Only for the Two of Them (4)
"If it's Soyoung, I'm certain she'll overcome that wound."
An answer without a shred of falsehood.
Lee Hwayang found herself wondering.
How could this boy hold such unshakable conviction about her daughter's future — a future even she, the girl's own mother, could not begin to predict?
But the boy simply continued with his own thoughts, offering no answer to her silent question.
"Of course, accepting the death of someone you love would be hard. But if it's her, she'll pull through. I'm sure of it."
A Couple Like Flowers.
Having watched that drama, Seo Eunwoo knew better than anyone what kind of scar Lee Hwayang's death — even framed as a tragic accident — would leave on Seol Soyoung.
But wounds, in the end, were meant to heal with time.
Because he knew the kind of woman Seol Soyoung had become in the timeline where Lee Hwayang died, Seo Eunwoo believed she could overcome that wound as well.
Just as she had overcome the NG incident last time, and just as she had conquered her weakness in dancing.
Because to Seo Eunwoo, the girl named Seol Soyoung was…
"The Soyoung I know is stronger and more remarkable than anyone. So I hope you'll place a little more faith in your daughter, ma'am."
"……"
When Seo Eunwoo finished speaking, a brief silence settled over the hospital room.
But having heard the boy's sincerity, Lee Hwayang wore a bitter smile — one laced with self-reproach.
…I see.
More than she, the girl's own mother, the boy standing before her — a mere drama writer — had been the one believing in her daughter, cheering her on…
Lee Hwayang finally understood.
Now she thought she knew why Soyoung trusted and followed Writer 927 with such fanatical devotion.
The boy before her gave and gave to her daughter with an almost frightening selflessness. There was no ulterior motive in it, no demand for anything in return.
Then why…?
Why did he go so far for Soyoung?
Casting her as the lead in the drama he'd written, planning Fly High, even coming to see her today — all of it could not be explained by the simple reason of wanting to help her daughter.
"Why do I go that far? Well…"
Seo Eunwoo scratched his head.
He'd come here today simply to take responsibility for what he'd set in motion. But the casting and the planning of Fly High couldn't be explained by that alone.
Well. The real problem was that even he didn't have a clean way to explain it.
Of course, if he told her the truth as it was, Lee Hwayang would find it strange.
And so…
"Because I'm her fan."
That much, at least, was unmistakably true — so it should be fine to say.
Hearing the boy's honest answer, Lee Hwayang's face went blank for a moment.
"Uh… is that not enough?"
Seeing her expression, Seo Eunwoo wondered if he'd said something wrong and quickly asked.
But—
"Hahaha!"
For some reason, she burst out laughing.
Knowing how unusual it was for a woman of her refined bearing to laugh so openly in front of someone else, it was Seo Eunwoo's turn to look dumbfounded.
The reason Lee Hwayang had laughed so hard at his answer was simple.
It was just too absurd.
Because she could feel that the words the boy had just spoken contained not a single lie — nothing but pure truth.
And in that unvarnished truth, Lee Hwayang saw a kind of hope.
Seol Soyoung was still a middle schooler. Lee Hwayang hadn't wanted to leave a wound on a daughter who could barely take care of herself. That was why she had resolved not to undergo a surgery with uncertain odds of survival, choosing instead to stay by her daughter's side for as long as she could.
But through Fly High, Seol Soyoung had rejected that choice.
Even if the surgery went wrong and a world without you arrived, I will do everything I can — so don't worry. Please stop suffering any longer and get the operation. That was the message woven into it.
Hearing her daughter's true feelings had filled Lee Hwayang with pride, and at the same time plunged her into agonizing doubt.
She couldn't trust herself to weigh which judgment was the right one.
But then a boy had appeared before her eyes —
and thanks to him, the evenly balanced scales tipped completely to one side.
Looking at the boy in front of her, Lee Hwayang thought:
If, in a world without her, this boy — who believed in her daughter more than anyone and stood ready to help her — stayed by a wounded Soyoung's side… wouldn't that be all right?
And that thought did not remain a mere thought. Inside Lee Hwayang, it hardened into conviction.
"Writer 927. I seem to recall hearing that you would take responsibility for Soyoung's acting career."
Lee Hwayang asked him.
Seo Eunwoo tilted his head, as if wondering what she was suddenly talking about.
"…Pardon? I did say that to Soyoung, yes."
"Did you? Then while you're at it, you might as well take responsibility for Soyoung's life as well."
"???"
For a moment, Seo Eunwoo doubted his own perfectly functional ears.
