The Textbook of a Lover - Chapter 59

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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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59.
“How’s the lawsuit preparation coming along?”
Seong Do-ah turned her head.
“Yes, my lawyer is investigating thoroughly to see how we can establish this as fraud.”
Seong Do-ah was preparing a lawsuit to recover the funds she’d spent purchasing trousseau, money she intended to claim back from both Kyung-jun and Na-hui.
The key issue was whether the trousseau Do-ah had prepared in anticipation of marriage—only to be extorted without marrying—would be recognized not as a simple gift but as fraud.
The lawyer had said there was a solid chance of winning.
“Don’t overextend yourself. If you need anything, just say so.”
“Understood.”
Seong Do-ah answered briefly and smiled. To her now, Cha Kyung’s words were like a fortress wall—solid and reassuring.
While spring sunlight painted the windshield in amber, the two of them shared an easy conversation about the fruits Gyuseon liked and the flowers to place in her hospital room.
After about forty minutes, the car came to a stop in the University Hospital parking lot.
“We’re here.”
Cha Kyung got out first and opened the passenger door for her.
Seong Do-ah stepped out carrying a Fruit Basket in one hand and a small bouquet in the other.
On the way in, they’d stopped at a Flower Shop and chosen Freesia—flowers Gyuseon was known to love.
When the hospital room door opened, Gyuseon was sitting half-upright in bed, watching television. Her complexion looked far better than expected.
At the sound of the door, Gyuseon lifted her head and looked back and forth between Cha Kyung and Do-ah, her eyes narrowing.
“Good grief, you rascal.”
Gyuseon’s reproach was directed at Cha Kyung.
“We’ve come to see you, Grandmother.”
“Either let Do-ah rest or take her on a date, but why drag her to the hospital?”
Cha Kyung gestured toward Do-ah with a shameless grin.
“Grandmother, what can I do? Do-ah insisted on coming, said she absolutely had to.”
“Insisted? I did no such thing.”
Do-ah puffed out her cheeks in protest, but Cha Kyung simply laughed it off. Gyuseon extended her hand.
“Come here, Do-ah. Sit with me?”
When Do-ah sat in the chair beside the bed, Gyuseon clasped her hand firmly. The wrinkled hand was warm.
“Oh my, you brought flowers? Freesia, no less. I do love these flowers so.”
“I asked Cha Kyung what you liked. These are your favorites.”
The corners of Gyuseon’s eyes softened with tenderness.
“How can someone be both so pretty and so kind?”
“Thank you, Grandmother.”
Do-ah felt her ears warming and lowered her head.
Gyuseon patted the back of Do-ah’s hand as she spoke.
“Don’t be frightened just because it’s surgery. I’m still in perfect health. This old woman has to see you two get married, so I’m not about to be felled by a little operation like this.”
M-married?
They’d only been dating for a few weeks.
As Do-ah looked up at Cha Kyung with startled eyes, he turned to Gyuseon with a gentle deflection.
“Grandmother, if you keep rushing things like that, Do-ah will run away. First, the important thing is for you to recover.”
“Oh dear, was I being too hasty?”
Gyuseon’s warm laughter filled the white room with light.
A warmth bloomed in the center of Do-ah’s chest.
‘Is this what happiness feels like? If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up.’
Do-ah wished for it desperately in her heart.
* * *
The Abalone Porridge was finished at three in the morning.
Scraping out the intestines with a knife and scrubbing with salt took far longer than she’d anticipated.
“Perfect.”
She spooned up some broth to taste it—the seasoning was exactly right. The broth had a clean abalone fragrance, and the rice grains had softened to the perfect consistency, making it smooth to swallow.
The years she’d spent living alone proved their worth at moments like this.
“I hope she enjoys it.”
She’d made the Abalone Porridge with the hope that Gyuseon, who had been so warm to her, would recover quickly.
She knew it was Early Stage Thyroid Cancer—not a particularly dangerous surgery.
Still, tension kept Do-ah awake through the few remaining hours, and she made her way to the hospital before dawn.
* * *
Do-ah sat in the VIP waiting room on the fourteenth floor of the hospital. Despite being a hospital, the luxurious interior made it feel as cozy as a hotel.
