Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Karey's Sudden Visit
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A month had already passed since Aram and Horyeong's visit.
In that time, Daeun and I threw ourselves into preparations for the solo exhibition.
The closer the day of the exhibition got, the more tense Daeun seemed.
Then, one week before Daeun's solo exhibition.
My phone rang—it was President Jeong Wooyeon's number.
-Only a week left now. How are the preparations going?
"Ah, all the paintings are finished. She said the staff would come pick them up in two days."
-Daeun's first solo exhibition is finally here.
"Yeah. Time really flies."
-The promotional materials for Miss Daeun's exhibition are all done, and the press release has already gone out. Seeing everything come together like this really makes it feel real.
I'd already seen the article the department store had published.
Once it hit the press and preparations were underway, it truly felt like the exhibition was happening.
-Anyway, I'll stop by the studio tomorrow. We can talk then.
"Yes, see you tomorrow."
Click.
After hanging up, I kept holding the phone and searched through my contacts.
With Daeun's solo exhibition just a week away, it was time to let our acquaintances know.
They might have heard about it already since they'd been anticipating it.
But it was only polite to invite them directly.
As I was going through the numbers one by one and sending texts.
"Oh, right—I should message Mother too."
I hadn't visited in a while due to everything going on.
But after Hyorin passed, she'd looked after Daeun for several months.
She'd probably be happier than anyone to hear about Daeun's exhibition.
With that thought, I was texting Sister Kim Inyoung.
Then, suddenly.
I glanced over.
At the vanity Hyorin had used in life.
'Should I let Hyorin's friends know too?'
Hyorin's acquaintances were all people I knew, but just in case she'd made new connections while I was laid up in the hospital after the accident, I should check.
Come to think of it, I'd never once looked through Hyorin's phone. If I got lucky, I might find someone I didn't know.
With that in mind, I hurried to the vanity, found Hyorin's old phone, and brought it over.
An outdated model.
A cellphone from over seven years ago.
Her modest circumstances must have meant she kept using it even after it got worn out.
Click.
The good news was, the charger cable was the same as mine, so I had no trouble powering up the drained battery.
-Beep boop!
The phone lit up for the first time, showing the carrier logo.
I'd canceled the service right after the accident, so there was no data connection.
I turned on Wi-Fi and connected to the internet.
The moment I did.
Ding ding ding—!
A flood of backed-up SNS notifications, messages, and texts came pouring in like mad.
Amid the storm of alerts, a familiar name caught my eye.
[Karey]
The long English message in the SNS chat made my eyes spin.
Even after all this time, they'd been in touch right up until recently, I thought.
Then it hit me.
'Ah! Why didn't I think of that?'
Hyorin had asked Jungeun Park to take photos, sure.
But Hyorin herself must have taken plenty of Daeun's pictures too.
I should've checked her phone first, like an idiot.
I quickly opened the photo album on Hyorin's phone.
Photos of Daeun's face came scrolling up one after another.
From just before Hyorin died, all the way back to when she was very little.
More than I'd imagined. I spent a long time just gazing at them.
I paused.
My finger stopped on the occasional photos of Hyorin herself that popped up.
She looked so worn out, like she was struggling.
But in the pictures, Hyorin smiled brighter than anyone.
Seeing her happy, smiling face lifted my spirits for no reason.
'I wish I'd been there too.'
As I scrolled down for a good while, taking it all in.
'Huh, a video.'
One video caught my eye.
It was Hyorin filming Daeun.
Daeun looked just a little over one year old.
Curious what it was, I hit play.
Hyorin's voice came through, full of laughter.
[Daeun! Daeun! Can you say it one more time? Just once!]
What was she asking her to say?
Hyorin kept begging Daeun to say it again, and in the long video of Daeun playing, one word popped out.
[Honey! Honey, did you hear? Daeun said 'Daddy' for the first time! She really said 'Daddy'! For real!]
Her excited voice kept asking, and I stared at the screen for a long time before answering.
"I heard you, honey. Our Daeun is so lovable."
It had taken years, but I finally got to see Daeun say "Daddy" for the first time.
I must have replayed it nearly ten times.
If Daeun hadn't called me, I'd probably have watched it twenty more.
'I'll have to transfer all these photos later.'
As I thought about replaying it properly when I had more time.
Daeun came over and asked.
"Daddy! Can Daeun have choccy milk too?"
"Ah, yeah. Go ahead. You haven't had any today."
"Okay! Thanks!"
She happily dashed to the fridge, grabbed a chocolate milk, and drank it down.
Her face lit up with pure bliss, like it was the most delicious thing ever. Smiling at her, I went back to Hyorin's phone.