"H-her life? What on earth do you suddenly—"
And for the first time since entering the hospital room, he looked genuinely flustered — so flustered he was stumbling over his words.
Watching a boy who had so far spoken and carried himself nothing like a middle schooler come undone over a single sentence, Lee Hwayang let out a soft laugh.
"I mean that if something unfortunate should happen to me, I would like you to look after Soyoung."
"Ma'am, if anyone overheard that, they'd think there was truly no hope left."
"There is no such thing as absolute in this world. Just as cancer suddenly appeared in my body. So for my daughter's sake, I intend to take out one reliable insurance policy."
A reliable insurance policy.
In the present situation, there was no way Seo Eunwoo could miss who that referred to.
"No… there's still Chairman Seol Hanyong, isn't there?"
But Seo Eunwoo deliberately tried to deflect.
He didn't even know what would become of his own life, and now she wanted him to take responsibility for her daughter's? One wrong step and he could end up shouldering an enormous burden — it was pure instinctive evasion.
"No. If my husband could fill that role, I would have undergone the surgery long ago. He's a frustrating father who can never quite express himself properly in front of Soyoung."
Lee Hwayang let out a sigh and firmly rejected his suggestion.
From the start, no one else had even been under consideration in her mind.
When the perfect person to support Soyoung was standing right in front of her, why bother looking elsewhere?
The same age as her daughter, someone who might believe in and care for the girl even more than she herself did, and whose true identity was that of a genius writer currently setting the whole country abuzz.
And Soyoung was already completely smitten with him.
At first she hadn't liked that one bit — but after meeting him face-to-face today, her thoughts had changed a great deal.
If Soyoung wished for it, she would almost want to bring the two of them together…
"Then what do you plan to do if I say I can't take responsibility for Soyoung's life?"
That was when it happened.
Seo Eunwoo asked Lee Hwayang with a slightly tense expression.
She considered the question for a moment.
If the premise was that Writer 927 had come to see her in person for her daughter's sake…
"I won't get the surgery."
…That ought to be enough.
Lee Hwayang's bombshell of a statement.
All of a sudden, a thought crossed my mind.
Something about this situation had gone seriously off the rails. I had the distinct feeling I'd walked into a tiger's den of my own free will.
The scary part was that she wasn't joking — she was completely serious.
If I truly refused to take responsibility for Seol Soyoung, she really would abandon the surgery and start the discharge paperwork on the spot.
"Th-that… ma'am. I think that might be a bit extreme."
"When my daughter's future is on the line, of course it's extreme. Isn't that only natural for a mother?"
And she was shameless about it, too.
Her sheer brazenness left me speechless.
"Frankly, I don't even understand why you're taking such a negative stance in the first place, Writer."
"What do you mean by that…"
"Just tell me straight. How does Soyoung look in your eyes?"
Uh…
Just pretty.
Honestly, I could say with certainty she was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen in my life.
"Exactly. Even though she's my daughter, anyone can see she's beautiful. And it's not just her face — everything about her is perfect. Her personality, her figure, her family's wealth, and so on."
"…And so?"
"Being asked to take responsibility for Soyoung's life. Isn't that a proposal that should naturally appeal to you?"
Well. She had a point.
If it didn't appeal, that would be the strange part.
But I knew better.
I knew at least this much: the person meant to spend a lifetime with her was not me.
Why else would the drama that formed the backdrop of this world be called A Couple Like Flowers?
It meant that Seol Soyoung, its leading lady, already had a fated partner waiting for her.
So no matter how many times Lee Hwayang and I went around on this topic, it wouldn't mean a thing.
"Ma'am. Isn't the opinion of the person in question the most important thing here?"
"My. The way you put that almost sounds like you wouldn't mind at all — so long as Soyoung agrees."
As if the matter were already settled, Lee Hwayang wore a smile of pure triumph.
I wasn't sure why she was smiling like that, but I still had something left to say to her.
"Instead, I'll watch how things go for the next three years. If even then Soyoung's feelings haven't changed, I'll have to give your proposal some serious thought."
"But why specifically three years?"
Why else?
In two years, Seol Soyoung would enter high school. There, just as in the original, she would meet her destined partner.
If another year passed after that, this conversation with Lee Hwayang would no longer mean anything.
"Very well. In exchange, even if my surgery succeeds, this arrangement remains in effect. I happen to think you and my daughter make quite a good match."
"……"
"Of course, on the condition that if the surgery succeeds, everything that happened today — and your true identity — will be kept secret from Soyoung. How does that sound?"
Haaah…
How it sounded didn't matter anymore. I had the distinct feeling I'd been thoroughly played by her pace.
My head was starting to hurt.