In Another Life: Han Ji Pyeong's Happy Ending (Start Up)

Chapter 45: Protective Forcefield

Ji Pyeong's POV

The hands of the clock show that it's 12am. After Dal mi's conversation with her mother, we had a hearty dinner and Dal mi fell fast asleep. I watch her sleep in her bed. Her eyes are fluttered shut and her cheek rests softly on the pillow. The silvery moonlight that streaks through the window glosses over the smooth lines and curves of her face. I bend down and kiss her temple gently. Gratitude flutters in my heart as I think of the words she spoke that now I will never have to be alone.

A soft knock comes from the door and Halmeoni peeks in.

"Is she asleep?" Halmeoni asks.

I hold up a finger to my lips to signal to Halmeoni. Grabbing my jacket and slowly easing myself from the bed, so that I don't wake Dal mi, I move off and head out of her room.

"She's sleeping." I whisper to Halmeoni as I close the door gently behind her.

"Halmeoni," I say happily, peering at the watch on my wrist. 12.03am. "It's 12am. Happy birthday!" I whisper excitedly.

Halmeoni breaks out into her spontaneous smile and looks at me warmly. She holds my face in her hands and looks at me with glee.

"Thank you Good boy. Thank you." She says and hugs me tightly. I hug her back and feel the warmth radiate from her.
"Did you enjoy dinner?" Halmeoni asks me.

"Yes. Yes I did. I'm so full." I laugh and pretend to pat my stomach. "It's been a while since I've had a home cooked meal." I say with a touch of sentiment.

Halmeoni looks at me with a soft expression that speaks louder than a thousand words.

"Are you going back already?" She asks me, glancing at my jacket and car keys in my head.

"Yes, it's getting late. I better get going." I say and smile at Halmeoni politely.

"Ji pyeong ah," Halmeoni says and stops me before I can make my way back.

"Hm?" I ask her.

Halmeoni wraps her hands together, as if she were wringing them nervously. She looks down at her hands and hesitates before speaking.

"What is it, Halmeoni?" I ask her. Halmeoni looks up at me with the warmest expression.

"Thank you. And I'm so sorry." Halmeoni says apologetically.

"What for?" I ask, surprised and shocked. "What are you sorry for, Halmeoni?" I ask her, feeling a touch of soreness at the thought of Halmeoni feeling apologetic for anything.

"On that day... that day when it was raining and you came to find me... to pass me the Gil dong t-shirt back..." Halmeoni says slowly as she recalls that day in her memory. "When you told me you liked Dal mi." She says specifically. "I never knew... I didn't know that you liked Dal mi and I still... I still made you help Do san and Dal mi get together..." Halmeoni says with a thousand regrets in her tone and rubs the back of her neck painfully.

She looks down at her hands and doesn't dare to look me in the eye.

A small smile shines across my face.

"Aigoo Halmeoni..." I say as I wrap my arms around Halmeoni. Halmeoni seems a bit startled as I hug her, as if she was expecting me to react in anger. "It's all in the past now." I say.

"But still," Halmeoni argues. "I'm so sorry. Ji Pyeong ah... my Good Boy, I really am truly, deeply sorry." She says. "It's my fault, I was too greedy to make Dal mi happy and in the process, I almost hurt you."

"Halmeoni," I start. "If it hadn't been for you, I would never have met Dal mi in the first place. Our paths wouldn't have crossed and I would never have had the chance to fall in love with her." I say with affection fluttering in my tone. I feel overcome with gratitude for what life has brought.

"I always had to work hard for many things that I have now. It was very tiring. But one thing that life gave me without any cost was you." I say, smiling and thinking back to the old days when I would camp out at Halmeoni's old corn dog shop, eating corn dogs, doing my homework and watching TV.

"And I am forever grateful." I say.

Halmeoni smiles at me with the widest smile and quickly wipes a tear that slides out from the corner of her eye.

"Halmeoni!" I laugh in amusement. "Are you crying?" I ask her.

"Yah!" Halmeoni laughs as she pretends to hit my arm. "It's just the dust that flew into my eye." She says as her eyes light up with the brightest smile.

"I don't think it's dust. Your house is too clean." I tease Halmeoni.

"Thank you Ji pyeong ah, my Good Boy." Halmeoni says as she places her hands on my arms and looks at me as if I were a masterpiece. Pride and gratitude swells in her eyes. "Thank you for coming back, for letting me see you again." She says.

"Aish, Halmeoni... Now I'm crying..." I say softly as my vision goes a bit blurry with tears.

Halmeoni gives me a big hug and it feels as if a protective forcefield has been placed over me. A flood of ease and peace washes over me and for the first time in a long time, I feel secure and finally planted in a family that I can call my own.