breast milk because of the stress she was experiencing, Ye Jin finally melted. Their main goal that night was to get some fresh air so that Ye Jin could improve her mental condition after the stress and depression that hit her in the last couple of weeks of her pregnancy.

"I'm not worried about Chul Soo, oppa..." Ye Jin answered quietly while looking out the window, "It's just, I suddenly remembered that oppa's school is Hyun Bin's school too..." Her voice choked when she said Chul Soo's father name.

Gong Yoo glanced at her worriedly. Was that why Ye Jin was so quiet the entire event just now?

Since the birth of Chul Soo a week ago, Ye Jin seems to devote all her focus to taking care of her cute baby. Now that Ye Jin is away from Chul Soo for the first time, does her sadness over Hyun Bin's departure strike again?

Gong Yoo took a deep breath. Maybe what Ye Jin really needs is to talk about all the things about Hyun Bin in the end.

"You're still waiting for him...?"  asked Gong Yoo bluntly.

"I... I don't know, oppa.." Ye Jin shook her head slowly.  "I want to believe that Hyun Bin oppa is out there trying to get back to me, but is it that hard to just call or send news by letter?"

Gong Yoo bit his own tongue, refraining from admitting that Hyun Bin's letter was in his hands, and Hyun Bin's mother must have restricted her son's access to overseas calls.

"Ye Jin, we don't know what happened to Hyun Bin over there."  Gong Yoo chose his words carefully.  "But the purpose of leaving the house today is to refresh your mind right? Don't think too much about stressful things for tonight. Remember, your peace of mind will affect Chul Soo's mood too"

Ye Jin smiled approvingly, "Chul Soo still stay up late every night, that kid always so impatient waiting for me to make milk for him..."

"And what do the midwives think about your problems with breastfeeding Chul Soo?" Gong Yoo asked carefully, trying not to sound judgmental.

Ye Jin sighed loudly, her hands playing with the lace of the off-white party dress she wore that night, "Eomma and oppa are right, the midwife said I have to deal with my stress first."

"Well... It's a shame you didn't enjoy the party tonight, especially since there was a lot of good food, the music band played your favorite Lee Moon Sae songs, and all my friends said I was lucky to be able to take a girl as beautiful as you to the party," Gong Yoo smiled looking at the girl next to him lovingly, "no one knows that just a week ago you just gave birth."

"I don't know oppa," Ye Jin's face turned red when she heard Gong Yoo's compliment, "I don't feel like I deserve to have fun like other young people after having Chul Soo now."

"Ye Jin, you're still young, you're not even 18 yet, you'll age prematurely if you think like that."  said Gong Yoo while shaking his head.

"Only Chul Soo, the main priority in my life right now..." Ye Jin whispered as she stared at him with sad eyes.

"You still have a long future, Ye Jin. Next year when Chul Soo is older you can start preparing for the equivalency exam. After that you have to go to college too, try enrolling at SNU, it will be fun if we can go to the same campus later."

"Oppa will at least be 3 levels above me when I enter college," Ye Jin laughed at Gong Yoo's suggestion which sounded almost impossible now.

"Hmm.. Who knows, maybe I can enlist in the military first while waiting for you to finish preparing for your equivalency exam."  Gong Yoo considered seriously.

Ye Jin suddenly turned to look at him intently, "Don't wait for me, oppa. I don't know if I can carry on with all my plans and goals again now."

Gong Yoo stared at the street in front of him in silence. Ye Jin's words just now felt deeper in meaning than just about school plans. Did Ye Jin mean to say that she doesn't plan on getting married one day either?

All he can do now is try to always be there for the girl he loves. Maybe now everything feels so dark in uncertainty, but there will come a time when Ye Jin realizes that Gong Yoo is the most eligible person to be her partner later.