Love Born of Pity Chapter 100

Time passed relentlessly. The season turned from autumn to winter. In the mornings, white frost settled on the yellowed, dead grass. Around that time, Kwon Jiho’s morning sickness grew severe again.

He would throw up even the same water he used to drink at Do Yeonjae’s house, and the days he couldn’t put anything in his mouth increased. After a few visits to the hospital, a doctor began making house calls. Each time, his inner elbows and the backs of his hands were covered in dark bruises from the IV drips that never seemed to fade.

The weight he had started to gain after coming here dropped again. Kwon Jiho was either asleep for most of the day or awake for only very brief moments.

“My boy.”

Do Seungtae, worried about Kwon Jiho, visited the annex several times a day. He brought new food every time, but there was almost nothing Kwon Jiho could swallow.

“Did you sleep well?”

Kwon Jiho, who had been sitting on the wooden floor gazing outside, pushed himself up. His hand, covering his belly out of habit, rested on a slight, convex swell. A look of deep pity fell upon his face, which was trying its best to smile with white, chapped lips and dark circles under his eyes. Kwon Jiho rubbed his cheek as if embarrassed and lowered his head.

“I brought some soft persimmons. Would you like to try one?”

“Wow……. Already……”

Was it time for soft persimmons? They looked perfectly ripe and soft, just right for eating. Kwon Jiho murmured his thanks to Do Seungtae.

He was sure he had eaten them before, but he couldn’t remember the taste. He thought it was sweet. Wiping his mouth, he worried he might throw it up again, but on the other hand, the thought of wanting to taste it made him swallow the saliva pooling in his mouth.

“Eat it if you can, but there’s no need to force yourself.”

“……I think I can eat it.”

A hand reached out a little hastily to cut one of the persimmons arranged neatly in a pretty bowl. It was accompanied by eyes filled with worry.

Kwon Jiho took the persimmon, which revealed its orange flesh, hesitated for a moment, and then opened his mouth. In the moment his small mouth took a bite of the fruit, Do Seungtae even held his breath.

Kwon Jiho’s eyes widened. A sweetness spread throughout his mouth. His pale brown eyes, which had lost their vitality, sparkled.

“It’s delicious.”

Warmth spread across his pale cheeks, tinting them a rosy hue. Just as Do Seungtae was clapping his hands as if watching a cute trick, feeling proud of Kwon Jiho for eating just one bite of persimmon, Jang Hyunsu appeared with strawberries.

“Oh, Father, you were here.”

His long, elegant eyes curved into crescents for a moment. He quickly approached the two of them. After confirming the color in Kwon Jiho’s cheeks, he reached out his hand without thinking. He gently wiped the watery juice from the corner of his mouth, carefully rubbing the soft cheek. It was an act that reminded Kwon Jiho of someone he had forcibly buried in his memories.

“The strawberries looked so good. I remembered eating a lot of them when I was pregnant, so I brought some, wondering if Mr. Jiho might be able to eat them too.”

“……Thank you.”

Kwon Jiho faltered at his kindness. It was because he remembered receiving similar touches from Do Yeonjae often.

Jang Hyunsu, who found him cute in his flustered state, placed the strawberries on the table. His voice, asking if he had eaten the persimmon, was as affectionate as if they were close.

Do Seungtae was engrossed in scraping the flesh of the persimmon into a round bowl. He cut open all the beautifully shaped persimmons, scooped out the insides, and placed them in front of Kwon Jiho. Wiping the juice from his own hands, he gently took Kwon Jiho’s hand as if handling something precious and wiped it carefully with a wet wipe. Jang Hyunsu smiled warmly as he watched Do Seungtae take care of the boy who would become his son’s spouse.

“Father is very affectionate, isn’t he? My husband takes after him by half, but Yeonjae didn’t even inherit half of that.”

Kwon Jiho blushed and bowed his head. After his hand was released, the bowl containing only the scooped-out persimmon flesh was offered to him. Jang Hyunsu also settled into a seat and, finding the reddest and plumpest strawberry on the plate, speared it with a fork.

“I wonder if you can eat it.”

“……Uh, I… I’m not sure, but I think I can.”

Kwon Jiho, who was spooning persimmon into his mouth, took the fork that was offered to him. The faces of the two people, who were watching only Kwon Jiho’s mouth, were filled with tension.

“Wait, wait. If you can’t eat it, you don’t have to force yourself.”

Do Seungtae, gripping the wrist of the hesitating Kwon Jiho, shook his head firmly. Jang Hyunsu nodded along. They said he shouldn’t get sick from forcing himself to eat.

Kwon Jiho’s face flushed at the wave of concern that washed over him like a warm tide. It was the first time he had received such concern since his parents were alive, and it just made him feel shy.

