Boss, It's My First Time Being Your Resident - Chapter 70

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 70. 40 Days

“Father! I told you not to come to a warzone like this!”

Father’s scolding burst out roughly, but beneath it lay relief and joy intertwined.

“Honey! Are you really saying that to a child who’s only just opened her eyes after 40 days? I told you! I don’t need anything else.”

As if she couldn’t bear it any longer, Mother cut off Father’s complaints and gently swept A-gang’s hair back.

“A-gang, sweetheart. Our daughter can do whatever she wants. Whether it’s being a doctor, living idle, or inheriting Father’s company—Mother doesn’t care about any of it, as long as you’re by my side.”
“Mother…….”
“But Mother still can’t get used to you going to disaster scenes and all that. Our daughter is so wonderful and something Mother is so proud of, yet I was terrified—what if Mother never saw our daughter’s face again?”
“I’ll be more careful from now on. I’m sorry, Mother.”

As A-gang looked at Mother, who seemed to have become only half of herself, her lips trembled with remorse.

Mother had been born into a privileged family and had walked only a flower-strewn path her whole life.

A-gang didn’t need to see to know how much heartache Mother had suffered during those days she slept—a mother who had never weathered the storms of the world.

A-gang reached out with her remaining hand and gently wiped away the tears on Mother’s emaciated cheek.

Her other hand was still held fast in Ha Tae-heon’s grip.

Mother, who had been silent for a long while, gazed at their clasped hands and then spoke softly, a smile crossing her face.

“Don’t cause your man any more trouble. There aren’t many people who care for you the way he does.”

Mother’s gaze turned toward Ha Tae-heon, who stood quietly.

“Do you know how devoted Ha Tae-heon has been? He didn’t even sleep properly once. For 40 days and nights he stayed by your side without closing his eyes, and Mother’s heart was breaking…….”

Ha Tae-heon?
A-gang blinked in confusion, looking between Mother and Ha Tae-heon.

When had they become close enough for her to call him by his given name?

“He said he’d be by your side for the rest of his life. When you were lying like this—uncertain whether you’d ever wake up or not.”
“……Really?”

In Mother’s eyes shone something deeper than gratitude—profound trust and affection toward Ha Tae-heon.

It was clear she had already taken a great liking to him.

“Mother absolutely approves of you two! My son-in-law, Mother will treasure you with all her heart for the rest of our lives.”

A-gang’s eyes went wide, doubting her own ears.

“Mother, your son-in-law? We’ve barely just started getting to know each other…….”

Ignoring A-gang’s flustered response, Mother dried her tears as if she hadn’t just been weeping, and patted Ha Tae-heon’s back tenderly.

Whether it was the sudden warmth or the rising embarrassment—

Ha Tae-heon kept his gaze fixed on the back of A-gang’s hand, half troubled, half awkward, maintaining his silence.

“I told you to bring a son-in-law as meek as a lamb, not a wolf like this fellow! Look at how he’s charmed everyone in the family! A-gang, does Ha Tae-heon look docile to you?”

Mother immediately countered Father’s words.

“What are you talking about, honey! A son-in-law like this is exactly what our daughter needs! Don’t you know Ha Tae-heon is being called the nation’s ideal son-in-law?”

Father looked displeased, but A-gang understood. Behind Father’s grumbling lay affection.

When Father began using someone’s given name without his surname, it meant he had completely opened the doors of his heart.

“Everyone, quiet! There’s no need for further debate. For my granddaughter’s son-in-law, there is none but Ha Tae-heon!”

Grandfather’s dignified voice rang out clearly through the hospital ward.

A brief silence fell.

“Father, still, we must examine what kind of man he is, point by point! We should observe more, verify, look into whether he’s qualified as a son-in-law, test him thoroughly, take it step by step…….”
“Step by step, nonsense! What more is there to say! Our Jun-won had this man by her side as her savior. What else is there to confirm!”

Grandfather was resolute.

A-gang blinked in bewilderment, looking between the three elders.

The three adults surrounding the bed showed no signs of stopping their heated “son-in-law” debate.

“A-gang, what is your opinion?”

