Chapter 21

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

The alarm on my mobile phone rang. I opened my eyes. Come to think of it, it had been a while since the phone alarm had gone off. Usually, it was Ha-yeon who woke me up most of the time. Is Ha-yeon still not awake…?

I looked to the side. Ha-yeon was still lying there with her eyes closed. But even someone as dense as me could tell. Ha-yeon’s condition was not normal right now.

“Ha… Ha-yeon!”

Her face was bright red, and sweat was pouring down like rain.

Even an ordinary person could tell that Ha-yeon was sick right now. I placed my hand on Ha-yeon’s forehead. It was burning hot. No matter how much I shook her, Ha-yeon didn’t open her eyes, as if she had lost consciousness. Ha-yeon couldn’t regain her senses right now. It was an emergency.

“Snap out of it, Ha-yeon!!!”

I called out Ha-yeon’s name, choking back tears. The usual Ha-yeon, who would smile brightly and say, [Mom, did you find me?], was nowhere to be seen. This wasn’t the Ha-yeon who usually played pranks like that. Ha-yeon’s tiny mouth twitched.

“Mom… Mom… I feel sick…”

“Ha-yeon!!!”

I realized I couldn’t just sit still right now. I quickly scooped Ha-yeon into my arms. We had to go to the emergency room. I didn’t know what would happen if I left Ha-yeon in this state. I immediately opened the front door and went outside.

Running frantically through the streets, I spotted a taxi parked on the road, opened the door, and got into the back seat. Luckily, the taxi stand was nearby, so I didn’t have to search for a taxi.

“Sir! Please take us to the nearest hospital!”

“Ah, okay…”

The taxi driver looked at me like I was some kind of weirdo, but upon seeing Ha-yeon in my arms, he seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation and immediately started the car.

“Ha-yeon… does it hurt a lot? Just wait a little, Mom will take you to the hospital.”

“Mom…”

This wasn’t the lively and energetic Ha-yeon I knew. Tears streamed down my face. Thinking about it, Ha-yeon had always been unusually strong. Normally, kids get sick or hurt all the time. That’s why pediatric clinics always have long lines.

It’s true that young children have weaker immune systems than adults. But strangely, Ha-yeon had never even caught a cold until now. But today, as if to prove she was just a normal kid, Ha-yeon had caught a cold. About 10 minutes passed. The taxi driver, with great consideration, pulled up right in front of the hospital emergency room.

After quickly paying, I carried Ha-yeon and rushed into the emergency room.

Swoosh—

The emergency room doors opened, and I hurriedly spoke to the hospital staff at the desk.

“Ha… Ha-yeon is really sick! Please save our Ha-yeon!”

“Ah… ma’am, please calm down…”

“Ugh…”

Even after coming this far, Ha-yeon still hadn’t opened her eyes. It was proof of how much pain she was in. When I was sick, I never sweated this much or lost consciousness.

Luckily, a doctor approached us. After checking Ha-yeon’s condition, they immediately laid her on a bed and began emergency treatment. Thanks to the quick response, Ha-yeon didn’t suffer any further harm.

—

“Ah…”

Ha-yeon opened her eyes. She had been fine until last night, but when she woke up this morning, her body was in terrible pain. In fact, she barely remembered anything. The only thing she could recall was the warmth of her mom’s embrace while her eyes were closed.

Perhaps because she had lost consciousness, the process of getting to the hospital had been skipped. She looked at the clock. It was already past noon. She was supposed to go to kindergarten…

“Mom…?”

Mom was sleeping next to the bed, using her arm as a pillow. Mom looked like a complete mess. Her hair, uncombed, stuck out like a lion’s mane, and she was still in her pajamas. It didn’t seem cold despite the winter weather.

Ha-yeon stared at her mom like that. She could hear her mom’s breathing right next to her. This was the first time she had ever been sick, and Ha-yeon thought being sick wasn’t so bad. After all, she got to be alone with her mom like this. And it had been a while since her mom had taken care of her like this.

As Ha-yeon grew up, her mom’s involvement had decreased. When she was little, she used to be in her mom’s arms all day, but now that she was bigger, her mom didn’t hold her as much as before.