'Oh, right. I was sending texts.'
Remembering my original goal, I started checking the massive pile of alerts.
Karey's SNS messages were by far the most numerous. Not knowing English well, I quickly ran them through a translator.
And I was pretty shocked.
[Ugh! So cute. I really want to see her in person someday.]
[Daeun, right? She looks just like you—super adorable.]
[Your favorite artist's exhibition is in two months, so come. You have to. You know how much effort I put into getting you tickets from your fave?]
[I even got them signed for when you come.]
[I'll book the flights myself, so just get a passport. Got it?]
[What? No reply? So when are you sending passport info?]
[Hey, Hyorin! Why no answer?]
[Starting to worry here. Reply if you see this.]
[Hyorin... you okay?]
[Hey!]
[It's been three months already. I'm really mad, so message me now. I'll forgive you right away.]
[Hyorin! Hyorin! Hyorin!]
[Hyorin...]
She'd been sending messages for nearly ten months straight.
Even one from just a month ago. You could really feel Karey's worry for Hyorin in them.
She probably had no way of knowing about Hyorin's death.
Unless she'd met me at least once.
Even then, I'd been in the hospital after the accident.
No one had told Karey what happened.
After agonizing over it for a while, I tapped the alert to open the app.
Their previous chats with Hyorin were still there.
Tons of Daeun photos posted, like updates on her life.
Not super frequent, but they'd check in on each other now and then.
Looking through the conversation, I pondered how to reply.
I had to let her know about Hyorin's situation, at least.
I started typing a message with help from the translation app.
[Hello. I'm Hyorin's husband, Kanghyeok Lee. Sorry it's so late, but about Hyorin...]
I explained everything that had happened, why there'd been no contact.
And why I was reaching out now.
I double-checked the message several times, then hit send. A cheerful chime sounded as it went through.
The app let you see when it was read.
Pop!
Less than a minute later, the read receipt appeared.
Then, no reply for over ten minutes.
Was she crying?
Probably, I thought.
Then, a single line came back.
I was stunned.
[I'm coming to Korea right now.]
'What? She's coming to Korea right now?'
Her sudden reply had me scrambling to respond.
But Karey was faster.
[Can someone pick me up? I don't know Korea geography. If I hurry, I'll get there tomorrow.]
Her forceful tone left me typing just one word.
[Yes...]
It looked like I'd have to meet Hyorin's old friend in person.
The next morning, I called President Jeong right away.
"Ah, I'm really sorry."
-No, no. How could I not understand? An old friend of Mrs. Daeun's coming all the way from America.
"Thank you for understanding."
-Don't worry about me. Go take care of it.
Click.
I'd canceled with President Jeong for now.
But picking up Karey was the real issue.
And I still had to explain it to Daeun.
"Daeun."
"Yeah! Daddy!"
"Remember what I told Auntie Aram a month ago?"
"Yeah! I remember!"
Daeun's memory was so good, it'd be weirder if she forgot.
"That friend of Mommy's I mentioned, Karey."
"Oh! Mommy's friend Auntie Karey!"
"Yeah, she's coming to Korea today."
"Really? Auntie Karey really coming to Korea?"
Daeun's face lit up at the thought of meeting her mom's friend.
"Yeah. So, until Daddy brings Auntie Karey, can you stay with Director Go?"
"Director Go."
Once she arrived in Korea, we'd probably head straight to the orphanage where Hyorin's urn was.
I wanted to bring Daeun, deep down.
'Later... I'll bring her later.'
It might not happen, but a huge wave of grief was coming.
I didn't want to take Daeun somewhere like that.
Especially with her big exhibition coming up.
I'd gotten Director Go's okay before calling President Jeong, just in case.
But at my words, Daeun shook her head firmly.
"No way! Daeun wants to go too!"
I understood her feelings, but not this time.
I couldn't tell her the full truth, so I tried another way to convince her.
"Then we can't do a surprise."
"Surprise?"
"Yeah! Like the one you did last time, to startle someone."
"Yeah! Daeun did that!"
"Auntie Karey really wants to see you. But if she sees you at the airport, no surprise. So Daddy will bring Auntie Karey to Director Go's, and you surprise her then. Okay?"
With a good reason, Daeun stopped fussing.
"Okay! Daeun will surprise her!"
"Alright, let's get ready quick then."
"Okay!"
With that, Daeun headed to the bathroom to prepare, determined to pull off the surprise.
I watched her go with a smile.
Then.
My expression hardened as I checked Hyorin's phone.
And at the incoming text, my heart grew heavy.
[Arriving at the airport at 11:20.]