Then Grandfather raised an eyebrow toward A-gang.

As if awaiting a judge’s final verdict, Mother’s, Father’s, and Grandfather’s gazes converged simultaneously on A-gang.

***

The world before her eyes had transformed like a lie.

Everything was unfolding contrary to A-gang’s expectations.

It had been 40 days.

[Oneul Family’s Youngest Daughter: Crown Abandoned, Rising as a Doctor.]

The identity she had tried to hide had been exposed to the world,

[Oneul Wins Seoul Grand Bridge Contract, Defeats Taesan, Maintains Top Position Unshaken.]

The Seoul Grand Bridge project that Grandfather had so long yearned for was won by the Oneul Group, surpassing Taesan.
The fact that the “nameless resident” who had risked her life to save a child at the fire scene was the youngest daughter of the Oneul family drew renewed scrutiny, adding credibility to the company’s image and exerting a positive influence on public sentiment in the bidding war.

And…….

[There is a hidden story behind Resident Ju A-gang, who has shown remarkable progress beyond the halo of being a conglomerate heiress.

As applause and praise pour in for Ms. Ju’s accomplishments revealed through Reporter Bae’s exclusive coverage, it has come to light that Ms. Ju is not a biological daughter of the Oneul family but an adoptee from an orphanage…….]

“I don’t care about any of that! Let everyone in the world know! No matter what anyone says, A-gang is my daughter! Whether I gave birth to her or not—I’ve forgotten all that because she is so precious, my own child!”

Mother’s voice grew louder.

Father, blocking out the endless flood of clamorous news, turned off the TV with the remote.

Father’s gaze, which had been gently soothing Mother whose eyes were reddened, slowly shifted toward Ha Tae-heon.

“I ask for your care.”

A brief, solemn request cast after a long silence.

Father gazed at Ha Tae-heon with quiet confidence.
In Father’s eyes lay an earnest plea to protect his daughter.

Father gave Ha Tae-heon two quiet pats on the shoulder, then assisted Grandfather and Mother out of the ward.

With the family gone, silence returned to the ward.
Yet the air, rippled by the deluge of truth, did not settle easily.

A-gang gazed up slowly at Ha Tae-heon, who stood quietly beside her.

Strangely, only he came into sharp focus in all the world.

Ha Tae-heon.
He worried her desperately. And she missed him so much her heart ached.

“Go shave off that stubble. Anyone would think you’re a real thug.”

The rough, unkempt beard and haggard complexion spoke plainly of the 40 days he had endured.

Pretending nothing was wrong, A-gang offered Ha Tae-heon a faint smile.

“Senior, I’m sorry. Our family got ahead of themselves, didn’t they? Please don’t mind.”

Perhaps before such an enormous truth, the heart grew calm instead.

She didn’t know when the aftershocks would come, but for now—it was him.

“…….”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“…….”
“I’m really fine.”

Ha Tae-heon, who had maintained his silence, slowly opened his mouth.

“Whether to say I’m sorry or that it was inevitable……I’ve thought hard about what to say to you first.”

Ha Tae-heon looked directly at A-gang.

In his dark eyes swirled a complex blend of tenderness, regret, and the longing of all these days that he could not fully convey.

“But after all those words, my conclusion is just one thing.”
“…….”
“I love you.”

A-gang felt her breath catch for a moment.

“I love you so much that I wanted to keep you from being hurt. I had to step forward before reporters put you on the chopping block and tore you to pieces, and I had to protect you with my own hands before the world could devour you.”

“Senior…….”

What lingered at the edges of A-gang’s lips was not confusion or resentment, but a calm, simple truth.

“It all turned out well anyway.”

A-gang blinked her glistening eyes slowly.

“After all, everything worked out fine. Grandfather got the contract he wanted, the company image improved, and more.”
“What I want to ask is about you.”
“…….”
“Are you all right……?”
“……Are you all right, senior?”

Beat by beat, slowly, they asked each other the same thing.

Each desperately wanted to be the other’s relief.

“I had anticipated it to some degree. Please don’t worry too much.”

