The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 303
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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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Part 2, Side Story 21
On the day Gaya was born, Saeon paced anxiously outside the birthing chamber until the cry of a newborn pierced the air, and he rushed inside in urgent haste.
“Cheongha, Cheongha is…!”
“Saeon.”
Cheongha, seated upon the bed, offered him a weary smile.
“Madam is well, Family Head. Would you not wish to hold your young son?”
“….”
The infant the midwife placed in his arms was so impossibly small and fragile that it scarcely felt real.
This tiny creature is my child….
Mine and Cheongha’s, a child….
Saeon gazed upon his firstborn—a mirror image of himself—with eyes brimming with wonder and profound emotion for what seemed an eternity.
A feeling he had never before experienced flooded through him entirely.
* * *
The child thrived magnificently, as befitted the bloodline of the Great White Tiger Family.
While Saeon sat at his desk attending to matters of state, the sound of childish laughter drifting from outside drew him to the window.
In the Courtyard of Baekhogun below, young Gaya—who had only recently begun to walk—toddled along hand in hand with Cheongha on a leisurely stroll.
Saeon’s lips curved into a gentle smile as he beheld the sight.
How long had he stood there, watching?
“Family Head? What are you doing there?”
Jeok Yeong, who had arrived at that moment, approached his side and peered cautiously out the window.
“Ah, you were watching Young Master Gaya. Truly, every time I see him, I am struck by how remarkably he resembles you. I would believe it if you said you bore him alone.”
“Indeed. He truly is the image of Cheongha and….”
“Pardon?”
Jeok Yeong turned to him in bewilderment.
“I was speaking of how the Young Master resembles the Family Head, not Madam?”
“What are you saying, Jeok Yeong? What’s wrong with your eyes? Look at how his dimples deepen when he smiles—he has Cheongha’s smile exactly. And the way he tilts his head to the right whenever curiosity strikes him. Ah, and that mole on his little toe—that too he inherited from Cheongha.”
“….”
Though anyone could see the child was Saeon’s very image, he had discerned with precision every feature the boy shared with his mother.
Jeok Yeong’s expression grew weary.
“Why do you make such a face?”
“It is nothing, merely…. I am deeply moved by how profoundly you love Madam, Family Head.”
At those words, Saeon’s brow furrowed.
“Love? What….”
He faltered.
His lips sealed shut in an instant.
His inner voice cried out—why would I care for her? We merely entered into a marriage contract for mutual benefit, nothing more. Love? Such nonsense….
Though his inner self screamed these denials, he found his lips would not move to voice them aloud.
A question had suddenly taken root within him.
If this marriage did not arise from romantic affection between man and woman, then why did I accept it?
For mutual benefit, as she proposed?
‘But then… what did I actually gain from this marriage proposal?’
If it had been a marriage agreement accepted purely for mutual benefit, then I should have obtained something as well.
Yet what I had gained was…
[You’ll get a beautiful wife.]
As Saeon traced through his memories, the words she had spoken when proposing this marriage suddenly surfaced in his mind.
“A beautiful… wife…”
Saeon muttered vacantly, his expression as though he’d been struck on the head.
“Yes, yes, Madam is certainly beautiful.”
Jeok Yeong shook his head with the air of someone thoroughly exhausted by his sister-complex tendencies, then departed.
Saeon forgot to stop Jeok Yeong and clarify that ‘it’s not like that, this is a misunderstanding,’ and instead grew deeply serious.
Eventually, everyone in the White Tiger Palace except Jeok Yeong—even Cheongha—grew concerned upon seeing his gravely solemn expression.
“Is something wrong? You look very serious.”
Saeon gazed intently at her face.
‘A beautiful… wife…’
Looking back, she was the only thing I had gained from this marriage.
The day she brought the marriage proposal to me, I was unusually emotional, unlike myself…
‘Why did I accept her proposal in the first place? Because of friendship with my only close friend?’
I had thought that if she gained freedom through marriage with me, that would be enough.
Yet there were too many contradictions to claim I had agreed to the marriage proposal merely for the sake of childhood friendship.
After all, what man would do all these things and more for friendship alone with a friend?
Though she was my only close friend, I myself knew this was difficult to call mere friendship.
‘Then, if not for friendship…’
In truth, this was a problem that required no further deliberation.