Mom continued to sleep. She was sleeping so soundly that it felt a bit wrong to wake her. Seeing her mom like that, Ha-yeon lay back down on the bed. Her head was still spinning. An IV drip was attached to her arm.

But with her mom right beside her, the pain was bearable.

This was the first time she had ever been sick, and thinking about how her mom was nursing her like this, being sick didn’t seem so bad after all. Of course, it would be better if she didn’t get sick because it made her mom sad.

—

I quietly opened my eyes. Ha-yeon was still sleeping in the bed. I brushed Ha-yeon’s forehead. Seeing Ha-yeon sick for the first time made my heart sink. I even thought, what if Ha-yeon got so sick that she died?

As I was stroking Ha-yeon’s head, she quietly opened her eyes.

“Mom…?”

“Ha-yeon! Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I feel much better.”

Ha-yeon’s words seemed true; her complexion was much better than when we first arrived at the emergency room. When we first got to the emergency room, her face was completely red, and sweat was pouring down, but the power of modern medicine was amazing. In the past, illnesses that could have been fatal were now treatable thanks to modern medicine.

“Ha-yeon, you can’t get sick anymore, okay? It hurts Mom’s heart.”

“Mom…”

I would rather be the one who was sick. Seeing Ha-yeon in pain made something inside me well up. As Ha-yeon regained her senses, she started talking. I listened to her words slowly.

Should we stay here for the day? I picked up my phone. I had already told the boss that I couldn’t come to the café today. It didn’t make sense to go to work at the café when Ha-yeon was this sick. And the café would run fine without me. It would be strange if the café couldn’t function just because one employee was missing.

Of course, the boss had asked which hospital we were at, so I gave him the address. Was he planning to visit?

As if reading my thoughts, the boss walked into the hospital. I waved at him when I saw him. The boss spotted me and quickly made his way over, his face lighting up.

“Ha-yul! Is Ha-yeon okay? And what’s with your clothes! Are those pajamas?”

“She’s much better. I didn’t have time to change because we rushed to the emergency room.”

The boss had brought a fruit basket. He had brought one the last time I was sick too. By the way, Ha-yeon was giving the boss a not-so-friendly look. I slapped Ha-yeon’s thigh.

“Ha-yeon! You should greet the boss!”

“Hi… hello.”

“That’s good~ Ha-yeon looks fine now!”

Ha-yeon didn’t seem to like the boss or the older sisters much. Maybe it was just my imagination.

“Did So-yeong and A-rin not come?”

“They’re watching the café. I just stopped by for a bit. I have to go back soon to help clean up.”

“Ah, I see…”

The boss set down the fruit basket and started peeling the fruit. His skill was always impressive. I wished I could peel fruit as well as he did. Every time I peeled fruit for Ha-yeon, it never turned out as nicely.

“Thank you, boss… I was supposed to come to work today…”

“Don’t worry about it. A boss who makes you come to work when your kid is sick is a bad boss.”

“Hehe…”

“Of course, a lot of the guys were disappointed that Ha-yul didn’t come to work today.”

“Boss, really… they just come to the café because they like it. Do you really think they come because of me?”

“That’s fine, thinking that way isn’t bad. But Ha-yul, wouldn’t it be nice to catch a good guy among the men who come to our café?”

“No way!”

At that moment, Ha-yeon shouted loudly. I patted Ha-yeon’s back and said.

“Ha-yeon! What kind of manners is that towards the boss!”

“But… still…”

“No, Ha-yul. At Ha-yeon’s age, she doesn’t want to lose her mom.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah…”

It was fascinating to see Ha-yeon acting like a little kid. Age couldn’t be hidden. No matter how mature and grown-up she seemed, Ha-yeon was still just a 6-year-old kid. Expecting more than that was unreasonable.

After a few more minutes, the boss left to help out at the café.

I looked at Ha-yeon and said.

“Ha-yeon, do you not want Mom to date other men?”

Ha-yeon didn’t say anything, just nodded her head.

According to Ha-yeon’s wishes, I probably won’t marry a man. In my past life, I was a man, so marrying a man now would be strange.