A-gang continued, meeting Ha Tae-heon’s eyes.

“When I was little, I had that thought vaguely. Why don’t I look like anyone in my family? Jun-won looks just like a mix of Mother and Father, but why not me?”
“…….”
“But sometime I forgot about it. Just living, it stopped mattering who my real roots were, where I came from.”
“…….”
“Jun-won saved me, Mother raised me with all her heart as her own daughter, and Father was always worried sick about me.”

Ha Tae-heon squeezed A-gang’s shoulder firmly as she smiled calmly.

Then, without a word, he opened the drawer beside the bed and carefully placed a folded piece of paper in A-gang’s hand.

“What’s this?”

At her puzzled question, Ha Tae-heon simply continued to support her shoulder in silence.

As she unfolded the paper, a letter in Mother’s handwriting appeared, stained in places with tears.

“She wrote it while guarding your side through the night. She asked me to make sure you read it. Take your time with it. I’ll be here.”

A-gang read through the letter calmly.

[My beloved daughter, A-gang!

When Mother first saw you, she wondered if there could be such a beautiful child in this world.
Our daughter, beautiful as an apple. That’s how you came to live in Mother’s heart.

The day Mother first met you was also the day she went to the orphanage for the first time, holding six-year-old Jun-won’s hand.

That day, you were very sick, burning with fever, and crying all the time.
But when Mother picked you up, you stopped crying at once, and when Mother set you down on the bed, you wept sadly again. Isn’t that strange?

All the way home, you wouldn’t leave Mother’s mind.
Then Jun-won, as if he understood what Mother was thinking, suddenly said something in the car.
He wanted you to be his little sister.
He asked Mother to bring you home.

We turned around and I held you in my arms again.
When you grasped my blouse with those tiny hands, your little fingers moving, that moment Mother made a decision.
I would protect you with every breath of my life.

Raising you brought Father and Mother so much happiness.

Pretty, bright, kind, warm.
Is there another child in this world as good-hearted as our A-gang?
Watching you understand without being taught from one to ten, Mother was grateful to God for sending you to us.

A-gang, our pride, our daughter.
This is what you are to Mother.

A child so precious Mother forgot which one she gave birth to.
A child as treasured as a jewel in the palm of my hand.

If Mother went back to that day, she would make the same choice again,
and welcome you the same way into our family.

It doesn’t matter where you came from.
What matters is that you are our precious daughter, and that will never change.

Mother believes you will overcome all of this beautifully. I love you, A-gang.]

A long silence fell.

Mother’s single letter, steeped in tears, said it all.

The confusion, the sorrow, the pain that had weighed on her heart……
all melted away like snow.

But Jun-won…….

A-gang bit her lip as tears flowed without pause.

“Adoption is when Mother and Father find a jewel hidden away by heaven.”
“Then am I that jewel?”
“No. You are.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Mother and Father adopted your brother first, and then you were born afterward—like a miracle. That’s why your brother’s nickname is ‘Oneul Family’s Blessing’—thanks to him, you were born.”

From the day A-gang happened to overhear a conversation between Mother and Jun-won, her brother began speaking of himself as an adoptee. As if it were his natural duty as a brother.

Why had she only just learned this?

That everything was a sacrifice Jun-won had chosen for himself to protect her smile.
That it was a white lie he had told to shield her from the great truth without a single wound.

That it was all the love of her family.

Hot tears streamed down A-gang’s face.

Jun-won…….

I’m sorry I’m standing in the place where you should be.
I’m sorry that trying to save me stopped your spring in that moment.
I’m sorry that I, a rolling stone, pushed out my real gem of a brother…….

A-gang looked up at Ha Tae-heon.

“Senior, you were sent to me by our brother.”

“And you’re someone Jun-won sent to me.”

After gazing at A-gang for a long moment, Ha Tae-heon raised his thumb and gently wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’ll be by your side and protect you from now on.”

Ha Tae-heon pulled A-gang into a strong embrace.

How much time had passed?

As A-gang’s sobs began to subside, Ha Tae-heon suddenly turned and crouched low before her.

“Climb on. Let’s go get some fresh air!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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