CGC 13

Chapter 13

In an instant, everything went dark before his eyes.

Clinging to the last bit of his fading rationality, he forced his voice out again.

“First, I’ll go home. Do you think you can hold on until then?”

—Yes… but… I really can’t move at all… Please… hurry, Director…

There was no trace of exaggeration in Madam Shim’s strained, barely squeezed-out voice.

Heaven really had no mercy.

How could something like this happen right after he barely got permission from his father to have Madam Shim stay 24 hours?

“What’s with that serious face?”

Jihyuk stood up and answered.

“I think Madam Shim hurt her back.”

“Huh. So she finally hurt it…”

Jihyuk stopped mid-step.

“She wasn’t well before?”

“Yes. She’s almost sixty now. She wanted to retire because of her health, but I begged her to stay just to keep an eye on Doha. And she’s originally had back problems.”

Even as he spoke, Chairman Jewang rubbed his chin, visibly weighed down.

“What do we do now… There’s really no one I can trust Doha with besides her.”

“Don’t we have other employees?”

“No one I can trust like her. I’ll look into it, so go.”

Leaving the chairman’s office, Jihyuk quickly called Secretary Choi.

“Secretary Choi. I need to go home. Please postpone all today’s appointments if possible—any time this week.”

—Excuse me? You won’t be coming in at all?

“Probably not.”

—Ah… Understood. I’ll adjust the schedule and contact you again.

The moment he hung up, he headed straight home.

As soon as he reached the entrance, he heard Doha crying from the living room.

He rushed in and found Madam Shim hunched over, barely holding Doha still on the changing table.

“Ma’am.”

“Director…”

Her face was deathly pale—she was clearly in terrible shape.

“…Doha needs a diaper change. I can smell it, but I can’t move at all…”

“I’ll do it.”

He immediately picked Doha up, supporting her with one arm and helping Madam Shim to the sofa with the other.

“Ma’am, I’ll call an ambulance. Even riding a taxi sitting up looks impossible.”

She didn’t refuse.

Her pain looked severe enough that Jihyuk quickly dialed 119.

While the paramedics were on their way, he changed Doha’s diaper.

It was also time to feed her, so he prepared the formula himself.

He tried to get the air out of the bottle like he saw yesterday, but it didn’t work.

He didn’t want to bother the injured Madam Shim to ask.

Maybe too much air got in. Or maybe he didn’t control the flow and fed too fast.

Doha coughed—then vomited up the entire bottle.

Startled, he lifted the baby upright and patted her back.

Warm vomit spread down his shoulder, but he had no energy to care.

Madam Shim watched with a troubled expression and sighed.

Then the doorbell rang.

Jihyuk opened the door and let the paramedics in.

They checked Madam Shim, then transferred her onto a stretcher.

“Ma’am, do you have any existing conditions?”

“I have a slipped disc… and after I heard a snapping sound earlier, I couldn’t move at all…”

They radioed someone and headed toward the front door.

As she was carried out, her and Jihyuk’s eyes met.

He barely resisted the urge to shout, ‘Please don’t go, Ma’am.’

Click.

The front door closed.

Alone—no, alone with Doha—Jihyuk shivered at how much colder the house felt.

He lowered his gaze.

Doha was staring at him with wide, bright eyes, white milk vomit still on her mouth.

Her face messy, looking at him so innocently—it made his heart pinch.

“…Let’s get you cleaned up first.”

It was his first time washing her, so he was tense as he headed to the bathroom.

Just adjusting the water temperature was a struggle.

He tried every position.

If he held her wrong, she could slip. And if he held her comfortably for himself, water might get into her eyes or ears.

In the end, he gave up washing her entirely and just used his wet hand to wipe away the milk around her mouth and neck several times.

Then he dried her with a baby towel in the living room.

Her clothes were soiled too, so he changed her quickly—but the tiny girl still somehow knew the routine and cried loudly in protest.

“Hey, crying won’t help. If you don’t wear this, you’ll catch a cold. And if you catch a cold, your uncle here is going to get an earful from your grandfather. Got it?”

He coaxed her and finally managed to dress her.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Actually… not just his forehead. His entire back was soaked.

He had only wiped her face and changed her clothes—yet he was drenched.

He desperately wanted a shower, but he couldn’t leave her unattended. A hopeless expression spread across his face.

“Aaaaah!”

Even after feeding her, changing her, and dressing her, Doha cried again.

He remembered Madam Shim saying that sometimes babies cry just because they want to be held.

He sighed tiredly and picked her up.

The moment he held and patted her back, the crying stopped like magic.

“You little…”

Doha looked up at him—and suddenly smiled.

He frowned.

Doha paused, staring back.

“Kyaaa!”

Then burst into giggles.

What on earth was so funny?

What triggered her?

Jihyuk wiggled his eyebrows and called her name.

“Ggyaruk!”

Doha laughed even harder, nearly squealing.

Apparently his eyebrow movements were hilarious.

At least he had found one trick that stopped her from crying.

Feeling slightly relieved, he slumped onto the floor.

Then he laid Doha on her baby blanket—likely set out beforehand by Madam Shim.

This time, she didn’t cry when put down.

He exhaled in relief and lay down beside her.

Turning his head, he checked on her.

Doha flipped over and crawled toward a chicken-shaped tummy-time toy.

He reached up, tapped its tail.

The chicken toy began singing annoyingly as it moved.

Drooling, Doha crawled toward it and suddenly grabbed it tightly.

The stuck toy made mechanical creaking noises.

Doha didn’t care. She shoved the chicken’s head straight into her mouth.

Within seconds, it was covered in drool.

Jihyuk couldn’t help but laugh.

Seeing her play well on her own eased his anxiety a little.

Bzzz—

A call came from Madam Shim.

He immediately sat up and answered.

“Yes, ma’am. Did you arrive at the hospital safely?”

—Yes… thanks to you. But oh dear… they say I need at least two weeks of rest…

He expected it, but hearing it directly still made his eyes close in despair.

—…Director?

“Your health… comes first.”

Yes. Health first.

But facing the reality of watching Doha alone without Madam Shim made it feel like the sky was collapsing.

He hated that part of him felt a tiny bit resentful.

No. What are you thinking? Get a grip, Seo Jihyuk.

You can’t blame someone who’s in pain.

He bit his lip, forcing down the dark thoughts bubbling up.

—I already told the chairman. He said not to worry and just rest… But I’m worried about you and Doha… What should we do…

“We’ll manage somehow. Don’t worry and focus on recovering. We’ll be waiting for you.”

He hung up.

And immediately called his father.

“Father.”

—It’ll take time to find someone trustworthy. You take care of Doha for a few days.

He had no room to argue.

He had begged his father to let Madam Shim stay 24 hours for a month. His father agreed after much thought.

But she suddenly got injured—what could they do?

He couldn’t demand someone else immediately, couldn’t say he couldn’t handle the baby.

And honestly, he didn’t feel safe letting just anyone into the house.

His father was now a large-company chairman with strong security, but back in the contractor days, he had made many enemies.

What if someone with a long-held grudge slipped in and harmed the baby?

Or what if a rival company sent someone to eliminate Doha first?

This was…

Just then—

A text message arrived.