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chapter 28
Unlike Dohyun, who was too young to remember anything, Seonja’s eyes had already grown moist again.
Dohyun took out a handkerchief and handed it to Seonja before carefully speaking.
“Your call… it surprised me. You left your business card, but I didn’t expect you to call.”
“That day… I was there.”
“…I see.”
He had sensed that Mr. Park and Seonja knew each other, but he never imagined she would actually be living in this neighborhood. Especially since the house she had lived in had been torn down.
“So… how did you find this place?”
“I looked as far as I could… then I hired a private detective.”
“Then… you understand why I came all the way here, don’t you?”
Dohyun nodded silently.
A bitter expression flickered across Seonja’s face.
“After meeting you for the first time in 29 years and seeing you like this… you must be disappointed.”
“Please don’t say that.”
Rather than disappointment, his heart ached at the thought that while he had grown up without lack, his family left in Korea might have struggled.
“…Did you ever resent me?”
“I can’t say I didn’t at all.”
Seonja’s eyes grew even redder at Dohyun’s honest answer.
“Your father left you at ‘Peace House,’ and the next year I… went to find you again. But… by then, you had already been adopted to Australia.”
“You didn’t know that I had been adopted to Australia?”
“The director of ‘Peace House’ said they should have gotten consent from the biological parents, but because we moved, contact was lost… so they had no choice but to proceed without consent.”
That meant that after leaving him at the facility, they never came back.
Though there must have been unavoidable circumstances, a part of his heart ached.
Seonja, seemingly lost in her memories, continued without noticing Dohyun’s darkened expression.
“I don’t know how it sounds to you, but I thought it was for the best. Growing up in a better environment… rather than in a house full of constant fighting and strife, I believed it would be much better for you.”
In hindsight, that might have been true. But the process had been anything but easy.
In a foreign rural town with no Koreans, the life of an adopted child living with parents who weren’t his own was far from easy.
Racial discrimination was a given, and the label ‘adopted child’ always invited exclusion and bullying.
Fortunately, after he grew physically stronger, physical bullying stopped, but during adolescence, the question “Why was I abandoned?” gnawed at him endlessly.
“Was the reason you abandoned me… financial?”
“That was one reason… but it wasn’t the only one.”
“Then what was the other reason?”
He was afraid to ask, but Dohyun needed to know.
“…My husband didn’t want me to.”
“Your father?”
Reading the emotions flickering in his eyes, Seonja bit her lips and then, as if determined, spoke with a trembling voice.
“Dohyun… the truth is, we aren’t your biological parents.”
“…What?”
“Your real parents are elsewhere. We… just took care of you for a while due to circumstances.”
“…You’re saying my real parents are different?”
“Yes. Your biological parents.”
Dohyun froze at the shocking revelation.
When he had expressed his desire to find his parents, his adoptive parents had said they knew this day would come and showed him the photos and documents from his adoption.
Encouraged by his adoptive parents, he returned to Korea, and as soon as he settled into his hotel, he sought out ‘Peace House,’ where he had lived before being adopted.
But the place had been closed for ten years and was in ruins. Dohyun, who thought finding his parents would just be a matter of time, was left in despair.
Yet he couldn’t remain idle. He inquired at various institutions, which led him to the Korean Social Welfare Association.
After explaining his situation and requesting information about his biological parents, they told him they would check if the parents agreed to disclose information and contact him.
Two weeks later—which felt like two years—he was refused. Undeterred, Dohyun sought out the current ‘Cheongwoon Detective Agency’ and had struggled all the way to this point.
And now, to find out that the parents he had finally located were not his biological parents…
Dohyun’s mind spun in shock at the earth-shattering news.
[Scene Shift: Workplace]
“…For the front patch pocket, width 17 cm, length 20 cm. For the chest pocket, width 2.5 cm, length 7 cm. Make sure the check pattern aligns properly. If it’s a mess like last time, there will be complaints.”
“….”
“Team leader?”
Even after Manager Jin Myung-hee spoke, there was no response. So Jinyoung, who was observing the fitting, cautiously called her.
It was only then that Yeonha realized she had been spacing out. She straightened up, but it was too late—Manager Jin had already noticed.
“Team Leader Seo, why are you spacing out in the middle of work?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Fill in the measurements properly and hand it over, understood?”
“Yes.”
Jin Myung-hee shot a sharp look at Yeonha before turning to Manager Kim Miseon, who was waiting her turn.
“Manager Kim, bring the clothes.”
“Yes, Manager.”
As Kim Miseon passed by with a teasing smile, Yeonha suppressed a surge of frustration.
It wasn’t Manager Jin scolding her or Kim Miseon mocking her—it was the shame of having been distracted by thoughts of a man.
Until yesterday morning, she had been working as usual. That day, due to changes in the unit price of materials, she had called his desk.
But it was Assistant Manager Yoon Ilyoung who answered.
“Isn’t Dohyun at his desk?”
[He’s on leave today. If you tell me, I can pass on a message.]
A sudden day off?
Since there had been no mention of it until the previous day, Yeonha was inwardly puzzled.
[Team Leader Seo?]
“Ah, the unit price for band MB54SLP121 changed from 1,800 to 2,500 won. Please revise it.”
[Yes, I’ll recalculate and get back to you.]
Even after hanging up, Yeonha felt uneasy.
What could it be? Was he simply resting because he was tired?
Curiosity rose, but she shook her head. Worrying over a single day off seemed silly.
Then today, seeing Jinyoung return from the sales department, she sensed something was wrong.
“What’s wrong? Did Manager Jeong say something?”
She asked gently, but Jinyoung shook his head.
“No, it’s not that… Dohyun didn’t come to work today either.”
“Really?”
“I’ve been coming to work looking forward to seeing him, but it feels empty when I haven’t seen him two days in a row.”
Two days in a row?
Yeonha felt inwardly alarmed. He had said nothing until yesterday, but something must have happened.
“Do you know what’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. He apparently called the manager this morning asking if he could take just one more day off… and his voice sounded really bad.”
“…Is he sick?”
“Seems like it. I want to visit him, but I don’t know where he lives, so I can’t.”
Yeonha stopped herself from revealing that he lived next door. Even though she already knew, she had no answer if he asked why she hadn’t mentioned it before, and she didn’t want rumors spreading at work.
“Call him.”
“Of course I did. But he didn’t pick up. And he doesn’t have family in Korea to take care of him.”
From that moment, Yeonha couldn’t focus on her work.
Was he really sick, or was something else going on that he couldn’t say? She picked up and put down her phone repeatedly.
Her own strict boundaries made even a simple phone call feel hesitant.
But despite her rational mind, her heart was entirely with him.
Because of that, small mistakes compounded, and the day turned into the worst one yet.
