Pay With Your Heart

Chapter 436: A Miracle

Ki-Jun stood at the doorway and observed his wife when he saw her crouched on the basement floor, rummaging through a box that had been kept away for over two decades.

He silently watched as she picked up a pink fluffy baby shoe and dazedly stared at it. There was only one reason why she’d step in here, and it was because of the girl that had put them in a state of shock since they saw her on their porch.

Sena hadn’t stepped a foot into this room in the past decade. It had taken him a decade and a half to stop her from coming there, where she’d mourn over the loss of their child and repeatedly apologize to him for not being able to keep their baby.

“I thought I’d find you here.” He said with a sigh, announcing his presence which had gone unnoticed for far too long.

Sena turned at the sound of his voice. She raised her gaze to see him trudging towards her.

“How did you know I was here?” She asked in surprise.

“You’ve been my wife for how many decades now? I know you as I know myself.” He continued his walk toward her.

.....

She sighed as she began to put the things back into the box. “I thought I’d step in here for a while. I almost forgot this place was a part of the house.” She said in her usual voice, but Ki-Jun could hear the slight wave of emotions in it.

He crouched by her side and joined her in putting back the things she had offloaded. “It’s been a while since either of us stepped in here.” He looked at the small pink shirt she was folding away into the box.

He took it from her and unfolded it. A bitter smile lilt his lips at the sight of the words inscribed on it. ‘Daddy’s little princess

Seeing the smile on his face, Sena couldn’t help but smile too. “You remember that? You had insisted on buying it. You even bought a matching pair for yourself.” She softly chuckled at the memory, while Ki-Jun smiled as well.

His smile faded off, and he intently gazed at her. “Sena, are you alright?” He carefully asked, his gaze assessing her face.

Sena slowly nodded as she put back the rest of the things in the box and closed it. “I’m fine.” She said.

“I just...I wanted to come down here for a while. It’s been so long. I felt like I’d almost forgotten her.” She turned and looked around the place filled with boxes stored at different times.

“You know you haven’t.” Ki-Jun disagreed with her. She hadn’t forgotten about this place but had been trying to get better.

Sena shrugged. “Well, It felt like it. Had that girl not come-” She slurred and glanced at her husband.

“Did you see the way she looked, Ki-Jun? She looked just like me. It almost felt like I was staring back at my reflection.” Her voice was hinted with disbelief.

She was yet to get over the initial shock of seeing Eun-sun’s face. She still couldn’t understand how she had reeled back her shock and carried herself all through the time of their visit. Maybe it was because she hadn’t seen Dan-Han for so long, and she was eager to know the woman her godson was interested in.

Something about Eun-sun had made her want to know her, and the time they had spent talking to each other after the men had excused themselves had felt abruptly short.

Ki-Jun silently looked at her. “She’s the reason why you’re here.” He told her matter-of-factly, and Sena didn’t deny it as she gave a side shrug.

“I just wondered if she’d had looked like that had she made it. If I didn’t carry her cold body in my hand, I’d have thought I had just found my long-lost daughter. But I know that’s not true. She’s long gone.” Sena let out a dejected sigh as she sank to the floor. Her face was crestfallen as she brushed her hand against the box without minding the thick web of dust on it.

Ki-Jun silently peered at her as the memories of his meeting with Dan-Han an hour ago flashed through his head. All Dan-Han’s words had indicated that the girl was their child, but how was that possible?

Like Sena had said, they had seen her, felt her and buried her with their own hands. Her small tomb still stood back in country C. So what was the possibility of her being alive?

He had known Dan-Han since he was a child, and he knew he wasn’t one to say baseless things. So what if he was saying the truth?

If he was, then what happened twenty-five years ago? Whose child did they bury? And how was his supposed dead child alive and well, and now dating Lee Dan-Han?

He stared at Sena’s face. His lips parted to ask her if there was a possibility in her heart that the lady they had seen was somehow miraculously their child, but he stopped himself.

Asking that question meant he already believed it, but if he didn’t, what was the meaning of what he had done? He had retrieved the glass which he believed she had used and had requested for his doctor to visit in the next hour.

Ki-Jun didn’t know what to do, but one thing he was certain of was that he couldn’t mention anything regarding this to Sena. He couldn’t give her false hopes and brutally dash them when he realized all this was a wild goose chase.

Sena would be more than distraught if they found out she wasn’t their child, as it would reopen old wounds that had taken forever to heal. So, for now, he’d keep to himself.

“Didn’t your friend ever send you a picture of her?” He inquired when he thought about it.

Sena shook her head. “No,” She replied.

“But now that I think of it, she did mention how Dan-Han’s girlfriend shared a resemblance with me and that the other women at one of their tea parties had said so too.”

“She said so.”

“Yes, but I didn’t think it was this uncanny.” She sighed. “It almost felt like I was daydreaming about the return of my child,” Ki-Jun observed the despondence on her face, and he rose to his feet. He held her shoulder and helped her up.

“Many things happen in this world, honey. Some cause us intense pain and grief. But everything sure happens for a reason. There must be a reason we lost her when we did, and even if there’s a minute possibility that our baby is miraculously alive and out there, then I’ll believe she’ll return.” He said, making Sena confusedly stare at him, but Ki-Jun ignored her curious gaze.

He knew how ambiguous a statement he had made, but he couldn’t help it. Something in him was hinting that a miracle might just be on its way to their family, and as much as he didn’t want to believe it, it kept pricking in his heart.