Exhausted from her all-night battle with abalone, she was dozing into the leather sofa when a knock sounded at the door.
She opened her eyes to find Cha Kyung already inside, striding toward her.
He scanned her from head to toe, then abruptly reached out and grasped her chin.
“What—what are you doing?”
Cha Kyung examined her face from different angles as if he hadn’t heard her voice at all.
His fingers burned against her chin. When he finally released her, he clicked his tongue with a sharp sound.
“Are you here to check on a patient, or did you come to be admitted?”
“O-of course I’m checking on a patient!”
“Your dark circles are practically touching the floor. I told you to come after she woke up.”
Just then, Jeong-hye, who had followed him in, smacked Cha Kyung’s back.
“What kind of manners are those to someone who came all this way for you? Do-ah, I’m sorry. My son has no sense of decorum.”
“No, it’s fine. Did Grandmother’s surgery go well?”
“Yes, according to the doctor, it went beautifully. She should wake up from the anesthesia soon.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Do-ah was pressing a hand to her heart in relief when she noticed the shopping bag Jeong-hye had brought. “What’s that?”
“Oh, this—I made Abalone Porridge for your grandmother to have when she wakes up.”
“Good grief, you shouldn’t have gone to such trouble. Thank you so much for bringing Abalone Porridge of all things—I don’t know how to repay this.”
“No, it’s really nothing…”
“That’s exactly why you have those dark circles. Did you make it yourself because you were worried there’d be no decent porridge at the hospital?”
Jeong-hye struck Cha Kyung’s back again, this time more sharply.
“Can’t you say something nice for once?”
Even as she scolded him, Jeong-hye’s eyes grew worried as she studied Do-ah’s complexion.
“You really don’t look well. Have you eaten lunch?”
“No. But I’m fine, really. I’m not hungry.”
“Your mother-in-law will take some time to wake up. Go eat with Cha Kyung and come back.”
“I’m really okay.”
Before she could finish speaking, her stomach made a loud, mortifying gurgle. Do-ah’s face flushed crimson.
Cha Kyung let out a stifled laugh. “Let’s go. Before malnutrition creates more patients.”
Realizing her social dignity was completely destroyed and resistance was futile, Do-ah rose and left the waiting room.
* * *
The restaurant they arrived at was a Korean place on the first floor of the hospital.
It was past the lunch rush, so tables were plentiful. Cha Kyung ordered two Soybean Paste Stew Sets and placed a glass of water in front of Do-ah.
Do-ah took a sip of water and pulled out her phone. She wanted to search for diet recommendations after thyroid surgery.
Let’s see, foods good for the thyroid—you should eat a balanced mix of meat, fish, and vegetables, and calcium is important, and…
“Are you the patient?”
A voice suddenly came from across the table. Do-ah looked up. Cha Kyung was standing with his arms crossed, looking at her phone screen.
“No. I was just wondering what I should prepare for Grandmother’s discharge.”
“How many hours did you sleep while making that Abalone Porridge yesterday? With the shopping and everything after leaving me, it must have taken quite a while.”
“I slept enough.”
“Don’t lie.”
“Really.”
She spoke with confidence, but Cha Kyung’s gaze lingered on the dark shadows beneath her eyes.
“If you’re going to lie, at least get rid of those dark circles first.”
Were her dark circles really that bad?
Do-ah took a mirror from her pouch and looked at her face.
‘Ugh, they really are bad. I look like a panda.’
Watching her reaction, Cha Kyung spoke.
“I won’t stop you from making food, but don’t sacrifice your health doing it. Grandmother would hate that even more.”
“But Grandmother has been so kind to me… I want to repay her somehow.”
“Do-ah, just your existence is already a gift to her. Don’t worry about it.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Do-ah protested that it was absurd, but Cha Kyung only smiled.
“Eat your meal.”
Urged on, Do-ah picked up her spoon. The moment the first spoonful touched her tongue, her entire body responded.
Her body proved that her claim of not being hungry was a lie—she emptied a full bowl of rice along with the soybean paste stew and anchovy side dish in moments.
“There we go. Your face finally has some color.”
Cha Kyung gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. Lost in eating, Do-ah froze completely.

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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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