Hae-wool stared at Hanjoon, his expression turning from shock to anger.
"Do you even hear yourself?" he snapped. "Stop saying nonsense. She's my mom."
"Why would I lie about my own mother?" Hanjoon shot back, his voice steady but firm.
"Then how is she your mother?" Hae-wool's voice rose. "She's my mom. Only mine!"
"Look, Hae-wool…" Hanjoon took a step closer, trying to stay calm. "I know you're shaken because of Halmoni. I get it. But I'm not lying. Please… just believe me."
Just then, the nurse came out of the room.
"She's stable now," she said gently. "You can go in and see her."
Relief washed over me, but the tension between them didn't fade.
I quickly turned to both of them. "Don't say anything about this in front of her," I said firmly. "We'll talk about it later… when we get home."
Neither of them argued — but the silence between them was heavy.
Her gaze slowly shifted to Hanjoon.
"How are you,Hanjoona?" she asked gently.
I wonder how she knew his name . we didnt even get time to introduce him to her .that means Hanjoon was right
"Im fine Halmoni. How are you feeling right now?," he replied, a little hesitant.
For a second, she just stared at him… and then her eyes filled with emotion.
She reached out and held his hand. "You look exactly like your mother," she whispered. "How much you've grown over the years…"
Hae-wool looked really shocked .But couldn't ask her anything cause I told him not to.
Halmoni looked at all of us — at our stunned faces, at the silence that had taken over the room.
She sighed softly, as if she had been carrying this story for years.
"I can see you're all confused," she said gently. "It's time you knew the truth."
Her eyes lingered on Hanjoon… then shifted to Hae-wool.
"This is a story about Hanjoon's father… and Hae-wool's mother."
She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, her voice trembling slightly.
"Mirae, Hyeondo, and Nabora's parents were childhood friends," Halmoni began softly.
"When they grew older, Mirae and Hyeondo fell in love during college. But none of their families approved of their relationship. So, they ran away and got married. After that day we lost all contact with Mirae for years… until one day, she suddenly came back."
Halmoni's voice trembled.
"She told us she was pregnant with Haewool… and that they had divorced. Hyeondo got custody of Hanjoon."
She looked at Hae-wool, her expression filled with pain.
"But Hyeondo never knew about Hae-wool."
"Years later," she continued, "Mirae died in an accident while traveling to Jeju for work. Hae-wool was with her that day…"
Her voice broke.
"We could only save Hae-wool… not Mirae."
"But why they divorced?" I asked curiously.
"Mirae never told me the reason and I never asked"
" I will talk to Father about that" Hanjoon said.
"Don't… don't dig into the past," Halmoni said weakly, her voice trembling. "It will only hurt everyone."
"Please… take care of my Hae-wool. He grew up without his father's love… and now, without his mother's too."
She paused, her grip tightening just a little.
"Promise me, Hanjoon… from now on, you'll take care of your brother."