“……I think I can eat it. I’m hungry.”

At the softly spoken words, both Do Seungtae and Jang Hyunsu were moved. Thinking that Jiho was finally starting to eat a little, Do Seungtae’s sharp eyes welled up with tears.

“Try eating one first, and if it’s okay, I’ll bring more.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Kwon Jiho turned his head slightly to avoid the four eyes shining brightly at him. He felt shy. The two of them were looking at him with pride just for trying to eat something. When he put the strawberry into his mouth, which was already sweet and wet from the persimmon, a refreshing tartness spread instantly.

“Is this one not good?”

“Spit it out? Would it be better to spit it out?”

It tasted so good his eyes stung. Kwon Jiho looked at their worried faces and shook his head.

“It’s delicious. It’s so sweet and sour. Thank you.”

The “thank you” attached to the end of every sentence felt inexplicably pitiable. Watching Kwon Jiho put strawberries into his mouth with his gaunt hands, Jang Hyunsu thought of his son. He was calling and messaging several times an hour, asking how Kwon Jiho was, what he ate, and why he went to the hospital, to the point where it was so annoying he was on the verge of turning his phone off completely.

He had intended to ask if he was willing to see his son as soon as his condition recovered, but the morning sickness was just too severe. It got so bad that he even saw him vomit blood, which made the whole family turn pale.

The doctor came almost every day to give IV fluids to the exhausted Kwon Jiho, but it was only a temporary fix. He, who would throw up at the slightest smell of anything, cried for the first time, saying that being awake was painful. Seeing Kwon Jiho cry himself to sleep, Do Seungtae was furious, roaring that his grandson was getting off too easy. He shouted that he too should suffer just as much.

Do Geonho also agreed with a silent nod. They had made the child together, but the situation where only the kind person suffered felt unjust. No matter how much he was their son, they felt that he, too, should suffer a little.

“I was so worried because the morning sickness was so bad. It’s a relief that you’re eating something, even if it’s just a little.”

“Back then, I was… so emotional……”

Remembering the day he had sobbed that he just wanted to sleep, Kwon Jiho blushed in embarrassment.

“I asked before, and they said morning sickness means the baby is growing well. They said it’s okay because even if I can’t eat, the baby grows by eating the nutrients stored in my body. So it’s okay.”

The two people sitting next to Kwon Jiho couldn’t understand or agree with what part of that story was okay. Even without the skeletal arms, hollowed-out cheeks, sunken eyes, and lips that would tear if opened even a little too wide, Kwon Jiho was not in a state that could be called okay.

“That thing in your belly is stealing all your nutrients.”

The voice was genuinely displeased. Kwon Jiho smiled awkwardly and swallowed his reply. He had thought the baby was admirable for growing so well even when he couldn’t eat, but he figured the adults must see things differently.

When Kwon Jiho, having cleaned out the strawberries and persimmons, rolled his eyes as if checking their mood, Do Seungtae got up on his own. To him, who said he would be heading back, Kwon Jiho said he had eaten well and thanked him once again.

“It’s treatment you naturally deserve, so you don’t have to be so grateful.”

“……”

“Rest, and if you feel like eating something else, be sure to tell me. I’ll get you whatever it is.”

Do Seungtae raised his hand. He had intended to pat his shoulder, but seeing the body with its protruding bones, he was afraid that even a pat would hurt. Instead, he gently stroked the fine-textured hair and turned away.

Jang Hyunsu, who had told him to go ahead, seemed to plan on staying a little longer as he sat down again. He stacked the empty bowls and leaned back deeply into the sofa.

“From here, the yard doesn’t look like much, but it’s really pretty in its own way.”

“……I like it even when it just rains.”

At the low voice, Jang Hyunsu’s gaze turned to Kwon Jiho.

“I’d like to talk with you for a bit, Mr. Jiho. Would that be uncomfortable for you?”

At the cautiously asked question, Kwon Jiho’s eyes widened. He quickly waved his hands. Wondering if he had seemed uncomfortable, he answered disjointedly that it wasn’t uncomfortable at all, and Jang Hyunsu caught his hand that was hanging in the air. He gently stroked the back of the thin hand and smiled softly.

“I’m not uncomfortable. Really.”

He meant it. To be frank, Do Yeonjae’s parents had such different personalities from him that one wouldn’t believe they were related if they didn’t look alike. If anything, seeing his grandfather, Chairman Do Seungtae, would sometimes remind him of Do Yeonjae, but even he was much kinder.

“Then I’ll speak comfortably.”

“……Yes.”

Jang Hyunsu didn’t let go of Kwon Jiho’s hand, his lips parting and closing before he finally managed to utter the first syllable.