I had already sensed the answer to this question, albeit unconsciously.
After all, what I gained from this marriage was only one thing.
Cheongha. Baek Saeon’s beautiful wife.
She who had now become the mother of my child.
As I turned it over in my mind, a surge of emotion welled up.
Through this contractual marriage, I gained her, but what she sought was freedom.
In other words… she didn’t need me. Unlike me, who accepted the marriage proposal to gain her.
Saeon found that fact profoundly unfair.
“Why? Has something really bad happened?”
Yet her face was so beautiful as she tilted her head and studied my expression.
Saeon ultimately had to admit it.
In this unfair relationship, I can only ever be the loser.
Because I already… like her.
I like her.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump―
The moment I clearly recognized that emotion, my heart resonated with a heavy, profound beat.
“Saeon? Sa…!”
Whoosh—!
He pulled her close by wrapping one arm around her waist, swallowing her worried, tender voice whole.
“Mmm, why are you suddenly…?”
“….”
She asked, but instead of answering, I buried myself in her warmth and pressed my lips repeatedly against her delicate skin.
Once I acknowledged it, my feelings for her began to swell endlessly.
My heart, swollen beyond control, was inscribed across my entire body in ceaseless devotion, yet I could not bring myself to speak the truth plainly to her when she asked why I was suddenly like this.
I was afraid of her reaction.
[Really? You love me? But what do I do, Saeon? I’m not like that. I’m truly sorry.]
If she were to say this to me with an apologetic expression….
The mere thought made my chest ache sharply, and I bit my lower lip roughly in silence.
So, a little later.
When I have the confidence to not be hurt by any words she might say to me, then I will speak.
I nodded firmly to myself and resolved.
But sadly, such a day never came.
Not after Gaya learned to speak and play, not after Ga Hyeon and Gayul were born and the Baek Brothers filled the White Tiger Palace with their noise.
Not even when a sudden war broke out and I had to depart for the battlefield….
“Don’t worry about the White Tiger Palace or the children. Just take care of yourself and come back safely.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”
I smiled broadly at the anxious Cheongha and spoke.
Leaving behind her worried farewell and heading toward the battlefield, I thought to myself.
A day when I wouldn’t be hurt by her rejection? There was no such day to begin with.
So I promised myself that when I returned to the White Tiger Palace next time, I would surely confess my feelings to her then.
Having led several battles to victory, I managed to obtain leave and visit the White Tiger Palace briefly.
‘Today, I must….’
On the way back to the White Tiger Palace, I carried a bouquet of wildflowers I had woven myself and rehearsed countless times, anticipating our reunion.
But a variable emerged.
In that war, Cheongha’s younger brother, who had inherited the position of Family Head of the Azure Dragon Family, fell in battle.
I could not confess my feelings to Cheongha, who blamed herself for it.
So I gritted my teeth and let her go.
“Go where you must go.”
“Saeon….”
“When I release you, go quickly.”
“…Thank you, Saeon.”
Thus, Cheongha left the White Tiger Palace with a faint smile.
Watching her depart, I could not even grieve, and I remained steadfast in my place.
If I were to grieve, the children would become even more anxious.
Though the days when I failed to confess out of fear of hurt became regrets, if this was how it would end anyway, it was perhaps better that I did not bind her with meaningless words.
Thus comforting myself, I soon had to return to the battlefield.
When this war ends, will she return?
Even as I cut down the necks of Demon Beasts that kept surging forward no matter how many I slew, I could think of nothing but her amidst the blood-soaked battlefield.
And it was the same for Cheongha.
Having become the Family Head Deputy of the Azure Dragon Family in place of her orphaned nephew, she always thought of Saeon and the children left behind at White Tiger Palace from the distant Eastern Lands.
Though she had never spoken it aloud… she too harbored affection for Saeon.
At fourteen, when she first felt her heart flutter in his presence.
She had tried to ignore that emotion, but the more time she spent with him, the deeper her feelings grew.
Yet even after their marriage was consummated, she could not easily confess her heart, and the reason was….
* * *
“Since you were fourteen…?”
Saeon stared at Cheongha with a bewildered expression.
“But you showed no sign of it whatsoever….”
“You were the one who said it. That you had no intention of creating fleeting bonds from momentary emotions. That you would think carefully and welcome connections only when you could take responsibility for your feelings.”
Cheongha recalled a conversation they had shared long ago atop the great Zelkova Tree in the Imperial Palace, and let out a soft laugh.
“Since I could never be bound to you anyway, I thought confessing my feelings would only result in a brief connection, so there was no hope for me.”
“Ah….”
“That’s why I’ve always felt sorry toward you since our marriage. I kept wondering if perhaps you had abandoned that resolve for my sake and accepted my proposal….”
“That’s absolutely not true.”
At that moment, Saeon cut off her words with a firm voice.
“I said it myself—that I had no intention of creating bonds from momentary emotions. I always keep my word once I’ve spoken it aloud.”
“Saeon…?”
“I didn’t abandon that resolve; I upheld it. You are not a momentary emotion to me… you are the only woman I resolved to take responsibility for throughout my entire life.”
“Ah….”
At the small gasp that escaped Cheongha’s lips, Saeon’s face flushed slightly as he averted his gaze.
“It’s just that I didn’t know. That you….”
He fell silent for a moment, his lips trembling, before finally forcing out the words in a voice thick with emotion.
“That you also harbored affection for me….”
Ever since she had left, he had been consumed with regret.
Foolishly, afraid of something as trivial as pain, he had never once conveyed to her how much he cared, and that weighed heavily on his heart.
At his heavy confession, Cheongha burst into laughter.
“If I didn’t care for you, I wouldn’t have proposed in the first place. If I had looked, there would have been other options besides you.”
“…!”
At those words, Saeon’s head snapped up.
“Other options? Who?”
“My, Saeon. You look ready to strike someone down right now.”
At the sight of an expression that suggested he might rush off and cause trouble if she named anyone, Cheongha laughed even more heartily than before.
To the sound of her bright laughter ringing through the night air, Saeon’s expression softened, and he let out a quiet chuckle alongside her.
Gradually, their laughter subsided, and the air around them grew tender and poignant.
Saeon gently cupped her cheek and lowered his head.
Chuo―
With the soft friction of moisture, the two drew together seamlessly, fitting perfectly into each other.
“Father, where are you!”
“Mother! Where are you!”
From far away came the loud voices of Gayul and Soya, accompanied by the patter of small feet rushing toward us.
A start!
The two of them, having experienced similar situations many times before, quickly separated and swiftly adjusted their clothing with practiced ease.
“My, our little ones. It’s so late—why aren’t you asleep?”
Cheongha turned to face the children with a gentle smile, as though nothing had happened.
“Cheongya woke up and was looking for Mother.”
“This little one keeps crying for Mother no matter how much we try to comfort him.”
“Waaah, Moooother…!”
Cheongya, who had been whimpering in Gayul’s arms, spotted his mother and began squirming with both arms outstretched.
Cheongha deftly lifted the child into her embrace, cooing softly to soothe him.
“Oh, my precious baby. Did you miss Mother?”
“Mm-hmm, Cheongya missed Mother.”
As Cheongya stopped whimpering and broke into a bright smile, both Soya and Gayul, clinging to their mother’s sides, beamed with joy.
“Finally, Cheongya has stopped crying.”
“Mother really is amazing, isn’t she?”
“Hehe, of course. Our little tiger and little Cotton Ball should run to Mother without crying if they miss her.”
“Aw, I’m not Cheongya—why would I cry over something like that?”
A soft smile bloomed across Saeon’s face as he watched the warm, cheerful scene unfold before him.
After sending her away, I had stood on countless battlefields drenched in the blood of Demon Beasts, and perhaps I had painted this very scene in my mind every single day.
This moment of carefree laughter and chatter with her and the children who bore our likenesses….
“Father, what are you doing there? Come inside quickly!”
“Papa, hurry!”
The children called out to Saeon, who stood motionless, as they moved toward the building with Cheongha.
Saeon smiled warmly and stepped forward into this precious scene, merging with them.
In the place where they had stood moments before, the soft moonlight remained alone, illuminating the darkness.
Part 2, Side Story 18 — End.
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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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Why did you upload Chapter 21 instead of Chapter 3?! Are you kidding us?! The chapter was uploaded before the scheduled release time, too. Is this a mistake? Please fix it as soon as possible!